Copyright © 2024 Michael A. Brown
1. Of
unbelievers: in the lake of fire
Gehenna
was prepared as the ultimate eternal destiny of Satan and the fallen angels
that rebelled with him against God (and also the watcher angels that were chained
up in Tartarus). It is ‘the eternal
fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’ (Matt. 25:41).
However,
it will also be the eternal destiny of everyone who does not know Jesus as
their Redeemer, simply because they lived their life under the dominion of
Satan and they loved darkness rather than light (John 3:19-20, Col. 1:13). So they will go to the same location in
eternity that sin and Satan their master go to: the fiery furnace. Everyone outside Christ, everyone who
does not know God’s salvation that comes through Jesus, will end up in Gehenna
and suffer the punishment of eternal fire. Jude tells us that the inhabitants of ancient
Sodom and Gomorrah served as examples of this:
‘In a
similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to
sexual immorality and perversion. They
serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.’ (Jude v.7)
Gehenna
takes its name from the Valley of Hinnom (or of Ben Hinnom: see Josh. 15:8,
18:16; Neh. 11:30). This valley lay to
the south and south-west of Jerusalem, and the Valley Gate led out to it. It was the place where idolatrous and human
sacrifices through fire were made to the false god Molech in pre-exilic times
(2 Ki. 16:3, 23:10). Because of this
association, it was considered to be an impure place, and so it was also called
the ‘valley of topheth.’ ‘Topheth’ means ‘fireplace,’ but it also seems to be
associated with the concepts of spittle and shame, so suggesting that this
place was utterly despised. It was the
garbage dump of Jerusalem, and so fires constantly burned there. The bodies of those deemed to have died in
sin without any hope of salvation (such as criminals) were thrown there to be
destroyed.
This
valley came to be seen as the place of unquenchable fire and everlasting
punishment for unrepentant sinners. So
Gehenna is the parallel in eternity of this valley outside Jerusalem. It is an actual location outside heaven which
effectively serves as eternity’s garbage dump, and in which there is an utter
absence of the presence and favour of God.
This parallel is referred to in the following verse:
‘Outside
[the heavenly city] are the dogs, those who practise magic arts, the sexually
immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practises
falsehood.’ (Rev.
22:15)
1.a.
The lake of fire is the second death
When
God warned the couple in the garden of Eden, he told them that on the day they
ate of the forbidden fruit they would surely die (Gen. 2:17). Their separation from the life of God after
they did eat and were thrown out of Eden, was their entrance into a state of
spiritual death. In consequence, this
led ultimately to their physical death many years later. This is ‘the first death,’ and all human
beings born into this world are subject to it.
The
word of God calls the eternal judgment of an unbeliever in the lake of fire
‘the second death’:
‘The
lake of fire is the second death.’
(Rev. 20:14)
‘But
the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral,
those who practise magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – their place will
be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur.
This is the second death.’
(Rev. 21:8)
This
second death consists of the destruction of both body and soul in the lake of
fire (Matt. 10:28). Believers in
Christ are not subject to this second death at all. They experience eternal life in heaven (Rev.
2:11).
1.b.
Unbelievers will be conscious in the lake of fire
The
word of God teaches that those who end up in Gehenna will be conscious
there. They will not be
destroyed completely or annihilated, as some commentators think. They will be consciously aware of why they
are in Gehenna, and they will know that they deserve to be there. They will also be aware of the finality of
God’s verdict upon them on the day of judgement, and that they will be unable
to ever leave or escape from that place.
There is no indication in the word of God that those who are
thrown into the lake of fire will ever come out of it. So they will suffer torment and despair, with
no rest day or night, and they will weep and gnash their teeth with pangs of regret
much as they had done in Hades:
‘He
will be tormented with burning sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and
of the Lamb. And the smoke of their
torment rises for ever and ever. There
is no rest day or night…’
(Rev. 14:10-11)
‘They
will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.’
(Matt. 13:42)
‘…and
throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.’ (Matt.
13:50)
The
word of God says that those who are thrown into Gehenna will perish and be
destroyed (see Matt. 10:28 and 2 Peter 3:7,9), and some commentators believe
that this means that they will therefore be annihilated and cease to
exist. However, W.E. Vine advises us
that the Greek words apollumi and apoleia which are used in these
verses and mean ‘to destroy utterly’ and ‘utter destruction,’ refer not to
extinction, but to ruin and loss, not of being but of well-being. So the idea is that of the utter ruination of
a person’s body and soul, and it implies that people who are in this state of
utter ruination will still be conscious.
Because the essence of our being is spirit (and this being the breath of
God), we cannot be annihilated, because spirit is eternal in its very nature.
Furthermore,
if a person were to be annihilated in Gehenna, then there would be no need to
fear it at all, there would be no need for it to be an eternal fire, and any
element of punishment in being thrown there is effectively removed (cf. Matt.
