Eschatology and the Doctrine of Eternal Torment

THE VALLEY OF HINNOM

Over twenty years ago I began to write a work untitled Man Became a Living Soul.  This work began as a result of my research into the doctrines of mankind's inherent immortality (or lack thereof), and of the future and final state of the wicked which most believe to be a "hell" of eternal torment.

What quickly became clear to me, is that a comprehensive view of these doctrines cannot be established without also carefully examining Bible prophecy and eschatology as a whole.  Any examination of man's final destiny is by definition wrapped within the Bible's prophetic pronouncements concerning the future.  In fact, a great many passages about "hell" are contained within the Book of Revelation; a book which has, historically,  been notoriously divisive and open to a great number of divergent interpretations.

In recent months I have attempted to engage with others online concerning these topics.  In doing so, it's  become clear to me that the doctrine of the final state of the wicked simply cannot be expounded except within a much wider prophetic framework.  A couple brief examples should suffice to show how this is so:

The doctrine of eternal torment is routinely connected with the "Lake of Fire" described in the final chapters of the Book of Revelation.  The wicked are to be "cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15).  Any explanation concerning the final destiny of mankind, whether it is believed to be eternal torment, annihilation, or ultimate reconciliation, must deal with these texts.  But these texts do not stand alone, but are part of Revelation's prophetic drama as a whole.  The "dragon", "beast", "false prophet", as well as "death and hades" are also to be cast into the "lake of fire".  Can a proper and full understanding of the "lake of fire" be obtained without also understanding what these other entities represent within the broader scope of Revelation as a whole? Surely not.  I have asked several proponents of eternal torment to explain to me the identity of "the beast", or to explain how abstract concepts such as "death and hades" could literally be cast into a hell of eternal torment.  The answers are never forthcoming which directly undermines the case of those who attempt to use these texts to advance eternal torment.

Next take, for example, Jesus' reference to "Gehenna" which is often translated "hell" in our English Bibles.  What precisely is Jesus warning of, and when were those warnings to find their fulfillment?  To say that Gehenna simply represents "hell" as the final state of the wicked in the afterlife is incredibly imprecise, and ignores the wider prophetic context of how this place, Gehenna (or the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom) was represented in the Old Testament prophets.  To be sure, the Old Testament presents this valley as an accursed place of loathing.  Jeremiah chapter 19 presents us with a graphic picture of a judgment which was to befall the Jewish nation; one in which they would "bury in Tophet (Gehenna) until there be no place to bury" (Jeremiah 19:11). The trouble is this - When trying to present a comprehensive Biblical view of the punishment of the wicked, it's simply not enough to point out that "Gehenna" never represented a place of eternal torment in the afterlife - at least not in the Old Testament prophets.  This only leads to the obvious questions I mentioned above:  What exactly then is Gehenna a warning of as Jesus used the term?  What is the nature of such a punishment, and when prophetically should we look for its fulfillment?  

Ignoring for a moment the standard answer that Gehenna is simply representative of a place of eternal torment in the afterlife (a problematic view - see here), or the view of some that Gehenna was merely to be understood as the "trash dump" of Jesus' day (a concept with little actual historical support in spite of the frequency with which this is repeated), it quickly becomes apparent that the answers to our questions are not as obvious, nor as easily ascertained as one might hope.  

One fairly obvious solution (although one rarely considered by most) is that Jesus is here threatening the Jewish nation and its leaders with precisely that same judgment which was threatened by the prophet Jeremiah (see Jeremiah chapter 19).  If this be the case then Jesus' warning of the "judgment of Gehenna", or the "damnation of hell" (Matt 23:33) found an undeniable and remarkable historical fulfillment when the Jewish nation was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.  The works of the first century historian Josephus describe in graphic detail the horrors and suffering of the Jews during the siege and war leading up to the overthrow of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation. It is eminently reasonable, based on the words of both Jesus and Jeremiah, to infer that the untold carnage and slaughter of the Jewish people during that time was, in fact, the warned of "judgment of Gehenna".

But can we stop there?  This may be enough to show that Jesus used the word Gehenna of threatened earthly judgments (as opposed to punishment in the afterlife), but it will only raise more questions. Is the first century destruction of Jerusalem all that Jesus had in mind when he spoke of Gehenna?  Can this interpretation bear the full weight of all the scriptural evidence?

