“Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” [1]
The doctrine of eternal punishment has become the domain of comedians in this day. It is as though our culture seeks to minimise thinking about hell in a futile attempt to avoid thinking about divine judgement. Downplayed by theologians as unworthy of God and ridiculed by preachers too timid to upset sedated congregations, the teaching of eternal punishment that was first provided by Him who created all things has almost ceased being presented from contemporary pulpits. Preachers are hesitant to mention Hell—Gehenna, the Abyss, the Lake of Fire—lest parishioners or seekers might be turned off. However, simply because the teaching is odious to the natural mind does not cause this doctrine to cease being needed. Nor does denial of eternal accountability empty the teaching of terrifying power over the souls of rebellious mankind.
You should not imagine that it is only within recent years that the rejection of the doctrine of eternal punishment has been transformed into a sort of novel situation adopted by apostatising churches. Even in the early days of the Faith, supposed experts arose to explain away the doctrine of accountability to the eternal God. So it was that from earliest days the Apostles of our Lord were compelled to speak pointedly reminding their listeners of this terrifying, dreadful doctrine. In our study through the short missive Jude that was drafted to instruct the faithful in that early day, we note that the half-brother of our Lord found it necessary to speak of this frightful, though necessary, teaching. Jude wrote of the eternal fire as a warning to the faithful, in fact, to all who would read this missive, that an unending punishment awaits all who have rejected the grace of God.
Join me in this hour as we focus on the final sentence found in the SEVENTH VERSE of this brief letter, so that together we may learn something of the neglected doctrine. Let’s study what the Spirit of Christ dictated through His servant so that we are fully equipped as disciples, and so that we are not left wallowing in tragic ignorance.
THE REVELATION — The phrase Jude employs is chilling in its impact on the natural mind. “A punishment of eternal fire” speaks of the nature of God, of the nature of man, and of man’s ultimate accountability to God Who gives us our being. Small wonder that the natural mind shrinks from confronting the implications of this issue. And if Jude was the sole writer in the whole of Scripture who spoke of this matter, we might be advised to reject the teaching, imposing our own imaginations in the place of this frightful doctrine.
But Jude does not speak of this doctrine of punishment in isolation from the rest of Scripture; rather, he speaks in concert with the other writers of Holy Writ, and as one with the Lord Christ Himself. Recall that it was the Master Himself who spoke of the great assize that will occur at His return, and before which will stand the inhabitants of the earth, arrayed as goats and sheep to be segregated.
In Matthew’s Gospel, we witness Jesus as He taught, warning, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me’” [MATTHEW 25:31-36].
With this revelation, the Master reveals that the righteous will question what He has said. “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me’” [MATTHEW 25:37-40]. The righteous will have done as they did because they were moved with compassion by the suffering of those who are persecuted because they have faith in the coming Saviour. Their hearts are transformed by the hope of Christ and His reign!
But Jesus was not finished, for He also warned that those who were so concerned with preserving their own lives that they ignored the suffering of those who awaited His return, would be separated from the righteous. Thus, the Saviour warned, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me’ [MATTHEW 25:41-43]. This is a stunning twist that those on the left could not have anticipated. They imagined that by keeping their heads down, by not drawing attention to themselves, they were preserving their lives. They were playing it smart, doing what anyone would do under those circumstances.
However, there is the surprising revelation that will be delivered by the Master, “Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me’” [MATTHEW 25:44-45].
We are witnessing the application of a teaching Jesus delivered on multiple occasions as it will play out, “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” [MATTHEW 16:25]. Having given that warning in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus delivered the final sentence as it will be witnessed in that judgement: “[Those on His left] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” [MATTHEW 25:46]. The goats are condemned to “eternal punishment” while the sheep are assigned to “eternal life.” It is import to note that the same term is applied to either those entering into a state of blessedness or those entering into condemnation when the duration of their assigned condition is considered. In either instance, the Judge—the Son of Man—speaks of their condition as “eternal.” If He spoke of eternal life, then the punishment spoken of, modified by an identical adjective, cannot be less than that blessedness in duration.
And in this warning, our Lord added nothing beyond what He had given in the years preceding when He spoke so frequently of the punishment of the wicked, suspended as it is by God’s mercy for a brief moment in time. Think of the numerous times Jesus spoke of man's accountability and of the consequences of his wickedness. Here is one example: “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” [JOHN 5:28-29]. All mankind, every person, must give an account to the Judge of all the earth. Those that have done good will be rewarded for the good they have done. Those who have done evil will be held to account for the evil they have done. I am certain, on the authority of God’s Word, that there will be many surprises when the Judgement of God is pronounced.
