I've never heard these opinions expressed before SHAM. I don't agree with them.

(paragraph divisions in this writing are marked by a 1 line space instead of the usual indentation).

IOTS = Immortality of The Soul. ECS = Eternal Conscious Suffering

I have become aware that there have been discussions in evangelical Christianity, in recent decades, reexamining the doctrine of Hell (Many believers are not aware of this). There's a book entitled "Two views of Hell"*. It spells out a number of the main issues, it certainly does give us a lot to think about. Both Robert A.Peterson & Edward W.Fudge(it's writers) seem very convinced of their opposing positions.

What many have drawn from this debate is that: a case can be made from the scriptures themselves for both positions, one for hell being a place of "Eternal Conscious Suffering" (ECS) & one for hell being a place of a period of suffering & then, finally, the extinguishing of ones conscious, individual, life altogether. Of course both positions cannot be true. With the possible exception that a place of ECS could be the the final destination for some & not for others. Addressing this would be beyond the scope of this short message.

F.F.Bruce a respected & well known evangelical writer** wrote “annihilation is certainly an acceptable interpretation of the relevant N.T. Scriptures… For myself, I remain agnostic".(by agnostic, Bruce means he doesn't know).

Here I cite two scriptures one supporting the one view, one supporting the other.

Revelation 20:10... and the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire & brimstone, where the beast & the false prophet are & shall be tormented day and night for ever & ever (KJV).

Ecclesiastes 12:7 ...the dust shall return to the earth as it was & the spirit shall return unto God who gave it (KJV).

I personally can't reconcile a place of ECS with Gods justice. I can't see how God can be just and allow ECS to exist. This doesn't mean it can't be true. It means I can't currently see how it could be true.

The doctrine of the immortality of the Soul (IOTS) is closely connected to this issue. If the soul is "immortal" then it must exist somewhere, consciously, forever. You could say that the doctrine of IOTS justifies a place of ECS. If someone is to remain conscious forever & they have rejected God, insisting on living life as they choose, instead of submitting to Gods rule, such could not be allowed in the new heaven or on the new earth or we would be right back where we started from. It only takes one person unwilling to submit to God, rebelling against Gods will and rule, to rob the rest of us of our peace. They have to be put somewhere & it can't be among those who are in submission to God. Any place filled with such "renegades" with nothing to restrain them, surely would be "hell".

An issue of great import here, is, that the doctrine of the IOTS can't be found plainly & simply spelled out in scripture (If I'm wrong please inform me, I beg you). Some conclude that the IOTS, was a doctrine brought in by Greek philosophers who converted to Christianity in the early centuries of the church. It was taught by Aristotle & Socrates well before the birth of the church.

My conclusion: Hell is a place to be shunned, it's real. People will suffer there. For how long? I don't know. I believe it could be a place of ECS. But it might not be. Whatever the case may be, it should be avoided it at all cost. Submit to Gods will, ask God to enable you to. He will.

It may be that hell will be a place of ECS for the devil & his angels (...everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" - Matthew 25:41) but not for human beings. Why for the devil & not us? Was the devil aware of, and for this reason accountable for, something that we weren't? We know for instance, that it was the evil influence of the serpent upon Adam & Eve that brought about the fall of man, had the serpent not been in the Garden of Eden, Adam & Eve would not have fallen. But all the scripture says about Satan's fall was that "iniquity"(evil) was found in him"(Ezekiel 28:15). Nothing in scripture tells us where that iniquity came from. If the evil that was "found" in Satan was in him from the beginning, only God could have put it there. God was Satan's maker. If this is so, it would be unjust for God to allow Satan to suffer eternally. So what are we left with? Are there things that are past finding out? I think it's a safe assumption that there are. I think we have more Questions than Answers.

I will say this: I would not be comfortable insisting that there is not a place of ECS, (for Satan or for man), for the simple reason that I'm not currently completely convinced that there is not.

But nor would I be comfortable insisting that there is a place of ECS (for Satan or for man) for the simple reason that I am not currently completely convinced that there is.

From my experience, among the many Christian believers that I have been around, it seems to be that saying the three words "I don't know" is looked upon with contempt. I wonder, is it a sin to say "I don't know"? Please forgive me, but I believe it's more likely, that in very many cases... not saying them is [a sin].

This I am convinced of: one can hold to either of these positions about hell and continue to have standing with God. It's not a salvation issue. You can be wrong about this issue either way, or be unsure(or not know, like F.F Bruce) & still have standing with God. Our standing with God comes from having genuine faith in Jesus Christ.

Christians can be & are in error regarding many doctrinal issues. Christians can & do misinterpret scripture. Think about it. It wouldn't be very hard to find 5 theologians, who are genuine believers, who can fluently read, write & speak all of the biblical languages, all of whom have a resume of 40 or more yrs. of experience & it's a guarantee that all of them will disagree with one another on many points of doctrine & scripture(some very vehemently).

For the first 25 years of my Christian life I was passionately convinced that hell was a place of ECS & believed that anyone who believed differently, who professed to be a Christian, was a part of a cult & in all likelihood weren't really true believers.

I do feel compelled to ad one important point. I think it's safe to say that the most well known verse of scripture in the New Testament (for both believers & unbelievers alike) is John 3:16 --> For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall not "PERISH" but have everlasting life.

I recently conducted a study into the meaning of the word "PERISH" as it is used in the N.T. including John 3:16. According to Strong's Greek dictionary***. The Greek word apollomi (Ap-ol-lo-mee) was translated into the English word "perish" and it means: To destroy fully (to perish or lose) literally or figuratively. This Greek word was translated into 4 other English words other than perish, they are: destroy, die, lose and mar.

DESTROY: To demolish, to ruin, to annihilate, to take away, to cause to cease, to put to an end. (WEBSTER'S 1828)

DIE: To be punished with death, to come to an end, to cease, to be lost or come to nothing. (WEBSTER'S 1828)

PERISH: To go or run through, to come to nothing, to be destroyed, to pass away, to become nothing, to be lost, hence to wither, to waste away, to die, to incur spiritual death, to suffer spiritual or moral ruin as a nation. (WEBSTERS' 1929)

I will allow the reader to draw their own conclusions & conduct further study.

This is a controversial issue & we should be very careful with whom & how we discuss it because it has the potential to stir up a lot of strife & division. We should keep seeking the truth, passionately, prayerfully, & prudently & be gracious with one another. After all, all of us are fallible, finite human beings. I think it was A.W.Tozer who said: "it's humility that becomes fallen creatures, not perfection".

Thank you

*(Peterson & Fudge. Publisher, Spectrum copyright 2000).

**Two of F.F. Bruce's most notable writings are: "Are the N.T. Documents reliable?" & "The Canon of Scripture")

*** contained in Strong's Exhaustive concordance of the Bible.