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“And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book; for the time is near"
(Rev. 22.10).

“The river of times, in its rush, carries away all the affairs of people,and drowns nations, kingdoms and kings into the abyss of oblivion.”
G.R. Derzhavin

The word “chronology” comes from two Greek words “chronos” - time and “logos” - word, doctrine and means the science of measuring time. It is divided into two parts: astronomical (mathematical) and historical (technical). The first, by studying the patterns of movement of celestial bodies and astronomical phenomena, is designed to establish accurate astronomical time. The second task is to study how different peoples V different time measured and calculated time, how various time systems (calendars) developed and interacted. Based on data from written and archaeological sources, historical chronology determines and clarifies the dates of historical events, correlates them with the modern system of counting time. Already among primitive peoples there was a need to measure events occurring in their lives in time. At first, primitive methods of calculating time became more and more improved with the growth of the practical needs of people and their knowledge in the field of mathematics and astronomy.

On Ancient East the first calendar systems arose, some of the most successful elements of which were adopted and developed during the development of calendars in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

Christian nations medieval Europe, on the one hand, they adopted the elements of chronology from ancient peoples, on the other, they created new ones.

It is necessary to distinguish between the “religious era”, this is a chronology based on a religious event, for example the Muslim era, which is associated with the flight of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622, the Buddhist era, etc.

The Christian era is associated with a great historical event, the fact of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The entire modern European civilization was formed under the influence of Christian values, therefore in our publication we will consider the problem of “The Biblical view of times and the Sacred character of human history.”

During the medieval period of human history, a special term was introduced into scientific circulation, denoting that the course of history is directly related to Divine Providence, this term is called Providentialism.

In the context of universal eschatology, those led by God must transcend (realize) themselves in the coming of a new heaven and a new earth, or in other words, realize themselves in the advent of a new age (Tea of ​​the dead and the life of the next century).

According to S.S. Averintsev, early Christian eschatology arose on the basis of the eschatology of Jewish sectarianism, freed from national-political aspirations, and enriched with motifs of ancient and Zoroastrian eschatological doctrines.

Christian eschatology originates from the Fall of our first parents until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Moreover, the First and Second Coming of Christ expresses the polar relationship between the two attributes of the Divine.

1. Divine Mercy.

2. Fairness of punishment (judging with justice).

Therefore, we see that the eschatology of the New Testament expresses itself only in polysemantic parables and symbols.

The Word of God speaks of the last times, immediately preceding the coming of the Antichrist; and this moral characteristic is not only the most significant for these times, but also determines their very onset. That is, until humanity is morally ready for them, they will not come.

In time, four main properties should be distinguished:

— directionality (irreversibility);

— fluidity (“running of time”);

— absoluteness;

- correlation.

Moreover, if we analyze life modern man, then we will see several directions in the development of eschatological concepts that shape the spiritual life of modern man. Individual eschatology includes three components:

1. the righteous already in earthly life, through his meeting with Christ, secretly has an eschatological new life;

2. after death, a person receives Eternal life in Paradise and a meeting with Christ; already here in Earthly life, a person may be honored to meet with Christ, but such a meeting will fully occur after the Second Coming of Christ.

3. Resurrection, return (restoration) of the body and union with Christ.

The very idea of ​​personal afterlife V late Middle Ages begins to express itself in aspirations for social justice.

The Renaissance contributed to the emergence of Humanism. Within the Christian civilization, leaving aside other religions - Confucian, Buddhist, Muslim, etc. - a broad anti-Christian front has formed, trying to create a non-Christian and anti-Christian culture.

Interest in World Eschatology is characteristic of the newest modern philosophy and Theology, since one of the main processes of modern Christianity is the interpretation of the crisis processes of human history in the sense of the fulfillment of eschatological deadlines.

The theme of time runs like a red thread through the entire eschatology of the Church.

Oscar Kuhlman, in his classic work Christ and Time, describes the two most common images of time:

1. image: time can be represented cyclically in the form of a circle, ring or wheel.

2. image: linear image - ray, straight line ( straight path, river or flying arrow), segment.

Both symbols not only do not exclude each other, but form different facets of one truth.

The circle marks the repeatability of natural rhythms, the line conveys to us a sense of time as the direction of movement and development, but the most amazing thing is that each of these two symbols reveals to us an eschatological perspective about “two ends.”

Movement in a circle can be experienced as a saving return to the golden age and the lost Paradise, or you can see in it only meaningless repetition, doom and futility.

Therefore, for us it can be an image of light, an image of eternity - Transfiguration, or it can be a sign of hell, a closed and strong circle.

The same applies to the linear measurement of time. The line can be strictly horizontal, which means neutral, but at the same time you can imagine its inclination.

The line going up or down becomes the path leading to the top of the Holy Mount Sinai, i.e. shows the path of ascension, spiritual improvement, and if interpreted negatively, it is a symbol of decay, degradation, downward movement, the path to the abyss leading to destruction.

According to Bishop Callistus Ware, a successful symbol of time is a spiral, which combines all the best that is observed in a line and a circle.

More precise than a circle or a straight line, the spiral corresponds to a pattern that dominates the physical world, from the trajectory of galaxies to the shapes of the convolutions of the human brain.

The spiral reflects the cyclical rhythms of nature, but the circle in the spiral is not closed and therefore implies a constant striving towards the goal, moreover, the spiral is three-dimensional.

Time (or "chronos"), the Greek word for chronological time. Chronological time is seen as linear and sequential.

But there have been and are entire civilizations in the world that view life on the basis of the “kairos” paradigm (from Greek - the time of waning, accomplishment, fulfillment).

Time – it needs to be experienced, it is existential.

The essence of “kairos” is how usefully we spend our time, and not how much time we invest in a particular matter or action (action).

The time from the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ until His Second Coming is the time allotted by God for repentance, correction, the person “Be Holy, for I am Holy,” says the Lord. The time before the Second Coming of I. Christ is very close “Blessed is he who reads and hears the words of this prophecy and keeps those things that are written in it; for the time is near” (Rev. 1.3).

In the eternal Kingdom of Christ there will be no more time; it will be abolished. “And he swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in it, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, that time would be no more…” (Rev. 10.6).

Earthly life is given to a Christian for moral preparation, for the education of his soul, for the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, for worthy entry into the Kingdom of Truth and Truth.

In the context of Christian eschatology (the doctrine of the ultimate destinies of the world and man), any Theological simplification is a dead scheme, religious schematicism and is characterized by monotony, which ultimately distorts the experience of vision Orthodox Christian.

List of references and sources

Bible. New Testament. – Moscow, 1995.

1. Introduction to special historical disciplines: Textbook. allowance / T.P. Gusarova, O.V. Dmitrieva, I.S. Filippov and others - M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1990.

Few teachings over the course of centuries have stirred the human consciousness more than the traditional concept of hell, in which the souls and bodies of sinners are tormented throughout eternity. The thought that one day large numbers of people will be condemned to eternal torment in hell is alarming and disheartening to sensitive Christians. After all, almost everyone has friends or relatives who died without dedicating themselves to Christ. The prospect of one day finding themselves in heaven and watching them be cast into hell for all eternity may well motivate thoughtful Christians to say to God, “No, thank you, Lord. I don’t need such a paradise!”

It is not surprising that the traditional view of hell remains a stumbling block for believers and a powerful weapon in the hands of skeptics who question the veracity of the Good News. For example, Bertrand Russell (1892-1970), a British philosopher and public figure, accused Christ of preaching the doctrine of eternal torment, in the unreasonable severity and in the untold suffering which this doctrine has caused throughout the history of Christianity.

Russell wrote: “There is, in my opinion, one very serious flaw in the moral character of Christ, and that is that Christ believed in hell. I cannot imagine that anyone of truly deep humanity could believe in eternal torment. And Christ, if you trust the Gospels, undoubtedly believed in eternal punishment, and you can find many passages where He is filled with vengeful anger at people who did not want to listen to His preaching - an attitude towards dissidents inherent in most preachers, but somewhat detracting from the greatness of such an exceptional personality , like Christ... It is very doubtful that a person, in due measure endowed with kindness, would begin to sow such fears and horrors among people... I am forced to declare that the doctrine according to which the payment for sin is hellfire preaches heartlessness. This doctrine has sowed cruelty in the world and brought cruel torment to many generations of people; And Gospel Christ, if we are to believe what His own chroniclers say about Him, must undoubtedly be held partially responsible for this” (1).

The accusation against Christ of being “partially responsible” for the doctrine of eternal punishment, which “brought cruel torment to many generations of people,” cannot be dismissed as the fruit of an agnostic mind. If Christ truly taught that the saved would enjoy eternal bliss and the unsaved would experience eternal torment in hell fire, then we may have reason to question the moral integrity of His character. It is difficult to imagine that God, Whom Jesus Christ revealed as a merciful Father, would take revenge on His disobedient children, torturing them for all eternity!

It is not surprising that we rarely hear sermons on hellfire these days, even from fundamentalist preachers who are supposed to remain faithful adherents of such teachings. John Walvoord, himself a fundamentalist, suggests that the reluctance to give sermons on hellfire is mainly due to the fact that preachers are afraid to proclaim an unpopular doctrine (2). In my opinion, the problem lies not simply in the reluctance of modern preachers to proclaim the truth about hell, but mainly in the realization that the traditional view of hellfire is morally unacceptable and biblically dubious.

Clark Pinnock subtly observes: “Their reticence [in preaching about hellfire] can hardly be explained by a lack of principle in proclaiming the truth or a reluctance to preach a doctrine that smacks of sadism raised to the level of sophistication. Inner voice tells them that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ would not torture people (even the worst of sinners) in this way. I take the silence of fundamentalist preachers as evidence of their desire to revise the doctrine of the nature of hell" (3). It is precisely this desire that motivates modern theologians to revise the traditional concept of hell and to propose alternative interpretations of biblical data.

Objectives of this chapter. We will consider not the very fact of the existence of hell as the final punishment of the wicked, but the nature of hell. The question is: will unrepentant sinners suffer throughout eternity, or will they suffer a temporary punishment after which they will die a second death? In other words, will they suffer in hellfire forever or will they burn in it without a trace?

In answering this question, we will analyze the traditional view and then move on to the concept of total destruction that I adhere to. The first part of the chapter is devoted to an analysis of the main biblical texts and arguments used to justify the literal view of hell as a place of literal, eternal punishment for the wicked.

In the second part of this chapter we will briefly look at two alternative interpretations of hell. Firstly, this is a metaphorical view, according to which hell is a place of suffering, primarily mental rather than physical. The fire in him burns not literally, but metaphorically, and the pain it causes comes from separation from God, and not from burns (4). Secondly, it is a universalist view, which interprets hell as a cleansing, renewing fire that ultimately allows each person to achieve heaven.

The third part of the chapter introduces the concept of total destruction. According to this view, the unsaved will be completely and irrevocably destroyed in the fires of hell. This concept is sometimes called conditional immortality because our exploration of the biblical holistic view of human nature showed that immortality is not its innate property; it is a Divine gift and can be received on the condition of faith. God will not raise the wicked to eternal life to inflict on them the punishment of eternal torment. The wicked will be resurrected, but they will remain mortal and receive their punishment by suffering final destruction.

The use of the term “total destruction” to refer to the fate of the wicked may raise certain questions, since the first law of thermodynamics states that nothing disappears without a trace. When a corpse is burned, soot and ashes are left behind. However, these remains no longer contain human life. The fire that consumes the wicked will completely end their human existence.

Part 1: Traditional Concept of Hell

With some exceptions, the traditional concept of hell dominated Christian thought from the time of Augustine until the nineteenth century. In general terms, the traditional view holds that upon death, the disembodied souls of unrepentant sinners are cast into hell, where they suffer the punishment of literal eternal fire. During the resurrection, the body is reunited with the soul, after which the torments of hell for the wicked are aggravated, as is the bliss of heaven for the saved.

Colorful ideas about hell. Not content with the images of fire and smoke described in the New Testament, some creative medieval figures depicted Hell as a kind of bizarre “panic room” where punishment was punished on an eye-for-an-eye basis. In other words, whichever member of the body has sinned more will suffer greater punishment in hell.

"IN Christian literature, writes William Crocket, “we find blasphemers hung by their tongues; dissolute women, braided to seduce men, swing over a boiling potion, suspended by their hair or neck; slanderers chew their own tongues, their eyes are burned out with hot irons. Other villains suffer in no less picturesque torment. The murderers are thrown into pits full of poisonous reptiles, and their bodies are infested with worms. Women who have had abortions are buried up to their necks in feces. Those who chatted at the service stand in a vat of burning sulfur and resin. Demons drag adulterers onto high cliffs and throw them down - where sharp stones stick out, and then drag them up the cliff again. Sinners who turn away from God are slowly roasted in the fires of hell” (5).

These early medieval images of hell were ennobled and immortalized by the famous fourteenth-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri. In his Divine Comedy (Divina Commedid), he depicted a place where absolute horror reigns and the condemned writhe and scream in pain, while the saints bask in the rays of heavenly glory. In his hell, some sinners scream heart-rendingly, boiling in boiling blood, hot smoke burns the nostrils of others, and others suffer from the bites of poisonous snakes.

The more cautious approach of Luther and Calvin did not stop the preachers and theologians who succeeded them, who continued to depict hell as a sea of ​​fire in which the wicked would burn for all eternity. The famous American theologian of the eighteenth century, Jonathan Edwards, depicted hell in the form of a furnace, where a liquid fire rages, filling both the body and soul of the wicked: “The body will be filled with unbearable torment, it will fill every member of it. Sinners will experience severe pain, every joint, every nerve will burn with unspeakable torment. They will be tormented even to the tips of their fingers. Their whole body will be filled with God's wrath. Their heart and belly and head, their eyes and tongue, their hands and feet will be filled with the fury of God's wrath. We read about this in many Scriptures...” (6).

A similar picture of the fate of the wicked was offered by the famous nineteenth-century British preacher Charles Spurgeon: “In the same fire that is so familiar to us on earth, your body reclines, like asbestos, incombustible; all your veins will become roads along which Pain will tread; every nerve of yours will become a string on which the devil will continuously play his cruel melody of inexpressible hellish lamentations” (7). The question arises: how can the devil torment sinners where he himself must suffer punishment?

Today, those who believe in a literal, eternal hellfire are more reserved in describing the suffering experienced by the wicked. For example, Robert A. Peterson, in his book Hell Under the Stare: The Case for Eternal Punishment, concludes: “The Judge and Master of Hell is God Himself. He is present in hell, not in blessing, but in wrath. Hell entails eternal punishment, complete destruction, rejection, terrible suffering and unspeakable sorrow and pain. Hell has no time frame. And although there are certain degrees of punishment, hell is terrible for all who find themselves in it. The devil, demons and wicked people dwell in it” (8).

In defending this view of hell, Peterson draws on his side many witnesses: the Old Testament, Christ, the apostles, and church history (early Christianity, the Reformation, and the modern period). He devotes a chapter to each of them. A similar approach is used by other theologians who support the traditional view of hell. An exhaustive answer to all this alleged evidence in favor of the eternal punishment of the wicked will not fit within the scope of our study. Interested readers will find this answer in Edward Fudge's book The Consuming Fire (1982). This book, with an introduction by F. F. Bruce, has been praised by many scholars for its balanced and fair approach to the biblical and historical data. Our study will be reduced to a few of the most important observations.

1. Testimony of the Old Testament

The Old Testament evidence for eternal punishment is based primarily on the use of sheol and two passages, Isa. 66:22-24 and Dan. 12:1-2. Regarding sheol, John F. Walvoord says: “Sheol was depicted as a place where punishment and retribution were carried out. In the Book of Isaiah, the Babylonians, who suffered God's punishment, are welcomed into sheol by those who died before them” (9).

Our study of the word sheol in chapter 5 shows that none of the Old Testament texts provide a basis for the concept of sheol as a place where the wicked are punished. This word means the kingdom of the dead, where silence, inactivity and sleep reign. Likewise, the mocking ode to the king of Babylon is a parable whose characters, personified trees and fallen kings, are fictitious. They serve not to testify to the punishment of the wicked in sheol, but to predict in vivid figurative language God's judgment on the oppressor of Israel and his inglorious end in the dust of the grave, where he will become food for worms. To interpret this parable as a literal description of hell is to ignore the figurative, metaphorical essence of this passage, the purpose of which is to depict the lot of an arrogant tyrant.

Is. 66:24: the portion of the wicked. The description of the fate of the wicked as presented in Isa. 66:24 is considered by some traditionalists to be the clearest evidence for eternal punishment in the Old Testament. The context of this verse is the contrast between God's judgment on the wicked and His blessings on the righteous. The latter will enjoy prosperity and peace and come from Sabbath to Sabbath to worship God (Isa. 66:12-14, 23). But the wicked will suffer the punishment of “fire” (Isaiah 66:15) and “they will all perish” (Isaiah 66:17). This is the context of the key verse 24, which reads: “And they shall go out and see the carcasses of the people who have departed from Me: for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched; and they shall be an abomination to all flesh.”

R. N. Whybray sees in this text "an early description of eternal punishment: even though dead, apostates will exist forever" (10). Peterson speaks in the same spirit, interpreting the expression “their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched” in the sense that “the punishment and dishonor of the wicked has no end; their destiny is eternal. It is not surprising that they will disgust all mankind” (11).

Isaiah's description of the destiny of the wicked was probably inspired by the Lord's destruction of the 185,000-strong Assyrian army during the reign of Hezekiah.

We read that “they arose in the morning, and behold, all the bodies were dead” (Isa. 37:36). This historical event could serve as an omen of the fate of the wicked. Note that the righteous look at “corpses” (Hebrew pegerim) and not at living people. They see their destruction, not eternal torment.

"Worms" are mentioned in this text because they hasten the decomposition of dead bodies and symbolize the dishonor of unburied corpses (Jer. 25:33; Isa. 14:11; Job 7:5; 17:14; Acts 12:23 ). Image unquenchable fire often used in Scripture to denote fire that consumes (Ezek. 20:47, 48) and turns into nothing (Am. 5:5, 6; Matt. 3:12). Edward Fudge rightly notes that “both worms and fire speak of complete and final destruction. Both of these terms make this scene “disgusting”” (12).

To understand the meaning of the expression “their fire will not be quenched,” it must be remembered that in Palestine maintaining a fire on which corpses were burned required considerable effort. Corpses burn reluctantly, and their destruction requires a lot of firewood, which is very rare in those places. During my travels throughout the Middle East and Africa, I often saw half-burnt carcasses of animals when the fire died out before they could be completely destroyed.

The image of unquenchable fire is used to convey the idea of ​​complete incineration. It has nothing to do with the eternal punishment of immortal souls. This passage clearly refers to “human corpses” being burned in the fire, and not to immortal souls that will be tormented forever. Unfortunately, traditionalists interpret this passage and similar sayings of Jesus in light of their concept of eternal punishment rather than on the true meaning of the metaphor.

Dan. 12:2: “everlasting shame.” In an effort to justify their concept of eternal punishment, traditionalists often turn to another Old Testament text, Dan. 12:2, which speaks of the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken, some to eternal life, others to everlasting reproach and disgrace.” Peterson concludes his analysis of this text with the following words: “Daniel teaches this: The godly will be raised to eternal life, but the wicked to eternal shame (Dan. 12:2)” (13).

The Hebrew term demon, translated “disgrace,” is also found in Isa. 66:24, where it is translated "abomination" and is used to describe unburied corpses. In his commentary on the Book of Daniel, André Lacock notes that “here also [Dan. 12:2], and in Isa. 66:24 demon signifies the corruption of the corpses of the wicked” (14). That is, what leads to “shame” is the disgust that arises at the sight of decaying bodies, and not the endless suffering of the wicked. As Emmanuel Petavel puts it: “The survivors will feel disgust, not pity” (15).

Thus, there is virtually no Old Testament evidence for eternal punishment for the wicked. On the contrary, the Old Testament loudly testifies to the complete destruction of the wicked on the eschatological Day of the Lord. Sinners will “perish” and turn to dust (Ps. 1:4, 6); they will be broken like “a potter’s vessel” (Ps. 2:9,12); they will be killed by the spirit of the mouth of the Lord (Isaiah 11:4) and burned in fire “like a thorn tree that is cut down” (Isaiah 33:12).

Apparently the most vivid description of the complete destruction of sinners can be found on the last page of the Old Testament: “For behold, the day will come, burning like an oven; Then all the arrogant and those who do wickedly will be like stubble, and the coming day will burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch” (Mal. 4:1). Here the image of an all-consuming fire, leaving “neither root nor branch,” suggests complete destruction, and not continuous torment. The same truth was proclaimed by God's next prophet, John the Baptist, who called the people to repentance in the face of the approaching fiery judgment (Matthew 3:7-12).

2. Evidence from Intertestamental Literature

In the literature that emerged during the 400-year period between Malachi and Matthew, there is no consensus regarding the fate of the wicked. Some texts describe the endless torment of lost sinners, others reflect the Old Testament view that the wicked cease to exist completely. This contradiction in views most likely arose due to the Hellenistic cultural pressure that the Jews experienced during this era, when they were widely scattered throughout the ancient Near East.

Unfortunately, most people are unaware of this controversy, since traditionalists claim that the Jews universally believed in final retribution in the form of eternal torment. Since Jesus and the apostles did not debunk such a view, they are considered to have supported it. Such an assumption is based on fantasy, not facts.

