Is Eternal Suffering Real? Part I

Is Eternal Suffering Real?

Well there are many schools of thought on this, and many of them are claimed to be Biblical. So what is the answer? Well let’s start by defining what we mean by Hell. There are several words translated as Hell in the KJV, and they essentially reference two different places. First let me say that we are looking at the notion that there will be those who will suffer the ravages of Hell eternally after the end of days; this is called the lake of fire. Now let’s clear up a couple of definitions of Hell.

(1) Sheol

Sheol Strong’s Hebrew #7585: Most often in the Old Testament the word Hell is translated from the Hebrew word Sheol, which is also called the pit, or the grave. The Greek New Testament equivalent to this is Hades see Strong’s Greek #86, and for an example of this usage see Revelation 1:18. Sheol is not the Hell that we are asking about, but we will go ahead and take a Biblical look at what this place is like, and whom it is for. Knowing the difference between the two will actually help us recognize false teachings that purposely mix the two places in order to give a false representation of one or both. First let me begin by saying: if you are wondering why we would give multiple verses that say essentially the same thing, keep in mind that by the mouth of two or three witnesses a thing is established (witness #1: Moses Deuteronomy 19:15, #2 Jesus Matthew 18:16, #3 Paul II Corinthians 13:1), meaning that when two different authors say essentially the same thing, the thing is not open for debate, it is established. Just because a truth is only written once, does not mean that it is not true, but if it is written multiple times, there is a much stronger case for its doctrinal weight. This rule of two or three witnesses is used in court for old Testament cases, so that accusations against someone can be proven. But, for the sake of disqualifying certain erroneous interpretations of Scripture, we will be counting Scriptural witnesses today. Each author will be counted as a singular witness, but each individual Psalm will be counted as an individual witness, since different authors wrote different Psalms. Giving multiple Scriptural witnesses weakens and sometimes destroys the arguments against the existence and true nature of Hell. Another reason for making note of multiple passages is because some people, even some Christians, and many Jews, believe that unless God Himself spoke a word concerning something, it is not inspired, and can therefore not be taken as hard doctrine. Finding things spoken by God, or not originally spoken by God, but later endorsed by Jesus adds much more weight to their significance in some people’s eyes.

(2) Facts About Sheol

(2-1) Sheol is below us, witness #1 Proverbs 15:24, #2 Isaiah 14:15, #3 Ezekiel 31:16-17, 32:21 & 27, #4 Amos 9:2, #5 Matthew 11:23, #6 Luke 10:15.

(2-2) Sheol has various layers, #1 Deuteronomy 32:21-22, #2 Psalm 86:13.

(2-3) Some verses seem to imply that Sheol is an actual being, #1 Job 26:6, #2 Isaiah 5:14, 14:9, 28:15, which would likely be the king of the bottomless pit mentioned in Revelation 9:11.

(2-4) Sheol is for the wicked, #1 Psalm 9:17, #2 55:15.

(2-5) The Messiah would spend a time there, #1 Psalm 16:10, #2 Acts 2:27-31, #3 I Peter 3:18-20.

(2-6) Sheol is associated with sorrow and pain, #1 II Samuel 22:6, #2 Psalm 18:5, #3 116:3, #4 Luke 16:23.

(2-7) The strange woman [the harlot, who represents idolatry, which is spiritual adultery] leads to Sheol, Proverbs 5:3-5, 7:5-27, 9:11-18.

(2-8) Physical correction (done properly; not in anger, but in love) will deliver a child from Sheol, Proverbs 23:13-14.

(2-9) Sheol is never full, Proverbs 27:20.

(2-10) Sheol has desire, which may be used to further solidify the notion that it is an actual being as well as a place, Habakkuk 2:5.

(2-11) Sheol/Hades has a gate, Matthew 16:18, that requires keys to open, Revelation 1:18.

(2-12) The gates of Hades will war against Jesus’ church, but will not succeed, Matthew 16:18.

(2-13) Hades will give up the dead in it, also possibly showing it’s personal nature, Revelation 20:13.

(2-14) death and Hades will both be cast into the lake of fire, possibly showing that they are beings, and definitely showing that the lake of fire is a real and separate place, where the occupants of Sheol/Hades will eventually be thrown, Revelation 20:14.

I would now like to take a special look at the book of Jonah, because a passage from this book is erroneously used to prove that Hell is not a literal place. Jonah 2:2, “And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell [Sheol] cried I, and thou heardest my voice.” The argument is that Jonah was literally in the belly of the whale, so describing it as Sheol somehow proves that it is not a literal place, but rather a figurative one. There are several reasons that this is a flawed interpretation. A. The multiple witnesses (including Christ) previously seen already establish the reality of Sheol. B. We have already seen that Sheol is below us, so the fact that Jonah was in the great deep makes it clear why he chose this word picture. See also verse 2:6 “I went down to the bottoms of the mountains”. C. Jonah was likely using poetic license in his description of his situation as evidenced by his statement in verse 2:6 “the bars of the earth were about me for ever”. To my knowledge these “bars of the earth” are a figuratively poetic statement, which serves to give credence to the notion that Joel was simply using poetic license. And also consider the possibility that Jonah was given a literal spiritual vision in which he visited Hell. There is no description of this in the book, but that does not mean that it couldn’t have happened. When he said he cried from the belly of Sheol, this could have been a subtle clue that perhaps Jonah received a vision of this place. After all, he was called to preach to sinners that were actually going to repent and be saved from this fate, so God may have given him a vision of the place that those people were otherwise going to occupy, since Jonah had refused to preach to them out of hatred for them based on their past actions.