In Matthew’s Gospel, we witness Jesus warning the religious leaders of that day, “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell” [MATTHEW 23:33]? Well, that’s certainly straight forward! The scribes and the Pharisees couldn’t have appreciated that blunt statement aimed against them. Jesus didn’t mince His words, that’s for certain. For those dear souls who argue that we should speak well of the high and mighty, recall that Jesus said, “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets” [LUKE 6:26]. Jesus didn’t refrain from exposing hypocrisy.
In a series of parables recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, the Master repeatedly warned that there is such a thing as eternal punishment; and the punishment of which He warned was hot! Jesus gave a parable of weeds infesting a field, telling His disciples, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” [MATTHEW 13:37-42].
In another parable, Jesus spoke of fish taken in a net. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” [MATTHEW 13:47-50].
How pointed, and how terrifying, is the warning delivered when the Master warned against causing an innocent soul to be tripped up. Mark records Jesus as warning, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched’” [MARK 9:42-48].
However much our minds may recoil in horror from hearing such warnings, it is important that we keep in mind that no writer of Scripture ever attempted to provide a description of the punishment of the wicked. That descriptive element was left to Him alone whose right it is to judge, and to whom all shall give an accounting. It is God alone who has the right to sentence a soul to eternal punishment. And as none but God has the right to execute such sentence, none has the right to think to delineate the nature and consequences of this sentence. This is the reason why the most awful imagery of the condition of the lost is found in the discourses of our Lord and Saviour. Well, then, ought we to weigh His words recorded in Luke's Gospel: “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him” [LUKE 12:4-5]!
Eternal punishment is promised for the wicked. This is the divine execution of righteous judgment rendered against sin and sinners. Throughout Scripture the wicked are warned of a future evil that is fraught with eternal danger. The danger is that because they are wicked they shall be turned into hell, a place of punishment for transgression against divine law. Designed for the devil and his angels, Hell shall become the eternal abode of all who reject divine grace. And so the awesome warnings against going to that place of eternal torment according to the Word of God.
God warns all who will hear His Word, “I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” [REVELATION 20:11-15]. He tells us this, not as an attempt to frighten us, but to warn us that His righteousness demands judgement of sin.
Hell without the body for unbelievers shall become hell with the body after the judgment before the Great White Throne of Christ. Indeed, the writer of the Letter to Hebrew Christians has spoken a great and sombre truth when he writes, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” [HEBREWS 10:31]. Fearful, indeed!
While there may be a number of issues which could, and perhaps should, be addressed in this message, the text certainly admits of three matters which must be acknowledged. The subjects sentenced, the duration of sentencing, and the nature of the sentence are each addressed by Jude's statement. Since Jude speaks of eternal punishment, the subjects of the sentence to be executed are pointed out. In the context in which the statement occurs, it is obvious that those who shall suffer the ultimate judgment are those who persist in rebellion against divine rule. There is within society in general, and within the Church in particular, the perception that only the voluptuary, the sensually or morally wicked will experience judgment. But we forget that sin may be wholly intellectual. The proud mind of the moral man is every bit as much at enmity with God as is the heart of the profligate. The skeptic, whether he considers himself honest or not, is evidencing as much hatred toward Christ as does the debauchee.
That one under judgment is in peril because of her or his hatred toward God. This becomes evident when we witness the Master saying, “If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause’” [JOHN 15:24-25].
It must be evident that their love of darkness condemns people, as becomes evident when John writes, “This is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed” [JOHN 3:19-20].
That the corrupted soul shall assuredly receive the divine sentence is revealed in the awful words that the Judge of all mankind shall utter when lost people attempt to excuse themselves, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” [MATTHEW 7:23]. The words are awful because it is the voice of the Judge of the Universe that pronounces the dreadful sentence. Because those who hear those awful words attempt to cadge divine mercy through deceit, the sentence is all the more terrible.
