Part 1 laid the groundwork for this series by identifying some biblical principles that have a bearing on our understanding of hell. Part 2 gave three pictures of what hell might be, each of which finds some support in Scripture. Here in Part 3 I attempt to put it all together to formulate an alternate view of “hellfire” that is more consistent with the revelation we have of God’s character and purposes.

By taking into account the observations from Scripture in Part 1, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the views in Part 2, and being careful not to build theories on faulty assumptions, we can come up with reasonable conclusions about what after-life judgment will be like.

Caution about Assumptions

Before attempting to answer the question “What is hellfire?” we really should examine the assumptions that are implicit in the question. Most English Bibles have taken four different biblical words (Hades, Sheol, Gehenna, and Tartarus) and translated them with the same English word (hell). That word is then invested with a meaning that the original speakers and writers never intended. Detailed studies of these four words and of the origins of the concept of hell have been done by many people more capable than I. For example, a number of nineteenth-century writers have written in-depth discussions of these words and traced the origins of the prevailing notion of hell.[i] Contemporary writers have come to many of the same conclusions; George Sarris[ii] asks and answers the question “Where did hell come from?” and explains Jesus' references to hell. John Noe[iii] has written a thoroughly researched and documented exploration of the whole concept of hell. I will not attempt to convey all their conclusions, but let me say that we need to be very careful not to make unwarranted assumptions. FULL POST

In Part 1 I examined Scripture to find principles that can help us understand what hell is. Here in Part 2 I present some possible explanations that can be supported by Scripture.

Consider which of these scenarios is most consistent with what we know about God and His purposes, or whether there might be another explanation that is better still.

The Inferno?

So what is hell? Is it the lake of fire, where Satan, the Beast, the False Prophet, and those whose names are not written in the Book of Life are tormented forever? Is it Dante’s Inferno, where the lost suffer endless torments and are forced to abandon all hope? Is it the place imagined by Jonathan Edwards, where “Your bodies…will remain to roast through eternity”? [1] Is it the place envisioned by Charles Spurgeon, “where beds of flame are the fearful couches upon which spirits groan,…where the only music is the mournful symphony of damned spirits; where howling, groaning, moaning, wailing and gnashing of teeth make up the horrid concert,…where soul and body endure as much of infinite wrath as the finite can bear”? [2] FULL POST

One of my favorite music videos is “I Know My Redeemer Lives,”* with Team Hoyt, a father-son marathon/triathlon team. It is a beautiful picture of a father’s powerful love and a son’s trusting love. The song is based on Job’s declaration at the heart of the book of Job: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth” (19:25). As you watch the video, let the words of the song and the picture of the dad’s utter commitment to his son speak to you of God’s everlasting love for His children.

*Lyrics by Nicole C. Mullins

Studying the book of Job has given me a new understanding not only of suffering but also of God's great victory over sin, suffering, and death. Even through the great despair that characterizes much of the book, I now see echoes of redemption everywhere, the centerpiece being Job’s affirmation of his belief in a living Redeemer in 19:25. Job and his friends speak of the longing in the human heart that one day everything will be made right, and the book gives glimpses of hope that it will happen. FULL POST

I used to sit in church, even on Easter Sunday, and think, “Yippee. This is awesome for me and everybody else in the club, but the majority of human beings are not in the club.” Not that they would be unwelcome in it, but most of them either haven’t heard of it or have misconceptions of what it is or don’t want to do what it takes to get in, so for all practical purposes, they are excluded. I just couldn’t get excited about being raised to new life—no matter how wonderful it would be for me—if it was only for a select few.

The worst Easter ever was in 2000. We were just about to leave for church on Easter morning when my 14-year-old son Andy got a phone call with the news that one of his friends had committed suicide during the night. Despite the glorious music around me and powerful preaching from the pulpit, I sat through the service under a great cloud, feeling a weight of grief for Josh’s family and friends and wondering where was the hope in the Easter message. Figuratively speaking, if only this kid had waited to see the light of resurrection morning! But he was trapped in the darkness of night. What hope could we offer to his parents beyond a vague wish that maybe he repented and cried out to God before the noose tightened around his neck and choked the life out of him? And what do you tell his friends? Use it as a morality tale that they should ask Jesus into their hearts before it’s too late and they end up in hell? My son branded Josh’s initials, JQ, into his arm, the scars a reminder to this day of a friend who was lost—forever, if the standard Christian view is true. FULL POST

Whenever someone is struggling with the concept of billions of people being eternally separated from God in hell, sooner or later somebody will offer Isaiah 55:8-9:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

The idea of invoking this passage is to say that God must have wonderful, glorious purposes in allowing most of His creatures to suffer in hell forever, but we can’t comprehend them because our minds are so tiny compared to his.

However, a closer look at Isaiah 55 shows that the passage is saying nothing of the sort—in fact, virtually the opposite. The Israelites wanted their enemies to be punished and non-Jews to be excluded from God’s people, but God, contrary to their expectations, offers abundant mercy to all. What the Israelites can’t fathom is how vast and inclusive His mercy is.

