Is HELL really eternal? Degrees of punishment and rewards

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Degrees of punishment in hell and will there be different degrees of rewards?

44 Comments

  • Reply June 19, 2018

    Varnel Watson

    Let turn the heat ON David Griffin Ricky Grimsley Joe Absher

  • Reply June 19, 2018

    Louise Cummings

    Yes. About degrees. I believe there is verses in the Bible to bring out degrees. I would need to search it out.

  • Reply June 19, 2018

    Varnel Watson

    Good one grandma Louise Is hell eternal punishment ?

    • Reply June 19, 2018

      Ricky Grimsley

      Hell is not eternal but the lake of fire is. Revelation 20:10 KJVS
      [10] And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are , and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

  • Reply June 19, 2018

    Joe Absher

    It’s a 104 I hear in Phoenix and 97 in Jackson

  • Reply June 19, 2018

    Varnel Watson

    how did you make the difference Ricky Grimsley

    • Reply June 19, 2018

      Ricky Grimsley

      They have to be different for hell to be thrown into the lake of fire?

  • Reply June 19, 2018

    Gary Micheal Epping

    In some places the Bible seems to say it is a tormenting fire such as, ‘And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (REV 20:10).’ Then, in other places the fire seems to be one of utter annihilation as in, ‘And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (MAT 10:28).’ One interesting question concerns the new heavens and earth that we are promised in Rev. When we get there, all evil will have been thrown into the Lake of Fire. However, one can’t say that sin, evil, the devil, the beast, unbelievers, etc have been eliminated from God’s universe since they are still present in the Lake of Fire. A case can be made that when God destroys the heaven and earth in the endtimes, this includes everything outside of the New Jerusalem, including the Lake of Fire. If true, then there would be no evil anywhere after the new heavens and earth are recreated.

  • Reply June 19, 2018

    Varnel Watson

    Pure semantics in the greek lingo if you ask me

    And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:13-15, KJV

    • Reply June 19, 2018

      Ricky Grimsley

      We know he’ll is in the earth? Where is the lake of fire if the new heavens and new earth are made perfect?

    • Reply June 19, 2018

      Varnel Watson

      earth’s nucleus that Trump is about to open via his peace agreement

  • Reply August 29, 2019

    Varnel Watson

    #HELLO RichardAnna Boyce

    1. Undying Worm and Unquenchable Fire (OT)

    Isaiah 66:22-24

    For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD.

    And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.

    2. Everlasting Life/Everlasting Contempt

    Daniel 12:1-2

    At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

    3. Eternal Fire/The Fire of Hell

    Matthew 18:6-9

    Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

    4. Eternal Punishment/Eternal Life

    Matthew 25:31-46

    When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” . . . Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. . . . And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

    5. Undying Worm and Unquenchable Fire (NT)

    Mark 9:42-48

    Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”

    6. Everlasting Destruction

    2 Thessalonians 1:5-10

    This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

    7. The Punishment of Eternal Fire

    Jude 7

    Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

    8. Blackest Darkness Reserved Forever

    Jude 13
    [These people are] wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

    9. The Smoke of Their Torment Rises for Ever and Ever

    Revelation 14:9-11

    If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.

    10. The Lake of Fire

    Revelation 20:10, 14-15

    And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. . . . Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      RichardAnna Boyce

      Matthew 18:8-9

      This enigmatic saying is hyperbolic and hypothetical. If drastic measures could be taken, such as dismemberment, to keep one from sinning, it would be worth it. Self-mutilation and dismemberment would not save them, of course, for the problem is in the heart (15:8-9,18-20). However, Jesus assumes for the sake of argument that their trust in external restraint from evil would be sufficient to save. The complete uselessness of such an exercise is plain. That they would trust in externals reveals that those to whom Jesus directs His remarks are unbelievers. Jesus’ words are provocative and enigmatic, causing one to think and feel more deeply.

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      RichardAnna Boyce The most graphic portrayal of hell is found in Revelation 14:9-11. There we read: “And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

      John goes on to describe the duration of this punishment in two statements in v. 11. First, the “smoke” of their torment, i.e., the smoke of the fire and sulfur (v. 10) “goes up forever and ever” (see Isa. 34:9-10 for the OT background). It is almost as if there is a smoldering testimony to the consequences of sin and the justice of God’s wrath. The duration of this phenomenon is said to be, literally, “unto the ages of the ages”. This terminology occurs 13x in Revelation: 3x with reference to the duration of praise, glory, and dominion given to God (1:6; 5:13; 7:12); 5x with reference to the length of life of God or Christ (1:18; 4:9,10; 10:6; 15:7); once referring to the length of God’s reign in Christ (11:15); once referring to the length of the saints’ reign (22:5); once referring to the ascension of the smoke of destroyed Babylon (19:3); once referring to the duration of torment of the devil, beast, and false prophet (20:10); and, of course, once here in 14:11. Second, “they have no rest, day or night” (the latter phrase being parallel to “forever and ever”). In Revelation 4:8 the same terminology occurs with regard to the duration of worship on the part of the four living creatures. That from which they have “no rest” is, presumably, the torment caused by the fire and brimstone.

