A N N I H I L AT I O N I S M

A N D E T E R N A L

P U N I S H M E N T

A Biblical Examination of the Debate Over the

Destiny of the Unsaved

F. Wayne Mac Leod

Light To My Path Book Distribution

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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright
Preface
Chapter 1- The Character of God
Chapter 2- A God of Justice and Wrath
Chapter 3 - The Reality of Hell
Chapter 4- Is Hell Eternal?
Chapter 5- The Wages of Sin
Chapter 6- The Nature of the Soul
Chapter 7- The Human Spirit
Chapter 9- The Resurrection and the Judgement
Chapter 10- The Nature of God’s Judgement
Chapter 11- The Duration of Hell’s Suffering
Chapter 12- No Condemnation In Christ Jesus
About The Author

PREFACE

here is a growing debate in Christian circles over what the Bible

teaches about the eternal destiny of the unsaved. Of course, the

traditional Christian view has been that those who do not know the

Lord Jesus as their personal Saviour are destined for hell and eternal

punishment. The idea is that they live forever in conscious awareness of

their torment.

Annihilationism, however, states that while there will be a punishment for

sinners, that punishment will not last forever. Robert Peterson defines

annihilationism as follows:

Annihilationism is the view that lost people in hell will be

exterminated after they have paid the penalty for their sin.

(Robert Peterson, “Annihilationism or Eternal Punishment?

Retrieved from

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/annihilation-or-eternal-

punishment/)

Probably the most famous contemporary evangelical theologian to call for

greater acceptance of the doctrine of annihilation was John Stott. This

brought him into conflict with those who held a more traditional view. Stott

is quoted as saying:

Emotionally, I find the concept [of eternal conscious torment]

intolerable and do not understand how people can live with it

without either cauterizing their feelings or cracking under the

strain. (John Stott Annihilationism, Retrieved from

https://allaboutgod.com/john-stott-annihilationism-faq.htm)

His emotional struggle with the doctrine of eternal punishment is

understandable. Whether we believe in the eternal punishment of the lost or

not, there should be in our hearts a deep sense of grief over the thought of

an unending terror and separation from the God of all comfort.

In their booklet “Heaven & Hell, What Does the Bible Really Teach?” the

United Church of God states:

“Would a merciful and loving God inflict excruciating torment

on human beings for trillions upon trillions of years—

throughout all eternity without end? Could the Creator God of

the universe be so unfeeling and uncaring? (pg. 4)

How do you comfort the parents of an unsaved teen who lies in the coffin at

the gravesite? It is not easy to reflect on his or her future, apart from God.

Human nature, as evil as it is, wants to offer hope to those parents.

The debate between annihilation and eternal is not limited to emotions and

personal understanding of the character of God. People from both sides

seek to back up their positions from Scripture. The discussion also centres

around an understanding of Biblical texts and theology.

As easy as it would be to avoid this study, the questions being debated are

serious. What is the character of God? What is the nature of sin? From what

did Christ come to save us? Does humanity have an immortal soul? What is

death, and is it the complete cessation of all consciousness? What do we do

when we don’t understand God and His ways? What do we do when we

don’t like what Scripture teaches? These questions are of fundamental

importance for us in the Christian life.

I trust that this study will bring some clarity to this debate. May God be

pleased also to use it to bring greater harmony in His body and greater glory

to Him as the Triune God.

F. Wayne Mac Leod

CHAPTER 1- THE

CHARACTER OF GOD

am going to begin with the understanding that the reader has a basic

knowledge of the teaching of Scripture about the punishment of the

wicked and the doctrine of heaven and hell. Inevitably, in any

discussion about eternal punishment, the conversation turns to our

understanding of God’s character. An article published by the United

Church of God captures this well when it says:

Many who profess Christianity believe the wicked will burn

forever in hell. They sincerely believe this is what the Bible

teaches. But we need to ask a simple question: Would a merciful

and loving God inflict excruciating torment on human beings

for trillions upon trillions of years—throughout all eternity

without end? Could the Creator God of the universe be so

unfeeling and uncaring? (Heaven and Hell, What Does the

Bible Really Teach? Published by United Church of God, 2009,

page 4)

Those who oppose the idea of eternal conscious suffering in hell point us to

the love and mercy of God. For them, it is inconceivable that a God of love

and compassion would allow anyone to suffer forever. If even in our sinful

hearts we are capable of feeling empathy for the worst criminal, how much

more would a perfect God grieve for those who suffer terrible pain and

agony, no matter how sinful they were. Did the Lord not love and show

mercy toward us when we were sinners? Doesn’t His grace extend even to

those who have turned against Him? He showed compassion and offered

forgiveness to the apostle Paul when he was dragging Christians out of their

homes and persecuting them for believing in Jesus the Messiah (Acts 9:1-

5). Does the doctrine of the eternal conscious punishment of the wicked

undermine the mercy and love of God?

It is not just the mercy and love of God that is brought into question but

also the justice of God. Again, let me quote from the article “Heaven and

Hell, What Does the Bible Really Teach?”

The Bible indeed says that God “has appointed a day on which

He will judge the world in righteousness”(Acts 17:31). At that

time, those who have repented and accepted Jesus Christ as

their Savior will be given eternal life. “Salvation is found in no

one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men

by which we may be saved” (Acts 4:12, New International

Version). But what will happen in that day to the hapless people

who have never even heard or been exposed to that name? Will

they be cast shrieking into hellfire alone with those who

knowingly hate and despise God?

Only a minority of the earth’s population lays claim to being

Christian. Those who profess Christianity total only about a

third of the world’s population. Vast numbers of the other two-

thirds have never had the opportunity to genuinely repent and

accept Christ simply because of where they live. Millions more

through the centuries likewise never had the opportunity

because of when they lived. Would it be just and right for God

to subject them to the same punishment He will give to those

who willingly reject Him and choose to make themselves His

enemies? (Heaven and Hell, What Does the Bible Really

Teach? Published by United Church of God, 2009, page 5)

Does the doctrine of eternal conscious punishment in hell call the justice of

God into question? Is there an imbalance in the judgment of God if He

punishes the sinner forever for something they did or did not do in a mere

seventy or eighty years of life on earth? Would it not be more just for God

to destroy the body and soul of those who have sinned against him? Would

not justice be served by annihilating the sinner rather than keeping them

alive forever in terror and agony?

Consider also the holiness of God. As a holy God, our Creator cannot

tolerate sin and rebellion. How do we reconcile the holiness of God with the

fact that He allows sinners and rebellion against Him to remain for all

eternity in hell? Does an eternal hell give Satan victory? Is this not what

Satan has been longing for –perpetual rebellion against God? Is hell a

kingdom set up in opposition to God? Will hell not prove that Satan got his

way, and Christ did not ultimately defeat him? Would a holy God allow sin

and rebellion to continue in hell for all eternity? Would a righteous God not

choose to destroy sin and all hint of resistance, proving His total victory

over it rather than to isolate it and allow it to continue?

For many people, it is impossible to reconcile what they know about God

with the idea of eternal conscious punishment of the wicked in hell. The

annihilation of both the body and soul in hell is easier to accept.

As compelling as these arguments are, we dare not reduce God to human

understanding. Some time ago now I was in a local print shop. I was

picking up a book I had written. A young man came in and saw what I was

picking up and started a conversation with me. Seeing that the book was

religious, he shared with me that he had problems with the Christian

doctrine of the Trinity. He told me that it made no sense to him and,

therefore, he could not accept it as true.

I still remember the words the Lord gave me that day. In response to his

statement, I said: “I am glad there are things about God I cannot understand.

If I could understand everything about God, He would be no bigger than my

brain. I need a God that is bigger than me and what I can understand.”

I am mentioning this incident because the Lord gave me those words, not

just for that young man but also for myself. I often go back to that

conversation and listen again to those words. I cannot pretend to understand

all there is about God. He is bigger than my capacity to understand Him. He

defies my human logic and reason. We often believe that that we can put

God in a box. We feel that we know all there is about God and His

character.

I have been married to my wife for over thirty-eight years now, but there are

things about me she does not understand and things about her that I do not

understand. We share a common human nature, but I cannot say that I know

her perfectly. How small is a god we can know better than our friends and

loved ones? There will always be a mystery to God. We will have to accept

certain things by faith even when we cannot possibly understand them?

Those who say that a God of mercy would never permit a person to suffer

throughout all eternity will also struggle to understand why there is so much

suffering in this world today. Why does a merciful God allow diseases to

ravage the earth stripping parents from their children? Why does a God of

justice enable a government to exist that brings hardship to Christians

around the world? Why does a God of holiness allow abuse and crime to

ravage this earth as we know it today? Why do floods, storms and other

natural catastrophes cause the death of many people every year? History is

filled with violence, oppression, injustice and abuse. Where is God in all of

this?

We have all met people who refuse to believe in the God of the Bible

because they cannot reconcile what is happening in the world or their

personal history with what the Bible says about Him. “I cannot believe in a

God who would allow this or that to happen,” they say.

After completing Bible school, I went to university to do a degree in

Religious Studies. One of the things I quickly discovered at university was

that faith was considered a weakness. To the keen minds of these religious

studies professors, everything needed to be scientific, logical and

understandable to the human spirit. Human logic and reason were elevated

to the point where they became the judge of what was true or false. There

was no room for accepting what could not be proven intellectually or

scientifically.

