Posted on Aug 13, 2019
Four Reasons the Early Church Did Not Believe “Hell” Lasts Forever
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Today, many people disagree on how guilty criminals should be treated. Is the purpose of punishment, the argument goes, to rehabilitate the criminal by reforming his character? Or, rather, is the purpose of punishment to inflict eye-for-an-eye retaliation on the wrongdoer? Put another way, is our motive for punishment revenge or rescue?
This same analysis can be applied to God’s purpose for Hell. Is God’s motive in allowing sinners to go to Hell a form of “revenge” upon the sinner, or is God’s motive rather to ultimately “rescue” the sinner from his own fallen nature? Which purpose better aligns with the nature of God revealed in Jesus Christ?
Well, the majority of the early Church believed that Hell was place where God would rescue, reform and reconcile all lost sinners back unto Himself. The process of Hell was intense, thorough, critical, painful, agonizing and anguishing. But, it was ultimately restorative as each and every sinner was led through and past their own Hellish valley of sin and death, and into a deep and heartfelt place of Godly repentance.
This same analysis can be applied to God’s purpose for Hell. Is God’s motive in allowing sinners to go to Hell a form of “revenge” upon the sinner, or is God’s motive rather to ultimately “rescue” the sinner from his own fallen nature? Which purpose better aligns with the nature of God revealed in Jesus Christ?
Well, the majority of the early Church believed that Hell was place where God would rescue, reform and reconcile all lost sinners back unto Himself. The process of Hell was intense, thorough, critical, painful, agonizing and anguishing. But, it was ultimately restorative as each and every sinner was led through and past their own Hellish valley of sin and death, and into a deep and heartfelt place of Godly repentance.
Four Reasons the Early Church Did Not Believe “Hell” Lasts Forever
Posted from patheos.com
Religion
Christianity
Ancient History
Punishment
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 2
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Chip -
A great question, this morning.
Clearly the design and intent of the justice and penal system in America is to rehabilitate a person so they can reenter society as a contributor, not a predator. The rate of recidivism reflects the level of unwillingness a person can have to be rehabilitated more so than the failure of thione institution to rehabilitate.
As for your second comment, the purpose for Hell is to separate sin from a sovereign and righteous God who cannot "hear sin, neither will he look upon it" Isaiah 59.
It is important to understand that "God does not want that any should perish but that all should come too repentance." 2 Ptr 3:9
There is no malice in God for God is love in its purist sense. He loves the world so much that he sent his only son to die on the cross as the propitiation of our sins. All he asks of us is that we receive the gift he has provided through redemption with him and the consequential indwelling of his Holy Spirit who seals the soul for all eternity, meaning it can never be condemned to hell.
The myth is that God sends people to Hell. God does not send anyone rather people send themselves through their deliberate rejection of Christ.
So in answer to your question, he is all about rescuing us from the consequences of our sin.
The idea that souls will be 'rescued' from hell is simply not biblical as there are no scriptures even remotely suggesting such a thing and while the Apostles John and Paul do not mention the word Hell,
it is not true that neither of them spoke of it or warned of it. An example of this is found in
2 Thessalonians 1:9 "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;" Further to the point of addressing a couple of theological errors in the beliefs of the early churches with respect for the idea that Hell is only temporary, the truth is, Hell is forever - it is without end as expressed in the use of the word "everlasting" in not only Paul's writings but those of John of Patmos as well.
Finally, Christ preached more about Hell than he did about Heaven for he wanted us to have a firm understanding of what our rebellion against the will of God for us would be if we persist in it.
There is much more to be said about this article that in so many ways conflicts with bible truths but let these suffice for now.
Thanks for posting this today -
A great question, this morning.
Clearly the design and intent of the justice and penal system in America is to rehabilitate a person so they can reenter society as a contributor, not a predator. The rate of recidivism reflects the level of unwillingness a person can have to be rehabilitated more so than the failure of thione institution to rehabilitate.
As for your second comment, the purpose for Hell is to separate sin from a sovereign and righteous God who cannot "hear sin, neither will he look upon it" Isaiah 59.
It is important to understand that "God does not want that any should perish but that all should come too repentance." 2 Ptr 3:9
There is no malice in God for God is love in its purist sense. He loves the world so much that he sent his only son to die on the cross as the propitiation of our sins. All he asks of us is that we receive the gift he has provided through redemption with him and the consequential indwelling of his Holy Spirit who seals the soul for all eternity, meaning it can never be condemned to hell.
The myth is that God sends people to Hell. God does not send anyone rather people send themselves through their deliberate rejection of Christ.
So in answer to your question, he is all about rescuing us from the consequences of our sin.
The idea that souls will be 'rescued' from hell is simply not biblical as there are no scriptures even remotely suggesting such a thing and while the Apostles John and Paul do not mention the word Hell,
it is not true that neither of them spoke of it or warned of it. An example of this is found in
2 Thessalonians 1:9 "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;" Further to the point of addressing a couple of theological errors in the beliefs of the early churches with respect for the idea that Hell is only temporary, the truth is, Hell is forever - it is without end as expressed in the use of the word "everlasting" in not only Paul's writings but those of John of Patmos as well.
Finally, Christ preached more about Hell than he did about Heaven for he wanted us to have a firm understanding of what our rebellion against the will of God for us would be if we persist in it.
There is much more to be said about this article that in so many ways conflicts with bible truths but let these suffice for now.
Thanks for posting this today -
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Jesus parable of the wedding feast, In my opinion, would bring some of this into doubt, as would the story of the fellow separated from God who asks God to let him return and warn his family. My understanding is that evil, unrighteousness, however you want to frame it is a bit like sodium surviving a water bath.
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