10:28, 25:41; Jude v.7).
The
fact that those who are in Gehenna will be conscious is confirmed also by the
following words of Isaiah:
‘And
they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against
me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be
loathsome to all mankind.’
(Isa. 66:24)
The
context of these words is clearly the new creation, and they are therefore
referring to the eternal state of unbelievers.
This was confirmed by Jesus when he linked them to those who would be
thrown into Gehenna:
‘It is
better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes
and be thrown into hell [gehenna], where “their worm does not die, and the fire
is not quenched.” Everyone will be
salted with fire.’
(Mark 9:47-49)[1]
2. Of
believers: in the new heaven and new earth
Those who have repented from sin and
embraced Jesus as their Redeemer, and who overcome as they persevere in their
faith through life, will not suffer the judgement of the second death. Instead, they will be welcomed into the
kingdom of God the Father, where they will dwell with him eternally:
‘He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.’ (Rev. 2:11)
‘Blessed
and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them…’ (Rev. 20:6)
2.a. The new heaven and new earth
The prophet Isaiah foretold that there
will be a new heaven and a new earth, which will replace the present heaven and
earth. Regardless of our desire to
steward this creation and its resources in the best way we can, this present
earth will not be saved through net-zero climate change ideology. No, its ultimate destiny is to pass away once
and for all:
‘Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.’ (Isa. 65:17)
‘“As
the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares
the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure.”’ (Isa. 66:22)
After the final judgement, when the
ungodly have been cast into the lake of fire, the present heaven and earth will
themselves be destroyed by fire:
‘By
the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept
for the day of judgement and destruction of ungodly men.’ (2 Peter 3:7)
‘That
day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements
will melt in the heat. But in keeping
with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the
home of righteousness.’
(2 Peter 3:13)
This therefore marks the ‘end of the
world,’ the end of the present order of things, after the final judgement. God will then bring into being the new
creation, the promised new heaven and earth, the new eternal order, and the
home of righteousness in which sin will have no part:
‘Then
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth
had passed away…’
(Rev. 21:1)
‘“…the
old order of things has passed away.” He
who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”’ (Rev. 21:4-5)
2.b. The eternal home of believers
It is this new heaven and new earth which
will be the eternal home and dwelling place of all those who have received
Jesus and are washed in his blood (Rev. 7:14, 22:14). Much of the narrative of Revelation chs.21-22
is given over to a description of the New Jerusalem in which believers will
dwell in eternity:
‘I
saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride beautifully adorned for her husband.’ (Rev. 21:2)
‘And I heard a loud voice from the
throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with
them. They will be his people, and God
himself will be with them and be their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes.
There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain…’
(Rev. 21:3-4)
‘Therefore, “They are before the
throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the
throne will spread his tent over them.
Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any
scorching heat. For the Lamb at the
centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of
living water. And he will wipe away
every tear from their eyes.”’ (Rev. 7:15-17)
‘Then the angel showed me the river
of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and
of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of
life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the
healing of the nations.’ (Rev. 22:1-2)
‘To him who is thirsty I will give
to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.’
(Rev. 21:6)
‘The Spirit and the bride say,
“Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!”
Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the gift
of the water of life.’ (Rev. 22:17)
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THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
[1] Belief in the
extinction of the sinful human soul in eternity, a doctrine known as
annihilationism, inevitably leads to the softening up of other areas of
belief. Not only do we start to go easy on sin, we in fact embolden
it. We weaken the urgency for evangelism. We empty the judgement
and wrath of God of any real meaning and significance, and in consequence we
lose the fear of God and disempower the need for the cross of Christ. We
end up with a wishy-washy subjective concept of the love of God which tolerates
all kinds of things which are contrary to the will of God. Because the ultimate
sanction and consequence for sin have been removed. Why should we repent
from sin, if there is no ultimate sanction for it and, instead, we are simply
annihilated in eternity and cease to exist?!
The fact of sinful
human souls remaining conscious in eternal punishment in the lake of fire is
not meant to horrify us, although it certainly does do that, but to instil the
fear of God in us and bring us to him in repentance, seeking his mercy and deliverance
from sin (Matt. 10:28). The punishment of eternal fire is an expression
and consequence of the wrath of God towards unrepentant sin. But God
demonstrated his love for us in that he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to be the
propitiation for our sins, thus enabling us to come to him and find mercy,
forgiveness and freedom from sin.
The use of the verbal
form ὑπέχουσαι (meaning 'are undergoing') in Jude v.7 to describe the eternal
state of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, is striking. It implies
that they are still even now – and therefore consciously – suffering the
penalty and punishment of eternal fire.
The judgement of God and eternal separation from him, together with the ongoing consciousness of the human soul in this eternal state, are taught consistently through the Scriptures, not the extinction of annihilation.
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