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Hell, Pain and Suffering, What is God Like?

KNOWING GOD-PART 3-HIS CHARACTER

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Those who know God know His character.

But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:24

The platform for understanding God’s character must start with John’s bedrock description of God Himself:

All Biblical understanding must conform to this grand description of God the Father and Jesus Christ.

If God’s character of love does not transfer into our own experience, it is a demonstration that we don’t really know God. If we don’t have love in our hearts for God and other people (even our enemies), we don’t know God. John said this very clearly:

 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 

1 John 4: 7-8

If our understanding of God rejects these characteristics, it is likely due to a misunderstanding of who God is. If this is the case, certain Bible texts about the nature of God will be twisted to make God uncaring and cruel beyond belief.

A Modern Parable

There was a certain young boy who loved his father very much. We will call him Jim. His Dad, Bill, took an interest in everything Jim did. They often talked about life while fishing or working around the house. His Dad taught him many things about relating to family, friends, and even enemies. He encouraged Jim to love them all and to honor each person. To love them as God loves them.

As far back as he could remember, Jim’s Dad read to him. Nightly, many good books, including the Bible, brought peace and understanding to Jim. Dad taught him how to pray. In the morning, Jim would see his Dad on his knees at the window, praying to God.

When war came, Jim’s Dad volunteered for service and went away to war. Bill was a good soldier that could be trusted. He was promoted rapidly as a leader and was in charge of taking men into battle. After the war, Bill was decorated for his bravery and leadership. Jim was so proud of his father!

The boy grew, and so did his relationship with his father. The boy knew his Dad better than anyone else. He wanted to be like his brave and kind father.

Jim went off to college. While there, he met some young men whose dads had also been to war. They remember the stories told to them of the war. One young man, in particular, had heard of Jim’s decorated Dad. The young man said his father had told stories about Bill torturing the enemy troops that were captured. In detail, Jim’s classmate described the torture of burning a prisoner a little at a time and keeping them alive to suffer even more. The prisoner would cry out for mercy and even death, but Bill ignored them.

Jim was shocked!. He knew his Dad was not that kind of person and rejected the gruesome story of torture.

After discussing this with his Dad, the true story came out. The father of the young man at college was someone who disliked Jim’s Dad and was angry because he did not get the promotions in rank as did Bill. He began to spread rumors and lies to smear Bill’s good name and character. The truth was turned into lies and events twisted to satisfy the narrative of cruelty.

Jim knew his Dad. Because of this, he was certain Bill was not capable of torturing anyone. It was beyond reason and contradicted everything he knew about his Dad. The lessons taught to Jim about God’s love and compassion, even for enemies, did not square with the conflicting characteristics of someone who did not know his Dad nor his God.

God’s Character

Image a God who tortures his enemies for eternity. Is this a God of love and mercy? To believe that God gives no relief from the flames lost sinners can suffer without end means one of a couple of things:

1.) Passages of scripture have been twisted to teach that the lost have eternal life in burning flames even though the Bible clearly states that the wages of sin is eternal death, not eternal life in flames. We may have created a God, in our heads, where His wrath is never satisfied. Unlike God, we want revenge on the evil person and for them to pay for their wrongs through suffering. We want revenge, but God wants justice.

How is it justice that my lost relative who refused to believe in Jesus or go to church should burn without end for his free choice?

2.) We don’t know God. We like the idea of hell where people burn for their evil deeds, but remember…When we talk about salvation, we are talking about the good moral people who don’t care for Jesus or religion. They pay their taxes, have families, and are good neighbors. Should they burn forever along with Hitler? Is it justice to live for 30 years in riotous living, die in a car wreck, and then burn for 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 + years?

Someone suggested I don’t believe in hell. I always tell them, “I believe in a hell that is hotter than the one you support. The hell of the Bible burns up and leaves no root or branch. It is not meant to torture.

For behold, the day is coming,
Burning like an oven,
And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.
And the day which is coming shall burn them up,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“That will leave them neither root nor branch. Malachi 4:1

This means nothing will be left of the person for eternity. Even Satan is turned into ashes:

Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you.

Ezekiel 28:18

So yes, I believe in a firey END…not firey torture. Sodom and Gomorrah are no longer cities, but they are examples of what will happen to the ungodly at the end of time:

 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;

2 Peter 2:6

Destruction awaits the lost. Jesus tells it plainly:

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.

