53. Is Hell a place of eternal torment?

53. Is Hell a place of eternal torment?

The Hebrew word 'sheol' in the Old Testament, mistakenly translated as 'hell' in the KJV, simply means the grave ... or the place for the dead where they waited for judgment. The equivalent word in Greek in the New Testament is 'hades' which also has the same meaning... but to many today has added connotations of being a place of evil that the scriptures simply do not support.

It is interesting to note that the entymology of the word 'Hell' came to the English language approx 600 years ago from the name of the Norse goddess 'Hel' who was believed to have reigned over the realm of the dead. It was neither a realm of good or evil.

As New Covenant gentile believers we should note that ALL scriptures referring the 'Hell' ..i.e. 'Gehenna' which is simply the name of a valley near Jerusalem ... are addressed to the Jews who were on the brink of rejecting and killing their Messiah ... and not to Gentiles. These same Jews were then about to face the day of judgment at the end of their old covenant age. There is not a single reference to 'hell' in any of Paul's ministry to the Gentiles in either the book of Acts or the any of his epistles. Neither does the apostle John whose gospel is primarily addressed to the gentiles ever refer to Hell.

A key worth noting is that the Old Testament or Hebrew Tanach has more than 70 references to the fate of the WICKED being conclusively that they PERISH....or die ...or are slain.

Job 4:8-9

8 Even as I have seen,

Those who plow iniquity

And sow trouble reap the same.

9 By the blast of God they perish,

And by the breath of His anger they are consumed. NKJV

Perish means that THEY DIE. If, as many believe today that even un-regenerate 'man comprises an immortal soul that lives in a mortal body', then we have a problem. God's word tells us that the fate of the wicked person (ie THEY including their body and supposedly 'immortal' souls) is that THEY PERISH. There is however a distinction for Israelites who were 'under the Law of Moses' and who had a unique covenant with God. Under the Law they would be raised for a future judgment at the end of the age .... but this was clearly limited to Israel or 'your people' as confirmed in the context. (Dan 12:2-3 and Mat 13:40-41, 24:15-16)

Is 26:19 Your dead shall live;

Together with my dead body they shall arise .

Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust;

For your dew is like the dew of herbs,

And the earth shall cast out the dead. NKJV

In many places the word 'sheol' or 'hades' was translated as 'hell' in old versions of the bible such as the KJV. But in most more recent and more accurate translations it is now translated as 'the grave'... or 'death'.

The remaining most common word now most frequently translated as 'hell' is the Hebrew word 'Gehenna' ...which was the name of the place.... 'the valley of Hinnom' near the city of Jerusalem. Some have suggested that this was the place where the waste of the city was burned including the remains of sacrifices and animals who perished and that a fire burned continually to get rid of the refuse. After Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in AD 70 the fire stopped burning there as soon as all those who perished were consumed. Today we can go and see that it is not burning anymore. Brethren, factually there is NO FIRE BURNING IN GEHENNA today.The fiery destruction of Jerusalem and the temple which occurred in AD70 was promised in many places in the scriptures from Deuteronomy to Malachi as a judgment on ISRAEL. To translate the name of a PLACE on the map as 'hell' has done a huge disservice to truth.

A more scriptural understanding comes when we realise that the Valley of Hinnon was the place where the apostate Israelites sacrificed their children in fires to the pagan god Molech (2 Kings 23:10, Jer 7:31-33, Jer 19:1-15). God's future judgment on Jerusalem is certainly specified to be finished here ... and this was fulfilled historically and prophetically in AD 70.

The phrase referring to 'the vengeance of eternal fire' used of the case of Sodom and Gomorrah (Jude 7) is described in Luke 17:29 as 'fire from heaven that destroyed them all'. We all know that Sodom and Gomorrah are not still burning today ... but that the fire there certainly came from HEAVEN and burned until its purpose was achieved i.e. all the waste was consumed. Genesis 17:24 describes it as 'fire from the LORD out of heaven' and this as the 'first use' should be how it is understood. God's judgment was being demonstrated in this situation ...rather than it being just a tragic natural event. In this context it is visible to all that it does NOT mean that the fire will burn forever in time.

