The Wise Fire of Judgement

The church of my youth taught that Hell is eternal conscious torment (ECT) – literally burning forever if you didn’t give your life to Jesus before you die. A childhood friend of mine’s ‘conversion experience’ was catalysed by fear. He was attending a youth camp, where the preacher was warning the gathered children about choosing God before ‘the final trumpet’ sounded, and as these terrified young people sat listening to him, another camp leader sounded a piercing blast from an actual trumpet, outside the walls of the tent and my friend fell to his knees in repentance. From my point of view, this has to be the most hideous, twisted form of spiritual birth I’ve ever heard of – fear cannot give birth to love.

The missionary organization I joined in my early twenties performed mimes and skits to communicate a similar message. One such skit involved two young women, driving along a road together when they are caught up in a fatal car accident and appear in the afterlife. One young woman is a Christian, and the other is not. As the demons drag the ‘non-Christian’ women off to Hell, she screams at her friend:

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

The early church didn’t believe in Eternal Conscious Torment.

For the first 500 years of church history, the majority of believers and church fathers believed that Hell was a curative process by which even the most heinous sinner will come to see the truth about themselves, abandon deceits, and receive the grace of God. These were people who understood the nuances of Koine Greek (the language of much of the New Testament) far better than scholars do today.

In the first five centuries there were six known theological schools. Four of them (Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea and Edessa/Nisbis) taught that all men would eventually be rescued from Hell. One school, Ephesus, taught Annihilationism (that sinners will be scrubbed out of existence in Hell), and only one theological school, Rome/Carthage, taught of Hell as eternal punishment. (Source: The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Universalism entry, p. 96, Baker Book House.)

In the second century, Clement of Alexandria was the first to speak of “wise fire” which leads the sinner to salvation. “God’s punishments are saving and disciplinary (in Hades) leading to conversions, and choosing rather the repentance than the death of the sinner, and especially since souls, although darkened by passions, when released from their bodies, are able to perceive more clearly because of their being no longer obstructed by the paltry flesh. We can set no limits to the agency of the Redeemer to redeem, to rescue, to discipline, is His work, and so will he continue to operate after this life.” Clem. str. 5:14.90.4-91.2; see also 5.1.9.4; and hyp. (frg. In Stahlin, Clemens Alexandrians, 3:211).

The 3rd century church father, Origen, was a passionate advocate of universal salvation: “When the Son is said to be subject to the Father, the perfect restoration of the whole creation is signified, so also, when enemies are said to be subjected to the Son of God, the salvation of the conquered and the restoration of the lost is in that understood to consist.” Origen, De Principiis, Book III, Chapter 5, Section 7, Anf, Vol. 4.

For vast swathes of church history, and especially early church history, the majority view on Hell was that it is a temporary, cleansing fire. Even the great reformer, Martin Luther, did not believe that grace was only available in this life:

“God forbid that I should limit the time of acquiring faith to the present life. In the depth of the Divine mercy there may be an opportunity to win it in the future.” (letter to Hanseu Von Rechenberg, written in 1522.

How does wise fire cure us?

To answer that question, we need only visit 1 Corinthians 3: 11-15,

‘For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.’

According to this passage, the judgement of deeds done in the body applies to everyone, including believers, and it does so without detracting from ultimate salvation. Logically then, there is no link between facing this judgement and the receipt of saving grace. Indeed, the fire is in and of itself an expression of grace, as it calls us to repentance, and as we turn from our deceits, they are burned away, setting us free from arrogance and illusions.

A better way.

Naturally, we are much better off if we address our faults in this life, learning and growing through the process of sanctification. Romans 12:2,

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The writer of Ephesians gives us further clues on what this looks like. Ephesians 4:22-24

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

The passage goes on to give us some key examples of sanctification:

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

James offers complementary advice. James 1:2-4, 12,

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

He, too, identifies what growth consists of as the passage goes on:

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

The life of a disciple is one of an ever-closer walk with God, during which he frees us from illusions and deceit, releasing us to walk in love, but even the most faithful believer ever to live has zero chance of addressing every issue in their life. We all have blind spots and some illusions are harder to shake off than others, but thankfully, God does not require perfection from his children. That would be another form of Law, which would lead to condemnation. Instead, the grace of God we can embrace in this life continues in the next.

My advice is to get ahead of the game – be eager to grow, seek ever-deepening closeness with the Lord, follow his lead when he asks you to leave something behind, embrace the new, nurture kindness and compassion, keep short accounts, be reconciled to others at every opportunity, see all other people as brothers and sisters, abandon self-deceit as you identify it, and love, love, love the Holy Spirit.

When the Day finally comes, and we step into wise fire, many rewards await the faithful, but even the faithless will be saved, as those escaping through the flames.

Note from the author: I wrote a short book on judgement – its nature, our relationship with it, divine judgement, and final judgement – that goes into this topic in much more detail (James Bewley is a pseudonym I use to avoid cross-pollination with my fiction readership). If you want to let in some oxygen on a subject that is often airless, you’ll find much to enjoy here.