10. The Fires of Hell (Mark 9:42-50)

Sabbath afternoon

Prayer Thought

A large class to whom the doctrine of eternal torment is revolting are driven to the opposite error. They see that the Scriptures represent God as a being of love and compassion, and they cannot believe that He will consign His creatures to the fires of an eternally burning hell. But holding that the soul is naturally immortal, they see no alternative but to conclude that all mankind will finally be saved. Many regard the threatenings of the Bible as designed merely to frighten men into obedience, and not to be literally fulfilled. Thus the sinner can live in selfish pleasure, disregarding the requirements of God, and yet expect to be finally received into His favor. Such a doctrine, presuming upon God's mercy, but ignoring His justice, pleases the carnal heart and emboldens the wicked in their iniquity…. {DD 16.2}

Memory Text

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. {1 Thessalonians 5:21}
Let's sing this verse! https://youtu.be/ExnotjpQL_4

This week's SS Lesson will investigate the biblical view of the events at death and after they are buried in their graves and will deal with some of the unbiblical theories that had been taught in Christendom and how inspiration declares about it. This will also include the truth about hell that will consume all the sinners with Satan.

Outline of the Study

Immortal Souls

Sunday: Immortal Worms? The Immortality of Worms

Mark 9:42-48; Isa. 66:22-24

Where are immortal souls supposed to go?

Monday: The Fires of Hell

Mal. 4:1; Jude 7; Mt. 18:8; 25:41; Mk 9:43; Deut. 32:39; 33:27; Exo. 21:6; Ps. 36:9; Rev. 20:12

Tuesday: The Saints in Purgatory

Eccle. 9:10; Ezek. 18:20-22; 1Tim 2:5; Heb. 9:27

Wednesday: A Paradise With Disembodied Souls - Heaven

Acts 2:29, 34, 35; 1Cor. 15:16-18; Gen. 5:24; 2Kings 2:9-11; Jude 9; Mt. 27:51-53; 1Cor. 15:18

Who Can Be Immortal?

Thursday: The Biblical View

1 John 5:3-12; 1Tim 6:15-16; Ps. 36:9; Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:2; Eph. 1:4; John 6:40; 11:25

Friday: Further study and Meditation

Immortal Souls

Sunday: Immortal Worms? The Immortality of Worms

Mark 9:42-48; Isa. 66:22-24

“And they shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.” (Isaiah 66:24)

Although the preceding verses of this chapter are not studied much by any, the last two have often been discussed and debated upon by many. To some they mean that there is to be an eternal torment. But does the scripture at all sustain such a thought? -- No, it does not. The definition of "carcasses" is "lifeless bodies." And the prophet Malachi says: "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts." Mal. 4:1-3. {1TG45: 21.3}

Worms destroy the Human body

For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. Job 19:25-27.

If parents would feel it a solemn duty that God enjoins upon them to educate their children for usefulness in this life, if they would adorn the inner temple of the souls of their sons and daughters for the immortal life, we should see a great change in society for the better. And then there would not be manifest so great indifference to practical godliness, and it would not be as difficult to arouse the moral sensibilities of children to understand the claims that God has upon them. But parents become more and more careless in the education of their children in the useful branches. Many parents allow their children to form wrong habits, and to follow their inclination rather than to impress upon their minds the danger of their doing this, and the necessity of their being controlled by principles. {CE 14.2}

Carcasses Shall be brought down to the Dust

The carcasses at first and the ashes at last of the unfaithful servants being under the feet of the saints, can hardly indicate that the unfaithful are pushed into "hell fire," there to live forever. Moreover since only the righteous are given eternal life, then the wicked must be given eternal death. Furthermore, "second death" (Rev. 20:14) cannot mean "second life."

