Topical Bible: Idolatry: Punishment of Eternal Torments

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Idolatry, the worship of idols or the elevation of anything above the one true God, is a grave sin consistently condemned throughout the Bible. The punishment for idolatry is severe, often described in terms of eternal torments, reflecting the seriousness with which God views this transgression.

Biblical Condemnation of Idolatry

The Bible is replete with warnings against idolatry. In the Ten Commandments, God explicitly commands, "You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol" (Exodus 20:3-4). This foundational directive underscores the exclusivity of worship that God demands from His people.

The prophets frequently rebuked Israel for falling into idolatry, warning of dire consequences. For instance, Jeremiah 25:6-7 states, "Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm. But you did not listen to Me, declares the LORD, so you have provoked Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm."

Eternal Consequences

The New Testament further elaborates on the eternal consequences of idolatry. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 , Paul warns, "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God."

Revelation, the final book of the Bible, vividly describes the ultimate fate of idolaters. Revelation 21:8 declares, "But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death."

The Nature of Eternal Torments

The imagery of the "lake that burns with fire and sulfur" is a powerful depiction of eternal punishment. This "second death" signifies a state of perpetual separation from God, a fate reserved for those who persist in idolatry and other sins without repentance. The eternal nature of this punishment is emphasized in passages such as Matthew 25:46 , where Jesus speaks of the final judgment: "And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

The Call to Repentance

Despite the severe warnings, the Bible also offers hope through repentance. Acts 17:30-31 states, "Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead."

In conclusion, the Bible presents idolatry as a sin with profound and eternal consequences. The call to forsake idols and turn to the living God is urgent, underscoring the need for repentance and faith in Jesus Christ to avoid the eternal torments reserved for idolaters.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Revelation 14:9-11
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Revelation 21:8
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Saurin -- Paul Before Felix and Drusilla
... receive its appropriate and most severe punishment. ... confirms, that "covetousness
is idolatry." The covetous ... so much caution, be condemned to eternal torments? ...
/.../kleiser/the worlds great sermons volume 3/saurin paul before felix.htm

Meditations on the Hindrances which Keep Back a Sinner from the ...
... she had fallen from God to idolatry, acknowledges, that ... men partakers with thee of
thine eternal torments. ... themselves from their own most grievous punishment. ...
/.../bayly/the practice of piety/meditations on the hindrances which.htm

Latitudinarian Churchmanship.
... might be paid 'without danger of idolatry, and without ... tremble at the thought of
eternal punishment?' 'As for ... On the Eternity of Hell Torments' was preached in ...
/.../chapter iv latitudinarian churchmanship.htm

Easter Wednesday Also Suited to Easter Tuesday.
... yet is unwilling to be charged with idolatry and other ... in bodily punishment in this
world and eternal punishment in the ... In Christ ye surely possess eternal life ...
/.../luther/epistle sermons vol ii/easter wednesday also suited to.htm

The Resurrection of the Dead, and Eternal Judgment:
... I say, yet Christ is their life, by the eternal purpose of God ... prophet of Judah could
tell by this, what God would do to Bethel, for the idolatry there committed ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the resurrection of the dead.htm

Commandments to Men.
... wilt be punished with sensible and bitter torments. ... before the people fell into idolatry,
and made a ... His life, inheriting, instead of rest, eternal punishment. ...
/.../various/constitutions of the holy apostles/sec ii commandments to men.htm

The Era of Persecution
... the statue of the emperor was wicked idolatry and entailed the forfeiture of eternal
salvation. ... Never did punishment so signally fail as a deterrent. ...
/.../brittain/women of early christianity/iii the era of persecution.htm

Exposition of the Moral Law.
... present suffering, as well as the punishment of eternal ... of life and the latter eternal
destruction, the ... The grossest vice here prohibited is external idolatry. ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 8 exposition of the.htm

Eighth Sunday after Trinity Living in the Spirit as God's Children ...
... sin; for instance, living in unbelief, idolatry, contempt of ... devil, and with him
heirs of eternal fire ... to expect stripes, imprisonment and punishment even unto ...
/.../luther/epistle sermons vol iii/eighth sunday after trinity living.htm

1 Cor. x. 13
... that which is living and eternal, by means ... condemned, prisoners reserved for intolerable
punishment, accountable for ... the Jews, accusing them of idolatry in the ...
/.../homilies on the epistles of paul to the corinthians/homily xxiv 1 cor x.htm