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A Scene From Dante's Inferno
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DOES THE BIBLE REALLY TEACH
DEGREES
OF PUNISHMENT IN HELL?
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uring
the course of my Christian life, when I would hear preachers talk about
eternal torment in hellfire, there was usually mention also that there
would be 'degrees of punishment in hell'.
The teaching is
simply that those who had greater light and understanding, yet rejected
the Gospel of Jesus Christ would be inflicted with more torment in hell,
than those who never had a chance to hear, but yet are still without
excuse. On a recent radio broadcast of 'The Bible Answer Man ' I heard
Hank Hannagraf state:
'It just makes
logical sense that Adolph Hitler would have to suffer more than your
everyday garden variety pagan.'
The purpose of
our present inquiry is: Does the Bible really teach this doctrine, and
if so, where is it to be found?
Whether we like
to admit it or not, we are all products of our learning and instruction
to some extent. Things which we have learned from early childhood and
have come to take for granted can sometimes blind us to a truth which
would otherwise be obvious.
In our day, the
battle cry among evangelicals and fundamentalists is their stand for the
absolute authority and infallibility of the Word of God. Almost
all Christian denominations, regardless of their differences in belief,
claim that their beliefs are based solely on the scriptures.
The problem is,
it's very easy to say anything, while proving it from the scriptures is
something altogether different. It's easy to say 'the Bible teaches that
there are degrees of suffering and punishment in hell', but can this be
proven from the Bible? Scores of Christian people assume it can.
Many people are convinced that the Bible teaches this without personally
being able to cite one reference in support of this theory.
We hear much talk
about how we must preach only what the scriptures CLEARLY SAY, without
injecting or overlaying them with our own theories and prejudices.
Obviously this is what any sincere student of the Bible MUST strive to
do. Often this is easier said than done.
In the following
study, I would ask the reader to please consider carefully what the
scriptures actually SAY and what they DO NOT say. Ask yourself if
the scriptures REALLY support what you have been taught to believe, or
will they only support your belief when overlaid with assumptions and
theories?
With these
questions in mind we'll proceed to list the 'proof-texts' in support of
the theory that there are degrees of punishment and suffering in hell.
And whosoever shall not
receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or
city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall
be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of
judgment, than for that city.
Matt 10:14-15
Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty
works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they
would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you,
It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment,
than for you.
Matt 11:21-22
And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought
down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had
been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say
unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the
day of judgment, than for thee.
Matt 11:23-24
And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart
thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them.
Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha
in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Mark 6:11
But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your
ways out into the streets of the same, and say,Even the very dust of
your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you:
notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh
unto you.But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day
for Sodom, than for that city.
Luke 10:10-12
Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty
works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they
had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.But it
shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for
you.
Luke 10:13-14
The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for
him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder,
and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant,
which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did
according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that
knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with
few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much
required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the
more.
Luke 12:46-48
To my
knowledge, the seven passages of scripture listed above are the only
ones which have ever been advanced by those who teach that there will be
degrees of punishment in hell. If any other exist, then I am
certainly not aware of them.
Let us
carefully examine these passages one at a time and see if we can locate
this teaching.
Certainly this
teaching is nowhere to be found in Matthew 10:14-15.
And whosoever shall
not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that
house or
city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto
you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and
Gomorrha
in the day of judgment, than for that city. Matt
10:14-15
Now I would ask
the reader, where in this passage is there any mention of degrees of
punishment for individuals in hell? If such a doctrine is true,
and we feel it right to state that 'the Bible teaches such and such'
then we must be able to locate it in clear and unequivocal language.
I realize that some might look at the above passage
and immediately say 'but the passage does speak of degrees of
punishment; that it will be more tolerable for some than others.'
Yes, my friend, it does, and with that thought I am
in complete agreement. However, the passage DOES NOT say that
these varying degrees of punishment take place in HELL.
A note on Matthew 10:15 in the Dake's Annotated Study
Bible says
'Teaching
degrees of punishment in hell.'
