Hell and Forever

When Jesus mentioned hell he described it as a place "where the worm never dies" and "where the fire never goes out." First, what worm lives forever especially in the midst of a fire? Second, the model for hell, Jerusalem's burning garbage dump was a place where the fire never went out whatever was thrown into it was destroyed, consumed by the fire.

There are times when Jesus talked about a fiery furnace as the place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth making us think he was talking about hell. Other places Jesus changes the image from fiery furnace to complete darkness. In a couple of parables Jesus said the wicked and unfaithful would be thrown outside in the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. If the weeping and gnashing of teeth is caused by the agony of continuous fire how do we explain weeping and gnashing of teeth caused by being thrown into complete darkness?

Whether it is fiery furnace or complete darkness could the image be that of the reaction when individuals find they will not be spending eternity with God? In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said "On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'" Think of the reaction of an individual on trial and while expecting the judge to say "not guilty" he says "guilty." Instead of freedom they receive imprisonment. Instead of eternity with God they had expected they face a death sentence. The reaction would be weeping and gnashing of teeth not unending torment.

Of course the two demon-possessed men in the country of the Gadarenes expected Jesus to torment them. "and behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" It appears the demons expected to be tortured sometime in the future. In the story of the servant whose master had forgiven a huge debt but the servant refused to forgive a small debt the master turned him over to the jailer to be tortured until he paid the debt. Jesus said "This how the my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother. So the torture was not to be unending but until the debt was paid. Is that suggesting we may be tortured until our debt is paid? What would that require?