Most people, including Christians and Jews, are confused as to when abortion is permitted in the eyes of God. The Catholic Church, most Protestant churches and orthodox Judaism have totally different and contradictory teachings on the subject, but what does the Bible say?
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Pope Francis’ Fight with the Vatican
It has been almost a recent routine by the Vatican to ignore, dispute or “clarify” something that Pope Francis has (allegedly) said. This includes statements about communism, homosexuality, divorce and remarriage, and whether animals go to heaven when they die. Pope Francis is also involving himself more and more in political affairs, such as the relationship between the USA and Cuba. His popularity is enormous, especially in Europe, due to his charming appearance. His most recent strong attack against the Curia has been described as “without historic precedent” and “one last warning before a direct confrontation.” A spokesman for the Vatican has also referred to him as a “prophet.” What can we expect to occur in the future? We offer two free booklets, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?” and “Man’s Holidays or God’s Holy Days?”
Download Audio Download VideoChrist’s Parables in the Book of Luke
Less than two months ago, we discussed many of the parables in the Book of Matthew. In this sermon, we will address those parables in the book of Luke, which are not addressed in the book of Matthew. They include, among many others, the parable of the good Samaritan; the rich fool; the great supper; the lost son, the unjust steward; the Pharisee and the tax collector; the minas; and of course the mostly misunderstood parable of Lazarus and the rich man.
Are Your Loved Ones in Hell?
In a recent TV program, Pat Robertson said that the wicked are suffering in hell fire, and that even Samuel was in the darkness of hell at the time of King Saul. But is this true? Where does the concept of an ever-burning hell come from? What does the Bible mean when it speaks of the lake of fire where the wicked would be cast into? And what is the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth?
Download Audio Download VideoPlease explain Jesus' sayings in Mark 9:43-48.
This particular passage has caused great confusion for many readers, and has prompted some Christians to adopt wrong and unbiblical teachings.
This is what Jesus said in Mark 9:43-48:
“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched–where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched–where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire–where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.'”
This passage raises numerous areas, requiring clarification:
(1) What “life” is Christ referring to?
(2) Are we to literally cut off our hands and feet and pluck out our eyes when they “cause” us to sin?
(3) What is the fire that shall never be quenched?; and
(4) Why do their worms not die?
Let’s review these questions one at a time.
(1) “Enter into Life”
Christ is referring here to ETERNAL life, equating it in Mark 9:47 with entering the KINGDOM OF GOD. We find similar phraseology in Matthew 19:16-30. There, a rich man asked Christ how to enter “ETERNAL life” (Matthew 19:16). Christ answered in verse 17: “… if you want to enter into LIFE [obviously referring to ETERNAL life–that was the question of the rich man], keep the commandments.”
When the rich man revealed his unwillingness to keep ALL of God’s commandments, including the one against idolatry, Christ said, “… it is hard for a rich man to enter the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN” (verse 23), identifying it later as the KINGDOM OF GOD (verse 24). And finally, in verse 29, He emphasized that He was speaking of inheriting ETERNAL LIFE. He showed thereby that “entering into life” means, inheriting ETERNAL life in the Kingdom of God.
What did He mean, when He said that we should cut off our hands and feet and pluck out our eyes, if they cause us to sin, and that it is better to enter into life maimed, lame and blind, than to “go to hell”?
(2) Cut Off Your Hand and Feet and Pluck Out Your Eye
We have to state very emphatically that Christ did NOT mean this in a literal way. If it were to be understood literally, then no Christian would enter life with two feet, two eyes or two hands, as ALL Christians have sinned and still sin, and not only once (compare Romans 7:15-16, 24; 1 John 1:8-10). We should also note that sin originates in the mind (James 1:14-15). Even a maimed, lame or blind person can and does still sin. The Lamsa Bible explains that the expressions “plucking out your right eye” and “cutting off your right hand” (compare Matthew 5:29, 30) are Aramaic idioms, meaning “stop envying” [with your eyes] and “stop stealing” [with your hands]. [Likewise, the Lamsa Bible explains that the phrase “turn your cheek,” as used in Matthew 5:39, is another Aramaic idiom, meaning, “Do not start a quarrel or a fight.”]