A note in the Defender's Study Bible states:
'This
statement clearly sets forth the principle of degrees of punishment
in hell, corresponding to degrees of reward in heaven'
It does?
I would ask them, and you also my reader, where? Where does this passage
set forth this principle? This passage simply does not say 'in hell'
at all. Someone may immediately think: 'Well that is the clear
implication of the passage.'
To this I have
two replies. First, as I stated earlier, the goal of any sincere
student of the Bible must be to teach only those things which the Bible
clearly SAYS without injecting them with our own personal prejudices.
Second, not
only does this passage NOT say that these punishments are meted out in
hell, but on the contrary it states emphatically and in clear language
at what time these punishments DO take place:
in the day of
judgment
If the
punishments spoken of in this passage take place IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT
then clearly they CANNOT take place IN HELL!
Furthermore, it
is more tolerable for 'the LAND' of Sodom and Gomorrha, than for 'THAT
CITY'. So, in order to be true to the text these punishments must be
executed on cities and lands IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. Any other
wresting of the text in order to make it teach more than it plainly says
is neither wise nor honest.
If it be admitted
that Matthew 10:15 will not support this theory, then those who cling to
it are certainly in dire straights as we proceed to examine the next
five passage; for they all speak in the exact same language!
Woe unto thee, Chorazin!
woe unto thee,
Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had
been done in
Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in
sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for
Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for
you.
Matt 11:21-22
Here we see again
these same punishments taking place upon lands and cities
IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT.
And thou, Capernaum,
which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the
mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it
would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be
more tolerable for the land of
Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. Matt
11:23-24
Again the
scriptures are relentless in failing to bend to this theory.
However, at this passage, someone will immediately stop me and say 'See
there, this passage does talk about hell.. It says 'Capernaum would be
brought down to hell'.
Yes, it does, but
let us not get too excited until we examine the entire passage
carefully. First of all, it is the CITY of Capernaum which is
being spoken of, not individuals. I ask: Is this passage teaching
that the entire city was to go down literally to a place of fiery
torment? If you believe this is what this passage is saying, then you
must also have no problem believing that Capernaum was literally in
heaven before being brought down!
Second, the word
'hell' here is actually Hades in the Greek language, which
signifies not a place of fiery torment, but the death state.
In figurative language, Jesus was stating that although the city had
enjoyed such great privilege by being the home of much of his earthly
ministry, it would be reduced to ruins because it had rejected him.
The Encarta Virtual
Globe States about Capernaum:
'Today only a
few ruins of Capernaum's old town remain'
Capernaum Cast Down To Hades
Just as Jesus had
predicted, the city was reduced from greatness to ruinous
non-existence.
This passage does
however speak of it being 'more tolerable' for Sodom than for Capernaum
at a future date. When will this occur? In hell as we have been
taught? A thousand times NO!
in the day of judgment
Friends, that is
not my interpretation, that is what your Bible says!
Our next three
passage yield nothing but more of the same:
And whosoever shall not
receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust
under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It
shall be more tolerable for
Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that
city.
Mark 6:11
But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your
ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of
your
city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you:
notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh
unto you. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that
day for
Sodom, than for that city. Luke 10:10-12
Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if
the mighty works had been done in
Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a
great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall
be more tolerable for
Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.
Luke 10:13-14
In every passage
in which we are informed this doctrine is located, we find nothing even
remotely approaching such a teaching. Every one of these passages
deals with
lands and cities, IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT, NOT INDIVIDUALS IN HELL!
Now, if these
passages all speak of punishments which take place IN the Day of
Judgment, then clearly to any unprejudiced mind, they speak not a word
about anything which happens FOLLOWING the day of Judgment. These verses
can never be applied to 'degrees of punishment in hell' unless those who
hold this view can prove that these verses speak of conditions which
FOLLOW the judgment. I maintain that this has never been done, nor ever
can be, for all of them expressly state 'In the day of judgment' or 'at
the judgment'.