The second matter which Jude addresses concerning the divine sentence is that the duration of the sentence is eternal. Any appeal to Scripture for a cessation of punishment is futile, for every text dealing with the matter of divine punishment speaks of the eternal nature of that punishment. You will recall that the Master Himself spoke of hell as a place of “unquenchable fire,” and as a frightful place where “their worm does not die” [see MARK 9:44, 48]. We can only speculate what is meant when the Master warns of hell as a horrible place where “the fire is not quenched” [see MARK 9:48]. Jesus spoke of “eternal fire” and of “eternal punishment” [see MATTHEW 25:41, 45]. He freely spoke of the eternal nature of the sentence, the unending consequence of the judgement. That the Saviour should speak in such frightful terms ought to give pause to even the casual reader of Scripture who might consider that they could somehow mitigate the words of warning.
The final matter Jude addresses is the nature of the punishment itself. Jude warns that the punishment entails fire. I make no effort to expand upon that which is written in Scripture, for God has given us sufficient insight to be warned that hell is a place of torment. Further, since the torment is of an eternal nature; there is no possibility of cessation of those torments. For some supposed teachers of the Word to hold out the prospect of extinction of the damned, or to speak of mitigation of suffering at some undefined future point, or for some religious leaders who seek to soften the Word of God by offering the foolhardy wish that all shall be turned to faith after a period of suffering, is fools’ talk. Nowhere in all Scripture is such a fantasy promised, or even hinted at. Unending torment is the warning given throughout the Word whenever we read of divine judgement of lost souls.
Moreover, the warnings given throughout the Word cannot be construed as being presented in a gloating manner. Perhaps that is the way we mere mortals might deliver the warnings; but God delivers these warnings of eternal punishment with a note of sorrow. The Lord knows what lies ahead and throughout all eternity for the lost; and because He is God, the Lord grieves for mankind who foolishly struts through life as though God is ignorant or capricious. God grieves because of the arrogance displayed by the wicked, for He knows that judgement will come. God knows that judgement will not be delayed forever.
In Scripture, the spiritually dead are spoken of as both conscious and without hope. The extinction of consciousness is not feasible when considering the nature of punishment, nor is a temporal punishment consistent with the condition of being bereft of hope. Make no mistake, eternal punishment is in view when the Spirit of God prompts Jude to write, “The angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, [God] has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire” [JUDE 6-7]. The essence of punishment is suffering; and suffering implies, of necessity, consciousness. In order to be punished the person must be conscious of pain, she must feel that she deserves it, and she must know that the punishment is inflicted because she does deserve such.
In Canto 3 of the Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri cites the inscription over the Gate leading to Hell as reading, “All hope abandon ye who enter here.” Though what Dante wrote is allegorical, his words present dark truth. There is no hope of escape from hell, no respite from the sorrowful condition.
The Revelator records the solemn words of warning that were given him as he writes of the fate of those who reject Christ and worship the Beast during the awful days of the Great Tribulation. John writes, “Another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name’” [REVELATION 14:9-11].
We are warned that there are degrees of punishment promised. How else are we to understand the warning the Master has given when He says, “That servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more” [LUKE 12:47-48]. Clearly, that there are degrees of punishment was the understanding the Apostle to the Gentiles had, for he wrote “All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law” [ROMANS 2:12].
Extinction, either of being or of consciousness would deny both consciousness and duration. To permit a time when release from deserved punishment might be possible would be unjust for those who have experienced differing degrees of punishment. Finally, extinction of consciousness would not be considered an evil by wicked men, but as a good. Dear people, make no mistake: the wicked shall suffer the punishment of eternal fire. Hell is a hopeless place.
THE PROOF OF THE REVELATION — That the doctrine of endless punishment is odious to man is evident from a review of the messages presented from and promoted by pulpits of this day. Among the many sermons preached, those dealing with the punishment of the impenitent are minuscule in number. And those which are preached are frequently of such a fantastic nature as to preclude serious consideration.
But there is a God. And man is a rational being created with a free will, thus making him responsible for his choices. And because man is accountable, then it must be God to Whom he shall give an accounting. And if the doctrine is worthy of man's consideration, then it must be viewed as rational and as biblical.
We have already referred to a number of biblical proofs that the doctrine of endless punishment is clearly presented in Scripture. To deny these numerous references is to call into question the veracity of the Word. Jesus describes the miseries of Hades and Gehenna are described as “eternal fire” [see MATTHEW 18:8; 25:41] and as “eternal punishment” [see MATTHEW 25:46]. Our Lord warns of “the fire [that] is not quenched” [see MARK 9:48]. The Apostle Paul will warn of “flaming fire” and “eternal destruction” [see 2 THESSALONIANS 1:7, 9]. And Jude will speak of “eternal chains,” of “gloomy darkness,” and of “eternal fire” [see JUDE 6, 7, 13]. Writing in the Apocalypse, John describes the unending punishment of the damned in stunning terms, when he states that “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever” [see REVELATION 14:11], and he writes of incarceration in “the lake of fire and sulfur” where those incarcerated are “tormented day and night forever and ever” [see REVELATION 20:10].
