Pastor Terrie Beede's "Studies in Theology" series, grounded in the anchor text of 1 Timothy 4:16, continued with The Final State of Man Part 2: The Eternity of Hell and God's Sovereignty in Judgment. Pastor Beede reiterated Paul's charge to Timothy to "take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine" and "continue in them," emphasizing that faithful conduct and accurate teaching of doctrine ensure both the minister's own salvation and that of their hearers by preaching "the pure word of God" and "not the ideas and the doctrine of men". This session further explored the "doctrine of the final state of man," part of the larger study of "the doctrine of the last things".
The session began by reviewing the previous discussion on the final judgment of unbelievers. This judgment will involve every deed being considered and displayed, every heart and motive revealed, and punishment being administered according to works, with varying degrees. The believer will also have a role in this judgment, either actively judging or standing as a witness, and all unbelievers will be "without excuse," speechless before God. The purpose of this final judgment is to "display before all rational creatures the glory of God in one act which magnifies both his holiness and his righteousness and his grace and his mercy," with perfect, pure, and complete justice meted out by a righteous judge, silencing every mouth.
A crucial point addressed was the eternal nature of this punishment. Matthew 25:46 states, "These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal". Beede emphasized that the word "eternal" or "everlasting" applies equally to both the punishment of the wicked and the life of the righteous. Therefore, one cannot claim that the wicked will be punished for a limited time and then annihilated unless they are willing to apply the same limited duration to the eternal life of the righteous. This directly countered the "annihilationist" view.
The session also addressed false doctrines and objections to the concept of hell:
• Jesus' descent into hell: Beede clarified a common false doctrine that Jesus, after suffering God's wrath on the cross, spiritually descended into hell and suffered torment there. He distinguished between Sheol (Old Testament) and Hades (New Testament) as the gathering place of all souls (good and bad) and Gehenna (New Testament) as the place of "everlasting torment and everlasting punishment and irredeemable damnation". Passages like Acts 2:27, 1 Peter 3:19, and Ephesians 4:8-10, often cited for this false doctrine, refer to Hades, not Gehenna. Jesus' suffering of God's wrath was on the cross, not in hell.
• The presence of evil in a perfect universe: An objection that the eternal existence of unrepentant sinners in hell would mar the universe's perfection was countered. Beede argued that the recompensed evil in hell, demonstrating God's triumph over it, actually contributes to a perfect universe and magnifies God's "expressed sovereignty," much like perfect love needs expression within the Trinity.
Finally, the reality of hell was presented as a profound motivation for believers. While the redeemed "don't have to worry about this," the eternal fate of the unsaved should compel them to "desire to seek the good of all men" and to "witness to them." Believers, as the "kingdom of priests," are called to introduce others to the Lord Jesus Christ, demonstrating love for their neighbors by warning them.
The session concluded by noting that future studies would cover "the doctrine of heaven and from there we will be looking at the return of our Lord Jesus Christ".