Topical Bible: The Punishment of the Wicked: Future Described as Torment With Fire

Bible > Topical > The Punishment of the Wicked

◄ The Punishment of the Wicked: Future Described as Torment With Fire ►

Jump to: Torrey's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

The concept of the punishment of the wicked as a future torment with fire is a recurring theme in the Bible, particularly in the New Testament. This imagery is used to convey the severity and eternal nature of divine judgment upon those who reject God and His commandments.

Biblical References:

1. Matthew 13:41-42 : "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness. And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." In this parable of the weeds, Jesus describes the end of the age when the wicked will be separated from the righteous and cast into a fiery furnace, symbolizing a place of intense suffering and regret.

2. Matthew 25:41 : "Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'" Here, Jesus speaks of the final judgment, where those who have not followed His teachings will be sent into eternal fire, a punishment originally intended for the devil and his angels, indicating its severity and permanence.

3. Mark 9:43-48 : "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire. [...] where ‘their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.’" Jesus emphasizes the drastic measures one should take to avoid sin, highlighting the unending nature of the fire in hell, a place of perpetual torment.

4. Revelation 14:10-11 : "He too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name." This passage vividly describes the eternal torment awaiting those who align themselves with evil, emphasizing the continuous and unrelenting nature of their punishment.

5. Revelation 20:10 : "And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." The lake of fire is depicted as the ultimate destination for the devil and his followers, a place of eternal torment without reprieve.

Theological Implications:

The imagery of fire as a means of punishment serves multiple purposes in biblical theology. It underscores the holiness and justice of God, who cannot tolerate sin and must judge it righteously. The eternal nature of the fire signifies the irrevocable state of separation from God for those who choose to reject Him. This portrayal of divine judgment is intended to serve as a warning, urging individuals to repent and seek salvation through Jesus Christ.

The use of fire as a metaphor for divine wrath and judgment is consistent throughout Scripture, reinforcing the seriousness with which God views sin and the ultimate consequences for those who remain unrepentant. The descriptions of torment with fire are not merely symbolic but are intended to convey the reality of eternal punishment for the wicked, as affirmed by the teachings of Jesus and the apostles.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Revelation 14:10
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Whether the Fire of Hell Will be Corporeal?
... all statements as to souls being punished in future after death ... corporeal from the
very fact that the wicked will be ... but acts on them for their punishment by a ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether the fire of hell.htm

The Soul.
... of the hungry, thirsting spirit by bidding it wait until some future time when ... the
same word which we have seen fixes the eternal punishment of the wicked. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/orr/the gospel day /chapter x the soul.htm

Turn or Burn
... repented, most affectionately reminding you of your future doom, if ... him, he repents
not of the punishment which is ... were not pit digged for the wicked, if there ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 2 1856/turn or burn.htm

The Doctrine of the Last Things.
... of the Edomites and their land, and not to the future of the ... 2. "PUNISHMENT.". ... constant
images under which the torment and misery of the wicked is represented. ...
/.../evans/the great doctrines of the bible/the doctrine of the last.htm

"The Eternity of Hell-Torments"
... to entertain any hopes of a future recovery out of ... the sincere, but the wicked,
merciless, negatively ... before described, shall go into everlasting punishment. ...
/.../selected sermons of george whitefield/the eternity of hell-torments.htm

The Apocalypse of Baruch.
... soul; and again, each one hath chosen future glory for ... With regard to the punishment
of the wicked, the seer ... then shall be led away to punishment,"their home ...
//christianbookshelf.org/deane/pseudepigrapha/the apocalypse of baruch.htm

The Book of Enoch
... exhorts them to hope and patience by exhibiting their future happy lot ... respecting
the reward of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked, composed, as ...
//christianbookshelf.org/deane/pseudepigrapha/the book of enoch.htm

The Evening of the Third Day in Passion-Week - on the Mount of ...
... Gentiles would in the Messianic future become proselytes ... on view of this, the wicked
would correspondingly ... Resurrection, the reward and punishment assigned are ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter vi the evening of.htm

An Essay on the Scriptural Doctrine of Immortality.
... for being good or for being wicked, may be ... 19:20, where it is described as "burning ...
is the doctrine of Scripture respecting future "punishment" and "torment.". ...
/.../an essay on the scriptural.htm

David's Anger
... been a good thing for him, as a future king; it ... under those miseries of body and
soul, which wicked men can ... are not objects of pity, but of punishment; and it ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/david/sermon iii davids anger.htm