How the Pagan Words, Hades & Hell, Obscure God’s Justice
TWO TIMELINES COMPARED
PART 1 A Just God & Ultimate Justice
A TIMELINE OF BIBLICAL REVELATION
The Scriptures reveal that God is a just God and one of the central themes of the Scriptures is the truth that humanity, and every human being, will give an account to God. Ultimate justice is essential to Christian doctrine.
How this ultimate justice unfolds is open to interpretation, however, and there are several valid alternatives in the Christian tradition. That is, how ultimate justice unfolds is a non-essential and a matter of conscience. One is free to settle on a viewpoint that best harmonises with one’s view of God’s nature.
However, pagan mythology has so muddied the waters of ultimate justice that many sincere believers don’t know that other valid options exist in the Christian faith.
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1
The Old Testament
Time Immemorial to 400 BC
SHEOL
-
The Old Testament offered no complex picture of the afterlife. The Hebrew word Sheol is the Old Testament Scripture’s way of describing death. Sheol was considered the great leveller, primarily a place of silence to which all people go (Psalm 94:17; 115:17). Yes, it refers to the post-mortem state of both the righteous and unrighteous (Ecclesiastes 9:2, 3; Psalm 89:48), often translated with the words “death” or the “grave” (Psalm 16:10).
Sheol was not a permanent place of punishment (1 Samuel 2:6; Psalm 30:2, 3; 49:15; 86:13; 116:3-8; 139:8; Hosea 13:14) and the ancient Hebrew people were content to trust God’s just nature beyond the grave, entrusting all people to God’s ultimate justice.
-
The Old Testament Scriptures reveal that in giving account to God, we are judged according to our deeds (Psalm 62:12; Proverbs 24:12), where our deeds reveal our life orientation, the trajectory on which our heart’s motives and our choices move us. Are we moving towards God or away from Him?
To be clear, the Old Testament did not teach salvation by works, but salvation through faith that was evident in one’s life choices (Romans 4:1-22; Hebrews 11:1-40).
In the Old Testament, idolatry and injustice (the exploitation of others and the neglect of the poor and marginalised) characterised the wicked.
-
The Old Testament writers consistently used “fire” and “fire and brimstone” as metaphors for God’s purifying and refining judgement (Isaiah 30:30-33; Psalm 11:5, 6; Malachi 3:2, 3).
This was in keeping with ancient secular authors, too. Brimstone is the archaic word for sulphur, which was used for purification, cleansing and consecration in the ancient world.
In other words, fire and fire and brimstone were used metaphorically for divine purification.
-
It is interesting that Rabbinical Tradition holds that unbelievers face remedial purification after death, a sentence that never exceeds twelve months, and ends in the redemption of the sinner, or their destruction (they cease to exist). Rabbinical Tradition teaches that Sheol is not a physical place, but more an experience of intense shame and remorse.
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2
The New Testament
The First Century
RESURRECTION
-
The triumphant message of the New Testament is, of course, that Jesus has risen. While we tend to focus on Jesus’ victory over sin itself in modern Christianity, Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 15:12-58 reminds us that Jesus’ victory defeated both sin and its consequence: death, “the last enemy” (v. 26). He declared:
O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
(1 Corinthians 15:55)
Interestingly, this is the only time Paul used the word Hades in all his writings and he used it as a metaphor for death, which is consistent with the way it was intended for use in the Septuagint (see below).
Yes, the apostle to the Gentiles, the great gospel preacher, only used the word Hades once. And he didn’t use it to describe ultimate judgement but rather, as a metaphor for death. Moreover, Paul declared Jesus’ triumph over it, reducing it to a non-entity!
-
The New Testament affirms the Old Testament view that, in giving account to God, we are judged according to our deeds. In fact, Paul quotes Psalm 62:12 and Proverbs 24:12 in Romans 2, stating that for both the repentant and unrepentant,
God will render to each one according to his deeds.”
(Romans 2:6)
Recall that our deeds reveal our life orientation, the trajectory on which our heart’s motives and our choices move us.
This explains why Paul described the righteous as those who through “patient continuance do good” and those “who work what is good” (Romans 2:5-11). He stressed this again when referring to the judgement of the believer in 2 Corinthians 5:9, 10, saying that
We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
(2 Corinthians 5:9, 10, italics added)
Jesus said, “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matthew 16:27).
When Peter ministered to Cornelius, he said, “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (Acts 10:34, 35).
Notice the consistent focus on good deeds that validate our faith in God.
It goes without saying that we are not saved by works; we are saved through the completed work of Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-10).
However, our faith is evidenced through our deeds—which refer to both growth in godly character and selfless acts of service. The fruit of the Spirit is an excellent summation of the character of Jesus (Galatians 5:22, 23), and the fruit are character qualities that benefit others: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”.
James was emphatic: “faith without works is dead” (James 2:14-26).
When we give account to God as believers, we’re judged for our faithfulness to God’s will and what He’s committed to our charge.
-
Consistent with the Old Testament, the New Testament writers used “fire” and “fire and brimstone” as metaphors for God’s purifying and refining judgement.
The New Testament uses fire metaphorically both of the believer’s judgement after death and of God’s chastening in the believer’s maturity in this life.
In 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, Paul referred to apostolic leaders who will, like all believers, give an account to God. He explained that “fire will test each one’s work”, and even concluded:
If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so through fire.”
(1 Corinthians 3:13-15)
We understand that fire is used metaphorically of God’s purifying judgement in this passage and that God’s judgement is not punitive, but restorative. The idea of “suffering loss” speaks of regret—the regret perhaps of realising what we could’ve become or accomplished in Him but didn’t.
