Fate of the
Transgressor
Cause of the Sinners
Destruction
What question does the Apostle
Peter ask regarding the wicked?
For it is time for
judgment to begin with the family of God; and if
it begins with us, what will be the outcome for
those who do not obey the gospel of God? 1
Peter 4:17.
What does the Bible say is
the wages of sin? What is to be the fate of one
person who persists in sin?
For the wages of
sin is death. Romans 6:23.
For every living soul
belongs to me, the father as well as the son
- both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is
the one who will die. Ezekiel 18:4.
Completeness of the
Destruction
What will be the
character of this death?
They will be punished
with everlasting destruction and shut out
from the presence of the Lord and from the
majesty of his power. 2 Thessalonians 1:9.
What will befall those who do
not repent?
I tell you no! But
unless you repent, you too will all
perish. Luke 13:3. But
these men blaspheme in matters they do not
understand. They are like brute beasts,
creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and
destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.
2 Peter 2:12.
How does John the Baptist
describe the destruction of the wicked?
I baptize you with
water for repentance. But after me will come one
who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am
not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is
in his hand, and he will clear the threshing
floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning
up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Matthew 3:11, 12.
For whom was this fire
originally prepared?
Then he will say to
those on his left, Depart from me, you who
are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for
the devil and his angels. Matthew
25:41.
Note This fire is
called everlasting (Greek, aionlon,
age lasting) because of the
character of the work it does; just as it is
called unquenchable) because it
cannot be put out, and not because it will not go
out when it has done its work. Eternal fire
reduced Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes. (Jude 7; 2
Peter 2:6.)
Will any part of the wicked be
left?
Surely the day is
coming; it will burn like a furnace. Al the
arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and
that day that is coming will set them on fire,
says the Lord Almighty. Not a root or
branch will be left to them. Malachi
4:1.
How completely will man be
destroyed in hell?
Do not be afraid of
those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
Rather, be afraid of the One who can
destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:28.
Note This scripture
proves that the soul is neither immortal nor
indestructible. The everlasting punishment
destruction of the wicked is this
destruction of soul and body in hell (Greek, Geenna
[Gehenna]).
Hell in the New
Testament is from three Greek words:
Hades, 10 times.
Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts
2:27, 31; Revelation 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14. (Hades
is also translated grave once, 1
Corinthians 15:55.)
Geenna (Gehenna), 12
times. Matthew 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,
33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47: Luke 12:5; James 3:6.
Tararoo, 1 time (the
only occurrence in the Bible), 2 Peter 2:4.
Hades (the lower
world, place of the dead, the grave) is the
equivalent of sheol.
Tararoo, describing
the fall of Satans rebel angels, is a verb,
meaning to cast down to Tartarus.
This is a striking figure of speech, alluding to
the Tartarus of Greek mythology, an abyss deeper
than Hades, the prison of the Titans, who fought
against the gods.
Gehenna, the only
other word for hell, is the valley of Hinnom,
used symbolically of the fires of the last great
of judgment. This is the word that is used in
Matthew 10:28 to describe the place where the
wicked will be destroyed body and soul.
Where, When, and How
When will the wicked be
punished?
By the same word the
present heavens and earth are reserved for fire,
being kept for the day of judgment and
destruction of ungodly men. 2
Peter 3:7.
Note The present
heaven and earth and sinners await the fires of
the last day. The Greek for perdition
is apoleia, loss, destruction.
What will be the result of the
fires of the last day?
But the day of the
Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will
disappear with a roar; the elements will be
destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything
in it will be laid bare. As you look
forward to the day of God and speed its
coming. That day will bring about the
destruction of the heavens by fire, and the
elements will melt in the heat.
Verses 10, 12.
How does Christ say sin and
sinners will be eliminated?
The Son of Man will
send out his angels, and they will weed out of
his kingdom everything that causes sin and all
who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery
furnace, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13: 41,
42.
When are the wicked dead
to be raised to receive the final punishment?
The rest of the
dead did not come to life until the thousand
years were ended.
Revelation 20:5.
Where will come the fire
that will destroy them?
But fire came down
from heaven and devoured them. Verse 9.
Note This may be
called Gods strange act and His
strange work the work of the
destruction. (Isaiah 28:21.) But by this means
God will once and forever cleanse the universe of
sin and all its results. Death itself will then
be at an end cast into the lake of fire.
(Revelation 20:14.)
By what figure does
Malachi describe the destruction of the wicked?
Then you will trample
down the wicked; they will be ashes under
the soles of your feet on the day when I do
these things, says the Lord Almighty.
Malachi 4:3.
Note The wicked are
to be utterly destroyed. Through sin they have
forfeited the right to life and an immortal
existence, and chosen the way of death and
destruction. By their choice they have proved
themselves worthless, like chaff, briers, thorns,
etc. They will themselves have lost their
opportunity to obtain eternal life, by the way in
which they used their probationary time. Their
destruction will in fact, be an act of love and
mercy on the part of God; for to perpetuate their
lives would only be to perpetuate sin, sorrow,
suffering, and misery. Terrible, therefore, as
this judgment will be, there will, in consequence
of it, be nothing of value lost nothing
lost worth saving. The experiment of sin will be
over, and Gods original plan of peopling
the earth with a race of holy, happy beings will
be carried out. (2 Peter 3:13.)
What is the final
destruction of the wicked called?
The lake of fire is
the second death. Revelation 20:14.
After the burning days
and weeks, what will appear?
But in keeping with
this promise we are looking forward to a new
heaven and a new earth, the home of
righteousness. 2 Peter 3:13.
How will the righteous be
rewarded in the new earth?
Blessed are the
meek. For they will inherit the earth.
Matthew 5:5. Then the
righteous will shine like the sun in
the kingdom of their Father. He who
has ears, let him hear. Matthew 13:43.
Note Satan and the wicked now have this
world as their place. In due time
Christ will inherit earth as His right as King of
kings and Lord of lords. Christ will cleanse it
from sin and sinners, and restore it, that He may
give it to the saints of the Most High for an
everlasting possession. (See Daniel 7:18, 22,
27.)
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