Dr Paul Allen

This statement offends people because it destroys a comforting myth. Hell is full of people who knew better. Scripture does not describe hell as a tragic accident for the uninformed. It is the end for those who refused to repent when faced with the truth. The Bible is clear that ignorance is not the issue. Paul writes that God has made Himself known plainly through creation, conscience, and truth, so that people are “without excuse” (Romans 1:19–20). The problem is not a lack of information. The problem is rejection. Suppression. Resistance. Truth was seen—and then pushed aside. Jesus never spoke of hell as a misunderstanding. He spoke of it as the consequence of refusal. “This is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (John 3:19). That is not ignorance. That is a preference. Unrepentance is not accidental. It is willful. It involves repeatedly choosing to cling to sin despite knowing that God ...

In everyday Christian language, terms like "hell," "outer darkness," and "the lake of fire" are often used interchangeably to describe the final destiny of those who reject Christ. But while all of these expressions point to the same ultimate reality (eternal separation from God), Scripture itself teaches an important distinction between Hades and the lake of fire. The word "hell" is an older English term used in the King James Version as a broad translation for several different biblical words, including the Greek "Hades," the Hebrew "Sheol," "Gehenna," and the verb "tartarōō" (Tartarus). This broad usage has contributed to a widespread misunderstanding of the nature of biblical punishment in the afterlife. As a result, "hell" has come to represent the final place of eternal punishment, even though biblically speaking, hell (Hades) is not the same as the eternal lake of fire. Because of this, man...

  Most Bible study resources describe fallen angels as demons who joined Lucifer in his rebellion against God. But what if the only place in the New Testament that describes angels sinning does not call them demons, has no connection to Lucifer, and has them in jail?  Welcome to the world of 2 Peter and Jude.  For … God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment (2 PET 2:4 ESV).   And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day (JUDE 6 ESV). Second Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 are nearly identical in their description of angels doing time, but some differences help us figure out “what in the spiritual world is going on.” Jude 6 defines what 2 Peter 2:4 means by the angelic sin. These sinning angels “left their proper dwelling.” Second Pe...

 

Thinking and writing about the devil is strange. I would argue that teaching about the devil has been largely neglected in the church. While there may be the more obvious danger of the devil’s being blamed for all sorts of our sins and living lives in fear of the evil one, in my experience that hasn’t been our great temptation as a church.  Our danger is being unaware of the devil’s schemes and being very naive in our thinking about his role and place. One of the reasons that I think it’s important for us to think these issues through is that it again reminds us that we are dealing with the supernatural. I fear that even in our proclamation of the gospel, we shy away from the spiritual realities of our faith. Christianity at its heart is unashamedly supernatural.  Even a cursory reading of the Gospels demonstrates this with angels, healings, demons, miracles, and resurrection. In seeking to make the gospel more palatable, we may easily downplay the supernatural.  Ephesian...

  1 Thessalonians 2:2 – "But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict." In any battle, the ultimate goal is to eliminate the highest-ranking leader on the other side of the fight. In Thessalonica, this person was the Apostle Paul.  Acts 17:1-9 is the historical record of how the church there was planted. Paul and his ministry team arrived in town, and preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, many were saved in a revival, a riot broke out trying to put down the revival, and Paul fled for his life, which explains why he sent Timothy and other leaders along with a letter – because he could not be physically present.  In Paul’s absence, as is the case in every age, those who were anti-Christ were also anti-Paul. They began spreading lots of lies about him, which would have confused and concerned the new Christians who were saved under his preach...

Anna Hampton While there was no space to include all that Scripture mentions about cowardice, the following is just a brief discussion of a key verse often cited related to Biblical teaching on cowardice. It is commonly taught that cowardice is a sin and worthy of hεll. This teaching likely comes from Revelation 21:8, “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (NASB) What are we to make of this? Is this verse directed towards the Christ-follower? Biblical Lists of Sin The Bible includes several lists of sins, starting with the Ten Commandments and then many more lists in the New Testament. In Revelation, “there are two parallel vice lists [to 21:8] in 9:20–21 and 22:15.”[1] Interestingly, the words “coward” and “unbeliever” are found in no New Testament list, except here in Rev 21:8. Aune states, The term “...

