Is Hellfire Eternal
A common misconception is that hellfire will last forever, the teaching goes as follows; when one dies they will be writhing in pain for all eternity for the sins they committed here on earth. However, the author would like to point the reader to this verse:
1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
As we know our God is a God of love. Does it seem likely that a God that knows the number of the hairs on your head (Luke 12:7), who wishes “all would come to repentance” (2 peter 3:9). Would punish his children without end for disobeying? Not to downplay the sin of disobeying God but picture this: Would a father beat a child for twenty years if the child played football in the house and broke the TV? I’m sure you’d agree he wouldn’t. Even if the child broke the TV out of spite, a good father wouldn’t have the heart to hear the pain of his child for probably more than a few minutes. Who is more loving God or our earthly fathers?
Matthew 7:11 “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”
Let me ask the question if you being evil wouldn’t punish your children disproportionately why would you think a just God would? Isn’t it written Proverbs 11:1 “A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight”. Now I’m sure you’re thinking “but the scriptures say God will punish us with everlasting fire?” we will start here.
What does everlasting fire mean?
As we know words change their meaning over time, the word “gay” hundreds of years ago used to mean something else, but if you take your modern day understanding of the word and try to apply it to this verse would you hit the right conclusion? James 2:3 “And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing…” Is James telling us to respect people who wear homosexual clothing? No. The word gay here comes from the Greek word “Lampros” (strong’s G2986) which means “bright”. Let’s use this line of reasoning to understand what the words “everlasting”, “eternal” and “for ever” mean.
First of all let’s start with Jude 1:7. Did Sodom and Gomorrha suffer from “eternal fire”? Jude 1:7 “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire”. Do we see Sodom and Gomorrha still burning till this day? No. The word eternal in the Greek translates from the word “aionios” (strong’s G166) which is the same word for “everlasting”. Both versions of the word are adjectives. An adjective describes, identifies or further describes a noun. The word “everlasting” is being used to describe the type of fire that was used to destroy Sodom. In other words, it was a fire they couldn’t quench. Why? Because God kindled it. If the people of Sodom could just get some water and put out the fires, then it would be a regular fire. The word “everlasting” therefore is a literary device to describe the severity of the fire not the length of burning. Now we can understand what Jesus meant by “everlasting/eternal fire”
Matthew 18:8 “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire [unquenchable fire]”.
Matthew 25:41 “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire [unquenchable fire]. prepared for the devil and his angels”.
I want to point out something here, notice in Matthew 25:41 it says the fire is prepared for the devil and his angels. Will the devil burn forever? In Ezekiel 28 God talks to Satan and tells him his punishment. Notice what he says in verses 18 and 19:
Ezekiel 28:17 “Thine heart [Satan] was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee 18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. 19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more”.
In verse 18 God tells Satan he’ll turn him to “ashes”. Do ashes burn? Common sense would tell us ash is the product of a burnt substance. What else does God tell Satan? “never shalt thou be any more”. So wait a minute… God will burn you forever, but the person that started this whole thing, Satan, gets to escape with a temporary punishment? Doesn’t sound fair to me... The reason it makes no sense is because the idea of burning without end in hellfire is a doctrine conjured up by Satan to misrepresent the character of God!
But then again, these kinds of doctrines were prophesied to happen, we’re in the latter times: 1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.
Is Jerusalem burning till today?
2Ki 22:17 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched”. When Jerusalem was burnt by King Nebuchadnezzar for it’s transgressions, it was with “unquenchable fire”. Is Jerusalem still burning? No. The word unquenchable was to describe the extremity of the fire, not to state that the fire will continually burn without end. Jeremiah 7:20 “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched”. Hence, this same kind of language was carried over into the new testament. When they speak of unquenchable fire, or everlasting fire, it’s not a fire that will literally burn forever. The verses on the lake of fire make more sense in the context of how they spoke now. Mar 9:43 “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, into the fire that never shall be quenched”.
Do we have more verses which prove you don’t burn forever in hellfire?
Malachi 4:1-3 “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. 2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. 3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts”.
So, from this verse we learn a few points:
- God will burn all the wicked. “all that do wickedly”.
- God will burn them up. “burn them up”.
- God will not leave any piece of them. “It shall leave them neither root nor branch”
- The saints will step on the wicked, “Ye shall tread down the wicked”
- The wicked like Satan will be turned to ashes. “They shall be ashes under the soles of your feet”
At this point it’s becoming obvious that no one burns forever. Are there more verses? Yes, there are. In Isaiah it reads:
Isaiah 66:22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth [see Revelation 21], which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. 24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh”.
