{"id":12718,"date":"2018-05-30T06:59:33","date_gmt":"2018-05-30T11:59:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rethinkinghell.com\/?p=12718"},"modified":"2022-03-18T07:14:26","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T07:14:26","slug":"a-case-for-conditionalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/es\/2018\/05\/30\/a-case-for-conditionalism\/","title":{"rendered":"A Case for Conditionalism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What is conditionalism? Basically, there are three views on hell, and they are all represented within evangelicalism. There is traditionalism, universalism and conditionalism. Setting aside for the moment that there are different varieties among these views, I will speak in general terms about each position:<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_1');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_1');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_1\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">1<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_1\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Most seem to believe in a form of \u201c<em>separationism.<\/em>\u201d Along with this is a form of \u201c<em>lewisianism<\/em>\u201d in which all who are in hell, ultimately choose it, and hell\u2019s door is locked from the inside (C.S.Lewis). Yet there are those, like N.T.Wright, who suggest a kind of \u201c<em>dehumanization<\/em>,\u201d that those who refuse to respond to the gospel, and only worship themselves, \u201cthat after death they become at last, by their own effective choice, beings that once were human but now are not,\u201d but however, he admits that this is wandering into \u201cterritory that no one can claim to have mapped\u201d (N. T. Wright, <em>Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church<\/em> [New York, NY: Harper One, 2008], 183.). To illustrate this, some point to Smeagol\u2019s ghastly transformation into Gollum in the LOTR Trilogy. Yet, ironically, Gollum is eventually annihilated in the volcanic fires of Mount Doom.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The predominant view is <strong>traditionalism<\/strong> which is the perspective that we are all eternal beings who will live forever either in heaven or hell.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_2');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_2');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_2\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">2<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_2\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">The label \u201ctraditionalism\u201d suggests that the alternate views are not found in church tradition, which is untrue.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>\u00a0Within this view are two alternatives as to the <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">nature<\/span><\/em> of hell. Eternal torment is the more \u201ctraditional\u201d view where the unbeliever is tormented in <em>literal<\/em> fire. Eternal separation is a softer and increasingly popular view where the unbeliever is eternally separated from God \u2013 in this view the fire is treated as a <em>metaphor<\/em>. In either of these, the unbeliever will never die or be freed from this state of punishment. This is the view I grew up with and came to believe for most of my life.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Universalism<\/strong> is the view of hell as a place of burning which is refining and purifying with the ultimate purpose that all will eventually come to a place of repentance and restoration with God and then enter Heaven. The length of time for this purified repentance will vary for each unbeliever, but God\u2019s love, according to Universalists, is powerful enough to bring all to repentance and restoration. In other words, hell will eventually empty itself and cease to be.<\/li>\n<li>And just briefly, because it will be fleshed out more: <strong>conditionalism<\/strong> is the view that we are <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">not<\/span> all eternal or immortal beings, unlike God. Eternal life and immortality is \u201cconditional\u201d upon faith in Jesus Christ, and is given only as a good gift, not as a curse. When the condition of salvation is not met, hell is a place of complete destruction and annihilation. In this view, the unbeliever eventually perishes and ceases to be.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Notice that all three views believe in hell. They all believe that hell has a purpose, it is awful, and it is a place to be avoided at all costs. Also, each of these views are historically found in the tradition of the early church.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_3');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_3');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_3\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">3<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_3\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Of course, with the exception of <em>eternal separation<\/em>. On this note, see Joseph Dear\u2019s excellent series of articles: \u201cThe Not-So-Traditional View\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rethinkinghell.com\/2016\/07\/the-not-so-traditional-view-does-your-particular-belief-about-hell-really-have-church-history-on-its-side\/\">Part 1<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rethinkinghell.com\/2016\/07\/the-not-so-traditional-view-does-your-particular-belief-about-hell-really-have-church-history-on-its-side-part-2\/\">Part 2<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rethinkinghell.com\/2016\/07\/the-not-so-traditionalist-view-part-3\/\">Part 3<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>\u00a0This needs to be pointed out because this discussion can so quickly get muddled in uncharitable language that certain views do not believe in hell or that they are novel ideas and not \u201chistorical.\u201d They all believe in a hell of some kind \u2013 I think we need to at least give them that credit. Just to recap and help give an easy way to remember these four views: (1) traditionalism believes in a fire that <em>torments<\/em>; (2) universalism believes in a fire that <em>purifies<\/em>; and (3) conditionalism believes in a fire that <em>consumes<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Like I mentioned earlier, I grew up believing traditionalism for most of my life until I re-examined the biblical text for myself. As you will see, I now hold to conditionalism. I have much respect and admiration for those who do not hold to conditionalism, and I believe they still love Jesus and worship Him as I do. Outside of this discussion, there is so much to learn from these people. Another thing I just want to point out is that scripture alone changed my mind.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_4');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_4');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_4\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">4<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_4\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">The reason I make this claim is in response to the repeated charge laid on conditionalists that they only came to the view because of an emotional abhorrence with the Eternal Torment view. John Stott has been repeatedly misrepresented in this regard. After he admits, \u201cemotionally, I find the concept intolerable and do not understand how people can live with [Eternal Torment] without either cauterizing their feelings or cracking under the strain,\u201d he wisely points out, \u201cBut our emotions are a fluctuating, unreliable guide to truth and must not be exalted to the place of supreme authority in determining it. As a committed evangelical, my question must be \u2013 and is \u2013 not what does my heart tell me, but <em>what does God\u2019s Word say<\/em>?\u201d (John R.W. Stott, \u201cJudgment and Hell,\u201d in <em>Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism<\/em>, eds. Christopher M. Date, Gregory G. Stump, and Joshua W. Anderson [Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2014], 51.).<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> Yes, there are verses here and there that might suggest something contrary to conditionalism, but when I look at the entire book from cover to cover and seek to understand the goal of scripture, and the heart of God, I have come to the conclusion that conditionalism is best represented by scripture.<\/p>\n<p>I will navigate through my case for conditionalism by examining five main pillars. They are: (1) the question of Immortality; (2) the meaning of \u201ceternal\u201d; (3) the language of death and destruction; (4) the imagery in Revelation; and (5) the goodness of God.<\/p>\n<h2>Are We Immortal or Mortal?<\/h2>\n<p>Foundational to the more traditional view is the question of immortality. I\u2019m sure you are all familiar with the concept that \u201c<em>we are all eternal beings who will live forever either in heaven or hell<\/em>.