Matthew 7:13

Do you know God?

Do you know God like Jim knew his Dad bill? If God takes no delight in the death of the wicked, He would take no delight in unmerciful torture.

‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. 

Ezekiel 33:11

Do you really believe our Heavenly Father, that sent Jesus to die for our sins, would make the penalty of unbelief flames licking at their body parts of melting skin and bones in a torture chamber where people cry out to die? We would need to alter several verses to support this idea. The most famous one of God’s love, John 3:16 would need to be changed to read:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish (burn in flames) but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16

Wages of sin is death life in a burning hell for eternity.

Romans 6:23


He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. has a life in burning flames called hell.

1 John 5:12

Friends, salvation is a matter of life or eternal death. Eternal death is punishment enough. But it is also an act of mercy. Heaven is not the place for those who love sin. Their reward or their heaven is while they are on earth living a life of selfish indulgence. Their philosophy is “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.”

Salvation also includes the victory over the sins that we love. A born-again follower of Jesus is given a new heart, God replaces that love of the world of sin with a love for Him and other people.

Salvation and eternal life are more about who you know rather than what you know:

Author

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

John 17:3

We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:20

God does not scare people into accepting Him. He uses powerful words of reason, demonstration, and understanding. It is His love, mercy, compassion, and kindness that win people to Him for eternal life. It is the cross of Christ that draws people to Him.

“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

Jeremiah 31:3

And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.

John 12:32

This is the God of love that we serve and preach to a dying world. There is no opposing character in our God. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He never changes (Hebrews 13:8, Malachi 3:6).

He loves even the sinner and desires him/her to turn (repent) and live. If this is you, will you do that just now?

Hell, Reasons to Believe, What is God Like?

Hell-LET US REASON TOGETHER

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I once heard a pastor preach on the topic of hell.  It was called “Why the Intellectual Honest is Not Christian.”   A catchy title, but it is often true.  The teaching of hell, a place of torture and non-stop punishment in flames without end, doesn’t line up with the character of God.  If a person thinks it through, the sacrifice of God the Father by giving His Son Jesus so that we might not perish (John 3:16) is at the extreme opposite end of God’s supposed solution and punishment for the lost.  Mercy, justice, or torture with skin on fire; Which fits the character of God?  John, the beloved, described the essence of God’s character this way:

“…God is love.”

1 John 4:8b

From the central concept of God is love, all other doctrines of the Bible must line up.  If not, we have a massive misunderstanding about who God is.  How can He be merciful and full of love for even the worse of lost sinners?  Then respond to rejection by torturing them forever? If this is true, it would be the ultimate form of unsatisfied, unquenchable revenge. Can you think of anything more cruel? Maybe driving straw under the fingernail every second of the day.

God’s Glory and Goodness

Moses was allowed to see God’s “glory” and His “goodness” as He walked by. 

And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you.

After seeing God walk by, Moses didn’t describe God’s physical appearance, but the characteristics of God:

“The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,

Exodus 34:6

This is where we must start understanding who God is and what His name represents.  This goodness, this kindness, leads someone to want to follow Him. God gave us the ability to reason. Non-Stop torture for quadrillion years, then starting over makes no sense for a merciful, loving God.

 Only after we understand that God is love, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness can we look at God’s plan for those who are “lost.”  No, not all are saved and live forever. It is the opposite; they die forever, They would not be happy in heaven.

This question must be asked: Which is God’s method of reaching the lost: The threat of personal eternal punishment or falling in love with a sacrificial God?

Popular Teachings on Hell

Hell is taught as a place either under the earth or somewhere in the universe where the souls of those who reject Christ spend eternity in flames and torture. Hell, and mercy cannot be in the same sermon or teaching for this idea. They are mutually exclusive because the burning flames of punishment would eliminate mercy. 

Before accepting Christ as an unbeliever, this idea of God’s punishment created a crisis of faith for me.  How could I trust a God who held this threat over my head?  Love me, or I will torture you. It made no sense. There was no logic there.

