The doctrine of hell

[anonymous person]

Also: Then THEY shall go forth and look on the corpses of
the men who have transgressed against Me for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched: and they shall be an abhorrence to all mankind" (Isaiah 66)

Using this non didactic passage to formulate a doctine of hell is a good illustration of a contravention of one of the fundamental principles of hermeneutics which states:

1. We must derive normative theological doctrine from didactic passages that deal with a particular doctrine explicitly.
A. We must never use implicit teaching to contradict explicit teaching.
B. We must never use implications from hortatory or historical passages to contradict explicit teachings from didactic or doctrinal passages.

The passage in Isaiah is not a didactic passage but more in line with typological prophecy. The passage in Mark where Jesus quotes a part of this is didactic. Paul's passages on hell are didactic. The passages in Revelation are didactic. The passage in Daniel is didactic.

That aside and quite ironically, the Isaiah passage which you allude to which has been said to be the "key" to conditionalism by one of conditionalism's own proponents, was itself interpreted to refer to the torments of eternal punishment both in rabbinical sources and in the Jewish apocryphal works like Judith.

But we need not even go that far. Rather we can safely conclude that Isaiah is simply emphasizing the ultimate triumph of God over His enemies and that Jesus when teaching on hell, uses a few phrases Isaiah uses to convey the horrible reality of it. He uses enough of it to get His point across without quoting the entire passage. He leaves out what is impertinent and quotes the pertinent. This coupled with the fact that Jesus speaks of the damned as having a "whole body" with which they are cast into hell with indicates He here is not envisioning some annihilationesque demise, for there would be no point in resurrecting someone with a body if it were just going to be annihilated and cease to be, but rather, and in accordance with the other numerous didactic passages on hell, a state wherein people are living separated from the light and love of God.

But it does not say they will forever be consciously in torment, rather that others will forever have shame and contempt for them.

The Isaiah passage is not a didactic passage on hell and I agree, we cannot conclude from it alone that those in hell suffer eternally.

In addition, it is incorrect to say that the righteous will have shame for the damned. Shame is not something one possesses for someone else, contempt maybe, but not shame. Shame is something that someone posseses for themselves, not someone else.

And it is the shame, contempt and abhorrence that is everlasting not the person.

But if you take the didactic passages on hell which are numerous and interpret Isaiah 66 in light of them instead of vice versa, you will find Jesus and the apostles always referring to persons as experiencing shame and contempt.

How does "everlasting contempt" become "everlasting torment"?

I don't think we have to say that it does. Rather, taking into account that divine revelation is progressive, we would rather say that the didactic passages on hell expound upon the notion of everlasting contempt and bring what Isaiah envisioned into clearer focus.

 

[Everybodyknows]

Let us discuss.

I was brought up Seventh Day Adventist. They don't believe in literal hell, the lake of fire is the place where all the wicked are thrown and their souls extinguished to everlasting death. A lot of their doctrines I disagree with but this one I like.

Are there any other denominations which have a non mainstream view of hell?

 

[Everybodyknows]

Almost all of the arguments against hell are based on assumptions that people make, the gist of it being that a loving God would never punish people with eternity in hell. This is exactly what the bible tells us not to do:

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Making an assumption that a God of love wouldn't or couldn't create a place like hell is leaning on your own understanding. The bible says that God is not only a God of love, but also a God of wrath. God has planned all along to take vengeance on His enemies on the day of judgment; this is clear, all through the scripture. Can the human mind weigh Gods love and Gods wrath and come up with what God should or shouldn't do?

Isaiah 55:9

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts

Those who doubt hell cannot prove it is not real, since the scripture plainly says it is, so they appeal to the flesh instead. Man instinctively hates Gods judgment and hates Gods holiness so it isn't too hard to talk someone out of believing in hell, mainly because they themselves don't believe they deserve to go there. Neither do those arguing contrary to the idea of hell, which is proof that they haven't humbled themselves before a holy God.

I feel sorry for anyone misleading people about Gods judgment; they are going to have a lot to answer for on judgment day. There are many on this forum spending all of their time and energy trying to disprove Gods word, to minimize His holiness, and to subtract from His righteous vengeance on sin; they are greatly deceived if they believe there will be no accounting of this at the judgment seat of Christ.

Those verses you referenced were written by people who didn't believe in hell.

 

[ViaCrucis]

If the concept of hell were as corrective action leading to repentance then it would be more acceptable. As it is presently understood it is abhorrent.

