BIG IDEA: Hell is real, but it may not be everything you think.
Let’s make ourselves aware of 4 views about Hell which respected teachers have seen in Scripture:
- The Traditional View claims God-defying rebels will burn forever in a literal location/dimension as a deserved consequence for their sin.
- The Annihilation View counters by suggesting people in Hell will eventually be put out of their misery and cease to exist, and unlike the traditional view, this eradicates sin forever.
- The Restoration View sees Hell as a furnace that purifies the rebellious so they can repent and be restored to God.
- The Purgatory View, like Restorationism, attempts to explain how imperfect souls are made pure after death from texts like 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 which pictures everyone’s works being tried by fire.
At the end of the day, we have 2 choices:
Option 1: Bury our heads in the sand, refuse to carve out study time, and stick to what we’ve always believed.
Option 2: Be humble, life-long students of our infinite God.