The Nelson Study Bible adds: “Cut it off should be taken figuratively; it means to take whatever drastic action is necessary to avoid sin.”
The Broadman Bible Commentary points out: “… if what you desire to do, or the places you long to frequent, or the things you are greedy to possess… would entice you into a path departing from the way [of life]… whatever sacrifice is necessary must be made. This is no command for mutilation of the body. But there cannot be two masters in life; either you ‘deny yourself’ and accept a new master (‘follow me’) or you lose your [eternal] life.”
What Christ was referring to was the need to cease using our members in the practice of sinful conduct. For example, He warns His disciples not to look at a married woman with evil thoughts, as this constitutes adultery in the eyes of God. Coveting our neighbor’s possessions already constitutes using our hands in committing theft in the eyes of God, and hating our fellow man already constitutes murder in God’s eyes–using our feet to walk on an evil path. We read in Colossians 3:5, 8, that we have to put to death our “members,” which are then described as including fornication, evil desire, covetousness, anger, malice and lying. Paul says in Romans 6:13, not to “present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but… as instruments of righteousness to God.”
James warns us that our tongue is a little member which must be controlled (James 3:5), lest it causes irreparable harm. And finally, he states in James 4:1 that “wars and fights come from… your desires for pleasure that war in your members.”
Jesus was using certain members of our bodies (foot, hand and eye) to illustrate the principle that a Christian must strive to eradicate sin in his life–even if it means, breaking a sinful HABIT which may be as painful to overcome as perhaps losing a foot, a hand or an eye. But Christ said it is better to forgo the passing pleasures of sin (compare Hebrews 11:25)–even if it “hurts”–than to be cast into hell fire.
What did Christ mean when He talked about “hell fire that shall never be quenched”?
(3) Unquenchable Hell Fire
The Greek for “hell” in the phrase “hell fire” is “Gehenna.” Gehenna, which designates the valley of Hinnom, is located outside Jerusalem. Trash, animal carcasses and even the dead bodies of criminals were thrown into that fire to be burned up. Jesus applied the concept of that Gehenna fire to the fire awaiting the wicked to destroy them. That fire is referred to in many places as the “lake of fire” or the second or final death (compare Revelation 20:14). The wicked will be thrown into that “hell fire” to be burned up and destroyed–they will not be tortured for ever and ever. The act of their extinction will occur with sudden finality, and the wicked will quickly perish with only a brief comprehension of their empty fate!
The Nelson Study Bible states: “The imagery of hell (frequently called gehenna) comes from a garbage dump outside the walls of Jerusalem. Jesus’ hearers were familiar with the smoldering fires that always burned there.”
For further information on the concept of “hell” or “Gehenna,” please read our free booklets, “Do You Have an Immortal Soul?” and “God’s Commanded Holy Days,” as well as our Update #194, “Do the Wicked Go to Hell?”, Update #195, “Revelation 14:11”; and Update #196, “Revelation 20:11.”
But why did Christ say that the fire would not be quenched? Does this “hell fire” burn forever?
Note that Jesus does not say that the fire will burn forever, and that it will never go out. He said that it would not and could not be “quenched”–that is, nobody would (be able to) put it out as long as there was fuel to keep it burning. Once there is no more fuel, it will cease to burn.
The same terminology is used throughout the Bible for fire–or God’s wrath burning like a fire–but this does not mean that that fire or the wrath of God will burn forever. It burns as long as there is reason or “fuel” to burn. Note Jeremiah 4:4: “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.” Compare, too, Jeremiah 21:12 and Amos 5:6.
But we also read that God’s wrath, even though no one can quench it, will not “burn” forever. Psalm 30:5 says: “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life.” And Micah 7:18 adds: “He does NOT retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy.”
