TORMENTED | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 14, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 40.

TORMENTED.

“He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” Rev. 14 : 10, 11.

“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are [or were cast], and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Rev. 20 : 10. See also Rev. 19 : 3.

There are perhaps no passages in all the Bible which have a stronger bearing on the doctrine of the endless misery of the lost than these above quoted. They are both the premises and conclusion of the many who hold to man’s natural immortality and consequent endless misery. He is immortal, they say, or else he could not be punished to all eternity; and if he is punished to all eternity, he therefore must be immortal. Thus they reason in a circle. They assume the premises and draw a decided conclusion, forgetting that the truth of the premises must first be established.

That these texts speak of fearful punishment to the great arch rebel and to those who deny the last message of God’s mercy, we do not deny. The heart shudders to realize the sinner’s fearful doom. And yet we do not believe that these texts teach the endless, conscious torment of the unsaved, for the following reasons:—

1. It would be contrary to the general scope of the Bible, contrary to what God has revealed concerning man’s nature, and to specific and numerous texts which declare that “the wages of sin is death,” “the soul that sinneth it shall die,” and many other expressions of the same import in both the Old and the New Testaments. Certainly, these many plain, positive texts, in connection with other reasons, ought to decide the doctrine that the wages of sin is death. Rom. 6 : 23.

2. Therefore as God’s word is truth and no one text disagrees or is out of harmony with any other, Rev. 14 : 10, 11 and 20 : 10 must agree with Obad. 16; Ezek. 18 : 4, 20; Rom. 6 : 23; 2 Thess. 1 : 9, and others. The few and obscure expressions are certainly in harmony with the many plain, positive, unambiguous statements, which no fallacy can set aside, and should be so understood.

3. Those who hold to eternal misery, argue that the same Greek term, eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn, forever and ever, is applied to God and to the righteous (Rev. 22 : 5 ; 4 : 9), and must there denote unending duration, or endlessness. The simple term aiōn, say they, may be limited, but not so with the compound term. And we readily acknowledge that the case seems a strong one.

But what is it that is eternal? The reply is, “The torment, the misery of the wicked.” Then may not the “forever and ever” have reference to the finality or completion of this torment—that it is final, that is to all eternity? They say, “No, for the torment is a continued process; they are tormented with fire and brimstone to all eternity.” But what is the nature of this torment? We may have imbibed erroneous views concerning it.

“Torment” and “torment” come from the Greek word basanos, which is defined in its various forms by “Bagster’s Analytical Greek Lexicon” as follows:—

“Basanos, properly lapis Lydius, a species of stone from Lydia, which, being applied to metals, was thought to indicate any alloy which might be mixed with them, and therefore used in the trial of metals; hence examination of a person, especially by torture, in New Testament torture, torment, severe pain. Matt. 4 : 24; Luke 16 : 23, 28.

“Basanicō, properly to apply the lapis Lydius, or touchstone; by metonymy, to examine, scrutinize, try, either by words or torture; in New Testament to afflict, torment; passive, to be afflicted, tormented, pained by diseases (Matt. 8 : 6, 29, et al.), to be tossed, agitated as by the waves (Matt. 14 : 24).”

“Basanismos, properly examination by the lapis Lydius, or by torture; torment, torture. Rev. 9 : 5 ; 14 : 11 ; 18 : 7, 10, 15.” We see from the above definitions, which are the same as given by Greenfield, Liddell and Scott, and others, that the literal meaning of the term is to test or try, by words or torture; for the idea of torment is not a necessary element in the original meaning, but is a derived sense. Test or trial is the primary significance; and the use of the word in the New Testament must have some correspondence to the original and proper use of the word. If torture alone was intended, why was not the word odunō used, which means “pain of body or mind,” or the verb odunō, meaning “to pain, either bodily or mentally; passive, to be in an agony, be tormented. Luke 16 : 24, 25”? —Bagster’s Analytical Lexicon. Why does Inspiration use the two words, each twice, in the same connection, in six verses, if torment alone was the idea designed to be conveyed, as is done in Luke 16 : 23-28. In verses 23 and 28 the word basanos is used, while in verses 24 and 25 the word odunō is used. We know no reason which can be assigned except that the former is used to indicate testing, while the latter is used to denote the anguish and torment alone. We do not see how it is possible to separate the idea of testing from the mode of testing. The main idea is that of testing; the mode is secondary. The idea of torment alone has been read into the word basanos to meet the exigencies of a false theology. “In the New Testament,” say the Lexicons, just as though its original and primary meaning then vanished. But it means to test in the New Testament also, as other scriptures will prove.