"As it is presently understood" depends on who you ask. There's going to be a significant difference in answers depending on if you ask a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church or a member of the Westboro Baptist Church.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[ViaCrucis]

I was brought up Seventh Day Adventist. They don't believe in literal hell, the lake of fire is the place where all the wicked are thrown and their souls extinguished to everlasting death. A lot of their doctrines I disagree with but this one I like.

Are there any other denominations which have a non mainstream view of hell?

Define "non mainstream". The reality is that there is no single mainstream view of hell; there are instead many mainstream views.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[ViaCrucis]

The view of hell as a place of eternal life assumes unconditional immortality, whereas the bible promises that the wages of sin is eternal death

The second death, or an "eternal" death doesn't mean "cease to exist". That is an assumption one would need to introduce themselves.

Unconditional immortality is a Greek view smuggled into Christian thought, probably by Augustine.

Nope. There are two problems with trying to claim Augustine is responsible for introducing such an idea; firstly the limited influence of Augustine; Augustine's theological influence has historically been limited to the Latin West. While Augustine is a saint in the Eastern Churches he is largely a minor player at best; in fact as I understand it there was no major attempt to translate his writings into Greek until the last couple hundred years, as such Greek scholars in the East would have had to learn and understand Latin to properly read and study Augustine. The other problem is that it's quite clear that there were still a diversity of views prior to Augustine, and the notion of a perpetual conscious hell can be seen pre-Augustine, e.g. in the writings of Tertullian.

The Jewish and early Christian view is conditional mortality where eternal death means exactly what it says: dead forever, seperated from the Life that God alone gives.

The problem, again, is that there's no evidence of this in Jewish or early Christian thought. Judaism is, in fact, even less clear on eschatological language, especially when it comes to Gehenna. But annihilationism has never been anything approximating "the Jewish view".

Trying to posit an either/or dichotomy between the Platonic belief in the immortality of the soul and annihilationism is a false one. This is easily demonstrated by the fact that we speak of a general resurrection of the dead, not just of the righteous, but of the wicked also. All the dead will be raised. So the ultimate state of the wicked is not about what happens to "souls", but what happens to flesh and bone human beings.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[food4thought]

I do agree with the overall gist of what you're saying here.

It's good to know I'm not totally off base.

A good rule I use is to go only as far as God has seen fit to reveal when teaching.

A good rule indeed.

Those things which God has given to us are ours, but the secret things belong to the Lord.

Christ spoke about hell, but not so much that we know every detail.

I don't really want to know more about it than I already do ~shudders~

Dr. Craig has actually some of the same thoughts you have with regards to the disposition of the damned and the accrual of sin throughout eternity. He argues against the notion that the inhabitants of hell become truly repentant and remorseful for their sins, but rather, they continually accrue guilt by being unrepentant and ever increasingly consumed by their pride and lust and passions.

I've been told that before... I keep telling myself I need to read him, but I never seem to get around to it.

If we think about it, why cannot hell be viewed as simply the final state of those who, by their continual choice to blaspheme the Holy Spirit (the unforgivable sin), have declared to God that they do not love Him, but hate Him, this disposition having been simultaneously evidenced and confirmed repeatedly throughout their lives by the choices they made?

Something for me to think about, thanks!

God bless;
Mike

 

[anonymous person]

It's good to know I'm not totally off base.



A good rule indeed.



I don't really want to know more about it than I already do ~shudders~



I've been told that before... I keep telling myself I need to read him, but I never seem to get around to it.



Something for me to think about, thanks!

God bless;
Mike

Do the Damned in Hell Accrue Further Punishment? | Reasonable Faith

 

[Bible Highlighter]

People that are annihilated do not weep. Nor do they gnash their teeth. Nor is it said to them, "Depart from me."

People that are annihilated do nothing for they cease to be.

Yet Christ tells us that those that are judged unworthy to enter heaven do these very things.

The main problem with your view that those who die in their sins are annihilated is that not only is there no scriptural support for such a notion, but that said notion is contradicted in several passages.

Actually, I believe in "Dualistic Conditional Immortality." This means, I believe there is a literal place called "hell" that the wicked go to. I just do not believe it is a torture chamber. The rich man was tormented by the heat of the flames that were in front of him in the great gulf between him and Abraham. I believe the Lake of Fire (after the Judgment) is where the wicked will be annihiated (Including Satan and his minions). Evil will be no more. God and His goodness will be the only thing that will remain for all eternity. For why should God keep evil hanging around? What purpose does that serve? The short answer is that it doesn't serve a purpose. God and His goodness will reign supreme in the Eternal New Earth. But if you feel comforted with the idea of God torturing people for all eternity, then by all means go ahead and believe that. If you feel that is fair justice (Whereby you cannot make a real world example or parable explaining the fairness of such a thing) then by all means you can go ahead and believe such a thing.

