Does the Bible really teach everlasting punishment in hell?

On 8^th July 1741 Jonathan Edwards, a famous American preacher (today, he would probably be a televangelist), gave a sermon called “sinners in the hands of an angry God”. His vivid description of an everlasting hell for the unsaved sinner had such an impact that people fainted out of sheer terror. Edwards did not mince his words and hurled scripture after scripture at his audience to back up his claim. To this day, Edwards’ famous sermon is held in the highest esteem by many Christians.

Have you ever wondered why Jews have no concept of “everlasting punishment in hell’? Why is it that the Hebrew Scriptures (the so-called “Old Testament”) are silent on such an important topic? And isn’t it strange that Rav Shaul (also called the Apostle Paul) never mentions hell once in his writings?

If you are gay, I doubt whether you have escaped certain passages from the Bible. Take 1^st Corinthians 6:9-10 for instance: “do you not know that… homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God”. Many of you have been tormented over the years at trying to reconcile certain Bible passages with the concept of an all-loving and merciful God. Can we take the Bible seriously and still be gay?

It is often forgotten that the Bible is a Jewish book. With the exception of Luke, who was probably a convert to Judaism, every book of the Bible was written by Jews. It is important to bear this in mind as we progress through this topic.

All early believers in Yeshua were Jews, without exception. In fact, in the first century, the question was whether you had to become a Jew first before being admitted into the Messianic Jewish Community (Acts 15). In those days there was no New Testament and there was no English Bible, King James or otherwise. But didn’t Yeshua talk a lot about hell? No, he often referred to Gehenna, a Greek word, which was a garbage dump just outside of Jerusalem. His audience understood what he was referring to; it was not the concept of everlasting punishment without purpose. The God they worshiped was a God of purpose. And though His judgements can at times be very severe, they serve a purpose and are always restorative.

There is another Greek word used for hell and it is called Hades; a place where the dead await judgment (the Hebrew word is Sheol – and some English Bibles still translate it as hell – for instance Psalm 139:8 says “if I go into heaven, you are there and if I go into hell, you are there”, when the correct translation should be Sheol). You have probably heard of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:22-26. It mentions a chasm that prevents souls from travelling from one place to another. For centuries people believed that this chasm was part of hell and that it proves that the fires of hell will burn forever. And yet in Revelation 20:14 it says that death and hell [hades] will be thrown into the Lake of Fire.

The teaching of everlasting punishment became official church doctrine by the 5^th century under the Roman theologians Jerome and St. Augustine. Until then the majority view was Universal Salvation (that God would and could save everyone). And this is hardly surprising, since the early believers were Jewish – and those Gentiles who began joining the Messianic Communities also became familiar with Hebrew thoughtforms. But as time went on, more and more Gentiles joined the movement until by the fourth century, a new religion had emerged that bore little resemblance with its early Jewish roots:

• Shabbat had been replaced with Sunday as the new day for worship
• The Jewish people had been replaced with the church as the Chosen People, the New Israel
• Passover (Pesach) was replaced with Easter, which has its origins in Babylonian Paganism
• Christmas was introduced, which has its origins in the Roman Saturnalia Festival (25th December)
• All the Jewish Festivals, which reveal the Plan of God, were abolished
• Any remaining Jews in the church were forced to eat Pork, work on Shabbat and eat on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement)
• Rabbis were forced to attend public 'show trials' with priests, who would 'prove' to them that Jesus was the Messiah
• The Jews were eventually branded "Christ Killers"  and thus began another chapter of trauma in Jewish history... the Crusades, expulsions from Europe, Blood Libels... culminating in the Shoah or Holocaust (Shoah means catastrophe).

The emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire and purged the church of everything Jewish. And gradually, the doctrine of everlasting torment in the fires of hell for unsaved sinners became widespread. Anyone who thought or taught otherwise was branded a heretic. You see, it was much easier to exercise total control over the population with a doctrine that terrified people into submission - and so the church held the keys to this repugnant and diabolical doctrine.

The Messianic Scriptures (NT) were written in Koine Greek (rather than Classical Greek). And for centuries scholars had never come across any document that was written in the same type of Greek as the Bible. And since the scholars didn’t know the biblical language, they had to guess many important words. But with the dawning of the 20^th century, everything was to change when archaeologists discovered huge volumes of early Greek manuscripts in Koine Greek, the same language in which the Messianic Scriptures were written.

Take the word arsenokoitai for instance. You will find it in 1^st Corinthians 6:9-10 (the scripture mentioned above). Most Bibles still translate this word as “homosexual”. And yet every Greek document on record (including Christian works such as the Sybilline Oracles and the Acts of John) applied this word to child molesters – not homosexuals. There isn’t a single Koine source that used this word in reference to same sex adult coupling – not one.

The Bible is unique in all literature and contains the words of the living God, the Creator of the Universe – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And in its original languages and properly translated, it does not condemn homosexuality. It teaches us to live faithful lives, committed to loving God with all our heart, mind and soul – and our neighbour as ourselves.

The Bible teaches that God is a God of restoration. Take time to ponder upon these wonderful scriptures:

·         1^st Chronicles 16:34 He is good and his mercy endures forever (repeated 41 times in the Hebrew Scriptures)

·         Job 5:17-18 Do not despise the chastening of the Lord. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole.

·         Psalm 22:27 ALL the ends of the world shall… turn to the Lord. And ALL the families of the nations shall worship before You.

·         Psalm 30:5 His anger is but for a moment. His favour is for Life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

·         Psalm 102:19-20 The Lord looked down… He viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.

·         Psalm 136:1-26 His mercy endures forever – repeated in each verse

·         Isaiah 52:10 ALL the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

·         Isaiah 55:7-8 He will abundantly pardon… for His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are His ways our ways

·         Jeremiah 32:17 There is NOTHING too hard for You.

·         Jeremiah 32:40 I will put My fear in their hearts, that they will not depart from Me.

·         Joel 2:28 I will pour out my spirit on ALL flesh – an amazing prophecy yet to be fulfilled.

·         John 1:29 Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of THE WORLD

·         1^st Corinthians 13:8 Love NEVER fails

·         1^st John 4:8 (16) God is LOVE

·         Romans 12:21 Overcome evil with God (God is our model)

·         Colossians 1:19-20 It pleased the Father… by Him to reconcile ALL things to Himself.

·         James 2:13 Mercy triumphs over Judgement – does this not apply to God?

·         1^st Timothy 4:9-11 …God, who is the saviour of ALL mankind, especially those who believe

There are literally hundreds and hundreds of scriptures which affirm that God will save every last human who has ever lived. Please email us if you would like us to send you a complete list. There is hope beyond your wildest dreams.

We are only days away from the spring High Holy Days, with Pesach (Passover) soon upon us. Chag Sameach (Happy Festival).