Part 7
In Part 7, I want to address some of the common phrases in scripture that is used and associated with the teaching of hell including the following phrases; their worm dieth not, unquenchable fire, and the furnace of fire. Let’s start by looking at some scriptures that use these phrases;
Mark 9:48 Where their WORM DIETH NOT, and the FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.
Matthew 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with UNQUENCHABLE FIRE.
Matthew 13:42 And shall cast them into a FURNACE OF FIRE: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
These phrases above no doubt have done nothing but create fear in the minds of people throughout the times and it is phrases like these that give the doctrine of hell an appearance of truth. Sometimes the truth isn’t easy to find or understand and it is up to us to diligently search the truths of God’s words if we want to understand His plans for ultimately redeeming mankind back to Himself.
Let’s start with the phrase “their worm dieth not”. It is easy to think this phrase is talking about immortal worms but that is not even close to what Christ is talking about. Now, it is useful at times to understand the context in terms of the way that a phrase is used in scripture, but this doesn’t mean that the context is the primary way to determine spiritual and scriptural truth. So let’s look at this verse in context if you will;
Mark 9:47-48 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. The first thing that you need to understand is that Christ is not even addressing the multitudes or any group that one would consider to be the lost or the unbelieving;
Mark 9:35 AND HE SAT DOWN, AND CALLED THE TWELVE, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. If you look back in Mark 9:48, you will see the phrase “cast into hell fire” and this phrase is commonly understood in the Christian church to be directed at the wicked lost souls who die in their sins without Christ. However, we clearly see here that Christ is specifically and purposefully talking to his disciples.
The second thing you need to understand is that the words that Christ is speaking to his disciples in Mark 9:47-48 is a “parable”. I know that many Christians think that every reference to hell in the King James bible should be taken literally so let’s take another look at those scriptures to see if it indeed should be interpreted literally;
Mark 9:47-48 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Now are we so naive to suggest that Christ is really teaching his disciples to literally pluck their own eyes out? Even if this were true, have you seen any Christians with plucked out eyes? Do you think that there will literally be a bunch of one eyed Christians in the kingdom of God while everyone in hell will have two eyes? Would plucking out our eyes stop us from lusting with our eyes? Can you not see how absurd this would be if interpreted literally? This isn’t literal; this is a parable with symbols and figurative language. If you can’t comprehend this you will never be able to understand anything about the scriptures since the whole bible is full of figurative language with spiritual meaning.
So what did Jesus mean when he said …where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched? Christ is actually making a quote from the book of Isaiah;
Isaiah 66:24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: FOR THEIR WORM SHALL NOT DIE, NEITHER SHALL THEIR FIRE BE QUENCHED; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. What in the world is Christ talking about? If we rely on the Christian understanding of these things then it will never make any sense. Remember that Christ is talking to his disciples so we can be sure that Christ is not talking about immortal worms or eternal fire.
The key to understanding this truth is to first understand the word in this parable that was translated as the word “hell”. We have already talked about the different words in the Greek that were translated as hell and they are geenna and hadēs. In the Greek, the word hell in this verse was translated from the Greek word “geenna”. I’m not going to go through the meaning of this word again so if you need a refresher on the meaning of geenna, then reread the section about geenna on this site. We know that geenna was a real place with a real fire burning. Dead bodies were taken there to be destroyed along with all the garbage from the city. Decomposing bodies will attract worms and other carrion insects as a part of the decomposition process. As long as bodies (flesh) and trash are dumped in geenna, their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. This is the practical understanding of geenna but Christ used it as a symbol of judgement literally and spiritually.
Everyone will experience symbolic geenna judgement at one point or another for the purpose of the destruction of the flesh (human carnality). Paul tells us this truth concerning judgement; 1 Corinthians 11:31-32 For if we would JUDGE OURSELVES, we should NOT BE JUDGED. But when we are judged, we are CHASTENED OF THE LORD, that we should NOT BE CONDEMNED WITH THE WORLD. Christ is telling his disciples that they can experience his geenna judgment now in this life, or God’s geenna judgment of the world. In part 3, I explained that the spiritual purpose of geenna fire is to spiritually purify through God’s judgment. God not only wants his people to be holy outwardly, he also wants us to be holy inwardly (our heart, emotions, and thoughts). This process can only occur by the divine spiritual workings of God the Creator. This is God’s will and God’s process. Man has created his own version of judgment that makes God’s geenna hell a literal fire burning place meant to literally torment people for eternity. Any person that endorses man’s agenda over the very sovereign will of God is clearly not a true follower of Christ. God is purposefully and willfully using his spiritual geenna fire for the sole purpose of the destruction of the flesh.
