Eschatology the Destiny of the Unsaved Term Paper

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Eschatology

Eternal punishment is clearly outlined and explained in Matthew 25:46: "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." The concept of eternal punishment is unpalatable, signaling perhaps an unjust God who "permanently installs a place of suffering in the final, eternal order," ("Annihilationism," n.d.). Yet, eternal damnation is certainly supported by scripture. Unfortunately from an eschatological perspective, there is also ample scriptural evidence in support of annihilationism: the doctrine that the damned do not rot eternally in hell but, rather, are obliterated. Anniliationism presumes that the wicked are not privileged to receive the bounty of God in Heaven; and they subsequently perish entirely. Souls are not innately immortal; only righteous souls have the ability to achieve immortality and do so only in heaven. The optimistic tone of annihilationism is echoed also in universalism: a Christian eschatological degree that suggests that all souls shall eventually be saved. There is in fact scriptural support for all three positions, making the difference between eternal punishment, annihilationism, and universalism a chief point of dispute among theologians.

Linked to these different eschatological standpoints are different conceptualizations of Hell: Hell as Hades, Hell as Sheol, and Hell as Gehanna. Hades is a Greek concept, which may have been later fused with Biblical concepts of Hell. Hades is a "dwelling place" of the dead; it has some features in common with purgatory in that it is more of a limbo than it is a place of eternal damnation (Martin, 2012).

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Hades is by no means a pleasant place; and it is similar to both Sheol and Gehanna. Sheol is a Hebrew concept that refers also to a dwelling place of the dead. It is a godless underworld, but as with Hades, the souls in Sheol are not necessarily going to remain. The righteous may be revived from Sheol; there is ample scriptural evidence from the Old Testament that supports the version of Sheol as being a potentially temporary place: including I Sam. ii. 6; Job vii. 9; Ps. xxx. 4; Isa. xiv. 11, 15 (cited in "Sheol"). Like Hades and Sheol, Gehanna is conceptualized as an actual place, but there is some suggestion that "It was figuratively used to designate 'a place of eternal dwelling and eternal punishment'" (Martin, 2012). Therefore, Gehanna corresponds to traditional notions of the eternal abode of the wicked.

The Old Testament tends to support an annihilationist view; whereas the New Testament offers more textual support for the eternal damnation and universalist perspectives. For example, Psalm 37:1-2 states, "Do not fret because of those who are evil / or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, / like green plants they will soon die away." On the other hand, Matthew 25:46 clearly supports eternal damnation. The New Testament also offers passages that seem to support the universalist perspective, too. "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ.....

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