the comeback of hell (two gracEmails)A Bible teacher in the Northwest asks for comment regarding the statement of Jerry Walls of Asbury Seminary, who wrote: 'We cannot be moral without God, and we cannot have God without hell. Hell needs to make a comeback"
the point of hellThere is considerable discussion these days about the nature of hell.... But there also are practical questions we all need to ask, whatever we think hell will be like.... Does Jesus, like many preachers and professing Christians today, thunder hell-fire warnings to unchurched sinners: to prostitutes, drunkards and homosexuals? Does he use hell to spur conversions and to bring people to faith? The answers to these questions might surprise us -- and teach us something important as well.
conditional immortality (two gracEmails)A sister from an independent Christian church in Idaho writes: "You mentioned a book you co-authored on the subject of final punishment, your part being to present the biblical case for conditional immortality. What exactly do you mean by 'conditional immortality?' "
devil, beast, false prophet (two gracEmails)A gracEmail subscriber asks for an explanation of Revelation in which John sees the devil, the Beast and the False Prophet thrown into a lake of fire where they are "tormented day and night forever." A few verses later, "anyone not found written in the Book of Life" is cast into the same lake of fire.
eternal punishmentA gracEmail reader notes that Jesus speaks of "eternal fire" and "eternal punishment," and asks how that squares with my suggestion that the wicked will be totally destroyed in hell, never to be seen again.
eternal punishmentAn agitated preacher responded to a notice about my book, THE FIRE THAT CONSUMES. "Jesus made a pronouncement ... found in Matthew 25:31-46 .... What is it about the word aionios [eternal] that you don't understand?"
gnashing of teethI earlier stated ... that God will finally destroy the unrepentant ... in hell in the "second death" ... A gracEmail reader asks how this explanation fits those passages which refer to "gnashing of teeth."
the worms and fire of hellA Bible student writes, "I am sympathetic to your position of total destruction instead of everlasting conscious torment. But how do you explain the verse which says: 'where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched?'"
can the soul truly die?A North Carolina brother observes, "I've often heard speakers refer to hell as a place where the soul lives forever, enduring punishment of fire. Could you comment on this?"
a loving challenge to the evangelical church (three gracEmails)Are you ready for a challenge to your thinking? If so, read on.... For 1500 years, most Christians have assumed as true a doctrine which is nowhere found in the Word of God; sprang from explicitly pagan presuppositions; slanders the character of God and the Lord Jesus Christ; prevailed in Protestantism for political, not biblical, reasons; and has been rejected by an increasing number of ... faithful scholars.
a most surprising quiz on hellnot a gracEmail but surprising, informative and even fun.
the final end of the wickednot a gracEmail but a summary of the biblical teaching on final punishment as total, irreversible destruction, as published in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society.
the webpage of The Fire That Consumes. Includes links to a three part audio and video seminar by Edward on the subject, plus much else.