Contents

Chapter One: Good God—Who is He really?
Chapter Two: Words Have Meaning—Grammar Matters
Chapter Three: Behold, I make All Things New
Chapter Four: Eternal Mortal Life
Chapter Five: Second Death Mercy

Chapter Two: Words Have Meaning—Grammar Matters

Now we shift to some rather nerdy grammar and heavily technical jargon. Sorry if that’s not your thing, but it matters (as the chapter title suggests). And without this bedrock being laid, the whole thing collapses into just another opinion without the Word of God being at the heart of it. 

And in all of this I am being as true to the Word as I possibly can be. I always am. I care more about God’s truth than just about anything. 

Things in this chapter are going to shake you. You might even get upset with me. Sorry if that’s you. 

Language

I’m no scholar. I don’t understand the two main languages in the original texts of the Bible: Hebrew and Greek. What I do have is the ability to look up every word in the Bible and see how the original language was used. 

This is done, and can be done, by anyone with a thing called a Concordance. It’s like a dictionary for the Bible’s original languages. I don’t think that Arabic is in the concordance, but it’s hardly used at all. And I’m really only going to be concerned with just a few (very few) words here in this study. 

So if you’re a scholar who reads Hebrew and/or Greek, this might be either fun for you or terrifying. Ha! I’ll let you be the judge of that. I mean no offense. 

Words Have Meaning

If words didn’t have strict or at least reliable meaning, how could we use them at all? We couldn’t. We might as well just go, “buh, buh, buh, buh” to each other all the time. Right? I mean, it works for talking to God, but not each other. 

And when we get into something that really matters, like … I don’t know … Eternal Conscious Torment, it might be a good thing to get a good grip on the words and grammar used, no? So that is what this chapter is all about — getting it right. 

I am going to share a very specific idiom or two with you and unpack it in a manner that any English or language teacher might appreciate. And if you share my desire to understand God’s Word to the utmost, you might appreciate it too. 

Forever in Hebrew

There’s our first word. Forever. Funny, I thought “forever” meant “eternally”. Turns out that it really doesn’t mean that in a few places in the Bible. What do I mean? Hang on, you’re about to find out. I’m going to show you some verses that use both the Hebrew from the Old Testament and the Greek from the New Testament. Here we go.

First, understand that Hebrew is a looser language than the European languages of Latin and English. In Hebrew, they might be saying something is forever and mean that it goes for the duration of some thing or era. Like a person’s life. People do not live on Earth eternally. 

Here’s our first example:

Exodus 21 describes a servant who loves his master and voluntarily chooses lifetime service to him. (Before anyone gets upset — this is nothing like the slavery of Africans in America, Europe, and the Middle East in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was the servant’s own choice.)

“...then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life.” (Exodus 21:6) Ouch! And I thought that gauges were bad. 

Did you catch the last words? For life. The Hebrew word used there is olam — the very word rendered “forever” all over your Old Testament, and older English Bibles say exactly that right here: “he shall serve him for ever.” The BSB translators used “for life.” And they got it right (one reason why I like that translation). Why? Because that is what olam means in this verse — as long as either man lives. The translators themselves know the word bends to fit its object. So, olam can mean “as long as the arrangement lasts.” That’s the meaning of the Hebrew in this particular case. 

So, a Hebrew word for forever is olam. And it does not always mean what we think it might mean by using our brains that are wired for a more technical or direct meaning. In fact, in the Hebrew language words are more situational than they might be in Latin or English. 

Ready for another?

Our second example is something that can be verified with a trip to the Middle East. Let’s read Isaiah 34:9-10:

“Edom’s streams will be turned to tar, and her soil to sulfur; her land will become a blazing pitch. It will not be quenched day or night; its smoke will ascend forever.”

There it is again, olam. This time it is translated directly as forever. Where is this Edom? It’s in the modern country of Jordan in the Middle East, southeast of the Dead Sea. And guess what? No burning tar, sulfur, or pitch. That cleanly takes this use of the word away from a literal eternal meaning. Edom was the land of Jacob’s brother Esau. Esau and Edom both mean “red”. So if you know a guy named “Red”, you can call him Esau or Edom. Same thing. 

Am I ruining the meaning of words here? No. I’m showing you that different cultures with different languages approach it differently. Hebrews (Jews) are a bit looser in their vernacular (word choices) than we English speakers might be today—but we get pretty loose with words ourselves too. Like, “’Sup, dawg?” Or, “That was sick!” Are you getting this? Hang on, just one more from the Hebrew, then we can move on. 

