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NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



I concluded part two of this series with the following verse from the Gospel of Mark where the Lord offers a very serious admonition regarding being cast into hell, into a fire which "shall never be quenched":

"And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:"


In part two, I explained that in this verse, as well as in a number of other verses that are found in the New Testament, the word "hell" is derived from the Greek word "ghehenna", which refers to a steep gorge that was located to the south of Jerusalem. This valley -- which in English is known as the Valley of Hinnom, or the Valley of Lamentation -- was used by the people of Jerusalem as a common dumping ground for garbage, dead animals, and the dead bodies of criminals. It was a rather disgusting place filled with the stench of decay and death, where fires were continually burning. It was this place that Jesus used as a symbol for the Lake of Fire.

Allow me to draw your attention to the words "fire that never shall be quenched". In studying the Gospels, we discover that John the Baptist made a similar remark regarding unquenchable fire as he engaged in his ministry of repentance and baptism along the banks of the Jordan River. Consider these verses:

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."


In fact, this point regarding unquenchable fire seems to be so important, that when Jesus was speaking about getting rid of an offending member lest our whole body be cast into hell in the previous verse from Mark, He mentioned this fact four times. In the following quote I have omitted the extraneous verses in between for the sake of emphasis:

"Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched . . . And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into Hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched . . . Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched . . . Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."


Rarely did Jesus ever repeat something so many times in one small conversation; so if He did it here, it is because He obviously wants us to sit up and take note, and realize how terrible it will be for those rebellious individuals who do not repent of their wickedness and unbelief. In part two I briefly discussed the Great White Throne Judgment and the Second Death which are mentioned in the twentieth chapter of the Book of Revelation. In the same chapter, we discover the following verse which reveals the final fate of the wicked following the Second Resurrection, which involves everyone who has ever lived who has not accepted Christ. Remember; the believing Saints were already resurrected and raptured during the First Resurrection. At any rate, following the Great White Throne Judgment, during which the Book of Life will be opened, this is what happens to the unbelievers:

"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."


Now the question that arises in my mind is this: Is the Lake of Fire the same thing as the fiery hell -- or Ghehenna -- which Jesus warns us about in the Gospels? From everything I have shared with you thus far, I do not believe that it is. It is my current view that they are two separate things. This is why I have been very careful to state that the Valley of Hinnom was only a symbol of the actual Lake of Fire. It was just an example that Jesus used to convey to the hardhearted Jews what awaits those people who refuse to repent of their unbelief.

Some of you may be surprised to learn that I have arrived at this particular conclusion. However, if you have known me for any length of time, and if you have taken the time to read some of my other articles, then you will probably know that normally, I do not just talk off the top of my head in an irresponsible fashion. It is only after a considerable amount of Biblical research, that I arrive at my personal conclusions. Having said that, allow me to share with you what I believe to be strong Scriptural evidence for what I am proposing here.

To begin with, in the previous verses I emphasized the fact that in comparing Ghehenna -- the Valley of Hinnom -- with the Lake of Fire, Jesus stated that the fire would never be quenched. In other words, this fire is inextinguishable. It might interest you to know that in Matthew 3:12, the word "unquenchable" is derived from a Greek word which many of us are familiar with; that is, the word "asbestos". As you may know, asbestos is a fire-resistant material which is used in many industrial applications. Please note that the letter "a" at the beginning of the word means "not". Thus the word means "not quenchable", or unquenchable, as in John the Baptist's warning regarding "unquenchable fire".

This same Greek word is used in some of the verses that I shared with you earlier from the Gospel of Mark, while in others, the Greek word "sbennumi" is used, which means to extinguish or quench. However, in those verses, the word is used in a negative sense, meaning not extinguished, or not quenched. Thus "asbestos" and "sbennumi" signify the same thing in those verses.

Now obviously, the fires in the Valley of Hinnom are not burning right now. In fact, they have not been burning for most of the past two thousand years. We all know that the only way that a regular fire can remain unquenchable, that is, inextinguishable, is if it is fed a constant source of fuel, if it receives a sufficient amount of oxygen, and if it is protected from both wind and water. If any of these conditions is not met, the fire will simply burn out.

