I recently read, much to my dismay, Kirk Cameron has pivoted on his belief of hell, moving from an Eternal Conscious Punishment (AS SCRIPTURE TEACHES) to Annihilationism. Let's dig into it.
Personally, I believe in eternal conscious punishment which teaches that hell is forever, that people in hell remain conscious forever, and that they continue suffering forever.
Kirk Cameron has reversed his course from once believing Bible scriptures, to believing Annihilationism in regards to hell, which teaches that the wicked eventually stop existing altogether, that hell fire does not torment without end, but ultimately consumes its victims until there is nothing left.
Today, I want to debunk the idea of Annihilationism and prove it is a dangerous belief that leads people away from Biblical truth.
Biblical truth, and one I adhere to, will be quick, exact, and understandable through the simplest scriptures I'll post. We have to refer to Luke's account, chapter 16: 19-31 to begin. There is an account of a Rich Man and Lazarus. In the account, scriptures say, the rich man (looking up-meaning he was "below") WAS IN TORMENT and Abraham (who was already in paradise-"up") was asked by the rich man to send Lazarus so Lazarus could dip his finger in water to cool the rich mans tongue. Here is the exact scripture-pay attention to the words used:
"IN HADES, where he was IN TORMENT, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I AM TORMENTED IN THIS FLAME [Luke 16:22-24]. ] Pretty clear, wouldn't you say?
It goes on. Abraham replied that there was an impassable great gulf between the two of them: from heaven (comfort/paradise) and the place of torment below, suffering, and separation from God forever] (Hades) verses 25-26. Here is the exact scripture:
[Luke 16: verse 26] "Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from here to you cannot; neither can they pass to us that would come from there." ETERNAL SEPARATION FROM GOD.
Jesus frequently used the imagery of Fire, of Weeping, of the Gnashing of Teeth to describe the place of punishment for those who die without Christ.
Matthew 25:41 Jesus uses these words, "Depart from me you who are cursed, into everlasting fire"
Matthew 25:46 Jesus uses these words," And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteousness into life eternal."
Jesus words spoken by Him negate Kirk's Annihilationism view altogether. JESUS HIMSELF said it is fire, it is eternal, it's punishment is everlasting.
By changing or negating the word "fire" into a metaphor waters down the terrifying WARNINGS Jesus was trying to give about the reality of judgment. Scriptures testify judgment is real, painful, and permanent!
Jesus spoke about hell more than any other figure in the Bible mentioning it more times than He did heaven! He spoke about it as real and the terrifying consequence of rejecting God. Minimizing hell or declaring, as Kirk says, "that the fire does not torment without end but ultimately consumes its victims until there is nothing left" is dangerous. Why? If a sinner hears such a reckless dogma instructed by a man of great influence, especially one with such a "Christian" reputation as Kirk Cameron, and expounding there is no Hades (Luke 16:23 says there is), no Torment (Luke 16:23 says there is) no CONTINUING FLAME (Luke 16:23 says there is), no retribution but simply you'll be no more-"there's nothing left" is dangerous because it leads people to believe there is no consequence for sin and encourages them to continue living that way.
Ask any non-believer, "If you knew there was no hell as Christians believe, no fiery flames the Bible mentions, no punishment other than when you die you'll be dissolved and simply no longer exist, would you stop everything wrong or the pleasurably sinful things you've done, are doing right now, and will do in the future? I guarantee they will answer NO. Where there's no assumed retribution, there is no effort to change from sinful behavior.
The Bible warns to be aware that people in the end times (which we have entered, see my other blogs) will twist, distort, rewrite, change the definitions of Biblical texts, misinterpreting biblical teachings, etc You can refer to:
A) 2 Peter 3:15-16 where he speaks about,"ignorant and unstable people distort things he taught as they do to other scriptures which leads to their own destruction."
B) 2 Timothy 4:3-4 where Paul warns Timothy "a time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine but will surround themselves with teachers who suit their own desires, turning away from truth and toward myths.
C) Proverbs 30:5-6 Speaks about God's WORD is true without fault not to "add to His words lest he reprove you and you'll be found a liar."
D) Revelation 22:18-19 Warns against adding to or taking away words written in biblical prophecy or " anyone adds takes away from the words words of this prophecy will have plagues written in this book added to them, likewise anyone who "takes away, changes, removes from the words of this prophecy will lose their part in the book of life and holy city."
E) Galatians 1: 8-9 Paul strongly warned against changing the core message of the Christian faith! "As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."
You do not find a clean, confident, articulate Annihilationist position anywhere in the mainstream of Christian thought until the nineteenth century. In other words, it is a historical fringe view. That does not mean Annihilationism is impossible or inherently wicked. It simply means this: if you hold it, you are standing on brand-new interpretive ground that the Church—Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant—never walked for eighteen centuries. For me, scripture is crystal clear. There is a heaven. There is a hell. BOTH ARE ETERNAL, FOREVER, NEVER ENDING. The body may return to dust, but the SOUL, our conscious, lives on experiencing the punishment of what hell is in every sense of the word. Think of hell like a nightmare. You are physically asleep in bed but your conscious takes you to places that feel real... you cry in dreams, you're scared in dreams, fear is real in dreams, you can be physically injured AND FEEL IT in a dream, you can be shot, murdered, raped, at the hands of a psychopath, lost not knowing where you are, you can see monsters while dreaming, smell, feel see, hear, etc BUT YOU AREN'T THERE PHYSICALLY, YOUR CONSCIOUS IS! THAT IS HELL... not having a physical body but feeling like you do unable to die and end the suffering that takes place there. And what takes place there is horrific.
Until He Comes,
-Pat-
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