God’s lapis Lydius, or touchstone, with which he will try or test men is fire. Satan deceived our first parents into the belief that they could never die (Gen. 3 : 4), contrary to God’s express declaration that they should die (Gen. 2 : 17; Eze. 18 : 4). The vast mass of humanity have all along believed Satan, and have clothed themselves and the dead with the attributes of Deity, making of themselves demigods. They have believed the falsehood in its fullest sense, “ye shall not surely die;” “ye shall be as gods.” Gen. 3 : 4. And through the deceitfulness of sin, Satan has no doubt persuaded himself that he is immortal, that no material agency which Deity can use will bring him to naught.

But God in his infinite wisdom has decreed that none but the holy and righteous shall be immortalized; and the great final test will be the fire of his wrath. The world will be melted by fervent heat, at the end of the thousand years (2 Peter 3), and thus form the lake of fire (Rev. 20 : 10, 14). Upon this the holy city, with her holy children, will be borne upon the flaming sea, as was Noah’s ark upon the deluge of waters. Fire can no more harm them than were the Hebrew worthies harmed when the angel of God walked with them through the fiery furnace. To this fearful time the prophet refers in the following language:—

“The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting [age-lasting] burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions [margin “deceits”], that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil.”

The boastings of the earth dwellers have died on their lips; the hope of the hypocrites is gone; the power of the Deceiver to sway them is now perished. Each must stand in his own character, possessed of the life which he has chosen. The wicked claim life within themselves, inherent immortality. The righteous possess it only as they obtain it by faith in Christ Jesus. Through faith in him they obtain righteousness and life; in his righteousness and life alone they are trusting.

Again: Satan has deceived multitudes into believing that if they were united with the nominal Christian church in some way, their salvation would be assured. Millions of this character have been built up in the nominal churches by professed ambassadors of Christ. But their work must be tested by fire. “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

every man’s work shall be made manifest; for the day [of God, 2 Peter 3:10] shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” 1 Cor. 3 : 11-13. The precious jewels, or special treasure, of God are his people. Mal. 3 : 17, margin. The fires of trial and persecution have purged every dross. God has made them immortal; they are partakers of the divine nature; and the fires of the last day cannot hurt them. But those who would not accept Christ, who will not endure the fiery trials of this age, are found to be wood, hay, and stubble, when the fires of the day of God break forth upon the world. This is God’s last means of trial, that which ought to be satisfactory to those who have claimed to be possessed of a life which could not be harmed by material fires, but which runs parallel with that of God.

4. Just how long these fires continue, we do not know, but there will come a time when the wood, hay, and stubble are consumed, and then the fire will go out, just the same as the “eternal fire” which burned up Sodom and Gomorrah went out when the cities were destroyed. Compare Jude 7 with 2 Peter 2:6; Gen. 19:28. That smoke went up forever. Says the Psalmist of the wicked, “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.” Ps. 37:20. The very figure indicates the totality of the destruction. The ashes on earth soon mingle with and become a part of the soil; the smoke dissipates forever, or forever and ever. The punishment, the test, the death, is eternal, is for the ages of ages; for from it there will never be a resurrection. Turning from the life and righteousness so freely offered by Christ, they have reaped the fruit of sin, which is death, or utter destruction.

5. What is the effect of this testing fire? —It burns the dross; it leaves uninjured the pure metal. (See Jer. 9:7; Isa. 1:25-31.) Those who have identified themselves with sin will perish with the sin. It is said of the great harlot Babylon, “Her smoke rose up forever and ever” (Rev. 19:3), and this fire utterly burns her up; for “she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.” Rev. 18:8.

Thus the wicked are tried, tested by fire, by that which in its very nature tortures, or causes pain and anguish. It is the last final test. The wicked were once slain by water, but men believe them still alive. Now all appear to be finally tested, eternally tried. And the test will be final. It will reveal the heavenly and the earthly. It will never be repeated. Its results are eternal. The fire of God has proved the ungodly perishable instead of imperishable, mortal instead of immortal. They are wood, hay, stubble; and day and night, as long as sun and moon shall endure, they shall never more live. The test proved them base metal. The fire has devoured them, for it is a “devouring fire.” Isa. 33:14. The precious jewels of God are unharmed by the mighty element, for they have immortality, not, however, by birth through sinful, fallen man; it is the gift of God through our Lord Jesus Christ.