Hell
What influences us in our “Christian walk?” Influence comes
in the form of tradition, sermons, books and church life. We
read the Bible in light of what we have learned from these
influences and we look at scripture with already formed ideas
and doctrines. Why should we study the final destiny of man?
Hell has always been found in most religions as a place of
punishment and in most cases with eternal duration. The dark
and assumed meanings of hell have also found their way into
the English language. Expressions such as “you scared the
hell out of me” and “hell no” are used in conversation, but had
the speaker really thought of hell as a place where a family
member may spend eternity in torment – then could they use
the phrase so freely?
God does all things with purpose and in accordance with His
plan for all creation. What purpose is served if men are in hell
forever? Is that really justice? What is the difference between
torture and punishment? Punishment is used as a correction
mechanism on the transgressor while torture is for the
enjoyment of the offended. God does not torture His creation.
If the punishment of God never ends what is the purpose of
the offender?
I heard a minister on TV say he remembers when and why he
“got saved”. He said he got saved because he was scared of
going to hell. So for many people it is strictly the consequence
of sin that is the prime motivator to get saved. Love for or a
relationship with the God who saved him was never
mentioned. The fear of hell seems to have actually did the
saving rather than the blood of Christ.
THE WAGES OF SIN
Man is told by religion that although man was born pure and
perfect he broke God’s law becoming a child of the devil falling
from God’s blessing to His wrath. God, now angry at the man
He created in His image must remove him from His presence
to work out a method to meet the justice that the offense
demands. What is the requirement for the offense? Was it the
death of the Son of God? The idea also goes that Jesus offers
to step in and be the sacrifice to please the God of Wrath. God
accepts this substitution and places His anger on Jesus rather
than man. There is no Scripture that indicates that the death of
Christ was the satisfying incident that placated God’s wrath. It
was not God’s anger that removed man from the garden but
God in His love removed him so he can be brought back and
restored. Any view of that places the justice of God at the
forefront of redemption of man totally obscures His love.
Then why did Christ die? Christ died as our forerunner to save
us not from the penalty of sin but from sin itself. He did not die
to save us from death for we were already there (2 Cor. 5:14),
but He died to save us ‘out of’ death (Heb 5:7). Jesus died to
lift us up and out of death giving us life and immortality.
Because of traditional church teaching, many never
understand relationship with God because they are so busy
trying to keep their salvation. The sinner is not redeemed
because he repents but he is called to repent because he has
been redeemed.
Romans 6:23 declares the wages of sin is death but the gift of
God is eternal life. It does not say that the wages of sin is
eternal torment in an underworld. If the wage was eternal
torment the Jesus did not pay the penalty. Wage in this verse
is “opsonia” which means the reward paid to a soldier. It is
something earned because of an action and not a gift. Jesus
became the sin offering for all men (1 Tim 1:10) as He tasted
death for all men (Heb 2:9). The wage of sin or the penalty
owed is death not eternity in hell. Jesus succumbed to death
paying our penalty, so what are we to pay on a debt already
marked paid in full?
The Bible depicts a much more glorious God that what is
presented in traditional Christianity. What about Paul? Where
are his hell fire and eternal damnation messages? There are
none! He knew and understood the heart of God and knew the
principle of God at work in His redemptive plan. His knowledge
of God’s purpose, will, and character governed his
understanding of Scripture. He declared the whole counsel of
God and hell was not in it (Acts 20:27). The wages of sin has
always been death and not eternal punishment burning in a
lake of fire.
There are many in depth studies of the words translated hell in
the Bible and can easily be found on the Internet. The Old
Testament “Sheol” and the New Testament “Hades” all depict
a temporary place and means the grave occurring in this life
and it does end. The other word in the New Testament is
“Gehenna” and should be a proper noun – it is the name of a
place the valley of the sons of Hinnom which is a well known
place near Jerusalem (Josh 15:8, 2 Kings 17:10, 2 Chr 28:3).