1 Corinthians 5:5 TO DELIVER SUCH AN ONE UNTO SATAN FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FLESH, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. In the practical sense, what do worms do to dead bodies? The word translated as “worm” in Mark 9:48 comes from the Greek word skōlēx and it is really referring to a maggot. Maggots literally destroy flesh in the decomposition process but this is symbolic for God’s unquenchable spiritual fire purging judgment surely no one can put out. The phrase “the fire is not quenched” or “unquenchable fire” as it is stated in Matthew 3:12 is thought to be a reference to eternal fire as in this case;
Jude 1:7 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 for an example, SUFFERING THE VENGEANCE OF ETERNAL FIRE. If we use some common sense here, we should easily be able to understand that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha are not literally suffering anything at the present time and the word eternal as it appears in this scripture is a blatant translation error. Eternal is translated from the Greek word aiōnios and we have already studied this word and understand its true meaning to be age abiding or eonian. If these cities are literally suffering the vengeance of eternal fire, wouldn’t this “eternal” fire still exist today? In Genesis 19:24, we read this;
Now let’s take another look at Matthew 3:12;
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. In the Christian church, this is often mistakenly understood as a comparison between the “saved and the unsaved”. The truth is that this has nothing to do with the wicked and unbelieving world. Christ is talking about his chosen elect – the true believers who have been called out of the Christian church who are know longer being deceived by the pagan beliefs of the world and man made traditions of the church. God is purging and chastening His elect now in this life with geenna judgement. To understand this parable, we must understand how Christ uses the words wheat and chaff. Wheat and chaff are included together naturally before the wheat is winnowed – the process of separating the wheat from the chaff. In practical purposes, the wheat is the grain and it is the good part that is used for food. The chaff is the outer casing of the grain that has no purpose for food and it is discarded. Let’s look at another scripture that illustrates what Christ is teaching;
1 Corinthians 3:14-15 IF ANY MAN’S WORK ABIDE which he hath built thereupon, HE SHALL RECEIVE A REWARD. IF ANY MAN’S WORK SHALL BE BURNED, HE SHALL SUFFER LOSS: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. A person’s work is what the wheat and chaff represents here. Both occur naturally because man were created subject to vanity – Romans 8:20. When God calls us out of the world, He exposes us and starts to burn us with the fire of His unquenchable fire. We cannot quench or put out God’s fire purging judgment. This has nothing to do with the false teaching of hell and eternal fire. Unquenchable has nothing to do with the word eternal. God is getting rid of the chaff – the unwanted things that make up a man. These things include our lustful ways, sinful acts, and prideful nature. For God’s elect, this process is taking place now in this life through the fiery trials of life and persecution.
1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning THE FIERY TRIAL WHICH IS TO TRY YOU, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
Christ likens the wicked and unbelieving world as the tares. This isn’t just referring to people who live in the “pagan world” so to speak. This also includes all of the people who are a part of the worldwide Christian church system that believes in all of these false doctrines of men and devils over God’s Word. Matthew 13:42, And shall cast them into a FURNACE OF FIRE: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. What many fail to realize is that this is also a parable spoken by Jesus.
Matthew 13:53 And it came to pass, that when JESUS HAD FINISHED THESE PARABLES, he departed thence. This furnace of fire is synonymous with the lake of fire spoken of in Revelation that I will discuss in Part 8. Actually most if not all of the references to fire in the New Testament are directly related to God’s spiritual fire purging judgment. We cannot quench God’s judgment on us whether it takes place in this age or in the age to come. God’s judgement is a “furnace of fire” and it will consume any and everything that isn’t precious and pure.
For those of us that God has chosen, we know that this is something that we simply cannot do with our own will; For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Philippians 2:13
In Part 8, I will be revealing the truth about one of the most misinterpreted phrases in the entire bible, the Lake of Fire.
Click the link to go to Part 8: The Lake of Fire: This is a symbol…
The Real Gospel of Christ 
Reading more into the event of Sodom and Gomorrah, it has become more apparent that the kingdoms and their neighboring cities weren’t actually consumed by a literal, “eternal” fire. In Genesis 19:13-14, when the messengers informed Lot of what was to come, most will say that God was, indeed, going to destroy these cities:
(YLT) “for we are destroying this place, for their cry hath been great [before] the face of Jehovah, and Jehovah doth send us to destroy it.’ And Lot goeth out…and saith, ‘Rise, go out from this place, for Jehovah is destroying the city.'”