Tie this to Daniel 12:2 'some shall awake to everlasting contempt". This speaks of those under the Law of Moses who would receive contempt FROM the everlasting God ... not contempt forever because they were disposed of in the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:15) (a prophetic reference to the Valley of Hinnon). This played out in the AD70 destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (see Wars of the Jews by Flavius Josephus) because Israel had not sought righteousness by faith but by their works. Only by faith could they have had their names written in the book of Life (Rom 10:1-3).

Jesus also quotes from Isaiah in this same context....refer Mark 9:44, 46 and 48

Isa 66: 24 "And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh." NKJV

Jesus makes reference to the above passage from Isaiah warning the Jews of HIS DAY about what was soon to come on THEM.....and that this what also happened when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in AD70 (Is 64:10-11 and 66:15-16) and the bodies of more than a million Jews were disposed of by fire.

Brethren the 'fire which is not quenched' is visibly not burning there today. The Valley of Hinnon however continues to exist as a place of reminder about the judgment of God which came down on the nation of Israel in AD 70 ... just as Sodom and Gomorrah are reminders today of the judgment on those cities for their wickedness and sins. It is very sad to see how a perfect covenant like the Mosaic Law ended up exposing horrific wickedness in man and eventually their betrayal of God himself.

The other references to 'eternal or everlasting fire' (such as Mat 25:46, Jude 6, 2 Pet 2:4 and Rev 20:10) are in context all referring to the soon coming (at that time) judgment on apostate Israel. Israel at the time of Christ and prior to AD70 were anticipating that GOD was going to use the Roman army to mete out HIS JUDGMENT on the nation (John 11:47-51). This can also be confirmed in the Qumranic/Essenes community literature identifying Rome as the 'abomination of desolation' (Dan 9:27).

Please note the common factor is that ALL the scriptures speaking of Gehenna are addressed to the JEWS who were the very ones who were then about to reject their and kill the Messiah Jesus and say 'His blood be on us and our children'. They understood the prophetic events which were forecast and soon to unfold on them in their day. (Acts 3:24)

Acts 3:22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people' NKJV

Brethren, UTTER DESTRUCTION for rejecting Jesus is NOT the same as 'being tortured in Hell forever'.

In contrast please note that the gentiles are NEVER warned about going to Gehenna in the Gospel of John or any of the epistles (James writes to the 12 tribes scattered abroad) . Surely if "hell" is to be the destiny of most of the gentiles through out history (as is widely believed by the churches today), they would have been warned?

The sacrifice of Jesus for the sins of the world was made in AD33. Today their is no need for the dead to wait in graves for their redemption ... note the PAST TENSE of this event for us as believers today

Rev 1:5 ...To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Just as the Jewish nation rejected Jesus who was God's Son ... so also God had rejected/divorced apostate Israel ... the end of their covenant relationship was demonstrated in AD 70. The people of that day KNEW that God's wrath was to be poured out on their generation... and that the end of the age (of the Law) had come, They also knew the purpose of the Gehenna as the place where the bodies of the rejected sacrifices were disposed (Luke 4:29). They did not view it as a place of eternal torment for all human beings. The scriptures referring to Gehenna are in the main figurative. It would have been very obvious to them that the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by fire were the signs confirming their divine judgment for having rejected their Messiah. It is impossible to deny that this happened in AD70....with God ordained FIRE as prophecied. History tells us the fires burned for years to consume all of the more than 1.1 million bodies.

It becomes clear that it is critically important to understand 'Hebraic' language, specifically where it was adressing 'prophetic and apocalyptic' future events ... rather than interpreting the language literally according to our Greek/western mind-set. The Jews KNEW that it was GOD who brought the judgment on THEM ... and that the Roman army was merely the instrument. They also knew the decision was IRREVERSIBLE.

Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire. NKJV

Today in most cultures in the western world cremations have overtaken burials as the way to 'dispose' of bodies of the dead. Some believe that they need to be buried so that they can be bodily resurrected from the dead. The dead in the New Covenant scriptures, being those to who God says "YOU shall surely die", are certainly not still remaining alive as 'immortal souls'. The scripture refers to the Gentiles as being 'dead in their sins and trespasses' (Eph 2:1-6). The living, being those who have found LIFE eternal in Christ (Acts 13:48) of whom the scriptures say "THEY shall NEVER perish" shall continue to live but will be given new immortal SPIRITUAL bodies at death ... guaranteed by the Spirit of Christ dwelling in them with whom they are united by faith (Rom 8:11, 1 Cor 6:17)

1 Cor 15:42 The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. NKJV

1 Cor 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. NKJV

So what about some of the other scriptures refering to 'hell'?

We must 'rightly divide' the scriptures ... It is not a matter of 'One size fits all'. The Law and requirements of the Old Covenant ...and their consequences MUST be separated from the situation under the New Covenant of GRACE (John 1:14-17).

The judgments of the Law cannot be applied to Gentile believers after Christ's death in AD33 (Acts 15:8-11, 24-29).

Matt 10: 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. NKJV

This was preached to Jews under the Old Covenant knew a resurrection and judgment was to follow at the end of their Age. They had a covenant with God and were expecting to be rewarded with eternal life...in the time known as 'the resurrection' (Dan12:1-3, Mat 22:30)

The context of this verse is that the gospel would soon cause division amongst the Jews ... even to the extent that unbelieving Jews would persecute believers who followed Jesus and kill them as is demonstrated thoughout the book of Acts.

The worst that could be done to believers was that their bodies could be destroyed... their souls were now UNITED with Christ's spirit and therefore HAD eternal life. Those who did not believe however would (soon) be destroyed (AD70)... body and soul because they were not united with Christ.

Those who had rejected Jesus and said 'his blood be on us and our children' WERE disposed of (body and soul) in the fiery valley of 'Gehenna'. This was fulfilled prophetically during the fires which destroyed Jerusalem in AD70. (1,1 million Jews were killed by the Roman army at that time)

Matt 25:30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' NKJV

Many look at Matthew chapter 25 in isolation and assume it suddenly applies to the church in the New Covenant. These parables from Jesus however are part of a topic He started in Mat 23:1 where He pronounces the soon coming judgment of the godless religious institution of HIS day and their leaders who not only throughout history killed the prophets but who would also shortly reject and kill their Messiah. The judgement of 'everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels' was the fire from the everlasting God in heaven (using the Roman army) that was specifically to come upon THIS generation (the AD33 generation Mat 23:36) ...the same ones who said 'his blood be on US and our children'. Jesus then links this judgment with the timing of the destruction of the temple (Mat 24:2).... the tribulation of Daniel 12:1 (Mat 24:29) ... the coming of Jesus on clouds at the same time as prophecied in Daniel 7:13 (Mat 24:30)... and then emphatically repeats that the judgment and associated events would take place in the AD 33 generation (Mat 24:34). He then warns those who were 'evil servants of the house'... i.e. the leadership of the Jews ...in a series of parables from Mat 24:43 about the judgments they as 'unprofitable servants' would shortly face on HIS second coming/return (Mat 25:1 to Mat 25:14 and Mat 25:31). The clincher proving this is that Matthew 26 opens with these same Jews plotting to kill Jesus exactly as He had said would happen.

These judgments are NOT on the church ...or even unbelieving Gentiles...but on apostate ISRAEL. (Jesus had told his church to FLEE when the armies surrounded Jerusalem ..and the ALL DID according to Eusebius's writings ... not one was killed). Brethren the King (25:34) was Jesus who came to the Jews in AD33 and was in the main rejected by them. They then persecuted the apostles from AD 33-AD70 (Luke 11:49) ...'these my brethren' (25:45). The way Israel rejected Jesus was by rejecting the gospel when it was preached in all the world ('to the Jew first')...and then by persecuting the apostles and christians. This is the same judgment and separation of the wheat and the tares that Jesus warned of in Mat 13:24-30 and 36-51. The 'sons of the wicked one' amongst the Jews were the ones sent to 'the everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels' in Mat 25:41... i.e. the slaughter and disposal of the bodies post AD70 by fires in the Valley of Hinnon..