Just please realize that your belief on such a thing would not be rational or Biblical.


...

 

[Saved&Sanctified]

Hi everyone,

I am new here and found this topic to be of interest to me due to a personal experience I witnessed with a family member a few months ago.

So, I get a call early one morning saying that my older Brother has been taken into hospital, as he is experiencing difficulties breathing, and that I had to make my way down as it seemed serious.

Now cut a long story short, my Brother, chose to live a life devoted to heroin. He spent most of his life in prison, brought pain and heartache to the family and to other innocent people. He stole, lied and did anything he could to get his hands on money to feed his habit.

My Brother had a tough childhood, his Father beat him and my Mother for years - I guess you can say that he was never going to turn out a happy and successful adult after years of enduring what he did.
His heart was in the right place at times, but the addiction always won in the end, and others suffered for it.

Anyway, off to the hospital I went. I hadn't seen my Brother for years - what I saw when I walked towards his bed was the body of a frail 53 year old man, who was suffering immensely.

Now, getting to the point of why I wanted to share this on this thread.
I watched my Brother struggle to breath with EVERY breath he took. I watched him for 8hrs - he had a mask on to help him breath, it wasn't enough. He was petrified, in and out of consciousness - he was seeing things/trying to speak, totally restless.. he was crying, wincing.. trying to grab hold of me and my family, the grip on his hands and the look on his face was sheer unadulterated pain and fear. I couldn't understand why, God would allow such suffering - Imagine someone strangling you on and off for 8 hrs straight - That's what it was like.

In that moment, I felt God was trying to show me something.
I thought in my heart that when my Brother left this earth, his soul would, no doubt, go to a very dark and horrible place.
I heard God tell me that what I was currently witnessing, was him showing my Brother ALL the hurt and pain that he caused to others - that the suffering I was witnessing, was the sheer shock of coming face to face with our just and all-loving God, and feeling the hurt, pain and anguish that he brought to all those people in his lifetime.
The more I watched him, the more I could see that this suffering was indeed, for a reason.

After hours of suffering and fear, my Brother relaxed for a few minutes, then took his last breath.
He looked at peace - he looked better in death than he'd looked for some time in life.

I believe in my heart that God showed him his sins and wrongdoings, then looked into his heart - I believe God forgave my Brother, that he could see that he was genuinely sorry for the life he chose and pain he inflicted on others.

I believe that we don't get let off lightly, and that God is a just God.. and if we are truly sorry for the things we've done in this lifetime, we are given a chance.

God knows what's in our hearts, I believe he gives us the chance to redeem ourselves - whatever the sin, as long as we truly repent and want forgiveness.

 

[Everybodyknows]

Define "non mainstream". The reality is that there is no single mainstream view of hell; there are instead many mainstream views.

-CryptoLutheran

Ok maybe mainstream isn't the best word. I meant it in the sense of the eternal and infinite place of suffering. Nonetheless I was curious about getting an idea of the differing views of hell among the various sects of Christianity. What are the similarities and differences? Are there any others like the SDAs that reject the idea altogether?

 

[anonymous person]

Hi everyone,

I am new here and found this topic to be of interest to me due to a personal experience I witnessed with a family member a few months ago.

So, I get a call early one morning saying that my older Brother has been taken into hospital, as he is experiencing difficulties breathing, and that I had to make my way down as it seemed serious.

Now cut a long story short, my Brother, chose to live a life devoted to heroin. He spent most of his life in prison, brought pain and heartache to the family and to other innocent people. He stole, lied and did anything he could to get his hands on money to feed his habit.

My Brother had a tough childhood, his Father beat him and my Mother for years - I guess you can say that he was never going to turn out a happy and successful adult after years of enduring what he did.
His heart was in the right place at times, but the addiction always won in the end, and others suffered for it.

Anyway, off to the hospital I went. I hadn't seen my Brother for years - what I saw when I walked towards his bed was the body of a frail 53 year old man, who was suffering immensely.

Now, getting to the point of why I wanted to share this on this thread.
I watched my Brother struggle to breath with EVERY breath he took. I watched him for 8hrs - he had a mask on to help him breath, it wasn't enough. He was petrified, in and out of consciousness - he was seeing things/trying to speak, totally restless.. he was crying, wincing.. trying to grab hold of me and my family, the grip on his hands and the look on his face was sheer unadulterated pain and fear. I couldn't understand why, God would allow such suffering - Imagine someone strangling you on and off for 8 hrs straight - That's what it was like.