The theme of Isaiah 55 is in verse 1: “Come, all you who are thirsty,” and in verse 3: “Give ear and come to me; hear me that your soul may live.” The verse immediately preceding the often-quoted ones says, FULL POST

For many months I have been the object of denunciation for my views about ultimate restoration. Unfortunately, all the comments from before the beginning of February were lost when the blog format was changed, but similar comments have been posted since then. Many of the comments are criticisms of the view itself, but many others are personal attacks on my character. I have wrestled with the question of whether to answer the charges or wait and let God vindicate me. I do believe that God will eventually vindicate me, but in the meantime, I have decided to answer the accusations. I do agree with one statement by one of my critics: “the truth matters.” It also matters to me that my good name not be dragged through the mud. I would like to be able to share what God is teaching me and also to participate in dialogs about important issues in the church today, but my credibility could be damaged if readers mistakenly assume that unanswered accusations are true.

Not only have I been accused of error, heresy, false teaching, operating in the flesh, “lies and Scripture abuse,” psychological manipulation, and cult-like behavior, but my salvation has been called into question, I have been grilled on my orthodoxy, derogatory remarks have been made about my spiritual condition, and my motives have been attacked. At least one commenter contacted the national office of the Bible study I have been part of for more than 25 years. (See “Sorrow and Hope.”) For some examples of criticisms, see my third blog about unity. I will try to address the main accusations one by one. (Quotes from commenters are verbatim.) The following charges are representative of the ones that have been leveled against me: FULL POST

Lake of Fire. spiritlessons.com

Do you believe in hell as a place of fire and brimstone? If so, where do you think it came from? Who created hell? When did it come into existence? Did God conceive and design and create hell? Did Satan have a hand in it? (It certainly sounds like an invention that he would be pleased with.) Did hell come into being at the time the rest of the universe was created? At the foundation of the world? Or even before that time, in anticipation of the fall of Satan and then humanity? If God looked at everything He made and proclaimed it “very good,” then is hell good? In what sense? Or was hell created after the fall, as a consequence of it? Does hell mean separation from God? If so, where could it possibly be? Where can one go to be out of the presence of God? And finally, how does hell fit into God’s eternal purposes, conceived in His mind before the world came into being?

Now reread the questions in the first paragraph and try to formulate answers to them. If you are having trouble coming up with sensible, biblical answers, maybe it is because we are asking the wrong questions. The idea of “hell” as a literal place of never-ending torment or as a state of eternal separation from God is fraught with logical and biblical problems, as you can see if you have tried to give coherent answers to the questions above. It is worth at least considering a different picture of what may happen to the unrepentant when they die. Let’s think about what we do know from Scripture, and then try to put it all together. FULL POST

Our Bible study has just begun a study of Job, the ancient book that deals with the age-old question of why there is suffering in the world. My understanding of suffering has evolved as I have come to believe that God will eventually eradicate all suffering from His creation. I hope that our study of Job will continue to shape my understanding of this all-important and all-pervasive subject. By the end of the study I may have more ideas, but for now there is one thought I would like to share—a crucial question that we need to ask ourselves, because the answer reflects our fundamental view of God.

The introduction to Job in the NIV Study Bible has a good explanation of Satan’s goal in afflicting people:

Incapable of contending with God hand to hand, power pitted against power, he is bent on frustrating God’s enterprise embodied in the creation and centered on the God-man relationship. As tempter he seeks to alienate man from God (see Ge 3; Mt 4:1); as accuser (one of the names by which he is called, satan, means “accuser”) he seeks to alienate God from man (see Zec 3:1; Rev. 12:9-10). His all-consuming purpose is to drive an irremovable wedge between God and man, to effect an alienation that cannot be reconciled.” FULL POST

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side

I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine.

(Bart Millard, 1999; recorded by MercyMe)

The death of Bart Millard’s father prompted the singer to meditate about heaven and eventually to write the song “I Can Only Imagine,” in which he tries to picture what it will be like to be in the presence of Jesus. Sooner or later, particularly after the death of a loved one, most people ponder what life after death will be like. Eric Clapton wrote “Tears in Heaven” after the tragic death of his young son. He asks, “Would you know my name / If I saw you in heaven? / Would you feel the same / If I saw you in heaven?” Johnny Cash asks, “Should you go first or if you follow me / Will you meet me in Heaven some day?” We long to know the answers to questions like these.

Meditating about heaven is good. Contemplating God’s awesome works—past, present, and future—causes us to be worshipful and thankful. And thinking about where we are headed changes the way we behave here. Are we looking forward to and preparing for meeting Jesus face to face? Are we living in a way that is pleasing to God, so that we will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant”? Are we growing in sanctification so that we will be fit to live in His presence for eternity? Our sanctification will not be complete in this life, but the process should be ongoing every day so we are ready for His coming. As Paul said to the Thessalonians, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). FULL POST

In “Reconciliation: The Heart of God’s Grand Plan for Creation,” I show the grand sweep of God’s purposes in Colossians 1:15–20. Speaking of “the Son he [the Father] loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (13, 14), Paul says,

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

Another passage that shows the whole sweep of God’s plan for all creation is Hebrews 1:1–4: FULL POST