Surprisingly, I have read a few commentaries where it has been suggested that the fact that this fire is not quenched, simply means that it will not be put out by any human agent. In other words, it is claimed -- and erroneously so in my view -- that the fire will automatically go out once all of the wicked have been burned up. Considering how many times Jesus informs us that this fire is unquenchable, which John the Baptist also confirmed, I am amazed that some people can arrive at such a conclusion. Their position certainly seems to be in denial of the Scriptures.

To reiterate, this fire is not going to go out by itself. It is not going to be quenched or extinguished by anyone. Jesus makes this point sufficiently clear. That being the case, it seems to me that what Jesus is describing may be some kind of supernatural fire, or "Divine Fire" if you prefer. I am not convinced that it is the kind of fire that we normally associate with combustion, any more than the fire that Moses saw in the Burning Bush. As you may recall, it enveloped the bush, and yet the bush was not consumed by the fire. I will be discussing this topic later on in this same series.

In addition, I also encourage you to read the Book of Enoch, as it also contains many descriptions regarding places of fire, both good and evil. For example, following is one of Enoch's descriptions regarding the Throne of God, which we also find in the fourth chapter of the Book of Revelation:

". . . And I beheld a vision, And lo! there was a second house, greater than the former, and the entire portal stood open before me, and it was built of flames of fire. And in every respect it so excelled in splendour and magnificence and extent that I cannot describe to you its splendour and its extent. And its floor was of fire, and above it were lightnings and the path of the stars, and its ceiling also was flaming fire. And I looked and saw therein a lofty throne: its appearance was as crystal, and the wheels thereof as the shining sun, and there was the vision of cherubim. And from underneath the throne came streams of flaming fire so that I could not look thereon. And the Great Glory sat thereon, and His raiment shone more brightly than the sun and was whiter than any snow. None of the angels could enter and could behold His face by reason of the magnificence and glory and no flesh could behold Him. The flaming fire was round about Him, and a great fire stood before Him, and none around could draw nigh Him: ten thousand times ten thousand (stood) before Him, yet He needed no counselor. And the most holy ones who were nigh to Him did not leave by night nor depart from Him. And until then I had been prostrate on my face, trembling: and the Lord called me with His own mouth, and said to me: 'Come hither, Enoch, and hear my word.' And one of the holy ones came to me and waked me, and He made me rise up and approach the door: and I bowed my face downwards."


Returning our attention to the verses that are found in the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, there is something else which Jesus said that is worthy of note. The Lord said "where their worm dieth not". While we may be tempted to assign all kinds of spiritual interpretations to that phrase, the simple truth of the matter is that, according to Thayer's Greek English Lexicon, that word "worm" means exactly what it says. It is derived from the Greek word "skolex" which refers to a species of worm which preys upon dead bodies. In other words, it sounds like some kind of maggot. In fact, in the field of zoology, the word "scolex" refers to the anterior end of a tapeworm which bears suckers and hooks so that it can attach itself to its host.

Now, while it is obvious to me that there are not going to be maggots in the Lake of Fire, sadly, according to certain online accounts I have read, there are some misguided people who claim that they have not only gone to "hell", but while there, have observed suffering souls in the flames of hell who are covered with maggots which continually devour their flesh. To me, this sounds so much like something that would be invented by the misguided followers of the Roman Catholic Church. After all, many Roman Catholics have been deceived into accepting the false doctrine which claims that personal physical suffering is necessary, in order to make us more righteous, and worthy of Salvation. This false doctrine is even promoted in some modern movies which are influenced by the Roman Catholic Church.

Of course, as I explain in other articles which deal with the topic of Salvation, this is a blatantly false doctrine which finds absolutely no support in the Scriptures. We are all unrighteous, filthy sinners, who are saved by the Mercy of God through our faith in the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ alone. So-called "good works" -- such as inflicting our bodies with physical pain -- is an exercise in futility and does not gain us any points with God. This point is made perfectly clear by verses such as the following.

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."


"If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?"


"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:"


"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one . . . But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"


"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."


"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"


Returning to the issue of the phrase "where their worm dieth not", it seems probable to me that the Lord was referring to the multitudes of maggots which no doubt crawled all over and devoured the decaying bodies and other organic waste which filled the Valley Of Hinnom, or Ghehenna, south of Jerusalem. But what did Jesus mean when He said "dieth not"? Well, in a technical sense, maggots, larvae, caterpillars and grub don't really die. They just metamorphose and transform into flies, beetles, butterflies, moths, dragonflies or into some other insect.