In that moment, I felt God was trying to show me something.
I thought in my heart that when my Brother left this earth, his soul would, no doubt, go to a very dark and horrible place.
I heard God tell me that what I was currently witnessing, was him showing my Brother ALL the hurt and pain that he caused to others - that the suffering I was witnessing, was the sheer shock of coming face to face with our just and all-loving God, and feeling the hurt, pain and anguish that he brought to all those people in his lifetime.
The more I watched him, the more I could see that this suffering was indeed, for a reason.

After hours of suffering and fear, my Brother relaxed for a few minutes, then took his last breath.
He looked at peace - he looked better in death than he'd looked for some time in life.

I believe in my heart that God showed him his sins and wrongdoings, then looked into his heart - I believe God forgave my Brother, that he could see that he was genuinely sorry for the life he chose and pain he inflicted on others.

I believe that we don't get let off lightly, and that God is a just God.. and if we are truly sorry for the things we've done in this lifetime, we are given a chance.

God knows what's in our hearts, I believe he gives us the chance to redeem ourselves - whatever the sin, as long as we truly repent and want forgiveness.

This is a very sincere and heartfelt post and I thank you for considering us worthy to read it.

I wholeheartedly agree with you as do the scriptures, that those that come to Christ in earnest repentance after having been drawn by the Father and convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit, are born again and pass from death unto life and shall never be separated from God as those who by a willful rejection of the light they are given, are eternally separated.

Now, imagine for a moment a man in all respects just like your brother, suffering and gasping for breath on his death bed. Imagine God showing the man his wretchedness and wickedness. Now imagine God revealing His incomprehensible holiness and purity to the man. Imagine seeing the man lying in agony, twisting and turning and crying and wailing and gasping, but not because he is overwhelmed by remorse and sorrow, but because he is consumed with incomprehensible hatred towards God. Imagine him being so repulsed by such a Holy splendor and majesty that is God that he would feign suffer a thousand and a thousand agonizing deaths than to be forced to abide in the presence of such a dispicable and Holy being for even a moment.

For such a man as the one we imagine, heaven would literally be a place of utter darkness, sorrow, and torment. God would be his continual antagonist and he would be surrounded forever by beings who were loathsome to him.

Imagine...

We lament the notion that a God who loves would consign to hell them that love Him not. Should we not rather lament the notion that God would consign to heaven them that hate Him?

 

[Saved&Sanctified]

This is a very sincere and heartfelt post and I thank you for considering us worthy to read it.

I wholeheartedly agree with you as do the scriptures, that those that come to Christ in earnest repentance after having been drawn by the Father and convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit, are born again and pass from death unto life and shall never be separated from God as those who by a willful rejection of the light they are given, are eternally separated.

Now, imagine for a moment a man in all respects just like your brother, suffering and gasping for breath on his death bed. Imagine God showing the man his wretchedness and wickedness. Now imagine God revealing His incomprehensible holiness and purity to the man. Imagine seeing the man lying in agony, twisting and turning and crying and wailing and gasping, but not because he is overwhelmed by remorse and sorrow, but because he is consumed with incomprehensible hatred towards God. Imagine him being so repulsed by such a Holy splendor and majesty that is God that he would feign suffer a thousand and a thousand agonizing deaths than to be forced to abide in the presence of such a dispicable and Holy being for even a moment.

For such a man as the one we imagine, heaven would literally be a place of utter darkness, sorrow, and torment. God would be his continual antagonist and he would be surrounded forever by beings who were loathsome to him.

Imagine...

We lament the notion that a God who loves would consign to hell them that love Him not. Should we not rather lament the notion that God would consign to heaven them that hate Him?

Wow.. Just wow!
That's an amazing thought and makes perfect sense.
I guess there is just some things we will never truly know until our time comes.

I get what you are saying, imagine an unbeliever dying then suddenly coming face to face with his maker having lived a life of sheer and utter disbelief. The shock?

It upsets me to see so many people opt for that choice, when it's so clearly obvious that we are like no other species.
One only has to look around us to see the beauty of God, and the magnificence of his creation.

Back onto the subject, do I believe in a hell?
No, but I do believe that God is just enough to make sure that person see's and feels the intensity, of their un-confessed sins.