The theory of eternal torment has been superficially derived from the statement, "their worm shall not die." "Their worm," the worm that gorges on their carcasses, though, cannot possibly mean the souls of the people. At least it cannot mean such to him who digs deep into the well of salvation, and that can think and reason for himself. Such a one reads between the lines and notes the full value of each word. If "worm" means anything, then it means that the worm thrives on the carcasses, that it is the agency which reduces the constituents of the carcasses to their original elements. Indeed, "the worm shall not die"; it shall certainly accomplish its consuming work; the carcasses shall He bring down to dust, "for dust thou art," says the scripture, "and unto dust shalt thou return." Gen. 3:19. It is this disintegrating agency, the consuming worm that does not die. Moreover, we are told that the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Ezek. 18:4). {1TG45: 22.1-2}

Though He Slay me, yet will I Trust in Him

The faithful Job, in the day of his affliction and darkness, declared: . . . "My soul chooseth . . . death rather than my life. I loathe it; I would not live alway: Let me alone; For my days are vanity." But though weary of life, Job was not allowed to die. To him were pointed out the possibilities of the future, and there was given him the message of hope: "Thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear: Because thou shalt forget thy misery, And remember it as waters that pass away. . . ." From the depths of discouragement and despondency Job rose to the heights of implicit trust in the mercy and the saving power of God. Triumphantly he declared: "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." {ML 328.5}

Worms of the Dust: Blind and Senseless Human Pride

And in contrast he saw and felt the folly of feeble mortals, but worms of the dust, who glory in their wisdom and strength and set their hearts against the Ruler of the universe, as though God were altogether such a one as themselves. How blind and senseless is human pride! One hour of God's blessing in the sunshine and rain upon the earth will do more to change the face of nature than man with all his boasted knowledge and persevering efforts can accomplish during a lifetime. {SL 73.2}

Consider the following

— The word “worm” in Isaiah 66:24 (also in Jesus’ quote in Mark 9:44, 46, 49) refers to the worms that eat decomposing bodies. Are those worms immortal?

— Those worms will finish their task eventually. That is, they will consume the corpse they’re eating (a physical cadaver, not an incorporeal soul). It’s the same concept as the fire that endures until everything has been consumed.

— Both Isaiah and Jesus used this metaphor to compel us choose between two destinies: eternal life or eternal destruction.

Where are immortal souls supposed to go?

Monday: The Fires of Hell

Mal. 4:1; Jude 7; Mt. 18:8; 25:41; Mk 9:43; Deut. 32:39; 33:27; Exo. 21:6; Ps. 36:9; Rev. 20:12

“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched.” (Mark 9:43)

The Lake of Destruction by Fire: Type and Antitypical

Since not only Satan, but also "whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life, was cast into the lake of fire," the fire in the lake simply continues the same destruction wrought by the fire which comes "down from God out of heaven." Rev. 20:9. After the thousand years, in other words, the fire which comes "down from God out of heaven," results in "the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:10) and in eternal extermination of all sinners. Of this final destruction, a pre-millennial demonstration is to be given when the beast and the false prophet are cast into the "lake of fire" -- their grave for the thousand years. And as the fire does not, of course, keep burning during the thousand years, the statement, "the devil...was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are" (Rev. 20:10), shows therefore that there are both a typical and antitypical destruction; the lake of fire before the millennium, being a type of the one after the millennium. {TN9: 39.1}

Begin to Preach Eternal Love of the Truth instead of Eternal Life in Hell Fire

It is plainly seen that the preaching of eternal suffering in hell fire rather than eternal death, is prompted by unscrupulous so-called soul winners endeavoring to drive their audiences into church by fright. But if they knew that only the born-again through the love of the Truth are given the right to enter into the Holy City, if they knew that those who must be frightened in are excluded from it, if they knew that anything which maketh a lie is also not given the right to enter therein, -- if they wholeheartedly knew all these, they would perhaps stop preaching eternal life in hell fire, and begin to preach eternal love of the Truth. Let us now close our study by reading the Lord's final plea: {1TG45: 22.3}

Consider the following

— Hell is an eternal fire where sinners are punished (Matthew 25:41). Does that mean that sinners will be burning forever?

— The word “eternal” or “forever” has several meanings in the Bible:

(1) Eternity with a beginning and an end. For example, slavery (Exodus 21:6)

(2) Eternity with a beginning but no end. For example, the eternal life of the redeemed (John 3:36)

(3) Eternity without a beginning or an end. Only God’s (1 Timothy 6:16; Genesis 21:33)

— Where does the eternal fire fit in?

