Hell | Grace Evangelical Society

The Rich Man, Lazarus, and Samuel

January 24, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Abraham’s Bosom, Hades, Hell, Sheol

One of the central texts in the debate over hell is Luke 16—the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Actually, whether or not this is a parable is part of the debate. People who deny eternal conscious torment deny that Jesus’ story depicts a real situation. For example, many annihilationists want to deny it because, for one

Where Did Abraham Go When He Died (Gen 25:8-9; Luke 16:22-23)?

January 22, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Abraham, Hell, Paradise

I am about a third of the way into writing my book about hell, tentatively entitled, Final Punishment: A Biblical Case for Conscious Eternal Torment. I’m hoping to finish by the 2019 National Conference. There is so much interesting Biblical information about death and the afterlife in the Bible. The picture is far more complicated than most people assume. For example, two important Hebrew

Eternal Existence vs Eternal Life

July 3, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - annihilationism, Hell, immortality of the soul

In my discussions with annihilationists, one of the conceptual roadblocks I’ve encountered is an inability to distinguish between eternal existence and having eternal life. Some annihilationists reason this way: “To have eternal life means to exist forever. Only believers have eternal life, therefore only believers will exist forever. Since unbelievers lack eternal life, they will

Hell? Yes!

June 1, 2018 by GES Webmaster in Blog - Hell, justice

By Dix Winston* Speaking to journalist and friend, Eugenio Scafari, the Pope reportedly said of those dying without Christ (or according to Roman Catholic Theology in a state of mortal sin): “They are not punished. Those who repent obtain God’s forgiveness and take their place among the ranks of those who contemplate him, but those

Life After Death in the Old Testament

May 2, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - annihilationism, Death, disembodied spirits, Eternal Concious Torment, Hell, torment, universalism

Did the Hebrews have a concept of the soul’s life after death? Did they believe the dead continued to exist as disembodied spirits? Many (but not all) who believe in annihilationism and universalism deny it. They say the idea that the soul survives the death of the body comes from Plato, not the Bible. Why

Annihilationism, ECT, and the Biblical Definition of Death

April 30, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - annihilationim, Death, eternal cons, Hell

I’ve been exploring the debate between annihilationism and eternal conscious torment (ECT) in a series of blog posts. One of the disagreements between the two views is over the meaning of death. Many proponents of annihilationism understand death to mean the cessation of existence, especially conscious existence. They say that when someone dies, the whole

Where the Worm Does Not Die Mark 9:48; cf. vv 44, 46

April 23, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - annihilationism, ECT, Edward Fudge, Gehenna, Hell

Jesus described the state of those in Gehenna with these terrifying words, “Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). I’ve been comparing the eternal conscious torment (ECT) view with annihilationism in a series of blog posts. How does each view deal with this verse? The Annihilationist Interpretation Edward

John Gerstner and Gehenna

April 4, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Eternal Concious Torment, Gehenna, Hell, John Gerstner

I am researching the topic of eternal conscious torment (ECT) for a series of blog posts, and a possible book(let). While there are many modern books defending annihilationism and universalism, there are few defending ECT. And none (that I know of) are written from a Dispensational, Free Grace perspective. One popular ECT book is John