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All Christians agree that God is love, but how can a loving God condone eternal torture even for people who deserve it?
The Holy See recently published a statement denying the existence of hell. This statement became immediately controversial because it seemed to deny divine justice. Unfortunately, most of the arguments opposing the new Catholic definition of Final Judgment are due to lack of documentation for the assertion.
Here follows documentation I've gleaned from various sources concerning the Biblical point of view on the subject. It's called the Doctrine of Annihilation or Conditional Immortality and seems to provide a logical Biblical context for resolving the logical dilemma of how a loving God can dispense justice without eternal torture.
I am not a Catholic, but have discovered within the context of the Bible that there does seem to be a finality of spiritual death, but without eternal torture that the church adopted during the middle ages. (see: THE DIVINE COMEDY by Dante Alighieri) Is the Vatican now attempting to reverse this position? It would seem so.
For my part, I wish to share basic references concerning CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. It is hoped the reader will peruse the following carefully and not dismiss it out of hand.
Thank you ahead of time for reading....................
Annihilationism - conditionalism or conditional immortality
The basic premise of this ideology is in two parts;
1. that the human spirit is naturally mortal,
2. that immortality may be granted by God as a gift.
Souls of the wicked will be destroyed by fire (consumed over a span of finite time) rather than suffering eternal torment.
Proponents of conditional immortality or conditionalists point to Genesis 2 and Revelation 22, where the Tree of Life is mentioned.
It is argued that these passages, along with Genesis 3:22-24 teach that human beings will naturally die, body and spirit, without continued access to God's life-giving power.
Primary Scripture references;
God alone is immortal.
“who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light”
1 Tim 6:16a
Immortality only comes to humans as a gift through the gospel.
“it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
2 Tim 1:10
Immortality is something to be sought after.
“He will give eternal life to everyone who has patiently done what is good in the hope of receiving glory, honor, and life that lasts forever.”
Romans 2:7
==============================================
Old Covenant references and theme
Finality of judgment is implied not its duration.
2The cities of Aroer will be deserted and left to flocks, which will lie down, with no one to make them afraid.
3The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, and royal power from Damascus; the remnant of Aram will be like the glory of the Israelites,” declares the Lord Almighty.
4“In that day the glory of Jacob will fade; the fat of his body will waste away.
5It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain, gathering the grain in their arms—as when someone gleans heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.
6Yet some gleanings will remain, as when an olive tree is beaten, leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,” declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
7In that day people will look to their Makerand turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 17:2–7
For the moth will eat them up like a garment;
the worm will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,
my salvation through all generations.”
- Isaiah 51:8
And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”
- Isaiah 66:24
Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd,
and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’ ”
- 1 Kings 22:17
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done—burn with no one to quench it.
- Jeremiah 4:4
“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land—and it will burn and not be quenched.
- Jeremiah 7:20
This is what the Lord says to you, house of David: ‘Administer justice every morning;
rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done—
burn with no one to quench it.
- Jeremiah 21:12
Say to the southern forest: ‘Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry.
The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be scorched by it.
Everyone will see that I the Lord have kindled it; it will not be quenched.’
- Ezekiel 20:47–48
==============================================
New Covenant references and theme
Wicked will justly suffer for their sins, but the end result will be their destruction.
Jesus speaks of body and soul destruction
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Matthew 10:28
Following is a description of the experience of a deceased/disembodied human spirit experiencing the Second Death - destruction in the Lake of Fire. Reference to sheol or hades or gehenna are references to; sleep of death, destruction as in a garbage dump, lack of sustenance/water/dryness/grace, Abraham's bosom & hopelessness.
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side.
The rich man also died and was buried. In sheol, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
- Luke 16:19–31
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
- Romans 2:8
God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you
- 2 Thessalonians 1:6
References:
Genesis 2
And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.
- Genesis 3:22
Revelation 22
Scholars:
Ignatius of Antioch
Justin Martyr
Irenaeus
Arnobius
John Wesley
Recent Publications:
Philip Hughes published The True Image in 1989
Basil Atkinson Life and Immortality
The Fire that Consumes Edward Fudge
I hope this helps to illuminate the reader as to the basis of the assertion that Final Judgment results in a permanent destruction of the unregenerate human spirit after death rather than eternal torture. It also affirms and underlines the gospel message that God wishes to bestow upon mankind the gift of eternal life - by means of accepting His Son Jesus Christ via the Second Birth.
Hence the old expression is given new meaning;
Born once, die twice.
