Sabbath: The Fires of Hell
Image © Pacific Press
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Mark 9:42-48; Malachi 4:1; Jude 7; 1 Timothy 2:5; Acts 2:29, Acts 2:34-35; 1 John 5:3-12.
Memory Text: “Test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21, NKJV).
Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) wrote his famous work, The Divine Comedy, about a fictional journey of the soul after death. The soul went either to the inferno (hell) within the earth; or to purgatory, where the human spirit can purge itself and become worthy of ascending to heaven; or to Paradise, to the presence of God Himself.
Though only a poem, fiction, Dante’s word ended up having a great deal of influence on Christian theology, especially Roman Catholic theology. The basic notion of an immortal soul’s going either to hell, or to purgatory, or to Paradise is foundational to that church. Many conservative Protestant denominations also believe in an immortal soul that after death ascends either to Paradise or descends to hell. Indeed, if the human soul never dies, then it has to go somewhere after the body dies. In short, a false understanding of human nature has led to terrible theological errors.
This week we will deal with some of these unbiblical theories, as well as with the biblical view of what happens after death.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 3.
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I am not sure of the source of this story but I heard it many years ago and it helps me understand a lot about hell.
A person we will call Annie was taken by the angels and given a tour of heaven and hell. She visited hell first and she found the folk there had been treated to a glorious feast beyond her wildest imagination. The participants of this feast were each given a long fork tied to their wrists. Try as they might, they could not reach their mouths with the fork full of food. Here they were, seated among all this delicious food and they could not eat one morsel. They were moaning in agony.
Annie was then taken by the angels to heaven. Surprisingly the feast was the same. The same delicious food, and the same eating arrangements - long-handled forks tied to their wrists. But there was laughter and happiness. People were enjoying themselves. The difference: they were feeding one another.
Someone once said that heaven would be hell for the wicked. I wonder why.
We are going to be discussing some of the aberrant doctrines of hell this week. It is perhaps worth remembering that in one sense we are giving others a little experience of either by our interactions with them right now. That experience is both tangible and persuasive. And, it raises the question about what we are projecting to others now. Heaven, or Hell?
Maurice,
I think your parable is a quote from Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, but it may take me a while to find it.
Richard
Thanks Richard, I will follow that one up. I am sure the original story was much better than my abridged version! 😀
Aha I just did a Google on it and sure enough the answer popped up. It ihas quite a multicultural background. You can read about it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_long_spoons
Whew, we go from one misconception that needs to be detailed, to give an account of our belief, to another. I believe hell is death with no hope of resurection.
Malachi 4:1, says stubble, is another word for dead, supported by the phrase burned up. Stubble and burned up gives light on 'eternal fire' in Jude 7, which in my humble opinion means eternally gone. How long does it take to burn up, leaving neither root or branch? How long does it take you to die if you are burnt up?
Thank God for Acts 2:29. David is an example of what happens when we die, no hell or heaven. Death is staying in the grave until resurrection or eternally dust. When we walk over the metaphors and stand on two legs, we have the truth. There is a reason to search the scriptures. 1. to find Christ. John 5:39. 2. For in finding Christ we have the Truth, the Way, and the Life. John 14:6. 3. We can better explain the misconceptions. We will see a much more detailed explanation this week.
Through it all Christ is the reason for living. He is our salvation, intercessor, and forgiveness is found in Him. I do believe we will find this week that He is a loving God, who does not put people in that metaphor 'eternal fire', if the choice is death over life, as put forth in Deuteronomy 30:11-20.
I understand an average body takes about three hours to be cremated. I've also heard that our sins will measure the length we will be burned, Satan burning longer than anyone. I am not sure I have understood the sins burning longer according to our amount of sins that are not forgiven.
Hi, Monica! You raise some good questions. From Matthew 18:21-35, I perceive that, depending on our attitude, all of our sins are forgiven or, in the end, none of them are.
Sometimes, when it comes out in the news that someone has committed a crime that is unspeakably unjust and cruel, we may hear the remark that such a person needs to have "a special place in hell." In other words, some people just deserve to suffer more than others.