But I noted the Hebrew word (H7843), which means to spoil, to ruin, to decay, to pervert. Already, we see that God wasn’t going to eradicate the city and its inhabitants especially by fire. Furthermore, Gen. 19:15 reads:
“And when the dawn hath ascended, then the messengers press upon Lot, saying, ‘Rise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters who are found present, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.”
What exactly is this “iniquity of the city”? Well, we know the sinful acts of the people (notably homosexuality and fornication). Now “iniquity” means perversity, mischief, and even to the extent of “punishment” of sin. This is exactly what God was going to do. Remaining in the city, Lot and his family would have been caught up, snatched away not only by the sins of the people, but also by God’s process of purging the city.
This is further validated by Lot’s wife. They were warned to “look not expectingly behind [them]” nor “stand thou in all the circuit (or plain, region)” (Gen. 19:17). However, with Lot’s wife still having her heart for the city, she looked back and became a pillar of salt. Now, this event is taken literally by the masses (correct me if wrong), yet one must recognize the properties and history of salt. Salt has been used symbolically and figuratively in the scriptures (for example, Matt. 15:3) and in other cultures. Not only was salt valuable, but it is known to flavor and preserve food. Lot’s wife, being consumed by the iniquity, has officially preserved the consequence of disobedience and looking back on sin, and is undeniably a symbol of such.
Now what about the scriptures that say God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah?
Genesis 19:21-22 (YLT) – “And he saith unto him, “Lo, I have accepted thy face also for this thing, without overthrowing the city [for] which thou hast spoken; haste, escape thither, for I am not able to do anything till thine entering thither.”
Genesis 19:25 (YLT) – “and overthroweth these cities, and all the circuit, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which is shooting up from the ground.”
Genesis 19:29 (YLT) – “And it cometh to pass, in God’s destroying the cities of the circuit, that God remembereth Abraham, and sendeth Lot out of the midst of the overthrow in the overthrowing of the cities in which Lot dwelt.”
The Hebrew word used for “overthrow” and its variants is הָפַךְ (H2015) or haphak (pronounced ‘hah-fak’). The meaning of this word is to turn about or over, as a way of changing, perverting, converting, returning back to the condition of what’s contrary. With that in mind, and with this post and the post on the Lake of Fire, it’s only confirmed that God merely purged/purified these cities of abominable sin. Additionally, Genesis 19:28 makes a reference to smoke of fire:
(YLT) “and he looketh on the face of Sodom and Gomorrah, and on all the face of the land of the circuit, and seeth, and lo, the smoke of the land went up as smoke of the furnace.”
This scripture uses simile, comparing the symbolic smoke of the cities to the smoke of literal fire. Smoke is merely a collection of particles such as carbon, tar, ash, and oils, and it forms when no oxygen is present in incomplete combustion. When thinking about this property of smoke and the reference made, it makes sense that the smoke in v. 28 represents the impurity, or whatever was left, leaving the cities.
Perhaps I need more insight on this event, but this is what I’ve gathered from the scriptures.
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I think its real easy for people to take such phrases literally that explain how God punishes and judges sin. Sodom and Gomorrah is a classic example of how God punished and judged sin but the people of those lands are long dead and in their graves. They are not suffering any eternal punishment nor are they in the fabled hell of Christianity. Consider this;
Matthew 10:15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.
If the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are experiencing eternal punishment, explain what can be more tolerable than eternal punishment? Based on what we understand about the doctrine of hell, is there anything about hell that could be considered to be “tolerable”? The people of Sodom and Gomorrah will be judged on the day of judgment but they are presently dead in their graves. The purpose of the post about Immortal Worms, Unquenchable Fire, and the Furnace of Fire was to explain how God uses these terms to express his judgment of sin and sinners. So God “overthrowing” a sinful land doesn’t mean that the people of the land are experiencing eternal punishment but they were destroyed for their disobedience because of the works of the flesh.
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I think the confusion comes in when people would interpret Matthew 10:15 to refer to the event of Sodom and Gomorrah prior to its inhabitants’ death. But even then that wouldn’t make sense because, had the circuit literally been consumed by an eternal fire, that is exactly the same punishment of modern Christian belief. For Christ to say it would be more tolerable than Sodom and Gomorrah, it’s like, what are the factors that make it not as bad as eternal burning? The availability of refreshments in between “the weeping and gnashing of teeth”? Perhaps you should have also included that to symbolize the spiritual/mental torment of sinners, because I know others that say hell is a real place because they align it with what Christ said, despite these being included in his parables.
