Are you ready for a challenge to your thinking? If so, read on. (If not, perhaps you will want to read no further.) For 1500 years, most Christians have assumed as true a doctrine which . . .
1. Is nowhere found in the Word of God;
2. Sprang from explicitly pagan presuppositions;
3. Slanders the character of God and the Lord Jesus Christ;
4. Prevailed in Protestantism for political, not biblical, reasons; and
5. Has been rejected by an increasing number of such faithful scholars as W. Graham Scroggie, John R. W. Stott, Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, F. F. Bruce, John W. Wenham, Clark Pinnock, Dale Moody and Michael Green.
That unbiblical tradition is the notion that God will keep the wicked alive forever in hell for the purpose of suffering unending conscious torment.
FIVE ASSUMPTIONS OF THE TRADITIONAL VIEW
The tradition of everlasting torment, as expressed by its most able advocates, depends on five undergirding assumptions:
1. That the Old Testament is silent about the wicked's final end;
2. That the doctrine of unending conscious torment was the uniform Jewish view of Jesus' day;
3. That Jesus' references to Gehenna all presuppose this supposed "uniform" view;
4. That New Testament language on this subject demands unending conscious torment; and
5. That historic Christian orthodoxy requires unending conscious torment.
These were also my assumptions in the late 1970's, as I began a year-long professional research project on the subject. That investigation led me through the Old Testament, the Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls, the New Testament, the apostolic fathers, the Greek and Latin fathers, the ancient creedal statements of the undivided Church, medieval and Reformation theologians, and pertinent works from then until now. It also revealed, to my total surprise and consternation, that all five of my traditional assumptions were wrong!
The product of that work was my book entitled THE FIRE THAT CONSUMES: A BIBLICAL AND HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE DOCTRINE OF FINAL PUNISHMENT (The condensed British edition is subtitled "The Biblical Case for Conditional Immortality.") This book examines 1,000 passages of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation and interacts with approximately 200 other works on the subject. For more details, click here.
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1. The Old Testament utilizes some 50 Hebrew verbs and 75 figures of speech to describe the ultimate end of the wicked -- and every one sounds exactly like total extinction.
2. The notion of unending conscious torment arose for the first time in anything resembling biblical literature in the non-canonical book of Judith -- in a clear "twisting" of words taken straight from Isaiah.
3. By Jesus' day, there were at least three "Jewish" ideas about the end of the wicked: (a) annihilation at the grave; (b) resurrection for everlasting torture; and (c) resurrection for judgment followed by total and irreversible extinction in hell.
4. When our Lord taught on this subject, he generally used Old Testament language which most naturally describes complete disintegration of the entire person in the "fire" of the Age to Come.
5. New Testament writers choose the word "hell" (gehenna) to describe the fate of the lost only in the Gospels, only speaking to Jews, and only when addressing people familiar with the geography of Jerusalem.
6. Most often, New Testament authors use the words die, death, destroy, destruction, perish and corruption to describe the end of the wicked -- in contexts which suggest the normal, straightforward meaning of these ordinary terms.
7. All New Testament expressions thought to teach eternal torment come from earlier biblical literature -- where they regularly describe destruction that is irresistible, total, and which cannot be reversed.
8. No passage of Scripture teaches the inherent or natural immortality of the "soul," "spirit," or any other aspect of the human creature.
9. Although Scripture clearly affirms a resurrection of both just and unjust, the Bible nowhere says the lost will be raised immortal, as the saved will be.
10. The notion of everlasting torment appears explicitly in Christian literature for the first time in the writings of the Apologists, who expressly base it on the Platonic assumption that the soul is "immortal" and cannot be destroyed.
11. No creedal formulation of the undivided Church requires eternal conscious torment.
When I began my scholarly research project on the topic of final punishment in the late 1970's, I assumed that the traditional view of unending conscious torment rested on biblical revelation. As I delved deeply into the actual texts of Scripture, the literature between the Testaments, and the writings of the church fathers and Reformers, I was flabbergasted to discover that my assumption was completely false -- and to uncover the historical origins of unending torment in ancient pagan philosophy.