We often hear people talk about “the problem of hell,” meaning, “How could a good God send billions of people to an eternal hell?” That is certainly a fair question. In fact, I devoted a chapter of my recent book on Why So Many Christians Have Left the Faith to that very issue. But have you ever asked yourself a very different question, namely, what if there was no future punishment at all? What kind of problems would that present? To be sure, many specific questions can be asked about the nature of future punishment. Does it consist of eternal conscious torment? Does it end in annihilation and final destruction? Is there a purgatory that some go through before going to heaven? Is the idea of hell in keeping with God’s goodness and love? What about devout people from other religions and non-religious, kind-hearted people. What about them? And what about those who never heard the gospel at all? What happens to them? These are all valid and fair questions, and in the relevant chapter in ...

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). One of the fundamental propositions of the Bible is assumed from the start: God exists. Not only does He exist, but He is also the Author and Creator of all life, and therefore, all things in existence owe their existence to Him. In a concise sentence—a mere eight words in Hebrew—the foundations of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures answer several of life’s biggest questions and introduce several other important questions. It is little wonder that the book of Genesis is subject to some of the fiercest critiques from avowed sceptics of every sort. If you can demonstrate the first sentence as false, every other line in the context of Scripture proves false. The rest of the Bible can be summarily dismissed if God does not exist. Likewise, if God did not create all that exists, He bears no intrinsic authority to impose Himself as the Ruler above all creation. Mankind need not be subservient to God if He is not Creator simpl...

Hell Is Awful What exactly are we talking about when we say “hell”? We hear the word used all the time in a street-level way—“What the hell . . . ?” “Hell no!” But when we stop and consider the actual reality of hell, beneath the irreverent and casual uses of the word, what do we find? Scripture teaches us these five truths and more about hell. 1. Hell Is Experienced by the Whole Person A common misconception is that it is only a person’s spirit or soul or mind that suffers in hell, once the body has been left behind. But the Bible’s teaching is that while those in hell now are indeed suffering without a body when the Lord Jesus returns everyone will be raised for judgment, and the impenitent will suffer in hell, body, and soul. In Matthew 5 , Jesus twice speaks of one’s “whole body” going to hell ( Matt. 5:29–30 ). In another place he warns us to “fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” ( Matt. 10:28 ). Humans sin against God with both their body and their soul; they suff...

He’s the universe’s public enemy number one, the chief opponent of God and his people, and the leader of uncounted demonic forces. Jesus says he’s been a murderer from the beginning, and he’s engaged in an all-out war against the forces of good in the universe. The Bible calls him the devil, Satan, the evil one. Paul tells the Ephesian church to put on the full armor of God, so that they can stand firm against his schemes. James tells Christians that if they resist the devil, he will flee from them. Peter tells believers to beware: he is always on the prowl. We have an enemy—and if we’re going to stand firm against him, we need to know whom we’re up against. 1. “Satan” means “adversary.” “Satan” is a transliteration of a Hebrew word, which means “adversary,” or “opponent.” The word satan is used multiple times in the Old Testament, often referring to anyone who is blocking or challenging someone else. For example: The angel of the Lord opposes Balaam (Numbers 21:22–32). Two of David’s ...

Some versions of the Apostles’ Creed say Jesus descended into hell. Did he? For centuries, Christians have proclaimed, “. . . he [Jesus] descended into hell . . .” Other versions of the creed say “the grave.” Why do we say those words at all, and what are the implications of one versus the other?   Bible verses about Jesus’ descent into hell The main texts are Acts 2:31, Romans 10:6–7, and Ephesians 4:9. Acts 2:31 [The patriarch David] foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. Romans 10:6–7 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). Ephesians 4:7–9 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to m...