THE BIBLE HELL
Does the Bible teach the idea commonly held
among Christians concerning Hell? Does the Hell of the Bible denote a
place of torment, or a condition of suffering without end, to begin at
death? What is the Hell of the Bible? Manifestly the only way to arrive at
the correct answer is to trace the words translated Hell from the
beginning to the end of the Bible, and by their connections ascertain
exactly what the divine Word teaches on this important subject. It seems
incredible that a wise and benevolent God should have created or permitted
any kind of an endless hell in his universe. Has he done so? Do the
Scripture teachings concerning Hell stain the character of God and clothe
human destiny with an impenetrable pall of darkness, by revealing a state
or place of endless torment? Or do they explain its existence, and relieve
God's character, and dispel all the darkness of misbelief, by teaching
that it exists as a means to a good end? It is our belief that the Bible
Hell is not the heathen, nor the "orthodox" hell, but is one that is
doomed to pass away when its purpose shall have been accomplished, in the
reformation of those for whose welfare a good God ordained it.
|