I was so shocked initially at the fruit of this research that I briefly considered boxing up all my data, shipping it off to the research sponsor, and never mentioning it again. Yet I knew that I must offer this to Christian brothers and sisters for critical review. So instead of hiding the material, I wrote THE FIRE THAT CONSUMES, setting out this exhaustive compilation of biblical and historical fact. That book was published in 1982.
A quarter-century has now passed, and THE FIRE THAT CONSUMES has gone through multiple printings on two continents. Although there have been numerous responses in America, England and Australia, including a doctoral dissertation at Oxford University, to this day no one has stepped forward and refuted the many arguments of this book from the Word of God. Instead, thoughtful evangelicals in increasing numbers have felt compelled to reject the traditional notion of unending torment because of the scriptural and historical evidence this book presents.
The evangelical church today faces a challenge which it can no longer ignore -- the challenge to prove its alleged "high view" of Scripture by putting it into practice. Eternal conscious torment is either true or it is not. God's Word gives the only authoritative answer. The time has come to re-examine our traditional view in the bright light of Holy Scripture.
Will You Accept My Loving Challenge?
Will you take up this loving challenge with an open Bible and an open mind? If so, I invite you to order THE FIRE THAT CONSUMES -- then sit down with your Bible and search the Scriptures as you read, testing everything by the Word of God. Order the original edition of this internationally-acclaimed book (500 pages) from www.iUniverse.com. Or order the condensed British edition (226 pages) by calling toll-free in the USA 1-800-632-6657. -------------------------
What Reviewers Say About
COLIN BROWN, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Calif.: "A very strong case for rethinking the notion of the eternal torment of all the lost."
THE FIRE THAT CONSUMES
F. F. BRUCE (Deceased), University of Manchester, England: "While this subject is one on which there is no unanimity among evangelical Christians, it is at the same time one on which they have often engaged in fierce polemic. What is called for, rather, is the fellowship of patient Bible study, the fruit of which Mr. Fudge presents here."
LYNN MITCHELL, University of Houston, Texas: "One of the most important books produced by conservative evangelicals in the 20th century."
JOHN W. WENHAM (Deceased), Oxford, England: "The author is biblical, reverent and fair, showing soundness and independence of judgment. He makes his main points with force and persuasiveness."
CLARK H. PINNOCK (Retired), McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario: "I know of no book which answers this powerful case."
W. WARD GASQUE, Eastern College, Philadelphia: "An important and thought-provoking book that gives careful attention to the actual words of Scripture."
DALE MOODY (Deceased), The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky: "I know of no biblical passage which, interpreted rightly and in context, conflicts with the conclusions of this book."
THOMAS H. OLBRICHT (Retired), Pepperdine University, Malibu, Calif: "Evidence for the common assumption that the wicked will suffer eternal conscious torment may not be as conclusive as assumed."
JOHN F. WALVOORD (Deceased), Dallas Theological Seminary: "The most extensive study [of the subject] in recent years . . . commendably brings into the discussion many items that are often overlooked." (Dr. Walvoord expressly disagreed with the conclusions of this book.)
LEONARD G. GOSS, former editor, Evangelical Book Club: "A thorough and convincing exposition."
NEW OXFORD REVIEW: "Exceptionally even-handed, forceful and to the point."
MISSION JOURNAL: "A formidable scriptural argument which defenders of the popular view will be hard pressed to meet."
EVANGELICAL BOOK CLUB: "A thoughtful case for an opinion that deserves a hearing."
RESURRECTION MAGAZINE: "The definitive work on conditional immortality."
ADVENT CHRISTIAN WITNESS: "A work of impeccable scholarship and pleasing readability."
CHURCH OF ENGLAND NEWSPAPER: "Essential reading for anyone interested in the subject."
For more on final punishment, click here.