I’ve written an entire book about the origins of the doctrine of Hell, Jesus Undefeated: Condemning the False Doctrine of Eternal Torment, but the other day I found myself in a conversation about the topic that gave me another perspective.
We were talking about how the fire metaphor took hold of the early Christian imagination as the concept was introduced from pagan sources, and how the Hebrew Scriptures never breathe a word about the idea of an eternal state of torture in a lake of fire.
I made the observation that the idea of fire as an aspect of God’s discipline came from a single verse in the obscure book of Malachi:
“But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap.” (Malachi 3:2)
Now, that verse isn’t about any post-mortem experience. It’s a reference to the Day of the Lord which would be a time of severe judgment against the nation of Israel. But, the rhetorical question: “who may abide the day of his coming?” is vaguely answered by noting that God is “like a refiner’s fire and a fuller’s soap.”
The concept of fire as a primary element of God’s rebuke is the one that caught the imagination of early Christians in the First Century. But, what if the metaphor that took hold in their minds had been the “fuller’s soap” concept?
We began to imagine a sort of alternative reality where Christians embraced the notion of God’s wrath and judgement with soap and bathing rather than with fire and brimstone.
Just imagine rewriting those passages about the “lake of fire” as the “lake of suds” or reimagining verses about “unquenchable fire” with “irresistible soap.”
Because those fire metaphors – and they are metaphors – are not originally intended to be taken as literal flames but as symbols of God’s ability to cleanse and refine and ultimately to restore those who find themselves within God’s presence. It is a “refiner’s fire” after all, not a “destroyer’s fire” and certainly not a “torturer’s fire.”
I love the verses in Jeremiah where God rebukes the children of Israel for burning their children in the valley of Gehenna. He says that “such a thing never entered my mind” [Jer. 7:31; 19:5] and that tells you that the idea of burning children in Hell was never something that God imagined.
Hell is our creation. We concocted this evil notion of a loving God setting fire to His own children in a place called Gehenna [or Hell].
So, I much prefer the idea that God’s plan for all of us is to run a nice warm bath where we can be tenderly washed clean in the lake of suds by the loving hands of our Heavenly Father who makes all things new, and clean.
“For God was in Christ, not counting our sins against us, but reconciling the World to Himself.” [2 Cor. 5:19]
Don’t forget to wash behind your ears.
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The newest book from Keith Giles, “The Quantum Sayings of Jesus: Decoding the Lost Gospel of Thomas” is available now on Amazon. Order HERE>
Keith Giles is the best-selling author of the Jesus Un series. He has appeared on CNN, USA Today, BuzzFeed, and John Fugelsang’s “Tell Me Everything.”
He co-hosts The God Squad podcast, and the Heretic Happy Hour Podcast.
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