God uses the same terminology of “unquenchable fire” for the ancient destruction of Jerusalem at the time of Jeremiah. We read God’s words in Jeremiah 17:27: “But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.”
We read that this prophecy came to pass in the days of King Zedekiah of Judah, when King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, destroyed Jerusalem under his captain Nebuzaradan. We read in 2 Kings 25:9 that he “burned the house of the LORD and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire.”
But that fire is not burning any more today. Jerusalem was rebuilt. It existed at the time of Jesus. The fire was never quenched, that is, deliberately put out, but it went out on its own when there was no longer any fuel to keep it burning.
The same is true for the Gehenna fire–the lake of fire. We read that it will ultimately engulf and burn up the surface of the entire earth–we are told that “both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). In fact, even the “heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat” (verse 12). But after that, God will create “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (verse 13). At that time, there will be no more burning lake of fire, because nothing will exist anymore which needs to be burned. Revelation 21:4 tells us that at that time, there will be “no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain.”
For more information on the new heavens and the new earth, please read our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”
The Gehenna fire will apparently be burning throughout the time of the Millennium, the Great White Throne Judgment and the Third and Final Resurrection to “damnation” or “the final destruction” of the wicked. Why does Jesus say that during that time, the worms of the wicked will not die?
(4) Their Worms Won’t Die
Again, Christ uses language pertaining to the fire of Hinnom, which was burning outside Jerusalem, to illustrate a point. When some animal or body of dead criminals caught on the ledges below the rim, it would be devoured by “worms” or maggots. However, the maggots would not live forever–they would develop into flies. Those flies would deposit new eggs, and maggots would hatch from these eggs, eat the flesh, continue in the larval form for a few days, go through a metamorphosis and emerge as flies. Nothing would exterminate the maggots–as nothing or no one would extinguish or quench the fire. But without fuel to burn or without flies to deposit new eggs, the fire would go out and maggots would cease to develop. Technically, Christ’s point is well taken, as maggots in fact did not die–they developed into flies–which would ultimately die. But His spiritual application is much more telling: The fate of the unrepentant wicked is inescapable. As no one quenched the fire or prevented maggots from developing into flies, so no one can change the fate of the unrepentant sinner.
Jesus quoted from a future prophecy in Isaiah 66:24, which says: “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.” Please note that the “worms” or maggots are those developing on the corpses of dead people–they are NOT the dead people themselves.
The Broadman Bible Commentary agrees, stating as follows: “Hell with its unquenchable fire is ‘Gehenna’… Gehenna historically was a valley at the western edge of Jerusalem. Used at one time by worshippers of Molech as a place where their sons or daughters were offered in sacrifice, the valley was defiled during King Josiah’s religious reformation… Since that time it had been used as a dump for all kinds of refuse. Therefore it was correctly described as a place where maggots continually fed and multiplied (‘their worm does not die’) and where fire was always smoldering (‘the fire is not quenched.’).”
In conclusion, Christ’s statement in Mark 9:43-48 is a warning to all of us. He cautions us to be very careful about how we live–and to break any sinful habits which we might have–even if that process hurts and is painful. If we are neglectful in our efforts to overcome sin, we might end up in the lake of fire. We are told in Hebrews 2:1-3: “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we NEGLECT so great a salvation.” Again, we read in Hebrews 4:11: “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” And finally, note this warning in Hebrews 10:26-27: “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and FIERY indignation which will DEVOUR the adversaries.”
Therefore, as we are admonished to do, “… be even more diligent to make your call and election SURE… for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the EVERLASTING KINGDOM of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11).
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
Would you please explain Revelation 14:11? Does this Scripture teach that the wicked will be forever tormented in hell fire?
