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Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment

Hell Under Fire

Christopher W. Morgan ª Robert A. Peterson

General Editors

Hell Under Fire

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hell Under fire / Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, general editors—1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-310-24041-9

1. Hell—Christianity. 2. Hell—Biblical teaching. I. Morgan, Christopher W. 1971–

II. Peterson, Robert A., 1948–.

3. Aviation in missionary work. I. Title.

BT836.3.H45 2004

236'.25—dc22

2004006766

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

The website address recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of Zondervan, nor do we vouch for their content for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Interior design by Nancy Wilson

We affectionately dedicate this book to our students, at California Baptist university and Covenant Theological Seminary, respectively, who have helped us grapple with issues concerning heaven and hell.

Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson

Contents

Contributors

Abbreviations

Introduction

Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson

1. Modern Theology: The Disappearance of Hell

R. Albert Mohler Jr.

2. The Old Testament on Hell

Daniel I. Block

3. Jesus on Hell

Robert W. Yarbrough

4. Paul on Hell

Douglas J. Moo

5. The Revelation on Hell

Gregory K. Beale

6. Biblical Theology: Three Pictures of Hell

Christopher W. Morgan

7. Systematic Theology: Three Vantage Points of Hell

Robert A. Peterson

8. Universalism: Will Everyone Ultimately Be Saved ?

J. I. Packer

9. Annihilationism: Will the Unsaved Be Punished Forever ?

Christopher W. Morgan

10. Pastoral Theology: The Preacher and Hell

Sinclair B. Ferguson

Conclusion

Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson

Selected Bibliography

Scripture Index

Author Index

Subject Index

Contributors

Gregory K. Beale (Ph.D., University of Cambridge), Chair of Biblical Studies and Professor of New Testament, Wheaton College Graduate School

Daniel I. Block (D.Phil., University of Liverpool), Associate Dean and Professor of Old Testament Interpretation, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Sinclair B. Ferguson (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen), Professor of Systematic Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary

R. Albert Mohler ...

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About Hell under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment

Of all the teachings of Christianity, the doctrine of hell is easily the most troubling, so much so that in recent years the church has been quietly tucking it away. Rarely mentioned anymore in the pulpit, it has faded through disuse among evangelicals and been attacked by liberal theologians. Hell is no longer only the target of those outside the church. Today, a disturbing number of professing Christians question it as well.

Perhaps more than at any other time in history, hell is under fire. The implications of the historic view of hell make the popular alternatives, annihilationism and universalism, seem extremely appealing. But the bottom line is still God’s Word. What does the Old Testament reveal about hell? What does Paul the apostle have to say, or the book of Revelation? Most important, what does Jesus, the ultimate expression of God’s love, teach us about God’s wrath?

Upholding the authority of Scripture, the different authors in Hell under Fire explore a complex topic from various angles. R. Albert Mohler Jr. provides a historical, theological, and cultural overview of “The Disappearance of Hell.” Christopher Morgan draws on the New Testament to offer three pictures of hell as punishment, destruction, and banishment. J. I. Packer compares universalism with the traditional understanding of hell, Morgan does the same with annihilationism, and Sinclair Ferguson considers how the reality of hell ought to influence preaching.

These examples offer some idea of this volume’s scope and thoroughness. Hell may be under fire, but its own flames cannot be quenched by popular opinion. This book helps us gain a biblical perspective on what hell is and why we cannot afford to ignore it. And it offers us a better understanding of the One who longs for all people to escape judgment and obtain eternal life through Jesus Christ.

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