KIRK CAMERON NO LONGER BELIEVES IN ETERNAL CONSCIOUS TORMENT AS FATE OF UNBELIEVERS

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Traditionalist view of damnation ‘doesn’t seem to fit’ Old Testament, says Kirk Cameron.

I am glad Kirk has realised Scripture does not teach eternal conscious torment for unbelievers. I came to this conclusion many years ago and have even wrote a book on the subject, Lake of Fire. It is available on Amazon as a Kindle edition for just $11.99.

The majority of denominational churches teach Eternal Conscious Torment but is this really what the Bible teaches? In the first five centuries, there were six known theological schools. Four of them taught that all men would eventually be rescued from Hell (Apocatastasis): these being the theological schools at Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea, and Edessa/Nisbis. One school, Ephesus, taught Annihilationism (sinners are totally incinerated into nothingness in Hell). Only one theological school, Rome/Carthage taught eternal punishment. There is a case for presenting the early church fathers in the main believing God will eventually restore all mankind and that the Lake of Fire is restorative at least for mankind. However, it is difficult to know what they did with the second death which is in the lake of fire and is stated as the fate of the lost. “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power,” Revelation 20:6a. I review all the scriptures on Hell and the views of respected Christian theologian such as John Stott, C.S. Lewis and others.

“Jesus died so that we could have eternal life. But do the wicked have eternal life in Hell? And if they do, why does the Old Testament describe the fate of the wicked in the opposite terms?” Cameron asked, pointing to references using words like “destroy,” “perish” and “death” when describing the fate of the wicked.

“The soul that sins, it shall die,” he said, quoting from the prophet Ezekiel. “It will perish. It will be destroyed, which is like the ending of life, not the ongoing life forever in punishment.”

He also pointed to history and the rise and fall of nations as an illustration of what he believes happens to those who die apart from faith in Jesus Christ. “When you look at God’s judgment upon individuals or on nations, cities, empires, He says they’re gone … The symbolism is scorched earth, destroyed, gone, and their name is remembered no more,” he said. “… And they’re not coming back. It’s like forever. Which really is a better description of dying, of perishing. Not being granted eternal life so that you can be tormented forever. That doesn’t seem to fit.”

THE FUTURE NEW HEAVEN & NEW EARTH

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At the end of this life, most Christians want to go to Heaven. But what does the Bible tell us about the place where Christians will spend eternity? It is a concept far beyond our imagination.

In this video, Impact Vision Ministries do a great job of reproducing the Scriptures that provide the incredible details God gives us of the new Heaven and the new Earth where believers will live with God the Father and Jesus for eternity.

It is important to remember that the Bible tells us that Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom precedes the second resurrection and the White Throne judgement (http://www.millennialkingdom.net). It is only after the White Throne judgement and unbelievers are thrown into the Lake of Fire that John sees the Holy City, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven onto the new Earth.

“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Revelation 21:2-3

This fallen Earth still has another 1,000 years before it is destroyed by fire. Raptured, resurrected believers will return to Earth with Jesus to rule and reign with a rod of iron on this Earth. People will still marry and have children and die. They will still need to make a decision to repent and want Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord. We know this because, at the end of the 1000 years, Satan is released from that Abyss and is still able to raise an army of rebellious people to come against Jesus and the Saints.

“And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.” Revelation 20:7-8

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH ON HELL?

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It is good to see more Biblical teaching on the fate of unbelievers. It is certainly not eternal conscious torment that has been the teaching of most institutional churches. Gary Black of Life, Hope, and Truth Ministries (www.lifehopeandtruth.com) explains why hell is not a place of eternal torment and how the Christian world came to that mistaken idea.

The research I did for my own book on this topic: Lake of Fire – Terminal Punishment/Second Death; Eternal Conscious Torment; Universal Redemption? (available as an ebook on Amazon) revealed that in the first five centuries, there were six known theological schools. Four of them taught that all people would eventually be rescued from Hell (Apocatastasis): these being the theological schools at Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea, and Edessa/Nisbis. One school, Ephesus, taught Annihilationism (that sinners are totally incinerated into nothingness in the Lake of Fire). Only one theological school, Rome/Carthage taught eternal punishment. Source: The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Universalism entry, p. 96, Baker Book House. In fact, a case can be made that when the Church rejected a high view of God’s goodness and replaced it with a view of God as an eternal torturer, the Dark Ages began, almost to the day.

DO WE HAVE AN IMMORTAL SOUL?