Let us consider Revelation 14:11 in context with the previous two verses. The entire passage reads:
“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast [an end-time political leader, as well as the political system that he represents] and his image [an end-time religious system, as well as a religious leader representing that system]. and receives his mark on his forehead or on his head [permitting or preventing him to buy and sell, Revelation 13:16-17], he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb [Jesus Christ]. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
Most commentaries teach that this passage describes the never-ending torment of wicked souls in an eternal hell fire. The Nelson Study Bible, in altering the literal wording of the passage, states:
“A third angel announces with a loud voice the tragic eternal destiny of the one who rejects the offer of the gospel (vv. 6,7) and worships the beast (ch. 13)… In the just outworking of God’s wrath, unbelievers who worship the beast will be tormented… forever and ever, with no rest day or night.”
However, reading the passage carefully, it does not say that the wicked will be “tormented… forever and ever.”
The Broadman Bible Commentary discusses the problems with such an interpretation. It states, in volume 12, on page 320:
“The greatest problem of interpretation in this passage is the apparent vindictiveness. Christian interpreters have regarded it as sub-Christian reflecting the stress of the time but impossible to reconcile with the teaching of Jesus. Some reject its obvious implications since such endless and horrible suffering could serve no good purpose and offer no prospect of release… Others see the language as dealing with ultimate realities and prefer a literal interpretation. Their case merely points out that man has brought this judgment on himself. Others believe that if there are those who resist God’s love finally, they, with Hades and Death, will be thrown into the lake of fire (20:14ff), which is ‘extinction and total oblivion.'”
The last interpretation comes closer to the truth than the others. But even it misunderstands, apparently, that the passage in Revelation 14:11 does NOT talk about the final fate of the wicked.
As we pointed out in our last Update 194 and in our booklets, “Do You Have an Immortal Soul,” and “God’s Commanded Holy Days,” there is NO ever-burning hell fire, NOR will the wicked be tormented for all eternity. Rather, they will be BURNT UP in the THIRD resurrection — that is, after the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment period (compare Revelation 20:4-15).
The passage in Revelation 14:11 does not talk about that time period. It refers to the coming of Jesus Christ and the time when people worship the beast and have its mark. All of this will occur BEFORE the Millennium.
What, then, IS the meaning of Revelation 14:11?
One key point is to realize that the torment of their SMOKE will ascend forever and ever. The passage does NOT say that THE WICKED will be tormented forever and ever. Rather, the wicked will be burnt up in fiery plagues, and it is their smoke — evidence that the fire has done its work — which ascends forever and ever. Smoke results from something burned. This indicates that they were consumed, and that all that remains is smoke. We also read in Malachi 4:3 that the ASHES of the wicked will be under the feet of the righteous. Psalm 37:20 tells us that the wicked shall “perish” — “into smoke they shall vanish away.” It is not the punishment of the fire, but the result of that punishment, which is being addressed in Revelation 14:11.
We also need to understand that the Biblical expression “forever” does not have to mean, “for all eternity.” The words are often a translation from the Hebrew “olam” and the Greek “aion” or “aionios,” meaning “age,” or “age-lasting” (compare Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible). In Revelation 14:11, the Greek words translated as “for ever and ever” mean, according to Young’s, “to ages of ages.” The Englishman’s Greek New Testament translates this verse as follows: “And the smoke of their torment goes up to ages of ages…”
We read in Exodus 21:6 that the servant would belong to his master “forever.” Here, the word describes a relationship which would last until the death of either the master or the servant. In 1 Samuel 1:22, Hannah, the mother of Samuel, took him up to the temple to remain there forever. Verse 28 explains that this meant, “as long as he lives.”
In Jonah 2:6, the term “forever” describes the time span of “three days and three nights,” as made clear in Jonah 1:17. Jonah, when in the belly of the sea monster, prayed that the earth with her bars was about him forever. What he was actually saying here is that as long as he was in that particular situation, the earth was about him.
Jude 7 speaks of the vengeance of eternal fire that burned Sodom and Gomorrah. But these cities are not still burning or suffering that vengeance. They only burned for a while. An “aeonian fire” does not refer to a fire that never goes out. After it completely destroyed and obliterated those ancient cities, it burned itself out when there was nothing else left to consume. The smoke from that fire ascended for a while. It is not ascending today. Jesus shows that the people in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be resurrected in a period of judgment yet future (Compare Matthew 10:15).
