Seeing Hell, Trevor Christian Johnson

Presented in survey-style and with some weaknesses in the writing, this is still a very valuable survey of a niche but important area of the doctrine of hell. The theology presented here is generally excellent.

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Excerpts

57
A final and eternal separation is spoken of here, and in in which the damned shall gaze from the outer darkness at the warm fellowship of the saints and their reward.

69, quoting Gerstner
Since God cannot be made happier, being ever and infinitely blessed, hell was made, not for him but for heaven.

110
Those in heaven must therefore have an extensive knowledge of pain, sin, suffering and death while residing in a state of joy with God.

120
In Revelation 18:20 this rejoicing may even be said to be a command. "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her." It is not a weakness for heaven to rejoice over the downfall of the wicked; it is here commanded!

144
In heaven, there will be shouting of "Amens" over these "Cursed be's" that God proclaims in judgment. In heaven the saints will praise all of God's judgments.

 

London’s Lamentations, Thomas Brooks

Although the scope of the material here (a response to the Great Fire of London in 1666) is wider than the doctrine of hell, what Brooks does say here about hell is virtually unrivalled in emotive power and insight. Brooks also models the application of the doctrine of hell to his contemporary context. 

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Excerpts

127
All the cruelties in the world cannot possibly make up any horror comparable to the horrors of hell. The brick-kilns of Egypt, the furnace of Babel, are but as the glowing sparkle, or as the blaze of a brush-faggot, to this tormenting Tophet that has been prepared of old to punish the bodies and souls of sinners with. Hanging, racking, burning, scourging, stoning, sawing asunder, flaying of the skin, &c., are not to be named in the day wherein the tortures of hell are spoken of. If all the pains, sorrows, miseries, and calamities that have been inflicted upon all the sons of men, since Adam fell in Paradise, should meet together and centre in one man, they would not so much as amount to one of the least of the pains of hell

129
The conclave of Rome, and the conclave of hell can do nothing without a commission from heaven. They cannot make a louse, nor burn a house, nor drown a pig, without a commission under the broad seal of heaven. A sparrow lights not upon the ground, nor a hair falls not from our heads, no, nor a bristle from a sow’s back, saith Tertullian, but by a divine providence. All created creatures, both in that upper and in this lower world, depend upon God for their being, motion, and several activities. Now in that God did not exert his power, neither to prevent nor check those furious flames, which he knew, without his interposure, would lay all in ashes; it is evident that it was his divine pleasure that London should be turned into a ruinous heap.

209
If after so many millions of years as there be drops in the ocean, there might be a deliverance out of hell, this would yield a little ease, a little comfort to the damned. Oh but this word eternity, eternity, eternity, this word everlasting, everlasting, everlasting, will even break the hearts of the damned in ten thousand pieces! There is scarce any pain or torment here on earth but there is ever some hope of ease, mitigation, or intermission, there is some hope of relief or delivery; but in hell the torments there are all easeless, remediless, and endless. Here if one fall into the fire, he may like a brand be pulled out of it and saved; but out of that fiery lake there is no redemption.

Everlasting Punishment and the Problem of Evil, Henri Blocher

An intriguing chapter in an otherwise forgettable volume, Blocher explores the end of actual sin at the judgment. I disagree with his final conclusions, but the data is extremely helpful in mitigating what I believe is an error in the older theologians regarding the nature of sin in hell.

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Excerpts

32 [Hart]

A love that continues to suffer rejection and separation for its object must be thought of as having failed, and omnipotence cannot fail in its purposes.

190 [Wenham]
I believe that endless torment is a hideous and unscriptural doctrine which has been a terrible burden on the mind of the church for many centuries and a terrible blot on her presentation of the gospel. I should indeed by happy if, before I die, I could help in sweeping it away.

Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell, Nigel Cameron

A hodge-podge of essays on universalism, including Powys, Wenham, Harmon, Helm, and Blocher. Among these, only Blocher's chapter is a standout.

