Do you think the Watchtower is right about about eternal punishment of the wicked?

by Vanderhoven7 33 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Vanderhoven7

  Atheists believe death is the end of personal existence. But for those who believe there is life after death, what do you think is the nature of final punishment? In other words do you agree with the Atheists and the Watchtower Society or is there eternal ongoing conscious punishment awaiting the wicked. This is not really about what happens between death and the final judgment, but bring that up if you wish.
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  Smiles

  WT is rarely right.
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  Vanderhoven7

  This is true. Their religion is not biblical. However even a broken analog clock is right twice a day.😄
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  Smiles

  Exactly. WT might get it right on either the flip, or the flop.
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  Fisherman

  WT is a commentary of the Bible. According to the Bible God, has appointed Jesus as judge and chief executioner of individuals.

  ”Now this is the basis for judgment, light has come into the world but men have loved darkness.”

  Jesus’s description of Gehenah sounds very eternal where not the person’s body but the person in toasted.
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  waton

  is wt even right about the definition who is wicked? you can be a adulterous war criminal responsible for ~ 100 000 death and still be a hero, slated for a major role in the future wt government .
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  Gman2001

  Jesus has too much to say about the terrible fate awaiting those not his own.
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  Vanderhoven7

  There is a book available on Amazon entitled, "Eternal Torment - Image and Reality". I know the author well. The author goes through the entire Bible looking for eternal torment and here is his summary:

  IN PART I OF OUR STUDY WE PROBED FOR ETERNAL TORMENT BY SIFTING THROUGH THE DUST AND ASHES OF:

  A. Sheol (Old Testament)

  - We found no hard evidence for ongoing torment in any of the 65 Sheol passages.

  B. Hades (New Testament)

  - We examined all 11 "Hades" passages, 10 of which gave no support for the idea of torment of any duration. Although we found one dramatic passage of scripture (Luke 16:19-31) that spoke very clearly of extreme pain and anguish after death, no clarification was made of the duration of that pain. In addition there was powerful evidence within the text itself that suggested the entire account did not represent historical narration.

  C. Gehenna (New Testament)

  - We looked at all 12 passages that used the term Gehenna. Although we didn't find any synonyms for pain or torment in any of the passages, we did find some rather perplexing imagery including; Everlasting Fire, Gehenna Fire, Unquenchable Fire and Undying Worms. However, all of these images, if interpreted in the light of other scriptural passages, can be readily explained without reference to ongoing suffering of any kind.

  
  

  IN PART II OF OUR STUDY WE PROBED FOR ETERNAL TORMENT BY SIFTING THROUGH THE FIRE AND FLAME OF:

  D. Old Testament Eschatology

  The predominant punishment imagery of the Old Testament is unquestionably that of destruction. Endless torment of immortal souls is simply not found in the Hebrew scriptures.

  
  E. The Gospels

  We found considerable "weeping and gnashing" imagery in the exclusion parables of the gospel, which would be expected of the condemned as they are faced with rejection at Christ's coming. Nonetheless, the duration of that weeping and gnashing is consistently absent. Matthew 25, the parable of the sheep and the goats, speaks of eternal fire and eternal punishment. However, this language, by itself, does not designate the nature of that punishment. In order to prove eternal torment from this passage it would first be necessary to smuggle the word "conscious" into the text.

  
  F. Acts and the Epistles

  Destruction, rather than torment imagery, is rampant in the Epistles. Certainly, as would be expected, God's wrath will not spare the wicked vexation and distress on the day of judgment, but again, endless duration of such distress is simply not found.

  
  G. Revelation

  There is one explicit reference to eternal torment in Revelation 20:10 which is applied to the unholy trinity of devil, beast and false prophet. However, the literal nature of this torment becomes suspect as we consider the verse itself, the surrounding scriptures, as well as similar judgment imagery in the Old Testament.
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  Fisherman

  For clarification WT does not teach eternal torment but eternal non existence as punishment without any hope of a resurrection: God destroys the soul of an individual as if by fire symbolized by Gehenah.
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  hoser

  Is non existence really punishment if you don’t have to look at sister holier than though and her condescending elder husband ever again? Like never. I see it as a relief!