WILL SINNERS BE PUNISHED? NOTE: These people die the second death in the fire, but worms.
the second death in the fire, but worms. But in this case the word “carcase” is used re-
Proverbs11:21 “Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall
not be unpunished” Isaiah13:11 “ And I will punish the
world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity”
WHERE WILL THE WICKED BE PUNISHED?
Proverbs11:31 “Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed
in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner”. 2 Pe-
ter3:7 “ But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by
the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against
the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly
men”.Isaiah34:8,9 For [it is] the day of the LORD's venge-
ance, [and] the year of recompenses for the controversy of
Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch,
and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof
shall become burning pitch". Isaiah 24:21 “ And it shall
come to pass in that day, [that] the LORD shall punish the
host of the high ones [that are] on high, and the kings of the
earth upon the earth”.
DO THE WICKED GO TO THE PLACE OF PUN-
ISHMENT AS SOON AS THEY DIE?
2Peter2:9 “ The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out
of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of
judgment to be punished”.John5:28,29 “Marvel not at this:
for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves
shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have
done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have
done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation”.
Matthew 13:49,50 So shall it be at the end of the world: the
angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among
the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there
shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Luke14:14 “... for thou shalt be recompensed at the resur-
rection of the just.
Matthew16:27 “ For the Son of man shall come in the glory
of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every
man according to his works. Revelation 22:12 “And, be-
hold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give
every man according as his work shall be. Job21:30 “That
the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall
be brought forth to the day of wrath. Daniel 12:2 “And
many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life, and some to shame [and] everlast-
ing contempt”.
Note: The wicked will be cast into the fire at the end of the
world. Since the judgment takes place after Christ comes,
we can see how impossible it would be for anyone to be
punished before that time. From the time of death until they
come forth in the resurrection they are not receiving any
punishment. No reward is handed out until the resurrection
of the just, when Christ comes with his angels.
WILL THERE BE ANY SECOND DEATH BEFORE
THE RESURRECTION?Revelation 21:8 But the fearful,
and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars,
shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone: which is the second death”.
they cannot suffer a second death until they get a second
life. They lived the first life in this world and died the first
death, going into the grave. Before they die a second death
they must be resurrected– they must be given a second life.
This, of course, is what happens at the end of the world,
Jesus said all that are in the graves shall come forth. Now
after getting that second life in the resurrection, the wicked
will be punished for their sins in hell-fire, which is the sec-
ond death. That second death is the final, eternal death from
which there will be no resurrection. The time of this hell-fire
punishment is after the resurrection at the end of the world
and not at the time of the first death as many have been led
to believe.
BUT MY PASTOR SHOWED ME FROM THE
BIBLE THAT THE FIRE IS UNQUENCHABLE
AND THE WORMS DIETH NOT. HOW ABOUT
THAT?
Mark 9:43-44 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off:
it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than hav-
ing two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never
shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and
the fire is not quenched”.
Note: Some have interpreted the “worm "to be the
soul. Is that what Jesus meant? In this verse the word
“hell” is translated from the Greek word “gehenna,”
which is another name for the valley of Hinnom lo-
cated just outside the walls of Jerusalem. This was an
actual place of burning for the refuse and dead bodies.
If anything fell outside the destructive flames it was
constantly being destroyed by maggots or worms.
Jesus used the gehenna fire as an example of the com-
plete destruction of hell-fire. The fire was never
quenched or put out by anyone, and the worms were
constantly at work upon the bodies– a picture of total
destruction. Those who cite this text to support their
doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul are
thrown into a real dilemma. Why? Because the fire
and worms are working not upon disembodied souls,
but bodies! According to Jesus, those who are cast
into the lake of fire will go in bodily form, and this
text confirms that truth. The verses before and after
this text speak of the hands, feet, and bodies of those
who suffer the gehenna fire. In matthew5:30 Christ
said, “the whole body” would be cast into hell.
Isaiah 66:24 “ And they shall go forth, and look upon
the carcases of the men that have transgressed against
me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire
be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all
flesh”.
Here the same “gehenna” picture of hell is presented
with the unquenchable flame and the destroying
vealing the fact that the fire consumes lifeless dead bod-
ies, not disembodied souls. Speaking of the enemies of
the Lord, Isaiah51:8 says” the worm shall eat them like
wool”- a picture of being put out of existence. Un-
quenchable means that the fire cannot be put out
Isaiah47:14 “ Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire
shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from
the power of the flame: [there shall] not [be] a coal to
warm at, [nor] fire to sit before it. After it has completed
its work of destruction, that fire will go out not even a
coal will be left to warm at meaning it will burn to
ashes.
Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem would burn with a
fire that could not be quenched (jer 17:27), but it burned
down to ashes (2chron36:19-21). Read those verses and
see how the bible uses the word “quench” . It doesn’t
mean that the fire will never go out. Is Jerusalem still
burning today?
AHA! WHAT ABOUT THE “ETERNAL FIRE”
AND THE “EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT”
THAT THE WICKED WILL SUFFER?
