October 13 at 12:26 PM ·
A
dear soul sent me this link to a lengthy article and asked what I think of it.
The article is here: https://www.../essay/hell-as-endless-punishment/
The
opening paragraph of the article reads:
DEFINITION
Hell
is a place of eternal, conscious torment for everyone who does not trust in
Jesus Christ. Hell
involves final separation from God’s mercy and from God’s people, unending
experience of divine judgment, and just retribution for sin.
------------
My
response in a few words:
There
are several errors in the introductory paragraph.
1.
This is a fundamental failure to make the biblical distinction between hell and the
lake of fire.
-
Revelation 20:14 KJT “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This
is the second death.”
-
If hell is emptied and cast into the lake of fire, it is just stupid (i.e.
lacking common sense) to equate the two!
-
With this foundational failure, the whole essay built upon it is flawed.
2.
Hell is everlasting but not eternal
a.
Hell is not eternal but temporal; that which is everlasting lasts as long as
time lasts; at the end of time, hell shall deliver/surrender up all its
captives to Him who holds the keys of death and of hell.
-
Hell shall be EMPTY then, with NO ONE in it; it is game over for hell; that
shall be the end of hell.
-
Revelation 20:13 KJT “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death
and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every
man according to their works.”
-
Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire ONLY AFTER they had
delivered and surrendered all their captives to Him who holds the keys over them.
Why?
-
Why weren't death and hell cast into the lake of fire together with all their
captives? There are Christ's redeemed in BOTH of them.
b.
Revelation 1:18 KJT “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive
for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
-
This is excellent news for the redeemed, especially those who by their own
foolishness, negligence and disobedience, ended up in hell during their
intermediate state (between their death and their resurrection to glory.) Death
and hell shall be eternally removed from the redeemed – both were cast into the
lake of fire.
-
Do remember all the solemn warnings addressed to the disciples calling them to
take drastic measures to deal with personal sins, to avoid hell. Many warnings
of hell by the Lord Jesus were directed at His own disciples. (Mt 5:22, 29,30;
10:28; 18:9; Mk 9:43-48; Lk 12:4-5.) Why address these solemn warnings to His
own disciples if there was no possibility of them ending up in hell?
-
However, there isn’t a single warning to the disciples against the lake of
fire. Why?
-
The emptied hell, with NO ONE in it, shall be cast into the lake of
fire. Rev 20:14. This is game over for hell; it is game over for death too –
all its captives are surrendered up to be resurrected too, some to eternal
glory in heaven, the rest to eternal dishonour in the lake of fire.
3.
"Hell is a place of eternal, conscious torment for everyone who does not
trust in Jesus Christ..."
-
This statement assumes that every single elect will be able to hear the gospel
and be brought to trust in Jesus Christ; that people go to hell (i.e. lake of
fire) because they do not trust in Jesus Christ.
-
The Scriptures express what the author wants to say in these words, “And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of
fire.” Rev 20:15
-
There are those whom Christ has redeemed who are incapable of being outwardly
called by the gospel to faith in Jesus Christ (1689.10.3).
Many Reformed folks deny that there are such persons; they are convinced that every elect
will hear the gospel and be brought to faith in Jesus Christ. But they have
just contradicted their Confession of Faith! According to the author, those
whom Christ has redeemed and the Father effectually called to grace and
salvation in Jesus Christ but are incapable of being outwardly called to faith
ARE DAMNED to the author’s eternal hell.
==========
https://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-effectual-call-as-summarized-in.html
1689.10. 3 - The effectually called who are incapable of being outwardly called by the gospel.
Elect infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit;(10) who worketh when, and where, and how He pleaseth;(11) so also are all elect persons, who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word. 10. Jn 3:3,5-6. 11. Jn 3:8.
a.
This paragraph deals with those effectually called incapable of being
outwardly called by the ministry of the word, either because of their personal
inabilities (infants, etc.) or outward circumstances (no opportunities to the
ministry of the word). These elect are not left to perish in their sins. They
are effectually called in exactly the same way described in para 1.
-
This paragraph is a clear and plain repudiation of the popular error that
effectual calling is conditioned upon the gospel calling… for such an idea will
damn many of those predestinated unto life just because they are not capable of
being OUTWARDLY called by the ministry of the word.
-
‘The Spirit who worketh when and where and how He pleaseth’ declares the
absolute sovereignty of the work of regeneration, unrelated to the ministry of
the gospel. Otherwise, His sovereignty is conditioned by it!
-
Note that the gospel ministry is for the sentient children of God, those who
are able to hear and perceive. The phrase “so also all other elect persons’
refers to those who are sentient, but who do not have the ministry of the word
in their lifetime on earth. Not all of God's sentient elect have the
opportunity to have the gospel ministry. This is to repudiate the popular
notion of the gospel regenerationists, ‘no gospel call, no effectual, therefore
no eternal salvation.’
-
Note the distinction between ‘His Word’ in para 1, and ‘the ministry of the
word’ in para 3! The former is in the context of the effectual call of the dead
to life, and the latter is the gospel call to the conversion of the effectually
called to the truth.
- John 3:8 "... so is every one that is born of the Spirit" PRECLUDES the common ideas that there are different ways the Holy Spirit regenerates the elect, the "normal" way, and the "exceptional" way; i.e. the normal way is with the means of gospel preaching and the exceptional way is without the means of gospel preaching. No, the Lord says, "so is EVERYONE that is born of the Spirit."
b.
The infants and all others spoken of in this paragraph ARE those God has
predestined unto eternal life. So, it is redundant to say 'elect infant.' It is
also presumptuous to claim "all infants dying in infancy are elect"
for the paragraph claims no such thing.