What if I had tried to win my wife by saying, “If you don’t love me, I will torture you.”  Would that attract her to me?  Sadly, I know someone who is caught in this type of Godless marriage.  The husband has (on several occasions threatened to kill the wife and her father if she left him.  What do you think her life is like? Is she free or in captivity? Is she in love or in shackles?

As an atheist, this idea of burning anyone for eternity gave me more reasons to believe that the Bible and religion were all about controlling people and scaring them into submission. 

What amazed my rational, logical thought process is this fact:  Many Christians, in particular, get angry if someone rejects the idea of such a place or a God that doesn’t put the sinners into a living place of flames.  They think it is unchristian and unbiblical not to believe the lost stay alive in hot coals of fire, crying for relief.  They insinuate it is what the sinner chooses, and it serves them right for rejecting Christ or living a life of rebellion and sin against God.

God and the bible teach justice. Is eternal torture justice?  Does punishment fit the crime?

Life In Prison-Justice?

A man was driving on the freeway going 75 mph in a 55 mph speed zone. He is taken to court, where the judge sentences him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.  Is this justice? 

Another man is caught in the same speed zone and is brought to the court. The judge hears the charges. He had been at a bar and left at 10:00 PM to head home.  He drifts over the double yellow line and kills an innocent family.  The dirty, smelly man is unrepentant.  The judge gives him life in prison without parole. Is this justice?  Likely.  But here is the sad thing, some teach that God says, “No!” This is not justice!   God condemns him to life in flames with no parole after He dies in prison, not because of the act of murder, but because he rejected Jesus and never repented. But here is something else to consider. The loving, hard-working husband and father also killed by the drunk is also condemned to flames because he rejected Christ and hated going to church with his wife and children. He was a good man but didn’t believe in Jesus and Christianity.

A rational person has a hard time wrapping their head around eternity, much less the idea of the unbearable stinging of flames on the skin, lips, arms, and legs kept alive FOREVER by God to “punish” the lost.  These human torches cry out for actual death to escape the flames, but the merciful God says, “No!”  The human torches, or as we call them, “lost,” can be anyone from Hitler to Uncle Bill who never attended church, never opened a Bible, didn’t believe in Jesus but was a good faithful husband and father. It includes all those who worship other gods or who never heard the story of Jesus. Their punishment is never satisfied by a loving, merciful God.  

WHO IS GOD?

Let’s explore this topic.  It is essential for Christians to know the truth and know their heavenly Father and His character.  Would a merciful, loving God do such a thing?  What method did God and Jesus employ to bring people into a loving, saving relationship with Him?

Following are the two typical modern understandings of hell.  This is what a majority of protestant Christians trust to be true.

View 1:  If you die and are unsaved (e.g., did not profess Christ), your immortal soul immediately (or after a quick judgment scene) goes to a place under the earth where the devil resides, and blistering hot flames torment your soul throughout eternity without end.  You will scream and desire to die, but you will stay alive in flames, never finding relief.  This could be called the immediate and present Hell.

View 2:  If you die and are unsaved, your immortal soul is judged at the Great White Throne judgment at the end of time. Your soul and body are cast into the lake of fire prepared for Satan and his angels, where flames torture you throughout eternity.  You will scream and desire to die, but you will stay alive in the fire, never finding relief.  We will call this future Hell.

The Catholic church throws in a couple of “holding” places, such as purgatory, and some talk about a place called “Abraham’s bosom.” Those in these places can be prayed into heaven. In some cases, money can pay them into heaven.

There may be other slight variations of hell, but if you ask a Christian or a pastor about hell, this is very close to the answers given.  It is often softened up to take out the idea of a Holy God torturing the unsaved by saying non-biblical things like,

“The lost choose hell.”  

Is that right?  Who in their right mind would choose to be tortured? The Bible teaches they choose death over eternal life not so much from a conscious choice but instead through unbelief in Jesus and rejecting the pull of the Holy Spirit to repent and turn away from the sins that lead to death.

The common idea with both basic views about hell involves non-stop burning, which is a miracle!  The miracle of staying alive with a body to experience pain! It also requires an immortal soul.  A term not used in the Bible.   We often hear preachers say, “You will live eternally in one of two places.”  Is this true?  Does the lost also have eternal life?  Are their souls immortal?  What is tortured by the flames?  The soul? The body?  Both?