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Modern, mainstream Christianity teaches that our bodies die, but we live on as souls. So why does the Bible teach something else entirely? Knowing what your soul is—and what happens to it after you die—is a core concept of Christianity. Join Gary Black as he explains both the biblical teaching of the soul and how that teaching became corrupted over the centuries.

“Then when death comes to a man, the mortal part, it seems dies, but the immortal part goes away unharmed and undestroyed withdrawing from death.” Plato, Phaedo 106e

Understanding the soul is not immortal is critical to understanding that eternal conscious torment is not the fate of the unrepentant.

“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:14-15

“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8-9

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28

WHY PEOPLE REJECT GOD

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The reason a young former pastor renounced his Christian faith and rejected God was because: “How could a loving God reject people who were sincere in whatever faith they held? Would He truly condemn them because they understood Him differently than those professing faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord?”

This young man’s issue was not the historical credibility of the resurrection of Jesus or the reliability of the Genesis narrative regarding the Fall of Man. Instead, he was offended by the idea that a God of mercy would not welcome into eternal life everyone who seemed to be earnest in whatever faith they have. Put simply, this former pastor decided to create a new god, one in his own image.

Former evangelical pastor Rob Bell turned from biblical faith several years ago by denying the reality of Hell. He like so many leaders of denominational churches believe the Bible teaches non-believers will be tormented for all eternity in the Lake of Fire and yet the Bible clearly teaches that after the White Throne judgement, there is a second death in the Lake of Fire.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

Bell was right in believing eternity in Hell is hardly just, and is inconsistent with the nature of the God – Who is love. This belief cost him eternal life with his Creator.

My book on the Lake of Fire is available as an ebook on Amazon.

“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8 (also see Revelation 2:11, 20:6, and 20:14)

In reading various “de-conversion” stories, accounts by and about people who have left their Christian faith, there is a persistent theme. It’s not about the reasonableness of Christianity, its intellectual coherence, or the credibility of its propositional claims. Rather, they come to a point where their dislike of certain doctrines or practices leads them to abandon their walk with Christ. They jettison their faith because it does not comport with their preferences. Or, put another way, the God of Scripture is not Who they want Him to be.

I often wonder if these people were been born again by the Holy Spirit. Jesus made it possible for God the Father to send the Holy Spirit to indwell our Spirit to be our Counsellor, our Teacher, and our Comforter. Jesus said He will bring us into all truth if we let Him.

We need to know God is not like us. He cannot denigrate the purity of His character by acting as though our transgressions really aren’t a big deal. And that’s the sticking point: the eternal Triune God is not concerned with conforming to our expectations. His character is not malleable, and He is not accountable to us for what He does.

Consider the story of Job. God allows Job’s entire family to be murdered, his vast wealth stolen, and his health broken. Job calls out to God, demanding to know why He has permitted these things given that he, Job, has been so faithful to Him. God is uncompelled to justify Himself to Job. Instead, He says, “Will the faultfinder (Job) contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it” (Job 40:1).

Similarly, when Paul debates with an imaginary rhetorical opponent about God’s sovereignty and human free will, the apostle does not try to dissect something beyond man’s grasp. Instead, he affirms that “there is no injustice with God” and asks, “Who are you, o man, to answer back to God?” (Romans 9:14, 20).

But this same God is infinitely loving and desires no one to perish but all to come to repentance and faith in His Son (2 Peter 3:9). This is why He invites us into a relationship with Himself. In His great, undeserved kindness, God has revealed Himself to us. “His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made,” Paul asserts (Romans 1:20). His power, intelligence, and love are displayed in a world that is complex, ordered, and abundant. The heavens, “the work of His fingers,” declare His glory (Psalms 8:4, 19:1).

He has revealed Himself in our very natures, with the weight of moral duty “written on our hearts” (Romans 2:15) and eternity placed within them (Ecclesiastes 3:11). He has revealed His character and desires, His demands, and His offer of everlasting life, in the pages of text composed by numerous men over the course of many centuries. The Bible is His written revelation.

Most profoundly, He has revealed Himself in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man and Son of God, sinless and righteous, Who took the penalty for sin we deserve as He died on the cross, and whose resurrection heralded His victory over sin, death, and the devil. Trusting in Him and Him alone for forgiveness, we receive life, eternal life, that He alone can give. Moreover, Jesus made it possible for us to receive the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit into our Spirit to enable us to live the Christian life.

