“Eschatology: The Destiny of the Unsaved”
Reconciling a good, loving God with the idea of eternal punishment is one of the most difficult things I have had to do in my Christian life. How can a God who loves us enough to shed His own blood for us then, at the end of our lives, send some of us away from Him to be punished forever?
There are some different theories about what happens to us after we die. Eternal punishment is the idea that sin must be punished and those who have not received the gift of salvation will be punished forever for their sins. Annihilationism is the idea that, rather than eternal punishment, some souls will simply cease to exist. There are three main forms of this. The first says that all human beings simply cease to exist at death. The second says that God imparts immorality to the redeemed human beings and allows the rest of humankind to cease to exist at death. The third says that humankind is immortal and fulfills its destiny in salvation. In this third form of annihilationism, reprobates cease to exist, either by a direct act of God or by the corrosive effect of evil. Universalism claims that all will be saved.
The Bible uses some different words when referring to a place of torment. Sheol is the word used in the Hebrew texts to describe a place where all souls go after death. Hades is the Greek equivalent. Sheol is a much broader word referring simply to the place where souls go upon death. Hades narrows the concept somewhat and separates death from a place of punishment. Gehenna refers to a valley southwest of Jerusalem. This valley was a place of pagan worship and human sacrifice. These associations led to gehenna being used metaphorically for the place of everlasting punishment for the wicked. Sheol and hades seem to refer to a place where all souls go while awaiting their final judgment. Gehenna seems to refer to the eternal place of torment for all souls that are not saved. Genenna best corresponds to the traditional understanding of this place of eternal judgment.
While I do believe that God is amazingly merciful and wonderfully loving and gracious beyond anything we could ever understand, I do believe in eternal punishment for those who do not accept His gift of salvation while they are living on this Earth. Matthew 25:46 is very clear that there are two places where souls will spend eternity. The righteous will live eternally, while those who do not live for God will go to everlasting punishment. Jesus talks about eternal punishment in Mark 9:43 and Luke 3:17 as well.
Universalists would say that God desires for all to be saved. I cannot argue with this. God does desire for every man, woman and child to be saved. However, God offers us a choice and our decision makes a difference for us for all eternity. Those who believe in one of the versions of annihilationism would say that God could not send a person to eternal punishment, but would rather cause these people who do not choose Him to pass from existence. The Bible is clear that the wicked will receive punishment after death.
There is a loving God. There is a place of eternal punishment. I do not, however, believe that God sends anyone to this place of punishment. I believe this choice is purely ours. He has offered such an amazing gift and desires for each of us to accept it. However, if we do not, we are choosing to live a life without God. We also choose an eternity without God. I believe that the references to fire and burning could possibly refer to a burning within the heart. I believe the torment could be knowing for all time that God is really real, really gracious, really merciful, and having made the wrong choice. Living with the knowledge that there is no more room to choose for all eternity would be torment of the greatest magnitude. I do not believe that it really matters if hell is a literal lake of fire or if it more closely resembles my theory. It is a place of eternal torment. It is a place of separation from God for all eternity. God’s desire is that everyone would know Him. He does not desire that any should be lost. This drives my need to reach out to people. A loving God has offered every person the opportunity to know Him, to relate to Him, to be held safely in His arms forever. To choose otherwise in this life means never knowing the touch of a loving God and spending eternity knowing the wrong choice was made.
Word count: # 788
Bibliography
Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. 2nd ed.