What does the Bible have to say about all this?

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The Bible’s Teaching on the Fate of the Lost

Some will say, “The immortal soul is being punished, not the body.“  Of course, there is no biblical proof for this. It contradicts those who support a literal interpretation of the Rich Man and Lazarus, where the rich man has a tongue and gets thirsty in flames. He has a body!

Some will say, “God is just, and this is their fate.  We can’t understand it and aren’t supposed to.”

Is this true?

Indeed, our thoughts and ways are not like His, but there are things He has revealed that we can know with certainty. “

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to our children and to us forever,

Deuteronomy 29:29

Is the fate of the lost one of those things revealed to us?  Yes! But we must understand it from ALL that has been shown to us!

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JESUS’ APPEAL

The Bible tells us that eternal life is based on knowing God and having a relationship with Him.  We are drawn to Him as He is lifted up (Cross).  Is a torturing God the One we want to get to know?  Or is God like a father who loves his child?  Does God use hell to scare us into coming to Him, or does he draw us in a different more divine way?

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

John 17:3

Knowing God The Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit is essential in our experience and salvation from death.  To have a false conception of God is dangerous, as we shall see.

We are not scared into a relationship with the Lord; He draws us with “lovingkindness.”

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

Jeremiah 31:3

It is the cross, not hell that draws people to Jesus.

‘”…And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.‘  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.”

John 12:32-33

That day on a lonely hill, Jesus dying on a rough wooden cross is the ultimate demonstration of the sacrifice and love God offers to all people. A clear view of the things leading up to the death of Jesus and the day He said, “It is finished,” will bring the sin weary to repentance, forgiveness, and salvation from eternal death.

His death was what all lost people would experience—an end without hope.  When Jesus “became sin for us,” He felt the separation from God the Father.  He felt forsaken.

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The Rest of The Story

It is unbiblical to think that the soul is immortal.  The soul is not eternal.  Only God has immortality.  The saved are not given immortality until Christ returns.

If a soul can die, it is not immortal.

“ Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die..”

Ezekiel 18:4

Only God has immortality!

I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; and this will be made manifest at the proper time by the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:14-16

Immortality is not given to us until Jesus returns and we are changed.  We “put on” immortality then and not before.  

Want to know a mystery about death that has been solved? Something God has revealed to us and our children?  Listen closely to the words of Paul:

 “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—  in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.””

1 Corinthians 15: 51-54

Is this not as clear as a bell?  Immortality is “put on” when Jesus returns!  We sleep in death, waiting for the resurrection just as the Bible describes.  This waiting is like a mere micro-second.  A person dies.  Years if not millennia, pass, and they come forth in new immortal bodies at the return of Christ. The same is true for the “lost.”  Except, they meet a different fate.

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Eternal Death

“Death has come upon all men by the offense of one man. But, through grace and the gift of righteousness, life came by Jesus Christ.”

Romans 5:12, 17

Wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 3:23.

Wages are something due to us for our work of sin.  Sin leads to death, not life. Both are mutually exclusive.  You can’t have both.  You must have one or the other. The gift of eternal life is reserved only for the saved.

He that has the Son has life.  He that does not have the Son does not have life.

1 John 5:12

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16

Here is a simple, straightforward comparison of what awaits the lost VS the saved:

Believes in Jesus = everlasting life

Not believing = perish (eternal death)

“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life….”

John 3:36

Believes in the Son = everlasting life

Does not believe in the = shall not see life.

The Lord can destroy the soul,

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Matthew 10:28

The body and soul are destroyed in hell.  It is not kept alive to suffer throughout eternity. If there is a fear to be taught, it is the fear that both the body and the soul are forever destroyed, while the redeemed have a new immortal body and life without end.

The Power and Miracle of the Resurrection

As described before, the belief in God AND the resurrection of Jesus are both vital to receiving salvation from eternal death:

… if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9

It was Paul’s goal to be raised from the dead…Not to die and be with Him,

” if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:11

The mortal “puts on” immortality, and death is no more when Jesus returns.

The dead in Christ are resurrected.

“For the Lord, Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words”

1 Thessalonians 4: 15-18

Note:  Those who died in Christ and those alive when He returns start to “be with the Lord forever” when He returns.  So, the resurrection is our hope…Our eternity with the Lord does not begin until He returns.