For the believer, however, human logic and reason are not the judges of

truth and error. The Word of God, as contained in the pages of Scripture,

must be our guide. The Bible reveals the character of God and His purpose.

There are times when we do not understand why God has determined that

we do things in a certain way, but we accept this as being from Him and

submit. There is a tendency in our day to elevate human reason over the

Bible. There is little room in the church for blind acceptance of the truth.

We need to understand it, or we can’t accept it.

This need to understand why we do things the way we do or believe what

we believe has had some positive benefits for the church, but it has also

been the source of many problems. In our attempt to understand everything,

we also question everything. We elevate our understanding above God and

His purpose. If we don’t agree with what the Bible seems to be saying, we

have a hard time accepting it and will do everything we can to explain away

the clear command of God.

Will we reject a God we cannot understand? Will we replace Him with a

theological idol that is more appealing to us? Or will we accept that there

are things about God we will never grasp? Will we see faith as the

weakness of those who cannot understand? Or will we accept the

mysterious ways of God and trust Him when those ways make absolutely

no sense to our human mind?

The challenge for us in this study is to see what the Word of God teaches

and to accept it even if we cannot reconcile all the details in our human way

of thinking. I dare say that we will never come to a complete understanding

of God and His ways in this life. There will be much about Him we will not

comprehend. Those who reject what they cannot understand, however, miss

out on some of the greatest blessings God has to offer.

CHAPTER 2- A GOD OF

JUSTICE AND WRATH

n all our talk about the love, mercy and compassion of God, we

sometimes forget that the Lord does become angry. As a God of

justice, He demands payment for sin. A few years ago, I was speaking

with a neighbour. He told me that he could not accept a God who would

sentence people to hell.

I answered him by saying: “Isn’t it interesting that when it comes to

criminals in our society, we demand justice. If a murderer or child molester

has his or her sentence reduced and is released early from prison, we are

angry with the judicial system. When it comes to God, however, we expect

that He will ignore our sin out of compassion and love. Should we expect

less of God than our worldly law enforcement officers?”

God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to care for it and enjoy its

blessings. The one command of God was that they refrain from eating of

the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He would punish anyone who

ate from that tree:

[2] And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit

of the trees in the garden, [3] but God said, ‘You shall not eat

of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither

shall you touch it, lest you die.’” (Genesis 3)

Notice that the punishment for eating from the forbidden tree was death.

When Eve ate from that tree and gave its fruit to Adam, she and her

husband experienced the reality of that death. For the first time, they knew

shame and hid their naked bodies from each other (Genesis 3:7).

Brokenness came to their marriage. When God came into the garden to

speak with them, Adam and Eve hid out of fear (Exodus 3:8-10). They

experienced separation from God.

As a result of this disobedience, God told Eve that she would experience

pain in childbearing. Adam would eat the fruit of the earth through the pain

of hard toil (3:16-17). Pain and suffering were introduced into the world.

The land would be cursed and produce its fruit only with reluctance

(Genesis 3:17-18).

Finally, the Lord told Adam and Eve that they would ultimately return to

dust. The bodies God had given them would age with time and one day

cease to exist. Physical death was the result of this disobedience.

Let’s bring this up to our present day. Ever since the sin of Adam and Eve

in the garden, humanity has suffered brokenness in relationships with each

other and with God. Every abuse and criminal act committed against

another human being has its roots in the soil of Eden. Every war with its

death and destruction is the result of the sin that entered this world. Pain,

suffering and disease all trace their origin to that first rebellious act. The

sickness of the earth as a result of the curse of sin has resulted in natural

catastrophes and the loss of countless lives. Every life laid down in death is

evidence of what took place in the Garden of Eden.

I have often heard people blaming God for all this evil. It is not God who is

to blame, but sin and its curse. It was Adam and Eve who chose to disobey

and open the door to sin. The fault lies squarely on their shoulders. While

God did not bring sin to this earth, the question we need to examine in this

context is this: Why does He allow us to suffer under its consequences?

Some people tell us that a loving and merciful God would remove all these

consequences from us so that we did not have to experience tragedy and

suffering in life. These people question why God would even put a

forbidden tree in the Garden.

While the answers to these questions merit another book, suffice it to say

that true love and devotion require a choice. God gave Adam and Eve the

opportunity to love and obey Him from the heart –they chose disobedience.

Their love was not forced. Nor was it a love offered because there was no

other option –before them was the option to walk away from fellowship.

That is what they chose.

God has provided the solution for the problem of sin—His very own Son.

The Lord Jesus paid the penalty for the sin of the world. He now offers us

an alternative to the curse of sin and death. Those who come to Him can

experience this victory. To refuse the solution is to remain under the curse

of sin and death. The penalty for sin demanded the slaughtering of God’s

Son. God would not bypass justice.

The sin that ravaged the earth deeply grieved the heart of God. As it

increased, we read in Genesis 6:

[5] The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the

earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was

only evil continually. [6] And the LORD regretted that he had

made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. [7] So

the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from

the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and

birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

(Genesis 6)

Notice how God’s heart grieved because of the evil in the human spirit.

Note the response of God to sin in the days of Noah. God determined that

He would destroy every man, woman, animal, bug and bird He created. In

the days that followed, the great flood did just that. Apart from Noah, his

family and the animals in the ark, the waters destroyed all living creatures.

In the days of Moses, the people of Israel turned against God when Aaron

set up a golden calf in their midst. Listen to the response of God to this

incident in Deuteronomy 9:

[13] “Furthermore, the LORD said to me, ‘I have seen this

people, and behold, it is a stubborn people. [14] Let me alone,

that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under

heaven. And I will make of you a nation mightier and greater

than they.’ (Deuteronomy 9)

It was in the mind of God to destroy the entire nation of Israel and raise

other people to be His own. This may very well have happened, were it not

for the intercession of Moses on their behalf.

In Numbers 16, Korah and his sons led a revolt against Moses. They

resented the fact that he was the leader and that God spoke only to him.

God told Moses to separate the people from Korah and his family. The Lord

then opened the earth, and the entire family of Korah and their worldly

possessions were swallowed up.

When the people of Israel complained about the death of Korah’s

descendants, the Lord responded:

[43] And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of

meeting, [44] and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [45] “Get

away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume

them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. (Numbers 16)

A great plague fell on the nation of Israel for questioning the justice of God.

Fourteen thousand seven hundred people died that day (not counting the

family of Korah). Numbers 16 leaves us to believe that more people would

have died were it not for the intervention of Moses and Aaron pleading for

their lives.

As the people of God prepared to cross over the Jordan River into the

Promised Land, Moses warned them about turning from God to serve idols:

[23] Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your

God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the

form of anything that the LORD your God has forbidden you.

[24] For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous

God. [25] “When you father children and children’s children,

and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making

a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is

evil in the sight of the LORD your God, so as to provoke him to

anger, [26] I call heaven and earth to witness against you

today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you

are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in

it, but will be utterly destroyed. (Deuteronomy 4)

Moses describes the God of Israel as a jealous God of consuming fire (verse

24). He warned his people about making idols and told them that if they did

so, they would “perish from the land” and be “utterly destroyed” (verse 26).

Moses would go on to tell Israel what would happen if after entering the

Promise Land they intermarried with the ungodly foreigners of the land:

[3] You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters

to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, [4] for

they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve

other gods. Then the anger of the LORD would be kindled

against you, and he would destroy you quickly. (Deuteronomy

If they intermarried with the foreigners of Canaan, the anger of the Lord

would be kindled against them, and H would destroy them quickly. To

prevent this from happening, notice what Israel was to do:

[2] and when the LORD your God gives them over to you, and

you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete

destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show

no mercy to them. (Deuteronomy 7)

Israel was to kill every inhabitant of the land. They were to show no mercy.

This is not the only time the Lord issued such a command. In 1 Samuel 15,

Samuel the prophet came to King Saul with these words:

[15:1] And Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint

you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the

words of the LORD. [2] Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I have

noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way

when they came up out of Egypt. [3] Now go and strike Amalek

and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them,

but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep,

camel and donkey.’” (1 Samuel 15)

God commanded Saul to wage war against the Amalekites. In this battle,

Saul was not to show any compassion. He was to destroy the people, killing

both men and women. He was to slaughter the young children as well as

infants in arms. No animal was to be spared. No living creature was to be

left alive. It was the will of God to protect His people from the sins of the

nations.

Sometimes we believe that God is obligated to show mercy to His people.

The Bible teaches, however, that God is under no such obligation. Justice

demands punishment. Will we condemn our earthly judges because they do

not show mercy toward a hardened criminal? Are they in error if they chose

to make them pay for their illegal acts?

Listen to the words of God through His prophet Hosea.

[6] She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the LORD

said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have

mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. (Hosea 1)

God spoke clearly to His people through the birth of Hosea’s child, telling

them that He would no longer have mercy on them or forgive them.

Speaking to Jeremiah, the prophet, the Lord commanded:

[14] “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or

prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me

in the time of their trouble. (Jeremiah 11)

Jeremiah was not to pray for his people or bring their needs to God. God

told him that He would not listen to any prayer for them. While they would

call out to Him in their trouble, God would not listen. God is not obligated

to listen to our prayers for help. He is not a servant that we can command to

do whatever we want.

