There are those within Christendom who advocate total annihilation of the sinner who does not repent, and to be honest I believe for the most part they just flat out deny scripture as a whole. Just from these few text of scripture it is crystal clear to me (and most others) that the apostle John believed that the Devil, all false teachers, all unbelievers, death and hell will all be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone and that their torment will be day and night forever and ever, which is clearly the second death!
Matthew 25:41 "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"
Revelation 20:10 "And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."
Revelation 20:14 "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."
Revelation 21:8 "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
I also believe the doctrine of eternal punishment is an essential doctrine of the faith and here is why.
"Those who do not believe in the eternal punishment of the wicked do not believe in the utter sinfulness of sin. They do not believe that sin is that much of an offense to God. And the reason they do not believe that sin is such an offense to the eternal God that the wicked must be punished eternally is because they do not believe in the Holy and Just God of the Bible." —Marc D. Carpenter
3 comments:
Actually the scriptures you used seem to be talking about two topics. Rev 20:10 speaks about the devil, beast and false prophet being tormented day and night (not unbelievers). Rev 20:14 & 21:8 speak about the SECOND DEATH in context of the lake of fire. it could be a leap to attach the two seemingly different punishments - the link is "lake of fire" but beyond that, not sure. Interested in your comments though.
Yes two topics, but one lake of fire, now you are forced to prove there are two lakes of fire and brimstone. Can you do that from scripture?
Tim Keller wrote a article on why the doctrine of Hell is important you can read the entire article Here.
In his conclusion he states quote
"The doctrine of hell is crucial-without it we can't understand our complete dependence on God, the character and danger of even the smallest sins, and the true scope of the costly love of Jesus. Nevertheless, it is possible to stress the doctrine of hell in unwise ways. Many, for fear of doctrinal compromise, want to put all the emphasis on God's active judgment, and none on the self-chosen character of hell. Ironically, as we have seen, this unBiblical imbalance often makes it less of a deterrent to non-believers rather than more of one. And some can preach hell in such a way that people reform their lives only out of a self-interested fear of avoiding consequences, not out of love and loyalty to the one who embraced and experienced hell in our place. The distinction between those two motives is all-important. The first creates a moralist, the second a born-again believer.
We must come to grips with the fact that Jesus said more about hell than Daniel, Isaiah, Paul, John, Peter put together. Before we dismiss this, we have to realize we are saying to Jesus, the pre-eminent teacher of love and grace in history, "I am less barbaric than you, Jesus--I am more compassionate and wiser than you." Surely that should give us pause! Indeed, upon reflection, it is because of the doctrine of judgment and hell that Jesus' proclamations of grace and love are so astounding."
You have also overlooked Matthew 25:41 "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:" It's clear where ever the Devil is cast so is the wicked unbeliever. And Revelation 20:10 says that is the lake of fire and brimstone where they all will be tormented day and night forever and ever!
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