Nor is there a shred of hope outside of the grace of God in Jesus Christ that an individual may avoid this condemnation. Speaking before that august body, the Sanhedrin, Peter is recorded as affirming “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” [ACTS 4:12]. Man without Christ is described as “dead in … transgressions and sins,” as “children of wrath,” and as “having no hope and without God in the world” [see EPHESIANS 2:1, 3, 12], as would be expected for enemies of God [see ROMANS 5:10]. Thus, having rejected grace, for sinful man there remains “a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries” [HEBREWS 10:27].
There may be adducted to these biblical proofs a variety of rational proofs. And they must be presented for opponents of the doctrine of eternal retribution realize that they cannot appeal to Scripture for their position, and they thus present philosophical proofs. But the doctrine of endless punishment is defensible on the basis of sound ethics and pure reason. If we admit that there is a just God, that man has a free will, and that sin is a voluntary act, the doctrine is self evident. If these are denied, there is no defense of the doctrine—nor of any other doctrine, except atheism.
Divine punishment has neither rehabilitative nor deterrence force; it is rather retribution exacted upon sinners for willful violation of divine law. If punishment is retributive, it honours human nature. But should divine justice be merely expedient or useful, human nature would be degraded. If justice is the ground for the divine retribution, man is treated as a person, responsible to render an accounting for life. If the public good is the ground for divine punishment, he is treated as a chattel or a thing, incapable of giving an accounting of his life.
According to Jude's statement, the divine sentence is imposed against those deserving of suffering, is eternal, and is certainly of the nature of punishment. That this should be true is rational. First, it is only those who have rebelled against divine righteousness who are judged deserving of endless punishment. Clearly, only those who have rebelled against divine law, refusing to avail themselves of divine grace shall be held accountable for their unbelief. To do other than this would be to deny justice. Unpunished guilt is precisely the same species of evil as punished innocence.
More than this, we are certain that the sinner's conscience will support the justice of the sentence according to ROMANS 2:15: “[The unsaved] show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.” Confronted with his own culpability and the justice of his suffering, the rich man in Hades was silent [cf. LUKE 16:25].
Again, divine punishment must be endless, for it is against the infinite God that man has sinned. Thus, sin is an infinite evil as is evidenced by the incarnation and vicarious death of Christ for sin. It is incredible that the Lord Christ should have submitted to such self sacrifice to remove merely a finite and temporal evil. To deny personal penalty is to deny vicarious penalty. If the sinner is not obliged by justice to suffer in order to satisfy the law he has violated, then no one need suffer for him for this purpose. The doctrine of the vicarious atonement stands or falls with the doctrine of endless punishment.
The wicked themselves will prefer hell to heaven, for they have assumed the character of their spiritual father, Satan. They hate God and prefer darkness to light because their deeds are evil. In the world to come the same men who jeer at retribution complain and resist the imposition of the just sentence, revealing their hatred of and defiance against the divine tribunal. Extraction of the penalty wicked people deserve hardens and exasperates, and the response is impenitence.
There are two matters of rational consideration which I believe is worthy of our further consideration. First, if there were no hell, absolute indifference toward the concept would long since have been the mood of mankind, and no arguments either for or against it would be constructed. But that so many argue against the thought of hell is strong evidence that the conscience of man supports endless retribution. Man does not fear what has no basis in conscience, nor does he argue against what holds no terror for him. Who argues against the existence of centaurs, or against unicorns? Who argues against Zeus or against Odin?
The second matter is that in the records of human civilization and morality, it is evident that that age which is most reckless of law, and most vicious in practice, is that age which has the loosest conception of penalty, and which is the most inimical to the doctrine of endless retribution. A virtuous and religious generation adopts sound ethics, because, as was true of Abraham, they reverently believe that “the Judge of all the earth [will] do what is just” [see GENESIS 18:25]. As a necessary warning to this generation we must remember that luxury deadens moral sense, and luxurious populations do not have the fear of God before their eyes.
