As a way of reviewing what has been argued so far in this study,
it needs to be emphasized that we have every reason to believe that the
fulfillment of what we find prophesied in Isaiah 66:24 will be as literal as
can be. There is simply no good reason to believe otherwise. The corpses that
will be seen by those travelling to and from Jerusalem at this future time will
be literal corpses, and the “worm” and “fire” which will be
contributing to the visible destruction of the corpses will be literal as well.
But what, exactly, will be the geographical location of the sobering
scene described in Isaiah 66:24? Where, exactly, will the “mass burial
site” where a “seemingly endless pile of
maggot-infested corpses are being burned” be located? Fortunately, we don’t
have to guess or speculate. For, although Isaiah doesn’t tell us in his
prophecy, Jesus does. In Mark 9:43-48 (CLNT), we read that Jesus spoke the
following to his disciples:
And if your hand should ever be snaring you,
strike it off. It is ideal for you to be entering into life maimed, rather than, having two hands, to come away into Gehenna, into the unextinguished fire where their worm is not
deceasing and the fire is not going out. And if your foot should be snaring
you, strike it off. For it is ideal for you to be entering into life maimed or
lame, rather than, having two feet, to be cast into Gehenna, into the
unextinguished fire, where their worm is not deceasing and the fire is not
going out. And if your eye should be snaring you, cast it out. It is ideal
for you to be entering into the kingdom of God one-eyed, rather than, having two eyes, to
be cast into the Gehenna of fire, where their worm is not deceasing and the
fire is not going out.
In
most modern Bible versions (such as the ESV, from which I quoted in part one), the word translated as “Gehenna” in the above
passage (γέεννα) is translated as “hell.” Jesus spoke of Gehenna on seven
occasions, each of which is included in Matthew’s Gospel Account (Matt. 5:22,
29f; 10:28 [cf. Luke 12:5]; 18:9 [cf. Mark 9:43-47]; 23:15, 33). In part three of
this study, we’ll consider why this term
has been translated “hell” in most Bibles. For now, however, I simply want to
consider the literal meaning of the
term.
The
literal meaning of the term “Gehenna” is “the Valley of Hinnom” (or simply, “Hinnom Valley”), and denotes an actual
valley in the land of Israel that formed the southern border of the old city of
Jerusalem. In Joshua 15:8 and 18:16 we read:
Then the boundary goes up by the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at
the southern shoulder of the Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem). And the boundary
goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the Valley of Hinnom, on the
west, at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim.
Then the boundary goes down to the border of the
mountain that overlooks the Valley of
the Son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the Valley of
Rephaim. And it then goes down the Valley
of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and downward
to En-rogel.
As
is evident from the above passages, the valley was named after the “son of
Hinnom.” And as can be seen in the following map, this valley lay just outside of (forming the south/southwest border of) the old city of Jerusalem:
It
was in this southern valley that certain kings of Israel sacrificed their
children to the false gods Baal and Molech (2 Chron. 28:1-4; 33:1-6; Jer. 2:23;
32:35; Isaiah 57:5), a detestable practice which God had forewarned was
deserving of swift and severe judgment (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5). When young Josiah
became king of Israel, he responded to this abominable pagan practice by
defiling this valley so that “no one might burn his son or daughter as an
offering to Molech” again (2 Kings 23:6-16). Although we can’t be certain, it’s
possible that Josiah turned the Valley of Hinnom into Jerusalem’s “garbage
dump,” where the refuse of the city was deposited.[1] In
any event, the location ceased to be used for activities associated with pagan
worship.
But
even after King Josiah's reforms, we read in vv. 26-27:
Still the LORD did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by
which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with
which Manasseh had provoked him. And the LORD said, “I will remove Judah also
out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I
have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.”
The
prophet Jeremiah had much to say about this impending judgment upon the Jewish
nation. Since the people of Judah refused to “obey the voice of Yahweh” and had
defiled the temple with their idolatrous practices (Jer. 7:11, 30), Jeremiah
declared that his generation had been rejected by God, and had become “the
generation of [God’s] wrath” (vv. 27-29). Jeremiah prophesied that the same
valley in which the kings of Judah had once sacrificed their children to pagan
gods (i.e., the Valley of Hinnom) would soon become a mass grave filled with
the corpses of Jerusalem’s slain inhabitants (vv. 30-32). Rather than being
properly buried (which was considered to be of great importance to the Jewish
people), the dead bodies of those who perished during this judgment were to
become “food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth” (v. 33).