Jesus will raise the saved from the grave on the last day.

“This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.”

John 6:39

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:44

“Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:54

“Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

John 11:24

The teaching of resurrection as our hope is an ancient truth.  Example: Job said,

“my redeemer lives and I will see God in the flesh in the latter day upon the earth.”

Job 19:25, 26

The resurrection is crucial because we are lost if it doesn’t happen.

Our faith is futile without the resurrection. Our hope is in the return of Christ and the Resurrection, not in dying and floating off to heaven.

“And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”

1 Corinthians 15:14-19

The Rich Man and Lazarus

The Rich Man and Lazarus story does not include the resurrection in its story.  It is clearly a parable directed at the snooty self-righteous Pharisees.  To say it is literal brings many contradictions to other clear verses that are not parables. This parable comes near the end of a long series of parables spoken by Jesus.  There was a resurrection of another Lazarus that clearly describes the state of those who die.  The event is described in John 11.  Here Jesus compares Lazarus’ death with sleep:

“Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep…Then said Jesus, unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.”

John 11:14

Notice something else; When Jesus brought Lazarus back to life after being dead for four days, he did not say to him to come down but rather come forth (v. 43). If Lazarus had been in heaven, he would have had many things to share, don’t you think?  Why is he silent?  It is because he was unconscious until Jesus called for him to “come forth.”

The Resurrection of the Lost

The unjust have a resurrection, too (after the millennium): 

“I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.”

Act 24:15

The “rest of the dead” come up long after the first resurrection:

“And they (the saved) lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.”

Revelation 20: 4, 5

The second death is the fate of the lost who are not part of the first resurrection but rise in the 2nd resurrection. Revelation 20:6

“Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power….”

Revelation 20:6

At the end of all things, the saved may have died once, but they will never have to die again because they have been given immortality.  But the lost who died once will die again, fully aware that their death will be forever. This knowledge is their quick punishment. They acknowledge they were wrong and dismissive of Jesus:

As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.”

Romans 4:11

At the end of time, fire destroys the earth, Satan, and sinners:

Jesus comes as a thief in the night in which the heavens, earth, elements, and all the works are burned up.

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”

2 Peter 3:10

Everlasting Destruction

“The Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”

2 Thessalonians 1:8, 9

What is everlasting?  The destruction. This is the punishment, never existing again.

The wicked are destroyed forever (Psalm 92:7, Psalm 9:5)

“When the wicked spring up like grass,
And when all the workers of iniquity flourish,
It is that they may be destroyed forever.”

Psalm 92:7

Death and hell (grave) are destroyed!

“Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”

Revelation 20:14

Fire comes down from God when the resurrected lost try to surround the beloved city. This fire devours them. When something is consumed or devoured, there is nothing left.

“They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.”

Revelation 20:9

“For our God is a consuming fire.”

Hebrews 12:29

The Anti-Christ (lawless one) is destroyed when Christ returns by the brightness of the Lord’s coming.

“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”

2 Thessalonians 2:8

Wicked is burned up, reducing them to nothing

“For behold, the day is coming,
Burning like an oven,
And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.
And the day which is coming shall burn them up,
Says the Lord of hosts,
“That will leave them neither root nor branch.”

Malachi 4:1

Satan is burned to ashes and shall never be anymore

“You defiled your sanctuaries
By the multitude of your iniquities,
By the iniquity of your trading;
Therefore I brought fire from your midst;
It devoured you,
And I turned you to ashes upon the earth.
In the sight of all who saw you.”

All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you;
You have become a horror,
And shall be no more forever”

Ezekiel 28:18, 19

So, Scripture is clear: sin’s wages are death, not eternal life in burning flames.  There is a hell of fire, but it is a work of eternal destruction. Even Satan’s fate is total destruction.  God’s end-time plan will wipe the universe clean of sin and its results. There won’t be some special corner of the universe for people to suffer forever. 

Eternal life is given only to those who turn to Jesus and trust Him. Life eternal is given to those who know Him and not just about Him. It is all about Jesus.  He holds the keys to the grave and death:

I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold; I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

Revelation 1:18

Because we believe He can resurrect us and give us immortality, we have passed from death to life. I want to be part of the first resurrection, don’t you?