The people worshipping the political and religious leaders of the end-time Babylonian system will be tormented “forever” — that is, until they die. They “have no rest day or night,” as long as they are alive and remain part of that system falling under God’s wrath; that is, before they are destroyed by the fiery plagues of God’s last seven bowls judgment (Revelation 16:1-21).
The smoke of their torment will ascend for a while — as long as the conditions exist allowing smoke from burned bodies to ascend. But this does not mean that burned wicked souls will be tormented for all eternity. We read that the smoke from the Babylonian system — and from the city of modern Babylon, which is built on seven hills (Revelation 17:18, 9) — will rise up “forever and ever” (Revelation 19:3 — based on the Greek, it should say, according to Young’s and the Englishman’s Greek New Testament, “to the ages of the ages”). Babylon “will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her” (Revelation 18:8). The kings of the earth “will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment” (verses 9-10). This is a reference to the smoke from buildings, but the fire won’t burn for all eternity. In fact, we read that the great city of Babylon (verse 10) “shall not be found anymore” (verse 21). Likewise, we read in Isaiah 34:9-10, that the smoke from the land of Edom will “ascend forever” — that is, until the fire has burnt up all consumable material. As in the case of the burned cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, that fire of Edom will not burn for all eternity.
The unrepentant wicked will ultimately be burned up. That will happen after the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment. However, the passage in Revelation 14:11 does not address that time period. It merely serves as a forerunner and a warning. Most people who will worship the false political and religious system of Babylon, as well as its human representatives, won’t fully comprehend what they will be doing — they will not commit the unpardonable sin leading to the second death, from which there will be no resurrection (Revelation 20:14-15; 21:8). Rather, God will bring them back to life in a Second Resurrection, when the gravity of their wrong conduct will be revealed to them, and when they will be given an opportunity to repent and accept God’s Way of Life.
Do the wicked go to hell?
The concept that the wicked go to an ever-burning hell after their death is nowhere taught in Scripture. In fact, the Bible does not even teach the existence of an ever-burning hell, torturing wicked souls of departed ones for their evil deeds.
The concept of an ever-burning hellfire is derived from paganism. Richard Craze explains in his book, “Hell, An Illustrated History of the Netherworld,” copyrighted 1996:
“… the old horned gods of the Stone Age people became the new rulers of hell. There was a sort of logic in locating the place of the dead below ground — the underworld — because that was exactly where the dead were buried… The early [nominal] Christians borrowed Hel’s name [the goddess Hel ruled over the place of the “lost souls” in Viking mythology] for their own place of punishment… The early [nominal] Christians borrowed heavily from earlier mythologies, and the generally accepted appearance of Satan is an amalgamation of such things as the horns and shaggy hindquarters of the Greek god Pan, the wings of the Mesopotamian devil Pazuzu, and the scales and dragon skin of the Persian Azhidaahaka… The Greeks borrowed freely from the Babylonians… Pluto, Zeus’ brother, governed [hell] with a merciless severity and subjected his poor guests to the most ingenious tortures… [Others] were consigned to the deep bottomless pit… ruled by Kronos. Here they would suffer eternal torment… sinners were tortured for eternity… The Romans knew exactly where hell was located — underneath Italy. Everything else they borrowed from the Greeks.”
The author also points out:
“… it was the Synod of Bishops in Constantinople in 543 that… set the seal on hell, when they decreed that ‘if anyone shall say or even think that there is an end to the torment of… ungodly persons, or that there ever will be an end to it, then let them be excommunicated.’ And they promptly excommunicated Origen, an early Church father, for saying that he thought hell was finite.”
In addition, the Bible does not teach the concepts of “limbo” or “purgatory,” either. These concepts have their origin in pagan mythologies, as well.