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Excerpts

32 [Hart]

A love that continues to suffer rejection and separation for its object must be thought of as having failed, and omnipotence cannot fail in its purposes.

190 [Wenham]
I believe that endless torment is a hideous and unscriptural doctrine which has been a terrible burden on the mind of the church for many centuries and a terrible blot on her presentation of the gospel. I should indeed by happy if, before I die, I could help in sweeping it away.

Heaven or Hell, R. A. Torrey

Punchy little book with lots of great stories and testimonies. You can tell it belongs to an older generation- but not in a bad way. Although the style is a little dated, it would remain one of my top books to give an unbeliever due to small size, clear presentation of the gospel, great warnings and compelling stories. It points clearly to heaven and salvation in Christ by a renowned soul-winner. 

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Excerpts

p25

Unbelief in Jesus Christ is an appalling sin because of the dignity of the person Jesus Christ.

 

p26

An injury done to Jesus Christ is a sin of vastly greater magnitude than a sin done to man. A mule has rights, but its rights are unimportant when compared to the rights of a man. The law recognizes the rights of a mule, but the killing of a mule is not regarded as serious as the putting out of a man's eye. But the rights of man, even of the purest, noblest, greatest of men, paule into insignficance befor eht erights of the infinite God and His infiniite son, Jesus Christ

 

p33

I wish that I could believer that there was no hell. That is, I wish that I could believe that all men would repent and accept Christ, and that hell would therefore be unneccessary. Of course, if men persist in sin and persist in the rejection of Christ, it is right that there should be a hell.

 

34
I once honestly believed and taught that all men, and even the devil, would ultimately come to repentance, and that hell would one day cease to be. But I could not honestly reconcile this position with the teachings of Christ, and the apostles. I finally decided that I must either give up my Bible or give up my eternal hope.

36
One ounce of God's revelation is worth a hundred tons of man's speculation.

37
It is true that some scholarly ministers have given up belief in hell, but they never gave it up for reasons of Greek or New Testament scholarship. They gave it up for purely sentimental and speculative reasons. If a man goes to the New Testament to find out the truth and not to see how he can twist it into conformity with this speculations, he will find hell in the New Testament.

46
You will carry into the next world the desires that you build up here. Hell is the place where desire and passion exist in their highest potency, and where there is nothing to gratify them.

50-51
There is another expression used often in the Bible-- "Unto the ages of the ages." It is used in one book, eight times describing the existence of God and the duration of His reign, once referring to the duration of the blessedness of the righteous, and in every remaining instance of the punishment of the beast, the false prophet, and the unrepentance. it is the strongest known expression for absolute endlessness.

97
The third refuge of lies is universalism-- the belief that God is too good to condemn anyone, that there is no hell, and no future punishment for sin. How common a refuge is that today. When you urge people to come to Christ, they answer, "I believe in the mercy and goodness of God. I believe God is love and too good to condemn anyone. I don't believe in hell."

Two Views of Hell: A Biblical and Theological Dialogue, Edward Fudge and Robert Peterson

Not a terribly enjoyable book to read as neither Fudge's nor Peterson's writing is excellent, but very helpful for examining annihilationism. Fudge's argument seems strong drawing from the OT, but Peterson systematically destroys his arguments with attention to (especially NT) scripture. Highly recommended for anyone struggling with the view of annihilationism.

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Excerpts

83
As they began to read his [Fudge's] book and consider his case for annihiliationism, they came to class complaining of physical symptoms including headaches and churning stomachs. I gave them credit for not being dismissive but earnestly considering Fudge's arguments. When they were about halfway through Fudge's book, however, a great change came over them. Fear gave way to confidence, and even anger. The more closely they looked at Fudge's case for conditionalism, the less they were impressed. What had once seemed like a powerful case crumbled in their hands as they took apart one argument after another.