Our third example is from the adventures of Jonah, that guy who was swallowed by a fish (not a whale). In fact, while he was inside this fish, being taken to the place he was trying hard to avoid, he prayed this prayer:

“To the roots of the mountains I descended; the earth beneath me barred me in forever! But You raised my life from the pit, O LORD my God!” (Jonah 2:6)

Obviously, he lived and was taken to Nineveh, where the Lord wanted him to go (and made sure he did). But we can go just a bit deeper into this and say that the earth beneath him could not have barred him in forever (eternally) anyway. Why not? Because we learn in the book of Revelation that the sea gives up its dead at the final judgment. And we also learn there that death itself is done away with. 

So in this one example, we see that there are three (count them, three) solid reasons why that word for forever does not mean what we think it means today: 1) He got out right away (not forever); 2) The sea gives up its dead at the end of the Millennium; 3) and the earth itself vanishes before the New Earth is created. 

Olam. Not forever all the time. Can it mean forever? Sure. Especially when it speaks of God’s eternal nature or other things. But we do not have to take it to mean forever all the time. That is going to be very important in this study. We will get there. 

The main takeaway here is that it depends on the context of its use. We have to actually use our brains to figure out what is meant by that word. 

Forever in Greek

How about the Greek? Do we see the Greek using its words in the same manner? Yep. In fact, there is a close connection to how Hebrew uses its words and Greek. 

And for this reason, we don’t see any real errors creep in between the Hebrew and the Greek translations. Early Bibles written in Greek for the Old Testament are right-on in their translation of the Hebrew. One of the earliest (maybe THE earliest Greek translation, certainly the oldest surviving one) is called the Septuagint, often abbreviated as LXX. It’s a Bible that translated the Old Testament into Greek. And since Greek was the dominant language in the early days before and during Christ, it was like our use of English today around the world. The common tongue of the area.

So, all of those idioms that don’t really mean forever in the Hebrew also don’t mean it in the Greek versions of those Old Testament verses. 

But to take it a step further, since the New Testament was written in Greek, we can find some verses there that use the very same idioms. 

Here’s a clear one:

“He was separated from you for a little while, so that you might have him back forever.” — Philemon 1:15 

That is about a slave that left his master and went to find Paul (probably Onesimus, who likely left with Epaphras, who helped the Colossians convert to Christ). But that’s another story. The thing is the use of the Greek word translated as forever — aiōn. Here, it didn’t mean forever. 

Just like in the Hebrew, aiōn does not always mean a literal eternity. In fact, based on the use of the idiom, forever and ever, I’m going to say that even that phrase may not mean eternally. Why? Because in the Hebrew, translated into Greek in the Septuagint, the phrase does not mean eternally in every case. One case is the thing about Edom we already looked at. And since idioms can translate from Hebrew to Greek very easily, that is my suggestion going forward in a very important example. 

In our example above about Isaiah 34:9-10, the Septuagint did NOT translate the phrase into forever and ever. Why not? Because they understood what the original actually meant. But if we look at it in the Latin Vulgate and the earliest of Latin translations before that, we get forever and ever in the most emphatic sense. THAT is where a huge translation error created a big dogma kerfuffle farther downstream. 

So, the problem with this translation error, which might seem legitimate on the face of it, actually created a doctrine — no, a dogma — much later that has been responsible for billions of people shunning God based on a wrong perception of His character and judgment. 

Not because of the story of Edom. But because of the account of the Lake of Fire in the book of Revelation, which uses the exact same idiom in Latin translations. 

Is this a strong and emphatic observation? Not to the point of being explicit in the Bible and therefore obvious. But it does raise a legitimate question as to the character of God. Does the God Who was emphatic about forgiving others actually intend to keep people in eternal conscious torment? Well, looking at our discussion in Chapter One, my inkling is to say not necessarily. 

But let’s get to the heart of this directly from the Bible. Let’s go to the part about the Lake of Fire in the book of Revelation. 

Eternal Suffering?

Let’s jump right into some Bible verses to read.

Revelation 14:9-11 — And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand, he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

Here’s another:

Revelation 20:10 — “And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

This is interesting and it is worth mentioning. 