Eternal torment. In the 2nd Book of Ezra, an apocryphal book that Catholic Church ranks among the canon, the question is asked: when the souls of sinners will be subjected to torture - immediately after death or only after the new creation (2 Ezra 7:15). God answers: “When a spirit leaves the body... if it is one of those who despised and did not keep the ways of the Most High... such a spirit will immediately suffer torment, and it will always be in sorrow and sorrow” (2 Ezra 7:78-80) ( 16).

The same view is expressed in the Book of Judith (150-125 BC), an apocrypha also included in the Catholic canon. In her song of victory, the title character of this book proclaims: “Woe to the nations that rise up against my generation: the Lord Almighty will take vengeance on them on the day of judgment, will send fire and worms on their bodies, and they will writhe in pain and weep forever” (Judith 16: 17). The mention of fire and worms probably goes back to Isa. 66:24, however, Isaiah saw dead bodies devoured by fire and worms, and Judith says that “fire and worms” will cause eternal, never-ending pain to God’s opponents. In this case we have a presentation of a clearly traditional view of hell.

A similar description of the fate of the wicked is contained in the 4th Book of Maccabees, written by a Jew, apparently distinguished by a penchant for stoicism. The author describes how the righteous ascend to heaven immediately after death (10:15; 13:17; 17:18; 18:23), and the wicked descend into torment (9:8, 32; 10:11,15; 12:19 ; 13:15; 18:5,22). In chapter 9 he tells the story of a faithful mother and her seven sons who were tortured to death under the tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes (see 2 Macc. 7:1-42). These seven sons repeatedly warned their wicked tormentors about the eternal fire that awaited them: “Divine vengeance awaits you; eternal fire and torment will never depart from you” (4 Mac. 12:12; cf. 9:9; 10:12,15 ). “Eternal torment threatens everyone who transgresses the commandments of God” (4 Mac. 13:15).

Complete destruction. However, other apocryphal books speak of the complete destruction of sinners. Tobit (about 200 BC), for example, describes this Lately: “All the children of Israel who were delivered in those days, in the remembrance of God in truth, will be gathered together and will come to Jerusalem and will dwell in the land of Abraham in safety... and those who have committed sin and iniquity will disappear from all the face of the earth” (Tob . 14:6-8). The same idea was expressed in the Book of Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach (about 195-171 BC), which speaks of the “rage of fire” in which the wicked will be “destroyed” and “find destruction” (36:7- 10).

The Sibylline Oracles, a collection part of which came from the pen of a Jewish author who probably lived in the 2nd century B.C., describes how God will bring about the complete destruction of the wicked: “And He will burn all the earth with fire, which will devour the entire human race... and there will be ashes and dust” (Siv. Or. 4:76). The Psalms of Solomon, most likely composed by a Hasidic Jew in the middle of the 1st century BC, looks forward to a time when the wicked will disappear from the earth and will never be remembered: “The sinner will be destroyed forever, and he will not be remembered in visiting the righteous. This is the lot of sinners forever” (Ps. Sol. 3:11,12).

Josephus and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Traditionalists often cite the Essene beliefs about the immortality of the soul and eternal punishment, as described by Josephus, as support for their view that such beliefs were generally accepted in New Testament times. Before commenting on this statement, let us take a close look at the above entries. Josephus tells us that the Essenes received from the Greeks not only the concept that “souls are immortal and exist forever,” but also the belief that “good souls live beyond the seas,” where there is no cold and storms, and “evil souls [thrown] into a stormy darkness, where the torment does not cease” (17). Josephus further explains that such beliefs come from Greek “fables” and are based “on the assumption that souls are immortal” and that “evil people ... suffer eternal torment after death” (18). He calls these beliefs “an inevitable temptation for those who once tasted their [Greek] philosophy” (19).

It should be noted that Josephus attributes the belief in the immortality of the soul and eternal torment not to the teachings of the Old Testament, but to Greek “fables” that proved irresistible to Jewish sectarians like the Essenes. Such a remark suggests that not all Jews accepted these beliefs. According to some signs, even among the Essenes, not everyone shared such a belief. For example, the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are usually associated with the Essene community, clearly indicate the complete destruction of sinners.

The Damascus Document, which occupies an important place among the Dead Sea Scrolls, describes the end of sinners, comparing their fate with the fate of the people who died in the waters of the global flood and the unfaithful Israelites who fell in the desert. After God's punishment there will be “no remnant and no survivors among them” (CD 2,6,7). They will become “as if they were not” (CD 2:20). The same view is reflected in another scroll, the Rules of the Community, which speaks of the “destruction” of the people of Belial (Satan) through “eternal fire” (1 QS 2, A-8) (20).

It should be noted that the Charter of the community describes the punishment of those who followed the spirit of wandering, and not the Spirit of truth, at first glance, somewhat contradictory, namely, as an ongoing punishment that entails complete destruction. Its text reads: “And the punishment of all who do [wickedly] is with many stripes from the hand of all the destroying angels in the eternal pit, in the fierce wrath of the God of vengeance, with everlasting trembling and never-ending shame, with shameful death in the fires of hell. And all their periods according to their generations are in sorrow, grief and bitter evil, in dark misfortunes until they are destroyed without a trace and without salvation for them” (1 QS 4.11-14) (21).

According to the author of this document, “eternal trembling and endless shame” last only “until their destruction.” From this we can conclude that in New Testament times terms such as “endless,” “endless,” or “eternal” were used differently than they are used today. To us, “punishment without end” means “punishment without end,” not until the wicked are destroyed. Recognition of this fact plays an important role in interpreting Jesus' statements about the eternal flame and in resolving the apparent contradiction that we find in the New Testament between "everlasting torment" (Matt. 25:46) and "everlasting destruction" (2 Thess. 1:9). ). When speaking of the punishment of the wicked, "endless" means "until they are destroyed."

The foregoing examples of intertestamental literature show that during this period there was no consistent “Jewish view” on the question of the fate of the wicked. Most documents reflect the Old Testament view that sinners are destined for complete destruction, but some of them explicitly speak of endless torment. In short, when reading the words of Jesus or the New Testament authors, we cannot proceed from the premise that they reflect the belief in eternal torment common among the Jews of that time. We must examine the teachings of the New Testament based on what it itself says.

3. Testimony of Jesus

Did Jesus Teach About Eternal Torment? Traditionalists believe that Jesus gives them the strongest evidence for the eternal punishment of the wicked. Kenneth Kantzer, one of the most prominent evangelical leaders of our time, states: “Whoever acknowledges Jesus Christ as Lord cannot ignore the clear, unambiguous language with which He proclaims the terrible truth of eternal retribution” (22).

Australian theologian Leon Morris agrees with Kantzer and states categorically: “Why do people believe in hell in this enlightened age? Because Jesus taught about its existence. He spoke about hell more often than about heaven. We cannot close our eyes to this fact. It is not surprising that there are people who are disgusted by the idea of ​​hell. I don't like her either. But if we are serious about knowing Jesus as the incarnate Son of God, we must reckon with His words that some people will spend eternity in hell” (23).

Morris has no doubt that Jesus taught about the existence of hell. Jesus actually uses the term gehenna seven times out of eight times it is used in the New Testament. The only mention of this word outside the Gospels is in James. 3:6. But the question is not at all about the fact of the existence of hell as a place of final punishment for unrepentant sinners. Here most Christians agree with each other. The main question is the nature of hell. Did Jesus teach that hell-gehenna is a place where sinners will suffer eternal torment? Or was He talking about final destruction? To find the answer to this question, let's examine what Jesus actually said about hell.

What is ad-gehenna? Before we turn to Christ's words about hell-gehenna, it will be useful to consider the origin of the term itself. The Greek word gehenna is a transliteration of the Hebrew expression "valley of the sons of Hinnom." This valley was located south of Jerusalem. In ancient times, the custom of sacrificing children to the god Molech was associated with it (2 Kings 16:3; 21:6; 23:10). And therefore she earned the name “Tophet” - the place where they spit (24). This valley apparently became a giant funeral pyre for the 185,000-strong Assyrian army that the Lord defeated in the days of Hezekiah (Isa. 30:31-33; 37:36).

Jeremiah predicted that this place would be called “the valley of slaughter” because it would be filled with the corpses of the Israelites when God judged them for their sins. “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when they will no longer call this place Tophet and the valley of the sons of Hinnom, but the valley of murder, and they will bury in Tophet for lack of space. And the carcasses of this people will be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to drive them away” (Jer. 7:32, 33).

Josephus tells us that this valley was filled with the dead bodies of the Jews after the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. (25) Isaiah observes the same scene after the destruction of sinners by the Lord at the end of time (Isa. 66:24) . During the intertestamental period, this valley turned into a place of final punishment and was called the “cursed valley” (1 Enoch. 27:2, 3), “vale of retribution” and “future torment” (2 Bar. 59:10, 11), “furnace Gehenna" and "the deep of torment" (4 Ezra 7:36).

And although the imagery of the word gehenna has common features throughout Jewish literature of that period, the descriptions of what happens there are very contradictory. Edward Fudge concludes his study of this literature with the following words: “We have seen several passages in the pseudoapocrypha and one in the apocrypha that speak of eternal torment of the flesh and/or soul. At the same time, there are many examples in intertestamental literature when authors describe the destruction of the wicked by fire - that same Old Testament fire, all-consuming and unquenchable, leaving behind nothing but smoke. We will not sin against the truth if we say that among those who personally heard the words of the Lord, the word gehenna caused horror and disgust. However, saying anything more than that must be done with the greatest caution” (26).

Jesus and hellfire. With this warning in mind, let's look at the seven references to hellfire-gehenna that we find in the Gospels. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus states that anyone who says “fool” to his brother will be subject to “gehenna of fire” (Matthew 5:22). He further says that it is better to pluck out your eye or cut off your hand, which tempts you to sin, than for “your whole body [to be] ... cast into hell” (Matthew 5:29,30). The same idea is expressed in the following chapters of the Gospel of Matthew: it is better to cut off an arm or a leg or pluck out an eye that tempts you to sin, than “to be cast into eternal fire... to be cast into fiery hell” (Matthew 18:8,9). Here the fire of hell is described as "eternal." The same expression is used in Mark, where Jesus says three times that it is better to lose one or another part of one’s body than “to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire... to be cast into the fire of hell, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” ( Mark 9:43-48). Another mention of gehenna is found in Matt. 23:15, where Jesus reproaches the Pharisees for going around sea and land to convert even one person, and when this happens, making him “a son of hell, twice as bad as you.” Finally, in the same chapter, He warns the Pharisees that they cannot escape “condemnation to Gehenna” (Matt. 23:33).

In considering Christ's references to gehenna, we must first note that He nowhere says that gehenna is a place of continuous torment. Fire is eternal and unquenchable, not punishment. We said earlier that in the Old Testament this fire is eternal and unquenchable in the sense that it completely destroys dead bodies. This conclusion is confirmed by Christ’s warning that we should fear not those who can harm our body, but Him “who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). The meaning of these words is clear. Gehenna (hell) is the place of the final punishment, which consists in the complete destruction of the entire human being - his body and soul.

Robert Peterson states that "Jesus is not talking about literal destruction here" because the parallel text in Luke. 12:5 the word “destroy” is not used. It says: “Fear the one who, if killed, can throw you into Gehenna.” On this basis, Peterson concludes: “Thus, the expression “destroy” mentioned in Matt. 10:28, is equivalent to the expression “throw into Gehenna” (27), that is, into eternal torment. There is a very serious flaw in his argument. First, he puts forward the thesis that “to be cast into Gehenna” means “to be given over to eternal torment.” And then he uses his subjective thesis to deny the obvious meaning of the verb appolumi - “to destroy, destroy.” Peterson neglects the basic principle of biblical interpretation, which requires that texts whose meaning is unclear be interpreted by texts whose meaning is certain, and not vice versa. Jesus is clear that God will destroy both soul and body in hell, which means that hell is a place where sinners will suffer complete annihilation rather than eternal torment.

"Eternal Fire" Traditionalists may question this conclusion, since Christ spoke of both “eternal fire” and “eternal torment.” For example, in Matt. 18:8, 9 He repeats what he had already said before (Matthew 5:29, 30), about cutting off a part of the body for the sake of salvation from “eternal fire,” or “gehenna.” An even more specific reference to “eternal fire” is found in the parable of the sheep and the goats, where Christ speaks of the separation of the saved from the unsaved that will take place at His coming. He will invite the faithful into His kingdom, and reject the wicked: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels... And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life” (Matthew 25:41, 46) (28).

Traditionalists attach great importance to the last passage because it combines two concepts - "eternal fire" and "everlasting torment." This combination is given the following meaning: if the fire that causes torment is eternal, then the torment itself must be eternal. Peterson went even further. According to him, “if Matt. 25:41 and 46 were the only biblical passages that described the fate of the wicked, then the biblical doctrine of eternal damnation would be clear enough to oblige us to believe it and proclaim it on the authority of the Son of God” (29).

Peterson's interpretation of these two critical texts is incorrect for four main reasons. Firstly, Christ, in telling this parable, did not set Himself the goal of defining the nature of eternal life or eternal death, but only confirmed that one fate or another can befall a person. The essence of these two states is not discussed in this parable.

Secondly, as John Stott rightly points out, “the fire itself is here called “eternal” and “unquenchable,” but it would be very strange if a person thrown into it turned out to be invulnerable. In theory, it should be the other way around: he should be destroyed forever, and not tortured. Hence the smoke (as evidence that the fire has done its work), which “will rise forever and ever” (Rev. 14:11; cf. 19:3)” (30).

Third, the fire is “eternal-aionos” not because it will burn forever, but because it will completely burn and destroy the wicked. This is clearly indicated by the fact that the lake of fire into which sinners will be thrown is called the “second death” (Rev. 20:14; 21:8), because it will bring about the final and irrevocable destruction of life.

Eternal destruction. The definition of “eternal” often means the immutability of the result, rather than the duration of the process. For example, in Jude. 7 says that Sodom and Gomorrah suffered "the punishment of everlasting fire." It is quite obvious that the fire that incinerated these two cities is eternal, not in its duration, but in the immutability of the results of its impact.

Similar examples can be found in Jewish intertestamental literature. We noted earlier that in the Community Rule from the Dead Sea Scrolls, God proclaims the “destruction” of the wicked by “eternal fire” (lQS 2.4-8). The “angels of death” will bring “endless terror and shame without end, and dishonor by destruction in the fire of hell... until they are destroyed to the last” (lQS 4.11-14). In this text, the shaming and destructive fire is “endless... without end,” but will last only until “they are destroyed.” For modern critical thinking This statement sounds contradictory, but biblical times people thought a little differently. To properly understand this text, it is necessary to establish how it was understood by its first readers.

The above examples are quite sufficient to show that the fire that carries out the final punishment is “eternal” not because it will burn forever, but because, as in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, it will bring about the complete and irreversible destruction of the wicked, and this is their the state will not change forever. In his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, R. Tasker expresses the same opinion: “There is no indication of the duration of this punishment. It is safe to say that the 'eternal fire' metaphor in verse 41 refers to final destruction" (31).

Fourth, Jesus offered a choice between destruction and life: “Enter at the strait gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go in through it; for strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it” (Matthew 7:13, 14) (32). Here Jesus contrasts the convenient path leading to death (destruction) in hell and the thorny path leading to life in the Kingdom of Heaven. The contrast between death and life suggests that “eternal fire” entails the final destruction of sinners, and not their eternal torment.

Eternal punishment. The words of Christ: “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life” (Matthew 25:46, etc.), are considered by many to be the clearest evidence in favor of the fact that the suffering of the wicked will last for all eternity. Is this really the only correct interpretation of this text? John Stott answers: “No, it means giving the text a meaning that it does not have. Jesus did say that both life and punishment would be eternal, but in this passage He does not define the nature of these concepts. If Jesus spoke of eternal life as a blissful existence in close communion with God (John 17:3), then it does not at all follow that eternal punishment is endless pain at the hands of God. On the contrary, although both of these destinies are called eternal, Jesus contrasts them: the more they differ, the better” (33).

Traditionalists consider “eternal punishment” to be a process, but this is not the meaning of this phrase. As Basil Atkinson notes: “When the adjective aionios, meaning 'eternal', is used in Greek with action nouns, it refers to the result of the action, not the process. Thus, the expression “eternal punishment” is comparable to the expressions “eternal redemption” and “eternal salvation.” No one says we are redeemed or saved forever. We have been redeemed and saved by Christ once and for all. Likewise, sinners will not go through the process of punishment forever, but will be punished once and for all. On the other hand, the noun “life” expresses not an action, but a state. And therefore life itself is eternal” (34).

A suitable example to support this conclusion is found in 2 Thess. 1:9, where Paul speaks of those who reject the good news: “Who will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power” (35) (other translation). It is quite obvious that the destruction (destruction) of the wicked cannot continue forever. It is difficult to imagine an eternal, never-ending process of destruction. Is the destruction of the wicked everlasting? not because the process of destruction lasts forever, but because its results are unchangeable. Likewise, the “eternal punishment” in Matt. 25:46 is called eternal because of the immutability of the results. This is a punishment that will result in eternal death, or destruction.

The meaning of the word "eternal". Some reason as follows: “If the word ‘eternal’ means ‘without end’ when applied to the future happiness of believers, it follows, in the absence of clear evidence to the contrary, that the word has the same meaning when applied to the future punishment of sinners.” (36). Harry Buis puts it even more clearly: “If aionion is a word to describe life without end, then it must also be a word to describe endless punishment. In this case the doctrine of heaven and the doctrine of hell are inextricably linked” (37).

Researchers who reason in this way do not take into account that the meaning of the word “eternal” is determined by the object that it characterizes. If the object is the life God gives to His followers (John 3:16), then the word "eternal" certainly means "endless, unceasing," for Scripture tells us that the mortal nature of believers will be clothed with "immortality" in Christ's coming(1 Cor. 15:53).

On the other hand, if the designated object is the “punishment” or “destruction” of the wicked, then “eternal” can only mean “unchangeable, complete, final,” since there is not a single word in Scripture that the wicked will be resurrected immortal so that they could be given over to eternal torment. Eternal punishment requires either the presence of an immortal nature from birth, or the Divine sending of this gift at the time of imposition of punishment. However, the Bible says nothing about the existence of such phenomena.

The punishment of the wicked is eternal, both qualitatively and quantitatively. It is “eternal” qualitatively because it refers to the Age to Come. It is “eternal” quantitatively because its consequences have no end. Like “eternal judgment” (Heb. 6:2), “eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12), and “eternal salvation” (Heb. 5:9)—the eternal character of which is determined by the results of deeds once committed—“eternal punishment” called "eternal" based on its results: the complete and irreversible destruction of the wicked.

It should be noted that the Greek word aionios, translated as “eternal” or “endless,” literally means “lasting for a certain time.” Ancient Greek papyri contain numerous references to Roman emperors called aionios. This means that they ruled until the end of their lives. Unfortunately, the words "eternal" and "endless" do not accurately convey the meaning of the term aionios, which literally means "lasting an age."

The meaning of the word "punishment". Let us now turn to the word "punishment" ("torment"), which is used to render the Greek kolasis. If we look at the Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, edited by Moulton and Milligan, we will see that the word was then used to mean “pruning” or “cutting off” of dried branches. Thus, it reflects the expression often found in the Old Testament, “he will be cut off from his people” (Gen. 17:14; Exod. 30:33, 38; Lev. 7:20, 21, 25, 27; Num. 9:13). That is, the “eternal punishment” of the wicked consists in their complete and irreversible “cut-off” from humanity.

Finally, we must not forget that eternal punishment can be inflicted on the wicked only if God resurrects them to immortality, so that their life becomes invulnerable. But, according to Scripture, only God has immortality in Himself (1 Tim. 1:17; 6:16). He gives immortality as a gospel gift (2 Tim. 1:10). The most famous verse in the Bible says that those who do not believe in Him will “perish” and will not receive “eternal life” (John 3:16). The fate of sinners is destruction in eternal fire, and not punishment with eternal torment. The concept of eternal torment for the wicked can only be defended on the basis of Greek ideas about the immortality and invulnerability of the soul, however, as we have already found out, this concept is alien to the Bible.

"Crying and gnashing of teeth." In the Gospel of Matthew we find four times the statement that on the day of judgment “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30). People who believe in a literal, eternal hellfire believe that the expression "weeping and gnashing of teeth" describes the agony that sinners will experience throughout eternity. However, when we consider the context of each of these passages, we see that the “weeping and gnashing of teeth” refers to the division of all people into two categories that will occur on the day of judgment.

This expression most likely derives from the weeping and gnashing of teeth associated with the Day of the Lord in the Old Testament. For example, Zephaniah describes the day of the Lord in the following words: “The great day of the Lord is near, near, and hastening greatly: the voice of the day of the Lord is already heard; Then even the bravest will cry out bitterly!” (Zeph. 1:14) (38). The psalmist speaks in the same spirit: “The wicked will see this and be vexed, gnashing his teeth and fainting. The desire of the wicked will perish” (Ps. 111:10) (39). Here the psalmist clearly indicates that the gnashing of teeth is a consequence of the judgment of the wicked, the outcome of which is their destruction.

Edward Fudge makes the following astute observation: “The expression 'weeping and gnashing of teeth' seems to indicate two different actions. The lament reflects the horror of the condemned as they begin to realize that God has rejected them as worthless dust and they are in danger of carrying out His sentence. The gnashing of teeth seems to express the unbearable rage and malice they feel towards God, who condemned them, and towards the redeemed, whom He has endowed with eternal bliss” (40).

