Review. When all who are in the tombs hear Jesus’ voice, and come forth, there will be a resurrection of life and a resurrection of judgement. Life will be for those “who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality.” God has promised them “glory, honor, and peace.” The resurrection of judgment will convict those who were “self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness,” bringing “indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil.” All this will begin “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction.” (Jn. 5:28-29; Rom. 2:5-10; 2Th. 1:7-9).
Introduction. The quality of life after the resurrection will be vastly different for the righteous than for the wicked. “For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. 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). It will be fearful indeed to face our omnipotent Creator if He holds an attitude of wrath and indignation toward us. When contrasted against the mercy, grace and compassion God promised to those who obey the gospel, we see how vast the differences will be. This is also true of the final destination God has prepared. For those who have loved and submitted to Him, there are precious and exceeding great promises. The amazing abilities of the resurrected body with incorruption, glory, power, honor, and immortality,” are recorded in 1Corinthians 15. Added to this is the new home in heaven where we, “according to His promise,” are “looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” There will also be “the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God,” “for He has prepared a city for them” (2Pet. 3:13; Heb. 11:10, 16). Jesus also said, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Mt. 25:34-35).
God’s justice and righteousness have also led to preparations for the eternal destination of the wicked. When God renders to each according to His works, the punishment will be just and exactly fit the crime of sin. The description of this place is the most dreadful and terrible revelation in Scripture. Nothing reveals the terrible nature of sin more than the recompense that awaits those who rejected God’s gracious offer of mercy and forgiveness in the gospel. While the cost of forgiveness was the death of Jesus on the cross, the cost of sin for those who choose to pay it themselves is dire and grievous, rising up above our comprehension. All sinners will be placed in the midst of the most evil of all God’s enemies. Jesus’s prophesy made this clear. “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Mt. 25:41-42). This everlasting fire is the punishment that fits the crime, even for the devil and his angels. It reveals that the sins men commit here are far more evil and corrosive than we can understand.
Introduction. The quality of life after the resurrection will be vastly different for the righteous than for the wicked. “For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. 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). It will be fearful indeed to face our omnipotent Creator if He holds an attitude of wrath and indignation toward us. When contrasted against the mercy, grace and compassion God promised to those who obey the gospel, we see how vast the differences will be. This is also true of the final destination God has prepared. For those who have loved and submitted to Him, there are precious and exceeding great promises. The amazing abilities of the resurrected body with incorruption, glory, power, honor, and immortality,” are recorded in 1Corinthians 15. Added to this is the new home in heaven where we, “according to His promise,” are “looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” There will also be “the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God,” “for He has prepared a city for them” (2Pet. 3:13; Heb. 11:10, 16). Jesus also said, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Mt. 25:34-35).
God’s justice and righteousness have also led to preparations for the eternal destination of the wicked. When God renders to each according to His works, the punishment will be just and exactly fit the crime of sin. The description of this place is the most dreadful and terrible revelation in Scripture. Nothing reveals the terrible nature of sin more than the recompense that awaits those who rejected God’s gracious offer of mercy and forgiveness in the gospel. While the cost of forgiveness was the death of Jesus on the cross, the cost of sin for those who choose to pay it themselves is dire and grievous, rising up above our comprehension. All sinners will be placed in the midst of the most evil of all God’s enemies. Jesus’s prophesy made this clear. “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Mt. 25:41-42). This everlasting fire is the punishment that fits the crime, even for the devil and his angels. It reveals that the sins men commit here are far more evil and corrosive than we can understand.
The most common description of the final state of the wicked is fire. Beginning with John the Baptist and continuing seamlessly into Jesus’ teaching, fire was used to describe two different elements of the judgment. First, this fire removes the chaff, tares, and unfruitful branches. Second, fire presents a vivid picture of agony and torment. John’s message centered on the first: “Even the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire,” but it was tied directly to the coming Messiah: “One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” Since John was a prophet, these words were directly inspired and validated by the Holy Spirit. (Lk. 3:9, 16-17).