\u201d This idea that we will all live forever \u201cis the womb from which the [traditional view of hell] was born.\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_5');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_5');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_5\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">5<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_5\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Edward William Fudge, <em>The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, <\/em>3<sup>rd<\/sup> ed. (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2011)<em>, <\/em>19.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> However, this is a difficult concept to find in scripture.<\/p>\n<p>In Genesis 2:7 we are told about the creation of Adam, \u201cThe Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living <em>being<\/em>.\u201d What does it mean that Adam became a \u201cliving being\u201d? The word \u201cbeing\u201d which can also mean \u201ccreature\u201d is translated from the Hebrew word <em>nephesh <\/em>(also translated as \u201cliving soul\u201d in the KJV)<em>.<\/em> It means that when the breath of life entered Adam\u2019s nostrils, it animated him and he came alive; he became a <em>breathing creature<\/em>. In fact, in other parts of Genesis (i.e. 2:19 &amp; 9:12), every other living creature in God\u2019s new creation are also a living <em>nephesh<\/em>. They are all breathing creatures like we are. What separates us as humans from other living creatures is that we bear the Image of God.<\/p>\n<p>But aren\u2019t we all immortal? No, we are all <em>mortal<\/em> beings made of dust and the breath of life. We are completely dependent on the mercy of God for every breath and heart beat \u2013 in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). We come from the dust of the ground, we received the breath of life in our nostrils, and we became fully alive. If you remember: In the Garden of Eden, in order to live forever, Adam &amp; Eve had to <em>reach out<\/em> and eat from the Tree of Life. They were not inherently immortal but created mortal with the <em>potential<\/em> to live forever \u2013 <em>if<\/em> they ate from the tree. But when Adam &amp; Eve disobeyed God, they were banished from the garden because of the possibility that in their sinful state they would \u201ceat from the tree of life and \u2018live forever\u2019 (Gen. 3:22).\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_6');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_6');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_6\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">6<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_6\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Richard Middleton, \u201cHumans Created Mortal, with the Possibility of Eternal Life\u201d in <em>Sapientia<\/em>. May 17, 2018. Accessed May 23, 2018. <a href=\"http:\/\/henrycenter.tiu.edu\/2018\/05\/humans-created-mortal-with-the-possibility-of-eternal-life\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span class=\"footnote_url_wrap\">http:\/\/henrycenter.tiu.edu\/2018\/05\/humans-created-mortal-with-the-possibility-of-eternal-life\/<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_6').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_6', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>\u00a0God couldn\u2019t allow that. What is fascinating is that in Revelation 22, the Tree of Life is back in the New Heaven &amp; New Earth. When Christ returns and restores His creation, we will once again have access to the Tree of Life and live forever.<\/p>\n<p>God alone is immortal (1 Tim. 6:16), and because of Jesus\u2019 Resurrection, he offers eternal life and immortality to us mortals as a free gift through the gospel (John 3:16, Rom. 6:23, 2 Tim. 1:10). Many times, throughout John\u2019s gospel, we are told that whoever believes in him has eternal life.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_7');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_7');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_7\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">7<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_7\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">See also John 6:48-51; 6:58; 8:51; 11:25-26. Outside of John\u2019s gospel, see: Acts 13:46; Romans 2:6-8; 8:11; 1 John 2:17.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_7').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_7', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>\u00a0Luke 20:35-36 tells us that the children of God who will partake in the final resurrection \u201ccan no longer die.\u201d On the Last Day, \u201cthe perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality\u201d (1 Cor. 15:53). Eternal life is never described as something given to unbelievers, but only to believers. Immortality is not <em>universal<\/em>, but <em>conditional<\/em> upon faith in Christ, hence the term conditionalism.<\/p>\n<h2>The Meaning of Eternal<\/h2>\n<p>The question lies in the meaning of \u201ceternal\/everlasting,\u201d and its influence on the understanding of \u201ceternal life\u201d and other words in key phrases such as \u201ceternal punishment\u201d and \u201ceternal destruction.\u201d \u201cEternal life\u201d is first mentioned in Daniel 12:2 and develops over time into a term that refers to the resurrection life of the coming age.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_8');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_8');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_8\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">8<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_8\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Joel B. Green, <em>The Gospel of Luke<\/em>, NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997), 428.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_8').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_8', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>\u00a0We understand that the coming age is eternal \u2013 it lasts forever. How are \u201ceternal punishment\u201d and \u201ceternal destruction\u201d related to this coming age? The difference of opinion does not lie in the <em>length<\/em>, but in the <em>nature<\/em> of the punishment in the age to come. It says in Matthew 25:46 \u2013 \u201cThen they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.\u201d Those who hold to the more traditional view of hell tend to view eternal life as <em>parallel<\/em> to eternal punishment, in that they are both destinations that are eternal in length of time.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_9');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_9');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_9\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">9<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_9\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Robert Yarbrough explains, \u201cthe blessed state of eternal life is logically opposite to the condemned state of eternal destruction. If Salvation and conscious bliss are everlasting, so are perdition and conscious torment,\u201d [Robert W. Yarbrough, \u201cJesus on Hell,\u201d <em>Hell under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment<\/em>, eds. Christopher W. Morgan &amp;amp; Robert A. Peterson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), 74; italics mine.].<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_9').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_9', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>This might sound logical, neat and tidy, but its not that simple. Conditionalists agree that the word \u201ceternal\u201d often means \u201ceverlasting.\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_10');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_10');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_10\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">10<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_10\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">\u201cEternal\u201d can also mean \u201cof the age\u201d which is the age that goes on forever \u2013 thus the meaning is still \u201ceverlasting.\u201d<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_10').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_10', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>\u00a0But they see a more flexible range of meaning for the different words that eternal modifies. In each case of the word \u201ceternal,\u201d care has to be given in understanding what exactly it is that lasts forever: is it \u201cthe thing or event being described, or its implications?\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_11');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_11');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_11\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">11<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_11\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">John Stackhouse, \u201cTerminal Punishment,\u201d in <em>Four Views on Hell<\/em>, 2<sup>nd<\/sup> ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 69.