4. Testimony of the Apostle Paul

The word gehenna is not found in Paul's writings. But the apostle repeatedly speaks of God’s judgment of sinners during Christ’s coming. Traditionalists cite some of these passages to justify their belief in the eternal punishment of the wicked. We have previously examined 2 Thess. 1:9, where Paul speaks of the “punishment of everlasting destruction” (other translation) that sinners will suffer at the coming of Christ. We noted that the destruction of the wicked will be eternal-aionios, not because the process will never cease, but because its results will be unchangeable.

Day of Wrath. Another significant passage from Paul's letters is often cited as evidence in favor of a literal, never-ending hellfire, which speaks of "a day of wrath and revelation of righteous judgment from God, who will render to everyone according to his deeds... To those who persist and do not submit to the truth, but are betrayed untruth - rage and anger. Sorrow and distress to every soul of a person who does evil, first the Jew, then the Greek!” (Rom. 2:5 9).

“Rage, wrath, sorrow, distress” are perceived by traditionalists as a description of torment in hell (41).

Paul's picture of the “day of wrath,” when the wicked will experience wrath, wrath, tribulation, and distress, is most likely borrowed from the Book of Zephaniah, where the prophet speaks of the eschatological day of the Lord as the “day of wrath”: “This day is the day of tribulation and distress.” , a day of desolation and destruction, a day of darkness and darkness, a day of clouds and darkness” (Zeph. 1:15). The prophet further proclaims: “The whole earth will be consumed by the fire of His jealousy, for He will bring destruction, and sudden destruction, upon all the inhabitants of the earth” (Zeph. 1:18).

We have every reason to believe that Paul is expressing the same truth—that the day of the Lord will bring a sudden end to sinners. Paul does not mention one word about the eternal torment of the lost wicked. Why? Because for him, immortality is a gift from God that the saved will receive at the return of Christ (1 Cor. 15:53, 54), and not an innate quality of every person. The apostle does not hesitate to borrow from the Old Testament prophetic vocabulary, but at the same time illuminates the picture of the Day of the Lord with the bright light of the Gospel, and not at all with the flames of hell, where the souls of sinners remain in eternal torment.

5. Testimony of the Book of Revelation

The theme of the final judgment is a key theme in the Book of Revelation as it describes how God will crush the forces of evil that oppose Him and His people. Therefore, it is not surprising that people who believe in eternal hellfire find support for their views in the vivid figurative language used in Revelation to describe the final judgment. To confirm their belief in eternal torment, they cite the following visions: 1) the vision of God's wrath in Rev. 14:9-11 and 2) the vision of the lake of fire and the second death in Rev. 20:10,14,15. Let's take a quick look at them.

Vision of God's Wrath. In Rev. 14 John sees three angels proclaiming God's final judgment, and their message grows louder and louder. The third angel exclaims with a loud voice: “Whoever worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will drink the wine of the wrath of God, the whole wine prepared in the cup of His wrath, and will be tormented with fire and brimstone before the holy angels.” and before the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever, and they will have no rest day or night who worship the beast and his image and whoever receives the mark of his name” (Rev. 14:9-11).

Traditionalists view this passage in conjunction with Matt. 25:46 as the two most important texts supporting the traditional doctrine of hell. Peterson concludes his analysis of this passage with these words: “I conclude that, despite efforts to the contrary, Rev. 14:9-11 contains a very clear teaching that hell involves eternal torment for sinners. Even if we had only this one passage, we would still have to preach the traditional doctrine of hell on the authority of the Word of God” (42). Robert Moray expresses the same opinion, and no less categorically: “By all the rules of hermeneutics and exegesis, the only possible interpretation of Rev. 14:9-11 must include the eternal, conscious torment that awaits the wicked” (43).

These dogmatic interpretations of Rev. 14:9-11, which argues for literal, eternal torment, shows a lack of sensitivity to the highly metaphorical language of this passage. In his commentary on the Book of Revelation, J. Sweet, a renowned British New Testament scholar, offers a very timely warning: “Pose the question, 'What does Revelation teach—eternal torment or eternal destruction?' - means in one way or another to use this book as a source of “doctrine” or information about the future. John resorts to images, just as Jesus uses parables (cf. Matt. 18:32-34; 25:41-46), in order, before it is too late, to show the unimaginable collapse of those who reject God, and the equally incomprehensible bliss of those who are in union with Him” (44). Unfortunately, this warning is not heeded by those who give literal interpretations to highly metaphorical biblical passages.

Four elements of judgment. Let's look at the four main elements present in the angel's message about God's impending judgment on the apostates who worship the beast: 1) they will drink from the cup of God's wrath, 2) they will be tormented with fire and brimstone before the holy angels and the Lamb, 3) the smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever, 4) they will have no rest day or night.

The pouring out of the cup of God's wrath is a well-established Old Testament symbol of Divine judgment (Isa. 51:17, 22; Jer. 25:15-38; Ps. 59:5; 74:9). God pours out the wine “whole,” that is, undiluted, ensuring its deadly effect. The prophets used similar language: “They will drink, they will swallow, and they will be as if they were not” (Obd. 16; cf. Jer. 25:18,27,33). Babylon, the city that corrupts the nations, will be filled with the same cup of God’s wrath. God will prepare “double” wine for him, and they will bring upon him “plagues, death, mourning, and famine,” and burning with fire (Rev. 18:6, 8). We have reason to believe that the end of Babylon, when it is destroyed by fire, will also be the end of the apostates who drink God's undiluted wine.

The fate of the wicked is described in terms of the most terrible judgment that has ever befallen the earth—they will be destroyed by the fire and brimstone of Sodom and Gomorrah. “And he will be tormented with fire and brimstone before the holy angels and before the Lamb” (Rev. 14:10). The image of fire and brimstone destroying these two cities is often used in the Bible to denote complete destruction (Job 18:15-17; Isa. 30:33; Ezek. 38:22).

Isaiah describes the fate of Edom in language remarkably reminiscent of Rev. 14:10. He says: “And its rivers will be turned into pitch, and its dust into brimstone, and its land will be burning pitch: it will not be quenched day or night; its smoke will rise forever” (Isa. 34:9, 10). As in Rev. 14:10, we see here unquenchable fire, brimstone and smoke that rises forever, day and night. Does this mean that Edom was to burn forever? There is no need to look far for the answer, since the same verse goes on to say: “It will remain desolate from generation to generation; no one will pass through it forever and ever” (Isa. 34:10) (45). It is quite obvious that the unquenchable fire and the ever-rising smoke serve as metaphorical symbols of complete destruction, destruction and destruction. If this is the meaning of these images in the Old Testament, then we have reason to believe that the text we are considering has the same meaning.

This conclusion is supported by John's use of fire and smoke imagery to describe the fate of Babylon, the city responsible for the apostasy of God's people. The harlot Babylon “shall be burned with fire” (Rev. 18:8), and “her smoke goes up forever and ever” (Rev. 19:3). Does this mean that Babylon will burn for all eternity? It’s unlikely, since the merchants and kings of the earth will cry “for fear of the torment” that they will see: “Woe, woe to you, that great city... It was desolate in one hour!... and it will be no more” (Rev. 18:10, 19, 21). It is obvious that the smoke of Babylon's torment, which will rise forever and ever, symbolizes complete destruction, since the city “will be no more” (Rev. 18:21).

The striking similarity between the fate of the apostates and the fate of Babylon, which is said to be tormented in fire and whose smoke “will go up forever and ever” (Rev. 14:10, 11; cf. 18:8; 19:3), gives we have good reason to believe that the fate of Babylon will also be the fate of those who are involved in its sins, that is, they will face death and destruction together.

“They will have no rest day or night.” This phrase (Rev. 14:11) is interpreted by traditionalists as describing eternal torment in hell. However, it means continuity, not eternal continuation of action. John uses the same expression “day and night” to describe the animals praising God (Rev. 4:8); martyrs serving God (Rev. 7:15); Satan accusing the brothers (Rev. 12:10); and the false trinity tormented in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). In each case, the same thought is carried out: the action is not interrupted throughout its entire duration. Harold Guillebaud rightly notes that the expression “they will have no rest day or night” (Rev. 14:11) “certainly says that the suffering of the followers of the beast will be continuous as long as it continues; but there is nothing in the phrase itself to suggest that they will last forever” (46).

Confirmation this conclusion can be found in the use of the expression “day and night” in Isa. 34:10, where, as we have already seen, the fire of Edom will not be quenched “either day or night” and its “smoke will rise forever” (Isa. 34:10). This imagery is used here to show that the fire of Edom will burn until it has completed its purpose, and then go out. The result is eternal destruction, not eternal burning. “It will remain desolate from generation to generation” (Isa. 34:10).

So, the four images discussed above, presented in Rev. 14:9-10, complement each other in describing the final destruction of the apostates. The "whole" wine of God's wrath signifies judgment, which will result in the destruction of sinners. Burning brimstone indicates a certain kind of conscious torment that precedes extermination. The rising smoke serves as a constant reminder of God's righteous judgment. Suffering will not cease day or night until the atheists are completely destroyed.

Lake of fire. The final biblical account of final punishment contains two very important metaphors: 1) the lake of fire and 2) the second death (Rev. 19:20; 20:10, 15; 21:8). Traditionalists give the "lake of fire" primary importance because for them, as John Walvoord puts it, "the lake of fire is synonymous with the center of eternal torment" (47).

To determine the meaning of “lake of fire,” we need to examine the four uses of the phrase in the Book of Revelation, the only biblical book where it appears. We find the first mention of him in Rev. 19:20, which says that the beast and the false prophet were “thrown into the lake of fire, burning with brimstone.” The second mention is in Rev. 20:10, where John describes the outcome of Satan's last great rebellion against God: "And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." By throwing the devil into the lake of fire, God increased the number of its inhabitants from two to three.

The third and fourth time this expression is found in Rev. 20:15 and 21:8, which says that all the wicked will also be thrown into the lake of fire. These verses outline the culmination of the fight against evil, where all evil forces and people will ultimately be punished in the lake of fire.

A fundamental question arises: does the lake of fire symbolize an ever-burning hell where the wicked suffer torment for all eternity, or the irreversible destruction of sin and sinners? Five significant arguments can be made in favor of the fact that the lake of fire represents the complete and final destruction of evil and its carriers.

Firstly, the beast and the false prophet, thrown alive into the lake of fire, are symbolic characters, denoting not specific people, but persecuting states and a decaying false religion. Political and religious systems cannot experience eternal conscious torment. Thus, for them, the lake of fire means complete, irreversible destruction.

Secondly, the imagery of the devil and his host being consumed by fire from heaven and then thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone is taken from the Book of Ezekiel 38 and 39, where there are even code names "Gog" and "Magog", as well as from 4- th Book of Kings 1:10, which speaks of fire coming down from heaven and consuming the Pentecostal man and his soldiers sent to arrest Elijah. In both cases, fire results in the destruction of the wicked (Ezek. 38:22; 39:6,16). The similarity of these images indicates that in Rev. 20:10, where the fate of the devil is discussed, the meaning and function of fire as an instrument of complete destruction remains unchanged.

Thirdly, is it possible to imagine that the devil and his angels, being spirits, could “torment [in fire] day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10)? After all, fire is a phenomenon of the material, physical world, and the devil and his demons are creatures that do not have a physical nature. Eldon Ladd rightly notes: “It is inconceivable that a lake of literal fire could cause eternal torment to creatures without flesh. This colorful language is obviously used to describe the reality of the spiritual world - the final and eternal destruction of the forces of evil that have besieged humanity since the Garden of Eden" (48).

Fourth, the fact that “death and hell [were] thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:14) indicates that the lake of fire has a symbolic meaning, since death and hades (grave) are abstract concepts and cannot be thrown into fire or consumed by it. With this figurative language, John proclaims the final and complete abolition of death and the grave. By His death and resurrection, Jesus overcame the power of death, and eternal life is not possible until death is symbolically destroyed in the lake of fire and expelled from the universe.

"The second death." The fifth and decisive argument that the lake of fire symbolizes the complete destruction of sinners is that it is defined as the “second death.” Before we look at this expression, it should be noted that John clearly identifies the lake of fire with the second death (see Rev. 20:14; cf. 21:8).

Some traditionalists interpret the “second death” not as the final death, but as the final separation of sinners from God. For example, Robert Peterson states: “When John says that death and hades were cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14), he is showing that the intermediate state gave way to the final state. The same can be said about his statement regarding the lake of fire and the second death (Rev. 20:14). Just as death signifies the separation of soul and body, so the second death signifies the final separation of the wicked from the loving Creator. Accordingly, God reunites the souls of the unsaved with their bodies for eternal punishment. If eternal life implies eternal knowledge of the Father and the Son (John 17:3), then its opposite, the second death, implies the deprivation of the opportunity to communicate with God for all eternity” (49).

It is difficult to understand why Peterson interprets the “second death” as an eternal, conscious existence in separation from God, while the Bible, as we already noted in Chapter 4, clearly says that death is an unconscious state. “The second death” is indeed the opposite of “eternal life,” but in the sense of “eternal death” and not eternal conscious existence without God. Moreover, the concept of the reunification of lost souls with bodies after an intermediate state to receive eternal punishment can only be justified by a dualistic understanding of human nature. From a biblical perspective, death is the cessation of life, not the separation of soul and body. The meaning of the expression “second death” should be determined on the basis of the text of the Book of Revelation and contemporary Jewish literature, and not on Greek dualism, alien to the Bible.

As John expounds on Revelation, he consistently explains the meaning of the terms he uses. For example, he says that “bowls full of incense...are the prayers of the saints” (Rev. 5:8). “The fine linen is the righteousness of the saints” (Rev. 19:8). The return to life of the saints and their reign with Christ for a thousand years is called the “first resurrection” (Rev. 20:5). Following this pattern, John makes it clear that the lake of fire is the “second death” (Rev. 20:14; cf. 21:8).

Some traditionalists tend to confuse the concepts and define the second death as a lake of fire, trying to prove that the second death is not final death, but eternal torment in fire. It is not at all necessary to read Rev. 20:14 and 21:8 to see that this approach is wrong. John makes it clear: the lake of fire is the second death, and not the other way around. The meaning of the second death follows from the meaning of the first death, which befalls all people at the end of earthly life. The second death differs from the first not in essence, but in its consequences. The first death is a temporary sleep because it is followed by resurrection. The second death is the eternal and irreversible cessation of life, since there will be no awakening from it.

Links to the “second death”. Since John refers to the lake of fire as the second death, it is extremely important for us to understand its meaning. This expression appears four times in the Book of Revelation and is not found anywhere else in the New Testament. The first mention can be found in Rev. 2:11: “He who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.” In this case, a distinction is made between the “second death” and the physical death that befalls all people. The meaning of this text is that those who are saved will receive eternal life and will not experience eternal death.

The second mention of the “second death” occurs in Rev. 20:6 in the context of the first resurrection of the saints at the beginning of the millennial kingdom: “Over them the second death has no power.” Again, the point here is that resurrected saints will not experience the second death, that is, the penalty of eternal death, obviously because they will be resurrected to immortality. The third and fourth references are found in Rev. 20:14 and 21:8, where the second death is identified with the lake of fire, into which the devil, the beast, the false prophet, death, hell and all the workers of evil are thrown. In this case, the lake of fire is called the second death in the sense that it brings about the eternal destruction of sin and sinners.

The meaning of the expression “second death” can be clarified by examining its use in the Targum, the Aramaic translation and exegesis of the Old Testament. The Targum uses this expression several times to refer to the final and irreversible death of the wicked. According to Strack and Billerbeck, the targum on Jeremiah 51:39, 57 contains a prophecy against Babylon that reads: “They will die the second death and will not live in the age to come” (50). Here the second death is the obvious result of the final judgment, which will not allow the wicked to live in the new world.

In his study "The New Testament and the Palestinian Targum on the Pentateuch," M. McNamara cites targum on Deuteronomy 33:6, Isaiah 22:14 and 65:6,15, where the term "second death" is used to describe final, irreversible death . The Targum on Deuteronomy 33:6 reads: “May Reuben live in this age, and may he not experience the second death, which the wicked will die in the age to come” (51). In the Targum on Isa. 22:14 the prophet says: “This sin will not be forgiven you until you die the second death, says the Lord of hosts” (52). In both cases, the “second death” refers to the final destruction that will befall the wicked at the final judgment.

The Targum on Isaiah 65:6 overlaps with Revelation 20:14 and 21:8. It reads: “Their punishment will be in Gehenna, where fire burns every day. Behold, it is written before my face: “I will not give them any relief in their lives, but I will punish them for their iniquities and cause their bodies to suffer a second death” (53). The Targum on Isaiah 65:15 in turn reads: “And leave your name for My chosen ones to be cursed, and the Lord God will strike you with the second death, and He will call His servants the righteous by another name” (54). In this case, the second death is clearly equated with the killing of the wicked by the Lord, which speaks of final destruction, and not of eternal torment.

In light of the above, we can conclude that the expression “second death” is used by John to define the nature of the punishment in the lake of fire, namely: punishment that will ultimately lead to eternal, irreversible death. As Robert Mons points out: “The lake of fire signifies not only the severe punishment awaiting the enemies of all righteousness, but also their complete and final destruction. This is the second death, that is, the fate that befalls those whose temporary resurrection ends with a return to death and its punishment” (55). The same view is expressed with considerable eloquence by Henry Alford: “For some a second life of a higher order awaits, for others a second death of a lower order. Just as after the second life there will be no death (Rev. 21:4), so after the second death there will be no life” (56). A very witty definition of the “second death” as final, irreversible death. To interpret this expression in any other way - as eternal torment or conscious existence without God - means to ignore biblical meaning"death" as the end of life.

Conclusion. In concluding this examination of the traditional view of hell as a place of literal, eternal punishment for the wicked, we can make three major observations. First, the traditional concept of hell is based primarily on a dualistic view of human nature, which requires the soul to exist eternally in either heavenly bliss or hellish torment. We have found that such a belief is alien to the biblical holistic view of human nature, according to which death means the cessation of life for the whole person.

Second, the traditionalist view is based on a literal interpretation of such symbolic images as gehennah, the lake of fire, and the second death. Such images are not subject to literal interpretation, since, as we have already seen, they metaphorically describe the irrevocable destruction of evil and its adherents. After all, lakes are filled with water, not fire.

Thirdly, the traditional view does not provide a reasonable explanation for God's fair judgment, proclaiming endless Divine retribution for sins committed in a very short period of time. The doctrine of conscious eternal torment is inconsistent with the biblical revelation of God's love and justice. We will consider this question further in connection with the moral significance of eternal torment.

In conclusion, the traditional concept of hell was readily accepted in the Middle Ages, when most people lived under autocratic regimes of despotic rulers who tortured and murdered their subjects with impunity. In such social conditions, theologians could with a clear conscience attribute to God indomitable vindictiveness and insatiable cruelty, which in our time would be considered truly demonic qualities. Modern theological ideas are subject to ethical and rational criticism, which does not accept the moral waywardness attributed to God in the past. Our sense of justice requires that the punishment meted out be commensurate with the evil committed. The traditional view does not take into account this important truth, proclaiming eternal punishment for sins committed during a short human life.

Part 2: Alternative Concepts of Hell

Serious problems with the traditional concept of hell have led some theologians to seek alternative interpretations. Below we briefly look at two recent attempts to understand the biblical data in new ways and reconsider the nature of hell.

1. Metaphorical view of hell

The most moderate revision of the traditional concept of hell involves a metaphorical interpretation of the nature of the endless torments of hell. Hell is still understood as an ongoing punishment, but it is less literal, since the fire does not burn the flesh of the wicked, but serves as a symbol of the pain experienced by people separated from God. Billy Graham expresses precisely the metaphorical view of the fires of hell when he says: “I often ponder the nature of hell. Isn’t this the fierce burning in our hearts, deprived of communication with God, the fire that we can never extinguish?” (57) The interpretation of hellfire as “a furious burning in our hearts, deprived of communication with God,” is very original. Unfortunately, Graham does not take into account that this “burning” occurs not in the hearts of people, but outside them, and that this flame destroys sinners. If the hearts of sinners burned with a thirst for communication with God, they would not have to suffer in the fire of the final judgment.

Imagery. In his fascinating exposition of the metaphorical concept of hell, William Crockett states that Christians should not be forced to believe that “a portion of created men will enjoy heaven and the rest will burn in hell” (58). He offers this solution: recognize that “hellfire and brimstone are not a literal description of the attributes of hell, but figurative expressions warning the wicked of impending doom” (59). Crockett cites Calvin, Luther, and a host of modern scholars who "interpret hell's flames metaphorically, or at least entertain the possibility that hell does not necessarily burn with literal fire" (60).

