2 Thessalonians 1:9: ?Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;?
The word of the Lord clearly promises punishment and destruction for the wicked on a grand scale (cut off from God forever) following an appointed time of judgement. The Bible says that some will be raised to the resurrection of life (clothed with immortality) while others would be raised to the resurrection of death and be cut off from our Lord in a sentence so dreadful that there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Though it is unscriptural to teach that the Lord will punish the wicked eternally in an unending fire, it is also seems unscriptural to teach that these ungodly ones will be gifted with immortality as the godly are promised. It seems that the Bible teaches that these will experience death yet again (e.i. the 2nd death), which is an eternal punishment in that they will be cut off from the living; so while the righteous receive life and immortality, it seems the unrighteous will receive death. So no, I do not believe the unrighteous will be burned forever in an imaginary hell, but I do believe that after judgement they will be destroyed and cut off from the living forever.
I have always struggled with the concept of a devil's hell in that it goes against scripture as well as the very nature of God (as I understand it). At the same time, the Bible when kept in context only promises life as heirs to those who obey the will of God.
Thank you for you time and effort in studying God's word. You have been an encouragement and a motivation for me to delve deeper into the word of God in study and in prayer.
Sincerly,
Darryl Goolsby
DearDarryl:
The Scriptures know nothing of "eternal punishment." It is "eonian cutting off" or eonian chastisement [cutting off is pruning and pruning produces MORE FRUIT].
Read my paper: "Is EVERLASTING Scriptural," for absolute proof that there is no such thing as "eternal" ANYTHING mentioned in the Bible.
God has "no end," and the saints are resurrected to "immortality." But the Scriptures know nothing of a single word meaning "endless time."
God be with you, No one will be cut off or separated or annihilated for "eternity."
Ray