Your Soul Will Last Forever...Mark 8 pt 8

http://billrandles.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/the-soul-will-last-forever-mark-8-pt-8/ ^ | 01-07-14 | Bill Randles

[CatherineofAragon]

“And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,” (2 Thess. 1:9).

“Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 7).

“These men are those who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever,” (Jude 1:12-13)

“And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” (Rev 14:11)

[plain talk]

The worm never dies and the fire is never quenched...how can this be if the souls no longer exist?

Yes that was my understanding as well. I understood that Hell was/is eternal damnation based on Mark and other passages. Jesus was pretty clear that there is a Hell and there is torment. Perhaps damned souls are eventually destroyed based on Revelations (2nd death). If so they experience hell and torment until the 2nd death and then are destroyed and exist no longer. If the period of time between entering Hell's torment and then being destroyed is sufficiently long then it still represents incredible torment and the fact the soul is eventually destroyed seems academic to me. Of course what is time in Hell? Not sure there is even such a construct.

In any event Jesus clearly communicated that there is torment in Hell for damned souls. That is a good enough understanding for me. I defer to more studied pastors and theologians on such details and steer clear of laymen who think they have this figured out. :-)

[ScubieNuc]

None of those verse say that a person is tormented forever.

2 Thess. 1:9 simply says that their penalty is eternal destruction. In other words, their destruction is complete and lasts for eternity. These unsaved will be no more. Have you ever burned up chaff? It burns complete. There is nothing left for the eye to see. (Matthew 3:12)

Jude 7 says that the FIRE that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah was eternal. Now, that brings up many questions, one of which is this description symbolic, because the actual fire that burned up the cities isn’t burning today.

Jude 1 talks about the black darkness being forever. That isn’t saying that the unsaved are going to be tormented forever. I could see where there will be a place in the universe that will mark the Lake of Fire or the punishment of sin forever, so that those saved by Christ will always have something to remember what we were saved from. I can’t imagine a place in the universe where the saved will know that God is allowing/causing the unsaved to be in constant torment, especially when many of those unsaved will be close friends and family.

Revelation 14:11 talks about the smoke going on forever. That phrase was symbolic because you know that smoke clouds don’t actually go on forever, they just look that way. When cities were sacked and burned, they burned for a long time and the clouds would seem to go on forever, but what that would mean is that the cities was utterly destroyed.

Now the second part of that verse does cause questions (”they have no rest day or night”). Revelation is a complex book filled with symbolism and fore shadowing and shouldn’t be taken lightly, but I believe what 14:11 is talking about is what Rev. 16:8 details, the sun scorched those who received the mark of the beast and they couldn’t get rest from it, even at night or in sleep. Eventually these people will die and face the Great White Throne Judgement and then their soul will be annihilated.

Based on greater things detailed in Scriptures (like only through Christ do we gain immortality) I don’t see undisputable evidence from these verses that the unsaved will be tormented for all of eternity.

Again, don’t take my word for it. Read and compare known Scripture to questionable Scripture and pray. I used to believe in an eternal punishING (just because that was what I was told) but after thorough studying, I now see that the whole of Scripture supports a punishMENT that is eternal in consequence.