Jesus described Gehenna as a place where "the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:47).  This calls to mind the closing words of Isaiah 66: "And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of those who have transgressed against me.  Their worm shall not die nor shall their fire be quenched, and there shall be an abhorring of all flesh".  While once again the image of burning carcasses (literally dead bodies) calls to mind a strictly earthly judgment, this passage from Isaiah appears within a much broader prophetic context which must also be considered.  Notice:

For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, Shall remain before me, saith the Lord, So shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, And from one sabbath to another, Shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth, and look Upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: For their worm shall not die, Neither shall their fire be quenched; And they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. (Isaiah 66:22–24)

Notice how Isaiah connects his warning - that which was quoted by Jesus when describing Gehenna - with the creation of the "new heavens and new earth".  This lays bare the issue.  If Gehenna is the place where "the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched", but that place is to be associated with the creation of a "new heaven and new earth", then could it really be connected with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.?  And if it can't, then doesn't that weaken a position which attempts to clarify Gehenna by way of Jeremiah 19 and it's obvious fulfillment in the first century? By extension, isn't our case undermined if we have attempted to show that Jesus used Gehenna in the same way in which Jeremiah did?    The logic is thus:

1) The judgment of Gehenna is described by the words: "where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched".

2) That judgment is in the context of the creation of the "new heavens and new earth".

3) The creation of the "new heavens and new earth" awaits a  future fulfillment.

4) Therefore the judgment of Gehenna of which Jesus warned also awaits a future fulfillment.

This forms a perfectly logical chain of inference, and one which I've seen proposed several times.  It is reasoned that whatever Gehenna may be, it simply cannot be strictly defined by any reference to historical events because it's clear (at least to those who hold this view) that Gehenna represents a punishment which awaits a future fulfillment,  Any earthly judgment which may have been represented by this place is only a shadow of its greater, future reality - i.e. "hell" in the minds of many.

(Note that a future application of Gehenna in no way proves that it represents a place of eternal torment in the afterlife, but breaking the direct link between Jeremiah 19 and Jesus' use of Gehenna opens the door to such speculation.)

The trouble is, that while to some all of this may seem perfectly logical (if not downright airtight), it is not the only logical inference which may be drawn from the same set of facts. Consider the following which shows how easily one might arrive at entirely divergent and opposite conclusion:

1) The judgment of Gehenna warned of by Jesus is to be equated with Jeremiah's warnings (Jeremiah 19).

2) Jeremiah's, and thus Jesus' warnings of the "judgment of Gehenna" were precisely fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem in the first century A.D.

3) Thus, this is the same judgment represented by Jesus' and Isaiah's words "where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched", and therefore also fulfilled in the first century.

4) This judgment is associated with the creation of the "new heavens and new earth"

5) Therefore, the creation of the new heavens and new earth was fulfilled in the first century.

Many Christians might find such a conclusion fanciful if not impossible, but a growing number of believers interpret these passages exactly as I've presented them.  While we might not like or agree with the conclusion, there is no denying that it is the result of logical inference.

Whether we like to admit it or not, both trains of thought I've presented here represent perfectly logical conclusions which may be drawn from the same set of facts. It is precisely for reasons such as this that entirely divergent prophetic frameworks have emerged. In simply trying to deal with passages which have traditionally been advanced to teach the doctrine of eternal torment, we find ourselves trying to navigate a much more complex prophetic landscape.  

When I began to write Man Became a Living Soul over twenty years ago it was issues such as these which, being brought to light, stalled the work.  It remains incomplete to this day.  A comprehensive examination of the scriptural doctrine concerning the fate of the wicked cannot ignore these issues. At the time, I simply did not have the breadth of knowledge or scriptural insight to adequately deal with them.

The two chains of reasoning I've presented above are both logical.  The question is which, if either of them is correct.  Or, perhaps they both have equally overlooked something? (Hint: I think they have)

It's certainly not my goal to attempt to present a detailed prophetic framework within a brief blog post, but only to show how any discussion of man's ultimate destiny is sooner or later going to run headlong into the issue of how prophecy in general needs to be interpreted,  I've seen these issues arise time and again in online discussions. It should also show why a detailed study of eschatology and prophecy is important - It ultimately affects our view of nearly every Biblical doctrine.

The two views I've presented above fall roughly into two wholly divergent "schools" of prophetic thought: One called Futurism, which, as the name suggests, sees much of Bible prophecy as awaiting a future fulfillment, and the other Full Preterism, (sometimes called Hyper-Preterism) which sees all, or nearly all Bible prophecy as having been fulfilled before, or within the historical events culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D..  Can either of these views offer a comprehensive and scripturally harmonious view concerning the ultimate fate of the unsaved once all of the prophetic data is considered?  I don't believe they can.  But neither do I believe that any discussion concerning the ultimate fate of the lost could be complete without presenting that fate within a such prophetic framework. 

In future posts I hope to present one such way in which we might do just that.

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