Is hell punishment?
It depends on your definition of punishment. I would argue that hell is not retributive punishment, it is discipline, pruning or a type of punishment / justice that leads to rehabilitation and reconciliation. Though I addressed justice in my first post, I think it is important to address punishment / discipline / pruning more specifically. I want to move the conversation from what hell is not, to what I believe hell most likely is.
Two of the words translated, “punishment,” in our English Bibles in connection with afterlife are kolasis and olethros.
Matthew 25:46 then they will go away to “kolasin aionion” translated “eternal punishment.”
1 Corinthians 5:5 Hand this man over to Satan for the “olethros” translated “destruction of his flesh,” so that his spirit may be savedon the day of the Lord.
2 Thessalonians 1:9 [they] shall be punished with “olethron aionion” translated “everlasting destruction.”
1 John 4:18 there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with “kolasin” translated “punishment.”
Thomas Talbott writes in The Inescapable Love of God:
The Greek word kolasis had an established meaning… it signified a means of correction. The Greek scholar William Barclay went so far as to declare that “in all Greek secular literature kolasis is never used of anything but remedial punishment.” The etymology of the word is especially intriguing, according to Barclay, because it “was not originally an ethical word at all. It originally meant the pruning of trees to make them grow better.”[1]
Remember in the Gospel of John chapter 15, Jesus tells the disciples that he is the “vine” and they are the “branches”? His father prunes the vine to cut off what is fruitless and to cultivate more fruit.
In Romans 11 Paul refers to Jews and Gentiles being grafted into an olive tree and then says All Israel will be saved, (verse 26) and God has mercy on them all [Jews and Gentiles] (verse 32).
But what of olethros? Thom Talbot addresses this word as well:
Paul presented “the destruction of the flesh” and “the salvation of the spirit” as two sides of the same coin [1 Cor 5:5]. So here the concept of destruction is explicitly a redemptive concept… Paul thus demonstrated how, on his own view, even harsh punishment, the kind that may appear vengeful and unforgiving, can in fact serve a redemptive purpose. Similarly, if we look closely at Pauline theology as a whole, it is clear that, for Paul, every vessel of mercy represented the destruction of a vessel of wrath.[2]
If a human being is producing bad fruit they will be cut off and thrown into the fire (Matt 13:42) for kolasis AKA pruning, and for olethros AKA the utter destruction of the sinful nature! God’s intention is that we all be grafted back in and produce healthy fruit. This is the purpose of hellfire.
Hell is pruning.
Jesus talks about being a vine and human beings being the branches. John 15 explains that those who abide in Jesus naturally bear fruit and those that do not abide will be cut off and burned. It does not say “burned up” or that the branch cannot be re-attached.
Paul talks about Israel being branches in Romans 11 and God being able to graft them in again, verse 23. Just 3 verses later he says that all Israel will be saved.
There is a pruning and re-grafting process going on in the spiritual realms. Those who live in unbelief must experience the pruning of their disbelief. Once these branches learn to have faith in Jesus’ salvation by grace alone, and therefore to “abide” in him, they are “grafted back in.”
Then they are capable of bearing the healthy and lasting fruit that John talks about. John 15:16 further explains that we do not really choose Jesus: he chooses us! So it is his responsibility to bring all people to a state of belief in him so that they may be grafted back in.
I understand hell as the place or state of being in need of pruning and grafting. Jesus communicates with all those in hell, revealing his unconditional love to them, so that they can place their faith in him and be grafted back into his family. So, if one defines punishment as pruning, then hell is punishment.
[1] Talbott, Thomas, The Inescapable Love of God, Cascade Books, Oregon, 2014, page 81
[2] Talbott, Thomas, The Inescapable Love of God, Cascade Books, Oregon, 2014, page 91
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