Crockett argues that “the most compelling reason to take them [the images of hell] metaphorically is the contradictory description of hell in the New Testament. How can hell burn with literal fire if it is described as darkness (Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30; 2 Pet. 2:17; Jude 13)?” (61) He goes on to ask the pertinent question: “Did the New Testament writers mean the literal meaning of their words? This cannot be said about the Apostle Jude. In verse 7 he calls hell “everlasting fire,” and then in verse 13 he describes it as “the darkness of darkness.”...Fire and darkness are, of course, not the only images used in the New Testament in relation to hell. It is said about the wicked that they will weep and gnash their teeth (Matt. 8:12; 13:42; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28), their worm does not die (Mark 9: 48) and they will be beaten a lot (Luke 12:47). No one believes that in hell people will be truly beaten or that the corpse worms there will be given immortality. In the same way, gnashing of teeth is nothing more than an image pointing to an inexorable reality. There was a time when people wondered what would happen to sinners who lost all their teeth. How will they make teeth grinding sounds?” (62) The answer to the last question was given as follows: “In the afterlife, toothless sinners will be provided with dentures so that they can grind them” (63).

Based on his metaphorical interpretation of the fires of hell, Crockett concludes: “Thus, hell should not be imagined as a fire spewed out by the underworld, reminiscent of the fiery furnace of Nebuchadnezzar. The only thing that can be said with certainty is that those who disobey will be cast out from the presence of God without any hope of return. They will be cast away like Adam and Eve, but this time into “eternal darkness, where there is no place for joy and hope” (64).

Analysis of the metaphorical view. To its credit, proponents of the metaphorical concept of hell emphasize that the images used in the Bible to describe hell, such as fire, darkness, ravenous worms, brimstone, and gnashing of teeth, are metaphors and not descriptions of actual reality. When interpreting a text, a distinction must be made between the message and the medium used to convey it. Metaphors serve to convey a certain message, but they are not the message itself. That is, when interpreting highly symbolic images of hell, we should strive to understand the message being conveyed, rather than taking the images as a literal description of reality.

Proponents of the metaphorical view are correct when they point out that the main problem with the traditional concept of hell is its emphasis on literalism, which does not take into account the highly symbolic nature of the language used. However, the problem with the very metaphorical view of hell is that it only replaces physical torment with less cruel - mental. But, while reducing the intensity of suffering in non-literal hell, it practically does not change anything essentially: hell by its nature remains a place of incessant torment.

Additionally, the notion that eternal mental torment is more humane than physical torment can also be questioned. Mental agony can be no less painful than physical pain. By making hell more humane, the metaphorical concept achieves nothing, since it is burdened by the same problems of the traditional view. People are still forced to believe that God tirelessly tortures sinners, albeit less cruelly. In my opinion, the solution must be sought not in softening or ennobling hell, hoping to make it more acceptable for the eternal pastime of sinners, but in understanding the nature of the final punishment, which, as we will see, will consist of final destruction, and not eternal torment.

2. A universalist view of hell

A second and more radical revision of the concept of hell was undertaken by the universalists, who reduced hell to a temporary state, depicting it as a gradual punishment leading ultimately to heaven. Universalists believe that God will be able to bring every person to salvation and eternal life and that no one, in fact, is doomed to either eternal torment or destruction. This view was first expressed by Origen in the third century and has gained strong support in modern times, especially through the work of men such as Friedrich Schleiermacher, C. Mole, J. Robinson, Michael Paternother, Michael Perry, and John Hick. The arguments given by these and other authors in support of universalism are both theological and philosophical in nature.

Theological and philosophical arguments. In approaching the issue from a theological perspective, these scholars turn to "universalist passages" (1 Tim. 2:4; 4:10; Col. 1:20; Rom. 5:18; 11:32; Eph. 1:10; 1 Cor. 15:22), which, it seems to them, promise hope for universal salvation. Based on these texts, universalists conclude that if not all people are ultimately saved, then God’s will “that all people should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4) will not be fulfilled. Only through the salvation of all people can God demonstrate the victory of His infinite patience and love.

From a philosophical point of view, universalists consider it unacceptable that loving God allowed millions of people to experience continuous torment for sins committed over several years of life. Jacques Ellul expresses his opinion on this matter, asking a number of very reasonable questions: “Is it not obvious to us that the New Creation, this wonderful symphony of love, cannot coexist with the abode of wrath? Is God really two-faced: one face, radiating love, addressed to His Heavenly Jerusalem, and the other, filled with anger, to the underworld? Will the peace and joy of God be perfect if He remains the God who is angry and throws thunder and lightning? Could heaven be that “very quiet, serene village” described by the French writer Gary in the novel “Tulip”, which is located next to a concentration camp where millions of people die in terrible torture?” (65)

Purification process. Universalists do not even allow the thought that during the final judgment God would condemn to eternal torment the countless number of unbelievers who did not respond to the call of Christ for the reason that they had never heard the Christian message. Some universalists hold that God will save all non-believers by enabling them to be gradually transformed in a post-mortem process of "purification."

This view is a modification of the Catholic doctrine of purgatory, which limits this restorative process to the souls of Christians only. Universalists extend this privilege to the souls of all sinners. Thus, in the afterlife, God continues to draw all the unsaved to Himself until they all respond to His love and remain with Him for all eternity.

An attractive but unbiblical concept. No one will deny that the theological and philosophical arguments of the universalists cry out to the Christian conscience. Any person who deeply feels God's love longs to see all people saved. He hated the idea that God would be so merciless as to punish millions of people - especially those who lived in ignorance - with eternal torment. Yet our gratitude to the Universalists for their efforts to affirm the triumph of God's love and to debunk the unbiblical doctrine of eternal suffering should not prevent us from stating clearly and distinctly that this doctrine is a serious distortion of biblical teaching.

First of all, "universalist passages" proclaim the extent of God's plan for universal salvation, not the fact of the unconditional salvation of every person. For example, in Col. 1:19-23 says that God's plan to “reconcile all things to Himself” includes the Colossian believers, “if you continue steadfast and immovable in the faith.”

Likewise in 1 Tim. 2:4 the words about God's desire “that all people should be saved” are juxtaposed with a reminder of the final judgment, which will bring “disaster and destruction” to those who stray from the faith (1 Tim. 6:9,10; cf. 5:24; 4: 8). God does not deprive anyone of the opportunity to be saved, but He respects the freedom of those who reject His offer, even though it brings Him excruciating pain.

Secondly, the idea that God will ultimately save all people because the doctrine of the incessant torment of sinners is unacceptable, incompatible with Divine justice and the very serenity and bliss of heaven, is a very significant argument. However, such an argument, as we have already shown, is based on an erroneous interpretation of the biblical teaching about the nature of the final punishment of the wicked. One cannot proclaim the correctness of the concept of universal salvation only on the basis that the concept of eternal suffering is erroneous.

Thirdly, the concept of corrective punishment, or gradual posthumous transformation, is completely alien to Scripture. The fate of every person remains unchanged after his death. This principle found clear expression in Christ's parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-21). In Heb. 9:27 is no less clear: “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” For unrepentant sinners, “the expectation of judgment” inspires fear, because what lies ahead of them is not universal salvation, but “the fury of fire, ready to devour the adversaries” (Heb. 10:26,27).

Fourthly, regarding the question of those who did not have the opportunity to learn about Jesus and respond to His message, it must be said that it is not at all necessary to abandon the belief in salvation through Jesus Christ alone, since it in no way condemns all non-Christians to eternal life. flour. Those who are less fortunate can find salvation by responding in faith to what they have learned about God. Paul says that the Gentiles are not knowledgeable of the law, will be judged according to the law written “in their hearts” (Rom. 2:14-16).

Universalism, although attractive at first glance, is a delusion because it does not recognize that God's love for humanity is manifested not in the atonement of sins, not in limiting human freedom, but in providing salvation and the freedom to accept it. This truth is appropriately revealed in the most famous text about God's love and the danger of rejecting it: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3: 16).

Conclusion. Both the metaphorical and universalist concepts of hell are worthy attempts to resolve this difficult issue. Unfortunately, they do not take into account certain biblical data and therefore misrepresent the biblical doctrine of the final punishment of sinners. A healthy solution to the problems inherent in the traditional view is not to be found in reducing the intensity of suffering in a literal hell, but in recognizing the concept of hell as the final punishment and destruction of the wicked. As the Bible says, “The wicked will be no more” (Ps. 36:10), because “their end is destruction” (Phil. 3:19).

Part 3: The concept of hell as the complete destruction of sinners

"Sectarian Faith" The concept of hell as the total destruction of sinners is associated primarily with “sects” such as the Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and smaller Sabbatarian churches (Seventh-day Church of God, Worldwide Church of God, United Church of God, Global Church of God, International Church of God). For this reason, many evangelical Christians and Catholics reject the concept of annihilation a priori - simply because it is a "sectarian" rather than traditionally Protestant or Catholic teaching. Such a belief is considered “absurd” (66) and a product of worldly sentimentality (67).

By and large, we all grew up with tradition. The faith we received was given to us Christian tradition in the form of sermons, books, Christian education in the family, school and church. We perceive what we read in the Bible in light of what we have already learned from these various sources. And therefore, we often cannot even imagine how deeply the influence that tradition has had on our understanding of the Holy Scriptures. However, as Christians we must never become slaves to human tradition, be it “Catholic”, “Evangelical”, or even our own “denominational” tradition. Our beliefs cannot be considered absolutely true just because they are sanctified by tradition. It is our right and our duty to examine our convictions and, if necessary, reform them in the light of the Bible.

"Tactics to wear down the enemy." The strategy of rejecting a doctrine a priori - because it is associated with "sectarian" churches - results in a "wearing-down tactic" directed against those modern evangelical theologians who abandon the traditional view of hell as a place of eternal torment in favor of the concept of the complete destruction of the wicked. This tactic, as noted in Chapter 1, consists of discrediting such theologians when their names are associated with liberal Christian movements or with sectarians such as Adventists. Well-known Canadian theologian Clark Pinnock writes: “A new criterion of truth appears to have been discovered, which states that if Adventists or liberals hold a view, then that view is definitely wrong. As if the truth of this or that opinion can be judged by the one who expresses it, and therefore the need for open discussion disappears by itself. Such an argument, while useless in a rational discussion, can have the desired effect on the ignorant, misled by such rhetoric" (68).

Despite these tactics, the concept of hell as the total destruction of the wicked is gaining increasing acceptance among evangelical Christians. Public support for this view by John R. W. Stott, a highly respected British theologian and popular preacher, further reinforces this trend. “Oddly enough,” Pinnock writes, “in this case, a certain kind of associative recognition arises, that is, an element of the very tactics that are used against adherents of this view. Now no one can say that only heretics or near-heretics [like the Seventh-day Adventists] take this position, although I am sure that there will be people who will deny Stott’s orthodoxy precisely on this basis” (69).

John Stott has expressed concern that his new views could cause division in the evangelical community, where he is a recognized leader. He writes: “I am not left in doubt whether it is worthwhile to express my views on this subject in writing, on the one hand because I have the greatest respect for the long-established tradition that claims to be the correct interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, and do not reject it as such; and on the other hand, because the unity of the world evangelical community has always been of great importance to me. But the issue raised is too important to ignore, and I thank David Edwards for encouraging me to speak out. I do not present my position, which I currently adhere to, as dogma. Let's just say this is a working hypothesis. But I would like to encourage evangelical Christians to have a frank discussion based on the Holy Scriptures” (70).

Emotional and biblical reasons led John Stott to abandon the traditional view of hell and embrace the concept of the total destruction of the wicked. Stott writes: “Emotionally speaking, I find the concept of eternal torment unacceptable and do not understand how people can put up with it without becoming hardened in heart and soul. However, our feelings are a changeable and unreliable guide to the truth, and in its search we should never rely on them as the highest authority. As a dedicated evangelical Christian, I must listen not to my heart, but to what God's Word says. We need to examine the biblical material anew and open our minds (not just our hearts) and recognize that it is quite possible that the Bible points towards the concept of total destruction, and “eternal torment” is a tradition that must recede in the face of the supreme authority of Scripture" (71) .

In response to Stott's call for a fresh look at the Bible's teaching on final punishment, we will briefly consider the evidence of the Old and New Testaments regarding the following questions: 1) death as a punishment for sin, 2) terminology associated with the destruction of sinners, 3) the moral background of eternal torment, 4) the legal background of eternal torment and 5) the cosmological background of eternal torment.

1. Death as a punishment for sin

“The wages of sin is death.” It is logical to begin our study with the fundamental principle found in both Testaments: “The soul that sinneth shall die” (Ezek. 18:4, 20); “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). The punishment for sin includes, of course, not only the first death, which befalls all people as a consequence of Adam's sin. The Bible also mentions the second death (Rev. 20:14; 21:8), which, as we have already seen, will befall unrepentant sinners and will be final and irreversible. It is this basic principle that we will rely on in our study of the nature of final punishment, since it clearly states that the final retribution for sin is not eternal torment, but irreversible death.

Death according to the Bible, as we already noted in chapter 4, is the cessation of life, and not the separation of the soul from the body. Thus, the penalty for sin is the end of life. Death, which we constantly face in this world, would indeed be the end of our existence if not for the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:18). It is the resurrection that turns death into sleep, into a kind of temporary unconsciousness. But after the second death there will be no resurrection. This is the final cessation of life.

This fundamental teaching is revealed in the Old Testament, especially in the sacrificial system. The consequence of a grave sin was invariably the death of the substitute victim and never her prolonged torment or imprisonment. James Dunn rightly notes that “the sacrifice ended precisely in the death of the victim. The sacrificial animal, identified with the one who offered it in his sin, had to be destroyed, so that the sin contained in it could also be destroyed. The sprinkling, anointing and shedding of sacrificial blood in the presence of God showed that life was completely destroyed, and with it sin and the sinner” (72). In other words, the death of the victim in the fire visually symbolized the final destruction of sin and sinners.

The final elimination of sin and the destruction of sinners was especially clearly revealed in the ritual of the Day of Atonement, which symbolized the implementation of God's final judgment on believers and non-believers. True believers were those Israelites who repented of their sins throughout the year, making appropriate sacrifices in the sanctuary, and who on the Day of Atonement rested, fasted, prayed, repented and humbled their souls before God. Upon completion of the purification rites, these people were declared “clean ... before the face of the Lord” (Lev. 16:30).

In turn, those Israelites were unbelievers who openly sinned against God during the year (cf. Lev. 20:1-6) and did not repent by making atonement sacrifices in the sanctuary. On the Day of Atonement they did not abstain from work, nor did they engage in fasting, prayer, or heart searching (cf. Num. 19:20). Because of their bold disobedience on the Day of Atonement, these people were removed from the midst of God's people. “And every soul that does not humble itself on that day will be cut off from among its people; and if any soul do any work on this day, I will destroy that soul from among his people” (Lev. 23:29, 30) (73).

The division that occurred on the Day of Atonement between the true and false Israelites serves as a symbol of the division that will occur at the Second Coming. Jesus compared this separation to what happens at the harvest, when the wheat is separated from the tares. Since the tares were sown along with the good wheat, which symbolizes the “sons of the kingdom” (Matt. 13:38), it is safe to say that Jesus was referring to His Church. Wheat and tares, true believers and hypocrites, will coexist in the Church until His coming. Only then will there be a decisive separation, symbolized by the Day of Atonement. The wicked will be thrown into the “fiery furnace,” and “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:42, 43).

Jesus' parables and the Day of Atonement ritual proclaim the same important truth: false and true Christians will coexist until His coming. However, at the judgment that will take place at His coming, typified by the Day of Atonement, there will be a division when sin and sinners will be forever wiped out from the face of the earth and the world will be recreated. Just as in the antitypical service of the Day of Atonement, unrepentant sinners were cut off from among the people, so in the fulfillment of this antitype, in the final judgment, sinners will “suffer the punishment of everlasting destruction” (2 Thess. 1:9).

The death of Jesus and the punishment of sinners. Jesus' death on the cross shows in its entirety how God will ultimately deal with sin and sinners. Christ's death on the cross serves as the highest visual manifestation of God's wrath against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Rom. 1:18, cf. 2 Cor. 5:21; Mark 15:34). Jesus, our sinless Savior, suffered not just the normal physical death of a human being on the cross, but the death that sinners will endure at the final judgment. This is why He “began to be horrified and sad. And he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful unto death” (Mark 14:34, 35).

Leon Morris reminds us that “He was not afraid of death as such. He was afraid of precisely the death that He was about to die, the very one that is, in the words of the Apostle Paul, “the wages of sin” (Rom. 6:23), the death that unites Him with sinners, in which He shared their fate, suffered their sins, died their death” (74). It is not surprising that Jesus felt abandoned by God, because He had to endure the death that awaits sinners at the final judgment. His sufferings, immediately preceding death on the cross, increased more and more until they reached a climax when He gave up the ghost. His agony continued for several hours.

“We have every reason to regard the death of Christ as a model and example of the final punishment for sin. We will not go far from the truth if we say that He had to endure extremely cruel torments, which would be subjected to the most notorious and serious sinner (like Judas Iscariot) and which, therefore, contain and cover the extreme degree of punishment. When the Lord Jesus finally died, His death completely atoned for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2) and established God's holy Law. If He suffered punishment for our sins, then under no circumstances can this punishment be eternal conscious torment, for He Himself did not and could not endure it. Thus, the fact of the suffering and death of Christ Jesus proves that the punishment for sin is death in its natural meaning, that is, the deprivation of life” (75).

Some theologians express the following objection: supposedly the death of Christ cannot be equated with the final punishment of sinners in hell, since He is an “infinite” Being, and therefore is able to endure “infinite” punishment in one moment. Accordingly, sinners must suffer forever because they are “finite” beings. This artificial distinction between “finite” and “infinite” punishment and its victims has no biblical basis, but is rooted in medieval speculative reasoning based on feudal concepts of honor and justice (76). Is it possible to add, subtract, multiply and divide these “infinities”? From a mathematical point of view, this is nonsense.

There is no hint in the Bible that God changed the nature of the punishment for sin in the case of our Lord from eternal torment to literal death. Edward White rightly notes: “There is an opinion that it was the presence of the Divine essence that allowed Jesus to do without endless suffering by replacing the eternal torment of a finite being with the brief torment of Infinite Majesty. To this we will answer that this “theological speculation” has no basis in the inspired chronicle” (77).

The cross of Calvary reveals the nature of hell as a manifestation of God's wrath that produces death. If Jesus had not been resurrected, He would—like those who died in Christ—simply perish (1 Cor. 15:18) rather than experience ongoing torment in hell. His resurrection assures us that believers need not fear eternal death, because by His death Christ abolished death (2 Tim. 1:10; Heb. 2:14; Rev. 20:14).

2. Terminology of Destruction in the Bible

Terminology of destruction in the Old Testament. The most compelling argument for the complete destruction of sinners during the final judgment is the rich array of terms and images of “destruction” often used in the Old and New Testaments to describe the fate of the wicked. The Old Testament authors, one might say, exhausted all the resources of the Hebrew language in trying to convince their readers of the complete extermination of unrepentant sinners.

According to Basil Atkinson, in the English Bible, 28 Hebrew nouns and 23 verbs are translated into words meaning “to destroy” or “to destroy.” About half of them are used to describe the final destruction of the wicked (78). The limited scope of this chapter does not allow us to provide a detailed listing of all uses of these terms. Interested readers will find comprehensive analyzes of such texts in the published studies of Basil Atkinson and Edward Fudge. We will give just a few of the most significant examples.

Vivid images of the final destruction of the wicked are contained in several psalms (1:4-6; 2:9-12; 10:1-7; 33:9-23; 57:7-11; 68:23-29; 144:17, 20). In Ps. 36, for example, we read that the wicked “will soon be cut down like grass, and like green grass they will wither” (v. 2); they will be “cut off” (v. 9); “A little while longer, and the wicked will no longer be; You will look at his place, and he is not there” (v. 10); they will “perish... disappear in smoke” (v. 20); the wicked “will all be destroyed” (v. 38). Psalm 1, which many Christians love and know by heart, contrasts the way of the righteous with the way of the wicked. About the latter it is said that “the wicked will not stand in judgment” (v. 5). They will be “like dust thrown away by the wind” (v. 4). “The way of the wicked will perish” (v. 6). Again, in Ps. 144 David states, “The Lord will preserve all those who love Him, but He will destroy all the wicked” (v. 20). These texts, which speak of the final destruction of sinners, are fully consistent with the teaching of all other Scriptures.

Destruction on the Day of the Lord. The prophets repeatedly proclaim the final destruction of the wicked, speaking of the eschatological Day of the Lord. At the beginning of his book, Isaiah declares that “all backsliders and sinners will perish, and those who forsake the Lord will be destroyed” (1:28). Complete destruction is described here, and further this picture is further developed when the prophet speaks of people who will burn like dry firewood, and there will be no one to put out the fire: “And the mighty will be rags, and his work will be a spark; and they will burn together, and no one will put it out” (1:31).

In Zephaniah we see a whole heap of images depicting the destruction of the Day of the Lord. “The great day of the Lord is near, near, and hastens... The day of wrath is this day, the day of tribulation and distress, the day of desolation and destruction, the day of darkness and gloom... the day of the trumpet and the shout of war... By the fire of His jealousy this whole earth will be consumed, for destruction , and, moreover, suddenly, He will do it to all the inhabitants of the earth” (Zeph. 1:14-16, 18). Here the prophet describes the destruction accompanying the Day of the Lord in the context of the historical judgment of Jerusalem. Through a prophetic perspective, prophets often see the final punishment of sinners in vain through impending historical events.

Hosea, like Zephaniah, uses a number of images to describe the final destruction of the wicked. “They will be like the morning mist, like the dew that quickly disappears, like chaff that is blown from the threshing floor, and like smoke from a chimney” (Hos. 13:3). Comparing the fate of sinners with morning fog, dew, chaff and smoke hardly indicates their eternal torment. On the contrary, such images suggest that sinners will eventually disappear from the face of the earth just like fog, dew, straw and smoke.

