He could have programmed us to obey His every requirement without question, reciting, “We love You, Father,” in which case we would not even know what love really means. He gave us the freedom to choose between right and wrong, the freedom to choose whom we will love, serve and worship.
Eternal torment free#
In God’s loving wisdom, and because of His infinite love, He gave free will to all His children, both angels and humans. The penalty-the fact that they will cease to exist-is eternal. They will simply cease to exist, not remain burning in hell infinitely. Similarly, those who choose not to accept God’s gift of grace will perish. How can something remain to be tormented eternally if it has already been swallowed up, as the word devour suggests? Note in verse 24 the use of the word devour. Death incarnate in the devil will be thrown into the lake of fire (verse 14) and we will inhabit a clean, sin-free and peaceful universe.
The Bible teaches that before the world is made new, fire will devour the devil and all his followers (Revelation 20:9). Thrown out of heaven, he now roams our world as the devil, and his end is predicted. Living in God’s presence, he became jealous of God and rebelled. Infinity has no beginning and no end, but sin began in heaven with an angel called Lucifer. But it’s impossible to be dead and alive at the same time. Some years ago, at a meeting of our town’s church ministers, someone declared that “sin is infinite, therefore it warrants an infinite punishment!” Another suggested that eternal torment is a “living death,” whatever that means.
God does not want “anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Where does this leave the teaching of eternal torment in hell? It’s simply a contradiction about God, whose very nature is infinite love and kindness. But neither could those who accept the gift of grace rejoice, for it would cause them great sorrow to know that a brother, a sister or a friend who rejected God was suffering while they lived eternally.Ĭonsider 1 John 4:8 again: “God is love.” Jesus also commanded us to “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44) and, because I believe He practises what He preaches, He too would love His enemies. Those who deliberately reject God’s gift would have good cause to hate their tormenter. Think about it: what would eternal torment achieve for God, for His redeemed children and for those who haven’t accepted God’s saving grace? It’s the concept of the immortality of the soul and the conclusion that naturally derives from it: that all those who refuse to accept Christ as Saviour will be tormented in the fires of hell for eternity. However, there is a popular and deeply entrenched Christian belief that, paradoxically, goes against such statements about the love of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and drives many people to reject Christianity altogether. God’s grace and His love are so intertwined that they cannot be separated. Paul told Timothy that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15), and the apostle John said that “whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8). Jim Beyers tests this idea against the Bible. Some believe Christianity teaches that if you don't believe in God, you'll burn in hell forever.
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