Eschatology Notes: Samuel Waldron
Introduction:
Chapter 32 of the 1689 Confession of Faith bears emphatic testimony
to the doctrine of eternal punishment.
1 God hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness,
by Jesus Christ; to whom all power and judgment is given of the
Father;1 in which day, not only the apostate angels shall be judged,
but likewise all persons that have lived upon the earth shall appear before the
tribunal of Christ, to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds, and
to receive according to what they have done in the body, whether good or evil.
2 The end of God's appointing this day, is for the manifestation of the glory
of his mercy, in the eternal salvation of the elect; and of his justice, in the
eternal damnation of the reprobate, who are wicked and disobedient; for then
shall the righteous go into everlasting life, and receive that fulness of joy
and glory with everlasting rewards, in the presence of the Lord; but the wicked,
who know not God, and obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ, shall be cast aside
into everlasting torments, and punished with everlasting destruction, from the
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.
3 As Christ would have us to be certainly persuaded that there shall be a day
of judgment, both to deter all men from sin, and for the greater consolation of
the godly in their adversity, so will he have the day unknown to men, that they
may shake off all carnal security, and be always watchful, because they know not
at what hour the Lord will come, and may ever be prepared to say, Come Lord
Jesus; come quickly. Amen.
No less than three times in paragraph two the Confession reiterates its
commitment to the doctrine of the endless torment of the wicked. It speaks of
"eternal damnation," "everlasting torments," and "everlasting destruction." No
one has to my knowledge ever seriously questioned whether such language in the
Confession is intended to teach the doctrine of the endless torment of the
wicked. Many, however, have challenged the idea that the Biblical language which
such phrases so clearly echo was intended to teach the doctrine of endless
torment. The best and clearest rebuttal of such challenges to the doctrine of
endless torment is the natural force of Scripture itself. By way of opening up
this doctrine we will look at The Scriptural Support for Endless
Torment. The Scriptural support for endless torment may be categorized into
three classes: (A.) Its Positive Assertions (B.) Its Emphatic Negations (C.) Its
Miscellaneous Expressions.
A. Its Positive Assertions
The Scriptures positively assert that the sufferings of the damned are
eternal. Cf. Matt. 18:8, 25:41, 46, 2 Thess. 1:9, Heb. 6:2, Jude 6, Rev. 14:10,
11. Those who deny the doctrine of endless torment have frequently objected to
it by arguing, "The terms translated by the words, eternal or everlasting, in
these passages may in some cases designate limited or finite duration." To this
objection several responses may be made:
(1) Granting for the sake of argument that in some instances this language
may be used of finite duration and may simply mean age-long or something like
that, it is undoubtedly true that, if the Biblical writers wished to express the
idea of eternal duration, these were the best and only words available to them.
Says Hodge,
The strongest terms which the Greek language affords are employed in the New
Testament to express the unending duration of the penal torments of the lost.
The same words (aion, aionios, and aidios) are used to express the eternal
existence of God (1 Tim. 1:17; Rom. 1:20, 16:26), of Christ (Rev. 1:18), of the
Holy Ghost (Heb. 9:14), and the endless duration of the happiness of the
saints...(1)
(2) In the vast majority of the uses of such language the meaning is that of
endless duration. When used of the age to come and not this age, it universally
refers to endless duration. Shedd says,
In by far the greater number of instances, aion and aionios refer to the
future infinite age, and not to the present finite age; to eternity, and not to
time. Says Stuart, "...In all the instances in which aionios refers to future
duration it denotes endless duration..."(2)
(3) The language which refers to the eternal blessedness of the righteous is
strictly parallel to that which refers to the eternal torment of the wicked.
Thus, any argument which denies the eternality of the punishment of the wicked
also undercuts the eternal duration of the blessedness of the righteous. Cf.
Matt. 25:46.