In
chapter 19 we find Jeremiah being instructed by God to actually go out to the
Valley of Hinnom “at the entry of the Potsherd Gate,” and proclaim there a
prophecy of judgment against the “kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem”:
You shall say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and
inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone
who hears of it will tingle. Because the people have forsaken me and have
profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they
nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; and because they have
filled this place with the blood of innocents, and have built the high places
of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did
not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind— therefore, behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place
shall no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the
Valley of Slaughter. And in this place I will make void the plans of Judah and
Jerusalem, and will cause their people to fall by the sword before their
enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life. I will give their dead
bodies for food to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the earth. And I
will make this city a horror, a thing to be hissed at. Everyone who passes by
it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its wounds. And I will make
them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone shall eat
the flesh of his neighbor in the siege and in the distress, with which their
enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.’
‘Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with
you, and shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s
vessel, so that it can never be mended. Men shall bury in Topheth because there
will be no place else to bury. Thus will I do to this place, declares the LORD,
and to its inhabitants, making this city like Topheth. The houses of Jerusalem
and the houses of the kings of Judah— all the houses on whose roofs offerings have
been offered to all the host of heaven, and drink offerings have been poured
out to other gods—shall be defiled like the place of Topheth.’’
As
in chapter 7, we once again find the Valley of Hinnom being identified as the
place where the dead bodies of those slain in a future judgment would be cast.
We are told that people would be buried in “Topheth” (the location in the
Valley of Hinnom where child sacrifice was practiced) because there would be “no
place else to bury,” and that God was going to make the city of Jerusalem “like
Topheth.”
Jeremiah
referred to this valley again later on when, after speaking of the new covenant
that God was going to make with the house of Israel (Jer. 31:31-34), he referred
to “the whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes”
as being among the places that “shall be sacred to Yahweh,” and which wouldn’t
be “uprooted or overthrown anymore for the eon” (v. 40).
Having
thus been foretold (Jer. 7:13-15, 20; 20:8-10; 25:8-11), Jeremiah's prophecies
concerning the coming judgment upon the people of Judah were fulfilled when God’s
wrath was finally poured out upon the city of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. through the
instrumentality of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (2 Kings 24:20; 25:1; Jer.
52:4-5). And just as Jeremiah foretold, the corpses of the countless Jews who
perished during the siege were heaped into the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) to
become “food to the birds of the air and to the beasts
of the earth.”
The
significance of this historical event in relation to the present subject is
that, according to Jesus, this same valley is going to once again be used for
the disposal of corpses. Here, again, is the prophecy from Isaiah that we find
quoted by Christ in Mark 9:43-48:
And they will go forth and see the corpses of the mortals who
transgressed against Me,
For their worm shall not die,
And their fire shall not be quenched,
And they will become a repulsion to all flesh.
Christ
didn’t quote the part of Isaiah 66:24 in which it’s made clear that corpses are
in view. However, he didn’t have to. His disciples would’ve been familiar with
this prophecy (it was the closing prophecy of Isaiah, after all), and would’ve
known exactly what Christ was referring to when he mentioned the worm that
would not die and the fire that would not be quenched. Christ’s disciples
would’ve also known what Christ meant by his use of the word “Gehenna.” They
would’ve been just as familiar with this geographical location as they were
with the Kidron Valley or the Mount of Olives. And given the history of Gehenna
(with which the disciples also would’ve been familiar), it probably did not
surprise them to hear that this valley would be the place where the corpses
referred to in Isaiah’s prophecy would be cast. The valley had already been
used for just such a purpose before (and insofar as this is the case, we can
understand its use during the Babylonian siege as foreshadowing its final prophesied usage, during the eon to come).
When Christ described Gehenna as a place of “unextinguished fire,”
it must be kept in mind what the purpose
of the fire in the valley will be. Obviously, the fire won’t be tormenting the people who are to be cast
into Gehenna (for by the time they’re cast into the valley they’ll already be
dead). Rather, its purpose will be to reduce the decaying corpses to ashes (and
any corpses that have not yet been incinerated by the unextinguished fire in
the valley will, of course, be breeding worms). The fire of this valley is said
to be “unextinguished” because it will continue burning, without interruption,
as long as there remains a need for it.
To summarize the position that has been advanced thus far:
1. The place where “their worm shall not die” and “their fire
shall not be quenched” is the place in which “the corpses of the mortals who
transgressed against [God]” will reside (Isaiah 66:24).
2. According to Christ in Mark 9:42-48, “Gehenna” is the place
where “their worm shall not die” and “their fire shall not be quenched.”
3. The “Gehenna” of which Christ spoke is the place in which “the
corpses of the mortals who transgressed” referred to in Isaiah 66:24 will
reside.
Now, at this point, some Christians may be inclined to raise the
following objection: “If the only thing that Christ had in mind in Mark 9:41-48 was
corpses being destroyed by fire and worms in a literal valley, then this threatened
fate can’t be considered that big of a deal. Being cast into Gehenna would
amount to nothing more than having one’s dead body disposed of in a dishonorable
way. While this might not be considered ideal (especially for those who put a
great deal of importance on an honorable burial), it still makes for a
relatively weak threat. After all, not even believers are exempt from the
possibility that their bodies might be dishonorably disposed of after they’ve
died.”