When Jesus arrived at the temple of Jerusalem during the Passover and saw

the money changers and merchants, He was greatly angered. That day He

found some cords and made a whip out of them. With whip in hand, He

forcibly drove the animals, merchants and money changers out. He

overturned their tables in explosive rage over the desecration of the temple

of His Father (see John 2:13-17).

When Ananias and his wife came to present their offering to God and lied

about how much he made from the sale of their property, Peter openly

condemned them for lying to the Holy Spirit. That day God struck them

both dead for their sin. He would show no compassion on them for their lies

(see Acts 5).

The apostle Peter reminds us that a Day of Judgement is coming for the

earth:

[10] But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the

heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies

will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works

that are done on it will be exposed. [11] Since all these things

are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in

lives of holiness and godliness, [12] waiting for and hastening

the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens

will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will

melt as they burn! (2 Peter 3)

The wrath of God will be poured out on this earth in the end times. Peter

tells us that the heavens, as we know them, will be set on fire and dissolved.

As pleasant as the mercy and compassion of God are, we need to

understand that God is also a God of justice and wrath. He is not obligated

to show kindness toward us. He is not unjust for punishing sin.

No child likes the anger of a father or mother. But whether we like it or not,

this is who God is. He does not sin by giving us what we deserve. Any

kindness shown toward us is a gracious choice, not an obligation. God can

intervene in our lives or leave us to our own devices and outcomes. He is

right in being angry with sin. He is just in punishing it.

One thing is sure; we cannot change God. Scripture portrays Him as a God

of compassion and kindness but also as a God of justice and wrath. We have

one of two choices to make when it comes to God. We can accept Him as

He is, or we can turn from Him and make our own theological idol

comprised of all the elements we like and throw out the characteristics that

don’t appeal to us. If you do this, however, be aware of the prophetic words

of Moses to Israel:

[25] “When you father children and children’s children, and

have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a

carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil

in the sight of the LORD your God, so as to provoke him to

anger, [26] I call heaven and earth to witness against you

today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you

are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in

it, but will be utterly destroyed. (Deuteronomy 4)

The question is often asked, “How could a God of love and mercy send a

person to hell?” The question supposes that God is only a God of mercy and

love. It does not take the whole character of God into consideration. To say

that God is only loving or only merciful is to present a God that is not found

in the Bible. We must accept God as He is, not for who we want Him to be.

CHAPTER 3 - THE

REALITY OF HELL

n the last chapter, we examined the teaching of Scripture about the

justice and anger of God. It now falls on us to see what the New

Testament has to say about hell as a place of punishment and

suffering. This is not a comfortable topic. It would be so much easier for us

to believe that those who receive the Lord Jesus receive eternal life and

those who reject Him perish in the grave. This is not the teaching of the

Bible, however.

Resurrection And Judgement

Speaking to Governor Felix in Acts 24, the apostle Paul said:

[15] having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept,

that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.

(Acts 24)

The apostle makes it quite clear in this verse that there will be a resurrection

of both the “just and the unjust.” Death is not the end for us, whether we

accept the Lord Jesus or not. Both believers and unbelievers alike will be

raised from the dead.

This was the teaching of the Lord Jesus in John 5:28-19:

[28] Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who

are in the tombs will hear his voice [29] and come out, those

who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who

have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. (John 5)

Jesus taught his disciples that there is a day coming when both the righteous

and the unrighteous will hear His voice and rise from the dead. According

to Jesus, there will be a resurrection of life and a resurrection of judgment.

Both the believer and the unbeliever will be raised from the dead.

The apostle John describes this in his vision in Revelation 20 when he says:

[12] And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the

throne, and books were opened. Then another book was

opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by

what was written in the books, according to what they had

done. [13] And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death

and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were

judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

[14] Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.

This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15] And if anyone’s

name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown

into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20)

There can be no doubt for those who examine the Scripture that there is a

judgement after death. This judgement takes place after the resurrection of

the body from the grave. This seems to be saying that we will face the Lord

in the flesh and not just in spirit. Our death on this earth is not the end.

Unbelievers will be resurrected from the dead to stand before their Creator

in the flesh. At that time, they will receive their sentences.

The Nature Of The Judgement To Come

Understanding that we will all stand before God after the resurrection, the

next matter we need to address is this: What is the sentence for those who

have rejected the Lord Jesus and His offer of eternal life? A variety of New

Testament passages hint at the nature of this judgement.

Listen to the words of Jesus in Mark 9:

[43] And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better

for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell,

to the unquenchable fire. [45] And if your foot causes you to

sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two

feet to be thrown into hell. [47] And if your eye causes you to

sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God

with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, [48]

‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

(Mark 9)

Here in this passage, the Lord Jesus told His listeners that it would be better

for them to cut off their hand or foot and go through life crippled than to

face the judgement to come. It was preferable to pluck out their eye than to

be thrown into hell. In other words, the worst suffering that could be

inflicted on the body on earth was nothing compared to the agony of hell.

One day Jesus was met by a Gentile centurion who asked Him to heal his

servant. This centurion did not feel worthy of having the Lord come to his

home, so he asked Him simply to speak the word, and his servant would be

healed. In response to this example of faith, Jesus said:

[10] When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who

followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I

found such faith. [11] I tell you, many will come from east and

west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the

kingdom of heaven, [12] while the sons of the kingdom will be

thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be

weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8)

Jesus declared that men and women like this Gentile would be with Him in

heaven while many of the Jewish faith would be thrown into outer darkness

where there would be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The expression

“weeping and gnashing of teeth” is an important one as it shows us the

nature of the punishment to come. The Greek word for weeping is

“dakryo,” which refers to quiet grief with tears. The second word,

“gnashing,” however, comes from the root “klaio,” which describes a loud

cry of pain and agony.

Revelation 20:10 has this to say about the lake of fire (hell):

[10] and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the

lake of fire and unbelievers where the beast and the false

prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever

and ever. (Revelation 20)

What is crucial for us to note here is the word “tormented.” The devil, the

beast and the false prophet who were thrown into this lake of fire, were

exposed to torment.

The Bible describes hell as a “hell of fire” (Matthew 5:22), “eternal fire”

(Matthew 25:41), “a lake of fire and sulphur” (Revelation 20:10). It is also

portrayed as a place of “gloomy darkness” (2 Peter 2:4), and a bottomless

pit filled with smoke and darkness (Revelation 9:1). According to the New

Testament, hell is a place of suffering, torment, weeping and intense

suffering.

Those Who Receive The Judgement Of Hell

The Bible teaches that there will be a resurrection of the just and the unjust.

It also confirms the reality of punishment in hell and that it is a place of

suffering and torment. The final question we want to address here is this:

Who will be sentenced to hell?

The apostle Paul answers this question when he wrote to the Thessalonians.

[8] in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not

know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord

Jesus. [9] They will suffer the punishment of eternal

destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the

glory of his might, (2 Thessalonians 1)

Paul speaks of two groups of people in this passage. He tells us that God

will inflict vengeance on those who do not know Him, and on those who do

not obey the gospel. These individuals, says the apostle, will “suffer the

punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and

the from glory of His might.”

Hebrews 10:26-27 adds another group to this list:

[26] For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the

knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for

sins, [27] but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of

fire that will consume the adversaries. [28] Anyone who has set

aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of

two or three witnesses. [29] How much worse punishment, do

you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled

underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the

covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the

Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10)

The writer to the Hebrews speaks in these verses about those who

deliberately continue in sin even though they have heard the truth and

understood it. These individuals should expect a “judgement and a fury of

fire that will consume” (verse 27).

In Revelation 21:8, the apostle John shares the words give to him by the one

who was seated on the throne of heaven:

[8] 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)

These individuals have lived their lives apart from the gospel and its

influence on their lives. According to John, their destiny in the “lake that

burns with fire and sulphur.”

In Matthew 23, the Lord Jesus rebukes the hypocritical religious leaders

and says:

[33] You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape

being sentenced to hell? (Matthew 23)

Jesus would explain that these religious leaders had misled those under their

authority and drove them from the kingdom of God.

[15] Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you

travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when

he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of

hell as yourselves. (Matthew 23)

Notice how the Lord Jesus describes these religious leaders as “children of

hell.” They served the cause of religion, but they drove people from God.

They would be sentenced to hell.

While it is not our place to go into detail about the beasts of the end times,

Revelation 19 is quite clear about their destiny:

[10] and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the

lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet

were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and

ever. (Revelation 19)

Notice here that the devil, the beast and the false prophet were all thrown

into the lake of fire and sulphur to be tormented day and night forever.

The judgement of hell, according to the teaching of Jesus and the apostles is

reserved for a long list of individuals:

1. Those who do not know God

2. Those who do not obey the gospel

3. Those who know the truth but deliberately go on sinning

4. Cowards, the faithless, detestable people, murderers, the sexually

immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, liars

5. Hypocritical religious leaders

6. The Beast and his false prophet

7. Satan and his demons

There is no question in the minds of Jesus and the apostles that hell and

judgement were a reality after the resurrection of the body. We will all be

raised from the dead to face our Creator. Some will enter the presence of

their Saviour. Others will be separated from Him and sent to suffer in hell.