It was left to Jesus either to narrow or expand these words. He explained the meaning of fire. After reading everything John and Jesus revealed, there is no doubt Jesus intended us to see the dual use of fire for the ultimate end of the wicked. “Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age,” “will cast them into the furnace of fire,” with “wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Mt. 13:40-42). Jesus sternly warned all His disciples, “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better to enter into life lame or maimed, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire” (Mt. 18:8). In his “parable” of the vine and the branches Jesus warned: “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” (Jn. 15:6-7).
All of these are clear explanations of parables revealing spiritual realities. They were not intended to be seen as figurative language. They are part of the unseen and eternal we see through the eyes of faith. “We look” upon “the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2Cor. 4:18).
The most thought-provoking word Jesus chose to reveal the fate of the wicked is “gehenna.” Before Jesus came, the details of the fate of the wicked were obscure. Jesus sought the best way possible to help open our eyes to see the unseen. Jesus detailed knowledge needed the clearest means to be revealed. He chose the term “gehenna” which is translated “hell,” but unless we know the reason Jesus chose this term, we will miss some important truths. From the time of Joshua, there was a valley near Jerusalem called “the valley of the son of Hinnom.” (Josh. 15:8). For centuries, the Hebrew “gê-Hinnōm” conveyed nothing more than this valley. That changed after King Ahaz used this valley to set up idols and offer infants in sacrifice: “Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and reigned sixteen years ... He burned incense in the Valley (gê) of the Son of Hinnom (“hinnōm”), and burned his children in the fire.” (2Chr. 28:1-3). Although in the reforms of his son, Hezekiah, this ceased, it was renewed by his grandson Manesseh (2Chr. 33:6).
The stigma God attached to the place of “gê-hinnōm,” was revealed to Jeremiah: “Go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom,” “proclaim there the words that I will tell you,” “I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle.” Because you “have filled this place with the blood of the innocents,” no more be called Tophet or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.” (Jer. 19:2-14). The term “gê-Hinnōm / gehenna” became synonymous with the wrath of God poured out as the final fate of the wicked in Jerusalem. Though some have contended it was also a dump for refuse in the days of Jesus, nothing in the Scriptures can verify it. All we can conclude with certainty is that this valley never lost its sinister reputation of death, slaughter, defilement, and judgment.
By using “gehenna,” Jesus sought to make all the stigma, disgust and revulsion attached to this place in Jeremiah to be a clear description of the eternal fate of the wicked. Thus the root meaning of “gehenna” are in God’s words to Jeremiah. With this foundation, Jesus created the vista of the eternal punishment of the wicked. He then added the details that would make it as clear as possible for His servants. Jesus made this “gehenna” the place of destruction for the soul and the newly resurrected body of the wicked: “fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (gehenna). (Mt. 10:28). Those who are evil or who do not put forth enough effort to remove sin will be “cast into the fiery gehenna" of “unquenchable fire.” (Mt. 18:9, 12; Mk. 9:43-49). Yet even in the fire, “the worm will not die,” “everyone will be salted with fire,” and it will be a place of “outer darkness.” Jesus also wanted the “weeping and gnashing of teeth” to be a part of our own vision and understanding of “gehenna.”
Though found in the symbolic visions in Revelation, most of the things Jesus described above confirm that it too is a description of the ultimate end of this age for all sinners.
Conclusion. Although these things leave many questions, Deut. 29:29 must be respected. “The secret things belong to God” and God has given us all the information He wanted us to have on the subject of the eternal fate of the wicked. Obviously, the same difficulty we have understanding the spiritual body of the resurrection and the spiritual nature of heaven will create the same problem with the true nature of “gehenna.” Yet Jesus does not exaggerate or mislead. There will be the spiritual equivalent of unquenchable fire, darkness, and the undying worm. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, and the smoke of torment arising forever. The everlasting nature of the punishment is directly tied to the eternal reward of the righteous: “These will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Mt. 25:46).