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

John 5:24

I often wondered why God wipes away all tears. The passage in Revelation 21: 4, Revelation 7:17, and Isaiah 25:8 are in the context of the end of time when all of God’s people arrive in heaven at the same time after the resurrection, as described in 1 Thess. 4:15-18

The saints will spend their first day in heaven wondering about a loved one who didn’t make it. Then they will understand from the Lord Himself that they were lost and will never be anymore. There will be tears in heaven, but Jesus will literally and symbolically wipe away the tears.  He will explain and show them the many opportunities given to them to receive eternal life as a free gift, but they refused it.

Then all the saints will bow, throw their crowns, and proclaim

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure, they are and were created.

Revelation 4:11

God is just! God is worthy! For this, he receives glory, honor, and power!

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The Truth About The Fate of The Lost

CONTEXT CONCLUSION-RICH MAN AND LAZARUS

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In our study regarding context, we have discovered that a “text without context is pretext.” When one verse is used to support a popular idea or doctrine without the preponderance of context, we can know we are on shaky ground. Context is on several levels:

1.) Lowest level: The passages surrounding the verse, the chapter, and the other writings of the author.

2.) Mid-level: Other writers of the Bible including the writers of the old testament.

3.) Highest level: Context of what has been revealed about God through His revealed character of love, mercy, and forgiveness.

The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus tests positive on all three levels. But, how can we know it is a parable? Is it a literal example of a rich man in torture who is able to communicate with the living about torture to give warning? Is that the purpose of the parable?

Characteristics of a Parable

1.) Often there is a trigger by the Pharisees or person that starts the parable. In the case of the Rich Man and Lazarus, the religious leaders had heard Jesus’ parables and were not happy about it. Luke records in 16:14 that they “loved money and derided Him” (turned up their noses at Jesus.). The parable has its context in the fact that the Pharisees loved luxury and also changed the law to fit their desires regarding divorce (Verse 18). The parable was directed at them as a group through the abstract story of one man and a theoretical situation. He used a popular story often taught by them to show that wealth, position, and lineage were a sign of their acceptance of God. The poor and sick were excluded in their mind and teaching. But, Jesus reversed the character’s positions in His story.

2.) The Rich Man and Lazarus are among a string of parables. In the book of Luke, it is twentieth of twenty-five parables in that chapter.

3.) Many of Jesus’ parables start with the phrase “there was a certain man” as does the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. A certain man can be specific or non-specific. Again. you can know by its context. Some parables do not start with an introduction as being a parable, but we can know by context.

4.) The point of the story is usually said specifically at the end of the parable. The point of the parable is “ ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets (aka Scripture), neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ Verse 31

5.) Mark 4:33, 34 clearly shows that Jesus’ lessons of the kingdom were almost always couched in parables:

“And with many such parables spake he the word unto them: as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake he not unto them; and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.”

What is a Parable and Its Purpose?

The Random House College Dictionary describes a parable as “a short, allegorical story designed to convey a truth or moral lesson.” Cruden’s Complete Concordance further expands this concept, saying  parables in the Bible were used “more generally than elsewhere.” We know that the Bible writers used situations both imaginary—as in the trees asking the bramble to be king over them (Judges 9:8-15)—and realistic in parables. Whatever form the parable took, it was only a vehicle for the moral lesson being taught.

Jesus recognized the value of parables in teaching the people. He desired to stimulate their deepest thought and contemplation, and He knew that if He spoke too literally, certain of His hearers would quickly forget His words. For some,  his speech sometimes contained stern rebuke.  No doubt he knew straight talk would anger them and they would attempt to silence Him by violence.  Jesus recalled the words of Isaiah 6:9 and told His disciples,

“Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.”

Luke 8:10.

Cruden’s Concordance explains: “Our Savior in the gospels often speaks to the people in parables. He made use of them to veil the truth from those who were not willing to see it. Those who really desired to know would not rest till they had found out the meaning.”

It is appropriate here to ask to whom Jesus was speaking in Luke 16:19-31. Which category of people was He dealing with? The last verse before Jesus begins tells us.

  “And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.” 

Luke 16: 14

Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, a class of men who were notorious all through the Gospels for their refusal to deal honestly with Him and the truths He taught.