I confess that these words are hard to write but they do convey the teaching

of the Bible that:

“an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his

voice [29] and come out, those who have done good to the

resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the

resurrection of judgment. (John 5).

CHAPTER 4- IS HELL

ETERNAL?

e have seen that hell, as a place of suffering and torment, is a

concept taught by both Jesus and the apostles. The next

question we need to address relates to what the Bible teaches

about the eternal nature of hell. Is hell eternal or temporary? Let me be clear

here. I am not speaking about the suffering of those who are cast into hell in

this chapter. My goal is to establish whether the Bible teaches that hell, as a

place, is eternal.

Unquenchable Fire

Let’s begin with the words of John the Baptist to the religious leaders of his

day in Matthew 3:

[11] “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is

coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not

worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and

fire. [12] His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear

his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the

chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3)

John warns the religious leaders who had come to hear him speak that the

Lord Jesus, who was coming after him, would bring judgement to this earth.

Comparing humanity to a threshing floor, he told them that Jesus would

separate the wheat from the chaff. The wheat would be safely stored in His

barn, but the chaff would be burned with unquenchable fire. John speaks

here of heaven and hell and the judgement to come. He describes hell as a

place of “unquenchable fire.” The term seems to indicate that the fire of hell

will never go out.

Jesus repeats this imagery of hell as a place of “unquenchable fire” in Mark

9 when He says:

[43] And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better

for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell,

to the unquenchable fire. (Mark 9)

Both John the Baptist and Jesus speak of hell as a place of unquenchable

fire. That is to say, a place where the fires continue to burn and cannot be

put out.

Eternal Fire

In Matthew 25:4, Jesus has this to say to those who had rejected Him:

[41] “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,

you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his

angels. (Matthew 25)

Notice the term “eternal fire” used by Jesus in this verse. Jude uses these

same words when he says:

[7] just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities,

which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued

unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a

punishment of eternal fire.

An eternal fire is one that never goes out. From this, we can assume that the

flames of hell will burn throughout all eternity. These flames will not be

extinguished.

Where The Worm Does Not Die

In Mark 9 Jesus describes hell as a place where the “worm does not die, and

the fire is not quenched:”

[47] And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for

you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two

eyes to be thrown into hell, [48] ‘where their worm does not

die, and the fire is not quenched.’ (Mark 9)

The word “worm” refers to a worm or maggot that feeds on dead bodies.

This worm does not die but continues to feed on the death that surrounds it.

The fire is not quenched, for it has an abundant source of fuel to consume.

Day And Night Forever And Ever

The apostle John tells us what will happen to the devil and his angels in

Revelation 20:10:

[10] and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the

lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet

were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and

ever. (Revelation 20)

We will touch on this verse later in another context. What is essential for us

to note here is that the torment of the devil, the false prophet and the beast

is described here to be “day and night forever and ever.” The agony of these

creatures was constant and eternal. “Forever and ever” implies that this

would go on through all eternity without end.

Eternal Judgement

In Hebrews 6, the author challenges the Hebrews to move on to maturity in

their Christian life and to build on the fundamental truths they had learned.

[6:1] Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ

and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of

repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, [2] and

of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the

resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. (Hebrews 6)

Notice that one of those truths they had learned was the doctrine of eternal

judgment. This again is something we will touch on later in another context,

but the phrase is important in this chapter. Hell is the place were this

judgement takes place. If the judgement in hell is described as eternal, then

the implication is that hell itself will be eternal.

The Word “Eternity”

The Greek word used for “eternity” in the New Testament is the word

“aionios.” It comes from the root word “aion,” which means an age (in

time). This has led some to say that we could interpret the word eternal to

mean something that is to happen in a future period and not something that

necessarily lasts forever. The nature of the words used to describe hell by

Jesus and the apostles, however, make it abundantly clear that hell is not

just something that will happen in the age to come but also something that

will endure forever. Hell’s fires are eternal or unquenchable –their flames

will never be extinguished. The worms of hell will never die –they will

feast perpetually on the death and decay of hell. The punishment in hell of

Satan, the beast and the false prophet will be forever and ever, implying that

there will be no end to their punishment. While it would be much easier to

believe that hell is only temporary, this is not what it taught in Scripture. We

can safely assume that hell is eternal in the sense that it will exist forever as

a reminder of the wrath and anger of God against sin and rebellion.

CHAPTER 5- THE WAGES

OF SIN

n Genesis 3, we read the story of Eve’s temptation in the Garden of

Eden.

[3:1] Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of

the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman,

“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the

garden’?” [2] And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat

of the fruit of the trees in the garden, [3] but God said, ‘You

shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the

garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” (Genesis 3)

What is significant in these verses are the words of God concerning the

punishment for sin. God told the first couple that they would die if they ate

from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

This command of God is found in Genesis 2:16-17:

[16] And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You

may surely eat of every tree of the garden, [17] but of the tree of

the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day

that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2)

Notice the words of God to Adam that day: “for in the day that you eat of it

you shall surely die” (verse 17). The phrase, “in the day that you eat,” tells

when they would die. Death would be immediate.

These words of God create a problem for us. Genesis 5:5 tells us that Adam

lived 930 years before he died. If his death would be on the day he ate the

fruit of the tree, why did he live until he was 930 years old? What was the

nature of the death Adam experienced that day?

We are all very familiar with Romans 6:23 that says:

[23] For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal

life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6)

The New Testament confirms what God told Adam in Genesis 2. Sin brings

death. The question we want to address here relates to what the Bible

teaches about death as the penalty for sin.

Let’s return to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God told them that

they would die on the day they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good

and Evil. To understand the nature of this death, we need to look at what

took place in the days and weeks that followed their disobedience.

Death In Social Relationships

Listen to the words of Genesis 3:6-7:

[6] So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,

and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be

desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she

also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

[7] Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they

were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made

themselves loincloths. (Genesis 3)

Adam and Eve were together in the garden when they ate from the

forbidden tree. Notice what happened as they wiped the juice of the fruit

from their faces— “the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they

were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves

loincloths” (verse 7). The passage leads us to believe that the immediate

result of eating the fruit was an awareness of their nakedness and shame

that made them hide that nakedness from each other. A barrier came

between them as a couple. They pulled back from one another in shame.

They hid from each other. The innocence was gone. There was a break in

personal relationships. With the entrance of sin, there was cause to be

fearful. Evil thoughts and desires would now plague every relationship from

that point forward. Adam and Eve would experience this personally, but

more specifically, they would experience this in the relationship that existed

between their sons. Their son Cain killed his brother Abel out of jealousy.

From that point forward, humanity would experience this death of social

relationships as sin moved them to fight and betray one another. Nation

would wage war against nation. Abuse, violence against humanity,

prejudice, and hatred of all kinds would ravage and devastate relationships

across the globe. There was a death of social relations. That took place the

moment Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord in the garden.

Death Of Relationship With God

As we move on in the story of Adam and Eve, we see something else that

took place immediately. In Genesis 3:8, we read:

[8] And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the

garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid

themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees

of the garden. [9] But the LORD God called to the man and

said to him, “Where are you?” [10] And he said, “I heard the

sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was

naked, and I hid myself.” [11] He said, “Who told you that you

were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded

you not to eat?” (Genesis 3)

It appears that the Lord God would visit with Adam and Eve in the Garden.

After eating from the forbidden tree, however, the encounter between God

and the couple changed. Genesis 3:8 tells us that when Adam and Eve heard

the presence of God in the Garden, they hid from Him. When asked why

they did so, Adam told God that he was afraid because he was naked. Adam

was afraid of God and ashamed. Shame and guilt now stood between Adam

and his Creator. Notice in verse 11 that God attributes this to the fact that

they had eaten of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eating from

that tree brought death in the relationship between Adam and his God.

Adam now had cause for fear. He had offended a holy and just God. This

death in relationship with God spread from Adam to every human being on

the earth.

King David declared in Psalm 51:

[5] Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my

mother conceive me. (Psalm 51)

The prophet Isaiah would later declare:

[2] but your iniquities have made a separation between you

and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so

that he does not hear. (Isaiah 59)

Sin separated Adam from his God. That took place on the day that he and

his wife ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That sin

spread from person to person so that all were affected. Quoting from the

Old Testament Psalms, the apostle Paul wrote:

[10] as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; (Romans

From the time Adam and Eve ate from the tree in the centre of the garden

onward, humankind has suffered this death in their relationship with God.

We are separated from our Creator and under His judgement. Sin brought

spiritual death.

Environmental Death

Listen to what God told Adam in Genesis 3:17,18:

[17] And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the

voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I

commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground

because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your

life; [18] thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and

you shall eat the plants of the field.

Creation was cursed the day Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. The

ground would now reluctantly yield its crops. Thorns and thistles would

choke out the food produced in the soil. Adam and all humankind after him,

would cultivate that fruit by sweat and hard work.

The earth as Adam knew it died that day. Sin ravages our environment.

Floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters are the result of sin.

Draughts and famines are a reminder to us that the curse of sin continues to

ravage our earth. Sickness and diseases brought about by environmental

causes spread throughout the world. The environment, as we know it today,

is in the process of death and decay.

