31-Questions on the Destruction of the Wicked - NAS

1. Is Hell a Hot Spot Burning in the Center of the Earth? The Wicked Are Reserved Unto to Judgment.
2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and _committed_ them to pits of darkness, reserved for _judgment_;

2. Our God Is a Consuming Fire to Sin, Wherever It Is Found.
Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a _consuming_ _fire_.

3. The Fires of Hell Originate From Heaven at the End of Time. Not As Some Hot Spot in the Earth.
Revelation 20:9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and _surrounded_ the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and _devoured_ them.

4. The Wicked Will Be Totally Consumed. They Shall Be Cut Off From the Earth.
Proverbs 10:25 When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an _everlasting_ _foundation_.

Psalms 37:10-11 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. [11] But the humble will inherit the land And will delight _themselves_ in abundant _prosperity_.

Psalms 37:20 But the wicked will perish; And the _enemies_ of the LORD will be like the glory of the _pastures_, They vanish -like smoke they vanish away.

Psalms 37:34 Wait for the LORD and keep His way, And He will exalt you to _inherit_ the land; When the _wicked_ are cut off, you will see it.

5. The Wicked Will Be Consumed to Ashes.
Malachi 4:1 "For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the _arrogant_ and every _evildoer_ will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze," says the LORD of hosts, "so that it will leave them _neither_ root nor branch."

Malachi 4:3 "You will tread down the _wicked_, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am _preparing_," says the LORD of hosts.

6. This Final Destruction of the Wicked Will Occur After the Thousand Year Millennium.
Revelation 20:5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were _completed_. This is the first _resurrection_.

7. This Final Destruction of the Wicked Will Occur After the Resurrection of Damnation.
John 5:28-29 "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is _coming_, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, [29] and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who _committed_ the evil deeds to a resurrection of _judgment_.

8. Doesn't the Bible Say That the Wicked Will Burn Forever?
Revelation 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and _brimstone_, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be _tormented_ day and night forever and ever.

9. The Old Age of Sin and Death Ends. God Ushers in a New Age.
Revelation 21:1-4 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. [2] And I saw the holy city, new _Jerusalem_, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her _husband_. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the _tabernacle_ of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God _Himself_ will be among them, [4] and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any _mourning_, or _crying_, or pain; the first _things_ have passed away."

10. Let's Take a Look at How the Bible Has Treated the Concept of Forever. In the Old Testament, a Slave Was to Serve His Master Forever.
Exodus 21:6 Then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the _doorpost_. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him _permanently_.

Forever in the Bible can be literally translated "until the end of the age" or as long as he shall live.

 11. Hannah Brought Her Son Samuel to the Temple Forever.
1 Samuel 1:22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her _husband_, "I will not go up until the child is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD and stay there _forever_."

1 Samuel 1:28 "So I have also dedicated him to the LORD; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the LORD." And he _worshiped_ the LORD _there_.

In both of these instances the time period was as long as they lived. 1 Samuel 1:28 clearly states, "as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord. ".

 12. Jonah Even Uses the Expression "Forever" to Describe His Experience in the Belly of the Fish.
Jonah 2:6 "I _descended_ to the roots of the _mountains_. The earth with its bars was around me forever, But You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.

"Forever" was a limited time and not an unending time. It was for as long as the Lord decreed, until the end of the age or as long as Jonah could live in that environment.

 13. The Punishment of the Wicked Will Be Everlasting.
Matthew 25:46 "These will go away into eternal _punishment_, but the _righteous_ into eternal life."

They will be consumed. Burned to ashes, they will be gone forever. It is not everlasting "punishing" or a continued state of torment. The idea of an eternally burning hell would make God a cosmic monster delighting in destroying His creatures.

A loving God must blot sin out of the universe lest it destroy our earth. Like a cancer surgeon, He must cut out the disease, however painful. Then it will be removed-gone forever.

 14. What About the Expression "Eternal Fire?".
Jude 1:7 Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in _undergoing_ the _punishment_ of eternal fire.

2 Peter 2:6 And if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to _destruction_ by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives _thereafter_;

Sodem and Gomorrah, two ancient cities, filled with sin were consumed with fire from heaven. The Bible states that they were burned with eternal fire, which means the fire burned until there was nothing more to burn. It did not go out until it had finished its work.

They are not burning today. These two cities are in ruins under the Dead Sea.

 15. Doesn't the Bible Speak About the Fire Which Cannot Be Quenched?
Mark 9:43 "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life _crippled_, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the _unquenchable_ fire,

Mark 9:48 Where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT _QUENCHED_.

Jeremiah 17:27 "But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will _devour_ the _palaces_ of Jerusalem and not be _quenched_.""'

The fire which cannot be quenched is one which no human hand can put out. It utterly, totally consumes. As a result of the Jews disobedience, Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 568 BC The city was burned with unquenchable fire. You may read the prophecy of the destruction.

And yet, Jerusalem is not burning today. The fire did a complete work.

Next Bible Study: 32-The Mark of the Beast

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