Look how one verse uses language about the smoke of their torment and the other discusses them being tormented. That distinction may not be trivial. In fact, it might be very important, if cryptic. 

There is no room in 20:10 for the place being what is forever. It is about the ones in it. In this case, it is Satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet. Three heavy-hitters who are collectively responsible for more suffering of humanity than (likely) all others combined. And if I am reading this correctly, which is certainly debatable (I freely concede), it could mean that the PLACE is their torment in 14:11, which lasts forever, not necessarily THEM being in it forever. The place is forever, while their being there may not be.

Is it a weak reading? You can argue that if you like. But if it is saying that all people in the Lake of Fire have zero hope of repentance for all eternity, we are back to the character of our Creator God. I mean, if a person who has been decent to others and only makes the mistake of taking the Mark of the Beast on their hand or forehead in the Great Tribulation, is it really consistent with God’s character to keep them in torment for trillions of millennia for a single moment’s error in judgment under duress? You be the one who decides for yourself. I can only point to the chance for the meaning to be something else. And that is what this book is partly about. 

Indeed, the opportunity is there for the musing. For me, I see there being an opportunity for a person in the Lake of Fire to actually repent and call out to Jesus for forgiveness in their moment of betrayal toward Him. 

Now an important disclaimer or two. I am not being dogmatic about this. I am merely questioning it in light of Who Christ is. In all of this there are two very important things to keep tethered to: 1) It depends on the person’s repentance. 2) It depends on Christ’s judgment. 

Notably, the only place in Scripture where eternal torment is explicitly applied to named persons — not just the place of punishment — is Revelation 20:10, and those persons are Satan, antichrist, and the false prophet. That construction is not repeated for mankind as a class anywhere in the canon. 

Will Satan ever repent? Not likely. Will Antichrist and his false prophet ever repent? Dunno. But if they do, it will still be up to Jesus to decide if He will accept their repentance or not. And another important disclaimer is that Satan and his fallen horde of angels are NOT human. Antichrist and the false prophet are. I am really only discussing humans, not angels. And even humans might be so corrupt and their sins so egregious that either they do not repent or Jesus flat-out refuses it. 

I hope that this is clear to you. I am not trying to twist the Bible. I am trying to remain faithful to the character of God in light of a very complicated and difficult passage. This is the heart of this book. It reflects my own heart that is for Jesus in every way at all times. I want no one to suffer, just like He does. I want everyone to repent, just like He does. And I believe that His judgments—all of them—are just and right and good. 

Am I trying to make it so that no suffering exists for shunning God and His will? Not for one second. Am I trying to twist things to say that mankind is simply annihilated by the Lake of Fire? No. That is nonsensical anyway. Why not just annihilate them? There is no Lake of Fire needed for that. And the idea of Eternal Conscious Torment for everyone that erred is not really consistent in my mind with the character of Jesus and the Father and Their Holy Spirit. 

Grammar

Sorry, not quite done yet. There’s one more point to look at. I entitled this chapter to include grammar. 

What grammar am I talking about? It’s in the book of Isaiah, chapter 66, verse 24. That is actually where the book title comes from. Let’s dive into the Lake of Fire discussion there. 

Isaiah 66:24 — “As they go forth, they will see the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never be quenched, and they will be a horror to all mankind.”

This is going to get a bit technical. 

Let’s just take it as it comes, okay?

“As they go forth…” As who goes forth? Where are they? It’s in the text. Chapter 65 has already set up the location and time. Here it is:

Isaiah 65:17 — “For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.”

That is the when and where. It is on the New Earth in the new creation. That is a time after this world has passed away and is no more. But we can get even more specific about the place. We move on to the next chapter.

Isaiah 66:23 — From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come to worship before Me,” says the LORD.

Where is Jesus located for them to come to Him monthly and yearly? In the New Jerusalem. And New Jerusalem is located on the New Earth. And so, going back to the next verse, #24, we see that those who are entering and leaving the New Jerusalem are the ones who see the Lake of Fire and those who are in it. 

For this reason, I believe that the Lake of Fire is like a moat of lava around the New Jerusalem (hence the book’s cover depicting a lava lake). After all, it is something like 1,380 miles to a side. There are open gates on all four sides. This tells me that the Lake of Fire is to be seen by all who “go forth” (entering and leaving the city). All are going to see the Lake of Fire. 