Listen to the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 8:

[20] For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but

because of him who subjected it, in hope [21] that the creation

itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain

the freedom of the glory of the children of God. [22] For we

know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the

pains of childbirth until now. (Romans 8)

The apostle makes it very clear that this earth on which we live has been

subject to bondage and corruption as a result of sin. It longs for the day

when it will be set free to be all it was intended to be. On the day that Adam

and Eve sinned, they brought the curse of death to this earth.

Physical Death

God told Adam in Genesis 3:19:

[19] By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you

return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are

dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3)

When we think of death, we usually think of the death of the body. God told

Adam that this would also be the result of his sin. His body would age and

become weaker. Eventually, his heart would stop beating, and his body

would cease to function. His physical body would decay and return to dust.

It should be noted that pain and suffering would also be part of this ageing

and decaying of the body. God told Eve that she would give birth to

children in pain (Genesis 3:16). Adam would eat of the fruit of the soil

through hard work and pain (Genesis 3:17-18). From the moment Adam ate

the fruit of the tree, he experienced the effect of the curse of death on his

physical body. While he would not die for many years, he knew that his

body was ageing, and he was living under the curse of death.

The wages of sin is death, but death is much more than what happens when

we lose a loved one. Death affects relationships with people and with God.

It impacts nature and the environment in which we live. Death curses every

aspect of our lives. It deteriorates the quality of life. Instead of peace, it

brings enmity and separation between God and His creation. Instead of

health and joy, it brings sickness and sorrow. It replaces fruitfulness with

barrenness. Death separates us from the fullness of God’s blessing. It places

us under His curse. In the hundreds of years left in Adam’s life, he would

live in this death and separation from God.

There is an interesting passage in Hebrews 11 that speaks about Enoch:

[5] By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see

death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now

before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.

(Hebrews 11)

We have seen that the wages of sin is death (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23).

Here in Hebrews 11, we read, however, that Enoch did not see death. Was

Enoch perfect? Could we assume from this that he never sinned and,

therefore, did experience death? The verse causes a problem only if we see

death to refer to the cessation of the physical functions of the body. Enoch,

though he did not experience a physical death, certainly lived in a world

that was under the curse of death. He experienced the effects of sin on his

body and heart like every other human being. He lived separated from the

fullness of God’s blessings. The fact that God chose to bring him into His

presence without experiencing a physical death does not diminish the fact

that even Enoch lived under the curse of sin and death throughout his life.

Paul, the apostle, cried out to God in Romans 7:

[22] For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, [23]

but I see in my members another law waging war against the

law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that

dwells in my members. [24] Wretched man that I am! Who will

deliver me from this body of death? (Romans 7)

The apostle saw within himself what he called a “body of death.” This body

of death was a part of him that waged war against the purpose of God for

his life. This was his sinful nature. It hindered him in his spiritual walk, and

he hated its presence in his life. He longed for deliverance from this death.

The death to which the apostle refers here is not physical death but a fleshly

desire that was contrary to God and His purpose. He lived daily with this

death in him.

John recounts what he heard in his vision of heaven in Revelation 21:

[3] 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. [4] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,

and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning,

nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have

passed away.” (Revelation 21)

The apostle tells us that he heard a voice saying that God would wipe away

every tear and death would be no more. There are several significant details

we need to see here in these verses. Remember that death came as a result

of sin, brought separation from God and tremendous pain and suffering on

this earth. The voice that spoke in heaven that day told John that the effects

of this curse would be broken. God would dwell with His people. There

would no longer be any separation between them. All pain and suffering

would be banished, and there would be no more cause for tears and

mourning. Death would be no more. Through the work of the Lord Jesus,

the curse of death would be broken. Heaven is a place where we live in

absolute freedom from the effects of death in all its dimensions.

The penalty for sin is much more than the cessation of bodily and mental

functions—it is a life separated from the blessings and presence of God. A

quick look around us shows us just how much sin has affected us. It has

cursed this earth. Not one of us is spared the pain, suffering and brokenness

it brings. All of this was the result of a single act of disobedience. Every

agony we have ever experienced has been the result of this sin and the curse

that it brought to us. Sin must never be taken lightly. It is a deadly plague

that has taken more lives than any other disease. It has ravished our earth

and every single person who was ever born. It will ultimately destroy every

one of us, and unless we are freed from its deadly curse, it will separate us

eternally from our Creator.

What does this teaching have to do with the subject at hand? Some people

say that a loving God would never allow us to suffer. He would never take a

loved one from us. Those who say this need to open their eyes to the truth

of Genesis 3:3. God declared the sentence of death on anyone who ate from

the tree in the midst of the garden. Just take a look at the evil that surrounds

you. Consider the injustice and disappointments in life. Consider the

horrible atrocities of history and the abuses of our day. This is the curse of

sin and death. It is the punishment of disobedience. It was the declaration of

God about what would happen if Eve ate the fruit of the tree. Would a

loving and compassionate God allow this to happen? If you believe in the

God of Genesis, then you have to admit that He would.

CHAPTER 6- THE NATURE

OF THE SOUL

here is much debate over the nature of the soul. The Hebrew word

used in the Old Testament is the word “nepes” which refers to the

breath, thoughts and emotions. The word “nepes” is not used

exclusively of human beings but applied to animals as well (Genesis 1:20;

Job 41:21; Jeremiah 2:24). In the New Testament, the Greek word for soul

is the word “psuche” which means to breathe or to blow. The soul is our life

or breath as distinguished from our physical bodies. It is what makes us

conscious of our surroundings and able to interact with our circumstances.

The soul is capable of emotions and feelings. Speaking to Jacob in Genesis

34:8 Hamor said:

[8] But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son

Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be

his wife. (Genesis 34)

The Lord God challenged His people not to listen to false prophets for He

was testing them to see if they loved Him with all their heart and soul:

[3] you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that

dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to

know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart

and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 13)

Jesus experienced deep sorrow in His soul in Mark 14:

[34] And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to

death. Remain here and watch.”

The soul is the part of us that is capable of reason and emotion.

Can The Soul Die?

It is quite clear that our physical bodies will one day die. What about our

souls? Can our souls die as well?

In Genesis 35, we read about the death of Rachel.

[18] And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she

called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.

(Genesis 35)

Genesis 35:18 tells us that Rachel’s soul was departing and connects this

with the fact that she was dying. In other words, at death, our soul leaves us.

We are no longer capable of reason, feeling or experiencing life.

Listen to the words of Job in Job 33:

[22] His soul draws near the pit, and his life to those who bring

death. (Job 33)

Job describes the soul as drawing near the pit. The pit is the place of death

—a place where life and breath are stripped away.

In Psalm 22:2, the Psalmist pleads with the Lord to deliver his soul from the

sword:

[20] Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the

power of the dog! (Psalm 22)

He takes this a step further in Psalm 33 when he says:

[18] Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on

those who hope in his steadfast love, [19] that he may deliver

their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. (Psalm 33)

Notice the reference to the fact that the Lord delivers the soul of those who

fears Him from death. The Psalmist experienced deep gratitude to God for

saving his soul from death in Psalm 56:

[12] I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank

offerings to you. [13] For you have delivered my soul from

death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in

the light of life. (Psalm 56)

The Psalmist had the understanding here that the soul could die. This

gratitude for saving that human soul from death is repeated often in the

Psalms (see Psalm 16:10; 49:15; 86:13; 89:48; 109:31; 116:8).

The Old Testament prophets also spoke of the soul. Isaiah has this to say

about the King of Assyria who boasted in his great achievements:

[18] The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land the LORD

will destroy, both soul and body, and it will be as when a sick

man wastes away. (Isaiah 10)

God would destroy the body and soul of his land. While not directly

referring to the human soul, the concept of the death of the soul of the land

is quite clear.

Speaking more directly to the human soul, Ezekiel the prophet says:

[20] The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the

iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the

son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself,

and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

(Ezekiel 18)

Ezekiel is quite clear here when he says that the soul of the sinner will die.

The New Testament conveys the same idea. Listen to the words of Jesus in

Matthew 10:

[28] 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)

There can be no question about what Jesus is saying here. God can destroy

both the soul and the body in hell.

Jesus told a parable in Luke 12 about a rich man whose desire was to build

bigger barns to store more wealth. He told His listeners that this individual

was foolish because he did not take God into account. That very night God

would require his soul:

[20] But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is

required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will

they be?’ (Luke 12)

The soul of the man would be taken from him that night. He was not in

control of his life.

Speaking to the people of his day, the apostle Peter said:

[23] And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that

prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ (Acts 3)

The apostle warned that the souls of those who did not listen to the words of

God would be destroyed.

James tells us that if we reach out to a wandering sinner and bring him back

the Lord, we will save his soul from death:

[20] let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his

wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a

multitude of sins. (James 5)

While the soul dies, we need to understand that God can raise that soul to

life again just as He raises the body. Consider what John describes for us in

Revelation 20:

[4] Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom

the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of

those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for

the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or

its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or

their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a

thousand years. (Revelation 20)

Notice that the apostle saw the souls of those beheaded for Christ. These

souls, he tells us, came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

There can be no doubt that the Bible teaches that the soul can die. What

dies, however, will also be raised to life again at the resurrection.