In response to this objection, it must be emphasized that the mere
dishonorable disposal of certain people’s dead bodies is not what Christ was warning his disciples of in Mark 9:42-48. Let’s
look at the passage again:
And if your hand should ever be snaring you,
strike it off. It is ideal for you to be
entering into life maimed, rather
than, having two hands, to come away
into Gehenna, into the unextinguished fire where their worm is not
deceasing and the fire is not going out. And if your foot should be snaring
you, strike it off. For it is ideal for you to be entering into life
maimed or lame, rather than, having two feet, to be cast into Gehenna,
into the unextinguished fire, where their worm is not deceasing and the fire is
not going out. And if your eye should be snaring you, cast it out. It is ideal
for you to be entering into the kingdom
of God one-eyed, rather than, having two eyes, to be cast into the Gehenna of fire, where their worm is not
deceasing and the fire is not going out.
There are two different fates that Christ is contrasting in this
passage, and they are as follows:
1. “Entering into life”/“entering into the kingdom of God.”
2. Being “cast into Gehenna.”
When we realize that being cast into Gehenna is being contrasted
with entering into the kingdom of God (and enjoying life there for the eon to come), it becomes clear that being cast
into Gehenna involves much more than the mere dishonorable disposal of one’s
body after death. Being cast into Gehenna will be the fate of those who “transgressed against [Yahweh]” just prior to Christ’s return (as well as during his
reign), with the implication being that those
cast into Gehenna will miss out on being in the kingdom of God during the eon
to come. These transgressors will not only die a dishonorable death (and be
dishonorably disposed of after being executed), but - worst of all - they will remain dead during the eon to come. They
will, in other words, not be among those who will take part in what Christ
referred to as “the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:14) and which John
referred to as “the former resurrection” (Rev. 20:4-6).
Thus, assuming (as is reasonable) that Jesus’ disciples believed
that entering the kingdom of God was far preferable to receiving the death
penalty at Christ’s return, they would’ve understood being cast into Gehenna as
a fate to be avoided at all costs. Even entering into the millennial kingdom
“maimed” would, according to Christ, be better than not entering into it at all!
Although it’s unlikely that Christ actually expected his disciples to strike
off body parts in order to avoid being “snared,” the hyperbole would’ve served
to forcefully drive home the point that the disciples would have to be willing
to do whatever was necessary to remain faithful. For apart from such a willingness
to do whatever was necessary, Jesus’ disciples would’ve exposed themselves to
the danger of being among those who, instead of entering into the kingdom of
God at Christ’s return, would end up being “cast into Gehenna.”
Two
Scriptural Objections
In response to the understanding of Mark 9:42-48 that has been
advanced in this study, it could be objected that, in Matthew 18:8, Christ
referred to the fire of Gehenna as an “eternal fire.” However, as argued in my
seven-part study, ”Eternal or Eonian?”
(see also my study on Matthew 25:31-46), the word translated “eternal” in most
English Bibles literally means “eonian” - that is, lasting for (or pertaining
to) an eon, or eons. The fire of Gehenna will not be an “eternal” fire, for it’s
not going to be burning in “eternity.” Rather, it’s going to be an “eonian fire”
(or “age-abiding fire,” as it’s translated in Young’s Literal Translation), burning
without interruption throughout the eon of Christ’s millennial reign, and
consuming whatever comes into contact with it during this time.
Another objection to the understanding of Gehenna defended in this
study is based on what Christ declared in Matthew 10:28. In this verse we read,
“And do not fear those who are
killing the body, yet are not able to kill the soul. Yet be fearing Him,
rather, Who is able to destroy the soul as well as the body in Gehenna.” If
Gehenna should be understood as a literal reference to the Valley of Hinnom
during the millennium, how could a person’s “soul” be destroyed in this valley,
along with their body? Wouldn’t it be a place where the body alone is destroyed?
It should be noted that, traditionally, Christians have understood
this verse as supporting the view that the “soul” is something that continues
to exist after the death of the body, and that the death of the body does not
result in, or necessarily involve, the destruction of the soul. However, according to what Christ declared elsewhere, it’s clear
that, when a human is killed, his soul is, in fact, destroyed. Just a few
verses later in Matthew 10, Christ declared the following to his disciples: “…he who is not taking his cross and following after Me is
not worthy of Me. He who is finding his
soul will be destroying it, and he who destroys his soul on My account will be
finding it” (Matt. 10:38-39). And later,
in Matt. 16:24-25, we read: Then Jesus said to His disciples: “If anyone is
wanting to come after Me, let him renounce himself and pick up his cross and
follow Me. For whosoever may be wanting
to save his soul shall be destroying it. Yet whoever should be destroying his
soul on My account shall be finding it.”