 

[Dave-W]

Would it be incorrect to say people are in Hell for eternity? The term "Hell" has evolved to mean the place where people are punished after death.

In popular usage - yes. But it is not technically correct as Hell is thrown into the Lake of Fire (where the unsaved burn for eternity)

 

[Dave-W]

What other option is there?

To see sinfulness from God's perspective.

 

[Dave-W]

Thing is we define love how love is defined in human standards. It's the only way we can define love.

Not so. Paul tells us:
Rom 11.22 Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.

Any definition of God's love has to include that fact.

 

[Sammy-San]

In popular usage - yes. But it is not technically correct as Hell is thrown into the Lake of Fire (where the unsaved burn for eternity)

Isn't that like saying cherubim aren't angels?

 

[Bible Highlighter]

I believe church tradition can be strong and that people are not willing to admit that the church can be wrong on such a thing. I challenge you to look at God's Word in regards to the word "forever."

For the word "forever" (and it's related words) does not always mean forever in the Bible. “Forever” can be talking about "forever" here on this Earth (as long as someone lives) or in having a sense of "completeness" or "totality" for a specific thing). For what do you make of the following verses below that say that "forever" (or it's related words) is not forever?

• In Genesis 13:15 the land of Canaan is given to Israel “forever”.

• The Law is to be a statute “forever” (Exodus 12:24; Exodus 27:21; Exodus 28:43).

• Sodom's fiery judgment is "eternal" (Jude 1:7) until -- God "will restore the fortunes of Sodom" (Ezekiel 16:53-55).

• Israel's "affliction is incurable" (Jeremiah 30:12) until -- the Lord "will restore health" and heal her wounds (Jeremiah 30:17).

• The sin of Samaria "is incurable" (Micah 1:9) until -- Lord "will restore ... the fortunes of Samaria." (Ezekiel 16:53).

• Ammon is to become a "wasteland forever" and "rise no more" (Zephaniah 2:9, Jeremiah 25:27 until -- the Lord will "restore the fortunes of the Ammonites" (Jeremiah 49:6).

• An Ammonite or Moabite is forbidden to enter the Lord's congregation "forever" until -- the tenth generation (Deuteronomy 23:3):

• Habakkuk tells us of mountains that were "everlasting" until -- they "were shattered" Habakkuk 3:6).

• The Aaronic Priesthood was to be an "everlasting" priesthood (Exodus 40:15), that is-until-it was superceded by the Melchizedek Priesthood (Hebrews 7:14-18).

• Many translations of the Bible inform us that God would dwell in Solomon's Temple "forever" (1 Kings 8:13), until -- the Temple was destroyed.

• The children of Israel were to "observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant" (Exodus 31:16)-until -- Paul states there remains "another day" of Sabbath rest for the people of God (Hebrews 4:8-9).

• The Law of Moses was to be an "everlasting covenant" (Leviticus 24:8) yet we read in the New Covenant the first was "done away" and "abolished" (2 Corinthians 3:11-13), and God "made the first old" (Hebrews 8:13).

• The fire for Israel's sin offering (of a ram without blemish) is never to be put out. It shall be a "perpetual" until -- Christ, the Lamb of God, dies for our sins.
Hell. We now have a better covenant established on better promises (Leviticus 6:12-13, Hebrews 8:6-13).

• God's waves of wrath roll over Jonah "forever" until--the Lord delivers him from the large fish's belly on the third day (Jonah 2:6-10; Jonah 1:17); Egypt and Elam will "rise no more" (Jeremiah 25:27) until -- the Lord will "restore the fortunes of Egypt" (Ezekiel 29:14) and "restore the fortunes of Elam" (Jeremiah 49:39).

• "Moab is destroyed" (Jeremiah 48:4, Jeremiah 48:42) until--the Lord "will restore the fortunes of Moab" (Jeremiah 48:47).

• Israel's judgment lasts "forever" until -- the Spirit is poured out and God restores it (Isaiah 32:13-15).

• The King James Bible, as well as many others, tells us that a bond slave was to serve his master "forever" (Exodus 21:6), until -- his death.

• “Eternal” (Greek aionia, αιονια) is sometimes used of a limited (not endless) period of time. But the most common use is illustrated in 2 Corinthians 4:18 where it is contrasted with “temporal” and in Philemon 1:15 where it is contrasted with “for a while.”


