“That the unfaithful will be consigned to shame and the ‘second death,’ and the faithful invested with immortality, and exalted to reign with Jesus as joint heirs of the kingdom, co-possessors of the earth, and joint-administrators of God’s authority among men in everything.” Article XXV
We have illustrated that the “hell” of popular belief, as a place of everlasting torment for immortal souls is a myth. Everyone, upon dying, passes into the grave (often rendered as ‘hell’ in the Authorized Version), in which there is no conscious existence.
The Valley of the Son of Hinnom
There is a word in the New Testament which is often used in connection with the judicial punishment of the wicked, and which is invariably translated as ‘hell.'” This “Geena,” a Greek contraction of the Hebrew “Ge-Hinnom” (Valley of Tophet, Valley of the Son of Hinnom). This has reference to an ancient practice of the Phoenicians, who, like the Moabites and Ammonites, offered their children in sacrifice to their gods (See 2 Kings 3:26-27). This was based on the principle of a man’s offering to God that which was dearest and most precious to him. The crowning sacrifice of this type was the offering of his firstborn.
Israel, under the vilest of their kings, adopted this abominable form of idolatry, which brought the wrath of God upon them. Manasseh, the son of the righteous Hezekiah, king of Judah, perpetuated this practice in the high places (elevations in the valley of the Son of Hinnom. His wickedness was the crowning provocation to bring the Babylonians against Judah: “Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign . . And he did that which I was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab, king of Israel; and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them . . And he made his sons pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger” (2 Kings 21:1-6).
“Where their worm Dieth not, and the Fire is not Quenched”
The grandson of Manasseh, Josiah, effected a great reformation in Judah, and defiled Tophet, the scene of these abominable rites (see 2 Kings 23:10). This valley lay to the south of Jerusalem. In after years it became the receptacle of rubbish and the dead bodies of beasts and those of criminals, executed for major crimes. Because of the judicial nature of Ge-Hinnom, during the time of Christ, it became an appropriate symbol of Divine judgment and punishment. It is in this connection that the Lord used the word when speaking of the destiny of the wicked. The most quoted passages in reference to this place also mentions fire: “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell (geena), into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43-48).
Only on the surface do these words of Christ seem to lend support to the idea of endless torture for the incorrigible wicked. A careful analysis of His remarks reveal that Jesus did not say or intimate that the wicked, after being cast into Geena would remain alive. The reference to everlasting fire is an allusion to the fires which burned perpetually in the valley to consume the refuse discarded there. The worms which “dieth not” are not immortal worms, but rather are a reference to the ever present worms which fed on the dead bodies on the perimeter of the valley. The figure presents a very appropriate symbol of the judgment and punishment of the unrepentant sinner.
“Everlasting destruction from the Presence of the Lord”
What, then, do the Scriptures teach in regard to the punishment of the wicked? The doctrine is so clearly and frequently set forth in the Scriptures that it is difficult to understand how it can be almost universally ignored by the churches of Christendom. The following texts present only a sample of the many allusions made in the Word of God to the final destiny of the wicked:
Psa. 37:9-10, 20
“For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be . . . But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs they shall consume: into smoke shall their consume away.”
Malachi 4:1
‘For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” (If a tree is left without root –trunk—or branches, it no longer exists.)
Job 20:4-8
“Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which hare seen him shall say. Where is he?”
When Jesus spoke of the judgment to take place upon His return to the earth, when He would sit upon the throne of His glory, He represented the King as saying to the unfaithful upon His left hand, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels; . . . And these shall go away into everlasting punishment (Matt.
25:41, 46). The “everlasting lire- is a graphic description of the consuming anger of the Lord as He pours out upon them His wrath. Even taken literally, the everlasting nature of the lire merely indicates that nothing shall escape its consuming flames. Like “the lire that never shall be quenched” ( Mark 9:43-46). it is destined to consume everything in its path (see Jer. 7:20).
The nature of the punishment, though indicated as being everlasting, is not clearly defined here. However, the apostle Paul does speak of the everlasting punishment with such clarity that even child cannot fail to grasp its meaning: “And you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the or his power:” (2 Thes. 1:7-9). “Everlasting destruction” is indeed the fate of them who knowingly refuse to comply with the requirements set forth in the gospel. They shall “perish forever like their own dung” (Job 20:7), -perish at the presence of God” ( Psa. 68:2) and, as a consequence, shall “be no more” (Psa. 104:35).
In Res . 20:14- I 5, those who are not found written in the book of life arc depicted as being cast into the “lake of fire,” which John immediately defines, “This is the second death.” It is called the second Death because it, like the first, results in a stale of non-existence. It is called the Second death because, unlike the first or natural “dying, thou shalt die” death, it is unremedial. From this death, there shall be no resurrection.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One