We can be sure that of all the people Jesus taught, none were handled more guardedly than the wily Pharisees. They dealt in deception and subterfuge, but Jesus dealt with them wisely and truthfully. The safest way for Him to do this was by parable and allegory. Evidence that they did not understand many of His teachings can be found in Jesus’ prayer:

“I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hath revealed them unto babes.”

Luke 10:21

Examination of the Rich Man and Lazarus

Now we are ready to examine the story of the rich man and Lazarus itself, and try to ascertain the real message Jesus was seeking to convey through it.

“There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.”

Luke 16:19-21.

Who was the symbolic rich man? The Jews had been blessed above measure by a knowledge of God and his plan of salvation for all mankind. They had received

“the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises.”

Romans 9:4.

Only a Jew would pray to “Father Abraham,” as we find the rich man doing later in the story. The Jewish nation was clearly represented by this character.

By contrast, Lazarus symbolized all those people in spiritual poverty—the Gentiles—with whom the Israelites were to share their heritage. The words of Isaiah were well known to the Jews.

“I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.”

Isaiah 49:6.

Unfortunately, the Jews had not shared their spiritual wealth with the Gentiles at all. Instead, they considered them as “dogs” that would have to be satisfied with the spiritual crumbs falling from their masters’ tables. The metaphor was known. Jesus had used it before in testing the faith of the Canaanite woman.

“It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.” She responded accordingly: “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ tables.”

Matthew 15:26, 27.

The rich Jews had hoarded the truth, and in so doing, they had corrupted themselves. Only moments before relating this parable, Jesus had rebuked the Pharisees for their spiritual conceit.

And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

Luke 16:15.

What was to be the result of this terrible conceit?

22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

Luke 16:22-26

The Jews had enjoyed “the good life” while on earth but had done nothing to bless or enrich their neighbors. No further reward was due.

“But woe to you who are rich,
For you have received your consolation.
25 Woe to you who are full,
For you shall hunger.
Woe to you who laugh now,
For you shall mourn and weep.

Luke 6:24- 25.

Conversely, the poor in spirit, symbolized by Lazarus, would inherit the kingdom of heaven. The Gentiles who hungered and thirsted after righteousness would be filled. The “dogs” and sinners, so despised by the self-righteous Pharisees, would enter heaven before they would.

“Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.”

Matthew 21:31.

The parable concludes with the rich man begging for his brethren to be warned against sharing his fate. Asking Abraham to send Lazarus on this mission, he alleges

“if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.” Abraham replies,

Luke 16:30.

“If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”

Verse 31.

Jesus thus rebuked the Pharisees for their disregard of the Scriptures, foreseeing that even a supernatural event would not change the hearts of those who persistently rejected the teachings of “Moses and the prophets.”

The miracle of raising the real-life Lazarus from the dead soon afterward confirmed the accuracy of Jesus’ conclusion. One did rise from the dead, yet the brothers of the “rich man” did not repent. In fact, the Pharisees even plotted to kill Lazarus after his resurrection. His very life was a reminder to them of their own hypocrisy.

The Challenge of Taking the Parable Literally

Today many Christians believe that the story of the rich man and Lazarus is a historical account of two individuals’ literal experiences in the afterlife. Based on this belief, some people teach that those who are consigned to the fiery torments of hell will never stop burning throughout all eternity. As with the parable of the trees and the bramble (Judges 9:8-15), however, serious problems arise with a literal interpretation of the story elements.

Can we believe that all the saints are even now gathered in Abraham’s bosom? If they are, in whose bosom does Abraham rest? And if there is really a great gulf fixed between heaven and hell, how could the rich man possibly have been heard by Abraham? Perhaps more disturbing, how could the saints enjoy the comforts of heaven while enduring the cries of the wicked being tormented?

Another dilemma that arises with a literal interpretation of this story could be called “the mystery of the empty graves.” If this is taken literally, apparently neither of the two leading characters spent very long in the grave—both being whisked away rather quickly to their respective places of reward. Their bodies obviously came along, for we find the rich man lifting up his eyes, and desiring to have his tongue cooled by a drop of water from the finger of Lazarus who was resting, as we have seen, in Abraham’s bosom. Enough graves have been exhumed in recent years to know that the bodies of the deceased are carried neither to heaven or hell after burial. They finally turn to dust and await the resurrection.