However, my curiosity led me to search even deeper, and so I looked up "dieth" in Thayer's Greek English Lexicon. What I discovered is rather interesting. As it turns out, this word is derived from the Greek word "teleutao", which in turn is presumed to be derived from "teleo". While "teleutao" is translated as "die" or "dead" eleven of the twelve times that it is used in the New Testament, I was surprised to discover that it is only translated as "decrease" one time. The reason for my surprise is that the meanings of these two Greek words are to finish, fulfill, bring to a close, or to come to an end.

In light of this piece of information, it has occurred to me that the Lord may not really have meant that their worm would never die -- being as all living things most certainly die at some point in time -- rather, He may have been describing how the Jews would be dumping so many corpses and organic waste into the Valley of Hinnom -- or Ghehenna -- that the maggots would simply never disappear. There would be so many flies in that wretched place, that their life cycle would be ongoing and continuous, and there would be no end to those disgusting maggots. As we have seen, that is precisely what "teleutao" and "teleo" mean. While this is just a personal theory on my part, it seems quite plausible to me.

Some of you may be wondering "Well, if the Lord only meant for us to understand Ghehenna -- the Valley Of Hinnom, the Valley of Lamentation -- as a foreshadow of the real Lake of Fire, what was He talking about when He warned about people being cast into hellfire, 'where their worm dieth not'? Were His words ever fulfilled?"

While I have not yet taken the time to compile some actual historical data, I do believe that there has already been a literal fulfillment of the Lord's words. As I amply explain in such articles as "The Great Tribulation and the Rapture", there are quite a few verses in the New Testament where we are told that God's Wrath was going to be poured out upon the people of Jerusalem, due to their rebellion and sin of unbelief. You may recall that during the Lord's trial before Pontius Pilate, the unbelieving Jews not only demanded that Jesus be crucified, but they also said the following:

"Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children."


Please notice carefully that it wasn't just the Jewish Elders who demanded Jesus' blood, it was "all the people". Well, as we know from the historical record, those rebellious Jews got exactly what they asked for. While I haven't identified the precise source yet -- it may be Josephus or Tacitus -- it is claimed that during the first Jewish-Roman War of 66-73 AD, when Roman General Titus -- the son of Emperor Vespasian who later also became an emperor himself -- invaded the city of Jerusalem, and destroyed the temple, close to one million Jews were slaughtered. Even by the modern standards of war, that is a very major slaughter. Whether or not the figure is inflated, I honestly do not know. However, considering so great a slaughter, the surviving Jews must have disposed of the bodies in some way, and it must have taken them a very long time to burn them all in order to reduce the threat of disease.

While it is only speculation on my part, it seems probable that the survivors of that great slaughter used the Valley of Hinnom as one disposal area since it was already in use, and located just outside of Jerusalem. In other words the place known as Ghehenna in Greek, or Gay Hinnom in Hebrew, became a mass grave that was filled with the stench and the smoke of burning bodies for many months. This is supported by material I have read which states that just prior to the destruction of the Second Temple, many of the Jews actually ran inside of it, because they erroneously thought that God would protect them from their Roman persecutors. Even Jesus Himself clearly warned of the coming Divine Wrath upon the Jewish people, as we see by the following verses:

"But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people."


"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."


"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."


Thus, many of those foolish Jews were literally burned alive, while many more fell to the Roman sword. I have read that the heat from the flames was so intense, that all of the golden items in the temple melted down between the blocks of which the temple was constructed. It was precisely for this reason that, in fulfillment of Jesus's words, the Romans tore the temple apart stone by stone, in order to recover the melted gold.

Again, allow me to remind the reader that this interpretation of Jesus' words regarding the Valley of Hinnom, the worm that never dies, and unquenchable fire, should only be understood as a foreshadow of the real Lake of Fire that is discussed in the Book of Revelation. In thinking about Jesus' words, I am wondering if it is possible that at the time that He uttered this sober warning, He may have also been thinking of a far future event as well; that is, the Battle of Gog and Magog. As I explained in such articles as "Battle of Gog and Magog and War in Yugoslavia" and "From Armageddon to the New Earth", the post-Millennial Battle of Gog and Magog will involve many evil nations of the world, which will be influenced by Satan to surround the Camp of the Saints, as we see by these verses:

"And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them."