(4) The adjective, eternal, (aiwnioj) must be distinguished from the noun,
eternity, (aiwn). The standard lexicons recognize that the noun sometimes merely
refers to an age-long period of time. They do not recognize this in reference to
the adjective. Thayers Greek Lexicon defines it as follows: "1) without
beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be 2) without
beginning 3) without end, never to cease, everlasting". The BAG lexicon, gives
three meanings: without beginning, without beginning or end, without end. In
fact, of the 69 uses of the adjective in the New Testament 67 are translated by
means of eternal or some synonym. In all sorts of ways the meaning of endless
duration is made clear in such passages. It is used constantly of eternal life
(Matthew 19:16): "And behold, one came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good
thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?" It is used of eternal
punishment as contrasted with eternal life (Matthew 25:46): "And these will go
away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." It is used
to describe a sin for which one can never be forgiven (Matthew 12:32): "And
these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life." It is used that water of eternal life after drinking which we will never
thirst (John 4:14) but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall
never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of
water springing up to eternal life." The food of eternal life is contrasted with
the food that perishes (John 6:27): "Do not work for the food which perishes,
but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give
to you, for on Him the Father, even God, has set His seal." Having
eternal life means never perishing (John 10:28): "and I give eternal life to
them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand."
It is used of the eternal God (Romans 16:26): "but now is manifested, and by the
Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has
been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith". It
is used of God's eternal dominion (1 Timothy 6:16): "who alone possesses
immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see.
To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen." It is used of the eternal
electing purpose of God (2 Timothy 1:9): "who has saved us, and called us with a
holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and
grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity". It is used of the
eternal being of the Spirit of God (Hebrews 9:14): "how much more will the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to
God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" It is
used of the endless duration of the New Covenant (Hebrews 13:20), "Now the God
of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through
the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord."
Only 2 of these 69 passages are not translated by eternal or some synonym in
the NASB. Even these, however, may be so translated and probably should be. In
Romans 16:25 it is translated with the words, long ages past: "Now to Him who is
able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for
long ages past." The Greek, however, may be literally translated, for times
eternal. This is a perfectly intelligible translation which informs us that from
everlasting God had kept the gospel secret. It is further commended to us by the
contextual use of the same adjective, eternal, in the next verse. There it must
be translated, eternal. Romans 16:26 reads, "but now is manifested, and by the
Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has
been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith." The
thought seems to be that the eternal God because of His eternal plan kept this
matter secret from eternal times.
The other usage not translated by means of eternal or a synonym is found in
Titus 1:2: "in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised
long ages ago." The adjective occurs twice in this verse. Once it is translated,
eternal, and once as a part of the phrase, long ages ago. The Greek may
literally be rendered, from times eternal. The parallel with Rom. 16:25 suggests
this translation. The use of the adjective to refer to eternal life in the same
verse also makes this translation attractive. It would form a kind of contrast
and say that the future eternal life has been promised from the past eternal
times. But what can it mean for God to have promised eternal life from all
eternity? To whom could He have promised it in eternity past? The mention of
those chosen of God in Titus 1:1 gives the clue to answer this question. God
chose His people in Christ (Eph. 1:4). In what has been called the covenant of
redemption between the Father and Son in eternity past He may be said to have
promised eternal life for them to His Son. Cf. also 2 Tim. 1:9 and 1 Cor. 2:7.
There is, thus, not a single case in the 69 uses of the adjective in the New
Testament which does not bear the meaning, eternal. In light of this evidence
the theories which attempt to escape the biblical witness regarding eternal
punishment by attributing a different meaning to the biblical terms must be
regarded as far-fetched to say the least. Such theories about the Biblical terms
are certainly not a safe or certain refuge for our souls from the possibility of
eternal punishment.
B. Its Emphatic Negations
Further buttressing the idea that such language designates eternal torment
are those statements of Scripture which speak of the torment of the wicked as
endless or ceaseless or never ending, Luke 3:17; Mark 9:43, 48; Matt. 3:12.