The first writer to call Gehenna hell was Justin Martyr in
150AD. Remember, salvation is never said to be from Gehenna
but from death.
DOES PHYSICAL DEATH END
THE AVAILIBILITY OF GOD’S GRACE?
Is the mercy of God tied to our heartbeat? Is salvation
provided by God to man only as long as his body is alive? The
end of God’s grace would be the end of God Himself for His
grace is one of His immutable attributes. Paul says that God’s
grace will be displayed for the ages to come (Eph 2:7-8). The
purpose of this age is to display His grace in the coming ages.
Is it true that man is saved by grace and not of works? Grace is
the gift of a sovereign God then can God administer that gift of
grace whenever He chooses?
What happens when a man dies? Where in scripture does it
emphatically state that man goes to heaven when he dies? It
does state that when a man dies his body returns to dust and
the spirit returns to God who gave it. Some believe it is the
soul that goes to sheol or hades at death but I believe the soul
is the product of the union of the body at spirit, therefore, it
comes into existence when the body and spirit are united.
Genesis details the creation of man by stating that man
“became a living soul” when God breathed into his nostrils
imparting His spirit. (Gen 2:7, Gen 3:19, Ecc. 3:21, 12:7) What
happens to the spirit that goes back to God? Did it not know
God in the first place?
THE KEYS OF DEATH AND HELL
& THE PLACE JESUS PREACHED
Rev. 1:17-18 says that Jesus has the keys of death and hell.
Does not tradition say that satan has this ability to kill and send
to hell. This still presents a picture of fear and dread because
of a mistranslation of a single word. The correct phrase is
Jesus has the keys of hades and death which is death and the
grave. So, the satan does not have that power the church has
given him. Through the death of Christ, He took away the
power of death and the grave’s power of containment.
If we believe that the adversary is defeated, then how can we
also believe that he will ultimately and eternally possess a
larger number of humanity that God ever will? God, in all His
purposes is redemption and restoration. Even in the Lake of
Fire He is there.
What influences us in our “Christian walk?” Influence comes
in the form of tradition, sermons, books and church life. We
read the Bible in light of what we have learned from these
influences and we look at scripture with already formed ideas
and doctrines. Why should we study the final destiny of man?
Hell has always been found in most religions as a place of
punishment and in most cases with eternal duration. The dark
and assumed meanings of hell have also found their way into
the English language. Expressions such as “you scared the
hell out of me” and “hell no” are used in conversation, but had
the speaker really thought of hell as a place where a family
member may spend eternity in torment – then could they use
the phrase so freely?
God does all things with purpose and in accordance with His
plan for all creation. What purpose is served if men are in hell
forever? Is that really justice? What is the difference between
torture and punishment? Punishment is used as a correction
mechanism on the transgressor while torture is for the
enjoyment of the offended. God does not torture His creation.
If the punishment of God never ends what is the purpose of
the offender?
I heard a minister on TV say he remembers when and why he
“got saved”. He said he got saved because he was scared of
going to hell. So for many people it is strictly the consequence
of sin that is the prime motivator to get saved. Love for or a
relationship with the God who saved him was never
mentioned. The fear of hell seems to have actually did the
saving rather than the blood of Christ.
THE WAGES OF SIN
Man is told by religion that although man was born pure and
perfect he broke God’s law becoming a child of the devil falling
from God’s blessing to His wrath. God, now angry at the man
He created in His image must remove him from His presence
to work out a method to meet the justice that the offense
demands. What is the requirement for the offense? Was it the
death of the Son of God? The idea also goes that Jesus offers
to step in and be the sacrifice to please the God of Wrath. God
accepts this substitution and places His anger on Jesus rather
than man. There is no Scripture that indicates that the death of
Christ was the satisfying incident that placated God’s wrath. It
was not God’s anger that removed man from the garden but
God in His love removed him so he can be brought back and
restored. Any view of that places the justice of God at the
forefront of redemption of man totally obscures His love.