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_11').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_11', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> In other words, we do not understand \u201ceternal\u201d as only meaning a never-ending existence. The word \u201ceternal\u201d is used about seventy times throughout the NT, and there are five times that the word is used to describe \u201cthe <em>result<\/em> of an action.\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_12');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_12');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_12\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">12<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_12\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Fudge, <em>The Fire that Consumes<\/em>, 38; italics in original. Chris Date, from Rethinking Hell, pointed out to me that not all nouns are of the type that can be read either as a process or result. While many are (i.e., translation, destruction, salvation, redemption), many aren\u2019t (i.e., bowl, man, house). Just because the noun \u201cpunishment\u201d should be read as the result of the verb \u201cpunish\u201d it does not necessarily mean the noun \u201clife\u201d should be read similarly.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_12').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_12', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> That is \u201ceternal salvation\u201d (Heb. 5:9), \u201ceternal redemption\u201d (Heb. 9:12), \u201ceternal judgment\u201d (Heb 6:2), \u201ceternal punishment\u201d (Matt. 25:46) and \u201ceternal destruction\u201d (2 Thess. 1:9). In each of these cases it should be noted that eternal \u201cdoes not modify an action-word as if to speak of God as eternally\u201d sav-<em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">ing<\/span><\/em>, redeem-<em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">ing<\/span><\/em>, judg-<em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">ing<\/span><\/em>, punish-<em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">ing<\/span><\/em>, or destroy-<em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">ing<\/span>.<\/em><span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_13');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_13');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_13\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">13<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_13\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Ibid., 40; italics mine.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_13').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_13', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>For example, in Hebrews 9:12, it says that when Jesus \u201centered the Most Holy Place&#8230;by his own blood,\u201d he secured our eternal redemption \u201conce for all.\u201d This does not mean that Jesus is \u201cconstantly offering his blood up to the Father for our sins\u201d \u2013 he is not constantly trying to redeem us. He has redeemed us once for all, and so he has secured a redemption that lasts forever.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_14');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_14');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_14\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">14<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_14\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Stackhouse, 68.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_14').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_14', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>\u00a0Can you see the difference? In 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Paul describes the fate of the wicked as receiving the punishment of \u201ceternal destruction\u201d on the day of Christ\u2019s return. Eternal destruction does not mean that God is forever destroying the wicked, but once the wicked are destroyed, they are destroyed forever.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_15');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_15');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_15\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">15<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_15\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Fudge, <em>The Fire that Consumes<\/em>, 41.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_15').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_15', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>It is the same with \u201ceternal punishment\u201d in Matthew 25. It is an act of punishing that has eternal results.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_16');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_16');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_16\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">16<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_16\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">R. T. France, <em>The Gospel of Matthew<\/em>, NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm.B.Eerdmans, 2007), 967.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_16').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_16', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>\u00a0I might be getting ahead of myself here, but it is important to recognize here that the phrase \u201ceternal punishment\u201d by itself tells us nothing about the <em>kind<\/em> or <em>nature <\/em>of punishment this is. We will later see that this punishment is described elsewhere as \u201cdeath and destruction,\u201d thus \u201ceternal life\u201d and \u201ceternal punishment\u201d are not <em>parallel<\/em> <em>destinations<\/em>, but rather a <em>contrast<\/em> between life and death. Once the wicked suffer their death penalty, they will be dead forever. In contrast, the righteous will be given life that will last forever. It is death or life.<\/p>\n<h2>The Language of Death and Destruction<\/h2>\n<p>This language is prominent throughout the NT when used to describe the nature of punishment and the fate of the wicked. For example, there is a common Greek word called \u1f00\u03c0\u1f79\u03bb\u03bb\u1fe1\u03bc\u03b9 (<em>apollumi<\/em>) that is used a total of ninety times throughout the NT. In the synoptic gospels, every time this word is used in the active sense with a human being as the one receiving the action, \u201cthe meaning is [always] \u2018to destroy\u2019 or \u2018to kill.\u2019\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_17');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_17');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_17\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">17<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_17\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Kim Papaioannou, <em>The Geography of Hell in the Teaching of Jesus<\/em> (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2013), 54.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_17').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_17', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> Examples of this are seen in Herod seeking to <em>kill<\/em> baby Jesus (Matt. 2:13) or when the Pharisees sought to <em>kill<\/em> Jesus (Matt. 12:14; Mark 3:6).<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_18');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_18');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_18\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">18<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_18\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Sprinkle, 200; italics mine. See also Matthew 10:28; 21:41; 27:20; Mark 3:6; 9:22; Luke 6:9.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_18').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_18', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> This is especially true in \u201ccontexts where future judgment is in view\u201d; it always means \u201cto kill.\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_19');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_19');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_19\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">19<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_19\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Ibid.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_19').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_19', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> One of our most beloved verses in the bible such as John 3:16 says that \u201cwhoever believes in him shall not \u2018perish\u2019 (<em>apollumi<\/em>).\u201d It is very difficult to make these words in their contexts to mean something other than \u201cdeath or destruction.\u201d Another passage is in Matthew 10:28 where it says, \u201cDo not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can <em>destroy<\/em> both soul and body in hell.