Craze points out these most incredible facts:
“The early [nominal] Christians… introduce[d] the concept of a sort of waiting-room, where souls would stay for [a while]. They found a ready-made idea — limbo — that they freely borrowed from the Romans, who had borrowed it from the Greeks. Limbo became a place where anyone who did not quite fit could be put… Purgatory… was a cross between limbo and hell… Jesus’ mother, the Virgin Mary, was called back from heaven, where she had been asleep (the Dormition). She was given the keys of hell to look after, and the running of the purgatory. She does not administer any punishments — in fact, her main job seems to be protecting the souls of the sinners from the wrath of her son [Jesus Christ!!!]. Purgatory became a sort of temporary hell — but one from which sinners could be rescued.”
However, the Bible does not teach the concepts of limbo, purgatory or of an ever-burning hell.
It is true that the New Testament speaks about a fiery place, which is translated in some English Bibles as, “hell.” The Greek word for this place is “gehenna.” It does not, however, describe an ever-burning hell, as commonly understand by many. Craze explains:
“Gehenna — the place of fire. It is probable that it was named after the place just outside Jerusalem where the household rubbish, including the bodies of criminals and animals, was burnt.”
Please note the following excerpts from our free booklet, “Do You Have an Immortal Soul?”, addressing the concept of a fiery hell:
“The word ‘gehenna’ and the very concept of it are derived from the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem in which the corpses of dead people, mainly criminals, would be burned up. It is another expression for the ‘lake of fire’ in Revelation 20:15, in which all who have acted wickedly, and who have refused to repent, will be thrown into, to be burned up or ‘devoured.’ (Remember that Hebrews 10:27… tells us that the wicked wait for God’s fiery indignation that will ‘devour’ them.). That is the ‘hell’ or the ‘gehenna’ fire that Christ is talking about…-‘the second death’ from which there will be no resurrection.
“Those who sin deliberately, willfully and maliciously, God will resurrect to physical life [please note that they were dead — not in heaven, hell, limbo or purgatory — and that they had to be brought back from death to physical life] to throw them-their physical body and their soul or their ‘life’-into ‘gehenna’ or the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13-15; 21:8). They won’t burn there forever-rather, they will be burned up. They are the ‘chaff,’ that will be ‘burned up’ with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12)-that is, no human can quench it. Notice that this fire will ultimately even burn up or bring to dissolution ‘heaven and earth,’ so that a ‘new heaven and a new earth’ can be created by God (2 Peter 3:10-13).
“The wicked, such as the rich man in Christ’s parable in Luke 16, will not burn forever and ever, for all eternity, in an everlasting hell fire, but they will be ‘burned up’ (cp. again Matthew 3:12). The Greek word for ‘burned up’ is ‘katakaio’-conveying the meaning that nothing of what is burned up will remain. We read in Revelation 18:8 that modern Babylon ‘shall be utterly burned with fire.’ The word for ‘utterly burned’ is, again, ‘katakaio’ in the Greek. And we are told that ‘that great city Babylon [will] be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.’ (Revelation 18:21). In the same way, the wicked, such as the rich man in Luke 16, that are [brought back to life from the dead and then] thrown into ‘gehenna’ or the lake of fire [called the SECOND death!], will be ‘burnt up’-they ‘shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up… that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.’ (Malachi 4:1). They will become ashes under the feet of the righteous (Malachi 4:3); it will be as if they had never existed (Obadiah 16).”
The wicked will be burnt up in a temporary gehenna fire, to die the SECOND death, from which there will be no further resurrection to life (Revelation 20:14-15; 21:8) — they will not be tortured forever and ever in an eternal hell fire, without ever being destroyed. We need to understand, too, that those who will be burnt up will have committed the unpardonable sin. As it is true in regard to the concept of “hell,” very few understand properly, either, what the “unpardonable sin” really is.
To learn more about the future of those who will be burnt up in gehenna fire, because they have committed the unpardonable sin, as well as the fate of all of those who have died, please read our free booklet, “Do You Have an Immortal Soul?”