Matt 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations (read tribes of the Land) will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'

37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand,'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'

44 "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' 45 Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." NKJV

The Son of Man coming in His glory... this refers to Daniel's prophecy Chapter 7:13-14.... and the judgement of 7:9-10. ALL aspects of this event were prophecied to be FULFILLED before the AD 70 destruction of the temple (Dan 12:7) ...and all within the life of the same generation of those who heard and rejected Jesus. Jesus refers to this same coming in Mat 24:30-31, 37, 39, 42, 44, 46, 50, and Mat 25:6, 13, 19 ...and strongly assures us in Mat 24:34 that His coming would take place BEFORE that very generation passed away (ie AD73 at the latest). There is no indication in the text that these scriptures refer to one 'coming' which is in judgment of Israel in AD 70....and then another one for an unspecified reason being a 'final coming' at the 'end of the world' for a later judgment of the Gentiles today some 2000 years later. There is also the paralell in Revelations 20 where the White Throne judgment is played out....also as an event which Jesus said in approx AD 65-67 was 'coming quickly' (Rev 22 vs 7, 12 and 20)... which is certainly not referring to a separate event some 2000 or so years later.

This whole passage is ONLY addressed to the Jews who refused to acknowledge Jesus and the miracles performed before their eyes when He came as their Messiah. They also rejected and killed Him and all the prophets before Him.... and then killed His disciples and the apostles just as Jesus said they would (Luke 11:49). These are the ones who on the Day of the Lord were judged and burned. This happened in AD70 when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed ... thus bringing the Old Covenant to an end ... and all Judaism's religious works were burned up (as wood hay and stubble).

The eternal / everlasting punishment speaks of the fact that it is both FROM GOD in HEAVEN and NON-REVERSIBLE. By rejecting God and His way of salvation (i.e. by not receiving Jesus ... John 1:11-13) the Jews aligned themselves with SATAN and his plan to destroy the Messiah ... and left themselves no option other than to be destroyed on judgment day at the end of their age.

When Gehenna is contrasted against the Hebrew word SHEOL which was also often translated as 'hell' (i.e. in the older versions of the KJV) we can see that these address two clearly different locations. In most scriptures this word and its Greek alternative 'HADES simply refers to the GRAVE... the place where the Israelites who were under the Law, waited for their redemption by Messiah. This is what is alluded to in 1 Peter 3:19-20, 1 Pet 4:5-7 and Eph 4:9. Both good and bad were waiting for judgment under the Law and the good were to be rewarded with eternal life and the bad were to be destroyed or disposed of. (Dan 12:1-3, Mat 13:39-43 and Mat 24:30-31)

What about Lazarus and the Rich Man?

Another commonly used passage which people believe is a teaching on hell is actually a parable (one in a series of 5 such parables) which is almost universally incorrectly literally interpreted. This leads some to claim that those in SHEOL are already being tormented while others are in bliss in Abraham's bosom EVEN THOUGH it was prior to the resurrection and judgment at the end of the age? But if taken literally it raises more than a few other complications.... i.e. are we to assume that those in hell can see and talk to those in Abraham's bosom? Are rich people sent to hell because they lived a lavish life on earth and poor people rewarded with heaven. Under the New Covenant are we not saved BY GRACE through FAITH?

Luke 16:19 "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus , full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' 25 But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'

27 "Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' 29 Abraham said to him,'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' 30 And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31 But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'" NKJV

Please note that the context of this parable is set in vs 14 where the Pharisees deride Jesus for his teaching on money. In vs 15 Jesus blasts them for their fakeness and their evil ways. They knew these parables were being spoken AGAINST THEM (Luke 20:19). Read the scriptures and see how much God hates religious hypocrisy amongst leadership...especially when it is used to oppress His children (Mat 23:1-36)

This parable refers specifically to the ruling priestly Jews of the Sanhedrin at Jesus time (Judah and his 5 brothers) under the Law of Moses and who refused to hear Moses and rejected Jesus (Deut 18:17-19, Acts 3:21-26) and who had previously rejected and killed the prophets and who were then certainly judged in AD70. They still did not believe EVEN AFTER JESUS RESURRECTION..