In Isaiah 66 there are a few things to learn here, firstly it’s talking about the same time period as Malachi 4:1-3. The men that have transgressed God are those who have risen in the second resurrection (Revelation 20:5-6). They come against the city of new Jerusalem:
Revelation 20:9 “And they went [Satan and the wicked] up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them [Satan and the wicked]”.
After the fire comes down Isaiah 66:24 explains that the saints will exit the gates of the city and see the carcasses of all the wicked, that’s when they step on their ashes. In other words, hellfire or the lake of fire happens at a specific point in time. That time is one thousand years after the second coming (Revelation 20:5).
Do we yet have another verse which proves that no wicked person will burn forever?
One of my favourite books in the Bible is the book of Obadiah, this overlooked one-chapter book has a gem in it, which would calm the hearts and minds of people who follow God out of fear of burning without end. In Obadiah 1:15-16 we read:
Obadiah 1:15-16 “For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen [all the wicked]: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen [all the wicked] drink continually, yea, they shall drink [accept their fate], and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been”.
To drink prophetically speaking means to accept one’s portion or fate we this in John 18:11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? The wicked are “drinking” their punishment, for the sins they committed in their lives. What is the result? “they shall be as though they had not been”. Do you know what it’s like to be as though you hadn’t been? Think of the time before you were born. That’s what will happen to all the wicked. The only thing that is permanent in God’s judgement is death. When you suffer the second death, you will NEVER get back up again. In fact, how can people still be burning if death itself is cast into the lake of fire?
Rev 20:14 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death”. Death is cast into the lake of fire, because once the people die there’s no more death. Those in the lake of fire die the final death ever. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”.
This is what the Lord explains in romans 6:23, the wages of sin isn’t life eternal in fire? It’s death! In John 3:16 “it reads For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.
You only get eternal life (the way we understand the word eternal today), IF you believe in Christ, so how would the wicked live for ever in fire without immortality. Right now everyone is mortal. Can we back that claim up with scripture? 1 Corinthians 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. If we’re mortal right now, then I ask how we can live forever in hellfire? Do you know where this lie started from? The garden of Eden. Notice what Satan says to eve. Genesis 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. The doctrine of immortality of the soul is a lie started by Satan, yet most of the Christian world believes it. That’s because they’re fulfilling prophecy where it says:
Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him”. By believing one burns forever in hellfire, you’re fulfilling the prophecy of being deceived by the Devil. Before I end, I must clear up one more misconception about the word “forever” notice one thing:
How does the smoke of the wicked’s torment ascend for ever and ever?
Revelation 14:10 “ The same [those who accept the mark] shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels [they surrounded new Jerusalem], and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name”.
Did you ask yourself when reading this verse why the word forever is split in two? And why is the “ever” repeated? Because in the seventeenth century, the word “forever” didn’t exist yet. It was created by combining the two words for and ever (source). The term “for ever” implied a long period of time, in fact it still does till this day. When you’re in a long queue that hasn’t been moving for a while, what do you say? “We’ve been waiting in line forever”. When you’re stuck in traffic what do you say? “I’ve been stuck in traffic forever”. Do you literally mean you’ve been in traffic for eternity? No. In the Bible we also see that same language for the word for ever not literally meaning eternity. Exodus 21:6 “Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever”. The slave who chose to serve his master forever, can’t physically live forever, it just meant in that context “as long as he lived”. Hence, the smoke of the wicked’s torment will ascend “as long as they live”. Whilst they are alive they will burn till they are burnt up and no more. Another verse which parallels this is Isaiah 34:6; 10-11 “6 The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. 10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. 11 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness”. Idumea was Edom, it was burnt for destruction, but Edom isn’t still burning till this very day. Their smoke ascends as long as they live. Due to some burning longer than others some will suffer many days.
How can we be sure when Jesus says everlasting life that’s eternal?
We know that the righteous will have eternal life (a life without end) because they put on immortality. Furthermore, if there is no death in the new Jerusalem, there’s no stopping condition whereby the word eternal or everlasting can take another meaning but the one we understand today. Revelation 21:4 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away”. Contrary to this, we see the wicked will “be as though they had not been”.
In conclusion I pray your eyes were opened to the truth about hellfire, and you realise that God is indeed a God of love. He is not a God of eternal anger. That’s what Satan wants you to think. I pray his deceptions have been cleared from your mind and you’re that much more prepared for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Maranatha!