CHAPTER 7- THE HUMAN

SPIRIT

he question of whether human beings have a spirit has been

debated in Christian circles. Some Christians believe that we are

composed of body and soul only. Others see human beings as

body, soul and spirit. When we speak of spirit in this sense, we are not

speaking about the Holy Spirit, who lives in the true believer but rather a

human spirit as distinct from the soul. Again, we need to return to the

Scriptures to see what they have to say.

The word “spirit” as it relates to human beings occurs numerous times in

the Bible. In the Old Testament, the word used is “ruah.” It speaks of the

Spirit of God but also of the spirit of a man or woman. For example, in

Genesis 41:8, after having a troubling vision, Pharoah’s spirit was troubled.

[8] So in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and

called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men.

Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could

interpret them to Pharaoh. (Genesis 41)

Upon hearing that his son Joseph was alive, Jacob’s spirit was revived:

[27] But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he

had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had

sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.

(Genesis 45)

In this sense, the spirit, like the soul, can experience emotions.

The prophet Ezekiel told the people of his day that the Lord God would put

a new spirit within them:

[19] And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put

within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh

and give them a heart of flesh, [20] that they may walk in my

statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my

people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 11)

What Ezekiel was telling the people was that the Lord would change how

they saw things and give them new motivation and passion in life. In this

case, it would be a desire to follow God and keep His commandments. The

spirit, when spoken of in this way, refers to a passion or motivation in life.

We catch a glimpse of this passion in Isaiah 26:9, where the prophet says:

[9] My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me

earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth,

the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. (Isaiah 26)

Notice the connection in Isaiah 26 between the soul and the spirit. The soul

yearns for God, and the spirit earnestly seeks after him. Both soul and spirit

experience passion and desire.

The use of the word spirit, however, goes beyond the feeling of passion and

emotions. In Exodus 28, we read:

[3] You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a

spirit of skill, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate

him for my priesthood. (Exodus 28)

The phrase “spirit of skill” shows us that the spirit in one person may be

different from another. God gave certain individuals special skills to

accomplish His purpose. These skills are different in each person. It was as

if God breathed into these individuals these special abilities. They are

divinely gifted to accomplish His purpose.

Deuteronomy 34:9 tells us that Joshua had a spirit of wisdom:

[9] And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom,

for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel

obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.

(Deuteronomy 34)

What is particularly interesting in this passage is that this “spirit of

wisdom” was given to him through the laying on of Moses' hands. In other

words, Joshua was not born with this spirit of wisdom. It was given to him

from God when Moses prayed over him.

We have already said that the spirit feels passion and desires. According to

Exodus 35:21, we also see that the spirit moves and motivates people to

action. The people of Moses’ day were stirred in their spirit and responded

accordingly. Consider the words of Exodus 35:21:

[21] And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and

everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the LORD’s

contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its

service, and for the holy garments. (Exodus 35)

After falling into sin, David pleaded with God to renew His spirit:

[10] Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right

spirit within me. (Psalm 51)

This renewing of his spirit was something that David knew God had to do.

He understood the sin of his heart and the passions of his flesh and asked

God to cleanse him of this evil and put a new and right spirit in him. This

new spirit would have a passion for God and His purpose.

The prophet Zechariah tells us that the Lord who created the heavens also

formed the spirit of man within him:

[12:1] The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel:

Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and

founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him.

(Zechariah 12)

This tells us that human beings have a spirit.

Ecclesiastes 12 speaks about old age and what happens as we age. Listen to

the words of verse 7:

[7] and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit

returns to God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12)

In Genesis, the Lord told Adam and Eve that their bodies would return to

the dust. Ecclesiastes 12:7 seems to refer to this when it says that the “dust

returns to the earth.” Notice, however, what that author has to say about the

spirit –it “returns to God who gave it.” It appears from this that the writer

expected that while his body would die, his spirit would live on in the

presence of God.

As we come to the New Testament, we read the story of the crucifixion of

the Lord Jesus. Matthew 27:50 tells us that when Jesus died, he “yielded up

his spirit.” At the death of Christ, his spirit was given up or surrendered.

Luke tells us where the spirit of Jesus went:

[46] Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father,

into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he

breathed his last. (Luke 23)

The spirit of Jesus was committed into the hands of the Father. Can we

assume from this that the spirit of Christ could exist without His body?

It is interesting to note the words of the Stephen when he was stoned to

death in Acts 7:59:

[59] And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord

Jesus, receive my spirit.” (Acts 7)

It appears from this that Stephen expected his body would die, and his spirit

would go to the Lord Jesus. His spirit would be separated from his body and

enter the presence of God.

In Luke 8, we read the story of how a man by the name of Jairus came to

Jesus because his twelve-year-old daughter was sick to the point of dying.

By the time Jesus arrived at their home, the funeral was already underway

—Jairus’ daughter had died. Jesus went over to the body, took her by the

hand and commanded her to rise. Luke, the doctor, tells us what happened:

[55] And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he

directed that something should be given her to eat. (Luke 8)

The spirit of Jairus’ daughter had left her. At Jesus' command, however, that

spirit returned, and she rose up from her deathbed. Again, notice the

separation of the body and the spirit at her death. The returning of her spirit

brought life again.

The apostle James reminds us that our life is in our spirit:

[26] For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith

apart from works is dead. (James 2)

When our spirit departs, our body dies.

While there seem to be some similarities between the soul and the spirit,

there are also some differences. The Bible uses different words to speak of

soul and spirit in both the Old and New Testament.

The Bible seems to make it clear that the soul can die. There does not seem

to be any reference in Scripture to the spirit dying. The spirit seems to

depart from the body at the time of death. Jesus committed his spirit to the

Father. Philip committed his to Jesus.

Scripture also seems to speak of both the soul and the spirit as being

separate. Consider what Paul told the Thessalonians:

[23] Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you

completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be

kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1

Thessalonians 5)

Paul speaks of the spirit, the soul and the body in this verse.

This is not the only place in the Bible where the soul and the spirit are

mentioned as being distinct from each other.

[12] For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any

two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit,

of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and

intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4)

Notice the comparison between the joints and marrow of the bones and the

thoughts and intentions of the heart. Thoughts are different from intentions,

but they work together. Joints and marrow have separate functions for the

bones, but they too work together. So, the soul and the spirit are

independent but join forces for the purpose of God.

It is also important that we understand that the spirit we speak of here is not

the Holy Spirit of God, who comes to live in the believer. Writing to the

Corinthians, the apostle Paul said:

[7:1] Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse

ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing

holiness to completion in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7)

Paul challenged the Corinthians to cleanse themselves from any defilement

of spirit. While the human spirit can be defiled, this could not be said of the

Holy Spirit, who is always free from corruption or sin in any form. The

apostle would confirm this distinction between the human spirit and the

Holy Spirit in Romans 8:

[16] The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are

children of God (Romans 8)

Paul speaks here about “the Spirit” and “our spirit.” In his mind, these were

two separate entities.

Peter encouraged believers to live in the spirit. In doing so, they were

following the example God had set for them:

[6] For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who

are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are,

they might live in the spirit the way God does. (1 Peter 4)

All too often, as believers, we live in the flesh. God has given us a spirit

that can communicate with him, but we prefer the logic of our mind.

Paul taught the church in Corinth about the gift of tongues. Notice what he

had to say to them in 1 Corinthians 14 about the gift:

[14] For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is

unfruitful. [15] What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but

I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit,

but I will sing with my mind also. [16] Otherwise, if you give

thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an

outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not

know what you are saying? (1 Corinthians 14)

The gift of tongues gave the human spirit a voice. Paul taught that it was

important to pray with a full understanding of the mind, but he would also

pray and sing with his spirit. By praying in a tongue, Paul told the

Corinthians that the mind remained unfruitful. In other words, the gift of

tongues bypassed the mind. He spoke what was in his spirit but did not

understand what he was saying. This did not discourage Paul. He told the

Corinthians that he would pray with his spirit even if his mind did not

understand. He would also ask God to give him an interpretation of what he

was praying.

Paul teaches that the human spirit is distinct from the soul with its capacity

to reason and understand. He prayed with his spirit while his soul was not

aware of what he prayed. Notice also how he speaks of “my spirit,” (verse

14, 15) and “your spirit” (verse 16). This distinguishes the human spirit

from the Holy Spirit.

Let me conclude with one last verse about the human spirit. 1 Peter 3:18 has

this to say about Jesus when He died on the cross:

[18] For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for

the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to

death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, [19] in which he

went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, [20] because they

formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days

of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that

is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. (1 Peter 3)

According to Peter, when the Lord Jesus died, his spirit was made alive.

The spirit of Christ does not seem to be subject to death. Notice also that

after He died, Jesus proclaimed to the spirits in prison. These spirits are

described in verse 19 as those who “formerly did not obey.” While it is not

my purpose to comment on these verses here, I do want us to notice

something that pertains to our study.

Peter tells us that Christ went to preach to the spirits of those who were in

prison because they formerly did not obey. He connects these spirits to the

time of Noah. The context indicates that these were unbelievers who

rejected the Lord. They were held in a prison of some sort. The fact that the

Lord Jesus proclaimed to them would lead us to believe that these spirits

were consciously aware of what He proclaimed –they were not dead. We

seem to have, in these verses, an example of the spirits of those who had

died, living apart from their earthly body and soul.