It is also interesting to note that Josephus tells us that the pharisees of AD70 believed that at death they would go to a place called 'Abraham's bosom' ... and that the wicked (ie those other than themselves) ... would have to wait for judgment in a places of fiery toment. This is NOT the teaching of the old testament scriptures and it is quite possible that Jesus was using this false doctrine which they believed ...to point to their own literal fate.

Peter also puts hell into the context of the JUDGMENT which was about to begin on the house of God (ie Israel)...(1 Pet 4:17) ...not an event 2000 years away.

1 Peter 4:17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God NKJV

and Peter tells that this judgment will apply to all Israelites who sinned under the Law..

2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, ...........

9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment NKJV

God judged the ancient world which was satanically corrupted by destruction through the flood. The angels who were spirits were reserved in chains for the judgment in Revelations 20:10 of being 'cast into the lake of fire and brimstone'. The word Peter uses is the Greek work 'tartaros'...the place of the damned. This is required because angels are spirits...who do not die and will therefore be 'eternally restrained and tormented' i.e. by God.

Daniel 12:1-3 speaks of a time of great trouble which would precede the resurrection and the judgment OF ISRAELITES who were reserved or waiting in sheol for this. History records that God judged Israel in AD70 as Peter had written three to five years previously. This was prophecied to last three and a half years (vs 7) and this was historically recorded as the actual duration of the seige and destruction of Jerusalem where large 'hail' stones of white marble one talent in weight and fire literally played their part in the 'THE day of judgment' for Israel.

So now when we look at 'hell' in the context of the NEW Covenant which now applies

The judgments pronounced on those UNDER the Law (which ended in AD70 with the destruction of the temple) do not apply to those who are NOT under the Law. (Rom 3:19)

Rom 4:15 ... because the law brings about wrath ; for where there is no law there is no transgression. NKJV

Rom 5:13 For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. NKJV

Some conclude that non-believers today will also be judged in the same way as those under the Old covenant...based on the following scripture.

2 Thess 1: 6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed. NKJV

Ask yourself this question..."Did God give the persecuted Thessalonians rest/relief as Paul had promised...or are they still waiting for Jesus to come ...some 2000 years later?"

The wrath in this passage however is directed at the non-believing Jews in approx AD 55 who were getting the Romans to persecute the early churches. Jesus described them as being part of the 'synagogue of Satan' (Rev 3:9) These were judged when Jesus returned as He promised (Mat 24:27-34) in AD70 and where He was revealed to be God (Rev 1:7-8). Jesus had told them "if you do not believe that I am HE you will die in your sins" ... and they did!

Why would Gentile non-believers, who had never had a covenant with God which they broke and who did not reject and kill their promised Messiah, then be judged according to the LAW which they were not under and be punished according to that Law? Would they not just simply 'die and perish and cease to exist' .... just like dust as the scripture says of those who lived BEFORE the Law and had not sought for and found God?

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread

Till you return to the ground,

For out of it you were taken;

For dust you are,

And to dust you shall return." NKJV

(Please note that God did not say to man that only his physical 'body' would return to dust ....but YOU...i.e. man himself in his entirety would come to an end. Those who argue that only man's body died and that his 'immortal soul' lived on need to address the fact that the life of man is the spirit of God breathed into him according to Genesis 2:7. This breath or spirit (ruach) returned to God at death. The scriptures do not allow for the soul of un-regenerated man to continue to exist beyond the life of his MORTAL body. i.e. they DO NOT ascribe to man's soul a separate immortal status UNLESS HE OR SHE HAS been re-generated and FOUND ETERNAL LIFE IN GOD)

Eccl 12:6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed,

Or the golden bowl is broken,

Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,

Or the wheel broken at the well.