• According to Malachi 4:1, hell (the eternal fire) will begin on a day that’s coming, “burning like an oven.” It will end when it “will leave them neither root nor branch.”

• Jude 7 introduces an example of this “eternal fire:” the fire that consumed Sodom and Gomorrah. That fire began when Lot was taken out of Sodom. It ended when all the cities had been fully consumed.

• Hell is shown as a “lake of fire” in Revelation 20:11-15. This fire will begin on the day of the Final Judgment. It will end once every condemned sinner has died “the second death.” No one will suffer forever, not even Satan: “And shall be no more forever.” (Ezekiel 28:19)

The Doctrine of Never-ending Torment - No Sanction in the Scriptures

But the doctrine of never-ending torment has no sanction in the Bible. John in the Revelation, describing the future joy and glory of the redeemed, declares that he heard every voice in Heaven and earth, and under the earth, ascribing praise to God. There will be no lost beings in hell to mingle their shrieks with the songs of the saved. {4SP 364.1}

Tuesday: The Saints in Purgatory

Eccle. 9:10; Ezek. 18:20-22; 1Tim 2:5; Heb. 9:27

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain […] having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” (Philippians 1:21, 23)

The invention of Paganism, Rome Named Purgatory

Then the way was prepared for the introduction of still another invention of paganism, which Rome named purgatory, and employed to terrify the credulous and superstitious multitudes. By this heresy is affirmed the existence of a place of torment, in which the souls of such as have not merited eternal damnation are to suffer punishment for their sins, and from which, when freed from impurity, they are admitted to Heaven. {GC88 58.3}

As Tetzel entered a town, a messenger went before him, announcing, “The grace of God and of the holy father is at your gates.” And the people welcomed the blasphemous pretender as if he were God himself come down from Heaven to them. The infamous traffic was set up in the church, and Tetzel, ascending the pulpit, extolled indulgences as the most precious gift of God. He declared that by virtue of his certificates of pardon, all the sins which the purchaser should afterward desire to commit would be forgiven him, and that “even repentance was not indispensable.” More than this, he assured his hearers that the indulgences had power to save not only the living but the dead; that the very moment the money should clink against the bottom of his chest, the soul in whose behalf it had been paid would escape from purgatory and make its way to Heaven. {GC88 127.2}

The Altars and Sacrifices, traditions, and Inventions... are Fallacies

The great High Priest has made the only sacrifice that will be of any value. The incense that is offered now by men, the masses that are said for the deliverance of souls from purgatory, are not of the least avail with God. All the altars and sacrifices, the traditions and inventions whereby men hope to earn salvation, are fallacies. . . . Christ is the only sin-bearer, the only sin-offering. . . . {FLB 105.4}

Defenders of the Doctrine the Dead sleep

Peter, on the day of Pentecost, declared that the patriarch David “is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.” “For David is not ascended into the heavens.” [Acts 2:29, 34.] The fact that David remains in the grave until the resurrection, proves that the righteous do not go to Heaven at death. It is only through the resurrection, and by virtue of the fact that Christ has risen, that David can at last sit at the right hand of God. {GC88 546.3}

And said Paul: “If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” [1 Corinthians 15:16-18.] If for four thousand years the righteous had gone directly to Heaven at death, how could Paul have said that if there is no resurrection, “they which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished”? No resurrection would be necessary.

The martyr Tyndale, defending the doctrine that the dead sleep, declared to his papist opponent: “Ye, in putting them [departed souls] in Heaven, hell, and purgatory, destroy the argument wherewith Christ and Paul prove the resurrection.” “If the souls be in Heaven, tell me why they be not in as good case as the angels be? And then what cause is there of the resurrection?” {GC88 547.2}

Consider the following

— Purgatory is described as a place or state between heaven and hell. There, souls are purifying their sins before entering heaven. Their living relatives or friends are supposed to intercede for them with penance and masses.

