Eschatology: The Destiny of the Unsaved - Essay Example

Eschatology; the destiny of the unsaved Pinnock argues that God is unfair and immoral by the fact that he will subject those who go against his will to everlasting torture. He wonders why human kind should project deity to such a vindictive and a cruel God (Gomes). Mankind naturally dreads what will happen after death, and different religious groups have different believes on what life after death entails. Christians believe that those who disobey God or are unsaved will suffer everlasting torture in the lake of fire called hell.

This is a serious punishment and others have objected it following the statement of Pinnock that this is unfair. Some of the opponents of eternal punishment for sin believe in annihilation or universalism or both. Eternal punishment means a never-ending torture in Gehenna. According to John 3:36 (IBS, 922), whoever rejects God shall not see life and God’s wrath shall remain upon him. Mathew 25:46 (IBS, 861), states that, this wrath will be a lifetime torture.

Universalism is a faith that, after death, all will ultimately be saved and will enjoy everlasting felicity (Gomes). Annihilation is a belief that God will condemn sinners to complete destruction or extinction and they will cease to exist (Gomes). The traditional evangelical belief is that sinners will suffer everlasting torture. The question is where will the suffering be? These are some of the three destinations of sinners, Sheol, Hades and Gehenna.

Let us understand these terms. According to JCSM, Hades and Sheol are synonymous and that the later is a translation of the former in Hebrew language. It is the place where spirits that sinned against God are kept awaiting judgment, this is revealed in Luke 16:19-31 (IBS, 908), the famous story of Lazarus and the rich man where the rich man’s soul was in Hades. Gehenna is a terrible place and is also called the lake of fire; it is the final destination of sinners or those whose names are not found in the book of life, Revelation 20:10-15, (IBS, 1074).

These scriptures state that during the judgment time even Hades will open up. The bible is very categorical about the final destiny of the unsaved, that it is eternal burning in a fiery fire or hell. In the book of Revelation 20:10-15 (IBS, 1074), the bible states that those whose names are not found in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire. Further, Mathew 25:46 (IBS, 861) reveals that this punishment will be eternal, and on the other hand, the righteous will enjoy eternal life.

The word eternal means forever or everlasting, both the punishment and the life shall be forever. There are those who object this view by saying that God is merciful and loving, and cannot do that. The book of Psalms 136 has it that the love of God endures forever (IBS, 547). Other translations have it that his mercy endures forever. These people argue that due to the fact that God is forever merciful, He cannot allow mankind to suffer this everlasting torture and will ultimately save mankind, which is the essence of universalism.

These objections are baseless and are based on mere philosophies of men as opposed to the word of God. The bible warns against this in the book of Colossians 2:22 (IBS, 1022). It is not the plan of God to subject mankind to everlasting suffering that is why He has given all a chance to reconcile to him. According to John 3:16 (IBS, 922), “for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have an everlasting life.

” God is fair and does not want human beings to suffer, for this reason; He has designed this salvation plan. Everlasting fire awaits those who do not obey God by embracing salvation. There should be a lot of mission work or evangelization to turn many to God and save them from eternal torment. It is safe to believe this and find out later that salvation it was true than to refuse and suffer forever later, and at that point, maybe, it will be a point of no return. References.Gomes W. Allan. Evangelicals and the Annihilation of Hell. 1991. Web 4 March 2012.

http://www.bible-researcher.com/hell5.htmlIBS (International Bible Society). Holy Bible; New International Version. United States of America : International Bible Society ,1973.JCSM. Understanding Hell. 2012. Web 4 March 2012. www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/UnderstandingHell.htm