But I noticed that our Lord, while stressing the terror of hell with unsparing severity usually emphasizes the idea not of duration but of finality. Consignment to the destroying fire is usually treated as the end of the story--not as the beginning of a new story.

C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain


Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them, in like manner giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Jude 1:7













MISSION STATEMENT This blog is devoted to presenting biblically based evidence which argues for the extinction of the wicked as oppossed to their eternal torment in a place called hell. The usual case for extinction follows a familiar pattern: the wicked will be resurrected, suffer for a time in the lake of fire, then be extinguished. This blog takes a different view. It is the assertion here that all of the language in the Bible that refers to torment is in fact referring to earthly torment endured during the tribulation. The argument proceeds as follows: The Bible teaches a period of earthly torment (Mark 13:19, Rev. 4:10, 1 Thess. 5:2-3, Rev. 9:4-5), from which the just are exempt (Rev. 7:2-3, 9:4-5, 14:9-11), that consists of Christ shutting the door (Gen. 7:16), weeping (Amos 8:10, Zeph. 1:14), fire and brimstone (Rev. 9:18, 9:2, Isaiah 34:9, Malachi 4:1), smoke going up forever (Isaiah 34:8-10), and a form of retributive justice (Jer. 16:18, 17:18, Rev. 18:16, Psalm 69:27-28, 59:13, 83:17), which ends in extinction (Malachi 1:4, Obadiah 1:16, Psalm 37:20, Rev. 20:11-14, Matt. 25:46, Luke 12:48).



















Sunday, January 16, 2011

RESURRECTION OF BONES?

Traditional church teaching holds that on judgment day God will resurrect both the just and the wicked to stand for judgment. Some theologians believe only the just will be resurrected. This is even one of the tenets of the Jehovah's Witness faith. Controversial radio preacher Harold Camping has put forth an intriguing twist on this issue. He contends that there will indeed be a resurrection of the wicked, but it will not be a resurrection to conscious existence. Instead it will consist of a scattering of their bones upon the earth, thereby making them a spectacle of shame and contempt to those on the earth. This is the resurrection "unto shame and contempt" spoken of in Daniel 12:2, and it will occur when a great earthquake shakes the bones of the dead out of their graves. It's a radical suggestion, and one squarely at odds with traditional church doctrine. But is it Biblical? It does seem to have a leg to stand on. Let's look at four reasons why.

1) It's true that several passages of the New Testament seem to teach a universal resurrection (Rev 20:12, 1 Cor 5:10, John 5:28, Acts 24:15). But there are also New Testament verses that seem to reserve the resurrection for the just alone (John 6:54, Luke 20:35), and at least two Old Testament verses (Jer. 25:27, 51:57) that suggest the wicked will never live again.

2) Daniel 12:2 says: "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting shame and contempt."

3) Shame and contempt is frequently associated with not having a decent burial (Ecc. 6:3).

4) Isaiah 26:14 says "the earth shall cast out the dead" and describes some coming forth to life (19) and some to shame and contempt (21).

It's worth noting that the term "casting out of the grave" can also mean to be denied a burial (Isaiah 14:19). In this verse, however, one could make the case that the wicked are literally cast out of their graves even as the just are cast out of theirs (thus fulfilling Daniel 12:2).

Mr. Camping points to Jer. 7:33-8:2 as evidence: "And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away...At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem out of their graves: And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved and whom they have served...they shall not be...buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth."

One might object that this verse refers to Psalm 79, in which it finds literal fullfillment in the history of the Jewish nation when the heathen root through the bones of the Jews. But they will not be rooting through their graves on the Day of the Lord, which is what this verse seems to have in view. Simply compare the scene it describes with that portrayed in Jer 25: 33, which appears to be discussing the Day of the Lord: "And the slain of the Lord shall be on that day from one end of the earth unto the other...they shall not be...buried; they shall be dung upon the ground." Verse 10 of this chapter quotes Jer. 7:34, making clear that the same event is in view: "Then I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate."

Isaiah 66:24 describes the same scene, as does Rev 19:19-21, which uses the same phrase found in Jer. 7:33: "...and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." Zephaniah 1:8, which is undoubtebly discussing the Day of thee Lord, says the Lord will "punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel." Compare this verse with Jer. 8:1: "At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests..." Zephaniah goes on to say in 1:17: "their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung."

A statement by Edward Fudge, who supports the traditional view of the resurrection, nevertheless provides some information that helps to lend credence to Mr Camping's interpretation: "Daniel 12:1-2 provides one of the few explicit Old Testament references to the resurrection of both the good and the evil. The prophecy clearly states that "multitudes" will awake from the dust of the earth, but that they will be raised in two forms: "some to everlasting life" and "others to everlasting shame and contempt" (Dan 12:2). The Hebrew word translated contempt here is the same word translated "loathsome" in Isaiah 66:24 where it describes unburied corpses." In other words, the contempt of the "resurrected" dead is closely identified with the contempt of the unburied corpses at the end of the world. The connection between scattered bones and shame is also found in Psalm 53:5: "...God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them."

Isaiah 26:19 says "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead..." We know that this casting out will include the just and the wicked; Daniel 12:2 says: "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting shame and contempt." Remember, the word translated contempt here is the same word used to describe the corpses of Isaiah 66:24. And we know from Jer. 7:33-8:2 that the bones of the wicked will literally be cast out of their graves on the Day of the Lord, the same day in view in Isaiah 26:19 and Daniel 12:2. We can know therefore, that the event being described is a scattering of the bones of the wicked like dung all over the ground. Isaiah 26:21 says: "For behold the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain."

Some might object that to have one's bones scattered is not much of a punishment. One must consider, however, that the Jewish mindset of that time was different than ours. To us a great life and a bad burial is a pretty good trade-off, but not to the ancient Jews (Ecc.6:3). A Jew of that day placed as much importance on how they were buried and remembered as on the quality of their lives on this earth. Solomon's despair in Ecclesiastes related almost exclusively to how things would go after he was gone--something we don't particularly care about these days. To us it's all about our conscious existence in the here and now; to the Jews it was all about legacy and posterity and future generations. The Jews valued the meaning of their lives, which could be measured by the kind of burial they received. To the Jews, reward and punishment could occur after death with no regard to conscious experience.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)