Likewise, the writer to the Hebrews calls God a “consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29) having first explained that God’s father-heart is the context for His loving “chastening”, a discipline that’s described as “painful” but restorative (Hebrews 12:5-11).
Jesus used the metaphors of salt, fire and Gehenna (a valley outside of Jerusalem) when speaking about believers in Mark 9:43-50. He spoke of believers “seasoned with fire” (v. 49), which refers to the way trials or adversity purifies us.
Again, fire and fire and brimstone are metaphors for God’s refining, purifying judgement.
We must apply the same consistency when fire is used of the unbeliever’s judgement. Thus, fire and fire and brimstone refer metaphorically to God’s restorative judgement when used of the unbelieving.
Jesus used the phrase “furnace of fire” in His Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). The imagery behind this parable is drawn from the Book of Daniel. For instance, the “Son of Man” (Matthew 13:37) phrase comes from Daniel 7:13, 14 and the image of the “righteous shining like the sun” (Matthew 13:43) comes from Daniel 12:3. Thus, a “furnace of fire” (Matthew 13:42) into which the tares are cast stems from the fiery furnace into which Daniel’s friends were thrown. Again, it’s a metaphoric picture of testing, refining and purifying.
In his Revelation of Jesus Christ, John speaks of an entire lake of fire and brimstone to dramatically capture the sheer extent of the enemy’s wickedness and God’s sovereign power over it (Revelation 20:10). This isn’t a literal lake sitting somewhere in the cosmos, it’s a graphic way of describing Jesus’ ultimate triumph over evil.
As Charles Pridgeon explained it:
To any Greek, or any trained in the Greek language, a lake of fire and brimstone would mean a lake of divine purification.”
Moreover, Thomas Allin explained the importance of understanding figures of speech in the Scriptures:
The whole Bible is Oriental. Every line breathes the spirit of the East, with its hyperboles and metaphors, and what to us seem utter exaggerations. If such language be taken literally, its whole meaning is lost. When the sacred writers want to describe the dusky redness of a lunar eclipse, they say the moon is turned into blood.
He who perverts Scripture is not the man who reduces this sacred poetry to its true meaning. Nay, that man perverts the Bible who hardens into dogmas the glowing metaphors of Eastern poetry—such conduct Lange, in his preface to the Apocalypse, calls a “moral scandal.” So with our Lord’s words … Am I to hate my father and mother or pluck out my right eye literally? … Therefore, I maintain that no doctrine of endless pain can be based on Eastern imagery, on metaphors mistranslated very often, and always misinterpreted.”
-
God’s Angry Displeasure
The word used most frequently in the New Testament to convey the unbeliever’s judgement is the word orge, the common Greek word for anger.
Although the Old Testament spoke frequently of God’s anger against idolatry and injustice, the New Testament, especially through Paul’s writings, speaks of God’s ultimate anger for the unrepentant.
In these instances, many English translations translate this common word for anger with the English word “wrath”, as in “God’s wrath” or the “wrath of God”.
Paul teaches that those who put their faith in Jesus are “saved from wrath” (Romans 5:9), while the unrepentant faces God’s “wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God” (Romans 2:5).
Unfortunately, the phrase “the wrath of God” has developed a menacing tone, due to our pagan backdrop of eternal damnation, and often conjures up images of a vengeful God, which the original word does not.
The Message translates Romans 1:18 as,
But God’s angry displeasure…”
God’s angry displeasure is the primary way the New Testament speaks directly of the judgement of the unbelieving.
Indignation, Tribulation and Anguish
Paul includes three other words along with wrath (orge) in Romans 2:8, 9:
but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil…”
These words mean the following:
- Indignation conveys the meaning of passionate displeasure
- Tribulation literally means pressure
- Anguish refers to distress
Along with God’s angry displeasure, these words stress the definitive, unbearable reality of facing God’s judgement. However, they are descriptive words meant to convey what words themselves cannot, in the same way that believers ”suffer loss” (1 Corinthians 3:16) and God’s chastening is described as “painful” (Hebrews 12:11).
Importantly, none of these words speak of a never-ending penalty.
-
Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth
The Old Testament mainly used the phrase “gnashing of teeth” to convey the idea of hostility and hatred expressed by an oppressor (Job 16:9, Psalm 35:16, Psalm 37:12; Lamentations 2:16). In the same way, the phrase was used of those who stoned Stephen in Acts 7:54.
On one occasion in the Old Testament, the phrase was used of the regret suffered by the wicked (Psalm 112:10), who are contrasted with “good people”, those who are gracious and generous to others, especially the poor (Psalm 112:1-9).
With the addition of “weeping”, as in “weeping and gnashing of teeth”, this is how it is primarily used in the New Testament, as a metaphor for bitter regret, anguish and distress (Matthew 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30 and Luke 13:28).
Outer Darkness
Jesus included the metaphor of “outer darkness” in three of the references to “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30).
The phrase graphically captures the discipline of separation from God’s light and life. The phrase, however, is meant to be understood metaphorically. Darkness and a furnace of fire, for instance, are mutually exclusive. Neither can be taken literally.
While these two metaphors capture graphically what words cannot, offering imagery that portrays well the consequence of Paul’s four words (wrath, indignation, tribulation and anguish), none of them imply an unending penalty.