Born twice, die once.
that's me, hollering from the choir loft...
The Holy See recently published a statement denying the existence of hell. This statement became immediately controversial because it seemed to deny divine justice. Unfortunately, most of the arguments opposing the new Catholic definition of Final Judgment are due to lack of documentation for the assertion.
Here follows documentation I've gleaned from various sources concerning the Biblical point of view on the subject. It's called the Doctrine of Annihilation or Conditional Immortality and seems to provide a logical Biblical context for resolving the logical dilemma of how a loving God can dispense justice without eternal torture.
I am not a Catholic, but have discovered within the context of the Bible that there does seem to be a finality of spiritual death, but without eternal torture that the church adopted during the middle ages. (see: THE DIVINE COMEDY by Dante Alighieri) Is the Vatican now attempting to reverse this position? It would seem so.
For my part, I wish to share basic references concerning CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. It is hoped the reader will peruse the following carefully and not dismiss it out of hand.
Thank you ahead of time for reading....................
Annihilationism - conditionalism or conditional immortality
The basic premise of this ideology is in two parts;
1. that the human spirit is naturally mortal,
2. that immortality may be granted by God as a gift.
Souls of the wicked will be destroyed by fire (consumed over a span of finite time) rather than suffering eternal torment.
Proponents of conditional immortality or conditionalists point to Genesis 2 and Revelation 22, where the Tree of Life is mentioned.
It is argued that these passages, along with Genesis 3:22-24 teach that human beings will naturally die, body and spirit, without continued access to God's life-giving power.
Primary Scripture references;
God alone is immortal.
“who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light”
1 Tim 6:16a
Immortality only comes to humans as a gift through the gospel.
“it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
2 Tim 1:10
Immortality is something to be sought after.
“He will give eternal life to everyone who has patiently done what is good in the hope of receiving glory, honor, and life that lasts forever.”
Romans 2:7
==============================================
Old Covenant references and theme
Finality of judgment is implied not its duration.
2The cities of Aroer will be deserted and left to flocks, which will lie down, with no one to make them afraid.
3The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, and royal power from Damascus; the remnant of Aram will be like the glory of the Israelites,” declares the Lord Almighty.
4“In that day the glory of Jacob will fade; the fat of his body will waste away.
5It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain, gathering the grain in their arms—as when someone gleans heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.
6Yet some gleanings will remain, as when an olive tree is beaten, leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,” declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
7In that day people will look to their Makerand turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 17:2–7
For the moth will eat them up like a garment;
the worm will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,
my salvation through all generations.”
- Isaiah 51:8
And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”
- Isaiah 66:24
Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd,
and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’ ”
- 1 Kings 22:17
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done—burn with no one to quench it.
- Jeremiah 4:4
“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land—and it will burn and not be quenched.
- Jeremiah 7:20
This is what the Lord says to you, house of David: ‘Administer justice every morning;
rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done—
burn with no one to quench it.
- Jeremiah 21:12
Say to the southern forest: ‘Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry.
The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be scorched by it.
Everyone will see that I the Lord have kindled it; it will not be quenched.’
- Ezekiel 20:47–48
==============================================
New Covenant references and theme
Wicked will justly suffer for their sins, but the end result will be their destruction.
Jesus speaks of body and soul destruction
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Matthew 10:28
Following is a description of the experience of a deceased/disembodied human spirit experiencing the Second Death - destruction in the Lake of Fire. Reference to sheol or hades or gehenna are references to; sleep of death, destruction as in a garbage dump, lack of sustenance/water/dryness/grace, Abraham's bosom & hopelessness.
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side.
The rich man also died and was buried. In sheol, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
- Luke 16:19–31
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
- Romans 2:8
God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you
- 2 Thessalonians 1:6
References:
Genesis 2
And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.
- Genesis 3:22
Revelation 22
Scholars:
Ignatius of Antioch
Justin Martyr
Irenaeus
Arnobius
John Wesley
Recent Publications:
Philip Hughes published The True Image in 1989
Basil Atkinson Life and Immortality
The Fire that Consumes Edward Fudge
I hope this helps to illuminate the reader as to the basis of the assertion that Final Judgment results in a permanent destruction of the unregenerate human spirit after death rather than eternal torture. It also affirms and underlines the gospel message that God wishes to bestow upon mankind the gift of eternal life - by means of accepting His Son Jesus Christ via the Second Birth.
Hence the old expression is given new meaning;
Born once, die twice.
Born twice, die once.
that's me, hollering from the choir loft...