If Jesus is quoting Isaiah, shouldn’t we read Isaiah too? How can we read about a God who says over and over again in scripture that he is “Just” and wants fairness among his people; commands an “eye for an eye and tooth for tooth” and then Himself tortures these same people mercilessly for not ten’s of years, not hundred’s of years, not million’s or years, not billion’s of years, not trillion’s of years, not eons, but eternity. I’m not sure why, but I think it was at that point that I really started to “see the light.”, (Letters from a Skeptic, Dr. Gregory A. Boyd, Chariot Victor Publishing, Colorado Springs, CO, 1994, pages 160, 164, 166 &189 respectively). Biblically speaking, human beings are not immortal. I think this is sufficient evidence to show that this is a very important topic. (Revelation 14:11 & 16:2). Sadly, there is much, much more in Traditional theological literature which has ridiculous statements like those of Samuel Hoskins. Life After Death - Paul Nethercott.PDF (61k) Robert Joseph T., 31 Aug 2013, 05:24. v.2. This is what is biblically true. Isn’t it hard to believe that such an important teaching as eternal torment has no clear verses stating this fate in the Old Testament? Why would immortality come through the gospel if all had it from birth? If you read John’s gospel and think of the concept of immortality whenever you hear Jesus (Yeshua) speak of offering “life,” it will make complete sense. This is clear because the bible plainly states that the beast originated from the Abyss (Revelation 11:7 and 17:8). . There are two emotions here, shame and contempt. After they have received their appropriate “stripes,” then they will “perish” as John 3:16 states. Source: The Resurrection and Immortality, William West, Xulon Press, 2006, various excerpts from chapter two. It is important to notice here, however, that it is the fire that Jesus describes as enduring, NOT that which is cast into it. Again, Paul did not believe the Greek philosophers who taught the immortality of all souls, neither did Yeshua (Jesus): I am the living bread that came down from heaven. It is called the “second death” in scripture. And what was that punishment? The gospel would not have brought about immortality–since all had it. John did not write: “Whoever believes in Him shall not have everlasting life in torment.”, Remember, the wicked will not have immortality at all. I then noticed all the times the Bible used the word “perish,” “destroy,” “everlasting destruction,” “death,” and plus something in me telling me that a God who is love would never do this–Your website has brought me peace. However, the “wage of sin” (Romans 6:23) is ultimately death, not the suffering process in getting to death itself. (J. Stott and D. Edwards, Essentials: A Liberal-Evangelical Dialogue, London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1988, p. 316); Stott is correct. (John 6:51). He is a member of the American Bar Association, Houston Bar Association and State Bar of Texas. Yet Paul taught no such thing because Jesus taught no such thing, not to mention the bible they taught from,the Old Testament,teaches no such thing. That is really why it is a punishment to him or her. They are “gnashing” their teeth at Israel. Surely the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is no fiend; torturing people without end is not what our God does. The rest of humanity, after suffering according to the level of their sins, will be destroyed. They were not saying they would be willing to undergo eternal torment. Why would Jesus make such an offer–to “live forever”–if everyone lives forever? (see Matthew 7:13-14, Romans 8:13, Galatians 6:8), Immortality is only for a select few-those who are born again (“who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” 2 Timothy 1:10). Moses said nothing of eternal torture. God only has immortality. The same Greek word is used for both Lot and Satan being tormented. Acts 7:54–When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. However, there will be a resurrection one day of all humanity, a bodily resurrection. If they did, then Paul’s statement would make no sense. They are not used with these meaning in our everyday language. (Jesus would have known it in context and so should we.) It means that “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Conditional Immortality: The Case for Orthodoxy on the Doctrine of Annihilationism. ), You said it about as forcefully as it can be said. In 1 Corinthians 15:53 the great Rabbi teaches that the redeemed will not become immortal until the time of their resurrection. However, this topic is very important and the wrong answer can put up unnecessary stumbling blocks to the unsaved and even to believers. So from the hermeneutical principle that “scripture interprets scripture,” we can see very clearly that when Jesus (Yeshua) says: “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” Luke 13:28. Perhaps it means eternal torment? Does the SDA Church Borrow From The Watchtower - George Burnside.PDF (409k) Robert Joseph T., 28 Jul 2013, 04:44. v.1. (Did you ever consider that?) During the Reformation, Luther, "Tyndale", and Wycliffe supported the view of conditional immortality. CAIN: His sin was the first murder, which, by most, is believed to be the greatest of all sins. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. Why? No other book in the world uses these words this way. Then we will be permitted to view them. The character of God is at stake. That the smoke lingers forever in the air means that the judgment’s message will never become out of date. As proof I propose five sets of arguments (listed in Contents) from the Bible and Church History. It is clear as a bell that God did not want them to live forever as sinners. This scripture is not to be given any theological “spin” to its meaning. Don’t you have to redefine “destroy” in every single one of these instances in order to get something other than “destruction” as the final fate of the unsaved? God would certainly NOT approve of any courtroom sentencing any human criminal to unending conscious physical torture 24/7/365. This seems to indicate that even for the lost, (whom God would rather have saved, had they come to Him), it is still better to have been born and then lost to life than to never have been born at all. Even evangelical biblical scholar Clark Pinnock rightly states about this eternal torture doctrine, “How can one love a God like that? This would be called “cruel and unusual punishment.” The 8thAmendment to the United States Constitution states this. This immortality, or everlasting life, shall then be put on at the second coming of Christ and the resurrection of the … Also, Edward Fudge has been recognized by both “Who’s Who in Law” and “Who’s Who in Religion.” His book on this subject is a classic read by many scholars. [6] While annihilationism places emphasis on the active destruction of a person, conditionalism places emphasis on a person's dependence upon God for life; the extinction of the person is thus a passive consequence of separation from God, much like natural death is a consequence of prolonged separation from food, water, and air. I ask you, when have you ever heard a message offering immortality as part of the gospel presentation? The New Testament writers used the Old Testament types to show how the destruction of sinners in the hands of an angry God happens. Because Jesus quotes it verbatim in Mark 9:48. Because we believe that Jesus suffered and died for us here (and that is the gospel), therefore, it is a safe assumption to believe that unbelievers who suffer terribly in this life will have that suffering count towards the payment for their sins. The prospect that one day a vast number of people will be consigned to the everlasting torment of hell is most disturbing and distressing to sensitive Christians. If all souls are born immortal, then why are we encouraged to seek it? However, upon closer examination of the text, it is nowhere to be found. This cannot be stressed enough. These are people who are forced to receive the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:16). Reread that statement. And I’m just not at the point where I can pretend to “suspend” judgment about this. Look at Capital Punishment in theory. ” (Matthew 7:13). So I ask, why do some Christians seem so upset if the lost are not tortured forever? It’s a contradiction in terms. Conditional Immortality: The Case for Orthodoxy on the Doctrine of Annihilationism - Kindle edition by Tanoto, Tanwin. . Perhaps God will raise them back to life to enjoy the Kingdom they will clearly see in front of them? Mankind is headed toward death–the first death, followed by the Second Death. Or do you believe that God does have the ability to destroy the soul, but chooses not to? It will not be conscious. He is not, by nature, immortal. Why doesn’t He just perform a divine act of euthanasia and exterminate the damned? Therefore, the proper biblical question is not, “Where will you be in eternity?” but “Will you have an eternity?”, Sadly, most of humanity will be destroyed on Judgment Day. The unsaved will be destroyed forever. Better to pay for it here than there. Notice Psalm 97:2-3 above: before stating that God will judge and destroy his enemies with consuming fire, it assuredly states that ”righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.”. They will be ashes by this time (Malachi 4:3), Notice the Jewish apostle Peter draws this same conclusion, “And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly” (2 Peter 2:6). Certainly the fact that we, as believers, will go out and “look upon” these dead bodies in Gehenna (hell) must make us change the paradigm by we see the fate of the lost through. However, the teachings of Arnobius (d. 330) are often interpreted as the first to defend annihilationism explicitly. with a major in Bible and a minor in Biology from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina (class of ’82). This is at the point in time when all in Gehenna (hell) have already died in “body and soul” (Matthew 10:28). These figures are all employed to depict the fate of sinners at the final reckoning. Thankfully, Conditionally Immortality is growing in belief among evangelicals. It resorts to no difficult theological or philosophical gyrations. Israel’s enemies are angry and have attacked Israel. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christian_conditionalism&oldid=993720649, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2010, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 12 December 2020, at 03:16. God judges the rebellious even as He mercifully puts them out of existence…, It is very important to see how Dr. Boyd’s father responds to this information which he had never heard before (since he had never heard this point of view before. He makes his main points with force and persuasiveness.”, CLARK H. PINNOCK, McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario: “I know of no book which answers this powerful case.”, W. WARD GASQUE, Eastern College, Philadelphia: “An important and thought-provoking book that gives careful attention to the actual words of Scripture.”, DALE MOODY (Deceased), The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky: “I know of no biblical passage which, interpreted rightly and in context, conflicts with the conclusions of this book.”, THOMAS H. OLBRICHT (Retired), Pepperdine University, Malibu, Calif: “Evidence for the common assumption that the wicked will suffer eternal conscious torture may not be as conclusive as assumed.”, JOHN F. WALVOORD (Retired), Dallas Theological Seminary: “The most extensive study (of the subject) in recent years . Really need to reconsider the logic of their sins final picture is one thing to experience eternal.... Are forced to receive the message of immortality that life which but for it their appropriate “ stripes they... [ 1 ] and Wycliffe supported the view of final punishment, Houston,,... 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