Jude1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities
about them in like manner, giving themselves over to
fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth
for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
The bible teaches that these cities were destroyed with
fire(Gen19:24,25)and that its an example of what will
happen at the end of the world 2pet2:6 And turning the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned
[them] with an overthrow, making [them] an ensample
unto those that after should live ungodly; luke 17:29
But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained
fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them]
all. Lam 4:6 “ For the punishment of the iniquity of the
daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of
the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment,
and no hands stayed on her. From these texts, we see
that eternal fire is a fire that destroys until it leaves only
ashes and not one that will continually burn. Paul calls it
eternal destruction. 2Thess 1:9 Who shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the
Lord, and from the glory of his power;
Matthew25:46 “ And these shall go away into ever-
lasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Many are troubled over the expression “everlasting pun-
ishment” but notice it did not say everlasting punishing
which would suggest continually burning. Jesus was
saying that punishment was final there will be no resur-
rection or coming back from that death. That will be the
end of sin.
BUT DOESN’T THE STORY OF THE RICH MAN
AND LAZARUS IN LUKE16:19-31 TEACH AN
ETERNAL TORMENT FOR SINNERS?
Luke 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died,
and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the
rich man also died, and was buried;
16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in tor-
ments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his
bosom.
16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have
mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip
of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tor-
mented in this flame.
This story is a parable it is unrealistic and cannot be
taken literally. why? Firstly, the beggar died and was
taken by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. Abraham’s
literal bosom is not heaven– the abode of the righteous
dead. If all the righteous dead are in Abraham’s bosom
in who’s bosom is Abraham? Incidentally, the angels
will gather the saints, but according to matt24:30-31 this
will take place at the coming of Jesus, not at a person’s
death. Secondly, heaven and hell were separated by a
gulf (verse26), and yet the persons in each could talk
with each other is that what the bible teach?isaiah65:17
“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and
the former shall not be remembered, nor come into
mind”. Thirdly, the rich man was in hell with a body. He
had eyes, a tongue,etc.(verse24). How did his body get
into hellfire instead of into the grave? According to
Job17:13, john5:28-29 the dead are in the grave. Finally,
the request for Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in wa-
ter and come through the flames to cool the rich man’s
tongue is obviously not literal. How much moisture
would be left and how much relief would it give?
The rich man undoubtedly represented the Jews in the
parable because only a Jew would pray to “father Abra-
ham”, They were given the truth to take to the gentiles
(isa49:6) The beggar symbolized the Gentiles, who were
counted unworthy to receive the truth. In matt15:27, the
Canaanite woman acknowledged that her people were
beggars at the table of the Jews. And the climactic point
of the entire parable is found in verse31: 16:31 And he
said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the
dead”. They rejected the teachings of Moses and the
prophets and sure enough even when Lazarus was
raised from the dead right before their eyes they didn’t
believe either..
BUT THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF THE WICKED BE-
ING TORMENTED “FOR EVER”, DOESN’T IT?
Revelation14:11 “ And the smoke of their torment ascen-
deth up for ever and ever”. The words “for ever” in the bible
means a period of time limited or unlimited and not without
end. In exodus21:1-6, the Hebrew servant was to serve his
master “for ever”, but it was obviously only as long as he
lived. Hannah took her son Samuel to God’s house to abide
“for ever”(1sam1:22), but she plainly limited that time to
“as long as he liveth(verse28). In jonah2:6 for ever means
three days and three nights. In deut23:3 it means 10 genera-
tions. The term is clearly defined in psalm48:14 “For this
God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even
unto death”. The desolation of Edom was to continue for-
ever and ever(Isa34:10). Christ is called “a priest for ever”
in heb5:6; yet after sin is blotted out, Christ’s work as a
priest will end. According to these definition of the term
“for ever” the wicked will suffer as long as they continue to
live in the fire. Then as the bible states, “The wicked...shall
be destroyed for ever”(psalm92:7)
WHAT EFFECT WILL THE FINAL PUNISHMENT HAVE
UPON THE WICKED?
Ezekiel 18:4 ...the soul that sinneth, it shall die”.James1:15 ..and
sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death”. Romans 6:23 “For
the wages of sin [is] death” - not eternal torment.. Malachi 4;1,3
“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all
the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the
day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the 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 I shall do [this], saith the LORD of hosts”.
Surely it would be all out of proportion to punish the wicked age
after age without end for the sins of a brief lifetime. If the flames
of hell were to burn forever, then there would always remain a
sinful place somewhere on the new earth. Nahum1:9 “He will
make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
Hell was not intended for us(matt25:41). Heb2:3 “how shall
we escape if we neglect so great salvation” luke 9:56 For
the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to This tract tells the truth about
save [them].
Ezek33:11 “..as I live, saith the lord God, I have no pleas- “HELL”. Everything in it is proven
ure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from from the bible. Read the scriptural
his way and live: turn ye from your evil ways; for why will
you die? references carefully and prove the
Crying aloud ,sparing
not ,lifting up our voices like a
truth for yourself. We must be pre-
trumpet, showing the people
their Transgressions.
pared to face the truth but the only
way we can do this, is to take God
Cedar Grove at his word.
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