Here is the source for list above for the Scriptural examples used on the word "forever":
http://www.apttoteach.org/attjom/index.php

 

[Sammy-San]

In popular usage - yes. But it is not technically correct as Hell is thrown into the Lake of Fire (where the unsaved burn for eternity)

THE MULTITUDE OF EVIL ANGELS: CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE | Paw Creek Ministries

The Lake of Fire is simply an extension of Hell that we see throughout the Bible.

 

[anonymous person]

I believe church tradition can be strong and that people are not willing to admit that the church can be wrong on such a thing. I challenge you to look at God's Word in regards to the word "forever."

For the word "forever" (and it's related words) does not always mean forever in the Bible. “Forever” can be talking about "forever" here on this Earth (as long as someone lives) or in having a sense of "completeness" or "totality" for a specific thing). For what do you make of the following verses below that say that "forever" (or it's related words) is not forever?

• In Genesis 13:15 the land of Canaan is given to Israel “forever”.

• The Law is to be a statute “forever” (Exodus 12:24; Exodus 27:21; Exodus 28:43).

• Sodom's fiery judgment is "eternal" (Jude 1:7) until -- God "will restore the fortunes of Sodom" (Ezekiel 16:53-55).

• Israel's "affliction is incurable" (Jeremiah 30:12) until -- the Lord "will restore health" and heal her wounds (Jeremiah 30:17).

• The sin of Samaria "is incurable" (Micah 1:9) until -- Lord "will restore ... the fortunes of Samaria." (Ezekiel 16:53).

• Ammon is to become a "wasteland forever" and "rise no more" (Zephaniah 2:9, Jeremiah 25:27 until -- the Lord will "restore the fortunes of the Ammonites" (Jeremiah 49:6).

• An Ammonite or Moabite is forbidden to enter the Lord's congregation "forever" until -- the tenth generation (Deuteronomy 23:3):

• Habakkuk tells us of mountains that were "everlasting" until -- they "were shattered" Habakkuk 3:6).

• The Aaronic Priesthood was to be an "everlasting" priesthood (Exodus 40:15), that is-until-it was superceded by the Melchizedek Priesthood (Hebrews 7:14-18).

• Many translations of the Bible inform us that God would dwell in Solomon's Temple "forever" (1 Kings 8:13), until -- the Temple was destroyed.

• The children of Israel were to "observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant" (Exodus 31:16)-until -- Paul states there remains "another day" of Sabbath rest for the people of God (Hebrews 4:8-9).

• The Law of Moses was to be an "everlasting covenant" (Leviticus 24:8) yet we read in the New Covenant the first was "done away" and "abolished" (2 Corinthians 3:11-13), and God "made the first old" (Hebrews 8:13).

• The fire for Israel's sin offering (of a ram without blemish) is never to be put out. It shall be a "perpetual" until -- Christ, the Lamb of God, dies for our sins.
Hell. We now have a better covenant established on better promises (Leviticus 6:12-13, Hebrews 8:6-13).

• God's waves of wrath roll over Jonah "forever" until--the Lord delivers him from the large fish's belly on the third day (Jonah 2:6-10; Jonah 1:17); Egypt and Elam will "rise no more" (Jeremiah 25:27) until -- the Lord will "restore the fortunes of Egypt" (Ezekiel 29:14) and "restore the fortunes of Elam" (Jeremiah 49:39).

• "Moab is destroyed" (Jeremiah 48:4, Jeremiah 48:42) until--the Lord "will restore the fortunes of Moab" (Jeremiah 48:47).

• Israel's judgment lasts "forever" until -- the Spirit is poured out and God restores it (Isaiah 32:13-15).

• The King James Bible, as well as many others, tells us that a bond slave was to serve his master "forever" (Exodus 21:6), until -- his death.

• “Eternal” (Greek aionia, αιονια) is sometimes used of a limited (not endless) period of time. But the most common use is illustrated in 2 Corinthians 4:18 where it is contrasted with “temporal” and in Philemon 1:15 where it is contrasted with “for a while.”


Here is the source for list above for the Scriptural examples used on the word "forever":
http://www.apttoteach.org/attjom/index.php

Context determines how a word is to be understood. In Matthew 25:46, no less an authority than Jesus Himself says that everyone will fall into one of two categories, them that inherit eternal life and them that inherit eternal punishment. This is a didactic passage on the duration of the two states that all will find themselves in, being consigned to either the former or the latter. Life is constrasted with punishment, both being eternal in duration.

All the other obscure, impertinent passages which are not didactic in nature are to be interpreted in LIGHT OF THIS and other didactic passages.

Whether or not chruch tradition says this or that, or is wrong about this or that is simply irrelevant.