On the last page of the English (but not Hebrew) Old Testament we find the most colorful description of the profound difference between the lot of believers and unbelievers. For God-fearing believers, “the sun of righteousness will rise, and healing in its rays” (Mal. 4:2). But for those who do not believe, the Day of the Lord will come, “blazing like an oven; Then all the arrogant and those who do wickedly will be like stubble, and the coming day will burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch” (Mal. 4:1). The day of the final punishment of the wicked will also be the day of vengeance for God's people. “And you will trample down the wicked, for they will be dust under the soles of your feet in that day, says the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 4:3).

There is no need to interpret this prophecy literally, because we are dealing with symbols. However, the message that these symbolic images convey is quite obvious. While the righteous will rejoice in God's salvation, the wicked will be burned "like stubble," so that "neither root nor branch" will remain for them. This clearly speaks of complete destruction in the disastrous fire, and not of eternal torment. These texts reflect Old Testament ideas about the fate of the wicked - they should suffer complete and eternal destruction, and not eternal torment.

Jesus and the Terminology of Destruction. The New Testament differs little from the Old in describing the fate of the wicked in words and images denoting destruction. The most commonly used Greek terms are the verb apollumi (to destroy) and the noun apoleia (destruction). In addition, numerous vivid illustrations borrowed from living and inanimate nature were used to depict the final destruction of the wicked.

Jesus Himself was not averse to such illustrations. He compared the fate of the wicked to the following phenomena: to tares that are bound in bundles to be burned (Matt. 13:30, 40); with bad fish that are thrown out (Matt. 13:48); with harmful plants that are eradicated (Matt. 15:13); with fruitless trees that are cut down (Luke 13:7); and with withered branches, which are thrown into the fire (John 15:6).

Jesus also used examples from people's lives to describe the unenviable fate of the wicked. He compared them: with unfaithful winegrowers who died at the hands of the owner of the vineyard (Luke 20:16); with the evil servant who will be cut to pieces (Matthew 24:51); with the Galileans who died (Luke 13:2, 3); with eighteen people killed by the Tower of Siloam (Luke 13:4, 5); with the people who lived in the time of Noah and died in the waters of the flood (Luke 17:27); with the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed by fire (Luke 17:29); and with disobedient slaves who were killed upon the return of their master (Luke 19:14, 27).

All these images point to a death sentence - individual or collective. They mean a cruel death, preceded by suffering of greater or lesser intensity. The illustrations to which the Savior addressed clearly and clearly describe the final destruction, or destruction, of the wicked. Jesus asked, “So when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do with these tenants?” (Matt. 21:40). To which the people replied: “These evildoers will be put to an evil death” (Matthew 21:41).

Jesus taught about the final destruction of the wicked not only in parables, but also spoke about it directly and unambiguously. For example, He said: “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). John Stott rightly notes: “If to kill means to deprive a body of life, then Gehenna (hell) seems to mean the destruction of both physical and spiritual life, that is, the cessation of existence” (79). In our study of this text in Chapter 3, we noted that Christ did not consider hell to be a place of eternal torment; for Him hell meant the eternal destruction of the entire human being, soul and body.

Jesus often contrasted eternal life with death or destruction. “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish” (John 10:28). “Enter at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go in through it; for strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it” (Matthew 7:13,14). Here we see a direct contrast between life and death. Scripture does not provide grounds for distorting the meaning of the words “perish” or “destroy” in the direction of eternal torment.

We noted earlier that Jesus used the image of Gehenna seven times to describe the destruction of the wicked in hell. Having examined Christ's references to at-gehenna, we found that none of them indicate that hell is a place of continuous torment. It is not the punishment itself that is called eternal and unquenchable, but the fire, which, as in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, will bring about the complete and final destruction of the wicked; and the consequences of this destruction will last forever. Fire is inextinguishable because it cannot be stopped until it consumes all the combustible material.

Paul and the Terminology of Destruction. The New Testament writers very often use the terminology of destruction to describe the fate of the wicked. Speaking about the “enemies of the cross,” the Apostle Paul declares that “their end is destruction” (Phil. 3:19). Concluding his letter to the Galatians, Paul warns that “he who sows to his flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:8). The Day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, “like a thief in the night... then suddenly destruction will come upon them [the wicked]” (1 Thess. 5:2, 3). At Christ’s coming, the wicked “will be subject to punishment, everlasting destruction” (2 Thess. 1:9). We noted earlier that the destruction of the wicked cannot be eternal in duration, for it is difficult to imagine an eternal, unending process of destruction - after all, destruction implies complete liquidation.

John Stott makes the following insightful observation: “It would be very strange if people who are said to be exterminated actually remained alive; ... and it is difficult to imagine a never-ending process of dying. In my opinion, the idea that people cannot be destroyed because they are immortal is simply unacceptable, since the immortality - and therefore invulnerability - of the soul is a Greek, not a biblical concept. According to Scripture, only God has immortality in Himself (1 Tim. 1:17; 6:16); He reveals it and gives it to us through the gospel (2 Tim. 1:10)” (80).

In Romans 2:6-12, Paul gives one of the clearest descriptions of the final fate of believers and unbelievers. He begins by saying that God will “render to everyone according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6). He further explains that “those who seek glory, honor and immortality by constancy in good deeds, eternal life; and to those who persist and do not submit to the truth, but indulge in unrighteousness, rage and anger. Sorrow and distress to every soul of a person who does evil, first the Jew, then the Greek!” (Rom. 2:7-9).

Note that “immortality” is a gift from God that He bestows on the faithful at the resurrection, not an innate human attribute. The wicked do not receive immortality, but “fury and wrath.” These two words are associated in the Bible with the final judgment (1 Thess. 1:10; Rev. 14:10, 16:19; 19:15). Paul, in general, borrowed words and expressions from the classic description of the prophet Zephaniah, who characterizes the great Day of the Lord as “a day of wrath ... a day of tribulation and distress” (Zeph. 1:15). The fire of God's jealousy will “devour” the whole world, and “he will bring destruction, and sudden destruction, upon all the inhabitants of the earth” (Zeph. 1:18).

This is most likely the picture Paul had in mind when he spoke of God's "wrath and wrath" toward the wicked. The following verse also indicates this: “Those who sin without the law are outside the law and will perish” (Rom. 2:12). Paul contrasts those who will “perish” with those who will receive “immortality.” There is no hint of eternal torment in this entire passage. Immortality is God's gift to the saved, while corruption, destruction, death and destruction are retribution for sin and the fate of sinners.

Considering the final destiny of believers and unbelievers, Paul often speaks of the former as “those who are being saved”, and of the latter as “those who are perishing” (1 Cor. 1:18; 2 Cor. 2:15; 4:3; 2 Thess. .2:10). Such a common characterization indicates Paul's perception of the fate of unbelievers as final destruction rather than eternal torment.

Peter and the terminology of destruction. Peter, like Paul, uses the terminology of destruction when speaking of the fate of the wicked. He mentions false teachers who introduce heresies and bring upon themselves “swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1). Peter compares their destruction with the destruction of the ancient world by the waters of the flood and with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah turned to ashes (2 Pet. 2:5,6). God condemned them “to destruction...to set an example for those who would become wicked” (2 Peter 2:6). Here Peter explicitly states that the wicked will be consumed by fire, following the example of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Peter once again uses the example of the destruction of the world by the flood, speaking of the insolent scoffers who mock the promises of Christ's coming (2 Peter 3:3-7). He reminds his readers that how ancient world“perished, being drowned by water” by God’s command, so “the present heavens and earth, which are contained by the same Word, are reserved for fire for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:6,7).

According to Peter, the fire that destroys the elements will also accomplish the destruction of the wicked. Here we recall Christ’s parable about the tares that will be burned in the very field in which they grew. Peter once again touches on the fate of sinners when he says that God is “long-suffering to us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). This contrast between repentance and destruction reminds us of Christ’s warning: “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). This will happen at the coming of the Lord, when “the heavens will pass away with a noise, and the elements will be destroyed with fervent heat, and the earth and all the works in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). Such a vivid description of the destruction of the earth and sinners by fire hardly allows for the existence of continuous torment in hell.

Other references to the final destruction of the wicked. Several other New Testament texts speak of the final destruction of sinners. We will briefly look at some of them. The author of Hebrews repeatedly warns against apostasy and unbelief. Anyone who continues to sin willfully after “having received the knowledge of the truth” remains only “a certain fearful expectation of judgment and the fury of fire ready to devour the adversaries” (Heb. 10:26, 27). The author emphasizes that a person who persists in sin against God will ultimately undergo the judgment of fierce fire, which will “devour” him. Note that the purpose of fire is to devour sinners, not to torment them for all eternity. And this truth is repeated over and over again throughout the Bible.

In his letter, James rebukes those who do not follow the faith that they profess. He admonishes believers not to allow sinful desires to take root in the heart, because “sin once committed brings forth death” (James 1:15). Like Paul, James makes clear that the final wages of sin is death, the end of life, not eternal torment. James also speaks of God, “able to save and to destroy” (James 4:12). And in this case, salvation and destruction are contrasted. James concludes his letter by encouraging believers to be concerned for the welfare of others, for “he who turns a sinner from the error of his ways will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:20). Again, it will save you from death, and not from eternal torment. James invariably speaks of the consequences of sin as “death” or “perdition.” By the way, he also talks about saving the “soul from death,” meaning that the soul can die, because it is part of the indivisible human personality.

The Epistle of Jude is strikingly similar to 2 Peter in its description of the fate of unbelievers. Like Peter, Jude points out that Sodom and Gomorrah, “being punished with eternal fire, were set up as an example” (Jude 7). We noted earlier that the fire that destroyed these two cities is eternal, not in its duration, but in its immutable consequences. Jude ends the letter with an exhortation to build up yourselves in the faith and to care for one another. “To some be merciful, with consideration, and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire” (Jude 23). The fire that Jude speaks of here is apparently the same fire that consumed Sodom and Gomorrah. This fire entails the irreversible destruction of the wicked, which was predicted by Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and all the Old Testament prophets.

The terminology of destruction is present in the Book of Revelation as it presents God's path to victory over the evil that is hostile to Himself and His people. We have already talked about how vividly and figuratively John describes the casting of the devil, the beast, the false prophet, death, hell and all the wicked into the lake of fire, which he defines as the “second death.” We found out that the expression “second death” was usually used in relation to final, irreversible death.

We have not mentioned Rev. before. 11:18, where at the sound of the seventh trumpet John hears the 24 elders saying: “It is time to judge the dead... and to destroy those who have destroyed the earth.” And in this text, the outcome of the final judgment is not condemnation to eternal torment in hell, but destruction and complete liquidation. God is harsh but fair. He takes no joy in the death of the wicked, much less in torturing them throughout eternity. Ultimately, He will punish all evildoers, but this punishment will be associated with the cessation of their existence, and not with eternal torment.

This is the main difference between the biblical view of final retribution as complete destruction and the traditional concept of hell as continuous torment and torture, which was held by many cruel pagan cults. The terminology of destruction and the imagery of fire contained in both Testaments make it clear that the final punishment of the wicked is irreversible destruction rather than endless torment in hell. In light of this compelling biblical evidence, I cannot help but join the opinion of Clark Pinnock, who writes: “I sincerely hope that traditionalists will cease to claim that there is no biblical basis for this view [of destruction], when in fact there is so.” a lot” (81).

The terminology of destruction is metaphorical. Traditionalists object to our interpretation of destruction terminology because, in their view, words such as “perish,” “destroy,” “devour,” “death,” “burn,” “lake of fire,” “rising smoke,” and “second death" are often used in a metaphorical sense. And this is indeed so, but their figurative meaning stems from the literal, primary meaning. According to the generally accepted principle biblical interpretation words appearing in non-allegorical prose should be interpreted in their original meaning unless there is any additional reason for interpreting them differently.

There is no indication in the Bible that these words anywhere are to be interpreted in any other sense when they refer to the lot of the wicked. Our research into the use of these words in Scripture and non-biblical literature has shown that they describe the literal, irreversible destruction of sinners. For example, John's vision of smoke that "will rise forever and ever" (Rev. 14:11) is also found in the Old Testament, where it serves as visual evidence of complete destruction (Isa. 34:10), rather than eternal torment. Likewise, the “lake of fire” is clearly defined as “the second death,” an expression used by the Jews to denote final, irreversible death. By the way, if the “lake of fire” destroys death and hell, then where will sinners stay who supposedly must suffer in this very hell throughout eternity? It is our sincere hope that traditionalists will find the courage to once again carefully and scrupulously consider the biblical data which testifies that hell is the complete destruction of the wicked.

3. The moral background of eternal torment

Traditional ideas about hell are now being sharply criticized, not only on the basis of the terminology of destruction and the imagery of all-consuming fire that we encounter in the Bible, but also on moral, legal and cosmological grounds. It is to them that we now turn our attention. First, we will consider the moral implications of the traditional concept of hell, which portrays God as a cruel tormentor who tortures the wicked for all eternity.

Is God really two-faced? How does the concept of hell, which makes God a cruel tormentor, fit with the essence of God revealed to us in Jesus Christ? Is God really two-faced? Boundlessly merciful on the one hand and insatiably cruel on the other? Can God, who loved sinners so much that He gave His Beloved Son to save them, hate unrepentant sinners enough to subject them to ongoing, terrible suffering? Do we have legal grounds glorify God for His goodness if He spends all eternity torturing sinners?

Of course, we have no right to criticize God, but God gave us a conscience so that we can make our own moral judgments. Can the moral intuition with which God has endowed us justify the insatiable cruelty of the Deity, subjecting sinners to endless torment? Clark Pinnock gives a very eloquent answer to this question: “There is a persistent moral aversion to the traditional doctrine of hell. Eternal torture is morally unacceptable because it portrays God as a bloodthirsty monster who created an eternal Auschwitz for His enemies, whom He does not even give the opportunity to die. Is it possible to love such a God? You can fear him, but not love or respect him. Will we have a desire to become like Him in mercy? Undoubtedly, the idea of ​​eternal, conscious torment raises the problem of evil to unattainable heights. Anthony Flew was right when he said that if Christians truly believe that God created human beings with the intention of torturing some of them forever in hell, then they should give up any attempt to defend Christianity” (82).

Pinnock asks: “How could Christians imagine such a cruel and vengeful Deity, inflicting eternal suffering on His creatures, no matter how sinful they were? Such a God is more like Satan than God, at least judging by ordinary moral criteria, and even by the Gospel itself” (83).

John Hick speaks in a similar vein: “The idea of ​​human bodies forever burning and constantly experiencing unbearable suffering, burning without being burned or losing consciousness, is equally fantastic with scientific point, no matter how outrageous from a moral point of view... The thought of such torture, carried out by Divine determination, is completely incompatible with the idea of ​​God as infinite love” (84).

Hell and the Inquisition. The question arises: did not the belief in hell as a place where God will eternally torment sinners in fire and brimstone prompt the Holy Inquisition to imprison, torture and subsequently burn at the stake the so-called “heretics” who refused to accept traditional church doctrines? Books by church history, as a rule, do not establish such a connection, apparently because the inquisitors themselves did not justify their actions by believing in the fire of hell reserved for the wicked.

However, what prompted the Roman pontiffs, bishops, church synods, Dominican and Franciscan monks, Christian kings and dukes to torture and exterminate dissident Christians like the Albigenses, Waldenses and Huguenots? What made, for example, Calvin and his Geneva consistory burn Servetus, who persisted in his anti-Trinitarianism, at the stake?

Having read the verdict of Servetus, pronounced on October 26, 1553, by the Geneva Consistory, I came to the conclusion that the zealots of Calvinism, like the Catholic inquisitors, considered themselves entitled to burn heretics in the same way as God would later burn them in hell. This sentence reads: “We have sentenced you, Miguel Servetus, to be led in chains to the Place Champel and burned alive until your body is reduced to ashes, and with you both the manuscript of your book and the printed book; This is how you should end your days in order to give a warning example to all others who decide to commit the same crime” (85).

The day after Servetus refused to admit his guilt in heresy, “the executioner tied him with iron chains to a post covered with firewood, placed a crown of greenery sprinkled with sulfur on his head, and squeezed his book between the chains and his body. The sight of the burning torch brought out from him a heartbreaking cry of “mercy!” on his native language. The crowd recoiled in horror. Soon he was engulfed in flames, and the fire consumed the mortal shell of a husband of forty-four years, who had led a restless life” (86).

Philip Schaff, the renowned Church historian, concludes his account of the execution of Servetus with these words: “The conscience and piety of the age approved of this execution and left little room for compassion” (87). It is difficult to imagine that not only Catholics, but even pious Calvinists approved and dispassionately observed the terrible death of a Spanish doctor who made a significant contribution to medical science and was executed only because he did not recognize the Divinity of Christ.

The most obvious explanation for the hardening of the moral consciousness of Christians of that time is the terrible pictures and stories about hellfire, which were constantly heard by believers. Such ideas about hell provided a moral basis for imitating God in burning heretics with earthly fire as a sign of the eternal fire awaiting them at the hands of God. It is impossible to estimate the enormous influence that the doctrine of the ever-blazing fire of hell has had on religious consciousness Christians, which resulted in the justification of intolerance, torture and burning of “heretics”. The logic here is simple: if God is going to burn heretics in hell for all eternity, why doesn't the Church burn them now? The practical consequences arising from the doctrine of literal, eternal hellfire are simply frightening. Traditionalists must weigh these facts carefully. After all, Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:20). But the fruits of the teaching about hell cannot be called good.

One of my colleagues who read this manuscript questioned my attempts to establish some connection between the belief in eternal torment in hell and the policy of the Inquisition, which tortured and burned “heretics” who did not want to renounce their beliefs. In his opinion, the complete destruction of the wicked by fire is no less cruel in its essence than their punishment in eternal hellfire. Such reasoning is not entirely correct, since the punishment of death does not harden or make the Christian conscience insensitive as much as the highest form of punishment, leading to endless, cruel suffering. What is more terrible - the instant death of a criminal in the electric chair or the endless execution of the same criminal, when the electric current will permeate his body for all eternity and at the same time he will not even lose consciousness for a moment? Obviously, witnessing such an execution with your own eyes for an indefinite period of time will either drive you crazy or lose all compassion. Likewise, medieval people, exposed from childhood to vivid and impressive images of inhuman horror and eternal torment in hell, were predisposed to recognize the righteousness of religious authorities who tortured “heretics”, claiming to act as God’s representatives on earth.

Attempts to make the concept of hell more acceptable. It is not surprising that throughout history there have been repeated attempts to make hell less repulsive. St. Augustine invented purgatory to reduce the number of sinners suffering in hell. More recently, Charles Hodge and B. B. Warfield made another attempt to "lower" the population of hell by developing a postmillennial eschatology and suggesting the mandatory salvation of children who died in infancy. These researchers apparently reasoned like this: if total number Those who will suffer in hell are relatively few, which means there is no reason for unnecessary worries. Such arguments hardly solve the problem of the morality of God's character. No matter how many sinners God inflicts endless torment on - one million or ten billion, He will still remain an eternal torturer of people.

Others are trying to make hell more “humane” by replacing physical torment with “easier” ones. mental anguish. However, as we noted above, by reducing the intensity of pain in non-literal hell, the metaphorical concept of hell does not significantly change its nature, for it still remains a place of incessant torment.

Ultimately, any doctrine of hell must pass the moral test of the human conscience, but the doctrine of literal endless torment cannot pass such a test. While the concept of total destruction can pass this test for two reasons. First, it views hell not as eternal torment, but as the eternal non-existence of the wicked. Second, it recognizes that God respects the free will of those who choose not to be saved. God is morally justified because by destroying the wicked, He will respect their choice. God desires that all people be saved (2 Peter 3:9), but He does not force those who refuse His gracious offer. The final punishment of the wicked is not revenge, which requires eternal torment, but a rational act, the result of which is their irreversible destruction.

Our age desperately needs to know the fear of God, and this is one of the reasons why the final judgment and punishment of sinners must be preached. We must warn people that those who reject Christ's life principles and God's salvation will be subject to the last judgment and "punishment of everlasting destruction" (2 Thess. 1:9). The restoration of the biblical view of the final punishment will give preachers new strength, for they will be able to proclaim the great alternative between eternal life and eternal destruction without fear of portraying God as some kind of monster.

4. Legal background of eternal torment

Contrary to biblical ideas about justice. The traditional concept of hell is being challenged today, including from the point of view of the biblical view of justice. According to John Stott, “It [justice] is based on the belief that God will judge people ‘according to their works’ (Rev. 20:12). Based on this, we can assume that the punishment imposed will correspond in size to the evil committed. This principle was applied in ancient Hebrew legal proceedings, where recovery was limited to the extent of the damage caused: “A soul for a soul, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot” (see Ex. 21:23, 24). So wouldn't there be a serious disproportion between the sins committed during a certain time and the torments experienced throughout eternity? I do not minimize the severity of sin as a rebellion against God the Creator, but I do question whether “eternal conscious torment” is compatible with the biblical revelation of divine justice” (88).

It is difficult to imagine what sins one must commit in order to deserve the punishment of eternal torment in hell. As John Hick notes, “justice cannot require an infinite retribution of eternal pain for sins that are finite in nature; such endless torment cannot serve any positive or corrective purpose precisely because it does not end; eternal torment makes any coherent theodicy impossible [that is, an apology for God's goodness in the face of the presence of evil], giving an eternal home to sin and suffering in God's creation" (89).

