One In Jesus

The Old Testament says very little about hell or the fate of the wicked. However, when the question is squarely addressed, the scriptures teach the utter destruction of the wicked.

Consider Psalm 37 —

(Psa 37) Of David. Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; 2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. …

9 For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. 10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. … Continue reading →

I think this is going to be our last word study. I just want to be sure that “eternal” doesn’t necessarily mean “everlasting,” as it’s so often translated.

We need to quickly run through several of the verses speaking in terms of things “eternal” or aionios. The point is to demonstrate that aionios refers to the next age but not necessarily to everlasting.

(Mark 3:29) But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.”

Now, Jesus plainly isn’t saying that this sin is an everlasting sin. Rather, the consequences of the sin will be everlasting. The sin will be with us even into the next age, where it will truly matter. Continue reading →

As we continue our word studies, we next take on the verses dealing with immortality.

Immortality

One element of the conditionalist position is that immortality is not an inherent element of human life. Rather, immortality is something God gives to those who are faithful —

(1 Tim 6:15-16) which God will bring about in his own time — God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

And Paul certainly says that only God is immortal. The Greek word is athanasia, meaning deathless. Continue reading →

Although the Gospels speak of the fate of the lost in terms of Gehenna, the epistles use a very different vocabulary. They speak of “death” and “destruction.” We’ll consider here the references to destruction. And there are lots of references!

Now, here’s the point. If the damned exist in everlasting torment, why would their fate be referred to as “destruction” or “death” in nearly every case? Admittedly these could be metaphors for a living death of sorts, but that’s not how the words are used. Rather, they contrast life with death, eternity with destruction.

And the New Testament writers use several different words for “destroy,” as though to make it clear that they mean “destroy.”

Continue reading →