— This doctrine goes against the Bible:

(1) The dead are not conscious souls (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

(2) No one can sanctify or transfer their holiness to other people (Ezekiel 18:20; Psalm 49:8)

(3) There is only one Mediator between God and men: Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5)

(4) After death there’s only the judgment, there’s no intermediate state (Hebrews 9:27; Acts 17:31)

Wednesday: A Paradise With Disembodied Souls - Heaven

Acts 2:29, 34, 35; 1Cor. 15:16-18; Gen. 5:24; 2Kings 2:9-11; Jude 9; Mt. 27:51-53; 1Cor. 15:18

“Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.” (Revelation 13:6)

Theory of the Immortality of the Soul - Romish Dunghill of Decretals

The theory of the immortality of the soul was one of those false doctrines that Rome, borrowing from paganism, incorporated into the religion of Christendom. Martin Luther classed it with “the numberless prodigies of the Romish dunghill of decretals.” Commenting on the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes, that the dead know not anything, the reformer says: “Another proof that the dead are insensible. Solomon thinks therefore, that the dead are altogether asleep, and think of nothing. They lie, not reckoning days or years, but when awakened, will seem to themselves to have slept scarcely a moment.” {GC88 549.3}

The Dead Do Not Go to Heaven Immediately

Nowhere in the Sacred Scriptures is found the statement that the righteous go to their reward or the wicked to their punishment at death. The patriarchs and prophets have left no such assurance. Christ and his apostles have given no hint of it. The Bible clearly teaches that the dead do not go immediately to Heaven. They are represented as sleeping until the resurrection. [1 Thessalonians 4:14; Job 14:10-12.] In the very day when the silver cord is loosed and the golden bowl broken, [Ecclesiastes 12:6.] man's thoughts perish. They that go down to the grave are in silence. They know no more of anything that is done under the sun. [Job 14:21.] Blessed rest for the weary righteous! Time, be it long or short, is but a moment to them. They sleep, they are awakened by the trump of God to a glorious immortality. “For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. . . . So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” [1 Corinthians 15:52-55.] As they are called forth from their deep slumber, they begin to think just where they ceased. The last sensation was the pang of death, the last thought that they were falling beneath the power of the grave. When they arise from the tomb, their first glad thought will be echoed in the triumphal shout, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” [1 Corinthians 15:52-55.] {GC88 550.1}

Consider the following

— According to the Bible, the only ones who are dwelling in Heaven are God (1 Kings 8:30); the angels (Psalm 148:1-2); Enoch (Genesis 5:24); Elijah (2 Kings 2:11); Moses (Jude 9); and those who were resurrected along with Jesus (Matthew 27:52-53).

— There are no incorporeal souls living there. The human beings who ascended to Heaven have resurrected or transformed bodies.

— Paul explained that we’ll go to Heaven at the Second Coming with a physical body. The dead will be resurrected, and the living will be transformed (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

False Doctrine - The Temporal Millennium

Prominent among these false doctrines is that of the temporal millennium,--a thousand years of spiritual peace and prosperity, in which the world is to be converted, before the coming of Christ. This siren song has lulled thousands of souls to sleep over the abyss of eternal ruin. {4SP 235.1}

The doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul has opened the way for the artful working of Satan through modern Spiritualism; and besides the Romish errors, purgatory, prayers for the dead, invocation of saints, etc., which have sprung from this source, it has led many Protestants to deny the resurrection and the Judgment, and has given rise to the revolting heresy of eternal torment, and the dangerous delusion of Universalism. {4SP 235.2}

Who Can Be Immortal?

Thursday: The Biblical View

1 John 5:3-12; 1Tim 6:15-16; Ps. 36:9; Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:2; Eph. 1:4; John 6:40; 11:25

“And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46)

The Solemnity of the Final Judgment

Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. Matthew 25:45, 46.