Gehenna
Gehenna is the Aramaic word for the Valley of Hinnom, a valley to the southwest of Jerusalem. It was the place where King Ahaz had instituted worship to the pagan god Molech, which included child sacrifice (2 Chronicles 28:2-4). After King Josiah stamped out this abominable idolatry, Gehenna was considered an accursed place, a grim reminder of ancient Israel’s darkest days. By the first century, it may well have been used as a dumpsite according to William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1. (p. 138).
Jesus used this location metaphorically on a handful of occasions (Matthew 5:22, 29,30; 10:28-30; 23:15, 33), teaching that a selfish, unrestrained lifestyle could lead to ruin and the wasting of one’s life. In these passages, He was specifically referring to the consequences of selfish choices in this life. For a more detailed look at these passages, see here.
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3
The Creeds
Second to Fourth Century
RESURRECTION
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The Apostles’ Creed, in circulation by at least AD 180, summarised the original Apostles’ teachings during a time when, with the death and martyrdom of the first eyewitnesses, it was necessary to outline what they held dear.
In terms of ultimate justice, the Apostles’ Creed states:
On the third day He rose again; He ascended into heaven, He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and He will come to judge the living and the dead.
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The Nicene Creed was put together in AD 325 in order to counter the prevailing heresies denying the divinity of Jesus. Like the Apostles’ Creed, it is beautifully centred on the Godhead, reminding us of all we hold common and essential as believers.
In terms of ultimate justice, the Nicene Creed states:
On the third day He rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.
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While the creeds do not hold the authority and weight of Scripture, they do help clarify what is essential in terms of doctrine.
In both Creeds, the doctrine of ultimate justice is an extension of the triumph of the resurrection and it’s summarised in one simple but profound phrase: Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. That’s it.
Think about it.
We know that different churches fathers held different interpretations on how ultimate justice unfolded.
However, for over three centuries, the early church was satisfied with this succinct but profound declaration.
Why do we make it more complicated? Why have we become confused over what’s essential and what’s non-essential?
One reason: pagan mythology crept into Christian thinking and became mainstream from the fifth century AD.
Let’s look at how this happened.
PART 2 The Influence of Pagan Mythology
A TIMELINE OF MUDDIED WATERS
The concept of the afterlife had long fascinated the ancient pagan mind. Ever mindful of their mortality, human beings have always pondered over what lies beyond death.
In contrast, the Old Testament offered no complex picture of the afterlife, and God’s people were encouraged to trust God’s just and merciful nature for ultimate justice beyond death.
Sadly, the more elaborate pagan concepts of the afterlife began to seep into the Christian worldview through three waves of influence. These waves and their implications are included below in red.
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1
The Old Testament
Time Immemorial to 400 BC
SHEOL
-
The Old Testament offered no complex picture of the afterlife. The Hebrew word Sheol is the Old Testament Scripture’s way of describing death. Sheol was considered the great leveller, primarily a place of silence to which all people go (Psalm 94:17; 115:17). Yes, it refers to the post-mortem state of both the righteous and unrighteous (Ecclesiastes 9:2, 3; Psalm 89:48), often translated with the words “death” or the “grave” (Psalm 16:10).
Sheol was not a permanent place of punishment (1 Samuel 2:6; Psalm 30:2, 3; 49:15; 86:13; 116:3-8; 139:8; Hosea 13:14) and the ancient Hebrew people were content to trust God’s just nature beyond the grave, entrusting all people to God’s ultimate justice.
-
The Old Testament Scriptures reveal that in giving account to God, we are judged according to our deeds (Psalm 62:12; Proverbs 24:12), where our deeds reveal our life orientation, the trajectory on which our heart’s motives and our choices move us. Are we moving towards God or away from Him?
To be clear, the Old Testament did not teach salvation by works, but salvation through faith that was evident in one’s life choices (Romans 4:1-22; Hebrews 11:1-40).
In the Old Testament, idolatry and injustice (the exploitation of others and the neglect of the poor and marginalised) characterised the wicked.
-
The Old Testament writers consistently used “fire” and “fire and brimstone” as metaphors for God’s purifying and refining judgement (Isaiah 30:30-33; Psalm 11:5, 6; Malachi 3:2, 3).
This was in keeping with ancient secular authors, too. Brimstone is the archaic word for sulphur, which was used for purification, cleansing and consecration in the ancient world.
In other words, fire and fire and brimstone were used metaphorically for divine purification.
-
It is interesting that Rabbinical Tradition holds that unbelievers face remedial purification after death, a sentence that never exceeds twelve months, and ends in the redemption of the sinner, or their destruction (they cease to exist). Rabbinical Tradition teaches that Sheol is not a physical place, but more an experience of intense shame and remorse.
-
A
The Septuagint
Third Century BC
HADES
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With the prevalence of the Greek language in the ancient world (and the Jewish diaspora leaving many Jews living outside their ancestral homeland), the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek in the mid-third century BC. This translation became known as the Septuagint.
Because Greek was the common language in the first century, the Septuagint is quoted by the New Testament authors, especially Paul, more often than the original Hebrew Bible.
In short, the Septuagint was incredibly influential in the early church.
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The Septuagint represented the first time that God’s people would read the Scriptures in a language other than the original Hebrew and Aramaic languages.
There were many challenges in translating the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek mainly because the Hebrew worldview is so very different from the Greek mindset.
One of the challenges lay in translating the important Hebrew word Sheol. The translators of the Septuagint decided to use the Greek word Hades as its metaphorical equivalent because both words viewed death as the great leveller, for all people.
Of course, in Greek mythology, Hades was the name for the god of the underworld, and the realm of the dead named after him. And while Hades had many undesirable pagan connotations, including Tartarus (the torture chamber of the damned), the translators of the Septuagint chose this word intending to avoid those unbiblical trappings.
