Chanise Glover
June 5, 2012
Short Essay 4
Theology 202 Eschatology I met a lot of interesting people here at Liberty. One of whom is Steve. And last week Steve read a book by Clark Pinnock . I can’t remember the name of the book partly because I was hardly paying attention to Steve when he was talking but I do remember how much a quote from the book was bothering him. When he told me the quote I have to admit it went right over my head but it seemed like it was really bothering him. So when he asked me to explain as best as I could what it all meant…
When looking in the bible in reference to eternal punishment it is clear that sin will be punished at some point in all of our lives. There is really no clearer way to say it. Daniel 12:2 says, “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” If people would be able to come to the understanding that through Christ they stand a better chance a living forever in him they will begin to seek salvation. (Elwell, 2001) If a person chooses not to accept Christ as their personal Savior and begin to live in him; their life will simply end. From the perspective of annihilationism, these people believe that those who hold that some not all human souls will cease to exist after death. (Elwell, 2001)This point of view has the potential to go three ways: the first being that after death all humans cease to exist anyway, next while all human’s are naturally mortal God imparts to those who are saved by his Grace a gift of immortality and allows those who do not accept his gift to waste away on Earth, the final form is that humans being created immortal fulfills its destiny in salvation while others fail on their own. Universalism is the doctrine that assumes all men will eventually be reconciled to Christ. (Elwell, 2001) A person from this perspective believes that the “efficiency of atonement is unlimited and therefore extends to all people. 1st John 2:2 says, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” God’s character is incompatible with the idea of eternal suffering for anyone therefore his grace and mercy extends to everyone eventually. (Elwell, 2001) When looking at the three terms Sheol, Hades, and Gehenna, we see three very similar perspectives of Hell. Sheol takes place at an intermediate level. Depending how you lived your life on Earth that was how your soul was dealt with. One of the Hebrew translations of Sheol in the King James Version is “Hell”. In the Old Testament Sheol is described six ways. (Elwell, 2001) One way in particular is that it’s a “place where the wicked go upon death. In Psalms 55:15 David prays that his enemies goes there alive. (Elwell, 2001) I think when we look at the “traditional” concept of Hell, Hades comes close to that ideal. Hades has no doctrine of