C. Its Miscellaneous Expressions
Various expressions are used in the Bible which convey in many diverse ways
the utter hopelessness and endlessness of the torments of hell, Matt. 13:41, 42,
24:51, 25:30. Such expressions considered together with the solemn warnings not
to incur such judgment speak of the utter finality and hopelessness of hell. The
warning of the unpardonable sin in Matt. 12:31, 32 and Mark 3:29 also speaks of
this. Matt. 26:24 and Mark 14:21 unavoidably convey the same doctrine by
speaking of those for whom it would have been better if they had never been
born. The resurrection state is everywhere in the Bible viewed as the final and
eternal human condition, but the Bible clearly states that the wicked will be
raised bodily for the purpose of enduring divine wrath (Dan. 12:1, 2; John 5:29,
Acts 24:15). To what purpose would such a resurrection be if punishment is not
eternal or the souls of the wicked annihilated?
Concluding Observations:
Such evidence puts beyond any doubt the Scriptural support for the doctrine
of the endless torments of the wicked. Two heresies, however, have sought to
challenge this evidence. It is necessary briefly to mention them and present
certain additional arguments against them.
Universalism has taught that all men without exception will one day
be saved. Against this stands the uniform witness of Scripture that there are
two parallel, but contrasting destinies for men. Universalism also involves the
patent Biblical absurdity that Satan himself will be saved. (If it is denied
that Satan will be saved and asserted that only men will be saved, then it is
necessary to remind the heretic that damned men suffer the same fate as the
devil and his angels, Matt. 25:41.) Universalism also must deny the statement of
Christ that for some men it would been better if they had never been born. It is
always better to have been born if Universalism is true. The flimsy evidence
cited in favor of Universalism is the same evidence cited by Arminianism to
prove its theories of universal atonement and conditional election--the
universal language of Scripture (all men, the world etc.). It is refuted by the
same considerations which refute Arminianism. It is a simple fact that such
language in Scripture does not designate all men without exception, but rather
all the elect or mankind as a whole. The elect can be saved, and in them the
world as a whole, without each and every man being saved.
Annihilationism (or Conditional Immortality) is probably the more
popular heresy in our day. It has been adopted or at least condoned by leading
Evangelicals. It teaches that at some point, after a period of punishment in
hell, both the bodies and the souls of the wicked will be extinguished into
non-existence. The punishment for sin, death and the second death, is viewed as
final extinction or absolute annihilation. Several considerations show the folly
of this position. First, it cannot be reconciled with the statement of Christ
that for some it would have been better if they had never been born. It must say
that ultimately their condition will be exactly as if they had never been born.
Second, it persists in equating the Biblical language of destruction with the
philosophical idea of annihilation. Destruction in the Bible, however, never
means to put something into complete non-existence. It means to ruin (2 Thess.
1:9; 2 Pet. 3:11). Finally, annihilationism perverts the Biblical teaching
regarding the penalty for sin. When Jesus vicariously and substitutionarily took
upon Himself the penalty for our sins, He was not annihilated or extinguished,
He was punished with suffering and torment both of body and soul.
Annihilationism logically contradicts the doctrine of substitutionary atonement.
Any doctrine of the love of God which ends up doubting or denying the doctrine of eternal punishment is a false doctrine. It is a doctrine which emasculates God by under-estimating His perfect justice and by minimizing the radical evil of sin. Do not confuse firm insistence upon the doctrine of eternal punishment with sadistic delight in it. It was the one who could with perfect accuracy say of Himself that He was gentle and humble who in the Scriptures most frequently and insistently and vividly warned of the danger of eternal fire.
1.
A. A. Hodge, The Confession of Faith, (Edinburgh, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1869, 1958), p. 393.2.
William G. T. Shedd, The Doctrine of Endless Punishment, (Minneapolis, Klock & Klock Christian Publishers, 1886, 1980), pp. 87, 88.
II. Of the Righteous [The Doctrine of the Redeemed Earth]