I think it's time for this thread to become subject to some "Puritan Fire".
"For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, The Lord will judge his people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Heb. 10:30-31)
As per the title of this thread, there is no such thing as a Christian Universalist. One is either a Christian or a Universalist, but cannot be both. The Doctrine of Eternal Judgment is ignored more often then not by today's church, and is truly a lost doctrine today. Arthur Pink laments,
"It is sad to find so many professing Christians who appear to regard the wrath of God as something for which they need to make an apology, or at least they wish there were no such thing. While some would not go so far as to openly admit that they consider it a blemish on the Divine character, yet they are far from regarding it with delight, they like not to think about it, and they rarely hear it mentioned without a secret resentment rising up in their hearts against it. Even with those who are more sober in their judgment, not a few seem to imagine that there is a severity about the Divine wrath which is too terrifying to form a theme for profitable contemplation. Others harbor the delusion that God's wrath is not consistent with His goodness, and so seek to banish it from their thoughts."
According to most polls, the percentage of Americans who believe in Heaven ranges from 80% to 90%, while the percentage who believe in Hell ranged between 40% and 70 %. The saddest part is that these numbers weren't much different among professing Christians. However, I must repeat that anyone who would reject this doctrine cannot be called a Christian. Those who reject the doctrine of God's eternal wrath upon the wicked do not love the God of the Bible, but a false god, an idol of their own vain imaginations. Of them it is written, they "will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction." (2 Peter 2:1)
The God of the Bible is not apprehensive concerning His wrath, nor does He shy away in shame at its mention. His own challenge is
"See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand. For I lift up My hand to heaven, and say, I live forever, If I whet My glittering sword, and Mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to Mine enemies, and will reward them that hate Me" (Deut. 32:39-41). The Bible knows nothing of a god that is "too nice" to judge wickedness. In fact, a quick study of the Scriptures will show that there are more verses referring to God's anger and vengeance than there are to His love and mercy. Because God is holy, He hates all sin; And because He hates all sin, His anger burns against the sinner every day (Psalm 7:11). This is a doctrine that no preacher of righteousness has a right to ingore.
The Doctrine of Judgment in Christian Orthodoxy
The Eternal punishment of the wicked was taught among the earliest Christians. In his Letter to the Ephesians 16:1-2, Ignatius of Antioch (110 AD) writes,
"Corrupters of families will not inherit the kingdom of God. And if they who do these things according to the flesh suffer death, how much more if a man corrupt by evil reaching the faith of God for the sake of which Jesus Christ was crucified? A man become so foul will depart into unquenchable fire, and so will anyone who listens to him." Clement of Alexandria (150 AD) writes,
"If we do the will of Christ, we shall obtain rest; but if not, if we neglect his commandments, nothing will rescue us from eternal punishment" (Second Clement 5:5). Irenaeus (189 AD), the Second Century Bishop of Lyon, in his work "Against Heresies", adds
"The penalty increases for those who do not believe the Word of God and despise his coming. . . . It is not merely temporal, but eternal. To whomsoever the Lord shall say, "Depart from me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire," they will be damned forever"" (Against Heresies 4:28:2). Similar statements can be found in works by Justin Martyr, The Martyrdom of Polycarp, Athenagoras, Theophilus of Antioch, Hippolytus, Minucius Felix, Cyprian, and Cyril of Jerusalem.
The Doctrine of Eternal Judgment has also been clearly established from the earliest Christian Creeds and Confessions. The Apostles Creed states, “He shall come to judge the living and the dead.” The Nicene Creed adds that Christ will come "to judge the quick and the dead”. The Athanasian Creed expounds even further, stating; “From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies; And shall give account of their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting, and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.”
Other beliefs concerning this doctrine began to appear in the Alexandrian school of theology. There are traces of Restorationism (a belief in a temporary, remedial punishment) in Origen. This heresy was combated by Epiphanes, Jerome, and Augustine. Pope Gregory I was the first to formalize teachings in the Catholic Church surrounding Purgatory, a place of temporal punishment for post-baptismal sins. However, aside these few minor exceptions, the Christian Church has always held the Doctrine of the Eternal Punishment of the Wicked to be the ONLY orthodox Christian position.
The Westminster Confession Chapter 33, Section 2 states, "The end of God's appointing this day is for the manifestation of the glory of His mercy, in the eternal salvation of the elect (Matt. 25:21; Rom. 9:23); and of His justice, in the damnation of the reprobate who are wicked and disobedient (Rom. 2:5-6; Rom. 9:22; 2 Thess. 1:7-8,). For then shall the righteous go into everlasting life, and receive that fulness of joy and refreshing, which shall come from the presence of the Lord (Matt. 25:31-34; Acts 3:19; 2 Thess. 1:1-12), but the wicked, who know not God, and obey not the Gospel of Jesus Christ, shall be cast into eternal torments, and be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power" (Matt. 25:41, Matt. 25:46; 2 Thess. 1:9).
Since the Reformation, other heresies, such as Universalism (univeral salvation) and Annihilationism (the wicked will cease to exist) have crept in. Those who hold these beliefs rarely appeal to scripture, but rather emotionalism. They usually reason that God's punishments are reformatory rather than punitive. However, God Himself refers to His judgments as "wrath", "fury", and "vengeance". Nothing about the judgments against the wicked could be mistaken for rehabilitation.