Does this make sense? It isn’t like it’s an easy thing to go all the way around to the east side if you live on the west side of the holy city. A moat makes the most sense if Isaiah is using plain language. And why would he not? If the message can be explained in a straightforward manner, why muddle it with nonsense? 

And if it is only a couple or few hundred meters across, it would be able to hold billions of occupants as it stretches around the entire city. Would it need to be deep? No. It needs to be shallow for the ones in it to be seen. 

Let’s keep going in verse 24.

“…they will see the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me”

Uh oh. We just hit a snag. This does not really match the Hebrew. It might seem like it does if you pull out your Concordance and just read the translation there. But the people who put together that book had a thing in mind already about this when they wrote it. Bias has crept in so subtly.  I’ll show you. It is in the grammar where we get to the heart of this error. 

Our English concordance says “those who have rebelled” — past tense, a finished crime. The Hebrew word is happosh’im, an active participle. If you’ve never opened a grammar book, here’s all you need: Hebrew had a perfectly ordinary way to say “who rebelled”, done and completed. Isaiah didn’t use it. He used the form of ongoing action — “the ones rebelling against me.” Present tense. Live. The rebellion isn’t a crime on their record; it’s a condition still running, right there in the scene, while all humanity files past. They are still in rebellion!

Why is this important to my theory here? 

Ongoing rebellion can come to an end. If it stops, then maybe (just maybe) the torment will too. This is the crux of the hope that I am describing for you here. Like I said earlier, if they stop rebelling, maybe Jesus will forgive them. It’s their call first, then it’s His call second. See how this is shaking out? I’m not twisting things. I’m keeping them straight. 

But wait, there’s more.

“…for their worm will never die…”

Ah, the title of this book is right there. Their Worm Does Not Die. Here is the interesting part about this one verse: The worm is singular. And it is theirs. This will come into play in the next chapter. But it is something they possess, not maggots or parasites eating their flesh. Let’s keep going since this gets its own treatment later. 

“…their fire will never be quenched…”

Their fire is the fire assigned to them in this place. The very place itself. Like this is our planet. We do not actually own Earth. But it is our home. Our planet. Same thing here. It is their fire assigned to them — or them assigned to it. One more thing in the passage.

“…and they will be a horror to all mankind.”

Clearly, the sight is not a pretty one. It is to give them a visceral reaction to what happens to those who rebel against God. I say that it is there for deterrence to all who live on the New Earth. After all, everything about New Earth for the mortals who live there is geared toward God’s will and presence in their lives. And as you will see in the next chapter, the New Earth is a different kind of life altogether. It is not as it is now. The people are not quite like we are now. There are differences that I will point out very shortly. 

Conclusion

When we let the Word be true, we take much into consideration. We look at the character of our Good God. How His nature is to be forgiving when people repent and worship Him. We see that errors, however slight in appearance, can make a big impact later in our grasp of God and His Word. We learn that words have meaning in different ways, depending on language and context. We see that grammar is actually a big deal in this effort to fathom the written words of God. And we see that a small error can lead to a big misunderstanding downstream of the error. 

And when such an error is turned to dogma that is enforced by human institutions that are willing to truly punish those who do not agree with it, bad things can (and did) happen. One phrase, an idiom — turned from one meaning into another in such a way that probably no one caught or didn’t see as worth their life or career or livelihood to oppose — just passed on through the machine. Then it turned into something that has alienated billions of souls from their Creator. Potentially very sad, yes? 

I’m not trying to upset the cart of Christianity or faith in the Bible. Just the opposite. I want everyone to accept the truth of God as presented correctly in His Word. I want all people to come to faith in Jesus, based on His death on the cross to cover our sin. But I do this without concern for the institutions of man. I am loyal to God, not the opinions and interpretations of men. 

Group Discussion and Reflection

Questions

1. Does forever always mean forever?
2. Did an error creep in through a very early translation of the Old Testament?
3. Was the error from Hebrew to Greek or Hebrew to Latin?
4. Could the Lake of Fire be on the New Earth surrounding the holy city? 
5. Did Isaiah describe worms eating dead bodies or something else? What would it be? 

Answers

1. Not always. Sometimes, but not always. 
2. It would seem so. 
3. Hebrew to Latin. Or even Greek to Latin. 
4. It certainly could be. And that is what makes the most sense given the details of Isaiah’s account. 
5. He described a single worm that the people possess. It is likely their own body. 

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