The concept of unlimited reward is simply not in the Bible. The Mosaic legislation set limits on the penalties that could be imposed for various types of harm caused. Jesus pointed out even greater limits: “You have heard what was said... But I speak to you” (Matthew 5:38, 39). Given the ethics of the gospel, there is no justification for the traditional concept of eternal, conscious torment, since such punishment creates a serious disproportion between sins committed during life and subsequent punishment that lasts for all eternity.

Part of our problem is that we humans have no idea of ​​the length of eternity. We cannot even imagine what eternity really means. Our earthly life lasts no more than 60,70, in some cases 80 years. However, the concept of eternal torment means that after a million years of agony in hell, the punishment of sinners can be said to have just begun. Such a thought simply does not fit in my head.

According to some, if the wicked are punished with destruction, “they will thereby happily escape punishment; that is, in essence, there will be no retribution” (90). Such reasoning is simply terrifying, to say the least. In other words, the only just punishment God can inflict on the wicked is eternal torture. It is difficult to believe that Divine justice could be satisfied only with such retribution. The human sense of justice views the death penalty as the harshest form of punishment that can be inflicted for serious crimes. We have no reason to believe that the Divine sense of justice will be more demanding, demanding not just death, but eternal torment of the sinner. This is not at all about denying the principle of degree of guilt, which, as we will see later, determines the “gradation” of the suffering of the wicked. However, their torment will not last forever; they will end with the complete destruction of sinners.

Contrary to the human sense of justice. Scholastics like Anselm of Canterbury tried to justify the concept of eternal torment by arguing that sins committed against God's infinite majesty were well deserving of endless punishment. Such reasoning may have been acceptable for the feudal society of the Middle Ages, when the importance of the life of a serf, who was at the bottom of the social pyramid, was incomparable with the importance of the king, who occupied its top. But today, as Pinnock notes, “we do not recognize the dependence of the severity of the sentence on the honor given to the victim of the crime, and for us the robbery of a doctor is no worse or better in its essence than the robbery of a beggar. The fact that we have sinned against eternal God, does not justify the imposition of eternal punishment. No modern judge would determine the degree of punishment based on who the crime was committed against. The old arguments in favor of hell as an eternal punishment have lost their effectiveness" (91).

Moreover, eternal torment does not serve to reform sinners, since it only causes pain without transforming their character. This concept reveals an extreme vindictiveness of God that directly contradicts what Jesus revealed to us about His Father's love for lost people. Hans Küng rightly notes that at a time when our penitentiary and educational systems are gradually moving away from the concept of punitive measures without probation and rehabilitation, “the idea of ​​not just lifelong, but eternal punishment of body and soul seems to many people absolutely monstrous” (92). .

The traditional concept of hell is based on the idea of ​​retributive justice, which requires sinners to repay God all their debts and more. This concept portrays God as an extremely cruel, demanding, and unmerciful Judge. While the concept of total destruction shows His wisdom and justice. People who refused to submit to Him and accept His salvation will suffer their well-deserved punishment, namely complete extermination.

The question is not whether or not the wicked will receive the final reward from God. The question is what kind of punishment they will be subjected to - eternal suffering or death and non-existence, which will be preceded by one or another measure of torment determined by God. In our opinion, the latter is better consistent with the general biblical teaching and biblical ideas about justice.

Gradation of punishment. Complete destruction does not exclude the existence of different degrees of punishment. The principle of a measure of responsibility depending on the light received by each person was set out by Christ in several Gospel texts. In Matt. 11:21,22 Jesus says: “Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the powers that were demonstrated in you had been demonstrated in Tire and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes, but I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tire and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you” (cf. Luke 12:47, 48). The inhabitants of Tire and Sidon will receive greater mercy at the final judgment than the inhabitants of Bethsaida, since they had less opportunity to know the will of God.

Christ refers to the same principle in the parable of the faithful and unfaithful servants: “But that servant who knew the will of his master, and was not ready, and did not do according to his will, will be beaten many times; but whoever did not know and did something worthy of punishment will receive less punishment. And from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required, and to whom much has been entrusted, more will be required from him” (Luke 12:47, 48). At the final judgment, each person will not be judged by the same standard, but by his response to the light received (see Ezek. 3:18-21; 18:2-32; Luke 23:34; John 15:22 ; 1 Tim. 1:13;

Millions of people have lived and are living today without knowing anything about Christ as God's highest revelation and the path to salvation. These people can find salvation through their response to what they know about God. It is God who determines to what extent His will is revealed to a particular person belonging to a particular religion.

In Romans 2, Paul explains that “when the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do what is lawful by nature, they, not having the law, are a law unto themselves: they show that the work of the law is written in their hearts, which their conscience and their thoughts bear witness, now accusing, now justifying one another, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secret deeds of men through Jesus Christ” (vv. 14-16).

It is because God has written the basic principles of morality into the human conscience that every person will have to bear responsibility on the day of judgment. The redeemed will be pleasantly surprised to meet in heaven “the Gentiles” who never heard the good news of salvation from human lips. Ellen White writes about this very eloquently: “Some of the heathen worship God without knowing it. Although the light of life did not touch them, although they did not know the written Law of God, they nevertheless heard His voice calling to them through nature, and did what the law requires. Good works prove that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts and they are recognized as children of God” (93).

5. Cosmological background of eternal torment

The final objection to the traditional view of hell is that eternal torment implies eternal existence cosmic dualism. Heaven and hell, bliss and pain, good and evil will exist side by side in all ages. This view is incompatible with the prophetic vision of a new earth, where “there will be no more mourning, nor crying, nor pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). How can one forget about crying and pain if the lost suffer in front of the saved, as in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)?

The presence of millions of people subjected to unbearable suffering from century to century, even if it happens somewhere isolated, can serve to cause new world will lose peace and bliss. The new creation will be wormhole from day one because sinners will remain eternal reality in God's Universe and God will never be “all things to all people” (1 Cor. 15:28 - other translation). John Stott asks: “We have no rational basis for calling God “all things to all people” while an indefinite number of people continue to be in rebellion against God and under His condemnation. It is much easier to reconcile the terrible reality of hell and the universal rule of God if hell means complete destruction and unrepentant sinners will cease to exist” (94).

Final goal plan of salvation is to eradicate the presence of sin and sinners in this world. Only if sinners, Satan and demons completely disappear into the lake of fire and are cast into oblivion through the second death, can we truly say that the redemptive mission of Christ ended in unconditional victory. “Victory means that evil is removed and nothing remains but light and love. While the traditional theory of eternal torment says that a dark shadow will hang over the new creation forever” (95).

To summarize, we can say that from a cosmological point of view, the traditional concept of hell introduces a cosmic dualism that contradicts the prophecy of a new world where there will be no sin or sinners, “for the first things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4).

Conclusion. In concluding our examination of the various concepts of hell, it would be well to recall that the doctrine of the last reward is not the Gospel, but the result of the rejection of the Gospel. It is not the most important doctrine in Scripture, but it clearly influences how we understand other biblical teachings concerning human nature, death, salvation, God's character, human destiny, and the world to come.

The traditional concept of hell as eternal torment can be either biblical or unbiblical. We tried to find the answer to this question in the Word of God and found that it has no biblical basis. Traditionalists interpreted the rich terminology and vivid imagery associated with the destruction of the wicked in light of the Hellenistic view of human nature and church dogma, without relying on conventional methods of biblical interpretation.

Currently, traditional ideas about hell are being criticized and rejected by famous researchers who adhere to various religious beliefs. In this they are guided by biblical, moral, legal and cosmological considerations. From a biblical perspective, eternal torment contradicts the fundamental principle of Scripture that the wages of sin is death, the cessation of life, and not eternal suffering. And the rich imagery and terminology of destruction used in the Bible to describe the final fate of the wicked clearly indicate that the day of judgment will end with their complete destruction, and not with continuous, conscious torment.

From a moral point of view, the doctrine of eternal conscious torment is incompatible with the biblical revelation of Divine love and justice. It is impossible to justify the insatiable cruelty of God, who subjects sinners to eternal torment, with the moral categories laid down by God in our consciousness. Such a God looks like a bloodthirsty monster, and not like the loving Father revealed to us by Jesus Christ.

From a legal perspective, the doctrine of eternal torment is inconsistent with biblical concepts of justice, which require that the punishment imposed be commensurate with the wrong done. The concept of unlimited retribution is simply not in the Bible. Justice cannot demand the punishment of eternal torment for sins committed during a short human life, especially if this punishment has no corrective function.

From a cosmological point of view, the doctrine of eternal torment introduces a cosmic dualism that contradicts the prophecy of a new world where there will be no sin and no sinners. If agonizing sinners remained an eternal reality in God's renewed Universe, who would dare to assert that "there will be no more mourning, nor crying, nor pain, for the first things have passed away" (Rev. 21:4)?

The traditional concept of hell as conscious torment is going through hard times. The objections to this view are so strong, and the support for it so weak, that more and more people abandon it and accept the concept of universal salvation in an effort to avoid the sadistic horrors of the doctrine of hell. To save the important doctrine of judgment and the punishment of the wicked, biblically-minded Christians must rethink what Scripture actually says about the fate of the wicked.

Our careful research of the relevant biblical sources has shown that the wicked will be resurrected for Divine judgment. Their punishment will be exile from the presence of God to a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. After a certain period of conscious torment, the duration of which will be determined by Divine justice individually for each person, the wicked will be completely destroyed without hope of revival. The final restoration of believers and the irreversible disappearance of sinners from this world will indicate that the redemptive mission of Christ has ended in unconditional victory. The victory of Christ means that “the first things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4) and for endless centuries only light, love, peace and harmony will reign in the world.

Notes

(1) Bertand Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian (London, 1976), pp. 22, 23.

(2) John F. Walvoord, “The Literal View” in Four Views on Hell, ed. William Crockett (Grand Rapids, 1992), p. 12.

(3) Clark H. Pinnock, “Response to John F. Walvoord” in Four Views on Hell, Ed., William Crockett (Grand Rapids, 1992), p. 39.

(4,5) See William V. Crockett, “The Metaphorical View” in Four Views of Hell, ed. William Crockett (Grand Rapids, 1992), pp. 43-81. With. 46.47.

(6) Jonathan Edwards, in John Gerstner Jonathan Edwards on Heaven and Hell (Grand Rapids, 1980), p. 56.

(7) Quoted in: Fred Carl Kuehner, “Heaven or Hell?” in Fundamentals of the Faith, ed. Carl F. H. Henry (Grand Rapids, 1975), p. 239.

(8) Robert A. Peterson, Hell on Trial! The Case for Eternal Punishment (Phillipsburg, New Jersey, 1995), pp. 200, 201.

(9) See, for example: John F. Walvoord (note 2), pp. 11-31; Robert A. Morey. Death and the Afterlife (Minneapolis, 1984), pp. 100-172; E. B. Pusey, What Is the Faith as to Eternal Punishment? (Oxford, 1880).

(10) R. N. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66, New Century Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, 1975), p. 293.

(11) Robert A. Peterson (note 8), p. 32. See also: Harry Buis, The Doctrine of Eternal Punishment (Philadelphia, 1957), p. 13.

(12) Edward W. Fudge, The Fire That Consumes. A Biblical and Historical Study of the Final Punishment (Houston, 1982), p. 112.

(13) Robert A. Peterson (note 8), p. 36.

(14) Andre Lacoque, The Book of Daniel (Atlanta, 1979), p. 241.

(15) Emmanuel Petavel, The Problem of Immortality (London, 1892), p. 323.

(16) Quotations from the Apocrypha are from: R. H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English (Oxford, 1913), vol. 1.

(17-19) Josephus, War of the Jews 2, 9, 11, cited in: Josephus Complete Works, trans. William Whiston (Grand Rapids, 1974), p. 478.

(20) See: Andre Dupont-Sommer, ed., The Essene Writings from Qumran, trans. G. Vermes (New York, 1962).

(21) Italics are mine. Many of the Dead Sea Scrolls contain references to the final destruction of the wicked. See also: Edward Fudge (note 12), pp. 136-140.

(22)Kenneth Kantzer, “Troublesome Questions,” Christianity Today (March 20, 1987), p. 45.

(23) Leon Morris, “The Dreadful Harvest,” Christianity Today (May 27, 1991), p. 34.

(24) "Hell," Protestant Dictionary, ed. Charles Sydney and G. E. Alison Weeks (London, 1933), p. 287.

(26) Edward W. Fudge (note 12), p. 161.

(27) Robert A. Peterson (note 8), p. 44.

(28) Italics are mine.

(29) Robert A. Peterson (note 8), p. 47.

(30) John Stott and David L. Edwards, Essentials: A Liberal-Evangelical Dialogue (London, 1988), p. 316.

(31) R. V. G. Tasker, The Gospel According to St. Matthew. An Introduction and Commentary (Grand Rapids, 1963), p. 240.

(32) Italics are mine.

(33) John Stott (note 31), p. 317.

(34) Basil F. C. Atkinson, Life and Immortality. An Examination of the Nature and Meaning of Life and Death as They Are Revealed in the Scriptures (Taunton, England, n.d.), p. 101.

(35) Italics are mine.

(36) Anthony A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future (Grand Rapids, 1979), p. 270.

(37) Harry Buis, The Doctrine of Eternal Punishment (Philadelphia, 1957), p. 49.

(38,39) Italics are mine.

(40) Edward W. Fudge (note 12), p. 172.

(41,42) See, for example: Robert A. Peterson (note 8), pp. 78, 79. p. 88.

(43) Robert A. Morey, Death and the Afterlife (Minneapolis, 1984), p. 144.

(44) J. P. M. Sweet, Revelation (Philadelphia, 1979), p. 228.

(45) Italics are mine.

(46) Harold E. Guillebaud, The Righteous Judge: A Study of the Biblical Doctrine of Everlasting Punishment (Taunton, England, n.d.), p. 24.

(47) John F. Walvoord (note 2), p. 23.

(48) George Eldon Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids, 1979), p. 270.

(49) Robert A. Peterson (note 8), p. 90.

(50) Quoted in J. Massyngberde Ford, Revelation, Introduction, Translation and Commentary, The Anchor Bible (New York, 1975), p. 393.

(51-54) M. McNamara, The New Testament and the Palestinian Targum to the Pentateuch (‘New York, 1958), p. 117. p. 123.

(55) Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids, 1977), p. 367.

(56) Henry Alford, Apocalypse of John in The Greek Testament (Chicago, 1958), vol. 4, pp. 735, 736.

(58-62) William V. Crockett (note 4), p. 43. p. 44. p. 59. p. 60.

(63)Words of Princeton University Professor Coleman-Norton, quoted in: Bruce M. Metzger, “Literary and Canonical Pseudepigrapha,” Journal of Biblical Literature 91 (1972), p.3.

(64) William V. Crockett (note 4), p. 61.

(65) Jacques Ellul, Apocalypse, The Book of Revelation (New York, 1977), p. 212.

(66) See Arthur W. Pink, Eternal Punishment (Swengel, Pennsylvania, n.d.), p. 2; William Hendricksen, The Bible on the Life Hereafter (Grand Rapids, 1963), p. 188.

(67) J. I. Packer, “Evangelicals and the Way of Salvation: New Challenges to the Gospel-Universalism and Justification by Faith” in Evangelical Affirmations, ed. K. S. Kantzer and Carl F. H. Henry (Grand Rapids, 1990), p. 126.

(68,69) Clark H. Pinnock (note 3), p. 161. p. 162.

(70,71) John Stott (note 31), pp. 319.320. With. 314, 315.

(72) James D. G. Dunn, “Paul’s Understanding of the Death of Jesus” in Reconciliation and Hope: New Testament Essays on Atonement and Eschatology, ed. Robert Banks (Grand Rapids, 1974), p. 136.

(73) See: Samuele Bacchiocchi, God's Festivals. Part 2: The Fall Festivals (Berrien Springs, 1996), pp. 127-205.

(74) Leon Morris, The Cross in the New Testament (Grand Rapids, 1965), p. 47.

(75) Basil F. S. Atkinson (note 35), p. 103.

(76) See: Edward W. Fudge (note 12), pp. 232, 233.

(77) Edward White, Life of Christ: A Study of the Scripture Doctrine on the Nature of Man, the Object of the Divine Incarnation, and the Condition of Human Immortality (London, 1878), p. 241.

(78) Basil F. C. Atkinson (note 35), pp. 85, 86.

(79.80) John Stott (note 31), p. 315. p. 316.

(81,82) Clark H. Pinnock (note 3), p. 147. p. 149, 150.

(83) Clark H. Pinnock, “The Destruction of the Finally Impenitent,” Criswell Theological Review 4, n. 2 (1990), p. 247.

(84) John Hick, Death and Eternal Life (New York, 1976), pp. 199, 201.

(85-87) Quoted in: Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church (Grand Rapids, 1958), vol. 8, p. 782. p. 785. p. 786.

(88) John Stott (note 31), pp. 318, 319.

(89) John Hick (note 85), p. 201.

(90) Harry Buis, “Everlasting Punishment,” The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, 1978), vol. 4, p. 956.

(91) Clark H. Pinnock (note 3), pp. 152, 153.

(92) Hans Kung, Eternal Life, Life after Death as a Medical, Philosophical, and Theological Problem (New York, 1984), p. 137.

(93) Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, California, 1950), p. 638.

(94.95) John Stott (note 31), p. 319.

Every Christian, reading the Creed, composed of two Ecumenical Councils 325 and 381 in particular, professes faith in Christ, who suffered, was buried, rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended into heaven and “come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, of whose kingdom there will be no end.”

And this confession also ends with the words “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come, amen.” Such was the original faith, and such it remains to this day among Christians who trust the Holy Scriptures.

It is safe to say that the Apostle Paul, the author of the earliest extant texts included in the New Testament, believed in the immediate and imminent proximity of the second coming of Christ. Just as the first Christians believed in this.

“I do not want to leave you, brothers, in ignorance about the dead, so that you do not grieve like others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not warn those who have died, because the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first; Then we who are left alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord" ( 1 Thess. 4, 13-17).

The apostle’s explanations arose, among other things, because already in the first generation of Christians, deaths occurred for various reasons, which was a somewhat puzzling moment for them - after all, those who believed in Christ hoped not to see death!

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever keeps My word will never see death” ( In. 8, 51).

In this case, the apostle consoles the Christians of Thessalonica with the fact that the fate of the departed will not fundamentally differ from the fate of the living, whom Christ will find at His next coming. In another letter, later addressed to the Christians of Corinth, he writes:

“I tell you a secret: we will not all die, but we will all change suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise incorruptible, and we will be changed" ().

1 Cor. 15, 51-52 Another question is about the timing of this coming, which will remain unknown to anyone. Therefore, speaking about the coming of the day of the Lord, the apostle resorts to the image of a thief sneaking at night ( 1 Thess. 5, 2 ), meaning that this day will come suddenly, when no one is expecting it, and, therefore, it is necessary to stay awake and be sober ().

1 Thess. 5, 6-8

Early Christian writers also did not emphasize the “immortality of the soul,” but only the expected resurrection of the dead, the re-creation of the human person in his renewed, redeemed body, analogous to the spiritualized body of the Risen Christ. Thus, Clement of Rome (d. 101d), in his first epistle, writes: “Will we therefore consider it great and wonderful if the Creator of all things resurrected those who, in the hope of good faith, holyly served Him? For it is said somewhere: You will also raise me up and I will praise You ( Ps. 27:7 ). And again: I fell asleep and slept, but I arose, because You are with me ( Ps. 3:6 ). Job also says: You will also resurrect this flesh of mine, which endures all this ()»

And in the second they continue the same thought: “we, while we still live in this world, must repent from the bottom of our hearts for the evil that we have done in the flesh; to receive salvation from the Lord while we have time to repent . For after our departure from the world we can no longer confess or repent there.»

We see the same sentiments in the writings of Ignatius of Antioch (d. 107d): “Christ is truly risen from the dead, since His Father raised Him, who in like manner will also raise us who believe in Jesus Christ, for without Him we have no true life »

“Whoever does not acknowledge that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is the Antichrist.” (1 John 4:3)

.

Whoever does not recognize the evidence of His death on the cross is of the devil; and whoever interprets the words of the Lord according to his own lusts and says that there is neither resurrection nor judgment, he is the firstborn of Satan.”

Continuing, he writes: “He who raised Him from the dead will also raise us, if we do His will, walk according to His commandments and love what He loved.” Also, Athenagoras of Athens (2nd century AD) writes: “If God did not grant independent existence and life to the nature of the soul in itself, nor to the nature of the body separately, but only to people consisting of soul and body, so that, with those but by the parts from which they consist when they are born and live, at the end of this life they reached one common end: then the soul and body in man constitute one Living being

which experiences both that which is characteristic of the soul and that which is characteristic of the body.”

Hence the conclusion: “The being that has received mind and reason is a person, and not a soul in itself; therefore, man must always remain and consist of soul and body; and it is impossible for him to remain like this unless he is resurrected. For if there is no resurrection, then the nature of men as men will not remain” (“On the Resurrection of the Dead,” 15).

Moreover, those who deny the resurrection of the dead St. Justin generally denies the right to be called Christians: “If you meet such people who are called Christians, but do not recognize this, and even dare to blaspheme the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, do not recognize the resurrection of the dead and think that their souls are immediately deaths are taken to heaven, then do not consider them Christians” (chapter 80).