So you believe that Sodom and Gomorrah was literally destroyed? From what I read, it doesn’t seem so, not unless there are other scriptures that reveal otherwise.
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The scriptures do point to a “literal” destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Jude 1:7 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 FOR AN EXAMPLE, suffering the vengeance of eternal (age-lasting) fire.
2 Peter 2:6 And turning THE CITIES OF SODOM AND GOMORRHA into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, MAKING THEM AN ENSAMPLE unto those that after should live ungodly;
We already know that there is no righteous of redeeming value for God to punish any person with real fire. So the literal application does not take away from the spiritual understanding. God does destroy but God destroys for a purpose. The destruction of these ungodly cities serves as an example of how God will spiritually purge the world of sin with spiritual fire. In Genesis 19:24, notice the inclusion of fire and brimstone and we see these same two ingredients spoken of in Revelation in regards to God’s lake of fire.
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I see…I understand the event more now. Thank you.
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I have been seeking truth of the word and really doing my homework. Is there a Bible available that doesn’t take away the true context of the original words. As it is difficult for me to read and have to search for it’s original meaning to obtain a fuller understanding of God’s truth. I know I still have to do my homework but I am exhausted. Thank you for your insight as it’s what God just put on my heart to seek and continue to find more information on his truth about him. I believe the Bible is true, but some terms seem to have been either oversimplified and or in one’s own ignorance of original scripture. Very least a better study Bible.
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The Concordant Version available online at https://www.concordant.org/version/ is probably the best bible translation in terms of being as close to the original languages but this is not to say that all other translations are bad. The King James Bible is really not a bad bible translation once you understand that words like hell, eternal, everlasting, and forever and ever do not belong in any bible translation. Bible Gateway is a online internet bible that has numerous bible translations available to read with a searchable index. BlueLetterBible is also a very useful online tool when studying bible words and biblical usage. Once you have a strong foundation on the basic bible truths that have been corrupted by the church, it really won’t matter what translation you read. I for the most part read the KJV and when I see hell I already know that it’s either sheol, hades, or gehenna depending on the scripture and since I know what those words mean already I don’t need to continue looking them up. Hope this helps and let me know what you think about the Concordant Version…
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Whenever I hear of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, I think of the Divine Energy intervening and making these people realize their wrong doings, and they demolish the city. That’s how I’ve interpreted that message.
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UNQUENCHABLE FIRE WON’T BURN ETERNALLY
by Babu G. Ranganathan*
(B.A. Bible/Biology)
Although I am a conservative Christian (Reformed Baptist), I no longer believe that the Bible teaches or supports the traditional view of hell with its doctrine of eternal torment or suffering.
The Bible does teach eternal punishment, but that eternal punishment ultimately is not eternal suffering.
God’s righteous wrath is not an end in itself but a means to an end, that end being the eternal destruction of the wicked. That’s why the Bible teaches in Romans 9:22 that the wicked are “vessels of wrath (the means) fitted for destruction (the end).
The Old Testament says, in Jeremiah 17:27, that when God comes in judgment upon Israel the gates and palaces of Jerusalem will burn and the fire will “not be quenched.” Ezekiel 20:47 says every green tree and dry tree will burn and the fire will “not be quenched.” Are any of these things still burning? Of course not! Then, why does God say that the fire will “not be quenched?”
When Scripture talks about unquenchable fire, what it means is that the process of destruction is unstoppable. The Bible records judgments of God where His wrath was quenched (or stopped) such as in the case when Moses interceded and pleaded before God for the rebellious Israelites in the desert. God in His wrath sent a plague to kill the rebellious Israelites. Moses came between the dead and the living (Numbers 16:48). When Moses did this, God quenched His wrath. “Unquenchable fire,” then, simply means that God won’t stop (or quench) His wrath until it’s finished its job of total destruction.
Won’t the wicked suffer forever in hell? The word “forever,” in Scripture, doesn’t always mean eternity. For example, in Exodus 21:6 (KJV) we read that certain people volunteered to be servants “forever.” Obviously this cannot mean eternity. The word “forever” (or “everlasting”), in Scripture, simply means the entire duration of something. If that something is immortal then the word “forever” must mean eternity. But, if that something is mortal then the word “forever” cannot mean eternity. The Bible teaches that only the righteous in Christ will inherit immortality. Those in hell won’t be immortal so their suffering cannot be eternal.
