The Bible’s Teaching on Hell
“And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh” (Isaiah 66:24). “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire” (Matthew 18:8).
“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:42-48). “the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments” (Luke 16:22-23). “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9). “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:10-11). “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” (Revelation 20:10)
Evangelicals Downgrade Hell Compromised
ecumenical, worldly evangelicalism has been moving in the direction of downgrading the doctrine of hell for a long time. In fact, as early as 1865, Charles Spurgeon warned, “There is a deepseated unbelief among Christians just now, about the eternity of future punishment. It is not outspoken in many cases, but it is whispered; and it frequently assumes the shape of a spirit of benevolent desire that the doctrine may be disproved. … I am afraid it is the old nature in us putting on the specious garb of charity, which thus leads us to discredit a fact which is as certain as the happiness of believers” (cited by Iain Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon, 1978 edition, p. 13). In 1996, Frontline magazine published Robert Vincent’s “Hell under Fire,” which begins with the author’s statement that he had not heard a whole sermon on hell since he was a child. He said further, “Over the last century and a half, the teaching of endless punishment has evolved into a doctrinal albatross for many evangelicals.” C.S. Lewis, the godfather of evangelicalism, said hell is not a place God sends people who do not believe the gospel, but a state of mind one chooses to possess and become. “And every state of mind, left to itself, every shutting up of the creature within the dungeon of its own mind–is, in the end, Hell” (Lewis, The Great Divorce). In 1966, George Ladd, professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, told the Los Angeles Times that hell will simply “be an eternity outside of fellowship with God.” In 1983, Billy Graham said, “I think people have a hard time believing God is going to allow people to burn in literal fire forever. I think the fire that is mentioned in the Bible is a burning thirst for God that can never be quenched” (Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, Florida, April 10, 1983). In 1985, the Harvard Theological Review published “Hell Disappeared and No One Noticed” by Martin E. Marty. In 1987, Verdict Books published Edward Fudge’s The Fire That Consumes, which denies everlasting torment and yet was praised by prominent evangelicals Clark Pinnock and F.F. Bruce. In 1988, John R.W. Stott stated in A Liberal-Evangelical Dialogue (InterVarsity Press) that the torment of hell is not eternal in duration. In 1990, the Radio Bible Class published Herbert Vander Lugt’s What Does the Bible Say about Hell?, which postulates that the fire of hell might be symbolic. In 1991, Kenneth Kantzer, former editor of Christianity Today and head of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, said that “when Jesus spoke of flames … these are most likely figurative warnings” (U.S. News & World Report, March 25, 1991). That same year, J.I. Packer, prominent Anglican evangelical and former senior editor of Christianity Today, said that he does not believe that the essence of hell is “grotesque bodily discomfort.” When drawing up a resolution on hell, the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (GARBC) refused to state that there is “literal fire” (D.A. Waite, Four Reasons for Defending the King James Bible, 1993, pp. 20, 21). In April 2000, a commission of the Evangelical Alliance of Britain published a report entitled The Nature of Hell, which states that evangelicals have agreed to disagree about the doctrine of hell. In his 2011 book Love Wins, Rob Bell said the statements in the Bible about hell being a place of fire and torment are mere poetry.