And if we turn to later sources, we can recall the life of the hermit Anthony (d. 356), who also protested against the worship of relics, recorded by Athanasius the Great:
“Then, calling those who were with him, he said to them: “I, as it is written, am going on the path of my fathers.” (Nav. 23, 14) . For I see that the Lord is calling me... and if you care about me, and remember me as a father, then do not allow anyone to take my body to Egypt and lay it in their house; To avoid this, I went up the mountain and came here. You know, how I always condemned those who did this and urged them to leave such a custom. Give my body a burial and hide it underground. May you keep this word of mine, so that no one knows the place of burial of my body except you alone;».

because at the resurrection of the dead I will receive it from the Savior incorruptible After the above study, a logical question arises: what is the basis for the belief of many Christians that the soul is immortal, and at the moment of death, while retaining consciousness, is separated from the body and transferred to afterworld

? On the very dubious later apocrypha of obvious pagan origin - mainly the apocalypses of Peter, Paul, and the Virgin Mary - the latter is generally entirely devoted to the description of hellish torment.

These descriptions are very different from the evidence of the Bible, both in meaning and in their focus (their author did not have the irrational thinking of the authors of the Bible, but logical, philosophical). But the one who composed all this was not inclined to imitate the Word of God. He imitated well-known pagan myths, works of ancient classical literature - the Odyssey, the Aeneid, the myths of Plato, and Pythagorean legends.

All stories about eternal hellish torment, supposedly awaiting sinners in eternity, pursue purely utilitarian goals - the impact on people, in order to limit external manifestations sin. Each sinner will find in them a description of what awaits him after death if he does not reform. The Bible does not share this approach, since God does not desire the outward appearance of people, but their deep and thorough conversion, “being born again.” Therefore, Christ did not turn people into fear with examples of reward from beyond the grave, but showed them an example of his own love:

“As the Father has loved Me, I have loved you; abide in My love." ( John 15:9)

Therefore, I think there is no point in forgetting the testimony of the Bible and the early Christians about the resurrection of the dead and replacing it with the pagan doctrine of the immortality of the soul, which originates in ancient myths, legends and non-canonical writings, which distort the essence of the character of God.

Bibliography:
1) Scriptures of the apostolic men / [preface by R. Svetlov]. – St. Petersburg: Amphora. 2007. – 474 p. (Series “Alexandria Library”).
2) Works of St. Justin, Philosopher and Martyr. M.: "University Printer", 1892. p. 132-362.
3) Saint Athanasius the Great. Creations in 4 volumes. Volume III.- M.: Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery, 1994.- P. 178–251.

Every Christian, reading the Creed, compiled at the two Ecumenical Councils of 325 and 381 in particular, professes faith in Christ, who suffered, was buried, rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended into heaven and “coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead, the kingdom Which will never end."

And this confession also ends with the words “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come, amen.” Such was the original faith, and such it remains to this day among Christians who trust the Holy Scriptures.

It is safe to say that the Apostle Paul, the author of the earliest extant texts included in the New Testament, believed in the immediate and imminent proximity of the second coming of Christ. Just as the first Christians believed in this.

“I do not want to leave you, brothers, in ignorance about the dead, so that you do not grieve like others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not warn those who have died, because the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first; Then we who are left alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:13-17).

The apostle’s explanations arose, among other things, because already in the first generation of Christians, deaths occurred for various reasons, which was a somewhat puzzling moment for them - after all, those who believed in Christ hoped not to see death!

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever keeps My word will never see death” (John 8:51)

In this case, the apostle consoles the Christians of Thessalonica with the fact that the fate of the departed will not fundamentally differ from the fate of the living, whom Christ will find at His next coming. In another letter, later addressed to the Christians of Corinth, he writes:

“I tell you a secret: we will not all die, but we will all change suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet;

for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51-52)

Another question is about the timing of this coming, which will remain unknown to anyone. Therefore, speaking about the coming of the day of the Lord, the apostle resorts to the image of a thief sneaking in the night (1 Thess. 5:2), meaning that this day will come suddenly, when no one is waiting for it, and, therefore, it is necessary to stay awake and be sober (1 Thess. 5, 6-8).

Early Christian writers also did not emphasize the “immortality of the soul,” but only the expected resurrection of the dead, the re-creation of the human person in his renewed, redeemed body, analogous to the spiritualized body of the Risen Christ. For example, Athenagoras of Athens

(2nd century AD) writes: “If God did not grant independent existence and life to the nature of the soul in itself, nor to the nature of the body separately, but only to people consisting of soul and body, so that, with the same parts, from which they consist of when they are born and live, at the end of this life they reached one common end: then the soul and body in man constitute one living being, which experiences both what is characteristic of the soul and that of the body.” Hence the conclusion: “The being that has received mind and reason is a person, and not a soul in itself; therefore, man must always remain and consist of soul and body; and it is impossible for him to remain like this unless he is resurrected. For if there is no resurrection, then there will be no human nature

, as men” (“On the Resurrection of the Dead,” 15). U St. Justin the Martyr , who lived at the same time as In general, there is the idea that the soul cannot be immortal in itself, since only God alone is immortal, who gave it life: “The soul is involved in life, because God wants it to live, and therefore can cease to live once if God wants it to live.” she didn't live anymore. For it is not characteristic of the soul to live as God does; but just as a person does not always exist, and his body is not always united with the soul, when this union needs to be destroyed, the soul leaves the body and the person no longer exists, so from the soul, when it is necessary for it to no longer exist, the vital spirit is taken away, and the soul no longer exists, but goes again to the same place from where it was taken” (chapter 6).

Moreover, those who deny the resurrection of the dead St. Justin generally denies the right to be called Christians: “If you meet such people who are called Christians, but do not recognize this, and even dare to blaspheme the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, do not recognize the resurrection of the dead and think that their souls immediately after death are taken to heaven, then do not consider them Christians” (chapter 80).

So what is the basis for the belief of many Christians that the soul is immortal, and at the moment of death, while maintaining consciousness, it is separated from the body and transferred to the afterlife? On the very dubious later apocrypha of obvious pagan origin - mainly the apocalypses of Peter, Paul, and the Virgin Mary - the latter is generally entirely devoted to the description of hellish torment.

These descriptions are very different from the evidence of the Bible, both in meaning and in their focus (their author did not have the irrational thinking of the authors of the Bible, but logical, philosophical). But the one who composed all this was not inclined to imitate the Word of God. He imitated well-known pagan myths, works of ancient classical literature - the Odyssey, the Aeneid, the myths of Plato, and Pythagorean legends.

Perhaps it should be noted that all stories about afterlife retribution have a clear genetic connection. Their authors placed people they hated in hell. In Greek stories, these are heroes of myths, in whose images one can see hints of the author’s contemporaries. In the late “hell” described by Dante, the author no longer resorts to images, but directly deals with personalities that are unpleasant to him.

All stories about eternal hellish torment, supposedly awaiting sinners in eternity, pursue purely utilitarian goals - influencing people in order to limit the external manifestations of sin. Each sinner will find in them a description of what awaits him after death if he does not reform. The Bible does not share this approach, since God does not desire the outward appearance of people, but their deep and thorough conversion, “being born again.” Therefore, Christ did not turn people into fear with examples of reward from beyond the grave, but showed them an example of his own love:

“As the Father has loved Me, I have loved you; abide in My love." (John 15:9)

Therefore, I think there is no point in forgetting the testimony of the Bible and early Christians about the resurrection of the dead and replacing it with the pagan teaching about the immortality of the soul, which originates in ancient myths, legends and non-canonical writings, which distort the essence of a loving God.

Konstantin Bud-Gusaim

Based on materials from: biblepravda.com

This book is a deep, carefully argued biblical study on issues of interest to believers and non-believers: what is the nature of man and what awaits him beyond the threshold of death.

Also read with the book “Immortality or Resurrection”:

Preview of the book “Immortality or Resurrection”