As we will soon see, Jesus’ own words concerning the Lake of Fire, are pointed and literal. Also remember that Sheol and the lake of fire are two separate places, so using Jonah’s words concerning Sheol to disprove the eternality of the suffering in the Lake of Fire, is either uneducated, or else it is dishonest depending on the knowledge held by the one suggesting that this verse disproves eternal suffering. The word translated as bars is Strong’s Hebrew #1280, which means bars of wood, or of city gates; [see (2-11) & (2-12)]. This word can also be used to refer to the bars of: tribulation, a fortress, or of the earth as a prison. The poetic license, as well as the reason for choosing the word Sheol to describe his situation, should be pretty clear; Jonah was likening his experience to the intense sorrow of Sheol.

(3) Gehenna

Ge’enna (or Gehenna) Strong’s Greek #1067: The Greek word Gehenna is translated as Hell on many occasions, and it refers to the Lake of Fire. The term Lake of fire does also appear. This Gehenna is the eternal punishment that we are questioning the existence of.

(4) Facts About Gehenna

(4-1) A person who says to another “Thou fool” is in danger of Gehenna, Matthew 5:22.

(4-2) It is better to cut off a member of your body that offends you, rather than be thrown into Gehenna with your body in tact, witness #1 Matthew 5:29-30, 18:9, #2 Mark 9:43-47. I should point out that this passage requires some major study of it’s own, and I do not recommend, nor do I believe that Jesus is recommending that you actually mutilate yourself to avoid Hell. I also personally believe that Jesus is referring to the body of believers, and a “member that offends” meaning those people who sin openly, with no repentance, who need to be kicked out, or “given over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit might live” as described in I Corinthians 5:1-8. And looking at the letters to the seven churches from Revelation 3-4 we can see that it is the responsibility of a body of believers to remove such that offend, and that the body is punished for not taking action, even though they did not commit the sin in question. Revelation 2:14 “But I have a few things against thee (the church at Pergamum), because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” The whole church was going to be punished because it allowed people with this false doctrine to remain among them, even though the whole church wasn’t given over to it.

(4-3) We are not to fear him that can kill the body, but we are to fear Him [God] that can destroy the body and the soul in Gehenna, #1 Matthew 10:28, #2 Luke 12:5.

(4-4) Gehenna is a place of fire that shall never be quenched, Mark 9:43-45. Why would this fire never be quenched if all who are thrown into it will be snuffed out immediately, as temporal punishment would suggest? [It is possible that this fire burns for those who would disobey after eternity begins, since Revelation 22:14-15 seems to indicate that rebellion will still be present after the new beginning, meaning that this lake would then still serve a purpose. This possibility is supported by the fact that in Revelation 22:14-15 Jesus describes those who have right to the Tree of Life, and who freely enter into New Jerusalem; this is followed by the phrase “for without, are dogs, and sorcerers, …” etc. possibly implying that rebellion still exists outside of the city gates. However the word “without” may not mean “outside of the city”, but rather those “without the right to the Tree of Life”. A deeper study needs to be done on this passage to see if a more definitive answer can be found.] And, why would He say in Mark 9:44 that “their worm dieth not” if their punishment is temporary? (Also stated in Isaiah 66:24)

(5) Facts About the Lake of Fire

Now let’s look at passages that describe the lake of fire, which do not use the Greek word Gehenna.

(5-1) The fire of this lake is everlasting, Witness #1 Matthew 25:41, #2 II Thessalonians 1:8-9, #3 Revelation 14:11.

(5-2) It was prepared for the devil and his angels, Matthew 25:41 (i.e. it was not created for us, also God is not willing that any should perish, but that all have eternal life, nor does he take any pleasure in the destruction of the wicked, see II Peter 3:9 and Ezekiel 33:11). This passage goes on to say in verse 46 that those who saw the hungry and did not feed them, thirsty and did not give them drink, etc, will “go away into everlasting punishment”, which is pretty hard to debate around, that sounds like eternal punishment to me, and it was said by Jesus Himself.

(5-3) The beast and the false prophet are the first occupants of the lake of fire to be mentioned, Revelation 19:20.

(5-4) The lake burns with fire and brimstone, Revelation 19:20, 21:8.

(5-5) The devil will be thrown into the lake of fire after spending 1,000 years in Sheol/Hades followed by a brief period loosed upon the earth, Revelation 20:1-10.

(5-6) The devil, the Beast and the false prophet will be cast into the lake of fire and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever, Revelation 20:10; (Here we learn that these specific occupants will be tormented constantly for ever, but human occupants are not mentioned here. So for strength of argument we cannot stop here as if the eternal suffering for these specifically named occupants is a shared fate for all who inherit the lake of fire).

(5-7) The lake of fire is also called the second death, Revelation 20:14.

(5-8) Those whose names are not written in the book of life will end up in the lake of fire, Revelation 20:15.

(5-9) The fearful [Presumably Christians who renounce their faith due to persecutions], the unbelieving, the abominable, and murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire, Revelation 21:8.