\u201d It is difficult to imagine an \u201cinconclusive process of perishing\u201d whereby the person never perishes.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_20');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_20');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_20\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">20<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_20\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">John R.W. Stott, \u201cJudgment and Hell,\u201d in <em>Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism<\/em>, eds. Christopher M. Date, Gregory G. Stump, and Joshua W. Anderson (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2014), 51.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_20').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_20', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>\u00a0How do we say someone suffered destruction if they are not in fact destroyed?<\/p>\n<p>The OT does not speak specifically of hell, but if one wanted to know what the OT has to say about the fate of the wicked, he would be overwhelmed with the evidence. All throughout the OT the language of death and destruction abounds. So much so that there are about seventy metaphors used to describe the fate of the wicked, and \u201cnot one of the verbs or word pictures remotely suggests\u201d the idea of Eternal Torment.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_21');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_21');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_21\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">21<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_21\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Edward William Fudge, \u201cThe Final End of the Wicked,\u201d in <em>Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism<\/em>, eds. Christopher M. Date, Gregory G. Stump, and Joshua W. Anderson (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2014), 31.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_21').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_21', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> One example of this is in Psalm 37 where it describes the wicked are like grass and green plants that will soon wither and die away (v. 2), they will never be found again (v. 10), they will perish and vanish like smoke (v. 20), they will be completely cut off (v. 9,22), and destroyed (v. 38).<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_22');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_22');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_22\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">22<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_22\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">See also examples such as: Ps. 1:4-6; 2:9; 58; 68:2; 73:18-19; Isa. 1:31; 33:12; 66:24; Eze. 20:47-48; Amos 5:5-6; Mal. 4:1-3.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_22').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_22', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Jesus, a Jewish Rabbi immersed in the Scriptures (the OT), uses the same language when he speaks of the fate of the wicked. Not to mention, he talks about the \u201cunquenchable fire\u201d and the \u201cworm that never dies\u201d (i.e., Matt. 3:12; Mark 9:44, 48), which is unquestionably a direct quote from Isaiah 66:24. We have to keep in mind that when the NT quotes from the OT, we must \u201cbegin with the original contextual meaning of the OT phrases and symbols, and then approach the NT quotation with that meaning in mind, <em>sensitive to any change in meaning by Jesus or the NT writer<\/em>.\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_23');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_23');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_23\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">23<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_23\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Fudge, <em>The Fire that Consumes<\/em>, 79; italics mine.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_23').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_23', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> In this case, the context of Isaiah 66:24 is describing a great battle scene on the Great Day of the Lord, when the Lord protects the righteous within the city while utterly slaying the wicked who rebel against Him, by divine fire and sword. Then afterwards, Isaiah says the righteous \u201cwill go out and look upon the <em>dead bodies\u201d<\/em> of the wicked, lying just outside of Jerusalem, where \u201ctheir worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.\u201d It is hard to ignore the how plainly Isaiah describes the end of the wicked, and that Jesus quotes Isaiah word for word in Mark 9:48. The fate of the wicked seems to be nothing more than their complete destruction.<\/p>\n<p>But what is an \u201cunquenchable fire\u201d? It has often been suggested that it is a fire that never goes out. Therefore, it is assumed that if the fire never goes out, then what is thrown into it never burns up. But this is highly problematic. If we use Scripture to interpret Scripture, unquenchable \u201cdoes not mean ever-burning, but irresistible,\u201d because it cannot be stopped from doing what it most naturally does. An \u201c\u2018unquenchable\u2019 fire (\u2018irresistible fire\u2019) fully consumes (Ezek. 20:47-48), reduces to nothing (Amos 5:5-6) or burns up what is put into it (Matt. 3:12).\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_24');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_24');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_24\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">24<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_24\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Ibid., 77.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_24').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_24', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Another aspect of OT background in the NT is the way in which NT writers will point to a historical judgment in the OT as an example of what happens to the wicked in the end. Among the many historical events of judgment throughout the OT, the story of the great Flood (Gen. 6-9) and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24-29) and all of their features are alluded to most frequently. In the story of the Flood, the words are \u201c\u2018perish,\u2019 \u2018destroy\u2019 or \u2018die,\u2019 and they are used synonymously with \u2018cut off\u2019 and \u2018wipe out.\u2019\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_25');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_25');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_25\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">25<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_25\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Ibid.<em>,<\/em> 60.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_25').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_25', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> These words illustrate for us that the wicked in Noah\u2019s day met their terrible fate in the great flood. By using the same language, both \u201cJesus and Peter use [the story of the Flood] to illustrate\u201d what happens to the wicked on the final Day of the Lord.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_26');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_26');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_26\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">26<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_26\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Ibid., 61. <strong>Jesus<\/strong> \u2013 Matthew 24:38-39; Luke 17:26-27. <strong>Peter<\/strong> \u2013 2 Peter 2:5,9; 3:3-37.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_26').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_26', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Not only the Flood, but the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is also alluded to by Peter and Jude. Peter illustrates in harsh language that God \u201ccondemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly\u201d (2 Pet. 2:6). Later Jude 7 says that Sodom and Gomorrah \u201cserve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.\u201d I suggest that we should recognize the historical fact of what happened to these cities. We know that they are not still burning but were completely destroyed and reduced to ashes. Also, because the NT writers tell us that this event is an example of what will happen to the wicked, it cannot mean anything other than a complete and utter destruction and annihilation.