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To this day, Judaism has largely steered clear of the pagan views associated with Hades, and it rejects the doctrine of eternal damnation.
In A Guide to Jewish Knowledge, Rabbi Chaim Pearl and Dr Reuben Brookes explain that “the Jewish faith teaches us to concentrate all our efforts and energy in conducting ourselves as children of God in this world, here and now.”
In his Commentary to the Prayer Book, Rabbi Dr Joseph H. Hertz wrote, “our most authoritative religious guides … proclaim that no eye hath seen, nor can mortal fathom, what awaiteth us in the Hereafter, but that even the tarnished souls will not be forever denied spiritual bliss. Judaism rejects the doctrine of eternal damnation.”
In other words, Judaism has done relatively well to avoid the pagan implications of Hades. Unfortunately, Christianity has done a poor job of this.
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2
The New Testament
The First Century
RESURRECTION
-
The triumphant message of the New Testament is, of course, that Jesus has risen. While we tend to focus on Jesus’ victory over sin itself in modern Christianity, Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 15:12-58 reminds us that Jesus’ victory defeated both sin and its consequence: death, “the last enemy” (v. 26). He declared:
O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
(1 Corinthians 15:55)
Interestingly, this is the only time Paul used the word Hades in all his writings and he used it as a metaphor for death, which is consistent with the way it was intended for use in the Septuagint (see below).
Yes, the apostle to the Gentiles, the great gospel preacher, only used the word Hades once. And he didn’t use it to describe ultimate judgement but rather, as a metaphor for death. Moreover, Paul declared Jesus’ triumph over it, reducing it to a non-entity!
-
The New Testament affirms the Old Testament view that, in giving account to God, we are judged according to our deeds. In fact, Paul quotes Psalm 62:12 and Proverbs 24:12 in Romans 2, stating that for both the repentant and unrepentant,
God will render to each one according to his deeds.”
(Romans 2:6)
Recall that our deeds reveal our life orientation, the trajectory on which our heart’s motives and our choices move us.
This explains why Paul described the righteous as those who through “patient continuance do good” and those “who work what is good” (Romans 2:5-11). He stressed this again when referring to the judgement of the believer in 2 Corinthians 5:9, 10, saying that
We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
(2 Corinthians 5:9, 10, italics added)
Jesus said, “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matthew 16:27).
When Peter ministered to Cornelius, he said, “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (Acts 10:34, 35).
Notice the consistent focus on good deeds that validate our faith in God.
It goes without saying that we are not saved by works; we are saved through the completed work of Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-10).
However, our faith is evidenced through our deeds—which refer to both growth in godly character and selfless acts of service. The fruit of the Spirit is an excellent summation of the character of Jesus (Galatians 5:22, 23), and the fruit are character qualities that benefit others: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”.
James was emphatic: “faith without works is dead” (James 2:14-26).
When we give account to God as believers, we’re judged for our faithfulness to God’s will and what He’s committed to our charge.
-
Consistent with the Old Testament, the New Testament writers used “fire” and “fire and brimstone” as metaphors for God’s purifying and refining judgement.
The New Testament uses fire metaphorically both of the believer’s judgement after death and of God’s chastening in the believer’s maturity in this life.
In 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, Paul referred to apostolic leaders who will, like all believers, give an account to God. He explained that “fire will test each one’s work”, and even concluded:
If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so through fire.”
(1 Corinthians 3:13-15)
We understand that fire is used metaphorically of God’s purifying judgement in this passage and that God’s judgement is not punitive, but restorative. The idea of “suffering loss” speaks of regret—the regret perhaps of realising what we could’ve become or accomplished in Him but didn’t.
Likewise, the writer to the Hebrews calls God a “consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29) having first explained that God’s father-heart is the context for His loving “chastening”, a discipline that’s described as “painful” but restorative (Hebrews 12:5-11).
Jesus used the metaphors of salt, fire and Gehenna (a valley outside of Jerusalem) when speaking about believers in Mark 9:43-50. He spoke of believers “seasoned with fire” (v. 49), which refers to the way trials or adversity purifies us.
Again, fire and fire and brimstone are metaphors for God’s refining, purifying judgement.
We must apply the same consistency when fire is used of the unbeliever’s judgement. Thus, fire and fire and brimstone refer metaphorically to God’s restorative judgement when used of the unbelieving.
Jesus used the phrase “furnace of fire” in His Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). The imagery behind this parable is drawn from the Book of Daniel. For instance, the “Son of Man” (Matthew 13:37) phrase comes from Daniel 7:13, 14 and the image of the “righteous shining like the sun” (Matthew 13:43) comes from Daniel 12:3. Thus, a “furnace of fire” (Matthew 13:42) into which the tares are cast stems from the fiery furnace into which Daniel’s friends were thrown. Again, it’s a metaphoric picture of testing, refining and purifying.
In his Revelation of Jesus Christ, John speaks of an entire lake of fire and brimstone to dramatically capture the sheer extent of the enemy’s wickedness and God’s sovereign power over it (Revelation 20:10). This isn’t a literal lake sitting somewhere in the cosmos, it’s a graphic way of describing Jesus’ ultimate triumph over evil.
As Charles Pridgeon explained it:
To any Greek, or any trained in the Greek language, a lake of fire and brimstone would mean a lake of divine purification.”
Moreover, Thomas Allin explained the importance of understanding figures of speech in the Scriptures:
The whole Bible is Oriental. Every line breathes the spirit of the East, with its hyperboles and metaphors, and what to us seem utter exaggerations. If such language be taken literally, its whole meaning is lost. When the sacred writers want to describe the dusky redness of a lunar eclipse, they say the moon is turned into blood.