      Do texts such as this speak of eternal punishing (with focus on the act of judging) or eternal punishment (with focus on the effect of judgment)? In other words, what is it that is eternal or unending: the act of punishing unbelievers, or the effect of their punishment? Again, is the torment of the lost a conscious experience that never ends? Or is the punishment a form of annihilation in which, after a just season of suffering in perfect proportion to sins committed, the soul ceases to exist? Does the ascending smoke of their torment point to the unending conscious experience of suffering they endure? Or does it signify a lasting, irreversible effect of their punishment in which they are annihilated? Those who argue for the latter view contend that there will be no rest “day or night” from torment while it continues or as long as it lasts. But whether or not it lasts forever or eternally must be determined on other grounds.

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      RichardAnna Boyce

      Matthew 25:41 Those who go to hell are unbelievers.
      The unrighteous who will mistreat Israel during the Tribulation will be cursed, which recalls a portion of the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 12:3). Those who curse Israel will themselves be cursed (cf. Num 24:8-9). The ultimate reason those on the left hand will be cursed is that they will not bless the Son of Abraham, by believing on Him for eternal life. Instead, they rejected Him.

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      RichardAnna Boyce you now must explain Matthew 25:46 and Revelation 20:10-15. Regardless of what one thinks about the identity of the beast and false prophet, no evangelical denies that Satan is a sentient being. Thus here is at least one such “person” who clearly suffers eternal conscious torment. “We may not feel as much sympathy for him as for fellow human beings, and we may cheerfully insist that he is more evil than any human being, but even so, it is hard to see how the arguments deployed against the notion of eternal conscious suffering of sinful human beings would be any less cogent against the devil”

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      RichardAnna Boyce

      Revelation 14:9-11 Unbelievers again. The third angelic warning to earth’s inhabitants is directed to unsaved people who have not yet worshipped “the beast and his image” (cf. 13:14-15) or received “his mark.”

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      RichardAnna Boyce avoiding the question on satan? – – – you now must explain Matthew 25:46 and Revelation 20:10-15.

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      RichardAnna Boyce

      Revelation 20:10 satan is an unbeliever too. Now that the Beast and Satan are in the lake of fire, Jesus Christ, the Judge of all the earth, determines the degree of suffering that every unbeliever who has ever lived will experience for eternity. The “rest of the dead” (v 5) will “live again” (experience bodily resurrection) and stand before the Great White Throne to receive their judgment.

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      RichardAnna Boyce and is so doomed to eternal hell with the rest of the sinners for eternity

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      RichardAnna Boyce

      Matthew 25:46. Only unbelievers go to hell. The righteous will enter into eternal life. The sheep, of course, already had eternal life (John 5:24). Jesus is referring here to a future full experience of that life (cf. Matt 19:29; Gal 6:8).

      The unrighteous “will go away into everlasting punishment.” These people will have their day in court. In the meantime they will experience Sheol (an intermediate state which is not the final hell) for one thousand years.

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      What you and I “like” is utterly and absolutely irrelevant. God doesn’t set his eternal agenda based on what we “prefer”. What we might “hope” to be true simply doesn’t matter. What does or does not make us “feel comfortable” has no bearing on the truth or falsity of this issue. The fact that we have an intuitive sense for what strikes us as “fair” or “just” plays no part whatsoever in coming to a conclusion on whether or not there is an eternal hell. The fact that we may not enjoy the thought of eternal conscious punishment doesn’t make it go away! The fact that you “feel” the existence of hell is inconsistent with your concept of God doesn’t mean there isn’t one. What we “want” or “hope” or “desire” has no relevance at all in this debate. The only important question is, “Does the Bible teach it?” And if the Bible does teach it (and Revelation 14 together with numerous other texts would indicate it does), our responsibility is to believe it and fervently and faithfully proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ as the only hope sinners have for now and eternity.

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      RichardAnna Boyce

      Troy Day you are taking me entirely out of context. I was simply saying believers go to heaven and unbelievers go to hell. Of course i believe suffering in hell is eternal and the degree of eternal suffering depends on the degree of sin as an unbeliever in this life.

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      RichardAnna Boyce

      Troy Day i am also saying that Biblically, unbelievers go to hell because of unbelief, not because of other sins; accepting that unbelief in Jesus is in itself a sin.