In these verses (the context of which is faithfulness in the face
of persecution), the destruction of a person’s soul is the result of their
being killed.[2]
Thus, when Christ referred to one’s body being killed but not their soul, he couldn’t
have meant that the soul survived the death of the body. For this, of course,
would contradict the clear fact that one’s soul is “destroyed” when one is
killed. Thus, Christ must have been speaking figuratively when he used the
words “kill the soul.” And the same can be said for the expression, “destroy the soul as well as the body.” But
if Christ was speaking figuratively here, what idea was the figurative language
intended to convey?
I think the words of Isaiah 10:18 can help us out here. In this
verse we read (ESV), “The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land the LORD will
destroy, both soul and body, and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.”
Obviously, Isaiah wasn’t saying that the forest and fruitful land belonging to
the king of Assyria had a soul and a body; the idea being conveyed here is that
the king’s forest and fruitful land would be completely destroyed (the NET Bible doesn’t even bother preserving
the figurative terminology used by Isaiah, and translates the verse as follows:
“The splendor of his forest and
his orchard will be completely destroyed…”). A similar figure of
speech is found in Malachi 4:1, where we read that the day of the Lord would
leave all of the arrogant and all evildoers with “neither root nor branch”
(i.e., this time of judgment will result in their being completely destroyed).
When we understand the words “kill the soul” and “destroy the soul
as well as the body” as a figure of speech, it seems clear that Christ was
referring to people being completely destroyed in some sense. In other words,
Christ was exhorting his disciples to not fear those who could “merely” kill
them, but who were not able to bring about their complete destruction. Rather,
they were to instead fear God, who has the ability to bring about the complete
destruction of people in Gehenna. But what is the nature of the “complete
destruction” that Christ had in view here?
As argued earlier, the wicked who will be executed at the time of
Christ’s return (and subsequent to it) will be cast into Gehenna, and will
remain dead for the eon to come. They will not be among those who will be
restored to life at the “resurrection of the just” to enjoy eonian life in the
kingdom. Not only will they die and be dishonorably disposed of, but they’ll
remain dead for the entirety of the future eon. Paul referred to the fate of
those who will remain dead during the eon to come as one of “eonian
extermination” (2 Thess. 1:9). In one of the most well-known verses of Scripture
ever (John 3:16), Christ used the word “perish” to refer to the fate of those
who, because of unbelief and unfaithfulness, would remain dead during the eon
to come, and in John 10:28, he explained this as meaning “perishing
for the eon.” This fate – i.e., “perishing for the eon” - is the “complete
destruction” that Christ had in view in Matthew 10:28 when he spoke of the
destruction of both the soul and the body in Gehenna.
[1] Support for
this position could be briefly stated as follows:
1.
The fact that Josiah is said to have “defiled” the valley suggests that he made
it unsuitable for the purposes for which it was being used. Turning the valley
into the city garbage dump would have certainly “defiled” this valley.
2.
The entrance into the Valley of Hinnom is called the “Dung Gate” in Nehemiah
2:13, which would be highly appropriate if it was used to carry all of the
rubbish out of the city. While the original location of the Dung Gate cannot be
pinpointed, it is generally agreed to have entered into the Valley of Hinnom (Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament,
p. 189).
3.
A number of Essene latrines have been found in the Valley of Hinnom, as well as
sewers entering the valley from Jerusalem (“Where the Community Lived in Jesus’
Time,” Biblical Archeological Review,
1997).
4.
In his exposition of Psalm 27:13, the Jewish Rabbi David Kimhi (12th century
A.D.) wrote: “And it [Gehenna] was
a despised place where they cast filth and corpses, and there was there
perpetually a fire for the burning of the filth and the bones of the corpses.
On account of this, the judgment place of the wicked is parabolically called Gehenna.”
[2] Interestingly,
those whose souls are destroyed are depicted as if they were actively involved
in their souls’ destruction. However, this can be attributed to the fact that,
in these passages, Christ is putting an emphasis on the actions of the
individual. The destruction in view is to be understood as a direct result of
the actions of those whose souls are “destroyed.” Thus, when Christ referred to
someone “destroying his soul on My account,” he wasn’t talking about his
disciples committing suicide; rather, he was talking about them being killed as
a direct result of how they lived. Killed by whom? Answer: those persecuting
them, and seeking to put them to death because of their faith in Christ (Matt.
10:16-42; 24:9-10; Luke 21:12-19; cf. John 15:18-27; 16:1-4). Thus, when Christ
said, “He who is finding his soul will be destroying it,” he meant that those
whose primary concern is self-preservation (rather than faithfulness to Christ)
will end up having their soul destroyed.
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