He who perverts Scripture is not the man who reduces this sacred poetry to its true meaning. Nay, that man perverts the Bible who hardens into dogmas the glowing metaphors of Eastern poetry—such conduct Lange, in his preface to the Apocalypse, calls a “moral scandal.” So with our Lord’s words … Am I to hate my father and mother or pluck out my right eye literally? … Therefore, I maintain that no doctrine of endless pain can be based on Eastern imagery, on metaphors mistranslated very often, and always misinterpreted.”
-
God’s Angry Displeasure
The word used most frequently in the New Testament to convey the unbeliever’s judgement is the word orge, the common Greek word for anger.
Although the Old Testament spoke frequently of God’s anger against idolatry and injustice, the New Testament, especially through Paul’s writings, speaks of God’s ultimate anger for the unrepentant.
In these instances, many English translations translate this common word for anger with the English word “wrath”, as in “God’s wrath” or the “wrath of God”.
Paul teaches that those who put their faith in Jesus are “saved from wrath” (Romans 5:9), while the unrepentant faces God’s “wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God” (Romans 2:5).
Unfortunately, the phrase “the wrath of God” has developed a menacing tone, due to our pagan backdrop of eternal damnation, and often conjures up images of a vengeful God, which the original word does not.
The Message translates Romans 1:18 as,
But God’s angry displeasure…”
God’s angry displeasure is the primary way the New Testament speaks directly of the judgement of the unbelieving.
Indignation, Tribulation and Anguish
Paul includes three other words along with wrath (orge) in Romans 2:8, 9:
but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil…”
These words mean the following:
- Indignation conveys the meaning of passionate displeasure
- Tribulation literally means pressure
- Anguish refers to distress
Along with God’s angry displeasure, these words stress the definitive, unbearable reality of facing God’s judgement. However, they are descriptive words meant to convey what words themselves cannot, in the same way that believers ”suffer loss” (1 Corinthians 3:16) and God’s chastening is described as “painful” (Hebrews 12:11).
Importantly, none of these words speak of a never-ending penalty.
-
Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth
The Old Testament mainly used the phrase “gnashing of teeth” to convey the idea of hostility and hatred expressed by an oppressor (Job 16:9, Psalm 35:16, Psalm 37:12; Lamentations 2:16). In the same way, the phrase was used of those who stoned Stephen in Acts 7:54.
On one occasion in the Old Testament, the phrase was used of the regret suffered by the wicked (Psalm 112:10), who are contrasted with “good people”, those who are gracious and generous to others, especially the poor (Psalm 112:1-9).
With the addition of “weeping”, as in “weeping and gnashing of teeth”, this is how it is primarily used in the New Testament, as a metaphor for bitter regret, anguish and distress (Matthew 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30 and Luke 13:28).
Outer Darkness
Jesus included the metaphor of “outer darkness” in three of the references to “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30).
The phrase graphically captures the discipline of separation from God’s light and life. The phrase, however, is meant to be understood metaphorically. Darkness and a furnace of fire, for instance, are mutually exclusive. Neither can be taken literally.
While these two metaphors capture graphically what words cannot, offering imagery that portrays well the consequence of Paul’s four words (wrath, indignation, tribulation and anguish), none of them imply an unending penalty.
Gehenna
Gehenna is the Aramaic word for the Valley of Hinnom, a valley to the southwest of Jerusalem. It was the place where King Ahaz had instituted worship to the pagan god Molech, which included child sacrifice (2 Chronicles 28:2-4). After King Josiah stamped out this abominable idolatry, Gehenna was considered an accursed place, a grim reminder of ancient Israel’s darkest days. By the first century, it may well have been used as a dumpsite according to William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1. (p. 138).
Jesus used this location metaphorically on a handful of occasions (Matthew 5:22, 29,30; 10:28-30; 23:15, 33), teaching that a selfish, unrestrained lifestyle could lead to ruin and the wasting of one’s life. In these passages, He was specifically referring to the consequences of selfish choices in this life. For a more detailed look at these passages, see here.
-
As already mentioned, Paul only used the word Hades once as a metaphor for death and made it a non-entity in proclaiming Jesus’ victory over it (1 Corinthians 15:55).
Jesus used the word Hades three times and used it metaphorically in three different ways.
- In Matthew 11:23, Jesus used Hades as a poetic metaphor for the city of Capernaum, describing how the city would fall from their giddy heights to their eventual dismal depths.
- In Matthew 16:1-28, Jesus used the phrase Gates of Hades (v. 18) as a metaphor for religious authority that brings people into bondage.
- In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus used Hades along with another non-biblical Jewish idiom (vv. 22-24) in a parable to teach on greed and apathy, and how we use our privileges.
The interested reader can find out more on these three passages here.
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While Judaism largely steered clear of the pagan views associated with Hades, Gehenna as a graphic equivalent for the Hades concept of a place of punishment crept into some classic rabbinic sources. However, even though this occurred, it was considered a purgatory-like place where the unrighteous atone for their sins for no more than one year.
In other words, even if Jesus did use Gehenna in this way (as a non-biblical Jewish idiom), it served as a purely metaphorical illustration and it’s certainly not a forever state.
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3
The Creeds
Second to Fourth Century
RESURRECTION
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The Apostles’ Creed, in circulation by at least AD 180, summarised the original Apostles’ teachings during a time when, with the death and martyrdom of the first eyewitnesses, it was necessary to outline what they held dear.