This very same battle -- or a very similar battle that occurs in the same place -- is also described in the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth chapters of the book of Ezekiel. Following are some of the key verses from those chapters:

"And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel . . . And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone . . . Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD."


Please notice how in both the Book of Ezekiel and the Book of Revelation, Gog and his bands meet their final fate when the Almighty God sends fire and brimstone from the heavens. While some modern Bible teachers and preachers place this event in the very near future, personally, I believe that they are in error, because the Book of Revelation clearly states that the Battle of Gog and Magog happens sometime after the 1000-year Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ and the Saints on the Earth.

As I explain in the aforementioned articles, the Battle of Gog will be the Ultimate Battle between Good and Evil. It is going to be Satan's final rebellion against God, and it will involve many nations. Nevertheless, as we can see by these verses, the Lord is going to reveal the symbolic fire of His Wrath in a very physical manner in the form of hailstones, fire and brimstone. This won't be the first time that God has resorted to such extreme measures of punishment. No doubt, many of you will recall the following event that is found in the Book of Genesis:

"Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace."


I am reminded of the Apostle Paul's admonition that is found in his Epistle to the Hebrews. Consider these verses:

"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God . . . For our God is a consuming fire."


While the Battle of Gog and Magog may at first appear to be a detour from our primary discussion concerning hell and the Lake of Fire, and the events of 70 AD, there are some rather interesting similarities when we consider the outcome of the Battle of Gog and Magog. If anything, the Battle of Gog and Magog can be considered a much larger version of the Roman slaughter that occurred in 70 AD, because it will involve the rebellious population of the entire Earth, who will rise up against the Lord and His Saints. Returning to the Book of Ezekiel, we discover that after the Lord smites Gog's great army upon the mountains of Israel, a massive cleanup ensues. Consider the following verses:

"And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD."


Notice that this army is so great, that it will take a full seven years just to burn all of the weapons of war. The fact that they will be able to burn them may imply that when the Lord returns and sets up His Millennial Kingdom, He is going to do away with all modern science and technology. Perhaps man is going to be forced to return to a more natural, and less destructive, way of life, such as existed prior to this current age of industrialization, in which we have witnessed the Earth being polluted in so many different ways.

There is another possible explanation regarding how weapons of war will be able to be burned. As you will know, over the past five decades, the use of plastics has risen to a global level; so much so that they have become a big environmental hazard. Just visit a public beach or a national park and you will find plastic bags scattered everywhere. Garbage dumps are also full of them. There are some manufactured plastic compounds which are as hard as iron, and they are extremely heat resistant as well. As such, they are found in quite a number of industrial applications, such as in the manufacture of parts for combustion engines, such as you will find in your car.

If we consider that some of these durable, super-strength, heat-resistant plastics are currently being used in different military applications, is it possible that similar weapons will be used during the Battle of Gog and Magog? If so, it is easy to understand why it would take seven full years to burn up everything. Of course, one serious problem would no doubt be the huge amount of black smoke and toxic pollution which would obviously be generated by such fires. I am reminded of the columns of thick black smoke which arose over Iraq when former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein set the southern oil wells on fire during the Gulf War. Remember; plastics are a petroleum by-product.

Of course, there is another possible scenario which would explain how weapons of war are burned following the Battle of Gog and Magog. It is indeed a controversial one, and will no doubt cause some Christians a bit of consternation. While I have suggested that the war that is described in the Books of Ezekiel and Revelation may be one and the same, what if they aren't? In fact, what if, contrary to modern popular opinion amongst certain Christians, Ezekiel's Battle of Gog and Magog is not some near future event, but in fact already occurred in the distant past? We cannot simply dismiss the fact that the weapons which are used in this great war consist of bows and arrows, shields and bucklers, and handstaves and spears, just because it doesn't agree with our personal theology. It would certainly make it easier to understand how the weapons could be burned.

As we continue this series in part four, I will be addressing a final point concerning the Battle of Gog and Magog, which will further demonstrate its similarity to the events which occurred in Jerusalem following the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. I trust that you will join me.

Please go to part four for the continuation of this series.

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