Then why did Christ die? Christ died as our forerunner to save
us not from the penalty of sin but from sin itself. He did not die
to save us from death for we were already there (2 Cor. 5:14),
but He died to save us ‘out of’ death (Heb 5:7). Jesus died to
lift us up and out of death giving us life and immortality.
Because of traditional church teaching, many never
understand relationship with God because they are so busy
trying to keep their salvation. The sinner is not redeemed
because he repents but he is called to repent because he has
been redeemed.
Romans 6:23 declares the wages of sin is death but the gift of
God is eternal life. It does not say that the wages of sin is
eternal torment in an underworld. If the wage was eternal
torment the Jesus did not pay the penalty. Wage in this verse
is “opsonia” which means the reward paid to a soldier. It is
something earned because of an action and not a gift. Jesus
became the sin offering for all men (1 Tim 1:10) as He tasted
death for all men (Heb 2:9). The wage of sin or the penalty
owed is death not eternity in hell. Jesus succumbed to death
paying our penalty, so what are we to pay on a debt already
marked paid in full?
The Bible depicts a much more glorious God that what is
presented in traditional Christianity. What about Paul? Where
are his hell fire and eternal damnation messages? There are
none! He knew and understood the heart of God and knew the
principle of God at work in His redemptive plan. His knowledge
of God’s purpose, will, and character governed his
understanding of Scripture. He declared the whole counsel of
God and hell was not in it (Acts 20:27). The wages of sin has
always been death and not eternal punishment burning in a
lake of fire.
There are many in depth studies of the words translated hell in
the Bible and can easily be found on the Internet. The Old
Testament “Sheol” and the New Testament “Hades” all depict
a temporary place and means the grave occurring in this life
and it does end. The other word in the New Testament is
“Gehenna” and should be a proper noun – it is the name of a
place the valley of the sons of Hinnom which is a well known
place near Jerusalem (Josh 15:8, 2 Kings 17:10, 2 Chr 28:3).
The first writer to call Gehenna hell was Justin Martyr in
150AD. Remember, salvation is never said to be from Gehenna
but from death.
DOES PHYSICAL DEATH END
THE AVAILIBILITY OF GOD’S GRACE?
Is the mercy of God tied to our heartbeat? Is salvation
provided by God to man only as long as his body is alive? The
end of God’s grace would be the end of God Himself for His
grace is one of His immutable attributes. Paul says that God’s
grace will be displayed for the ages to come (Eph 2:7-8). The
purpose of this age is to display His grace in the coming ages.
Is it true that man is saved by grace and not of works? Grace is
the gift of a sovereign God then can God administer that gift of
grace whenever He chooses?
What happens when a man dies? Where in scripture does it
emphatically state that man goes to heaven when he dies? It
does state that when a man dies his body returns to dust and
the spirit returns to God who gave it. Some believe it is the
soul that goes to sheol or hades at death but I believe the soul
is the product of the union of the body at spirit, therefore, it
comes into existence when the body and spirit are united.
Genesis details the creation of man by stating that man
“became a living soul” when God breathed into his nostrils
imparting His spirit. (Gen 2:7, Gen 3:19, Ecc. 3:21, 12:7) What
happens to the spirit that goes back to God? Did it not know
God in the first place?
THE KEYS OF DEATH AND HELL
& THE PLACE JESUS PREACHED
Rev. 1:17-18 says that Jesus has the keys of death and hell.
Does not tradition say that satan has this ability to kill and send
to hell. This still presents a picture of fear and dread because
of a mistranslation of a single word. The correct phrase is
Jesus has the keys of hades and death which is death and the
grave. So, the satan does not have that power the church has
given him. Through the death of Christ, He took away the
power of death and the grave’s power of containment.
If we believe that the adversary is defeated, then how can we
also believe that he will ultimately and eternally possess a
larger number of humanity that God ever will? God, in all His
purposes is redemption and restoration. Even in the Lake of
Fire He is there.
| A DIVINE INTENTION The Gospel Without Limits By Michael Clegg HELL |
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