Saturday, April 18, 2015

Torment

This expression only occurs in the New Testament.  Some verses relating to humans that contain this word are: “And in hell [the rich man] lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” (Luke 16:23)

“The same [who receive the Mark of The Beast] shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and 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 for ever 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, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Rev 20:10)

As you can see, understanding this word is important for discussing the state of the dead and the ultimate fate of the sinners.

The word itself means just as one would expect based upon its modern, English use: pain or great discomfort.

The Luke 16 issue is a well-known one to Adventists, and it’s being thoroughly covered in the Baptismal guidebook that I am working on – as it has been covered in a number of other places.  To go over it very briefly, we know that this is a parable, since it is said in several verses that when Christ was with a crowd He always spoke in parables, (Mat 13:34, Mark 4:34) and we know that the audience for the Luke 16 passage consisted of His disciples, some Pharisees, and perhaps various other onlookers. (Luke 16:14)  We know that the name “Lazarus” appearing in the passage does not mean it is not a parable, since names do indeed occur in Biblical parables. (Num 23:7, 24:3)

We know, further, that parables are intended to convey a moral lesson, and frequently involve scenarios that are not literally true. (Mark 4:31, Judges 9:8)  The matter of the rich man’s “torment,” therefore, speaks of a moral condition that will meet its natural end in the lake of fire, when both death and hell are cast into this final place of destruction. (Rev 20:14)

The passage in Revelation 14 is not parabolic, but prophetic.  While it does use symbols, they accurately reflect the events portrayed.  What is important in that passage is that it is never said that a human’s torment goes on forever.  The results are forever; and here the symbol of the “smoke of their torment” is used.  The burning of sacrifices in the Bible is used in such a way in verses like Leviticus 2:16; and the smoke is referred to as “a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto Yahweh.” (Exo 29:18)  The destruction of sinners is the final revelation of the result of transgression to the universe, and this is a lesson that will never be forgotten. (Nah 1:9)  The sinners themselves, however, “‘shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up,’ saith Yahweh of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” (Mal 4:1)

Now in Revelation 20, it appears to be saying that Lucifer, a created being, is tormented for eternity along with the beast and the false prophet.  This is another area where a little understanding of the original helps a bit.  First, there is a comma issue.  The passage in the King James version gives the impression that Lucifer is the subject of the phrase “tormented day and night for ever and ever.”  If we move the comma, however, it reads:

“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Rev 20:10)

In other words, the beast and false prophet, that are not creatures at all, but systems, suffer everlasting destruction akin to the “everlasting shame” that some in Daniel’s described judgment face.  As I describe in the relevant The Highway of Holiness section in greater detail, this speaks of an eternal rejection of the principles espoused by these systems, and not the everlasting pain of those individuals involved in those systems.

But, is there justification for shifting the comma?  There is… in the Greek language, the verb “shall be tormented” is plural; it refers not to Lucifer (singular) but to the beast and false prophet (plural).  While it is linguistically possible to include Lucifer along with the beast and false prophet in this “torment,” to do so would be to come into conflict with the stated judgment of Satan as declared by the prophets in earlier books.  “I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.” (Ezek 28:18b)  Once again, by harmonizing all the verses that refer to a single incident, we can obtain a complete picture.

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