THE PURPOSE OF THE REVELATION — Why should the Word of God speak of “the punishment of eternal fire?” What purpose can be served in presenting such a fearsome spectre as eternal retribution? Without question, one purpose of the revelation is to reveal God's character. There is no doubt that according to the revelation of the Word, “God is love” [1 JOHN 4:16]. But, we must never forget that there can be no love if there is no capacity for hatred! And we are prone to forget that God hates sin. God is holy, and His holiness cannot permit sin to continue unchecked. His mercy would be meaningless if there were no ability to extract eternal vengeance. And God has warned in no uncertain terms, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay” [see ROMANS 12:19]. To understand God’s love and of mercy, we must admit the capacity for divine wrath.
The second reason Scripture presents the doctrine of endless punishment is a demonstration of mercy; God is warning unbelievers. There is no justice in punishing individuals who do not know of the consequence of their trespass. But the heart of man is aware of divine demand for righteousness, just as Paul warns. Refresh your memory by reading again what the Apostle wrote in ROMANS 2:5 16. “Because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
“He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.
“For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.”
The teaching of endless punishment outlines the seriousness of transgressing God’s divine law. Though heathens are aware of the righteousness of divine judgment, they do not necessarily know of the nature of the punishment; how could they know, except there should be revelation from Him whose right it is to speak of such matters. And that is what is provided throughout Scripture! God gives mankind a divine warning of the consequences of rebellion and of rejection of His grace.
When you read that God shall judge the wicked, and when you read that the wicked shall be turned into hell, and when you read that the lost shall suffer forever and ever, you reveal the nature of your heart through your response. If you find yourself refusing the doctrine because you say you are offended and will not worship such a God, you demonstrate that you know little of the character of God and that you are in fact still held fast in the grip sin. But if you realise that God is presenting information such as this so it will serve as a warning, it may be that your heart has not been hardened to the point of no return. I would urge you to see that the presentation of the doctrine of eternal punishment is a warning—a warning given in mercy to those most in need of such mercy.
Think about this: Is the doctor an ogre who warns the smoker of the consequences of smoking, or the glutton against overeating? Is the policeman who warns of the consequences of drinking and driving evil because he warns you? Is the scientists who warns of the consequences of sunbathing without adequate protection against the sun’s rays hateful because he warns you? Aren't these rather demonstrations of concern and mercy? And would we not be offended if we were not warned, the information being withheld from us? Why, then, should God be seen as evil, as hateful, or as an ogre, when He warns of the consequences of sin? Should we not rather view His warnings as the demonstration of mercy that they are? And should we not respond to avoid that judgement?
The final reason for including the teaching of endless punishment in the Word of God is to stir believers to act with compassion. I have a hard question for you who are believers. Are you compassionate? Does the plight of the lost move you to compassion? Can we know the fear of God without being moved to speak to the lost? Can we know the terror of the Lord without being compelled to warn the unruly? How is it that today we pray at great length for the conversion of lost sinners, being yet content to never see any come to the Faith? How is it that we can address God concerning such awesome matters without being moved to tears? When did you last pray for the lost, and especially lost family members, until you were moved to tears? I fear the reason for our complacency is that we are not convinced that God will do what He is pledged to do. We do not believe that God will condemn lost sinners to the punishment of eternal fire.
Open your eyes to the letter Jude has written. Open your hearts to the message God has given. The One with whom we have to do is holy, and rebellion shall be dealt with in keeping with His character. The Lord destroyed His people, though He had delivered them out of Egypt. The Lord has reserved the very angels, created at His word, in chains of darkness until judgment. The Lord judged Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns for practicing and approving of immorality. Though He delays His judgment, He is yet holy and He shall do the same in our day. That knowledge ought to impel each professing believer to act with compassion for every individual they know yet living in rebellion to His rule.
It is high time that we began to live as though we believed the Word of God. No finer remedy for our tacit atheism can be found than a review of the nature of God. That review comes through the reading of His Word, discovering in a fresh manner that He is holy and that His holiness demands that He shall judge the wicked. We must cease making excuses for our family and friends who walk contrary to the will of God. If they are walking in rebellion to His Word, it is because they are in rebellion. And if in rebellion, they shall experience this awful sentence of suffering the punishment of eternal fire. Let that knowledge drive you and me to our knees, interceding for those we know to be lost. And when we have prayed with hearts filled with compassion for their peril, then let us say “Amen!” through speaking to them with hearts made tender by our knowledge. Amen.
[1]Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
