More Questions About Hell
I’m watching Mark Martin’s video on hell [from the 2011 Former Adventist Conference] and reading related verses. There are verses that sound like the torment will last forever, and some that seem to think there will be an end of that.
—VIA EMAIL
Response: One thing that is important is that the Old Testament did not as fully reveal the future, eternal state because the Lord Jesus hadn’t yet come. Notice this text:
Therefore do not be ashamed of either the witness about our Lord or me His prisoner, but join with [me] in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been manifested by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.—2 Timothy 2:8–11 LSB
Notice that Paul says Jesus abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. In other words, the eternal nature of our future was not fully revealed before Jesus came and “broke” death.
Yes, hell is not life, it is death. It is the place where the spiritually dead will spend eternity. Yet there is nothing in the NT to suggest that there is an end. It was Jesus who said the righteous will go to eternal life, and the wicked to eternal punishment. He used the same word for “eternal”. The meaning is the same.
Jesus told us more about hell than any other person in Scripture. This information came from God the Son. And the reason hell is so serious is that our human sin is against the eternal God who made us. It is not about our deeds primarily, although Scripture suggests that there are degrees of punishment for deeds. But hell is for those who are not believing, people who remain spiritually dead. We are all by nature spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1–3); unless we place our faith in Him, we are condemned, and the wrath of God remains on us (John 3:18, 36). We are born condemned. We must be born again to escape condemnation.
Our spirits are the issue here. Either we are alive or we are dead. We are born dead, and we remain condemned until we believe. The miracle is that Jesus paid a sufficient price to rescue us from being destroyed. Adam placed the race OUTSIDE of God’s life when he sinned. His spirit died that day, and all of us are born spiritually dead. This is the reason the unbelieving will be punished in hell. We either receive His life through faith in Jesus’ blood and atonement, or we remain dead, separated from the life of God. Those who are separated from God’s life cannot be with Him, and a short-lived “burn” is not the antidote to refusing God’s eternal life.
The issue seems to be that our spirits do not cease to exist. Our bodies will die, but our immaterial identities do not disappear. Both the righteous and the wicked will be resurrected bodily. Humans are created to be body plus spirit. If our spirits are dead, we are dead. “Death” does not mean ceasing to exist. It means not being connected to God and His LIFE. So both wicked and righteous will be resurrected (see John 5:25–29) to enter either life or eternal punishment. (See also Revelation 20:10).
I think the hard thing for former Adventists is to begin to realize that hell is not about our deeds primarily. Because we learned that we are defined by our physical selves and our decisions and behaviors and obedience, we have a hard time integrating spiritual reality and our own spiritual identity with the fact that we have bodies.
Have you read this article? It may help with the whole concept of humans being spiritual beings, and the issue of salvation is about believing or not believing.
Has Barnhouse Replaced Ellen?
In every video [Former Adventist Podcast] in these crucial subjects, you mention Barnhouse. I hope that he’s not replacing Ellen White. I’m a bit skeptical when you quote him so often. I understand that he’s your pastor. I went from one cult to another. So I just might be more skeptical than many others.
I have a fear of putting any one person on a pedestal, no matter how good they sound. Sadly the damage is done. I fear that I never would recover, but I know “with God all things are possible”.
Thanks for the many lessons. I look forward to the next one. Pastor Barnhouse does sound like an intelligent, spirit-led man. Not meaning to offend anyone, while my skepticism runs high.
—VIA YOUTUBE
Response: Donald Gray Barnhouse is not our pastor. He was a great Christian pastor and theologian who is now with the Lord and who wrote an excellent commentary on Romans (among others). We learn a great deal from his insights, and his commentary is sound and deep. You may notice that he is not the only commentator we mention; we frequently refer to J. Vernon McGee (also with the Lord), to S. Lewis Johnson (also with the Lord), as well as others including Tony Garland and Paul Henebury, both of whom are alive and well as we speak. We also refer to the late John McArthur as well as to our pastor Gary Inrig. These men and others honor Scripture and read it using the literal-historical-grammatical hermeneutic, reading in context and believing the words mean what they say. We are learning from these great teachers the Lord has given to the church for His glory. I am thankful for them! †
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