What these verses seem to show us is that we have a human spirit. The

spirit is distinct from the soul. While the Bible speaks of the soul dying,

there does not seem to be any reference to the human spirit dying. Instead,

it leaves the body at death and returns to God or to some other place where

they await the resurrection.

Annihilationism speaks of the extermination of the human being after

judgement — it basis this on the fact that the soul and the body are not

eternal. Scripture does seem to indicate that the soul and the body can die.

Nowhere in Scripture, however, is there any evidence that the spirit dies. It

appears to live on even after the death of the body and soul in conscious

awareness of its surroundings.

Chapter 8- What Happens at Death?

We come now to the question of what the Bible teaches about what happens

after we die. I want to limit this to the period between death and judgement.

The answer is not found in any one passage of Scripture, so we will have to

put a variety of Bible verses together.

The Physical Body

Let’s begin by examining what the Bible has to say about the human body

at death. Speaking to Adam in Genesis 3, the Lord God said:

[19] By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you

return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are

dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3)

The Lord God told Adam that as a result of sin, he would live his life and

then die. At death, his body would return to the state it was before it was

created –it would return to dust. In other words, the physical body we have

right now at death will decompose in the grave.

This was the understanding of Job when he said to God:

[9] Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you

return me to the dust? (Job 10)

Speaking to his friends, who came to comfort him, Job complained:

[13] If I hope for Sheol as my house, if I make my bed in

darkness, [14] if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,’ and to the

worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’ [15] where then is my hope?

Who will see my hope? [16] Will it go down to the bars of

Sheol? Shall we descend together into the dust?” (Job 17)

Job gives us some insight into Sheol or the grave in these verses. It is a

place of darkness (verse 13). It is a place where the worm dwells (verse 14).

It is a place where the body returns to dust (verse 16). From this, we

understand that Job believed that when his body died is was eaten by worms

and ultimately returned to dust.

The psalmist fearing death proclaimed:

[15] my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue

sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. (Psalm 22)

The bodies of those who died are described in Psalm 22 as going “down to

the dust:

[29] All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before

him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who

could not keep himself alive. (Psalm 22)

Comparing God to human beings, the Psalmist declares:

[2] Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had

formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting

you are God. [3] You return man to dust and say, “Return, O

children of man!” [4] For a thousand years in your sight are

but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.

(Psalm 90)

The Lord God is from everlasting to everlasting. Time does not affect God.

In direct contrast to the everlasting God is man who, after a short existence,

returns to dust.

Solomon compares animals and man in Ecclesiastes 3:19-20:

[19] For what happens to the children of man and what

happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other.

They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over

the beasts, for all is vanity. [20] All go to one place. All are

from the dust, and to dust all return. (Ecclesiastes 3:20)

These passages make it abundantly clear that our earthly bodies will one

day cease to function. They will be laid in the ground and decompose.

The Soul

We have seen that the soul also can die. Ezekiel confirmed this when he

said:

[18] and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the women who

sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads

of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt

down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls

alive? [19] You have profaned me among my people for

handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death

souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should

not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies. (Ezekiel

13)

Through Ezekiel, the Lord God accused His people of hunting down souls

and putting them to death. When these souls died, it would seem reasonable

to assume that they had no more conscious awareness of their surroundings.

The Psalmist tells us that the human soul is subject to the power of the

grave:

[48] What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver

his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah (Psalm 89)

Elihu, speaking to Job, describes the man who falls short of God’s law:

[19] “Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed and with

continual strife in his bones, [20] so that his life loathes bread,

and his appetite the choicest food. [21] His flesh is so wasted

away that it cannot be seen, and his bones that were not seen

stick out. [22] His soul draws near the pit, and his life to those

who bring death. (Job 33)

The man Elihu describes here is one whose “soul draws near the pit.” The

pit is the grave. Elihu believed that the human soul would go with the body

to the grave. This is made clear when he goes on to say:

[29] “Behold, God does all these things, twice, three times,

with a man, [30] to bring back his soul from the pit, that he

may be lighted with the light of life. (Job 33)

Notice here that while, according to Elihu, the soul went to the grave with

the body, the Lord God was also capable of raising it back to life again.

The sons of Korah spoke about the grave in Psalm 88:

[10] Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise

up to praise you? Selah [11] Is your steadfast love declared in

the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon? [12] Are your

wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the

land of forgetfulness? (Psalm 88)

Verse 11 compares the grave to Abaddon. The word in the Hebrew language

means “ruin” or “destruction.” It refers to the place of the dead. The grave

is also described as a place of “darkness” and a “land of forgetfulness.” In

this place, the love of God is not declared or felt. There does not appear to

be any conscious awareness in the grave. Like the body, the soul appears to

cease its function. Like the body, however, it will be raised again at the

resurrection.

The Spirit

While it appears that the soul, as the consciousness of human beings and

animals, ceases to function at death, this does not appear to be the case for

the spirit.

1 Samuel 28 describes an incident where King Saul needed counsel. The

Philistines were pressing in hard against him, and he was not sure what he

was to do. He had always gone to Samuel the prophet when he needed to

hear from the Lord, but Samuel had died. He tried other means to hear from

the Lord, but the Lord was not answering him. In desperation, Saul

determined to find a medium that could speak to the spirit of Saul.

[8] So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and

went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by

night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for

me whomever I shall name to you.” [9] The woman said to him,

“Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the

mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are

you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?” [10]

But Saul swore to her by the LORD, “As the LORD lives, no

punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” [11] Then the

woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said,

“Bring up Samuel for me.” (1 Samuel 28)

Saul asked the medium to bring up the spirit of Samuel so that he could

speak with him and ask his advice. The Law of Moses forbade speaking

with the spirits of the dead (see Deuteronomy 18:10,11). If the law forbade

speaking to the spirits of the dead, it is safe to say that this was actually

possible. This means that the spirit has some awareness and consciousness

after death.

We have already seen that the Lord Jesus committed his spirit to the Father

at the time of His crucifixion (Luke 23:46). When Stephen was stoned to

death, committed His spirit to the Lord Jesus (see Acts 7:59). The

assumption here was that the spirit would not go with them to the grave.

Writing to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul said:

[8] Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away

from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5)

It appears that that expectation of the apostle was that when his body died,

his spirit would go to be with the Lord. Paul appears to be speaking of a

time after his death but before the resurrection of the body. He was absent

from the body, but his spirit was in the presence of the Lord God.

Speaking to the thief on the cross beside Him, the Lord Jesus said: Truly, I

say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). The idea is

that after his body died and was taken down from the cross, the spirit of this

man would enter the presence of God. Notice that Jesus told him that this

would be immediate—he would be with him “today.”

There is very little in the Bible about the destiny of the spirit of the

unbeliever before judgement. 1 Peter 3, however, may give us a clue.

[18] For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for

the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to

death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, [19] in which he

went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, [20] because they

formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days

of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that

is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. (1 Peter 3)

While this passage is not an easy one to interpret, there are several points

we need to make here. Notice first that in verse 18, Peter tells us that Jesus

was put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. The idea seems to

be that while his body was dead, His spirit was very much alive. It did not

die with him on the cross.

The second point we need to notice is in verse 19, which tells us that the

Lord Jesus went in spirit to proclaim to the spirits in prison who did not

obey when God’s patience was tested in the days of Noah. Peter does not

explain what he means here. Notice, however, that the apostle speaks about

a prison in which those who did not obey were kept. Compare this to what

the prophet Isaiah said:

[21] On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven, in

heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. [22] They will

be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up

in a prison, and after many days they will be punished. [23]

Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the

LORD of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his

glory will be before his elders. (Isaiah 24)

Isaiah prophesied of a day when the hosts of heaven and the earth would be

punished. Before that punishment, however, he said that they would be

“shut up in prison, and after many days, they will be punished” (verse 22).

At that time of judgement, the moon will be confounded, and the sun

confused as the Lord took His place as King of glory in Jerusalem. What is

essential for us to note is the reference to the shutting up in prison of those

waiting to be punished. These verses lead us to believe that the spirit of the

unbeliever is shut up on some form of imprisonment, awaiting the

judgement day.

At death, the body decays in the ground. The soul is cast into darkness and

no longer has any memory or consciousness. The spirit, however, appears to

remain conscious and either goes to the Lord or is held in bondage awaiting

the day of resurrection and judgement.

CHAPTER 9- THE

RESURRECTION AND THE

JUDGEMENT

he Bible teaches that after death, we will stand before our Creator

to be judged.

[27] And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after

that comes judgment, [28] so Christ, having been offered once

to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal

with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

(Hebrews 9)

For that judgement to take place, the dead must first be raised to life.

RESURRECTION

The Old Testament saints accepted the resurrection of the dead as a fact.

Listen to the words of Job:

[25] For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will

stand upon the earth. [26] And after my skin has been thus

destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, [27] whom I shall see

for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart

faints within me! (Job 19)

While His skin would be destroyed, Job had confidence that he would see

God in his flesh. He had an understanding that he would receive a new body

of flesh and see God after he died.