175
When he bore the penalty of our sins, it was as the sinless substitute,  whose own life merited the exact opposite of God's wrath. In light of such considerations it is not surprising that Jesus could have borne on the cross what sinful, rebellious human beings can only bear in hell forever. In other words, because of the infinite dignity of Christ's person, his sufferings, though finite in duration, were of infinite weight on the scales of divine justice (much as his righteousness, though displayed during his incarnation over a finite period, is of infinite weight). As God incarnate, Jesus was capable of suffering in six hours on the cross what we can suffer only over an infinite period of time.

180
In other words, according to Fudge hell is penal suffering followed by the ultimate punishment, annihilation. But this is exactly where the problem creeps in. When this view of hell is affixed to the end of the biblical scenario of last things, annihilation does not constitute the ultimate punishment. rather annihilation would constitute the end of the punishment. It would mean relief for the wicked in hell who are suffering for their sins.

Human Destiny, Sir Robert Anderson

Although not always theologically astute, the author, the Assistant Commission of Scotland Yard, has a knack for keen insight and excellent phrasing. For a unique viewpoint it is highly recommended.

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Excerpts

 

But will these teachers tell us how men can be reconciled who refuse the reconciliation; how sinners can be saved who reject the Saviour; how the lost can be restored who trample under foot the propitiation? It is these very truths which make the sinner's doom irreversible and hopeless.

In the classical use of the word, to destroy a thing is to do it irreparable injury, to unfit it permanently for the purpose for which it was intended. Its meaning as used of a person may be illustrated by a quotation which ought to be familiar to all who speak the English tongue-" No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised of his freehold or liberties or free customs, or be outlawed or exiled or any otherwise destroyed, but by lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land." According to Magna Charta, then, to drive a man from his home, to deprive him of his property, or to shut him up in prison, is to destroy him. The thought that we would convey by ruin our ancestors expressed by destroy. The word, therefore, may be fitly used to describe the doom of the wicked, whatever that doom may be.

The "everlasting fire" is not to be the Devil's kingdom. It will be his prison, not his palace. Amidst so much that is doubtful, this at least is sure. "At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow," in heaven, earth, and hell ; every tongue shall own Him Lord. "All things shall be subdued unto Him." Not until "He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power" will He deliver up the kingdom to the Father. Every creature in the universe shall be in absolute subjection to Almighty God. The underworld is not to be a scene of Satanic carnival.
There is no spot in all the Queen's dominions in which the reign of order is so supreme as in a prison. So shall it be in hell.
Strange it is that they who are most emphatic in asserting that God must give salvation to all men in the next world, are precisely those who dismiss as fanaticism the truth that He gives salvation here and now to those who seek Him.

Reasonable Damnation: Jonathan Edwards, Bruce Davidson

A short article summarizing Edwards' logic concerning hell and its eternity of punishments. For a short article, you could hardly do better, although being a summary it lacks the depth and biblical grounding of Edwards' own sermons.

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Excerpts

52
For Edwards, the more horrific and severe the punishment the brighter the sheen on the sword of divine recompense shines. The unimaginable awesomeness of the punishment suits the awesome majesty of an offended king as great as God. Thus the same people who during life made light of God and did not honor his majesty will be instruments in the exaltation of that majesty in the end. By a majestic display of wrath, God gets back the majesty he has been refused. Edwards sees a kind of poetic justice in God's using an awesome punishment in the afterlife to inspire the awe that men refused to show in life.

48
The doctrine of eternal punishment he approached in the same spirit. In doing so he based his arguments on natural reason as well as Scriptural revelation and never asked his listeners to accept the doctrine of hell with unthinking faith.

49
Obviously human misery is not unbearable for God to behold, because the plain fact is that God does allow plenty of it to exist in the world. As Gerstner paraphrases Edwards: "Empirical facts settle one point indisputably: God and creature-pain are not mutually exclusive." If a merciful God cannot bear eternal misery, then the same characteristic would surely argue against lesser degrees of misery as well.

50
Unfortunately we are not as keen when it comes to perceiving the ugliness of most sins. Edwards notes that we are more shocked by the idea of hell than we are by the disregard and contempt men regularly show toward the majesty of God: "Doth it seem to thee incredible, that God should be so utterly regardless of the sinner's welfare, as to sink him into an infinite abyss of misery? Is this shocking to thee? And is it not at all shocking to thee, that thou shouldst be so utterly regardless as thou hast been of the honour and glory of the infinite God?"

