What the Hades?! (Part 4)
I consider specific descriptors such as "eternal" and "everlasting" as they are used in such phrases as “eternal punishment” and “everlasting destruction.”
Thus far, in my series on "hell," I have posted 3 articles: 1) discussing the nature of the Hebrew word sheol and Greek word hades, 2) looking deeper at the word gehenna, which is the word usually translated as “hell”, and 3) getting into the oft-discussed passage of the rich man and Lazarus, found in Luke 16:19-31.
My contention is that the popular ideology around the topic of “hell” is not centered in the ancient Jewish understanding found within Scripture. This leads to some problematic interpretations of various terms and concepts (e.g., sheol, hades, gehenna). And I believe it ultimately steers us toward an unhealthy view of God.
Now, let me say up front, to appease at least some people who may be reading my articles. I do believe in the judgment of God. I think to avoid such, perhaps in championing something like evangelical universalism (all will be saved, but done so through the work of Christ) is to make the biblical text say something it doesn’t. Having said that, there are some problematic views about this judgment, which is why I’m attempting this series. But, in the end, judgment is about making things right. God is passionate about making all things new, good, and right. And, with that, it means what is wrong and evil must be dealt with.
Having said that, let’s jump in to the thesis of this post.
In this article, I want to consider specific descriptors such as eternal and everlasting, especially as they are used in such phrases found in Scripture as “eternal punishment” and “everlasting destruction.”
For starters, if you wanted to peg me with a particular view, then I would identify as holding to annihilationism, that is, the wicked being brought to a final destruction (or end) in the second death. As to how this plays out, I find that I could lean in one of two camps. So let me explain those two camps. Both come to the same conclusion – that the wicked will be fully and finally destroyed, rather than eternally tormented. But the path taken to get there is a bit different.
1) The view of an abstract, future judgment.
By abstract, I mean something that is above a more concrete, tangible, historical level. It’s conceptual and metaphysical at its root. Abstract art is more about constructing a concept, rather than depicting reality.
For many, God’s judgment is a conceptual idea concerning the very far, and somewhat unknown, future. This is not unlike most people’s conception of the kingdom of God. It’s an ethereal concept that is supra-earth, being above our lived out reality. I’d offer that the Jewish idea of the kingdom of God is primarily something that was to take place on earth. The biblical writers could only write about the kingdom of God as they saw it being expressed “on earth as it is in heaven.”
As such, within this more abstract perspective, in seeing “hell” as the final and future destiny of the wicked, the terms everlasting and eternal do not speak of a perpetual tormenting of the wicked, but rather that it will be a lasting reality. The unrighteous will never “come back,” if you will. They’ll be annihilated, along with death and hades themselves, being part of the final destruction rather than the completed new creation.
A great proponent of this view, Edward Fudge, says:
Gehenna is the “eternal” fire for two reasons. First, it is not part of the present age but of the age to come. It does not belong to time but to eternity. Second, those who go into it suffer everlasting destruction. When the unquenchable fire finally destroys the lost, they will be gone forever. The Bible calls the fire that fell from heaven and destroyed Sodom “eternal fire” for that very reason (Jude 7). Once destroyed, Sodom was never seen again. (pg 44, Two Views of Hell)
What Fudge is saying is that, every time Jesus speaks of gehenna in the Gospels, which again is only 11 times in total, he is speaking of a far future judgment to come upon humanity. This would mean that gehenna and the “lake of fire” spoken of in Revelation are, thus, synonymous.
There is a lot of solid reasoning for this view, again with the judgment of God being identified as death and destruction (or annihilation). And this is finalized through the “second death” (Rev 21:8), expressed in both the Jewish imagery of gehenna and the fiery lake imagery we read about at the end of Revelation.
My hang-up on this view is that the judgment of God within Scripture is predominantly a concrete reality on earth. It’s set within actual history, never an abstract future mystery. Yes, for those in Scripture, it was future – but it was going to take place in their midst.
For example, when the world in Noah’s day was judged, an actual flood takes place. When Sodom and Gomorrah were judged, they actually met that judgment then and there. When Egypt and Pharaoh were judged, they actually experienced judgment in time and history. When Israel and Judah were judged by God for turning from the torah-law of God and worshipping false gods, they were judged through the real-life military activity of Assyria and Babylon.
Again, judgment always takes place within the context of history. Imagery might be used to describe the coming judgment or the judgment that has already taken place. But it still happens in plain historical sight.
2) The view of an historical judgment.
Because of the shortfalls of the above position, and building on what I just stated above, I find myself appreciating what is called the narrative-historical perspective and how that plays out in discussing judgment within the framework of Scripture. I believe this view best allows for the Scripture to be rooted in the actual narrative setting of the Jewish people. The Bible is not an abstract text with all people in mind of all times and cultures. It is focused on one particular storyline related to one particular people.
Now, this doesn't mean we cannot benefit from Scripture. Of course we can! But, as I like to say: The Bible was not written to us, but it was written that we might also benefit from it.
That's important to remember.
This is why we need to understand what is going on historically, culturally, and situationally within the Jewish context of Scripture.
So, within the Gospels, I’m fairly convinced that Jesus is not using the gehenna imagery to speak of some abstract future judgment. He'‘s pointing out something that the Jews saw and even smelt on a regular basis, warning them that this, too, will be the place of impending judgment for the unfaithful.
Interestingly, Jesus’s words would come to pass. In the Jewish War of AD 66-73, Rome sacked the city of Jerusalem, destroyed their massive temple, and put millions of Jews to death, filling the Valley of Ben Hinnom (or gehenna) with those dead bodies. The Jewish historian Josephus says just over one million Jews were killed. Gehenna, which existed in Jesus’ own day, was a place of destruction and fire for the faithless Jews.
But what about Jesus’ words such as, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life" (Matt 25:46)? This must point to the far future that has yet to come, right? Eternal life speaks of heaven in the future; so, eternal punishment speaks of hell in the future.
The Greek word translated as “eternal” is aiōnion. It literally means age-long or that which lasts for an age. This is not necessarily a future “eternal” state, as normally conceived by modern readers. So, within Jesus’ context, he is recognizing that a major age-changing event was on the brink. There was a forthcoming transition from one age to the next. Regarding Matthew 25, theologian and author Andrew Perriman states:
The Gospels give us no reason to think that this phrase refers to the end of history and good reason to think that it refers to the catastrophic transition that will accompany the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (cf. Matt. 24:1-3). This is also in keeping with the statement found in both Paul and Hebrews that “the end of the ages” has come upon the current generation (1 Cor. 10:11; Heb. 9:26). (Hell and Heaven in Narrative Perspective, loc.733-736)
And, so, the historical setting into which Jesus speaks is a separate warning from the imagery that is later used in the final chapters of Revelation. This would, then, mean gehenna and the lake of fire are not synonymous entities, though they might have relatable elements.
Sure, there will be a final and full judgment at the end of history, represented by the destructive nature of this lake of fire. Death itself will one day be destroyed (not “eternally tormented,” if one could do that to death). But Jesus, and the main corpus of the New Testament, have an actual historical situation in view. It follows the usual prophetic focus within Scripture.
And so, after some years now, I find myself leaning toward this second view laid out above. There are justifiable points in both positions. However, what I am greatly convinced of is that “hell” (gehenna and/or the lake of fire) is not a place of eternal conscious torment for the wicked. Nor is the lake of fire spoken of in Revelation. Rather they both speak of the final destruction of the wicked. That’s the consistent story of Scripture.