When the Bible talks about eternal punishment, eternal judgment, eternal damnation, eternal destruction, or even eternal redemption, it is in reference to the result, not the process! It is not the destroying that’s eternal, but the destruction! When the Bible talks about eternal judgment, it is not the “judging” that’s eternal but the judgment. When the Bible talks about eternal redemption, it is not the “redeeming” that is eternal but the redemption.
What about “eternal fire” in the Bible? Scripture says in Jude 7 that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by eternal fire. These cities are no longer burning still. How can the fire be called “eternal” then? Because the result that the fire produced is eternal — these cities will never again exist.
Most Christians believe (wrongly) that God was referring to spiritual death when He told Adam and Eve they would die upon eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. They think this because God told Adam and Eve they would die the very day they ate it, but because Adam and Eve didn’t physically die the very day they ate the forbidden fruit, most Christians assume that God was to referring to spiritual death and not physical death.
However, in the original Hebrew of the Old Testament, the word for “die” in Genesis 2:17 is in the imperfect mood. The imperfect mood denotes a process. So, what God really told Adam and Eve is that they would start dying. God wasn’t referring to spiritual death but to physical death. After their disobedience, God later prevented Adam and Eve from having access to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:22–24) so that they would not live eternally. This is proof that God was referring to physical death in Genesis 2:17.
All this proves that God will not allow sinful humans to be immortal. God will not let sin exist eternally by keeping sinners alive eternally in hell. God will bring an eternal end to sin and sinner in hell. That is His eternal justice, not eternal torment! God is just, but not cruel.
Immortality is not a birthright. Just because man is created in God’s image doesn’t mean man must possess everything God possesses. Immortality is a gift from God available only through Jesus Christ, God’s eternal and only begotten Son, Who paid for our sins through His death and His shed blood on the Cross and Who rose bodily from the grave. Scripture says, Jesus Christ “hath destroyed death and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10).
Some have argued that because man was created in the image of God then all humans must possess an immortal soul. However, being created in the image of God doesn’t necessarily mean that we must possess every attribute God possess. For example, God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent — but we are not. In any case, the Bible is clear that immortality is an attribute that God will give only on Resurrection Day for those who have put their trust in Christ for salvation.
ETERNAL LIFE in Scripture has the same meaning as immortality (i.e. Romans 2:7) which Christians will possess only in the future on Resurrection Day. Romans 2:7 and various other Scripture passages teach immortality and eternal life to be a future possession for Christians. Why then did Jesus use the present tense when saying those who believe in Him have eternal life? The answer is that sometimes in the Bible the present tense is used to describe future events for the purpose of demonstrating their certainty. Scripture says God “calleth those things which be not as though they were” (Romans 4:17).
The Bible says Jesus Christ “hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10). The opposite of eternal life (or immortality) is eternal death (the eternal and literal death of soul and body) – not eternally living in torment and suffering! “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting (eternal) life” (John 3:16). The issue is not what we think eternal punishment ought to be. The issues are God’s character, God’s definition of ultimate justice, and God’s eternal purposes.
This view is known as “conditional immortality” because immortality is only given by God to those meet the condition of having faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
How did the belief and teaching of eternal torment enter into Christianity? When the early Church adopted the belief, from Greek philosophy, that the human soul is immortal (indestructible), then it became only logical to believe that those who go to hell must suffer eternally.
The wicked in hell will suffer for their individual sins, but the ultimate penalty for sin itself will be the eternal death of their soul and body and their eternal loss to immortality. That is their eternal punishment — their eternal loss to immortality. God’s wrath is not an end in itself but a means to an end, that end being eternal destruction.
Good Christians of various denominations have believed this view.
You will find Biblical answers to more questions by reading the author’s larger Internet article: TRADITIONAL DOCTRINE OF HELL EVOLVED FROM GREEK ROOTS
Visit the author’s newest Internet site: THE SCIENCE SUPPORTING CREATION
*The author, Babu G. Ranganathan, has his bachelor’s degree with concentrations in Bible and Biology and has been recognized for his writings on religion and science in the 24th edition of Marquis “Who’s Who In The East.”
