248 God Destroys Sinners With Fire? What Does Jesus Say?

In this episode we challenge what is commonly taught in Christian churches that God will destroy the wicked at the end of time. We will simply look at what Jesus says about the attitude of God toward the wicked and discover what He clearly taught and also look at His practice when a couple of His disciples wanted to consume a Samaritan village with fire.

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SHOW NOTES

Asking Jesus questions. A quick guide to the true God (John 17:3).

In this series we will focus on Jesus’ answers to the frequently asked questions (FAO).

1. What does Jesus say about God destroying sinners with fire?

Revelation 20:9 KJV And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed

the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God

out of heaven and devoured them.

Many Christians attribute the destruction of sinners at the end of the millennium to fire

sent by God because of this verse. Translator bias has added to the popularity of this

interpretation with the insertion of the noun God.

The noun God is supplied by the translators. Many versions do not include God. The source of the fire is simply heaven. Heaven can mean our atmosphere or the place where God resides. Contextually heaven means the atmosphere because the current heaven is destroyed and made new (Revelation 21:1) and this cannot be the place where God resides.

There is another passage in Revelation which supports the idea of God burning sinners.

Revelation 14:9-10 NLT Then a third angel followed them, shouting, “Anyone who

worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on

the hand 10 must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into

God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the

presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.

We simply notice this passage and believe that the answers by Jesus are relevant for both passages.

The usage of “fire from heaven. ”

Job 1:16 NIV While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The

fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I

am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

The back story of this verse is that Satan caused this calamity according to the previous

verses of Job chapter 1. The messenger does not have this information and attributes

causation to God.

This mistaken attribution is common in the Bible and is corrected in

Revelation 20:9 by Jesus as follows.

Matthew 5:43-48 NLT “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and

hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecuteyou! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he

gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the

unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that?

Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends,[c] how

are you di^erent from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect,

even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Luke clarifies verse 48 since perfection is an ambivalent term which takes us o^ into the

unknown. Perfection is a Greek concept meaning that no improvement is possible. The

Hebrew culture did not include this idea and “compassion” contextually catches Jesus’

intent better. God is compassionate to all people. This is what “loved the world” (John 3:16) means. Here is Luke’s rendition of Matthew 5:43-48.

Luke 6:35-36 NLT “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without

expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will

truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are

unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is

compassionate.

Here Jesus portrays God as loving his creation unconditionally without prejudice. It is

impossible to conceive of God burning people to death if God’s nature or character is kept in mind.

There is an incident Jesus experienced which directly contradicts the idea that God will

incinerate sinners at the end of time.

Luke 9:51-56 NLT As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus

resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village

to prepare for his arrival. 53 But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus

because he was on his way to Jerusalem. 54 When James and John saw this, they

said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up (as Elijah

did)?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ( And he said, “You don’t realize what

your hearts are like. 56 For the Son of Man has not come to destroy people’s lives, but

to save them) So they went on to another village. Parentheses indicate the marginal

reading.

Jesus thus explicitly and dogmatically removes the possibility that God uses fire to

annihilate rebels at the end of time. This idea is alien to God according to this passage by

Jesus.