<\/p>\n<h2>The Imagery in Revelation<\/h2>\n<p>What do we do with the book of Revelation? Here is where the discussion gets rather intense. Most agree that Revelation is a book of rich symbolism and needs to be treated with care. Where the difference lies is how the symbolism is understood when it specifically refers to the fate of the wicked. The two texts relevant to our topic are Revelation 14:9-11 and 20:10-15. In these passages, we can\u2019t help but notice the language that describes the \u201csmoke of their torment rises forever and ever\u201d (14:11), and the beast and his followers being \u201ctormented day and night for ever and ever\u201d (20:10). Many read these verses in a straightforward manner, and we can see and understand how, on the surface, they might see \u201ceternal torment\u201d in those verses.<\/p>\n<p>However, I would suggest an alternative way to interpret these images. First of all, what needs to be acknowledged is that, \u201cno other book of the NT is as permeated by the OT as is Revelation.\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_27');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_27');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_27\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">27<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_27\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">D.A.Carson &amp; G.K.Beale, <em>Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament<\/em> (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007), 1081.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_27').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_27', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> Not very often does the book directly quote from the OT, but in almost every verse there is a direct allusion to something from the OT.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_28');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_28');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_28\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">28<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_28\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Richard Bauckham, <em>The Theology of the Book of Revelation<\/em>, New Testament Theology (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 18.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_28').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_28', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> Therefore, I would suggest that in order to properly understand the symbolism in Revelation, one must first recognize how the symbolism in Revelation is used in the OT before making conclusions on what the symbolism means. In using this principle, one can notice strong similarities between the destruction of the beast in Revelation 14:9-11 and the destruction of Edom in Isaiah 34:9-10. When the prophet Isaiah pronounced judgment on the nation of Edom, he said its \u201cstreams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become a blazing pitch! It will not be quenched night and day; its smoke will rise forever\u201d (Isa. 34:9-10). It is nearly a word for word quotation, and we know from history that Edom was quite literally destroyed, and the smoke \u201crising forever\u201d points to the <em>finality<\/em> of her judgment. Therefore, it would appear as a strange anomaly to suggest that its meaning in Revelation would be anything other than complete destruction.<\/p>\n<p>A second thing I\u2019d like to point out is how Revelation will sometimes offer its own interpretation of its imagery. For example, earlier in Revelation 1:20 John sees seven golden lampstands, and the angel tells him, \u201cThe seven lampstands ARE the seven churches.\u201d Can you see what happened there? There we\u2019re told what the lampstands are: they are to be identified with the churches. The lampstands are the symbol, and the churches are the clearer reality. Another one is in 5:8, \u201cthe golden bowls of incense ARE the prayers of the saints.\u201d There are many other examples of this.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_29');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_29');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_29\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">29<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_29\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">In the OT, we see other examples of this in <strong>Genesis 40<\/strong> when Joseph interprets the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker. He says, \u201cThe three branches <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> three days\u201d and \u201cthe three baskets <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> three days\u201d (<strong>40:12,18<\/strong>). Later, he interprets Pharaoh\u2019s dreams and says, \u201cthe seven good cows <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> seven years, and the seven good heads of grain <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> seven years&#8230;they <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> seven years of famine\u201d (<strong>41:26-27<\/strong>). Also, the device is used by Daniel when he tells King Nebuchadnezzar about the great tree in his dream, \u201cwhich grew large and strong,\u201d and then he says, \u201cyou, O king, <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> that tree!\u201d (<strong>Dan. 4:20-22<\/strong>). Later, in <strong>7:17<\/strong>, the angel interprets Daniel\u2019s dream and says, \u201cthe four great beasts <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> four kingdoms that will rise from the earth.\u201d Again, another dream of Daniel\u2019s in <strong>8:21<\/strong> is interpreted when the angel says, \u201cthe shaggy goat <strong><em>is<\/em><\/strong> the king of Greece.\u201d In Revelation, there are more examples not already mentioned where John explicitly identifies his symbolism with a clearer reality. The angel told John, \u201cthe waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> peoples, multitudes, nations and languages\u201d (<strong>17:15<\/strong>). The \u201cfine linen <strong><em>is<\/em><\/strong> the righteous deeds of the saints\u201d (<strong>19:8<\/strong>, ESV). The reigning with Christ for a thousand years \u201c<strong><em>is<\/em><\/strong> the first resurrection\u201d (<strong>20:5<\/strong>).<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_29').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_29', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> But I think this is key to understanding the meaning of the Second Death in 20:14. There is says that \u201cthe lake of fire IS the second death.\u201d The lake of fire and all of its imagery is the symbol, and the second death is the clearer reality. If we were to reverse this and say \u201cthe Second Death is the Lake of Fire\u201d we would further shroud the clearer reality in mystery and thus, make the clearer reality less clear than the symbol. It would be like saying that \u201cthe seven churches ARE the seven lampstands.\u201d Also, throughout Revelation, the word \u201cdeath\u201d is used a total of 19 times and every time it means nothing other than what we know of death as the end of someone\u2019s life.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_30');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_30');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_30\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">30<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_30\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">See 1:18; 2:10,11; 2:23; 6:8; 9:6; 12:11; 13:3,12; 18:8; 20:6,13,14; 21:4,8.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_30').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_30', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> In identifying the Lake of Fire with the second death, John has quite simply said that the wicked will die a second time. It is not temporary but final. This time, it will be an eternal death without hope of another resurrection. The question I ask considering Revelation is this: Is it faithful hermeneutics to take the rich symbolism of Revelation and read backwards into the rest of scripture and re-interpret the plain language of death &amp; destruction? I think not\u2026<\/p>\n<h2>The Goodness of God<\/h2>\n<p>I believe that the conditionalist view of hell is most consistent with the goodness of God. On the one hand we have God\u2019s holiness, moral purity, and hatred \u201cof all that is wrong and his relentless action to make everything right. God is\u2026a <em>perfectionist<\/em>. [Then on the other hand] we have God\u2019s kindness, generosity, forgiveness, and self sacrifice. God is\u2026 a <em>lover<\/em>.\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_31');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_31');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_31\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">31<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_31\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Stackhouse, 61.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_31').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_31', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> These two attributes reflect a perfectly good God. Scripture tells us that God is patient, \u201cnot wanting anyone to perish (<em>apollumi<\/em>), but everyone to come to repentance\u201d (2 Peter 3:9). \u201cAt the end of days, it will be clear that God has done [everything He] can do to draw people to himself.