From the Official Website of Jehovah's Witnesses/JW.ORG
ARE YOU surprised when you hear that I don't believe in hellfire? There is people who hard accept that. But what does the Bible really teach? Let us consider what it says.
Will God Punish Wicked People?
I'm interested in hearing the viewpoint of others, since people have a lot of different ideas about hellfire. For example some believe that really bad people go to hell when they die and that they're tormented there forever. This is a common viewpoint.
Maybe they experienced bad things in their lives. Some people feel strongly about hellfire because they've been affected by the actions of wicked people. So, innocent victims want to see bad people pay for their actions. Those feelings are certainly normal. The Bible teaches that God too is incensed when innocent people are victimized—and he promises that he will punish the wicked. Notice what is stated here at Isaiah 3:11: "Woe to the wicked one!—Calamity; for the treatment rendered by his own hands will be rendered to him!" So we can be confident that God will punish wicked people.
But you may ask: "But how can that be if there's no hellfire?" In a nutshell, the answer is that God punishes the wicked with eternal destruction. (2 Thessalonians 1:9) So we see there's no hope for wicked people because God punishes them with eternal death. They have no prospects for life in the future.
What Does Justice Require?
To some people it just doesn't seem fair. "Everyone dies", they think. "Don't really bad people deserve a worse punishment?" they reply. That's right. Many cares about justice, that's commendable. The truth is, humans have a sense of right and wrong because God created us with it. He too cares a great deal about justice. But when religious leaders teach that God punishes people in hellfire, they are actually portraying God as very unjust.
For example. In the Bible account of Adam and Eve, God 'laid this command upon the man': 'From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die'. But they disobeyed. Just think: By his sin, Adam caused the entire human race to be born as sinners. (Romans 5:12) And yet, even in this case, God say nothing about being punished in hellfire. If Adam and Eve were in danger of being tormented forever, shouldn't God have warned them? Wouldn't that be the just and loving thing to do?
Consider, too, what God said to Adam and Eve after they sinned. Genesis 3:19 says: "In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return." According to God's words Adam would return to the dust of the ground. Consider: Wouldn't you agree that in order for someone to return to a place, he has to have been there before? And before God created Adam he didn't exist.
There is no mention of hellfire in God's judgment. Would it be fair for God to tell Adam that he was going back to the ground from which he had been made if he was really going to a fiery hell? Certainly not!
Does the Devil Carry Out God's Will?
There's something else we might consider about the teaching of hellfire. Who do people usually say is "in charge" of hellfire? Who supposedly punishes the people that are in hell? The Devil. Yet, the Devil is God's worst enemy. If God sends people to a fiery hell to be tormented by the Devil, wouldn't that imply a level of cooperation between God and the Devil?
To illustrate the point. Imagine you're a father and that your son becomes very rebellious. He does a lot of bad things that sadden you. What would you do? You would repeatedly try to help him get back on the right track. Despite all your efforts, he rejects what you're telling him. You may feel that you have no choice but to punish him in some way. But what if you found out that an evil man had been influencing your son, teaching him to do all those bad things? Knowing that a wicked, immoral man had influenced your son against you, would you turn to that man and ask him to punish your son for you? That wouldn't make any sense.
For that matter, if God wanted the wicked to be punished, why would the Devil—God's arcenemy—comply with God's wishes and torment them?
Jehovah Will End All Wickedness
Rest assured, though. God will take action against the incorrigibly wicked. The Bible says: "Evildoers themselves will be cut off, but those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth." Yes, God will cut of evildoers, he will destroy them permanently. But good people—"those hoping in Jehovah"—will enjoy life here on earth forever. (Psalm 37:9) For more information, see chapter 11 of the book What Does the Bible Really Teach? published by Jehovah's Witnesses.
w 10/1 2012 p. 12
REQUEST A FREE BIBLE STUDY FROM JW.ORG!
ARE YOU surprised when you hear that I don't believe in hellfire? There is people who hard accept that. But what does the Bible really teach? Let us consider what it says.
Will God Punish Wicked People?
I'm interested in hearing the viewpoint of others, since people have a lot of different ideas about hellfire. For example some believe that really bad people go to hell when they die and that they're tormented there forever. This is a common viewpoint.
Maybe they experienced bad things in their lives. Some people feel strongly about hellfire because they've been affected by the actions of wicked people. So, innocent victims want to see bad people pay for their actions. Those feelings are certainly normal. The Bible teaches that God too is incensed when innocent people are victimized—and he promises that he will punish the wicked. Notice what is stated here at Isaiah 3:11: "Woe to the wicked one!—Calamity; for the treatment rendered by his own hands will be rendered to him!" So we can be confident that God will punish wicked people.
But you may ask: "But how can that be if there's no hellfire?" In a nutshell, the answer is that God punishes the wicked with eternal destruction. (2 Thessalonians 1:9) So we see there's no hope for wicked people because God punishes them with eternal death. They have no prospects for life in the future.
What Does Justice Require?
To some people it just doesn't seem fair. "Everyone dies", they think. "Don't really bad people deserve a worse punishment?" they reply. That's right. Many cares about justice, that's commendable. The truth is, humans have a sense of right and wrong because God created us with it. He too cares a great deal about justice. But when religious leaders teach that God punishes people in hellfire, they are actually portraying God as very unjust.
For example. In the Bible account of Adam and Eve, God 'laid this command upon the man': 'From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die'. But they disobeyed. Just think: By his sin, Adam caused the entire human race to be born as sinners. (Romans 5:12) And yet, even in this case, God say nothing about being punished in hellfire. If Adam and Eve were in danger of being tormented forever, shouldn't God have warned them? Wouldn't that be the just and loving thing to do?
Consider, too, what God said to Adam and Eve after they sinned. Genesis 3:19 says: "In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return." According to God's words Adam would return to the dust of the ground. Consider: Wouldn't you agree that in order for someone to return to a place, he has to have been there before? And before God created Adam he didn't exist.
There is no mention of hellfire in God's judgment. Would it be fair for God to tell Adam that he was going back to the ground from which he had been made if he was really going to a fiery hell? Certainly not!
Does the Devil Carry Out God's Will?
There's something else we might consider about the teaching of hellfire. Who do people usually say is "in charge" of hellfire? Who supposedly punishes the people that are in hell? The Devil. Yet, the Devil is God's worst enemy. If God sends people to a fiery hell to be tormented by the Devil, wouldn't that imply a level of cooperation between God and the Devil?
To illustrate the point. Imagine you're a father and that your son becomes very rebellious. He does a lot of bad things that sadden you. What would you do? You would repeatedly try to help him get back on the right track. Despite all your efforts, he rejects what you're telling him. You may feel that you have no choice but to punish him in some way. But what if you found out that an evil man had been influencing your son, teaching him to do all those bad things? Knowing that a wicked, immoral man had influenced your son against you, would you turn to that man and ask him to punish your son for you? That wouldn't make any sense.
For that matter, if God wanted the wicked to be punished, why would the Devil—God's arcenemy—comply with God's wishes and torment them?
Jehovah Will End All Wickedness
Rest assured, though. God will take action against the incorrigibly wicked. The Bible says: "Evildoers themselves will be cut off, but those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth." Yes, God will cut of evildoers, he will destroy them permanently. But good people—"those hoping in Jehovah"—will enjoy life here on earth forever. (Psalm 37:9) For more information, see chapter 11 of the book What Does the Bible Really Teach? published by Jehovah's Witnesses.
w 10/1 2012 p. 12
REQUEST A FREE BIBLE STUDY FROM JW.ORG!