In terms of ultimate justice, the Apostles’ Creed states:
On the third day He rose again; He ascended into heaven, He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and He will come to judge the living and the dead.
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The Nicene Creed was put together in AD 325 in order to counter the prevailing heresies denying the divinity of Jesus. Like the Apostles’ Creed, it is beautifully centred on the Godhead, reminding us of all we hold common and essential as believers.
In terms of ultimate justice, the Nicene Creed states:
On the third day He rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.
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While the creeds do not hold the authority and weight of Scripture, they do help clarify what is essential in terms of doctrine.
In both Creeds, the doctrine of ultimate justice is an extension of the triumph of the resurrection and it’s summarised in one simple but profound phrase: Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. That’s it.
Think about it.
We know that different churches fathers held different interpretations on how ultimate justice unfolded.
However, for over three centuries, the early church was satisfied with this succinct but profound declaration.
Why do we make it more complicated? Why have we become confused over what’s essential and what’s non-essential?
One reason: pagan mythology crept into Christian thinking and became mainstream from the fifth century AD.
Let’s look at how this happened.
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B
Greek Philosophy
Fourth and Fifth AD
INFERNUS
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Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430) is one of the most popular early church fathers, well-known for his works The City of God and Confessions.
Augustine was first a student of Plato before turning to Christ. By his own admission, he attempted to reconcile the Christian faith with Greek philosophy, trying to be missional in his generation. Along with his many valuable contributions, he also introduced some Greek concepts into mainstream Christianity most notably what he called “endless torments”, the doctrine of the never-ending torment of the unbelieving.
Yet Augustine himself said:
There are very many in our day, who though not denying the Holy Scriptures, do not believe in endless torments.”
In other words, while Augustine popularised the endless torments viewpoint, he was careful to state that the “very many” who viewed it differently were “not denying the Holy Scriptures”.
Here are some of the more well-known early church fathers who did not hold to the doctrine of endless torments: Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius of Caesarea, Athanasius, Ambrose, Didymus, Gregory of Nyssa, Jerome, Diodorus, Cyril of Alexandria, Maximus of Turin, Theodoret and Peter Chrysologus.
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The Scriptures were translated into Latin in the late fourth century, a translation known as the Vulgate. It became the Catholic Church’s official Latin version of the Bible.
The translators of the Vulgate chose the Latin word “infernus” to translate the Hebrew word Sheol. It is, of course, the word from which we get the English word “inferno”, meaning a large, dangerously out-of-control fire. It was also the inspiration behind Dante’s Inferno and much of the art in the Middle Ages.
The Latin word “infernus” was chosen to translate the Hebrew word Sheol betraying the already deep-set Hades bias, as it had nothing in common with Sheol.
Even the original The Apostles’ Creed, in circulation by at least AD 180, was altered. To the line “on the third day rose again from the dead”, the Latin translators added the phrase “descendit ad inferos” meaning “descended into inferno”. Subsequent English versions of The Apostles’ Creed now incorrectly include the phrase “descended into hell”.
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While anti-Jewish sentiment can be traced as far back as the third century BC, hostilities against the Jewish people was rife through the first century AD culminating in the Roman siege of Jerusalem in AD 70, in which the city and its Temple were destroyed and hundreds of thousands massacred.
Through the second to fifth centuries, the growing number of Greeks turning to Christ increasingly distanced Christianity from its Hebraic roots. With an inherent bias against the Jewish people, Greek philosophy became the context for Christian thought.
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C
The Middle Ages
Fifth to Fifteenth Century AD
HELL
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From the sixth century, through the entrenched union of Church and Empire, anti-Semitism became legislated through anti-Jewish edicts that discriminated against the Jewish people and their faith. Tragically, by the time of the First Crusade (1096), the Jews were blamed for the death of Jesus, a claim used to justify violence against them.
Aside from the horror of these atrocities themselves, the Hebraic context of the afterlife (where Hades was considered only a metaphoric synonym for Sheol) was lost, and the pagan view of the underworld dominated Christendom’s understanding of the afterlife.
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By the time the Bible was translated into English, the Hebraic context of Sheol was severed and Hades, and all its pagan connotations, were well entrenched in Christian thought.
When the King James Version was published in 1611, the translators chose a new word to translate Sheol, using this new word to translate all words that were thought to be associated with it, including Hades and Gehenna.
They chose another pagan word, Hell, a word of proto-Germanic and Norse origin that referred to the netherworld of the dead, the infernal regions. (In Norse mythology, the world of the dead was called Hel, and the goddess of death was likewise named Hel.)
Since the word Hell had entered Old English sometime during the eighth century through the Viking Age, this pagan term became the catch-all word the English translators used to translate all words they assumed were related: Sheol, Hades, Tartaroo and Gehenna. A terrible find-and-replace job.
Today, most translations only use Hell to translate the word Gehenna, correctly translating Sheol as “death” or the “grave”, and leaving Hades and Tartaroo in their original form, so readers can recognise them for what they are, metaphors.
The same should be done with Gehenna, the valley outside Jerusalem. However, because Hell is so entrenched in our dogma, translators continue to use this pagan word.
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Think of Dante’s Inferno, Michelangelo’s The Final Justice and any one of hundreds of other artists and their art.
While in one sense brilliant, these works of art portray a barbaric misunderstanding of God’s righteous justice inspired by a pagan view of the afterlife.
It’s hard to quantify just how deeply Medieval art shaped Christendom’s view of eternal judgement, an influence so entrenched, it still informs the view of many Christians today.
