Post by pitbull on Feb 17, 2007 7:00:12 GMT -5
HELL UNDER FIRE
Distributed by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Copyright 2001.
These articles cannot be stored on BBS or Internet sites or sold or placed by themselves or with other material in any electronic format for sale, but may be distributed for free by e-mail or by print. They must be left intact and nothing removed or changed, including these informational headers. This is a listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. Our goal in this particular aspect of our ministry is not devotional but is TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR.
March 21, 1997 (Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org) - The following article by Robert D. Vincent is from Frontline magazine, Volume 6, Number 5, 1996. (200 N. Roselle Rd., Schaumburg, IL 60194). Copyright 1996; used by permission.
I was astonished when the preacher announced the text for the morning sermon and began to introduce his text for the morning sermon and began to introduce his message. A whole sermon on eternal punishment!? I had not heard an entire message on Hell since I was a child! And even then the message had been presented on film and not by our pastor! After nearly thirty years of attending well-grounded, Fundamental churches in six different states, I could not remember ever having heard a sermon on the doctrine of eternal punishment that focused on explaining the Scriptural language about the nature and duration of Hell.
I soon learned that my experience was not unique. Others had recognized the beginnings of a much larger national trend that they were labeling the "disappearance of Hell" (Martin E. Marty, "Hell Disappeared. No One Noticed. A Civic Argument," Harvard Theological Review, 78:3-4 [1985], pp. 395-396). Historians were noticing what had been nearly imperceptible to much of American Christianity -- namely, that THE TRADITIONAL, BIBLICAL PICTURE OF A HELL WITH UNENDING PUNISHMENTS WAS GRADUALLY DISAPPEARING FROM AMERICAN RELIGION. Few seemed to notice -- and even fewer seemed to care.
On the surface, American society has little fear of the torments of Hell. Underneath the surface a more startling fact appears: THE TRADITIONAL BELIEF IN HELL'S PUNISHMENTS IS DISAPPEARING FROM WITHIN THE RANKS OF THOSE WHO PROFESS TO DECLARE BIBLICAL TRUTH. Over the last century and a half, the teaching of endless punishment has evolved into a doctrinal albatross for many evangelicals.
Hell is a difficult subject to fathom and an uncomfortable one to consider, but it deserves and demands meticulous scrutiny. Who could actually enjoy repeating the sobering, unthinkable language of our Lord about the awful eternal destiny awaiting some of His created people? As a result, many have avoided deliberate study of the nature and duration of Hell. The language of Hell is considered too harsh, too peculiar and utterly unlike a God of love. Still others have reverted to a sort of reverent agnosticism about the particulars that Scripture does provide, declining to reaffirm some of the simplest details specified in the Biblical text.
THE DIMINISHING OF HELL
By retreating from the doctrine of everlasting punishment instead of embracing it as the certified teaching of our Lord, evangelicals have ceded the high ground and left the historical position open to unprecedented assault. Moreover, much of the assault is mutinous, generating from within professed evangelical ranks. In contemporary evangelical circles, the traditional view of endless punishment is being supplanted in two primary ways: by omission and by moderation.
OMISSION. By a seemingly harmless omission of the doctrine of everlasting punishment from the whole counsel of God and by a failure to reiterate Christ's teaching on Hell, some have unwittingly hastened the doctrine's demise. The conscious omission of a doctrine is tantamount to a denial of it, especially in the face of challenge. Simply by neglecting to articulate the Scripture's teaching on Hell for their generation, many have fostered a tolerance for unbiblical views about Hell. Though not forcibly suppressing the doctrine or skillfully redefining it, they 'have achieved a similar result by simply ignoring it.
Opponents of the traditional Biblical view are quick to detect any hesitation or discomfort on our part. Squirming, nervous, tentative statements about Hell only validate their contention that a kinder, gentler, less offensive view is needed.
MODERATION. The doctrine of Hell is moderated when it is toned down or generally redefined in less severe terms than those used by Christ. Many efforts to moderate the traditional view are afoot. [For a brief overview of the contemporary debate and for helpful bibliographic information, see William Crockett, ed., Four Views on Hell, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.]. Due to the general reluctance to contend for this doctrine, the moderating efforts have gained remarkable momentum. Here are some of the popular theological explanations that contradict the Biblical view of a Hell with literal physical torments that last forever.
UNIVERSALISM contends that an endless Hell is inconsistent with the character of God and will not be necessary. A God of love will not allow any to perish unendingly. Instead, Cod will bring all men to repentance either without Hell or by means of a purgatory-like Hell. Universalism has a broad appeal because of the positive nature of its message: everybody wins. [Millard J. Erickson, "Is Universalistic Thinking Now Appearing among Evangelicals?" United Evangelical Action, Sept./Oct. 1989, pp. 4-6. Erickson is not a universalist. He identifies the growing problem.]
CONDITIONALISM holds that a believer receives immortality at salvation. The wicked, however, remain mortal and thus are either extinguished at death or annihilated in Hell. [Within conditionalism two primary groups have emerged. Some insist that the wicked suffer prolonged punishment in Hell prior to being annihilated. Others believe the wicked are annihilated almost immediately after they are judged at the end of the age.] The popular attractiveness of this view is that it initially appears to be much closer to the Biblical view than universalism. Straddling between the traditional view and universalism, conditionalism seeks to supplant them both as the solution for those who recognize the Scriptural deficiencies of universalism but who find endless punishment too distasteful. Conditionalism and universalism have the same goal: both desire an eschatological universe completely free of sinners. They differ only in how to get there. Universalism saves everybody. Conditionalism annihilates the unsaved.
