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Fire burns the wicked until they are consumed, then they are annihilated

by | Oct 12, 2018 | Annihilationism, Minor Groups & Issues

One of the arguments raised by conditionalists is that when the Scriptures speaks weeping and gnashing of teeth, it is referring to one of two things.  The first is where conditionalists have told me that the weeping and gnashing of teeth is what the wicked will experience as they await their final judgment of nonexistence.  The other option is that the person will undergo being consumed by fire until he becomes extinct.

  • “The concept of second death is one of great finality; the fire consumes utterly, all that is left is smoke, a reminder of God’s complete and just triumph over evil.”1
  • “Trito-Isaiah was not referring to an eternal fire, because eventually that fire would stop burning after the corpses were completely consumed.”2

Conditionalists routinely cite verses in the Old Testament where fire burns until its fuel is consumed in order to interpret New Testament scriptures. Therefore, they say that unquenchable fire really means that the fire is quenchable – once the fuel is expended.

But I cannot help but see a problem with this approach.  Frst of all, the New Testament interprets the Old Testament, not the other way around.  But, unfortunately, many times the conditionalist will submit New Testament revelation to Old Testament understanding.

  • “Traditionalists assume that “unquenchable fire” means “unending conscious torment.” They do not acknowledge that this expression comes from the OT, where it has the frequent and regular sense of “destruction that cannot be resisted.” 3

The Old Testament sheds light on the New Testament. But, the New Testament interprets the Old Testament.

It is true that many of these fires in the Old Testament which were said to be without end actually did end. This exagerated speech was the Jewish way of describing something that was unending by citing something that was real to them. The Jews obviously knew about fires that were said to be unquenchable, but would actually go out such as the valley of Gehenna which contained a continually burning garbage heap. The Jews didn’t think it lasted forever, yet they ‘said’ it did. It was their way of describing something that was perpetual. They used such phraseology to carry the meaning of the permanence of God’s judgment. Likewise in the New Testament, the same thing occurs, particularly with the words of Christ.

  • Mark 9:43, “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.”

Unfortunately, the universalists sometimes extract a literal aspect from a figurative usage in order to invalidate what the figurative usage is trying to convey.  This way, they get the scriptures to say the opposite of what they say.

Other problems

Some conditionalists affirm that a person is burned alive for a short period of time before he ceases to exist. But, the only difference between this view and the traditionalist view is length of time of suffering. Why limit it? After all, it’s not the finite sins that we’ve committed that are the issue. Instead, the issue is who we have sinned against, the infinitely holy God. The conditionalist who says that a person is burned alive for a period of time before being annihilated suggests that the person’s temporal suffering is sufficient to satisfy the infinite judgment of God. Only Christ could do that.

Furthermore, how long is a person’s burning supposed to last? Is it in proportion to the number and severity of sins that he committed while in his mortal body? If so, then he would be paying the penalty of sin that is proportional to his sins. If this is the case, then why is he annihilated after the necessary amount of burning has been accomplished? Shouldn’t he then be saved since he has completed the requirements of the law through his suffering? This another problem.

And, if a person is annihilated after suffering for a period of time, then doesn’t this risk double jeopardy by having God sentencing someone to suffer for a period of time in flame and then also sentencing them to annihilation once his suffering is completed? This seems problematic.

Conclusion

The idea that the wicked are burned with fire for a period of time before they are consumed is problematic. First of all, it is based on the idea that the Old Testament references to unquenchable fire should be understood as being quenchable since in reality, those fires did go out (i.e., the fires of Gehenna outside of Jerusalem). But this fails to consider that the Jews used such phraseology as unquenchable fire to carry the meaning of the permanence of God’s judgment.  This carried over into the New Testament when Jesus spoke of unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43).  Furthermore, this means that the Old Testament interprets the New Testament which is the wrong way to exegete Scripture. In addition, if a person is to suffer for a period of time in proportion to his sins before annihilation, then why is he annihilated at all since he has paid the price of his sins through his suffering? Why isn’t he saved afterward? Finally, it seems to risk the idea of double jeopardy where God sentences someone to suffer for a while and then he sentences them to another punishment; namely, annihilation.  So, the idea that a person will suffer for a period of time in fire before he is annihilated has many problems.

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References

References
1 Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism (Kindle Locations 2041-2042). Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition
2 A Consuming Passion: Essays on Hell and Immortality in Honor of Edward Fudge (Kindle Locations 4252-4253). Pickwick Publications, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition
3 Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism (Kindle Locations 999-1009). Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition, underline added.

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