It was left to Jesus either to narrow or expand these words. He explained the meaning of fire. After reading everything John and Jesus revealed, there is no doubt Jesus intended us to see the dual use of fire for the ultimate end of the wicked. “Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age,” “will cast them into the furnace of fire,” with “wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Mt. 13:40-42). Jesus sternly warned all His disciples, “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better to enter into life lame or maimed, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire” (Mt. 18:8). In his “parable” of the vine and the branches Jesus warned: “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” (Jn. 15:6-7).
All of these are clear explanations of parables revealing spiritual realities. They were not intended to be seen as figurative language. They are part of the unseen and eternal we see through the eyes of faith. “We look” upon “the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2Cor. 4:18).
The most thought-provoking word Jesus chose to reveal the fate of the wicked is “gehenna.” Before Jesus came, the details of the fate of the wicked were obscure. Jesus sought the best way possible to help open our eyes to see the unseen. Jesus detailed knowledge needed the clearest means to be revealed. He chose the term “gehenna” which is translated “hell,” but unless we know the reason Jesus chose this term, we will miss some important truths. From the time of Joshua, there was a valley near Jerusalem called “the valley of the son of Hinnom.” (Josh. 15:8). For centuries, the Hebrew “gê-Hinnōm” conveyed nothing more than this valley. That changed after King Ahaz used this valley to set up idols and offer infants in sacrifice: “Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and reigned sixteen years ... He burned incense in the Valley (gê) of the Son of Hinnom (“hinnōm”), and burned his children in the fire.” (2Chr. 28:1-3). Although in the reforms of his son, Hezekiah, this ceased, it was renewed by his grandson Manesseh (2Chr. 33:6).
The stigma God attached to the place of “gê-hinnōm,” was revealed to Jeremiah: “Go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom,” “proclaim there the words that I will tell you,” “I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle.” Because you “have filled this place with the blood of the innocents,” no more be called Tophet or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.” (Jer. 19:2-14). The term “gê-Hinnōm / gehenna” became synonymous with the wrath of God poured out as the final fate of the wicked in Jerusalem. Though some have contended it was also a dump for refuse in the days of Jesus, nothing in the Scriptures can verify it. All we can conclude with certainty is that this valley never lost its sinister reputation of death, slaughter, defilement, and judgment.
By using “gehenna,” Jesus sought to make all the stigma, disgust and revulsion attached to this place in Jeremiah to be a clear description of the eternal fate of the wicked. Thus the root meaning of “gehenna” are in God’s words to Jeremiah. With this foundation, Jesus created the vista of the eternal punishment of the wicked. He then added the details that would make it as clear as possible for His servants. Jesus made this “gehenna” the place of destruction for the soul and the newly resurrected body of the wicked: “fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (gehenna). (Mt. 10:28). Those who are evil or who do not put forth enough effort to remove sin will be “cast into the fiery gehenna" of “unquenchable fire.” (Mt. 18:9, 12; Mk. 9:43-49). Yet even in the fire, “the worm will not die,” “everyone will be salted with fire,” and it will be a place of “outer darkness.” Jesus also wanted the “weeping and gnashing of teeth” to be a part of our own vision and understanding of “gehenna.”
Though found in the symbolic visions in Revelation, most of the things Jesus described above confirm that it too is a description of the ultimate end of this age for all sinners.
- “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. ... And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Rev. 20:10,14-15)
- “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Rev. 21:8)
Conclusion. Although these things leave many questions, Deut. 29:29 must be respected. “The secret things belong to God” and God has given us all the information He wanted us to have on the subject of the eternal fate of the wicked. Obviously, the same difficulty we have understanding the spiritual body of the resurrection and the spiritual nature of heaven will create the same problem with the true nature of “gehenna.” Yet Jesus does not exaggerate or mislead. There will be the spiritual equivalent of unquenchable fire, darkness, and the undying worm. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, and the smoke of torment arising forever. The everlasting nature of the punishment is directly tied to the eternal reward of the righteous: “These will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Mt. 25:46).