From: pub@riscee.pko.dec.com (Publius)
Subject: Re: *I* am THE way.
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard MA
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 18:40:34 GMT

In article <66921@hydra.gatech.EDU> rpitts@emperor.gatech.edu (Richard Pitts) writes:
>
>I thought I'd give some of the Biblical (NT) references to hell fire.

The verses you posted actually belong to two quite distinct groups.
To make that distinction clean, let me first quote from Kittel's
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.

	"Fundamental for an understanding of the 'Gehenna' (lake of
	 fire) passages in the NT, ..., is the sharp distinction
	 made by the NT between 'Hades' and 'Gehenna' ..."
	                                - Kittel's TDNT, vol. 1, p. 658

The verses in Luke 16 are about 'Hades', while the other verses in
in your posting are about 'Gehenna' (lake of fire).  These are two
very different things.  First, let us talk about 'Gehenna'.  'Gehenna'
will be the place of punishment only after the second coming and the
judgement to come, and I think this point is very clear in the NT and
there is no dispute on this matter among the conservative Christian
theologians.  Currently, there is no one in 'Gehenna', no human beings
anyway (whether the 'abyss' - the abode of the fallen angels and demons
- is the same as 'Gehenna' is a matter of dispute.)  In this aspect
alone, it is very different from the popular concept of "hell".
Furthermore, we can look into the Bible to get an idea of what 'lake of
fire' is all about.  Is it literal or figurative?  I understand that
some Christians want to interprete it as literal.  However, Scripture
actually favors heavily toward a figurative interpretation of 'lake of
fire', which, by the way, is also Calvin's interpretation.  Here is
why:

Many items in the Book of Revelation have their antitheses in the same
book, and they form the sharpest contrasts.  Examples: Christ vs.
Antichrist, New Jerusalem vs. Babylon the Great, the woman in glory
vs. the harlot, ..., and so on.  Now, let us ask: what is the antithesis
of 'lake of fire'?  Actually it is not difficult to find it.  For
clearly the antithesis of 'lake of fire' is 'river of water of life',
as in Biblical typology, 'river', where water does flow, is the
antithesis of 'lake', where the water does not flow, and 'water' is
the antithesis of 'fire'.  Now, let us ask: what exactly is 'river
of water of life'?  Is it literal or figurative?  There is no question
that it is figurative (john 7:37-39), and it denotes the Spirit of
God flowing out to the humankind.  With this understanding of 'river
of water of life', we can easily see that the antithesis of this is the
'ultimate separation from God', which is exactly Calvin's interpretation of
'lake of fire'.

By the way, I want to bring to your attention of the difference in
wording between Revelation 20:10 and Revelation 20:15.  In 20:10,
there is that phrase 'forever and ever' (literally, 'unto the aeons
of the aeons' in Greek).  But there is no such phrase in 20:15.
Note that 20:10 is about the lot of the Adversary and his close
associates; while 20:15 is about the wicked human beings.  This is
interesting especially in light of the following note from Kittel's
TDNT.

	"It is significant that the oldest Rabbinic reference
	 to Gehenna (T.Sanh., 13, 3 and par.) tells us that the
	 disciples of Shammai, as distinct from those of Hillel,
	 ascribe to Gehenna a purgatorial as well as a penal
	 character, ....  It may be that this conception of a
	 purificatory character of the final fire of judgement
	 underlies such passages as Mk.9:49; 1C.3:13-15; cf.
	 2 Pt.3:10."
	                           - Kittel's TDNT, vol. 1, p. 658

Now, we have talked about what 'Gehenna' is all about and how it is
different from the popular concept of "hell".  We can now discuss
about 'Hades' mentioned in Luke 16.  In short, 'Hades' is simply
the unseen spiritual realm where the dead receive the retribution
for their lives on the earth.  Luke 16 is the only place in the NT
that this is mentioned.  The lack of more detailed information
on this in the NT prompted Calvin to conclude that God, for the
reason that we don't understand now, does not want us to peek too
much into this area, and thus the quote from Institutes I posted
in the previous article.  A few features stand out in the story in
Luke 16, which is the only window in the NT into the 'afterlife'
before the Second Coming.

  1. There is no mentioning on whether this retribution is
     only temporary or eternal.

  2. There is no mentioning that the rich man commited some
     terrible crime while the poor beggar lived a saintly life.

  3. There is no mentioning that the poor beggar was a believer
     in Christ while the rich man was not.

  4. The most interesting aspect about this story is Abraham's
     explanation to the rich man, which many people would like
     to explain away.  According to Abraham's answer to the
     rich man, the retribution in Hades is simply the compensation
     for their respective lots/lives on earth.  Abraham's answer
     certainly does not bring confort to those who array themselves
     in purple (figuratively speaking, of course), live in luxury,
     and waste their earthly lives in pleasure.  Scripture does
     not give any indication that Christian can be exempted from
     this retribution (not that I am preaching Purgatory, I simply
     take Abraham's words as they are).  I guess the the only way
     we can avoid it is to live a life of self-denial, bear the cross,
     for sake of His Kingdom.

In any event, the simple description of 'Hades' in Luke 16 is very
different from the popular concept of "burning hell" as well.


Regards,
-- 
For Christ and His Kingdom
-- Publius
Disclaimer: These opinions are mine, all mine, mine alone.