From these few examples, we begin to see that in this parable, Jesus was not trying to explain the physical realities of the afterlife. Instead, He was referring to the unfaithfulness of the Jews regarding their assigned responsibility. As stewards of the special message of truth, they utterly failed to share it with the Gentiles, who were eager to hear it. In fact, the entire chapter of Luke 16 is devoted to the subject of stewardship.

Beginning in verse one, Christ gave another parable about stewardship of money or property.

“There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.”

After dealing with the principle of being entrusted with material goods, Jesus opened up the issue of being entrusted with the truth. By the parable of another rich man, He graphically illustrated how they had proven just as unfaithful with spiritual riches as the steward had been unfaithful with physical wealth.

To attempt to stretch the parable of the rich man and Lazarus to cover the doctrine of hellfire is to miss the point Jesus intended to convey. The Bible speaks with unmistakable clarity on the subject of hell in many other places. Nowhere do the Scriptures teach that the wicked will continue to suffer in the fires of hell through the ceaseless ages of eternity. Rather, they will be utterly destroyed. Jesus never would have compromised the integrity of the Holy Scriptures by teaching a doctrine contrary to its own overwhelming testimony on the subject.

The Truth About the Fate of the Lost

The truth about hell and the fate of the lost may be ascertained by examining even a few of the many Bible texts that speak directly on the subject. Before examining these, however, we must remember that

“the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life.”

Romans 6:23.

There are only two alternatives for every soul. Those who accept Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice will live forever; those who do not accept Jesus will die. If the wicked suffered without end, eternal life—however painful—would be theirs. But we know that eternal life is available only to those who accept Jesus.

Consider these clear texts of Scripture that speak of the reward of the wicked:

“But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.”

Psalm 37:20.

“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.”

Malachi 4:1.

“And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 4:3.

“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Matthew 10:28.

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

2 Peter 3:10.

“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Revelation 21:8.

Many other texts could be cited, but these clearly illustrate that the ultimate fate of the wicked is eternal death. Notice that the Scriptures choose the strongest possible words to describe the complete destruction of the wicked. In no way should these clear words be misunderstood by one who honestly desires to know the truth. There is a fire reserved for the wicked, but a fire so hot it will utterly destroy all who are engulfed by it. When the fire has done its work, it will go out. Eternally burning fire is not taught anywhere in the Bible—not even in the story of the rich man and Lazarus. (Some people have wondered what the expression “forever” means in the usage of Revelation 20:10. Other similar passages demonstrate this merely to mean as long as a person lives. See Exodus 21:6; 1 Samuel 1:22; Jonah 2:6, etc. Also, the expression “eternal fire” may be understood in terms of consequences rather than duration, as in the example of Sodom and Gomorrah in Jude 7).

It would be tragic to miss the actual point of the parable by removing it from the setting in which Jesus gave it. Let’s accept the lesson He was trying to teach and apply it to our own lives. Are we doing all we can to spread the message of salvation to others? Do we have a genuine love for those around us, and have we invited them to share our spiritual inheritance? If we hoard our riches, like the Jews of old, we will become self-righteous and corrupt. In contrast, by active, loving service, our relationship with Christ as well as with others will become stronger and more meaningful.

Let us not make scary stories the basis of our Christian experience. Instead, let us understand that

“God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16.

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Is Eternal Torture in the Nature of the God Described as Love?

After all of this, the pivotal question must be asked,

Do you know God enough to know that He is a God of mercy and not a God who tortures his creation for rejecting Jesus? …even though He  gave man the freedom to choose.

Choose this day whom you will follow.

Joshua 24:15

Sin comes with its own penalty….eternal and non-ending death. This is in itself mercy. The sinner gives in to the carnal nature and chooses a life of pleasurable sin and its ultimate penalty of death rather than a born-again life of service in Christ that brings satisfaction and real joy.  The rebel to God’s Spirit will one day cease to exist in the lake of fire.  They choose this world and its temporary pleasures rather than Jesus and His eternal riches of life and discovery.

It is not what your choose, but rather who.  If you choose Jesus, then eternal life is yours.  Will you choose Him today?

I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;

Deuteronomy 30:19