52
It is indeed the only way for them to be useful at all to God, since they give no glory to him by choice in life—a point Edwards develops at length in his sermon Wicked Men Useful in Their Destruction Only. As the rational creatures closest to God himself in the hierarchy of creation, our "business is with God." A man who does not give any glory to God by serving him in life is not good for anything but to be passively useful in death. Edwards reasons that there are only two possibilities: to be actively useful, or to be passively useful. Just as a barren tree can be used only for firewood, disobedient men can only be fuel for a fire.

54
Furthermore, if men were not conscious that they were being punished, death would be no punishment at all but only release. In fact, since Job preferred annihilation to his own suffering, Edwards reasons that if a good man can suffer something worse than annihilation in his life, then the punishment of the wicked in the afterlife would have to be something much greater. Otherwise it would be a pathetic demonstration of justice for God to do less to the wicked than he allows his own saints to suffer in life.

Hell: Remembering the Awful Reality, 9Marks

A number of short articles on hell. Although many of the authors are great, including Hamilton, Naselli, and DeYoung, only Dever's short exhortation to Pastors is truly excellent.

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Excerpts

Jim Hamilton:

In sum, hell glorifies God because

  • it shows that he keeps his word;
  • it shows his infinite worth, lasting forever;
  • it demonstrates his power to subdue all who rebel against him;
  • it shows how unspeakably merciful he is to those who trust him;
  • it upholds the reality of love by visiting justice against those who reject God, who is love;
  • it vindicates all who suffered to hear or proclaim the truth of God’s word;
  • and it shows the enormity of what Jesus accomplished when he died to save all who would trust him from the hell they deserved. If there were no hell, there would be no need for the cross.

Mark Dever:

Pastors, don’t be lured into the culture’s standards of what to fear and not to fear. Don’t be fooled by the culture’s sneering at fear. They’re afraid, too. Instead, follow Jesus in warning others about the fearful future that awaits those who do not repent of their sins and trust in Christ.

Kevin DeYoung:

Obviously, it would be inaccurate to characterize Jesus and the apostles as nothing but sandwich-board fanatics with vacant stares screaming at people to repent or perish. It flattens the New Testament beyond recognition to make it one large tract about saving souls from hell. And yet, it would be closer to the truth to picture Jesus and the apostles (not to mention John the Baptist) passionately pleading with people to flee the wrath to come than it would be to imagine them laying out plans for cosmic renewal and helping people on their spiritual journeys.

A Kinder, Gentler Theology of Hell? Larry Pettegrew

A short and concise critique of annhilationism, Pettegrew hits all the salient points in an article that is biblically faithful and deals with presuppositions well. Includes good quotes from Shedd, Strong and Packer. Interacts with, among others, Pinnock and Talbott.

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Excerpts

But it is also certain that ongoing rebellion demands ongoing punishment, and there is no evidence in Scripture that a depraved person ever of his own initiative or power gives up his sinful autonomy. The evidence is actually to the contrary (Rev 9:20–21; 21:27; 22:15). No one can, in fact, repent of his sin without the grace of God, so there can be no repentance in hell. Strong observes, “Since we cannot measure the power of the depraved will to resist God, we cannot deny the possibility of endless sinning ... Not the punishing, but the non-punishing, would impugn his justice; for if it is just to punish sin at all, it is just to punish it as long as it exists.”

Quoting Shedd (Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy):
If sin is punishable and to be punished for only one thousand years, is it probable that one of the persons of the Trinity would submit to such an amazing humiliation as to become a worm of the dust, and undergo the awful passion of Calvary, in order to deliver his rebellious creature from a transient evil which is to be succeeded by billions of millenniums of happiness? A thousand years is indeed a long time, and a thousand years of suffering is indeed a great woe; but it shrinks to nothing in comparison with what is involved in the humiliation and agony of God incarnate.