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Damnation
In the King James Version, the Greek word krisis was translated as “damnation”, in Matthew 23:33 and Mark 12:40, for example, a choice obviously influenced by the entrenched pagan view of the afterlife.
The word krisis referred to a “tribunal” and spoke of a trial. The meaning is “judgement” or “justice”, and most modern translations now use the word “sentenced” or “condemnation”.
The word “damnation” is not a Biblical word and has nothing to do with God’s justice.
Eternal
The Hebrew word olam and Greek words aion and aionis are translated as “eternal” or “forever” in our English versions even though the words actually mean “age” or “aeon”, a period of time with a specific beginning and end.
Because this is such a comprehensive topic, please see our article on the subject here where we include several examples of how the word is correctly translated “age” and then sometimes incorrectly translated as “eternal” or “forever”, betraying an Augustine bias. That said, here are two sources on the subject.
In his Word Studies in the New Testament, Marvin Vincent explained:
Aion, transliterated aeon, is a period of longer or shorter duration, having a beginning and an end, and complete in itself.”
As G. Campbell Morgan, the highly respected expositor of Scripture, explained in God’s Methods with Man:
Let me say to Bible students that we must be very careful how we use the word ‘eternity’. We have fallen into great error in our constant use of that word. There is no word in the whole Book of God corresponding with our ‘eternal,’ which, as commonly used among us, means absolutely without end.”
Interestingly, Young’s Literal Translation translates the Greek words consistently using the phrase “age-during”. While this makes for some clumsy reading, it certainly better captures the true meaning of the original words.
Let’s look at one example of how these Greek words are mistranslated in the Book of Revelation, John wrote:
The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
(Revelation 20:10, italics added)
As already mentioned, a lake of fire and brimstone was a brilliant hyperbolic metaphor for divine purification, specifically dramatising the sheer extent of the enemy’s wickedness yet at the same time emphasising God’s sovereign power over it.
Now, the phrase “forever and ever” is the Greek term eis aion aion which literally means, “age to age” or “age into age”.
The double use of the word aion or “age” is a poetic and clever way of dramatically expressing the severe consequence reserved for the devil and his underlings.
However, the unfortunate translation “forever and ever”—again, an indication of translation bias—incorrectly gives the impression that this is a penalty without end. To be clear, the phrase conveys the intensity of the punishment and though unquestionably severe, it does not convey the sense of time without end.
Torment
John mentioned the word “torment” in Revelation 20:10, and it’s a word sometimes associated with torture in our thinking. Is this valid?
The word “torment” (Greek: basanizo) means to test or prove something, and it again conveys the idea of purification.
As Charles Pridgeon explained:
The original idea of basanizo is to put to the test by rubbing on a touchstone, to test some metal that looked like gold to find whether it was real or not (Malachi 3:2, 3). The meaning and usage harmonizes with the idea of divine purification and the torment which is the test to find whether there has been any change in the sufferer.”
The word basanizo is also used of a sick person (Matthew 8:6), a ship tossed by waves (Matthew 14:24), Lot’s grief (2 Peter 2:8) and birth pains (Revelation 12:2). Thus, “torment” is fundamentally different from torture.
Torture
The only time the New Testament uses the word torture is in the letter to the Hebrews to laud believers who sacrificed all for God, those who were tortured for their faith (Hebrews 11:35). The word ‘torture’ is never associated with God’s judgement of the unbeliever in the Bible.
Eternal Punishment
In the Parable of the Judgement of the Nations (Matthew 25:31-46), Jesus taught on the importance of our concern for others, especially the poor and marginalised of society. Of those who live only out of self-concern, Jesus said, “these will go away into eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:46).
Jesus used the phrase aionios kolasis in His parable of the sheep and goats, a phrase translated as “eternal punishment” in most English versions. (This is the only time the phrase is used in the entire Bible.)
As we’ve seen, aionios refers to a time-specific period that has both a beginning and an end. Thus, in this case, it refers to an appropriately intense or severe penalty that the guilty deserve.
The Greek word translated “punishment” (kolasis) comes from the word kolasin, a horticultural term used for pruning trees. In classical Greek, kolasis referred to punishment that aimed at the reformation of the offender.
Together, this phrase (aionios kolasis) more accurately refers to the appropriate curative correction or remedial chastisement the self-seeking face, a penalty that fits the crime. Certainly, the phrase in itself does not imply a penalty that is applied without end.
To Sum Up
God’s angry displeasure of the unbeliever is unimaginably horrible, especially of those who defiantly reject His loving appeals and who abuse and exploit others. Words like bitter regret, chronic isolation, overwhelming loneliness, devastating meaninglessness, crushing despair … fail to capture it fully. Hence, the Biblical metaphors convey a reality that cannot be described in mere words.
However, God’s judgement is not punitive but restorative. And unless one literalises the Biblical metaphors or draws on pagan concepts, the Scriptures do not explicitly advocate for never-ending judgement.
Views on Post-Mortem Judgement
So, now what?
What is the Bible’s view on the post-mortem judgement of unbelievers?
The Bible does not have one single dogmatic viewpoint on how post-mortem judgement unfolds.
As mentioned above, The Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed state only that Jesus will return to “judge the living and the dead”. They don’t even distinguish between believers and unbelievers.
Obviously, this doesn’t mean the doctrine is unimportant. To the contrary, the doctrine that every human being will face their Father and Creator after death is a first principle of Christianity on par with repentance, faith and the resurrection (Hebrew 6:1, 2). Ultimate justice is a core theme throughout the Scriptures.