\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_32');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_32');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_32\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">32<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_32\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Ibid., 80.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_32').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_32', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> Do we believe this? We say that God is Holy and Just and will perfectly deal with sin, but we also believe He is a God is perfect Love and Righteousness.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the OT, we see a just God who hands out punishment that always fits the crime. \u201cPunishments are all limited in duration and intensity [with the worse punishment being] capital punishment (ie. Death).\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_33');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_33');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_33\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">33<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_33\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">\u201cClark Pinnock, Hell and the Holiness of God\u201d in <em>Rethinking Hell<\/em>. December 20, 2014. Accessed May 9, 2018. <a href=\"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/2014\/12\/clark-pinnock-hell-and-the-holiness-of-god\/\"><span class=\"footnote_url_wrap\">https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/2014\/12\/clark-pinnock-hell-and-the-holiness-of-god\/<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_33').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_33', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> We never see ongoing torment as a method of punishment that God sanctions. \u201cIn fact, any excessive punishment is strictly banned, and exceeding that limit is to degrade the person, which is not permitted (Deut. 25:1-3).\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_34');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_34');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_34\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">34<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_34\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Ibid.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_34').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_34', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> The purpose of the punishment is for debts to be paid and for guilt to be purged, it does not serve the purpose to shame and torment. The view in the OT and NT is that \u201cwhen the truly good God finally judges sin, that judgment is truly final.\u201d In the end of all days, we can rejoice in the final victory of God when the New Creation is finally the home of righteousness where sin and evil are nowhere to be found. \u201cGod will have permanently eradicated [all evil] by making all things new\u201d (Mal. 4:1-4; 2 Pet. 3:13).<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_35');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_35');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_35\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">35<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_35\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Michael Gorman, <em>Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness: Following the Lamb into the New Creation<\/em> (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2011), 153.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_35').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_35', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> When the entire cosmos is purified of all evil, including all evildoers, then \u201cGod can truly be \u2018all in all\u2019\u201d (1 Cor. 15:28).<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_36');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12718_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_36');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_36\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">36<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_36\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Stackhouse, 80.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_36').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12718_1_36', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Conclusi\u00f3n<\/h2>\n<p>Ever since coming to embrace the Conditionalist view of hell, the grace and mercy of God has become so much more real to me. God is full of grace and mercy and deeply desires that all will turn to him. He is not vengeful in that he repays those who do not repent by keeping them alive forever in torment in the fires of hell. No. He honors the dignity of their human will and leaves them to the terrible results of their sin \u2013 and that is death. Conditionalism beautifies the gospel as truly Good News. The good news is that Jesus has won the victory over death, and now lives forever as the rightful Lord over creation, and he offers us the gift of eternal life. The gospel is not a threat, it is good news.<\/p>\n<p>Romans 6:23 tells us that \u201cthe wages of sin is <strong><em>death<\/em><\/strong>, but the gift of God is <strong><em>eternal life<\/em><\/strong> through Jesus Christ our Lord.\u201d The choice before everyone is life or death. The wages of sin is death \u2013 nothing more. God does not punish the unbeliever more than what is absolutely necessary. As I understand this, eternal torment flies in the face of our beloved text of John 3:16: \u201cFor God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not <strong><em>perish<\/em><\/strong> but have <strong><em>eternal life<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d Our good Lord offers us, as mere mortals, the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The choice before all of us is life or death \u2013 it is that simple. My prayer is that we will all choose Resurrection life. Amen.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center;\">*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0*<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>This article is based on a sermon by Chris Loewen given at <em>The ConneXion<\/em>, Arborg, Manitoba, on May 27, 2018. Click below to watch!<\/p>\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  style=\"display: block; margin: 0px auto;\"  id=\"_ytid_85704\"  width=\"900\" height=\"506\"  data-origwidth=\"900\" data-origheight=\"506\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XgxvZ1ONZgA?enablejsapi=1&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&modestbranding=1&rel=1&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"speaker-mute footnotes_reference_container\"> <div class=\"footnote_container_prepare\"><p><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_label pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_12718_1();\">&#x202F;<\/span><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button\" style=\"display: none;\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_12718_1();\">[<a id=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_12718_1\">+<\/a>]<\/span><\/p><\/div> <div id=\"footnote_references_container_12718_1\" style=\"\"><table class=\"footnotes_table footnote-reference-container\"><caption class=\"accessibility\">References<\/caption> <tbody> \r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_1\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_1');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>1<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Most seem to believe in a form of \u201c<em>separationism.<\/em>\u201d Along with this is a form of \u201c<em>lewisianism<\/em>\u201d in which all who are in hell, ultimately choose it, and hell\u2019s door is locked from the inside (C.S.Lewis). Yet there are those, like N.T.Wright, who suggest a kind of \u201c<em>dehumanization<\/em>,\u201d that those who refuse to respond to the gospel, and only worship themselves, \u201cthat after death they become at last, by their own effective choice, beings that once were human but now are not,\u201d but however, he admits that this is wandering into \u201cterritory that no one can claim to have mapped\u201d (N. T. Wright, <em>Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church<\/em> [New York, NY: Harper One, 2008], 183.). To illustrate this, some point to Smeagol\u2019s ghastly transformation into Gollum in the LOTR Trilogy. Yet, ironically, Gollum is eventually annihilated in the volcanic fires of Mount Doom.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_2\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_2');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>2<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">The label \u201ctraditionalism\u201d suggests that the alternate views are not found in church tradition, which is untrue.