While such human estimations are often biased, and are always based on incomplete information, we understand that there are also degrees of guilt in God's sight. If we truly repent, receiving and passing on God's grace to others, then our guilt, however great, is covered by the blood of Jesus. Hallelujah!
But for those who persistently and perversely refuse God's grace, He is left with no choice but to give them what they deserve. I do not believe that those hardened perpetrators are left to the natural effects of the flames, but the intensity and duration of their torment is "meted out" in such a way that they do not suffer one iota more than justice absolutely requires. Likely, their anguish will be primarily mental and emotional, as was the case with Christ on the cross.
The Bible calls this God's "foreign act," because it seems so contrary to His clearly revealed desire to show mercy. Yet "every knee shall bow." Even the lost will have to admit that they have brought it on themselves, and that their sad fate is necessary and only right.
The very fact that sin will never arise a second time (Nahum 1:9) shows how satisfied everyone will be with God's handling of the sin emergency.
I hope this helps.
1John – 5:4-5 - ”For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.?”
I find Maurice’s concern implied by the story well placed – unless we recognize the basic essentials of our Christian Faith, we, in our attempt to ‘get it right’, can also end up trying to ‘feed ourselves with a fork attached to our own wrist’; the setting being the same, our faith has to be clearly seen in its outcome as we ‘feed each other with the Love of God.’
I recognize this to be a bible-study-forum where one can ‘test all things and hold fast what is good’ – 1 Thess. 5:21. Considering that ‘hell and purgatory’ is a long ‘established’ interpretation of Scripture by some, we should be reminded that this view has turned many millions away from believing the Gospel of Christ. Have those who turned away seen their trepidations evidenced by how we seem to struggle to reach ‘reach the other’s mouth’ because we are busy attempting to ‘feed ourselves’ first?
I understand the need to get ‘religion’ right. Last week’s and this week’s topic cause me upset in that it focuses on all the things that divide us as Christians and does not seem to also show the gateway which highlights that which unites us - Faith in the 'seen and unseen' Word of God. In hopes of learning truths as revealed by Scripture, I move forward by faith.
Amen amen, sis Brigitte, helpful thoughts!
“Feed each other with the love of God” reminds me of the parable we studied this past week of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man could be like the Pharisees Jesus was addressing, who had access to a lot of spiritual knowledge and spiritual blessings, while Lazarus had eternal life with just a crumb of truth from that rich man’s table. In another story we see the faith-filled Canaanite woman living off mere crumbs falling from the masters’ children’s table. (Matthew 15:25-28). The disciples wanted to ignore her and send her away from Jesus.
I, too, find it so easy to dig deeper and deeper for more and more spiritual truths because it’s exciting. And yet the Holy Spirit is showing me that it’s better to stop at even one morsel of truth received in my quiet moments with God, and be willing to live that and share that and spend much more time in prayer about that, before opening my hands for more. Spiritual digestion rather than spiritual gluttony.
Prayer time is essential with Bible study so that the Sword of the Spirit is used properly, and using the fuel from that communion with heaven to let our light shine. Jesus spent so much time in prayer to keep bringing His human nature and great spiritual knowledge and power into submission of His Father’s will.
Yes, Esther – I remember your comments which addressed the satisfaction of fullness one can experience when receiving just a few ‘crumbs’ of the life-giving Word of God. For the hungry, nurture does not come from the amount of spiritual food one consumes, but by how one allows the nourishment to be absorbed by the living soul.
There is an interesting article by Jon Paulien regarding the fate of sinners under the "Adventists Voices" tab on this site.
Very interesting. I have just read it and it gives a lot to think about.
I have recently been explaining to friends that hell is not so much a place, but an event. The lake of fire does not yet exist, and will not exist for eternity. It will exist only to destroy the wicked, sin, and Satan. After that, it will be a historical note to be spoken about, if it were possible, like D-Day or 9-11.
The focus on the presence of hell as a physical place leads to misunderstandings and misconceptions. I am not sure I am correct, but I think my conclusions are reasonable.