Eternal Punishment

INTRODUCTION:

Many want to accept the reality of eternal bliss and reward for the righteous, but do not wan to accept the reality of an eternal punishment for the wicked. Hell is real. Many in the religious world teach that an eternal punishment is not befitting a loving and merciful God. They forget that while it is true that God is a loving God, He is also a God of justice? Sin demands punishment. Many others who profess to believe there is a place of eternal punishment called hell, they live as of they do not believe it is a reality.

THE WORD “HELL:”

There is some confusion on this subject because there are three Hebrew and Greek words translated with the word “hell” in many English Bibles include-ing the “tried and true KJV.” Let us look at these words to help clear this confusion.

A. SHEOL - HADES:

1. Sheol - Hebrew word meaning “the grave.”

2. Hades - Greek word that means both the grave and the abode of the spirits between death and the judgment. It came more to symbolize the realm of the spirits after death.

B. Both sheol and hades are translated as the word hell in both the Old and the New Testaments.

1. It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know (Job 11:8).

Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them (Ps. 55:15).

And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it (Isa. 28:18).

2. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom (Lk. 16:23).

He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption (Acts 2:31).

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death (Rev. 20:14

Hades is the abode of the spirits (souls) of the dead between dead and the judgment. Paradise (abode of the spirits of the righteous) and torment (abode of the spirits of the wicked) are both spoken of as being in the Hadean world (Luke 16).

C. Tartarus - is the second world that is translated “hell” in the KJV Bible.

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; (2 Pet. 2:4). (Rev. 20:10).

D. Gehenna - is the third word translated “hell” in the English Bible. It is this third word “Gehenna” that relates to the subject of eternal punishment. I will consider this word and the scriptures that relate to it in the reminder of this lesson.

A. The reality of eternal punishment presupposes the fact of the resurrection because contrary to “hades which is the abode of the spirit, both the body and the soul will be in hell - Gehenna.

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 (Matt. 10:28, cf Lk. 12:5).

And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell (Matt. 5:29)

There are several other scriptures that speak of eternal punishment that do not contain the word - Gehenna. These scriptures tell us more about the characteristics of hell.

Mark 9:48 speaks of it as a place where “the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched.”

Rev. 14:10, 19:20, 20:20, 21:8 speaks of this place as a place of “fire and brimstone.”

Matt. 25:30 place of outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

a. Some teach it will be a temporary place of punishment that will end in the conversion of all the wicked

b. Other teach it will be temporary - but at the end all the wicked will be annihilated.

2 Thess. 1:7-9 - These will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of God and his glory.