SYMBOLISM is probably the shortest step away from actually reaffirming Christ's teaching on Hell, but it is a step away. This view agrees that Hell's torments are everlasting and conscious but hedges on the nature of the punishments. It insists that we understand Christ's words, not literally, but metaphorically. The thinking, for example, runs something like this: "'Fire' probably does not mean real fire. Whatever it means, it is probably something far worse, but thankfully we do not have to say what it is."
BROADENING THE WAY, another way to moderate Hell, or diminish its fearfulness, is to tamper with other doctrines, such as salvation. Roman Catholicism expands its Heaven to include a purgatory so those who die unprepared for Heaven might have a chance to get ready. Some evangelical preachers have stooped to devise a similar strategy. Instead of weakening Hell, they have cheapened Heaven by deceiving many into believing that they need no longer fear Hell even though they have never genuinely obeyed Christ's call. Churches are filled with professing Christians who have never sounded the depths of their own sinfulness or meditated on the fearful alienation from God awaiting the unrepentant. No wonder the fear of Hell is nearly absent from our churches. Few seem even to be aware of the danger they claim to have avoided.
A MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY
Hell is under fire. As possessors of Biblical truth we must rally to Biblical doctrine and tolerate no further regression. Especially in light of the current debate and the widespread surrender of Biblical terminology, we must maintain doctrinal ground through clear, precise and compassionate articulation of the truth about endless, conscious punishment. We must contend for the doctrine of Hell by asserting exactly what the Bible clearly affirms--neither going beyond nor stopping short of the wording of Scripture. Only this will authenticate our beliefs as originating from the Biblical text and reaffirm that the Christian church and its pastors are not the authors of the doctrine.
Here are several vital Scriptural facts that will aid you in the task of accurately defining and contending for the Biblical doctrine of Hell.
THE TERMS ARE VIVID AND SPECIFIC.
The first need is to gain an accurate understanding of the terms Scripture uses when referring to the destination of the unrepentant wicked: Sheol, Hades and Gehenna.
THE OLD TESTAMENT REVELATION CONTAINED SUFFICIENT WARNING ABOUT HELL.
The Old Testament unmistakably announced the existence of life after death, specifically regarding the end of the wicked. When the rich man in Hades requested Abraham to "send [Lazarus] to my father's house: for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment," Abraham responded, "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them" (Luke 16:27-29; cf. Isa. 66:24; Dan. 12:2).
CHRIST HIMSELF ADVANCES THE TEACHING OF HELL.
The New Testament affirms the Old Testament teaching and advances it primarily through the teaching of Christ. The majority of references to Hades or Gehenna (15 out of 23) come from the lips of Christ.
HADES REPRESENTS CONSCIOUS TORMENT.
The rich man's body was in the grave and decomposing while his soul was suffering torments that he described using physical terms (Luke 16:22-24). The illustration of the rich man demonstrates that the disembodied souls in Hades can see, feel, speak, hear, recognize, cry for mercy, remember and exhibit concern for others, yet they are unable to escape to help themselves or others. The rich man's awareness of suffering indicates that the immaterial soul is capable of sensing torment.
GEHENNA INVOLVES A PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT.
The bodies and souls of the wicked are cast together into Gehenna after the final judgment before the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:10-15): "And death [the bodies in the grave] and hell [the souls in Hades] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death" (Rev. 20:14).
GEHENNA'S FIRE WILL BE NOTHING LESS THAN A LITERAL, PHYSICAL FIRE.
Though Gehenna's torments may also compare to the nonphysical torments of Hades, Gehenna's fire will be nothing less than a literal, physical fire. Christ warns that it would be better to have one hand, one foot or one eye and escape Gehenna than to be physically whole and enter it (Mark 9:43-48).
THE DURATION OF GEHENNA IS EVERLASTING.
Gehenna is the eternal Lake of Fire (cf. Matt. 18:8, 9; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 14:11; 19:2,3). Those who worship the Beast (Rev. 14:11) and the Great sleeper (Rev. 19:3) will endure the Lake of Fire forever and ever. Those unbelievers consigned to the Lake of Fire following the Tribulation will remain there at least through the ten centuries of the Millennium prior to the final judgment. After the judgment, the tribulation unbelievers will be joined by the unbelievers who died before them (Rev. 20:13-15). Satan, the Beast and the False Prophet will also be in the Lake of Fire "forever and ever" (Rev. 20:10). Matthew refers to the fire as "unquenchable" (3:12) and "everlasting" (aion, 18:8, 9). When describing the judgment of nations that occurs before the Millennium, Christ described the punishment in identical fashion (Matt. 25:46). [For a thorough treatment of this aspect, see Robert A. Morrey's Death and the Afterlife (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1984) and Robert A. Peterson's Hell on Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1995).]
BELIEVERS WILL VIEW THE WICKED WITH ABHORRENCE.
The only Old Testament passage that speaks of "everlasting life" and describes the resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous (Dan. 12:2) cites the everlasting abhorrence with which the righteous view the unrighteous (cf. Isa. 66:24).
GOD WILL MEASURE OUT PUNISHMENT BY DEGREES.
The punishment meted out by God will be in degrees proportionate to the rejection of divine revelation (Luke 12:47, 48; Rom. 2:5, 6; 2 Cor. 5:10; 11:15; 2 Tim. 4:14; Rev. 2:23; 18:5, 6).
GOD'S JUST DISPLAY OF HOLY WRATH WILL BRING HIM GLORY.
The wrath of God poured out on unbelievers will give the recipients of mercy cause to thank and glorify God (Rom. 9:23).
Can we sit idly and stop our lips from echoing the divine revelation about the fearful destiny awaiting those who reject the Savior of the world? Dare we diminish what our Lord declared? In the compassionate spirit with which our Lord ministered, we must herald His message of warning to the unbelieving on whom the wrath of God abides (John 3:36) and reaffirm it before those who blunt the fearful force of His words.