7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,

And the spirit will return to God who gave it. NKJV

It is scripturally far more accurate to conclude that the scriptures teach that God's wrathful judgment WAS TO BE on the very Jews who as His chosen people then rejected and killed their long promised Messiah. This judgment is described in the White Throne Judgment of Revelations (20 vs 11-15) and it occurred in AD70 as history itself records for our confirmation.

The work that determines for us today whether one is saved or not is .... "What did you do with Jesus?... Did you accept Him or REJECT Him?" (This alone determines whether we have our names in the Lamb's Book of Life).

Jesus states emphatically that THIS generation who rejected Him would be judged rather than that the judgment was something which would be poured out on 'innocent' future generations at some undisclosed time over the next 2000 years or more later? (which would be contrary to Ezekiel 18).

So what about the 'Lake of Fire' in Revelations?... some will ask

Matt 25:41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand,'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: ...... 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." NKJV

Rev 20: 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. NKJV

Rev 20:14-15
14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire . This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. NKJV

The everlasting place prepared for the devil and his angels IS the lake of FIRE ...they are eternal or spirit beings and need an eternal location. THEY are the ones 'tormented day and night forever and ever'... Peter confirms this in distinguishing between the fate of the angels and the rest of those judged (wicked men perished by drowning at Noah's day, those in Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by heavenly fire, the unjust under the Law were punished in the AD70 fiery destruction of Jerusalem)

2 Peter 2:4 & 9 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; ... 9 for the Lord knows how to .... reserve the unjust under punishment for THE day of judgment. NKJV

Death and Hades (sin and the grave) were also cast into the lake of fire (these were not 'tormented day and night forever'). This was fulfilled when the fiery destruction of the temple and Jerusalem ended the old covenant.

Please note that the scripture also does NOT say that 'anyone not found written in the Book of Life' (who was also cast into the lake of fire) was to be 'tormented day and night forever'. These were the Jews who would not receive Jesus as Messiah and were judged and slain on 'the day of judgment' (Luke 19:27). They went away to everlasting fire (Mat 25:41) representing the judgment of God and 1.1 million of them were killed/perished in the fiery destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 where the judgment of God was meted out.

Revelations addresses the judgment of Israel for rejecting her Messiah as Jesus specifically promised (Mat 23:33-38). For those who claim otherwise please consider that the book contains 184 DIRECT quotes from, and a total of 550 references to the Law and the prophets in the context of the coming (fiery) judgment on Israel.

In the didactic portions opening and closing the book of Revelations we are told emphatically that the whole book was about events that were SOON to take place...things that were COMING QUICKLY ...and would happen SHORTLY (Rev 1 and Rev 22). These emphatic time statements cannot be ignored if we wish to understand the book.

The key is that almost all of the REST of the BOOK (from chapter 4-21) is steeped in apocalptic and prophetic language. To take these scriptures including the 'Lake of Fire' literally, is to misunderstand the whole book.

The great city (spiritually known as Sodom and Egypt ...and also Babylon) which is where our Lord himself was crucified (Rev 11:8) WAS Jerusalem.

This city WAS destroyed and burnt to the foundations in AD70 ... and fire was the means and 1.1 million Jews died being those who rejected Jesus. History records that EVERY christian fled the city when they remembered what Jesus said (Mat 24:15-16) (Luke 21:20-22) demonstrating that the early church KNEW that these chapters and the Book of Revelations referred to AD70....and not a future judgment on the whole world some 2000 years later.

The church is first referred to in Rev 1-3 where the seven churches are told the challenges they must overcome to avoid being caught up with the judgement of Israel. Remember that most of the early churches had Jewish and Gentile believers who formed their congregations. It is not till Rev 21 that the overcoming church is referred to again. From chapter 4 of Revelations to the beginning of chapter 21 the book deals with God's judgment on harlotrous Israel and the devil.... and their presecution of the believers.

