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Dear Bro. Turner
 Do
you believe in Hell as a real place where lost soul's burn
forever? Give me three scriptures for it.
Reply:
I
do not know how to "place" Hell or Heaven, for
"place" is a space-related word, and does not conform
to the nature of "eternal", "immortal, and the
like. ("Where" is God? Perhaps the best answer is
"Where isn’t He?") But I believe God is real, even
though I cannot limit Him to some "place" and I also
believe Hell and Heaven are "real."
The
same kind of language that "places" Heaven, and gives
it certain characteristics, also defines and describes Hell. The
"new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness" (2PE.3:13); have their counterpart in
"hell fire (gehenna, rt), where their worm dieth not, and
the fire is not quenched," (MAR.9:47-48). Some say "Gehenna"
was a valley near Jerusalem, where refuse fires burned
continually. I’m not surprised. Jerusalem was the beloved city
of the Jews. It is not unusual for unknown, eternal conditions
to be described in terms known and understood. If "New
Jerusalem" can describe the dwelling "place" of
the redeemed, on earth and in eternity (HEB.12:22; REV.21:1-2),
it is no marvel that the stinking, burning Gehenna should be
used to depict the punishment of the wicked.
Will
souls be lost in Hell? Yes! Jesus said, "Fear not them
which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but
rather fear him which is able to destroy
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both soul and body in hell" (MAT.10:28).
Luke’s record (LUK.12:4-5) reads, "Fear him, which after
he hath killed hath power to cast into hell," (gehenna, rt).
The word from whence "destroy" comes, is used for
"lost" (LUK.15:4,8) but never for
"annihilate" or word of like meaning. In these
passages the "soul" is made distinct from the body,
and from life or "animal spirit" which departs the
body at death. The "soul" lives on to be
"lost" in hell fire, or saved.
How
long in Hell? It is of the same duration as God -- as A.
Campbell once wrote, "There is no word in human language
that expresses duration without end, which is not applied to the
future punishment of the wicked." God’s honor and glory
is "for ever and ever" (aionas ton aionon, 1TI.1:17),
and the Devil will be cast into the lake of fire and tormented
"forever and ever" (aionas ton aionon, REV.20:10). His
followers will share His fate, (vs.14-15).
The
KJ version used "hell" when the Greek has "hades"
-- the place of the dead, or "the nether-world" -- not
necessarily referring to punishment. To avoid quibbles, we have
limited ourselves to passages which use the Greek "gehenna".
Death itself (personified "hades") will be cast into
"the lake of fire" with Satan. (above)
C.
S. Lewis said, "I have met no people who fully disbelieved
in Hell and also had a living and life-giving belief in
Heaven". (Let. to Malcolm) This has been my experience.
Time spent in trying to argue around Hell had better be spent
getting ready for judgement and eternity.
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