{"id":404,"date":"2018-02-18T21:27:11","date_gmt":"2018-02-18T21:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publications.cog7.org\/?page_id=404"},"modified":"2022-01-03T20:53:57","modified_gmt":"2022-01-03T20:53:57","slug":"will-god-punish-wicked-forever","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/publications.cog7engage.net\/tracts-books\/tracts\/the-future\/will-god-punish-wicked-forever\/","title":{"rendered":"Will God Punish the Wicked Forever?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Many Christians believe that a person who dies without Jesus Christ goes to hell at the moment of death to suffer eternally in the fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. An almost indescribable heaviness must be in the minds and hearts of those who believe that their loved ones who did not know the Lord are undergoing the torments of eternal hellfire. This drastic doctrine might offer incentive for a few sinners to seek the Lord, but it has probably turned more people away from God and the Lord Jesus Christ than it has attracted.<\/p>\n

The real issue about this doctrine, however, is not how it impacts those who hear it but whether it accurately reflects Holy Scripture. This tract will examine verses often used to support the belief of an everlasting hell, while providing alternative explanations to prove that the suffering of destruction is for a limited period of time. When someone dies without Christ, his or her family may receive some consolation in knowing that the punishment, according to Scripture, lasts only a short time and then ends in eternal nothingness.<\/p>\n

The following are three biblical reasons that the fate of sinners will not involve endless agony in a burning hell.<\/p>\n

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  1. The belief of eternal torment is incompatible with the overwhelming testimony of Scripture that God is love.<\/li>\n
  2. The few Bible texts that suggest the idea of eternal torment may be understood in ways that do not oppose the idea of a loving God.<\/li>\n
  3. Many Bible texts picture the fate of the wicked and unbelievers as having its end in total destruction and eternal death.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    A loving God<\/h3>\n

    The belief in eternal torment stands in stark contrast to the fuller and brighter portrait of God painted in the Bible:<\/p>\n

    But you, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth (Psalm 86:15<\/a>; see also\u00a0Exodus 34:6<\/a>,\u00a07<\/a>);<\/p>\n

    The Lord is very compassionate and merciful (James 5:11<\/a>);<\/p>\n

    God is love (1 John 4:8<\/a>,\u00a016<\/a>); and<\/p>\n

    His mercy endures forever (Psalm 136; all 26 verses of this psalm end with the same joyous declaration that the mercy of God, not His anger, never ends). As David also sings, \u201cFor His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life\u201d (Psalm 30:5<\/a>).<\/p>\n

    Many more plain statements of Scripture like these picture God as merciful, loving, kind, good, gentle, and just. God loves all His creatures, and His holiness ensures that He will do what is equitable and right by them, even in exercising His wrath by punishment.<\/p>\n

    God\u2019s nature of love, mercy, and justice does not nullify His promise of punishment for sin: \u201cThough they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished\u201d (Proverbs 11:21<\/a>). And\u00a0Romans 6:23<\/a>\u00a0says, \u201cThe wages of sin is death.\u201d The final judgment of sinners will result in their death and destruction. Indeed, it may be seen as an expression of love that God will give the wicked the freedom from God they have always wanted. He will not forever allow the evildoer to continue wreaking havoc among His redeemed creatures or in His restored creation.<\/p>\n

    The belief of eternal torment assigns to God attitudes and actions that can never truly be described as loving, merciful, or just. It says that our gracious, long-suffering God has planned the horrific anguish of human beings for ages without end.<\/p>\n

    To plan the perpetual suffering of others is neither love nor mercy. To condemn any person to infinite punishment for finite sins is not justice.<\/p>\n

    Considering the big picture of God in Scripture, it is illogical and impossible to endorse the idea of eternal torment for anyone. Beyond this, it is unnecessary to do so from any single Bible text. Those passages often quoted to support the teaching of an eternal hell may easily be understood in a different sense.<\/p>\n

    Better explanations<\/h3>\n

    Proponents of eternal torment often give a handful of Bible verses to support their convictions. But is the meaning given for these verses the proper one? Is there a better interpretation that harmonizes with God\u2019s character of mercy and justice, while not violating the context or the content of these passages?<\/p>\n