Immortality or resurrection
Preface

Let me introduce you to another wonderful work from the pen of Dr. Bacchiochi. In the best tradition of Oscar Kuhlman, Dr. Bacchiochi demonstrates in the most graphic way the contradiction between the originally Christian hope in the resurrection of the dead and the Hellenistic hope for the immortality of the soul. In his new book, he conducts a thorough biblical examination of human nature as an indivisible whole and develops ideas about what this means for our future destiny and many other aspects of human existence.
Anthropological dualism has done great damage, weakening our blessed hope in the appearing of Christ and distorting our understanding of the coming renewed world. In addition, it gave rise to many false concepts, including a negative view of the body (as opposed to the soul) and the idea of ​​salvation as an internal experience rather than an all-encompassing transformation. And worst of all, he laid the foundation for the sadistic doctrine that God forces the wicked to endure endless torment in hell. This doctrine weighs heavily on the Christian mind and disgusts many seekers after truth.
A large number of researchers agree with the author regarding human nature, but no one draws such bold and necessary conclusions. This book is a vital weapon in the fight against the established, but, alas, erroneous opinion prevailing among Christians that the soul is an immortal substance - an unbiblical and harmful opinion. I congratulate Dr. Bacchiochi and thank him for this compelling work.
Clark H. Pinnock, Professor of Theology, McMaster Divinity College, Ontario, Canada
Introduction
Does it make sense to write a book devoted to the biblical view of nature and human destiny? Didn't theologians solve this question a long time ago? Is it worth starting a new study on this topic? Do people really care about the Bible's teaching about the elements of human nature and God's intentions for their destiny?
The point is that the question of the nature and fate of man is far from closed. In recent years, numerous biblical scholars, philosophers, and scientists have been actively revising the traditional dualistic view of human nature, according to which it consists of a material, mortal body and an immaterial, immortal soul. They conclude that such a view is contrary to Scripture, common sense and scientific evidence.
A careful examination of the basic biblical terms related to man (body, soul, spirit, flesh, mind, heart) has led many scholars to conclude that the Bible makes no distinction between the mortal body and immortal soul, which supposedly “comes out” at the moment of death. Body and soul, flesh and spirit represent an indivisible whole - the very personality that ceases to exist after death until resurrection. Reading these studies, one is led to believe that Christianity is shaking off its stupor, suddenly discovering that for many years it had held a view of human nature drawn more from Platonic dualism than from the Bible.
A broad front of research directed against the traditional dualistic view of human nature will eventually reach the rank and file of the various Christian denominations. This will lead to an intellectual and personal crisis for Christians, who are accustomed to thinking that after death their soul will be freed from bodily captivity and will continue to exist either in the bliss of heaven or in the torments of hell. Many Christians will be extremely disappointed to discover that their belief in an afterlife was a delusion.
It is safe to say that biblical enlightenment will inevitably cause anxiety for the future of millions of Christians who are confident that at the moment of death their disembodied souls will go to heaven. Any challenge to traditional, established beliefs can have devastating consequences. The purpose of this book is not to aggravate such anxiety, but to encourage all Christians who base their faith on the authority of Holy Scripture to reconsider their traditional views and reject them if they turn out to be unbiblical. Christian hope for a better future must be based on the infallible teachings of God's Word, not on church tradition.
The reasons that prompted me to write this book. I undertook this study for two main reasons. The first is that, despite widespread criticism of traditional dualism by biblical scholars, the belief in conscious existence after death is gaining popularity. According to recent Gallup polls, 71 percent of Americans believe in some form of conscious life after death. The strengthening of this belief can be attributed to such factors as the increasing authority of mediums and psychics, complex “scientific” research in the field of experiences of a person in a state of clinical death, as well as communication between leaders of the movement “ New Age"with spirits posing as long-dead people. Such methods are very effective in instilling in people the belief in Satan's lie that they will not die (see Gen. 3:4), no matter what their actions, but will gain eternal life and become like gods.
The second reason I undertook this work is that most research in this area is highly specialized and topic-limited. They are written in technical language, replete with Hebrew and Greek terms that are not understandable to the common man. And their thematic scope is also limited, since they often talk either only about human nature (biblical anthropology) or only about the fate of man (biblical eschatology). Biblical scholars rarely attempt to draw a connection between the Bible's teaching about the essence of human nature and its teaching about the destiny of man.
The growing belief in conscious existence after death and the dearth of plain-language books addressing this issue from a biblical perspective have convinced me of the necessity of writing this work. My purpose in this book is twofold. On the one hand, I am trying to debunk with the help of the Bible the oldest and perhaps greatest misconception of all time, namely, that people have an immortal soul that lives forever. This false teaching has given rise to a wide range of erroneous concepts that have adversely affected Christian thought and practice. On the other hand, I seek to show how the biblical view of human nature increases in our eyes the value of our physical life and this earthly world, the value of the atonement and our eternal destiny.
Order of presentation. The order of presentation consists of two steps. First, I examined the Old Testament and New Testament understandings of human nature, analyzing in chapters 2 and 3 the meaning and use of such key words as soul, body, spirit, flesh, and heart. This study shows that these terms are often used interchangeably because the biblical view of human nature is holistic rather than dualistic. Body and soul, flesh and spirit are characteristics of the same person, and not separate components that are “separated” at the moment of death.
Second, I show in chapters 4 through 7 how the holistic view of human nature relates to biblical teachings about the nature of death, the state of the dead before the resurrection, the Second Coming, the final punishment of the wicked, and the coming Kingdom. My research suggests that there is a close connection between the Bible's holistic view of human nature and its realistic view of human life and destiny. This means that our understanding of human nature is a determining factor in our ideas about life in this world and about our destiny in the future.
Christians who hold a dualistic view of human nature, supposedly consisting of a mortal body and an immortal soul that continues to exist after the death of the body, view the life and fate of man in the same dualistic light. They give a dualistic definition of life, death, the state of the dead, resurrection, Christian hope, final punishment and the coming new world.
Dualism has given rise to a negative attitude towards the body when it is opposed to the positive role of the soul. "Saving souls" became more important than saving bodies. Vita contempativa is placed above vita activa. Redemption is seen as an internal experience of the soul rather than as an all-encompassing transformation of the entire personality.
Dualism defines death as the separation of the soul from the body; the state of the dead - as the conscious existence of disembodied souls either in the bliss of heaven or in the torments of hell; resurrection - as the reunion of the glorified material body and immaterial soul; Christian hope - as the ascension of the soul into the bliss of paradise; the final punishment is like eternal torment of body and soul in hellfire; paradise - as a spiritual, heavenly refuge, where glorified, spiritual saints spend eternity in continuous contemplation and reflection.
Conversely, Christians who accept the biblical holistic view of human nature, which is an indivisible unity of body, soul and spirit, view human life and destiny in the same holistic light. They give a holistic definition of death as the cessation of the life of the whole person, the state of the dead - as the repose of the whole person in the grave until the resurrection; Christian hope - as the expectation of Christ, who will return to resurrect the whole person; final punishment - as the destruction of the entire person in hellfire; paradise - like the entire planet Earth, which will be restored to its pristine perfection and populated real people doing real things. The biblical holistic view of human nature is the determining factor for a realistic view of this life and the world to come.
Method and style. This book is written from a biblical perspective. I accept the Bible as the main criterion for Christian beliefs and practices. Because the Bible contains divine messages written by people who lived under specific historical conditions, we must make every effort to understand the meaning of the biblical narratives in their historical context. I firmly believe that understanding both the historical and literary context of biblical texts is essential to establishing their original meaning and present relevance. This belief is reflected in the methodology I have followed in studying those biblical passages that deal with human nature and destiny.
As for the style of this book, I tried to write in a simple language, not loaded with terms. In those cases where I was forced to use a specific term, I gave its definition in parentheses. For the convenience of the reader, each chapter is divided into main parts, which in turn have subsections with appropriate subheadings. A short summary is provided at the end of each chapter.
The author expresses hope. I wrote these pages out of a sincere desire to help Christians of all denominations accept the biblical holistic view of human nature and see human life and destiny in a real, biblical light. At a time when most Christians still hold to the traditional dualistic view of human nature, which has caused serious harm to Christian practice and philosophy, it is of utmost importance to restore a biblical, holistic view of the essence of man and a biblically truthful vision of the world to come.
The Bible encourages us to view both the physical and spiritual aspects of our lives in a positive light because our body and soul are an inseparable whole, created and redeemed by God. Our attitude towards our own body reflects our spiritual state, for our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Cor. 6:19). The Bible teaches us to care for the whole person, to meet both the spiritual needs of the soul and the physical needs of the body.
Scripture assumes a comprehensive view of atonement that includes body and soul, material and spiritual world, this world and the world to come. It describes not an ephemeral paradise inhabited by disembodied souls, but our planet restored to its original perfection and peopled by real people doing real things. I fervently hope that, thanks to this book, the fruit of many months of careful research work, many Christians will fully appreciate God's wonderful plan for our life here on earth and our future destiny.
Chapter 1 Disputes over the nature of man and his fate
Christians' views about the nature of their humanity largely determine their views about their ultimate destiny. Those who consider their nature to be dualistic, that is, consisting of a material, mortal body and an immaterial, immortal soul, as a rule, believe that their souls will survive the death of the body and will remain for all eternity either in the bliss of heaven or in the torments of hell. Some believers, such as Catholics, believe that souls who have not committed serious sins can be purified in purgatory before ascending to heaven.
On the other hand, Christians who consider their nature to be holistic, representing an indivisible unity of body, soul and spirit, believe that their personality, which has no immortal components, will be resurrected either to eternal life or to eternal death. These two different destinies, which are spoken of by adherents of the dualistic and holistic nature of man, can be characterized one as the immortality of the soul, and the other as the resurrection of the dead.
The biblical view of human nature and its destiny has attracted much attention from researchers in recent years. Leading theologians of various faiths address this issue in articles and books. A review of research conducted over the past fifty years shows that the traditional dualistic view has come under widespread criticism. Theologians seem to be competing to outdo each other in overthrowing traditional dualism and defending the biblical view that man is one. When one reads the theological literature on the subject, one gets the impression that Christianity has shaken off its stupor and is surprised to find that for so many years it has held a view of human nature that may be called Platonic rather than biblical.
The purposes of this book. This book is based on research carried out by numerous theologians over recent years and aims to show how the biblical holistic view of human nature shapes our understanding of our own essence today. existing world, redemption and our ultimate destiny.
The purpose of this work is twofold. First, to affirm the biblical view of human nature. We learn that the Bible views the human being as an indivisible unit. This truth has been recognized in recent years by many researchers belonging to different faiths. In the Bible there is no division of man into body and soul, or body, soul and spirit. These are all components, or characteristics, of the same personality. The division between body and soul has its roots in Platonism, and not at all in biblical revelation. The Bible professes a holistic, or monistic, view of human nature, and not at all a dualistic one. Plato's view of the body as the prison of the soul is alien to the Bible and has done great harm to Christian spirituality, soteriology and eschatology.
The second purpose of this book is to explore how the biblical view of human nature relates to our present life and our ultimate destiny. There is a tendency among theologians to separate the biblical view of human nature (biblical anthropology) from the biblical view of human destiny (biblical eschatology). Attempts to correlate them are very rare. However, they cannot be studied separately because the biblical view of human nature determines the view of human destiny.
We divide, analyze and isolate with great diligence and skill, but often we fail to synthesize and combine the various parts into a single, overall picture. In this study I attempt to show how the biblical holistic view of human nature conditions the biblical realist view of human destiny, according to which body and soul, flesh and spirit, the material and spiritual components of our nature and our world are part of God's creation, redemption and future renewal.
Order of presentation. In this book we will follow the following procedure: First, we will examine the biblical view of human nature by examining some of the other key words used to refer to man in the New and Old Testaments. Although at first glance this may seem like an analysis of individual components, we must remember that throughout the study we will mean by each term the entire personality of a person - personality as soul, personality as body, personality as spirit. Thus, when considering various aspects of human nature, we always look at the person as a whole. We must not forget that in the Bible, in the words of J. A. T. Robinson, “any part can at any time take the place of the whole.”1
The second stage will be to study the biblical view of human destiny in the light of the biblical teaching about human nature. This study demonstrates that the biblical holistic view of human nature, according to which body and soul are an indivisible whole, determines the biblical view of human destiny, based on which the entire person - body and soul - will be resurrected either to eternal life or eternal death . Moreover, those deemed worthy to receive eternal life will not reside in a disembodied, spiritual paradise, but on this material planet Earth, restored by God to its pristine perfection.
The study of the human destiny requires an analysis of popular misconceptions associated with the intermediate state between death and resurrection, heaven and hell. Each of these topics, examined in the light of biblical teaching, is devoted to separate chapter. In Chapter 6, special attention is paid to the study of such a concept as hell, due to the widespread rejection of the traditional view of hell as the torment of people in a conscious state. The ultimate goal of this work is not simply to expose the fallacy of prevailing views, but above all to confirm the biblical holistic and realistic view of the nature and destiny of man.
This introductory chapter is intended to provide a general overview of the two major views of human nature and their impact on Christian belief and practice. It is intended to assist the reader in understanding the importance of the issues addressed in this book. It will become clear to us that Christians' beliefs about their human nature largely determine their understanding of themselves, the present world, redemption, and their future destiny.
1. Two main views on nature and human destiny
There are two major Christian views of human destiny, which stem from fundamentally different views of human nature. The first is based on the belief in the immortality of the soul, and the second on the belief in the resurrection of the body. In his research work, The Nature and Destiny of Man, Reinhold Niebuhr argues that fundamentally different Christian beliefs about human nature and destiny arise from two main views: 1) classical and 2) Christian2. The first originates from ancient Greek philosophy, and the second - from the teachings of the Bible. The term "Christian" applied to the latter view may be misleading, since, as we shall see, the great majority of Christians for many centuries have been strongly influenced by the classical view of human nature, which they hold to consist of a mortal body and immortal soul. Therefore, I prefer to call the second view “biblical,” because, as our research will show, it reflects the teaching of the Bible.
Classic dualism. The classical view of human nature comes primarily from the works of Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoic philosophers. They emphasized the differences between the material and spiritual components of human nature. According to Plato's philosophy, human nature consists of both material and spiritual components. The material component is the body, a temporary shell carrying an evil principle; and the spiritual component is the soul (psyche), or mind (nous), - eternal substances that carry the good principle. The human body is transitory and mortal, while the human soul is eternal and immortal. At the moment of death, the soul is released from the bodily prison where it was imprisoned for a time. Historical Christian thought has been deeply influenced by this dualistic, unbiblical understanding of human nature. The consequences of weaving the classical view of human nature into Christian belief and practice are incalculable. We'll think about them a little later.
Biblical holistic view. The biblical view of human nature is essentially holistic, or monistic. The Bible emphasizes the unity of body, soul and spirit, making up an indivisible organism. Since this work as a whole is aimed at clearly articulating the biblical holistic view of human nature, I will only mention here two significant differences from the classical view. First, the holistic view of human nature is based on the belief that the physical creation of this world, including the creation of the human body, was “very good” (Gen. 1:31). There is no dualism or contradiction between the material and the spiritual, the body and the soul, the flesh and the spirit, for they are all part of God's “very good” creation. Atonement represents the restoration of the whole person, body and soul, not the salvation of the soul apart from the body.
The second difference from the classical view is that immortality was not inherent in human nature from creation, man only had the opportunity to become immortal. People do not have a perishable body and an incorruptible soul; they are endowed with a mortal body and soul that can become immortal. Immortality, or eternal life, is God's gift to those who accept His salvation. Those who reject God's plan for their salvation will ultimately suffer eternal destruction, but not eternal torment in the never-ending fires of hell. The reason for this is simple. Immortality is given as a reward to the saved, and not as a reward to the wicked.
This is the good news of God. Although Adam and Eve were created mortal (with the ability to become immortal by eating the fruit of the Tree of Life), and people are still born mortal today, we can still receive immortality if we accept God's gift of eternal life. Immortality is a Divine gift, and not an inherent property of man. It is conditioned by our readiness to accept God's gracious salvation of our entire nature, body and soul. Thus, the biblical view can also be described as conditional immortality, since it is offered by God under certain conditions.
Disputes over body and soul. Some readers may say that the question of body and soul has long been exhausted and is no longer of interest to anyone. Writing a book on this topic may seem like a waste of time to them. I dare to object: the question of body and soul is far from exhausted and has not lost its relevance. The recent mass suicide in one of the residential buildings of San Diego of 39 people who wished to leave their bodily “containers” in order to reach Comet Hale-Bopp in disembodied form, reminds us how pressing the issue of body and soul is. Interest in the afterlife is perhaps greater today than ever before. In the Middle Ages, belief in an afterlife was instilled through works of art filled with superstition, which depicted the bliss of saints and the torment of sinners. Today, such a belief is promoted in more sophisticated ways through mediums, psychics, “scientific” studies of near-death experiences, and “New Age” figures communicating with spirits of the past. As a result, the issue of body and soul is receiving unprecedented attention even within the theological community. A review of the theological literature published in recent years shows that this issue is hotly debated by leading theologians of various religious denominations.
At the center of the debate is the question of whether the soul can survive the body and function outside of it. In other words, is human nature designed in such a way that at the moment of death the soul, that is, the thinking component, leaves the body and continues to exist while the “container” disintegrates? Traditionally, the vast majority of Christians answer this question in the affirmative. They believe that between death and the final resurrection of the body, God preserves the existence of their human disembodied souls. Upon resurrection, their material bodies will be reunited with their disembodied souls, thereby enhancing either the bliss of heaven or the torment of hell.
This traditional and popular point of view has been subject to massive criticism in recent years. An increasing number of leading evangelical theologians are abandoning the classical, dualistic view of human nature, according to which the mortal body belongs to the lower, physical world, and the immortal soul to the spiritual realms. They favor a biblical, holistic view of human nature, that is, they believe that the entire person - both body and soul - experiences death and resurrection.
Several factors contribute to the rejection of classical dualism by many theologians. One is a renewed exploration of the biblical view of human nature. Careful study of the basic biblical terms used to designate man (body, soul, spirit, flesh, mind, and heart) has led many scholars to realize that they do not refer to independent components, but to the whole person, viewed from various points vision. “Recent research shows,” writes Eldon Ladd, “that terms such as body, soul and spirit serve to describe different angles from which the whole personality is viewed, rather than different, separate properties of a person.”3
Almost any part of the body can be used in the Bible to refer to the whole person. There is no separation between the mortal body and the immortal soul leaving the body and functioning outside it. Body and soul, flesh and spirit, in the Bible are parts of the same person, which does not “fall into pieces” at death.
Dualism is under fire. Numerous biblical scholars have recently declared that the authors of the Old and New Testament books operate not with a dualistic, but with a monistic (holistic) view of human nature. Their research will be discussed in subsequent chapters. As a result, many modern believers question and even reject the idea that the Bible teaches that the soul exists after death outside the body.
Church historians support these conclusions, arguing that the dualistic view of human nature and the belief in the separation of the soul from the body after death were introduced into Christianity by the Church Fathers, who were influenced by the dualistic philosophy of Plato. This explains the widespread dissemination of these ideas in Christian Church, even though they are alien to biblical teaching.
Philosophers and scientists are contributing to a massive critique of the traditional dualistic view of human nature. Philosophers have criticized traditional arguments that the soul is an immortal substance that survives the death of the body. They put forward alternative theories, according to which the soul is an aspect of the human body, and not an independent component.
Scientists, in turn, question the belief in the independent existence of the soul, arguing that human consciousness depends on and is influenced by the brain. At the moment of death, the brain ceases to function and mental activity in all its forms stops. For scientists, the cessation of all mental functions at the time of death means that the likelihood of any post-mortem mental activity attributed to the soul being carried out is extremely low.
These concerted attacks on dualism by biblical scholars, church historians, philosophers, and scientists are leading liberal and even some conservative Christians to reject the traditional dualistic view of human nature. In his book Soul, Body, and Eternal Life, John W. Cooper sums up this trend by stating: “Liberals rejected it [dualism] as outdated and no longer intellectually valid. At the same time, some conservative Protestants said that since we should follow only the Bible and not human traditions, and anthropological dualism is precisely human tradition without a biblical basis, we should reform our denominations and purify them from the layers of ancient Greek thought. The separate perception of body and soul is sharply criticized from all sides.”4
Dualists are worried. These trends are causing serious concern among those who see an extreme threat to their dualistic understanding of human nature. Cooper's book represents one of many attempts to strengthen the shaky positions of the traditional dualist view by responding to the challenge posed to dualism. The reason for this answer is clearly stated by Cooper himself: “If what they [the researchers] say is true, then two disconcerting conclusions follow. First, the doctrine accepted by most of the Christian Church since its founding is false. The second consequence is on a more personal and existential plane - the belief of millions of Christians in life immediately after death is a delusion.”5
Cooper is extremely concerned about the consequences of abandoning the traditional dualistic understanding of human nature. He writes: “The inevitable conclusion is that virtually all ordinary Christians will need to renounce their ideas about the afterlife. If the soul cannot break bodily bonds, it means that we are not between death and resurrection, either with Christ or with anyone else, neither in a conscious nor in an unconscious state. This conclusion will cause a kind of existential anxiety in many Christians. In a more general sense, this will be the loss of another pillar in the structure of the traditional Christian faith, which has been shaken and uprooted by modern researchers.
Modern biblical studies are indeed causing great "existential anxiety" among millions of sincere Christians who believe that their disillusioned souls will immediately go to heaven after death. Any challenge to traditionally cherished beliefs can have devastating consequences. Yet Christians who base their faith on the authority of Scripture must be willing to reconsider traditional beliefs and change them if they turn out to be unbiblical.
It is not surprising that people whose views are challenged by biblical research exhibit very strong emotional reactions. Oscar Kuhlman, for example, found himself under a hail of bitter reproaches from people who were extremely dissatisfied with his book “The Immortality of the Soul or the Resurrection of the Dead?” He wrote: “Not a single publication of mine has caused such a fierce, hostile reaction.”7 Indeed, the attacks became so powerful, so many were outraged by his statements, that he thought it best to go into the shadows for some time. I would like to add that the attacks on his book did not impress Kuhlman at all, since all of them, in his opinion, were based not on exegetical arguments, but on emotions and psychological considerations.
Tactics to wear down the enemy. In some cases, the reaction takes the form of minor harassing attacks. Respected Canadian theologian Clark Pinnock mentions some of these tactics used to discredit those biblical scholars who have abandoned the traditional dualistic view of human nature and, by extension, the doctrine of eternal torment in a fiery hell. For example, such researchers are associated with liberal or sectarian movements such as Adventists. Pinnock writes: “A new criterion of truth appears to have been discovered, which states that if Adventists or liberals hold a view, then that view is wrong. As if the truth of an opinion can be judged by the person who expresses it, so that the need for open discussion disappears by itself. Such an argument, while futile in serious discussion, may have the desired effect on the ignorant who are misled by such rhetoric.”8
Despite these “wearing down tactics,” the biblical holistic view of human nature, which rejects natural immortality and, accordingly, eternal torment of the wicked in hell, is gaining more and more adherents among evangelical Christians. Public support for this view, coming from the lips of John Stott, an authoritative British theologian and popular preacher, undoubtedly strengthens this trend. “Oddly enough,” writes Pinnock, “in this case a certain kind of associative recognition arises, that is, an element of the very tactics that are used against adherents of this view. Now no one can say that only heretics or almost heretics [like the Seventh-day Adventists] take this position, although I am sure that there will be people who will deny Stott’s orthodoxy precisely on this basis.”9
Stott himself has expressed many concerns about the division his new views might cause in the church where he is a recognized leader. He writes: “It is with great trepidation that I express my opinion, partly because I have deep respect for the long tradition held to be the true interpretation of Holy Scripture, from which I do not easily turn away, but also because the unity of the worldwide community of evangelical Christians has always been of great importance meaning for me. However, this issue is too important to be ignored, and I am grateful to David Edwards for encouraging me to speak out on this issue. I do not dogmatize the position I have arrived at. I'm kind of putting forward a hypothesis. But I wholeheartedly encourage all evangelical Christians to engage in frank dialogue based on Scripture.”10
Stott's call to evangelical Christians is unlikely to be implemented. The reason is simple. Evangelical Christians are bound by their confessional traditional teachings to the same extent as Catholics and Orthodox Christians. In theory they accept the principle of Soa Scriptura, but in practice they often interpret Scripture in accordance with their denominational traditional teachings. If modern biblical scholarship challenges traditional doctrines, in most cases evangelical churches will choose to remain faithful to tradition rather than Soa Scriptura. The difference between evangelical Christians and Catholics is that the latter are at least honest about the normative authority of their church tradition.
To be “evangelical” means to hold certain fundamental and traditional doctrines without question. Anyone who dares to question the biblical validity of any traditional doctrine runs the risk of being suspected of “heresy.” At a major conference in 1989 on the topic “What does it mean to be evangelical Christian"Serious questions were raised as to whether men like John Stott or Philip Hughes could be considered evangelical Christians since they embraced the concept of conditional immortality and the complete destruction of the wicked. When voting on the expulsion of such theologians from the evangelical community, the conference participants as a whole spoke in their favor, but only by a slight margin11.
Why are evangelical denominations so adamant in their reluctance to reconsider their views on the Bible's teachings about human nature and destiny? After all, they did not hesitate to change other ancient traditional doctrines. Perhaps one of the reasons for their strong adherence to the dualistic view lies in the fact that so many other teachings are interconnected with it. We noted at the beginning of this chapter that Christians' beliefs about the essence of their human nature largely determine their beliefs about the destiny of man. The rejection of dualism will entail the rejection of a whole group of doctrines associated with it. This can be called the “domino effect”. If one doctrine falls, several others will follow it. To clarify this issue, we will briefly consider some of the doctrinal and practical implications of classical dualism. I would like to draw the reader's attention to their diversity.
2. Consequences of dualism
Doctrinal implications. The classical dualistic view of human nature has an extraordinary variety of doctrinal and practical consequences. From a doctrinal point of view, a whole host of beliefs is based on classical dualism. For example, the belief that at death the soul goes to heaven, hell or purgatory is based on the concept of the natural immortality of the soul, which continues to exist after the death of the body. This means that if the soul's inherent immortality turns out to be an unbiblical concept, then popular ideas about heaven, purgatory and hell must be radically modified or rejected altogether.
The belief that at the moment of death the souls of saints ascend to the bliss of paradise contributed to the development of Catholic and Orthodox ideas about the intercessory role of the Virgin Mary and the saints. If the souls of saints are in heaven, then it is quite logical to assume that they can intercede for needy sinners living on mortal earth. Therefore, pious Christians pray to Mary and the saints for protection. This practice conflicts with the biblical teaching that “there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). Moreover, if the soul does not continue to exist after death and cannot function outside the body, then the entire teaching about the mediatorial role of Mary and the saints must be rejected as an ecclesiastical invention. Indeed, reconsidering the biblical teaching on human nature can lead to frightening consequences for the “cherished aspirations” of Christians.
Likewise, the belief that at death the souls of those who have not committed unforgivable sins go to purgatory has led to the doctrine that the Church on earth has the right to credit the merits of Christ and the saints to souls suffering in that very purgatory. This right is exercised through the distribution of indulgences, that is, release from temporary punishment due to the forgiveness of sin. This belief led to the scandalous sale of indulgences that lit the spark of the Protestant Reformation.
The Reformers destroyed the doctrine of purgatory as unbiblical, but retained the doctrine that souls immediately after death find themselves in a state of either perfect bliss (in heaven) or continuous torment (in hell). Again, if the belief in the existence of the soul after the death of the body turns out to be unbiblical, then the popular ideas of purgatory, indulgences, and the soul going to heaven or hell must also be rejected as ecclesiastical fiction.
The work begun by the reformers who rejected the doctrine of purgatory must be completed by those who will redefine heaven and hell according to Holy Scripture, and not with church traditions. It is unlikely that any of the modern Protestant churches will take on such a fundamental task. Any attempt to modify or reject traditional doctrines is often interpreted as a renunciation of the faith and can lead to division and disintegration. Not all churches are willing to pay such a high price.
The concept of the immortality of the soul undermines the doctrine of the Second Coming. Traditional dualism, among other things, undermines the hope of the coming of Christ. Belief in the ascension of souls to heaven can make the anticipation of the Second Coming dim, or even darken. If at the moment of death the soul of a believer immediately ascends to the bliss of paradise to be with the Lord, then he is unlikely to anxiously await the hour when Christ will descend to resurrect the sleeping saints. This Christian will first of all think about how to achieve heaven immediately, even in the form of a disembodied spirit. Such experiences hardly leave any room for interest in the coming of the Lord and the resurrection of the body.
To believe in the immortality of the soul means to consider at least one of the components of one's personality as an immortal nature, incapable of ceasing to exist. Such faith spurs confidence in oneself and in the ability of one’s soul to ascend to the Lord. On the other hand, to believe in the resurrection of the body means not to believe in oneself or in the ability of disembodied souls to ascend to the Lord; in other words, the Christian remains to believe in Christ, who will return to raise the dead and transform the living. This means believing in the descent of the Lord to this earth to meet believers in the flesh, and not in the ascension of disembodied souls to heaven to meet the Lord.
In the New Testament, the Parousia emphasizes the final outcome, which is the descent of Christ to humanity, and not the ascension of individual souls to Him. The hope of the advent is not empty promises, but a real meeting on this earth between believers in the flesh and Christ on the glorious day of His return. The outcome of this meeting will be a transformation that will affect humanity and the natural world. This great expectation is darkened and destroyed by the belief in personal immortality and heavenly bliss immediately after death.
Another important consequence of the individualistic hope of immediate immortality is that it tramples the biblical general hope of the final restoration of God's created world and its inhabitants (Rom. 8:19-23; 1 Cor. 15:24-28). When the only future that is considered is the survival of one's own soul after death, only superficial interest is shown in universal human suffering, and the significance of God's redemption for our entire world is largely ignored. As a result, as Abraham Kuyper notes, “most Christians look no further than their own death.”12
Misconceptions about the new world. Classical dualism gave rise to erroneous ideas about the future world. In most people's minds, heaven is a kind of spiritual holiday home somewhere in space where glorified souls will spend eternity in unceasing contemplation and meditation. Such views are inspired more by Platonic dualism than by biblical realism. The material components of this world seemed to Plato to be evil and, therefore, did not deserve eternity. The goal of man is to reach the spiritual kingdom, where souls, liberated from the bondage of the material body, reside in eternal bliss.
As we progress, we will see that both the Old and New Testaments reject the dualism between the earthly material world and the higher spiritual realm. The last stage of salvation, which will begin at the coming of the Lord, is considered in Scripture not as an escape from the earth, but as its transformation. The Bible describes the world to come not as a spiritual heavenly refuge inhabited by glorified souls, but as a physical planet Earth inhabited by resurrected saints (Isa. 66:22; Rev. 21:1).
Practical implications. On a more practical note, the classical dualistic view of human nature led to the cultivation of the soul away from the body and the suppression of physical needs and healthy natural impulses. Contrary to the biblical view of the goodness of God's creation, including physical bodily pleasures, medieval spirituality encouraged mortification as a means of achieving holiness. Ascetics became saints who devoted themselves mainly to the vita contempativa and separated themselves from the vita activa. Since the salvation of the soul was considered more important than the preservation of the body, the physical needs of the body were often deliberately neglected or even suppressed.
The dichotomy between body and soul, physical and spiritual, is still present in the thinking of many modern Christians. Many still associate salvation more with the human soul than with human body. We describe the Church's missionary work as "saving souls." This seems to imply that Souls are more important than bodies. Conrad Bergendoff rightly notes that “The Gospel gives no reason to talk about salvation affecting souls other than the bodies to which they belong. Let not philosophers and theologians divide what God has united. Meanwhile, they are guilty of the separation of human bodies and souls, created by God as a single whole at creation, and their guilt does not become less because, according to them, such a division is only for the benefit of salvation. Until we have a concept of salvation that meets all the needs of man as a whole, we will not be able to understand the purpose of Him who became flesh so that humanity could be saved.”13
The emergence of modern secularism. Some researchers argue that classical dualism contributed to the emergence of modern secularism and the gradual weakening of the influence of the Christian faith on society and culture14. They see a relationship between modern secularism, which excludes religion from human life, and the separation of soul and body characteristic of traditional Christianity. In addition, they trace the connection between secularism and the separation of the kingdom of nature and the kingdom of grace, formulated, in particular, by Thomas Aquinas. According to the latter, natural reason is quite sufficient for life in the natural world, while grace is necessary for spiritual life and the achievement of salvation. Thus, the scholastic division of body and soul allowed for the separation of life into two separate components: vita activa and vita contempativa, or, in other words, secular life and spiritual life.
This division ultimately led to the belief that Christianity should be concerned primarily with the salvation of human souls, while the state should take care of the flesh. This means that the state, not the Church, should be concerned with education, science, technology, economic structures, social and political issues, culture and public values.
By accepting the concept of the separation of soul and body, Christians have ceded vast areas of life, morality and knowledge to forces professing secularism and humanism. Teaching methods and textbooks, even in Christian schools, reflect a humanistic philosophy rather than a biblical perspective. The cumulative impact of body-soul dualism is simply incalculable. The separation of man into body and soul has given rise to many all kinds of false dichotomies in human life.
Dualism in liturgy. The influence of dualism can even be seen in many Christian hymns, prayers and poems. The first sentence of the funeral prayer set out in the Anglican prayer book has a pronounced dualistic character: “Because it pleased almighty God in His great mercy to call to Himself the soul of our dear deceased brother, we now commit his body to the earth.”15 A phrase from another prayer said at the same rite betrays a distinctly dualistic contempt for physical existence: “With whom the souls of the faithful, after being delivered from the burden of the flesh, abide in joy and bliss.”
The Platonic concept of the liberation of the soul from the prison of the body is clearly seen in the lines written by the Christian poet John Donne: “When bodies are in the grave, there is no place for souls there.”16 Many of our hymns are thinly veiled dualistic verses. How often are we encouraged to look upon life in this world as a “weary journey” and to seek final deliverance in heaven “on high”!
Examples of hymns displaying hostility towards earthly life, religious escapism and desire for another world can be easily found in the hymnals of almost all Christian denominations. Some hymns depict this earth as a prison from which the believer, freed, ascends to the heavenly abodes: “My Father’s house is unlike those on earth, it is high, high, above the stars of heaven; when I am freed from this corruptible prison, this golden abode will become mine.” Other hymns depict the Christian as a wanderer, impatiently awaiting the hour of parting with this world: “Here, on a land so dark and parched, I wandered for a long time, miserable, exhausted.” “Here I am a wanderer, my home is heaven; the earth is desolate and empty, but my home is heaven.” "I want

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