This is news so grand that it invites adoration of the One offering it. It should create in us a longing to know and follow Him, not turn our backs on Him because He does not seek to appease our finite indignation about things we can’t grasp. Would you really want to serve a God so eager to be liked He debases His Majesty to plead for our approval?

“A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him,” wrote C.S. Lewis, “than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell.” He is Who He is and invites us to know Him — and that’s the best news of all.

SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN EVANGELISM

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What is God calling Christians to do? We are simply to be found faithful in the task of delivering the Gospel message. We are to bring the gospel into our workplaces, friendships, and families, to whomever and wherever. All that is required is to look to where God has placed us and simply to be found faithful to the task of proclaiming the good news to those who are dead in their sins. It requires that we not be ashamed of the good news of the gospel, which includes not being ashamed of the bad news of God’s judgment against sin.

Whatever the result of that proclamation of the gospel may be, whether a hardening or a softening of the heart, God effectually uses this message for His purposes.

Not every instance of proclaiming a message of repentance is designed by God to bring the people who hear it to repentance and faith. In fact, Scripture often demonstrates the opposite is true—that the proclamation serves to condemn the recipients rather than restore them. A great example of this is found in the commissioning of the prophet Isaiah:

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said,

“Go and tell these people: Keep on listening, but do not perceive; keep on looking, but do not understand. Render the hearts of these people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” and He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitants, houses are without people and the land is utterly desolate, the Lord has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, and it will again be subject to burning, like a terebinth or an oak whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump” Isaiah 6:8-13

As Brevard Childs ( Isaiah. Westminster John Knox Press, (2001): p56). puts it, “Isaiah, the prophet is to be the executor of death, the guarantor of complete hardening. His very proclamation is to ensure that Israel will not turn and repent.” How would you like to be called by God to deliver that message?

“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:14

“If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. And if they will perish in the Lake of Fire, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.” Charles Spurgeon

We may not necessarily like the implications of God using our proclamation of judgment and salvation to effectively harden an individual’s heart. We may not believe the implications of this are even fair—but we ought to remember in the midst of everything that we don’t want fair because our idea of what’s fair doesn’t square with God’s.

What’s fair is God condemning every man, woman, and child to eternal destruction in the Lake of Fire. What’s fair is that the only blameless One to have ever existed would not be put to the cross to pay for the sins of others. What you and I desire is mercy and grace, because mercy is not giving people what they deserve, which is condemnation, and grace is giving people what they don’t deserve, which is no condemnation. The gospel is a scandal to the world because it sees the murderer, rapist, racist, and the like, on equal footing with the sweet old lady who doesn’t confess Christ—and offers them all the same grace of God in Christ. What that very simply means is that the gospel is not barred from anyone on the basis of their own doing or choosing, but rather, on the sovereign choice of God Himself. If those who struggle with evangelizing were to focus on the sovereignty of God in evangelism, it would free many a burdened soul up to take joy in the work that God has given them, realizing that whether the person they share the gospel with rejects or receives it, God is glorified in accomplishing His work through the preached word.

This post was extracted from an article by Grayson Gilbert, A Lesson from Isaiah on the Sovereignty of God in Evangelism  July 23, 2020, http://www.patheos.com

PREWRATH ESCHATOLOGY SIMPLIFIED

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Prewrath eschatology sees the Parousia as a complex-whole, where God will fulfil a variety of purposes:

  1. Beginning with the revelation of Christ in the sky displaying his shekinah glory and power to the whole world .
  2. Resurrection and rapture of God’s people.
  3. Immediately followed by the wrath of God poured out on the earth with the trumpet and bowl judgements. It is the day of the Lord’s judgements upon the ungodly and Antichrist’s kingdom. Duration is possibly 1 year and 10 days, same time as God poured out His wrath the first time during the days of Noah.
  4. Jesus return to this earth with the saints, restoring Israel to salvation which begins Christ’s earthly reign on this earth for a thousand years. Curse is not lifted off the entire earth. People still die. At the end of Jesus thousand year reign, Satan is released and deceives the nations and a final battle occurs which God ends with fire from heaven. Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire and God’s word says he, the beast and the false prophet will be tormented forever and ever.
  5. The Great White Throne Judgement is held in heaven after the dead unbelievers are raised to life.
  6. Unbelievers will be cast into the lake of Fire, which for them will be ultimately, after due punishment, the second death. “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:14 Also Jesus said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Only Satan and his minions face eternal torment in the Lake of Fire which was prepared for them. Matthew 25:41
  7. “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
    Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:2-5