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_3\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_3');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>3<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Of course, with the exception of <em>eternal separation<\/em>. On this note, see Joseph Dear\u2019s excellent series of articles: \u201cThe Not-So-Traditional View\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rethinkinghell.com\/2016\/07\/the-not-so-traditional-view-does-your-particular-belief-about-hell-really-have-church-history-on-its-side\/\">Part 1<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rethinkinghell.com\/2016\/07\/the-not-so-traditional-view-does-your-particular-belief-about-hell-really-have-church-history-on-its-side-part-2\/\">Part 2<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rethinkinghell.com\/2016\/07\/the-not-so-traditionalist-view-part-3\/\">Part 3<\/a>.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_4\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_4');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>4<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">The reason I make this claim is in response to the repeated charge laid on conditionalists that they only came to the view because of an emotional abhorrence with the Eternal Torment view. John Stott has been repeatedly misrepresented in this regard. After he admits, \u201cemotionally, I find the concept intolerable and do not understand how people can live with [Eternal Torment] without either cauterizing their feelings or cracking under the strain,\u201d he wisely points out, \u201cBut our emotions are a fluctuating, unreliable guide to truth and must not be exalted to the place of supreme authority in determining it. As a committed evangelical, my question must be \u2013 and is \u2013 not what does my heart tell me, but <em>what does God\u2019s Word say<\/em>?\u201d (John R.W. Stott, \u201cJudgment and Hell,\u201d in <em>Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism<\/em>, eds. Christopher M. Date, Gregory G. Stump, and Joshua W. Anderson [Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2014], 51.).<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_5\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_5');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>5<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Edward William Fudge, <em>The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, <\/em>3<sup>rd<\/sup> ed. (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2011)<em>, <\/em>19.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_6\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_6');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>6<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Richard Middleton, \u201cHumans Created Mortal, with the Possibility of Eternal Life\u201d in <em>Sapientia<\/em>. May 17, 2018. Accessed May 23, 2018. <a href=\"http:\/\/henrycenter.tiu.edu\/2018\/05\/humans-created-mortal-with-the-possibility-of-eternal-life\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span class=\"footnote_url_wrap\">http:\/\/henrycenter.tiu.edu\/2018\/05\/humans-created-mortal-with-the-possibility-of-eternal-life\/<\/span><\/a>.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_7\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_7');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>7<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">See also John 6:48-51; 6:58; 8:51; 11:25-26. Outside of John\u2019s gospel, see: Acts 13:46; Romans 2:6-8; 8:11; 1 John 2:17.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_8\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_8');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>8<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Joel B. Green, <em>The Gospel of Luke<\/em>, NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997), 428.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_9\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_9');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>9<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Robert Yarbrough explains, \u201cthe blessed state of eternal life is logically opposite to the condemned state of eternal destruction. If Salvation and conscious bliss are everlasting, so are perdition and conscious torment,\u201d [Robert W. Yarbrough, \u201cJesus on Hell,\u201d <em>Hell under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment<\/em>, eds. Christopher W. Morgan &amp;amp; Robert A. Peterson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), 74; italics mine.].<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_10\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_10');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>10<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">\u201cEternal\u201d can also mean \u201cof the age\u201d which is the age that goes on forever \u2013 thus the meaning is still \u201ceverlasting.\u201d<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_11\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_11');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>11<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">John Stackhouse, \u201cTerminal Punishment,\u201d in <em>Four Views on Hell<\/em>, 2<sup>nd<\/sup> ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 69.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_12\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_12');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>12<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Fudge, <em>The Fire that Consumes<\/em>, 38; italics in original. Chris Date, from Rethinking Hell, pointed out to me that not all nouns are of the type that can be read either as a process or result. While many are (i.e., translation, destruction, salvation, redemption), many aren\u2019t (i.e., bowl, man, house). Just because the noun \u201cpunishment\u201d should be read as the result of the verb \u201cpunish\u201d it does not necessarily mean the noun \u201clife\u201d should be read similarly.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_13\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_13');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>13<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Ibid., 40; italics mine.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_14\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_14');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>14<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Stackhouse, 68.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_15\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_15');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>15<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Fudge, <em>The Fire that Consumes<\/em>, 41.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_16\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_16');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>16<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">R. T. France, <em>The Gospel of Matthew<\/em>, NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm.B.Eerdmans, 2007), 967.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_17\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_17');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>17<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Kim Papaioannou, <em>The Geography of Hell in the Teaching of Jesus<\/em> (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2013), 54.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_18\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_18');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>18<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Sprinkle, 200; italics mine. See also Matthew 10:28; 21:41; 27:20; Mark 3:6; 9:22; Luke 6:9.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_19\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_19');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>19<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Ibid.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_20\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_20');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>20<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">John R.W. Stott, \u201cJudgment and Hell,\u201d in <em>Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism<\/em>, eds. Christopher M. Date, Gregory G. Stump, and Joshua W. Anderson (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2014), 51.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_21\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_21');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>21<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Edward William Fudge, \u201cThe Final End of the Wicked,\u201d in <em>Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism<\/em>, eds. Christopher M. Date, Gregory G. Stump, and Joshua W. Anderson (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2014), 31.