To illustrate the
impossibility of these words meaning 'in hell' let's consider a few more
passages:
But I say unto you, That
every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof
in the day of judgment. Matt 12:36
Does this verse
teach that men will be required to give an account of every idle word
once they are in hell? Of course not, no one believes that. This
verse means what it says; an account for every idle word must be given
IN the Day of Judgment. In the same way, punishments to whatever
degree take place IN the Day of Judgment. Not one word is said about
suffering or torment following the judgment.
Again:
The men of Nineve shall
rise up
in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for
they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than
Jonas is here. Luke 11:32
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this
generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts
of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than
Solomon is here.
Matt 12:42
Notice again how
'in the judgment' simply cannot be misconstrued to mean 'in
hell'. Notice carefully that the men of Nineveh, and the Queen of the
South rise up 'IN the judgment'. The passage simply cannot mean that
these rise up 'in hell'.
The implication is that both the queen of the south,
and the men of Nineveh are considered more noble than those generations
which heard Jesus and rejected him. Therefore it will be more
tolerable
for both the men of Nineveh and the queen of the south IN THE DAY OF
JUDGMENT. Again, there is not one word spoken about torment or suffering
following
the judgment.
As I've said before, I will now repeat: The passages of
scripture which speak of conditions 'more tolerable' for some than
others 'in the day of judgment' cannot be used to teach degrees of
punishment in hell unless those
who hold this view can prove that these verses speak of
conditions which FOLLOW the judgment.
Again, this has
never been done, nor can it ever be.
We are left with
only one remaining passage:
The lord of that servant
will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he
is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his
portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord's
will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall
be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things
worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever
much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have
committed much, of him they will ask the more.
Luke 12:46-48
No matter what
conclusions we reach about this passage, we must not try to make it
teach more than it actually states.
The passage
speaks of some being beaten with 'many stripes', and some being beaten
with 'few stripes', so there is clearly an indication of degrees of
punishment. But where does such punishment take place? In
hell? Does the passage anywhere state that this takes place in hell?
Can those who teach that this is the meaning of the passage prove it?
I would remind
the reader that given the seven passages listed above, if Jesus had
meant to imply that there would be degrees of punishment 'in hell' then
certainly there was much better language in which to state this matter.
In the passage
before us, if our Savior had meant us to understand 'degrees of
punishment in hell' then he certainly has used obscure language to
express that idea. Do the terms 'few' and 'many' have any real meaning
if hell is torment in flames for all eternity without end?
Why use such obscure language if this is what was meant? Why out
of the seven proof-text given to teach this 'degrees of punishment in
hell theory' do NONE of them say these punishments take place in hell?
I submit that
there is only one logical answer: The popular theory is seriously
in error, and if it wasn't for our minds being so blinded from infancy
with this doctrine of eternal torment, no one would ever give it a
moment's notice.
How is it that
many Christians accept without question a doctrine which states that
there are degrees of punishment in hell, when there is not one passage
of scripture which states this matter at all? How is it that we
are so blinded that our eyes read 'in the day of judgment' while our
minds instruct us 'in hell'.
So, I ask the one
reading this; Do the scriptures REALLY teach that there are degrees of
punishment in hell? Once we strip away the layers of theological
baggage, drop our pre-conceived ideas, and just READ what the scriptures
SAY, can we really say the Bible supports this theory?
I can only
answer for myself. I could never in good conscience instruct
someone of this doctrine without being struck by the sense that I was
advocating my own theories and not what the Bible actually teaches.
We are told that
when we study the Bible, we must never form a doctrine out of any
passage which speaks in obscure language, and that we must never use an
obscure passage to overturn a doctrine which is clearly stated elsewhere
in scripture.
If none of these
passages
clearly teach that there are degrees of punishment in hell, then I
ask, where are the ones which CLEARLY state this matter? Where? You
cannot pretend that seven passages of scripture listed above clearly
teach 'punishment in hell' when NOT ONE OF THEM says 'in hell'.
I realize that I
have not touched upon the nature of these punishments, nor have I
endeavored to go into detail here regarding 'The Day of Judgment'. These
details are taken up elsewhere on this site. For those who's
interest has been sparked by this brief study, I would recommend reading
'The Day of Judgment' which is part of our much larger work
'Man Became a Living Soul'.