Forever and Ever
In Disney Princess movies, everybody lives happily ever after. The prince gets his beloved bride, the wicked stepmother and ugly stepsisters get their spankings, and the audience claps.
I was in a conversation over Christmas about the “ever after” and how those I was talking to didn’t believe that hell was eternal. I know there are other opinions which differ from mine. And those who hold those positions have that right. I do not address those in this post. There are many other issues in Scripture over which disagreements occur. One of the most common is the timing of the Rapture. There are the pre-, mid-, and post- tribulation positions. And, though I am solidly a pre-trib believer, I don’t argue with those who have different opinions because it’s not a salvation issue. Neither is this topic.
Most Biblical scholars
refer to the original languages—Hebrew and Greek—when trying to discern the meaning of a passage of Scripture. My position is based on the original Greek used for translating the New Testament and we’re going to look at the term “forever and ever, which appears in Eph. 3:21; Phil. 4:20; 1 Tim.1:17; 2 Tim.4:18; Heb. 1:8; Heb. 13:21; 1 Pet. 4:11, 5:11; Rev. 1:6, 1:18, 4:9, 4:10, 5:13, 7:12, 10:6, 11:15, 14:9-11, 15:7, 19:3, 20;10, and 22:5.
The following are excerpts from the above verses.
- 1:18 Christ speaking: “…I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.”
- 14:9-11 “…If anyone…receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also…will be tormented with fire and brimstone…forever and ever.”
- 20:10 “the devil…was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
- 20:15 “And if anyone’s name was not…in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire [which burns forever].”
The Greek language
is more precise than English. For example, it uses different words for love (e.g. philéo, agapao, see John 21:15-17). But the same word for “forever and ever” is used in each passage in the paragraph above. Why is that important? Because Jesus, who has always been God from eternity past to eternity future, uses the word of Himself. And if we deny Christ’s eternality, our entire belief system is built on a house of cards. Greek does not use the same word to mean totally different things. For example, it can’t mean forever in one place and not forever in another.
We’re talking about death and what comes after. So let’s look at a definition from Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary: “Death is the opposite of life; it never denotes nonexistence. As spiritual life is ‘conscious existence in communion with God,’ so spiritual death is ‘conscious existence in separation from God’.” Page 149. Death (Greek: thanatos) is a) the separation of the soul (the spiritual part of man) from the body (the material part), the latter ceasing to function and turning to dust, e.g. John 11:13; Heb. 2:15, 5:7, 7: 23; and b) the separation from God.
With respect to “the fire that never goes out,”
Jesus said, “And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than, having two hands, to go into hell, into unquenchable fire…where their worm does not die and the fire is not extinguished. (Mark 9:43, 48). “The statement signifies the exclusion of the hope of restoration, the punishment being eternal.” (Vines, pg. 686; “worm”).
Again referring to the original Greek for the meaning of “eternal” and “everlasting,” “the use of [the Greek] ‘aidios’ excludes interruption and lays stress upon permanence and unchangeableness” (Vines pg. 210).
My belief that hell is forever
is based on these quoted verses and the work of The Zondervan Interlinear Greek-English New Testament. The reason why people end up in hell: they chose to worship their own “god.” If the “anyone” referred to above in Rev.14 had believed the gospel message, repented of their sin, and turned to Christ, even on their deathbed (see Luke 23:39-43, the thief on the cross), they would not be part of this crowd in the flames. The ”fire and brimstone” is the same as the “lake of fire” in the other verses.
The devil, the beast and the false prophet, who deceived the world with lies and “great signs and wonders” (Matt. 24:24), are all in the lake of fire where “they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” The last bullet adds additional judgment confirmation for those who received the mark of the beast (666) by excluding them from God’s book of life and throwing them into the lake of fire too.
Whether you believe hell is eternal or not
is not a salvation issue. And disagreeing doesn’t affect your salvation. If you’re in the camp that believes a holy God, who is love, wouldn’t condemn people to the lake of fire for eternity, you have only seen the side of God where His mercy and grace are talked about. Yes, He is mercy and grace too, but He is righteous and requires payment for unrighteousness (sin).
His love for YOU, is what caused Him to send Jesus to pay for YOUR sin because you never could. Jesus said, “…the one who comes to Me, I will certainly not cast out.” (John 6:37) Come to Jesus. He has already paid for your sin and wants you with Him in heaven. It’s never too late until you’re dead…then comes His judgment (Heb. 9:27). If you want more details, turn to Steps To Salvation at the back of this book. Thanks for reading.