The NEW Jerusalem (Rev 21:2) coming down from heaven IS the NEW Covenant which applies to the church...(Gal 4:24-26) ... it is NOT a new physical city again located in geographical Jerusalem (which sadly today has a reputation for being one of the most godless cities in the world and a global centre for homosexuality and perversion. Combine this with their continued refusal to acknowlege that they had rejected and killed their Messiah.

It is only when we come to Revelations 21 ...to the NEW Jerusalem that we get some insights into what the New Covenant situation is. The great truth is that God now dwells with His people (Jew and Gentile believers) and not in a physical temple in Jerusalem. Death has lost it's sting (which is sin) because the Law has been abolished and there is no more sadness because we as believers will never be separated from Christ. The BRIDE of the Lamb in vs 9 is the church comprising all whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life....ie Old Covenant saints and the NEW COVENANT CHURCH (which since AD70 combines both Jew and Gentile) (Eph 5:25-32)

Brethren, the second death of Revelations 21:8 for Gentiles after AD33 refers to the death of unbelievers and those who have not been transformed by being 'born again of the spirit'. The first death for all people is spiritual death which is separation from God because all have sinned (Rom 5:12). The second death is the remaining great sadness. It is the death of the unsaved person, who scripturally was already dead (Eph 2:1 & 5) and who then in their lives had no interest in seeking to know God and who then has no end other than destruction ... i.e. they perish.

Points to ponder

God did not tell anyone in the bible from Adam till when the Law was given through Moses, that they would be judged and burned in Hell forever for any sin they might commit. They were only told that sin (doing what God did not want them to do) would result in death.

This is plainly illustrated in the situation where Cain killed Abel. When Abel's sacrifice was accepted because it was 'more excellent' and was offered 'by faith' and Cain's sacrifice was not respected then Cain was warned that if he did not do well then 'sin lies at the door'. After killing Abel he was only told that he would be a fugitive and a vagabond for the rest of his life. God even protected him from being killed for this crime. He was certainly not told that he would be raised and judged and burned in Hell and be tormented forever because he had sinned.

Hebrew rabbin have throughout history concluded that what that Gentiles had to do to be righteous was to believe in the one true God and obey seven major rules (B'nei Noach)...such as not being immoral, not killing, being generally law abiding, not eating meat with blood or things sacrificed to idols (refer also Acts 15:23-29)

It was the Law that brought wrath TO ISRAEL ... Christ bore the wrath of God for the sin of the whole world on the cross. in AD 33 (1 John 2:2)

Now that the Law has been abolished all that remains is one sin....

John 16:8 And when He (the Helper) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. NKJV

Believe in Jesus and receive the forgiveness Jesus died for you to have ... along with the Holy Spirit and eternal life... or remain DEAD to God.

The only consequence remaining in the scriptures for people today (apart from the Law which has now been abolished) for the sin of rejecting God's appeal that people would "come to Me" ... is that they PERISH.

John 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." NKJV

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. NKJV

Simply viewed, the dilemma of Adam and Eve was that they allowed themselves to be convinced (by the devil) that God's instruction not to eat of the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil' was given because He was a despot enforcing rules for His own pleasure and self interest. They did not in simple faith believe that He told them of a DANGER to be avoided because He LOVED them and it would be detrimental for them. This was despite the fact that God had only ever demonstrated LOVE and care for them.... through his creation and provision of all their needs.... and His own personal loving interaction.

What is your view of God?... this is likely to determine your response to Him.

If you feel you have been 'hard done by' and blame God or have just ignored Him ... then REPENT ... change your way thinking about God and respond to His LOVE. If you think there is not enough evidence for the existence of God ... wake up and smell the roses.

The God who made mankind and the whole universe is reaching out His hands to you. Through Jesus He says 'it does not matter if you have failed, I LOVE YOU' ... He wants you to want to know Him.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. NKJV

(Perhaps it is time that the church world-wide stopped preaching judgment and condemnation and instead sets its focus on the new covenant message of the awesome love of God for humanity?)