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_22\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_22');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>22<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">See also examples such as: Ps. 1:4-6; 2:9; 58; 68:2; 73:18-19; Isa. 1:31; 33:12; 66:24; Eze. 20:47-48; Amos 5:5-6; Mal. 4:1-3.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_23\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_23');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>23<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Fudge, <em>The Fire that Consumes<\/em>, 79; italics mine.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_24\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_24');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>24<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Ibid., 77.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_25\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_25');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>25<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Ibid.<em>,<\/em> 60.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_26\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_26');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>26<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Ibid., 61. <strong>Jesus<\/strong> \u2013 Matthew 24:38-39; Luke 17:26-27. <strong>Peter<\/strong> \u2013 2 Peter 2:5,9; 3:3-37.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_27\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_27');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>27<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">D.A.Carson &amp; G.K.Beale, <em>Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament<\/em> (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007), 1081.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_28\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_28');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>28<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Richard Bauckham, <em>The Theology of the Book of Revelation<\/em>, New Testament Theology (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 18.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_29\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_29');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>29<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">In the OT, we see other examples of this in <strong>Genesis 40<\/strong> when Joseph interprets the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker. He says, \u201cThe three branches <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> three days\u201d and \u201cthe three baskets <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> three days\u201d (<strong>40:12,18<\/strong>). Later, he interprets Pharaoh\u2019s dreams and says, \u201cthe seven good cows <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> seven years, and the seven good heads of grain <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> seven years&#8230;they <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> seven years of famine\u201d (<strong>41:26-27<\/strong>). Also, the device is used by Daniel when he tells King Nebuchadnezzar about the great tree in his dream, \u201cwhich grew large and strong,\u201d and then he says, \u201cyou, O king, <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> that tree!\u201d (<strong>Dan. 4:20-22<\/strong>). Later, in <strong>7:17<\/strong>, the angel interprets Daniel\u2019s dream and says, \u201cthe four great beasts <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> four kingdoms that will rise from the earth.\u201d Again, another dream of Daniel\u2019s in <strong>8:21<\/strong> is interpreted when the angel says, \u201cthe shaggy goat <strong><em>is<\/em><\/strong> the king of Greece.\u201d In Revelation, there are more examples not already mentioned where John explicitly identifies his symbolism with a clearer reality. The angel told John, \u201cthe waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> peoples, multitudes, nations and languages\u201d (<strong>17:15<\/strong>). The \u201cfine linen <strong><em>is<\/em><\/strong> the righteous deeds of the saints\u201d (<strong>19:8<\/strong>, ESV). The reigning with Christ for a thousand years \u201c<strong><em>is<\/em><\/strong> the first resurrection\u201d (<strong>20:5<\/strong>).<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_30\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_30');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>30<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">See 1:18; 2:10,11; 2:23; 6:8; 9:6; 12:11; 13:3,12; 18:8; 20:6,13,14; 21:4,8.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_31\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_31');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>31<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Stackhouse, 61.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_32\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_32');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>32<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Ibid., 80.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_33\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_33');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>33<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">\u201cClark Pinnock, Hell and the Holiness of God\u201d in <em>Rethinking Hell<\/em>. December 20, 2014. Accessed May 9, 2018. <a href=\"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/2014\/12\/clark-pinnock-hell-and-the-holiness-of-god\/\"><span class=\"footnote_url_wrap\">https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/2014\/12\/clark-pinnock-hell-and-the-holiness-of-god\/<\/span><\/a>.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_34\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_34');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>34<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Ibid.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_35\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_35');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>35<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Michael Gorman, <em>Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness: Following the Lamb into the New Creation<\/em> (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2011), 153.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12718_1_36\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12718_1_36');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#65514;<\/span>36<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Stackhouse, 80.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n <\/tbody> <\/table> <\/div><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> function footnote_expand_reference_container_12718_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_12718_1').show(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_12718_1').text('\u2212'); } function footnote_collapse_reference_container_12718_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_12718_1').hide(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_12718_1').text('+'); } function footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_12718_1() { if (jQuery('#footnote_references_container_12718_1').is(':hidden')) { footnote_expand_reference_container_12718_1(); } else { footnote_collapse_reference_container_12718_1(); } } function footnote_moveToReference_12718_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_12718_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } } function footnote_moveToAnchor_12718_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_12718_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } }<\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is conditionalism? Basically, there are three views on hell, and they are all represented within evangelicalism. There is traditionalism, universalism and conditionalism. Setting aside for the moment that there are different varieties among these views, I will speak in general terms about each position:1Most seem to believe in a form of \u201cseparationism.\u201d Along with &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/es\/2018\/05\/30\/a-case-for-conditionalism\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">A Case for Conditionalism<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":5212,"featured_media":12929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,27],"tags":[],"coauthors":[498],"class_list":["post-12718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-content","category-introductory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5212"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12718"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24492,"href":"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12718\/revisions\/24492"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12718"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rethinkinghell.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=12718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}