What a work there is before us! Who comprehends it? Christ would have all understand that the end of all things is at hand, that the solemn scenes of the final judgment are soon to take place. In that great day, those whose characters the Judge of all the earth can vindicate will stand before the world glorified and honored. On this earth they manifested forth the light and glory of God, and He now rewards them according to their works. {UL 272.2}

Probationary Time Given while we Live on Earth

The great work of parents and teachers is character building; it is to seek to restore the image of Christ in those who are placed under their care. A knowledge of the sciences sinks into insignificance beside this great aim; but all true education may be made to help in the development of a righteous character. The formation of character is the work of a lifetime, and it is for eternity. If all could realize this, if they would awaken to the thought that we are individually deciding our own destiny and the destinies of our children for eternal life or eternal ruin, what a change would take place! How differently would this probationary time be occupied, and what different characters would fill our world! {SpTEd 73.1}

Please visit the following sites for a deeper understanding of How to Obtain Eternal Life. You may click or copy and paste into your browser to navigate the study.

1. Meat In Due Season - 1. The Eleventh-Hour Call (google.com)

2. https://3angelscry.org/pdf/matthew-20-the-eleventh-hour-call/

3. Sabbath School - Meat In Due Season Advanced Commentary - 13. The Ultimate Rest - September 18-24 (google.com)

4. Present Truth Lessons 2020 - Lesson 25: Living and Dead Forms the House of Judah (google.com)

Punishment Varies in Duration According to their Works

"The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." [Romans 6:23.] While life is the inheritance of the righteous, death is the portion of the wicked. The penalty threatened is not merely temporal death, for all must suffer this. It is the second death, the opposite of everlasting life. God cannot save the sinner in his sins; but he declares that the wicked, having suffered the punishment of their guilt, shall be as though they had not been. Says an inspired writer, "Thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be." [Psalm 37:10.] In consequence of Adam's sin, death passed upon all mankind. All alike go down into the grave. But through the provisions of the plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from their graves. Then those who have not secured the pardon of their sins must receive the penalty of transgression. They suffer punishment varying in duration and intensity according to their works, but finally ending in the second death. Covered with infamy, they sink into hopeless, eternal oblivion. {4SP 364.2}

Consider the following

— We’ve learned that eternal punishment has an end. Does eternal life have an end too?

— God is the only truly immortal being (1 Timothy 6:15-16). He’s the only one who can give and sustain life (Psalm 36:9; Colossians 1:17).

— Therefore, all created beings have (and will have) conditional immortality. Therefore, the question is: What must we do to get eternal life and never die?

— The answer can be found in 1 John 5:11-12: “He who has the Son has life.” Since we will be close to Jesus forever after His Second Coming, we will never die.

Friday: Further study and Meditation

"For Zion's sake will I not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God." Isa. 62:1-3.

Wonder of divine love! fruition of the "exceeding precious promise" that God will continue speaking unto her until she become a great and powerful and resplendent light in all the world and "a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord" -- the church is seen Standing With the Lamb on Mount Sion!

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John." Rev. 1:1.

This affirmation that the prophetic events which John was privileged to record, were to "come to pass," not before but "shortly" after his receiving the revelation of them, shows that the prophecies of The Revelation were to be fulfilled sometime during the New Testament period. {TN8: 3.1-4}

"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth." Rev. 14:1-3. {TN8: 4.1}

Questions to Ponder

1. Does the worm mention in Sunday's Lesson eternal? If the final destination is life or death, what should we do to have eternal life? {Note: review the lesson on Thursday's links provided}

2. What does "eternal" mean? Does it mean no end? How could we explain this, the dead will be eternally living on hellfire/eternal fire - as fire that shall never be quenched (Mk 9:43)?

3. How do we differentiate "eternal fire' and "eternal torment"? Are they the same or a contrast? What does it tell us about God's Love, then?

4. How important is the truth about the state of the dead in regard to our salvation? Does it matter what we believe to whom the truth comes from?

5. What hope do the people who believe in an error be having after death? How could we help people to understand this truth?

6. Based on 1 John 5:3-12 - What limits those who will attain eternal life?

7. The passage above {TN8: 3.1-4; 4.1} mentions the church is standing with the Lamb, what does it depicts here, do they experience death? Why is the lamb standing with them?

From the Pen of Inspiration

“Jesus is coming! But not to reign as a temporal prince. He will raise the righteous dead, change the living saints to a glorious immortality, and, with the saints, take the kingdom under the whole heaven. This kingdom will never end. Then those who have patiently waited for Jesus will be made like Him.” E. G. W. (Lift Him Up, December 31)

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