However, the question of how this judgement unfolds is secondary and a matter of conscience.
There are at least five different viewpoints within Christian tradition. And we are free to settle on how it unfolds based on our understanding of God’s nature.
Five Viewpoints
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The Old Testament offers no complex view of the afterlife and unless you read Greek Mythology into the New Testament, you can be content with two simple truths: firstly, we all give account to God in death and secondly, God’s nature is just and merciful.
Simply put, we can be content in trusting God’s just nature beyond the grave. Only He knows the condition of our hearts and only He balances mercy and justice perfectly.
Confident in this knowledge, our evangelism can focus on the wonder and joy of a relationship with God and the adventure of following Him. Now. In this life … and into the age to come.
So, that’s it? We just trust God’s mercy and justice beyond the grave? What does post-mortem judgement look like? How does it unfold?
Admittedly, many find this first viewpoint unsatisfactory. But before we consider the other viewpoints, it’s important to acknowledge the validity of this first view and admire the faith of those who hold it.
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In this view, the unbeliever ceases to exist after death; that is, the unbeliever perishes. The Seventh-day Adventists are a mainstream denomination who hold this view often called Annihilation.
Even though the word “annihilation” itself has a menacing tone, the basic premise is logical: since God is the Source of Life, to be cut off from Him is to no longer live—to no longer “be.” To be clear, the annihilation view isn’t one of retributive punishment, but one of God’s mercy.
The Seventh-day Adventists evangelise very effectively proclaiming the beauty of Christ and the life He gives both now and post-mortem, not needing threats of endless torment to motivate a response.
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In what may be called the self-imposed alienation view, unbelievers choose their own eternal destiny. That is, an unbeliever’s unrepentant disposition, confirmed by the trajectory of their life choices, determines their ultimate destination. In this case, God gives them what they want, which is nothing to do with Him!
In his book The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis explains it as follows:
“In the long run, the answer to those who object to the doctrine of hell is itself a question: What is it that they are asking God to do? To wipe out past sins and at all costs give them a fresh start? He did that, on the cross.
To forgive them? But they don’t ask for forgiveness. To leave them alone? That’s what hell is.
There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “They will be done” and those to whom God says in the end, “Thy will be done.”
All that are in hell, choose it. Without that self-choice, it wouldn’t be hell.”
Some view this self-imposed alienation as a forever state, while others marry the view to the mercy of annihilation; that is, the unbeliever ultimately ceases to exist.
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In the first variation of restorative justice, unbelievers experience God’s chastening after death and while many respond to God’s merciful and just discipline, many do not.
What happens to the latter? There are two ideas here that marry together with other viewpoints.
On the one hand, restorative justice is married to self-imposed alienation. The utterly incorrigible continue to reap judgement upon themselves as they continue to defy God’s goodness. In this sense, the possibility of ‘infinite judgement’ is not metered out against their ‘finite time’ on earth, but against their continued rebellion against God. Forever, God lovingly attempts to correct them. Forever, they resist and rebel.
On the other hand, restorative justice is married to the mercy of annihilation. Those who don’t respond to God’s chastening post-mortem will ultimately cease to exist.
In the second variation of restorative justice, unbelievers experience God’s chastening after death and all eventually surrender to God.
Some early church fathers even taught that the devil would come to salvation. For example, Gregory of Nyssa (AD 332-398) wrote, “Our Lord is the One who delivers man, and who heals the inventor of evil himself.”
Jerome (AD 347-420) wrote, “I know that most persons understand by the story of Nineveh and its king, the ultimate forgiveness of the devil and all rational creatures.”
This second variation of restorative justice is the most controversial view today and it’s often seen as a Universalist stance. However, universal salvation is not Universalism. Those who hold to this second variation of restorative justice do not claim that all religions lead to God and strongly affirm that Jesus’ completed work is the only means of salvation.
If anything, their faith in the Atonement isn’t too thin or weak, it’s larger than most. They believe the scope of Jesus’ Atonement has no limits and, in conjunction with other passages (John 1:29; 3:16, 17; John 12:32; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Philippians 2:9-11; 1 Timothy 2:4-6; Titus 2:11-13; 1 John 4:14), they take John plainly at his word: “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:2).
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In this view, the unbeliever suffers punishment forever and forever.
While some still hold the Medieval view that this punishment involves literal torture, most see it as unending conscious torment (both physical and spiritual). While some claim it’s God’s right to punish the unregenerate, most reconcile God’s merciful and justice nature by pointing out that it’s the unbeliever’s unrepentant disposition that determines the punishment they deserve.
This view is, in fact, the more recent of the above viewpoints, popularised by the early church father, Augustine (AD 354-430). As mentioned above, Augustine himself said, “There are very many in our day, who though not denying the Holy Scriptures, do not believe in endless torments.” In other words, while he popularised the endless torment viewpoint, he was careful to state that those who viewed it differently were “not denying the Holy Scriptures”.
Due to the popularity of this viewpoint in mainstream Christianity, many believers don’t even know that there are other valid views in the Christian tradition. In fact, to even suggest this is often greeted with suspicion and sometimes, sadly, with accusations of heresy.
In Summary
God’s ultimate justice is one of the central themes of the Scriptures and it’s essential to Christian doctrine.
What ultimate judgement looks like, or how it works, is not. It’s a matter of conscience.
We are free to settle on a viewpoint that harmonises best with our understanding of God’s nature. And yes, we are invited to be fully convinced in our own minds about our choice on non-essential matters. However, we are exhorted to extend the same freedom of choice to others (Romans 14:1-12).