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fire" preachers is found in Mark
9:43-48. Jesus was showing that it
was better to rid ourselves of any–
thing-even a job, an associatíon
or a habit that we loved as much
as our right arm- than to Jet it
cause us to disobey God and thus
be cast into hell
(gehenna),
..
into
the fire that never sha ll be
quenched : where their worm dietb
not, and the fire is not
quenched."
The " h e l l" to which J es us
referred was
gehenna-deriving
its
name from the Valley of Hinnom.
T here were ledges along the edge
of this valley.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
gives a
descrípt ion of this valley.
If
any–
thing, especially a dead body, land–
ed on a ledge above the fires, it
would be devoured by many worms
or maggots that were kept alive by
the animal and vegetable sub–
stances deposited there.
It was to these worms that Christ
was referring when he said, ..Thei r
worm dieth not." But Christ didn't
mean that each individual worm
continued to live forever! He wasn't
teaching th e immortality of
worms!
Actually, these worms, or mag–
gots, are the larvae that develop
from eggs deposited by flies . They
continue for only a few days in this
larva form, then pupate and finally
emerge as flies , later dying.
The Greek word that wa s
inspired and translated into the
English word "worm" in this pas–
sage simply means a grub or mag–
got.
It
is a collective expression for
all the worms that devour dead
matter. These worms do not die,
but pupate and become flies. Later,
these flies like all other animals will
return to the dust from which they
come...All are of the dust, and all
t u rn to dust again" (Eccl. 3:20).
The "fire that never shall be
quenched" is a description showing
that God will permit nothing to put
out or quench this fire.
lt
will sim–
ply burn up the bodies of the
wicked.
Naturally, those who preach
"hell fire" use this passage to
frighten unthinking people into
believing that sinners wíll suffer
eternal torment in hell fire-evi–
dent ly with worms chewing on
them at the same time!
January
1986
What to Fear
lnstead of fearing wbat sorne mis–
guided preacher inay tell us about
hell, Jet us see what Jesus said to
fear. " And fear not them which kili
the body, but are notable to kili the
soul: but rather fear him [God]
whích is able to destroy both soul
and body in hell
[gehenna]"
(Matt.
10:28). Here we find the clear
statement that God can destroy
both our body and soul in Gehenna,
or the lake of fire. There is no men–
tion made of burning forever and
ever, and yet never quite burning
up. But it does speak of destruc–
tion.
Recall that God told Adam and
Eve that if they disobeyed him,
they would surely
DIE.
Their lives
would be cut off- destroyed. Jesus
told his disciples: " .. . wide is the
Untold suffering and
mental anguish have been
caused by the false
doctrine of a " hell fire" of
everlasting torments.
gate, and broad is the way, that
leadeth to destruction [not eternal
life in "hell fire"] , and many there
be whích go in thereat" (Matt.
7: 13). Then he said, "Every tree
that bringeth not forth good fruit is
hewn down, and cast into the tire"
(verse 19) . What happens to a tree
when it is cast into the fire? Why,
it is burned up-destroyed.
Speaking of the harvest of the
righteQUS and wicked, JeSUS said he
would tell the reapers, "Gather ye
together first the tares, and bind
them in bundles to burn them: but
gather the wheat into my barn"
(Matt. 13:30). The tares, of course,
refer to the wícked, and the wheat
to the righteous. When literal tares
are burned, they are
BURNED UP.
What about these types of sinners
that are burned up? Was Jesus
using wrong examples, or did he
mean what he said?
The obvious answer that any
honest person can find is that Jesus
meant exactly what he said. The
fate of the wicked will be Gehenna,
or the lake of fire that the Bible
mentions. But this fire is a lot hot–
ter than most people think!
The wicked are human, mortal
beings. Flesh and blood is subject
to burning up. When tbe wicked
are cast into the lake of fi re, they
will be burned up-destroyed!
From Genesis to Revelation, life
and death are set as the two oppo–
sites- the fate of the righteous and
the wicked respectively. God told
Adam, " ... dust thou art, and unto
du st shalt thou return" (Gen.
3: 19). No mention here of being
plunged immediately into "hell
fire." The reward for disobedience
was death.
La ter , David wrote of t he
wicked, " ... into smoke shall they
consume away" (Ps. 37:20).
Still later, Malachi speaks of the
fire that will burn the wicked :
"For, behold, the day cometh, that
shall burn as an oven; and all the
proud, yea, and all that do wicked–
ly, shall be stubble: and the day
that cometh shalJ
BURN THEM UP,
saith tbe Lord of hosts, that it shall
leave them neither root nor
branch.... And ye shall tread
down the wicked; for they shall be
ashes under the soles of your feet in
the day that
1
shall do this ..."
(Mal. 4:1,
3).
Can anything be plainer than
that the wicked are to be burned
up--completely destroyed? That is
why Jesus said, " ... fear him
which is able to
DESTROY
both soul
and body in hell" (Matt. 10:28).
Wages
of Sin
The apostle Paul summed up the
whole matter of man's reward for
sin when he wrote, ..For the wages
of sin is
DEATH;
but the gift of God
is eternaJ life through Jesus Christ
our Lord" (Rom. 6:23).
If
you
believe this scripture means what it
says, then you know the truth. But,
unfortunately, theologians often
fail to understand what Paul said.
Could anything be more clear
than this scripture? The wages, or
reward, of sin is shown to be death,
and eterna! life is stated to be a gift
from God-not something we
already have.
Death means just that- the ces–
sation of life and consciousness–
total oblivion! In spite of the vain
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