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It is true that there are bibles that include phrases like “eternal punishment” and “everlasting destruction” however; those phrases have no place in the word of God. First and foremost, the word “eternal” is not a scriptural word. The Greek word “aionios” derived from its root noun “aion” pertains to AGES. Ages have a beginning and an end. There is NO word in the original scriptures that could or should’ve been translated as the English word “eternal”. The purpose of punishment is to teach and to correct. The purpose of judgment is to produce change. The idea of “eternal punishment” is actually pretty illogical.
In regards to Romans 9:22; God is the Master Potter that made the “vessels of wrath” so are you suggesting that God’s “eternal” purpose is to permanently destroy His own creation that He’s making in His own image? God can rebuild what he destroys for Christ himself suffered destruction but God raised Him from the dead.
John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
The wicked will not suffer in any place called hell for hell translated appropriately is simply the grave and there is NO consciousness in the grave. The word “eternity” creates a paradox when we refer to beings that are immortal.
Time is insignificant and irrelevant to a being that is immortal. The word “eternity” implies endless time but time is a construct created by God for the physical temporary world. Time has no bearing in the spiritual realm.
How does one become “righteous” in Christ? Romans 5:18 tells us that we are justified to life through the righteousness of Christ. This is paralleled with all of humanity being subjected to death because of Adam’s sin. What did you do to become a sinner? You did NOTHING because you were BORN a sinner! The bible teaches that ALL shall be made alive in Christ which is again paralleled to the ALL that die in Adam. Who is greater, Adam or Christ? Adam achieved a 100% return on all dying but Christ will supposedly only merit a small return on who he makes alive?
Again, your entire argument that includes any word linked to the word “eternal” is bogus for the word is not even scriptural. So what would be the result of “eternal punishment”? We would first have to determine if the punishment was JUST for there are many forms of unjust punishment. The punishment for sin is DEATH and if that is supposed to be the eternal result, why is there a resurrection of the wicked? Why bring the wicked dead back to life? For what purpose if they have already been sentenced to eternal death? You make a reference to Sodom and Gomorrah in Jude 1:7 saying that those cities will never exist again but if that’s true how do you explain Ezekiel 16:55?
Yes, your sisters, Sodom and Samaria, and all their people will be restored, and at that time you also will be restored. (For context read Ezekiel 16:46-58).
God wiped out Sodom and her daughters (Gomorrah and the surrounding cities) but He proclaims that He will RESTORE them so your claim that these cities will never exist again is blatantly incorrect. Punishment is temporary, judgment is temporary, destruction is temporary… God is a Father not a monster…
Most Christians believe a lot of unscriptural and illogical nonsense…
God NEVER intended for man in his physical state to be immortal. God is “spirit” but God created man flesh so that man can experience a life of knowing and understanding good and evil which is exactly what we are told makes us like the Elohim God family.
If you have a silver dollar that was passed down to you from several past generations, the silver dollar would be valuable to you. After so many years, the silver dollar would become dull and covered with dross. Would you throw it away or have it polished? Do you think it is impossible for God to polish His creation? God doesn’t throw away His creation, God will polish us all and He has through the work of Christ.
Explain 1 Corinthians 15:22?
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Immortality may not be a birthright but what would stop God from bestowing immortality to all of His creation? I do not believe in the immortality of the soul for humans are souls, they do not possess a soul. We are LIVING souls. How does a sinner put their trust in Christ for salvation? The bible says, the carnal mind is enmity (hostile) towards God. In our carnal state, we cannot please God. God does the choosing, gives the believer faith, and then gives the earnest of His spirit. Why do you take credit for God’s work?
Eternal life and immortality do not have the same meaning and the phrase “eternal life” is not even scriptural it is biblical. What God inspired to be written in the Holy Scriptures has been changed and edited in the bibles of men. Believers are promised AGE-ABIDING life which is an additional age of life that the rest of the world doesn’t get to experience. When that age comes to an end, believers continue to live because they are IMMORTAL. Life is not dependent on time for when time ends and time will end; time is meaningless to an immortal being.
The belief in annihilation may not be as evil and cruel as the teaching of eternal torment but it still robs God of His glory and it makes Christ a failure. I do not believe or consign to such heresy!
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WELL! THEN PLEASE WITH ALL DO RESPECT, THE “UNPARDONABLE SIN.” PLEASE? T/Y
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The unpardonable sin is a doctrine of men… it is clearly stated that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this age or the age to come. If I punish my son and say, you will not play your XBOX this week or the week to come, how silly would it be for him to assume that he cannot play his XBOX ever again? The punishment is clearly 2 weeks so the punishment for blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not being forgiven for 2 ages. After the 2 ages comes to pass, forgiveness will be given.
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