Some modern day universalists boister their beliefs on Near Death Experiences (NDE's). Many alledged "visions of heaven" and "light" have occurred within NDE's among the most wicked individuals. While I am skeptical about the occurance of NDE's, we must also remember that "even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." (2 Cor. 11:14). Any theology that exalts NDE's over the clear teachings of Scripture is a folly of fools (Prov. 15:14).
Hell Defined
See how the stubble of Universalism is consumed by the fire of God's Word. The Hebrew word she'ol, (Greek Hades - literally "unseen"), has multiple meanings, including the grave, hell, and pit. Despite these various definitions, there can be no doubt that multiple instance of she'ol and Hades refer to the abode of the damned, as it is taken in Luke 16:23. Various synonyms of it occur in the Scriptures, such as 'abaddon see Prov. 15:11) or perdition (see Prov. 27:20). Consider these passages:
The wicked "in a moment they go down to Sheol." (Job 21:13). "The wicked shall be turned back unto Sheol." (Psalm 9:17). If these references were taken to be the grave, than why single out the wicked, since the righteous will also face the grave? "Thou shalt beat him with the rod, And shalt deliver his soul from Sheol." (Prov. 23:14). Can anyone rightly suggest that parental discipline can rescue a child from the grave? "Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied" (Prov. 27:20). Here Sheol is used along with Abaddon (destruction), the name of the angel from the bottomless pit (Rev. 9:11).
The word Gehenna (see Matt. 5:22, 29), is a word derived from the valley of the children of Hinnom, in which the wicked Israelites were accustomed to practice horrible idolatries to Moloch, the idol of the Ammonites. It is synonymous with "everlasting punishment" Jesus identifies Gehenna with Isa 66:23-24 by speaking of it as the place of "The gnawing worm" and "unquenchable fire" (Mark 9:44). In it's context, Jesus is adamant that Hell is worse than bodily mutilation and is to be avoided at all costs.
The word Tartarus is only used once (2 Peter 2:4). It is derived from one of the compartments of the pagan Greek Hades, recognized by mythology (Homer's Odyssey 11:575 and Plato's Gorgias) as a place for eternal judgment. For Peter to have chosen this word for a place of temporal punishment would have been most deceptive. Jesus will tell the wicked to "Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:41). Therefore, a consistent universalist must believe in the eventual salvation of the Devil himself, a most foolish doctrine.
According to the Scriptures, Hell is "…to be feared" (Luke 12:4-5); "…to be avoided at all costs" (Matt. 5:29-30), "…a fiery furnace" (Matt. 13:42), "…a lake of burning sulfur" (Rev. 20:10). "…everlasting" (2 Thess. 1:9), "…unquenchable" (Matt. 2:12), "…eternal" (Jude 1:7). In Hell, there "…will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matt. 8:12), for it is a place where the "…worm does not die and the fire is not quenched." (Mark 9:44-48). For those who go there, "…it would be better to have never been born" (Matt. 26:24). It was universally Accepted by the ancient Jews and Greeks that there would be a place of eternal torment. If Jesus or His Disciples actually believed Hell to be a place of temporal punishment or annihilation, they would have been purposely misleading their listeners. No modern reader of the above scriptures, much less an ancient one, would have concluded from these words that all men without exception would eventually be holy and happy in heaven.
The modern treatment of the Doctrine of Hell isn't much better. In the few instances when it is addressed at all, we are told that "the worst part of Hell is the eternal separation from the presence of God". Really? If that is true, then Hell is really no threat at all to the unrepentant sinner, who has already lived most of his life outside of God. Hell would be the ideal place for the ACLU attorney, who not only wants to live outside the presence of God, but wants to make sure that everyone else does as well.
First of all, those in Hell are NOT physically separated from the presence of God. That is a myth, mere wishful thinking. Rev. 14:10 tells us that the wicked
"shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb". No my friend, it is not the absence of God that is the true horror of Hell, but rather His presence. In Hell, God will be there to personally pour out the fire of His Divine wrath upon the damned. It is there that He will "hate" and "abhor" you (Psalm 5:5-6). Your cries for mercy will falls on His deaf ears as He "will laugh at you calamity and mock at your terror" (Prov. 1:26). Hebrews 10:31, a scripture that you won't find on many bumper stickers and T-shirts, states this quite accurately.
"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
Hell will be the destination for…The Devil (Rev. 20:10) and His Angels. (Matt. 25:41); whoever's name is not found written in the book of life (Rev. 20:15); dogs, sorcerers, sexually immoral, murderers, idolaters, liars. (Rev. 22:15); the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers (1 Cor 6:9-10); and Hypocrites (know today as “Carnal” Christians). ie. professing Christians who practice lawlessness (Matt. 7:21-23), who attempt to come to the feast without the proper garments (Matt. 22:12-14).
Hell is eternal. It is a place of “everlasting punishment” (Matt. 25:46). If it were just for a million years, then one could have hope in Hell. But there is no such fortune for the wicked. There is no parole from Hell. There will never be a moment when the lost man can say, “Release me, I've served my time”. After he has spent 1 Billion years suffering Hell's eternal torments, he will be no closer to the end of his punishment then he was at the beginning. It is the height of foolishness to think that the worst thing we have to fear is annihilation or separation from the presence of God. As the sign above Dante's inferno read: “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here".
Now I shake the dust of this heresy off of my feet. Let him who argues use scripture, without making it "spiritual" to suit their own ends, for their spirit is foul. The Bereans, on the other hand, were quite "Spiritual".
PL