  • Reply August 29, 2019

    Varnel Watson

    SIMPLE RichardAnna Boyce if those in hell never cease to sin, why should they ever cease to suffer? In this regard many point to Revelation 22:11, where the angel says to John the Apostle, “Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      Philip Williams pls note RichardAnna Boyce nOT answering Rev 22

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      RichardAnna Boyce

      Revelation 22:12-15 Unbelievers go to hell; believer’s faithful works are rewarded in Millennium; believers unfaithful works lose rewards in Millennium. Simple.

      22:12. The Lord announces that He is “coming quickly” and promises that His “reward is with Him, to give to every one according to his work.” The word work is singular and refers to a believer’s life on earth (cf. 1 Cor 3:12-15).

      22:13. Immediately after making promises to return and to reward people on the basis of their work, the Lord reminds His followers that they can rely on the fulfillment of those promises because of who He is in His own person. His promises can be completely trusted because the One making them always has been and always will be. He is “the King eternal” (1 Tim 1:17).

      22:14. Those who obey His commandments will have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. The believer whose life has been characterized by obedience to God’s commandments will enjoy the tree of life (see comments on Rev 2:7 Rev 22:2), and the privilege of being able to enter the New Jerusalem through its twelve main gates (cf. 21:12-13). This does not mean that unfaithful believers will be excluded from entering the city; they simply will not have the honor and privilege of entering the city through the main gates (surely there will be other, possibly smaller, gates through which the others will enter).

      22:15. There are also those who will never enter the New Jerusalem. They cannot enter because they are outside the city in the lake of fire (see comments on 21:6 b-8).

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      Unbelievers go to hell for ETERNITY

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      RichardAnna Boyce

      Troy Day of course.

  • Reply August 29, 2019

    Varnel Watson

    Philip Williams RichardAnna Boyce As C.S. Lewis writes, “In the long run the answer to all those who object to the doctrine of hell is itself a question: ‘What are you asking God to do?’ To wipe out their past sins and, at all costs, to give them a fresh start, smoothing every difficulty and offering every miraculous help? But he has done so, on Calvary. To forgive them? They will not be forgiven. To leave them alone? Alas, I am afraid that is what he does.”

    Hell ought to drive us not to find misplaced hopes for the lost, but to the only hope for us, and for the whole world, the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Christian gospel maintains that “the day of salvation” is now (2 Cor. 6:2), during this lifetime’s temporary suspension of doom. After this, the grace of God is not extended, only his justice, and that with severity.

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      Philip Williams pls note RichardAnna Boyce avoiding the plain question again and again

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      Philip Williams

      Troy Day he doesn’t wish to confront truth.

    • Reply August 29, 2019

      RichardAnna Boyce

      Troy Day i am flattered by the attention you give me, not only in misrepresenting what i say Biblically, and expecting me to answer you in mins when i have other ministry to attend to at the same time.

    • Reply August 30, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      RichardAnna Boyce so you still avoid my question

  • Reply August 30, 2019

    Varnel Watson

    RichardAnna Boyce I just drove by a baptists church Link may have visited The sign said You can chose Heaven or Hell but cant chose eternity I will have to take a picture for you if they dont change it today What a shame you disbelieve eternity all together Philip Williams may be right here after all

  • Reply January 13, 2020

    Varnel Watson

    Ray E Horton Dustin Wilcox w;’ve discussed this before as a PENTECOSTAL PERSPECTIVE with Ricky Grimsley hell is eternal There is NO purgatory for Pentecostals A.J. Bible and Riccos Herodotou may comment more on the video http://www.pentecostaltheology.com/the-wrath-of-god-a-pentecostal-perspective/

    • Reply January 13, 2020

      Dustin Wilcox

      Troy Day ah, I see there were a few verses I left out of my studies.
      Thanks Troy.

    • Reply January 13, 2020

      Varnel Watson

      Dustin Wilcox what was you original question

    • Reply January 13, 2020

      Dustin Wilcox

      Troy Day that discussion pretty addressed everything. I was wondering if my interpretation was correct. Which I see I was not entirely correct.

    • Reply January 13, 2020

      Varnel Watson

      Dustin Wilcox what was your interpretation and why wasnt it correct ?

    • Reply January 13, 2020

      Dustin Wilcox

      Troy Day I was leaning towards annihilationism, the verses on ECT I was looking into didn’t hold up under investigation. Plus there are clear references to annihilation. However, there was a verse mentioned from Rev 14 and a Gospel passage that were more supportive of ECT. I took notes and I’ll look at it all deeper in the future, but i definitely don’t have all the answers yet.

  • Reply January 14, 2020

    Varnel Watson

    Ray E Horton James L Alldredge I dont know about Heresy BUT both ECT, and ECB (eternal conscious bliss) are man made terminology that reads into the Bible rather than exegeting it Makes more sense to trust the Word on this one rather than men

  • Reply January 16, 2020

    Chris Westerman

  • Reply January 17, 2020

    Varnel Watson

    Chris Atkinson Dustin Wilcox did Chris Westerman answer your question in full with his latest video lecture?

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