The Undying Worm by John Norton Loughborough

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Jul 8, 1875

The Undying Worm.

By John Norton Loughborough

We are invited to explain Isa. 66 : 24 : "For their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."

It is supposed by many, that the above proves that the wicked will have eternal, conscious suffering as their portion. By reading the first portion of the verse quoted above, we shall see that this prediction is made respecting the bodies of the wicked, and that it is not said that some immortal entity shall ever exist in the fire. "They shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me; for their worm shall not die," &c.

"Carcasses" does not mean living persons, but dead bodies. The fact that a fire in which a carcass, or dead body, is placed "is not quenched," is positive evidence that that body will be entirely consumed. So we read of the wicked in Matt. 3 : 12 : "He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." An unquenchable fire is not one that is eternally burning, but one that consumes and utterly destroys what it preys upon.

As to the meaning of this term unquenchable fire, I will quote Jer. 17 : 27 : "But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." Read the following criticism on the above : "From this text we certainly can learn the meaning that was attached to the expression, "unquenchable fire," by the Hebrew people. This fire was not to be quenched, therefore, it was unquenchable. But it was to be kindled in the gates of Jerusalem, and devour the palaces thereof. It was, therefore, literal, natural fire. But how could a fire of this kind, thus kindled, be supposed to be a fire that would burn eternally? They certainly would not so understand it. No more should we. Moreover, this threatening of the Lord by Jeremiah was fulfilled. 2 Chron. 36 : 19 : 'And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.' Verse 21 : 'To fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah.' Thus Jerusalem was burned according to Jeremiah's prediction that it should be consumed in unquenchable fire. But how long did that fire burn? Only till it had reduced to ashes the gates and palaces on which it preyed. Unquenchable fire is therefore simply a fire that is not quenched, or does not cease, till it has entirely consumed that which causes or supports it. Then it dies out itself, because there is nothing more to burn. The expression does not mean a fire that must absolutely eternally burn, and that consequently all that is cast therein to feed the flame must forever be preserved by having the portion consumed immediately renewed.

"To the wicked the threatened fire is unquenchable because it will not be quenched, or caused to cease, till it has entirely devoured them. Ps. 37 : 20 : 'But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs; they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.' Mal. 4 : 3 : 'And ye shall tread down the wicked: for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this saith the Lord of hosts."—Nature and Destiny of Man, pp. 280, 281.

But there is another expression in our text which it may be well to notice. Isaiah speaks of an undying worm, in connection with the unquenchable fire. Again we quote from Nature and Destiny of Man: "This is undoubtedly the language from which the expression in Mark is borrowed; but a moment's examination of it will show that the worm is not remorse of a guilty conscience, but, that, like the fire, it is something external to, and distinct from, the objects upon which it preys; and moreover that those upon whom it feeds are not the living, but the dead; it is the 'carcasses' of the men that have transgressed against the Lord. In Isaiah 14 : 11, and 51 : 8, the prophet again speaks of the worm as an agent of destruction, but it is always in connection with death. It is thus evident that the terms employed by our Lord in describing the doom of the wicked, would convey to the minds of his hearers the very opposite of the idea of eternal life in misery."—p. 282.

To illustrate we will quote Isaiah 51 : 7, 8: "Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation."

J. N. L.