Not every Jew believed in the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees of

the New Testament did not accept this truth (Matthew 22:23). On one

occasion, they came to Jesus to challenge this belief. Listen to the words of

Jesus to these unbelieving Sadducees:

[29] But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you

know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. [30] For in

the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage,

but are like angels in heaven. [31] And as for the resurrection

of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God:

[32] ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the

God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”

[33] And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his

teaching. (Matthew 22)

To those who refused to believe in the resurrection, Jesus said: “You are

wrong because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God”

(verse 29). There can be no doubt that Jesus believed that the Scriptures

taught the resurrection of the dead.

Speaking to Martha after the death of her brother Lazarus, Jesus said: “Your

brother will rise again” (John 11:23). Listen to the response of Martha to

this statement from her Lord:

[24] Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the

resurrection on the last day.” (John 11)

Martha believed in the resurrection of the dead on the last day. Jesus would

go on that day to demonstrate the power of the resurrection by raising

Lazarus from the dead.

In Luke 14, Jesus told those who were listening to Him that when they

prepared a banquet, they were to invite those who could not pay them back

—the poor and the needy. He went on to tell them they would receive their

reward at the resurrection:

[14] and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.

For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke

14)

Listen to the Lord’s instruction in John 5:

[28] Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who

are in the tombs will hear his voice [29] and come out, those

who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who

have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. (John 5)

According to Jesus, there was a day coming when those who were in the

graves would hear His voice. They would be given life again. Some would

experience the resurrection of life, and others would experience a

resurrection of judgement. In other words, there would be a resurrection of

both the believer and the unbeliever.

In his defence before Governor Felix, the apostle Paul had this to say:

[14] But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which

they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing

everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets,

[15] having a hope in God, which these men themselves

accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the

unjust. (Acts 24)

Paul told Felix that he preached what was taught in the Law and the

Prophets that there would be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.

The resurrection was not only for the believer but for the unbeliever as well.

The apostle suffered because they preached about the resurrection of the

dead. We have an example of this in Acts 4:

[4:1] And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and

the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,

[2] greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and

proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. [3] And

they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day,

for it was already evening. (Acts 4)

Writing to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul dealt with those who rejected

the resurrection:

[12] Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how

can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

[13] But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even

Christ has been raised. [14] And if Christ has not been raised,

then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. [15] We

are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified

about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is

true that the dead are not raised. [16] For if the dead are not

raised, not even Christ has been raised. [17] And if Christ has

not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your

sins. [18] Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ

have perished. [19] If in Christ we have hope in this life only,

we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15)

For the apostle Paul, the resurrection of the body was an essential doctrine

of the Christian faith. To deny the resurrection was to deny that Jesus had

risen from the dead. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then our faith is

vain.

There were many questions in the mind of the early believers about the

resurrection of the body. Writing to the Corinthians, Paul take the time to

deal with some of these questions:

[35] But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With

what kind of body do they come?” [36] You foolish person!

What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. [37] And

what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel,

perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. [38] But God gives it

a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.

[39] For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for

humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for

fish. [40] There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the

glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly

is of another. [41] There is one glory of the sun, and another

glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star

differs from star in glory. [42] So is it with the resurrection of

the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is

imperishable. [43] It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory.

It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. [44] It is sown a

natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural

body, there is also a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15)

To answer the question of what the resurrected body would be like, and to

settle the doubts of those who questioned this doctrine, the apostle gives an

illustration of a seed. The seed is planted in the ground and dies. Out of that

death, life is born, and a new plant begins to immerge. That plant looks

different from the seed. Paul told the Corinthians that they placed a

perishable body in the ground, but it would be raised as an imperishable

body. An earthly body was buried but rose as a spiritual body. In other

words, the body we will be given will be completely different from what we

have now. According to Paul, these new bodies will be imperishable,

glorious, powerful and spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).

There can be no doubt that the Bible teaches that there will be a resurrection

of the dead. This body will decompose in the grave, but God will raise it

again, and we will stand before Him to give an account of our lives.

JUDGEMENT

The Bible teaches not only that there will be a resurrection of the body but

that we will be raised to stand before God as our judge. Consider the words

of the Lord Jesus in John 5:

[26] For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the

Son also to have life in himself. [27] And he has given him

authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

[28] Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who

are in the tombs will hear his voice [29] and come out, those

who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who

have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. (John 5)

Jesus taught that there would be a resurrection of life and a resurrection of

judgement. Both the believer and the unbeliever would be raised and face

judgement. Those who had done good would be raised to receive life.

Those who had done evil would be raised to receive judgement.

In Matthew 25:31-4, the Lord Jesus describes this judgement.

[31] “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the

angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. [32]

Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will

separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the

sheep from the goats. [33] And he will place the sheep on his

right, but the goats on the left. (Matthew 25)

The resurrection, according to Jesus, will take place when He returns with

his angels to this earth. On that day, all nations would be gathered to Him,

and he will separate the sheep (His children) from the goats (the

unbeliever). Notice that the sheep are placed on His right (the side of

blessing and honour). To the goats on His left that Lord Jesus will declare:

[41] “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,

you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his

angels. (Matthew 25)

Those who did not believe would be cursed and sent to the eternal fire

prepared for the devil and his angels. Jesus ends His instruction on the

judgement of those days but saying:

[46] And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the

righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25)

Eternal fire and eternal punishment will be declared for the unbeliever.

Eternal life will be the inheritance of the righteous.

Preaching in Greece, the apostle Paul told those who had gathered to hear

him speak that God had “fixed a day on which He will judge the world”

(Acts 17:31):

[30] The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he

commands all people everywhere to repent, [31] because he

has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in

righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he

has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Paul taught that this judgement was for both the believer and the

unbeliever:

[9] So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to

please him. [10] For we must all appear before the judgment

seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for

what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. (2

Corinthians 5)

Both believers and unbelievers alike will stand before their judge. We will

receive what is due for what we have done in the body. The challenge for us

as believers, according to Paul, is to make it “our aim to please Him” (verse

9). We will all have to give an account of our lives and actions here below.

As you consider standing before Him on that day, what do you suppose He

will say to you? Will He be pleased with your efforts for the sake of His

name?

Writing to Timothy, the apostle Paul said:

[4:1] I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,

who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing

and his kingdom: [2] preach the word; be ready in season and

out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete

patience and teaching. (2 Timothy)

Paul wanted Timothy to live and minister as one who would one day be

judged by God. He encouraged him, therefore, to preach the word and be

ready at all times for the Lord’s appearance. As a pastor, Timothy was also

to reprove, rebuke, and exhort those the Lord had put under his care so that

they too would be ready to stand before God on the day of judgement.

Jude told his readers that Enoch proclaimed the judgement of God:

[14] It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from

Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten

thousands of his holy ones, [15] to execute judgment on all and

to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that

they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the

harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

(Jude)

According to Jude, the Lord God will come with His angels to execute this

judgement.

Paul warned those who refused to repent of their sin that they were storing

up wrath for the day of judgement:

[5] But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are

storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s

righteous judgment will be revealed. [6] He will render to each

one according to his works: [7] to those who by patience in

well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will

give eternal life; [8] but for those who are self-seeking and do

not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be

wrath and fury. (Romans 2)

The apostle John tells us what he saw in his vision in Revelation 20.

Speaking about what God revealed to him about the judgement to come, he

said:

[11] Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated

on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place

was found for them. [12] And I saw the dead, great and small,

standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then

another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the

dead were judged by what was written in the books, according

to what they had done. [13] And the sea gave up the dead who

were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in

them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to

what they had done. [14] Then Death and Hades were thrown

into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

[15] And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of

life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20)

In this vision, the Lord God was seated on His judgement throne. Those

who were alive at the time and those who had died were all brought before

Him. John describes to sets of books in his vision. First, there were what he

refers to simply as “books.” These books appear to contain the story of

those who stood before the throne. According to Revelation 20:12, those

who stood before God on that judgement day were judged according to

what was written in those books. It would appear that both believers and

unbelievers were judged based on what was in those books.

John, however, described a second book. This book he called the “book of

life.” When everyone was judged according to what was written in the first

books, the second book was opened. Revelation 20:15 tells us that “if

anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into

the lake of fire.” All were judged according to their deeds, but only those

whose names were written in the book of life were spared the lake of fire.

The book of life contained the names of those who had accepted the Lord

Jesus and the forgiveness He offered. Though they too were guilty, they

were forgiven by His blood and their penalty covered by His work at

Calvary.

The Bible speaks plainly about the resurrection and the judgement to come.

What we need to understand here is that the grave is not the end. Whether

we understand this or not, the physical death of our body and soul is

insufficient punishment for sin. God requires that those bodies and souls be

raised from the dead to face an even greater judgement.

CHAPTER 10- THE

NATURE OF GOD’S

JUDGEMENT

here are some truths we never like to hear. The death of a loved

one, for example, is one of those truths. Truth, however, is not

concerned about our feelings. Sometimes it is unapologetically

brutal and harsh. This is the case with the subject we must examine in this

chapter.

We have seen that the Bible teaches that after death, there will be a

resurrection of both the believer and the unbeliever. After that resurrection,

we will all stand before our creator to hear His judgement. The death

sentence is one of the worst punishments we can inflict on a criminal on

this earth. This, however, is not adequate punishment for sin, according to

Scripture. Those who have died will be raised again to face an even greater

penalty.