Does Fire in Hebrews Refer to Hell?

By Charles C. Bing

[Charles C. Bing is Founder and President, GraceLife Ministries, Burleson, Texas.]

Interpretations of the warning passages in Hebrews (2:1-4; 3:7-4:13; 6:1-8; 10:26-39; 12:25-29) usually assume that the judgment being threatened is eternal damnation, and that the fire mentioned in three verses (6:8; 10:27; 12:29) is hellfire.[1] One exception is the view that the judgment threatened is the danger brought by the physical destruction of Jerusalem.[2] Another exception views the judgment as God’s temporal discipline, which can even result in death.[3] Still another argues that it is some kind of loss at the Judgment Seat of Christ.[4] But these alternative interpretations are outnumbered by the preponderance of voices favoring hellfire in Hebrews. Is the majority interpretation based on assumption, theological bias, or biblical evidence?

Interpretations favoring eternal judgment are no doubt influenced by the strong language used in the warnings. One aspect of that language is the fire imagery used in three of the warnings:

“For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned” (6:7-8).[5]

“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries” (10:26-27).

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire” (12:28-29).

The mention of fire seems to suggest that all the warnings threaten eternal judgment in hell. For example, as McKnight comments on 6:7-8, “The image of being cursed by God, with its close association with fire, can only adequately be explained as an allusion to Gehenna or hell, an allusion to God’s punishment and retributive justice.”[6] One wonders how interpretation of the warning passages would be influenced if fire were not mentioned.

This assumption of hellfire seems to prejudice assumptions about the spiritual state of the readers. One would hope that the question of the readers’ spiritual condition would inform one’s interpretation of the judgments in the warning passages, since there is far more explicit detail given about their condition than there is on the nature of the judgment. However, it seems that many interpreters have worked backward, that is, they have concluded that hellfire is the judgment, and this has influenced their characterization of the readers.[7]

Of course Arminian interpreters have no problem accepting the evidence that the readers are genuine[8] believers.[9] Calvinist interpreters tend to dodge the theological bullet aimed at the doctrine of eternal security by saying that the readers addressed in the warnings falsely profess Christianity[10] or that the warnings are hypothetical (i.e., the sin in view is actually impossible to commit).[11]

Fire is definitely used in the Bible for the punishment of eternal hell.[12] Do references to fire in three warning passages in Hebrews, however, demand a judgment of hellfire on unbelievers, or do they refer to some other form of severe judgment on believers? Before considering how fire is used in the three warnings, the spiritual state of the readers and the sin they were in danger of committing will be discussed.

The State Of The Readers

Crucial to the interpretation of Hebrews and its warning passages is an understanding of the spiritual state of the readers. Were they believers, unbelievers, or a mixed group? Some commentators maintain that the epistle was generally written to believers but that the warnings were addressed to unbelievers. The latter professed but did not possess faith in Jesus Christ. But is this consistent with the evidence in the text? Most agree that the rest of the book clearly addresses believers. Is there any apparent disparity between the way those in the warnings are addressed and the rest of the epistle? A brief discussion shows that the warnings are intended for believers.

Evidence From Outside The Warnings

The readers were addressed as “brethren” (10:19; 13:22) and “holy brethren” (3:1). Things were said to them that can apply only to Christians (3:1; 5:12; 6:9; 10:24-25).[13] Of interest is the fact that these affirmations appear shortly before or after the warning sections. Also the nature of the exhortations in chapter 13 shows they were intended for believers. There is no attempt to apply them to two different groups. In fact the warning passages are never introduced with any transition that suggests that the author is shifting his attention to a different group within the readership.

Evidence From Within The Warnings

The wording of the warning passages makes it clear that the readers were Christians.

1. They were addressed using first-person plural pronouns and verbs, which shows the author identified with them as believers (2:1, 3; 3:14, 19; 4:1-3, 11; 6:1, 3; 10:26, 30, 39; 12:28).
2. They were called “brethren” (3:12). Just as in the nonwarning sections, this clearly shows their common position in God’s family.
3. They had believed (4:3; 10:39), which speaks of an unqualified faith in Christ as Savior.
4. They had Christian confidence (3:14; 10:35). This refers to their assurance of the benefits of Christ’s provisions. They were therefore told to hold fast (3:14; 4:14; 10:23) and endure (10:36) in that confidence.
5. They were in danger of denying their faith. That they could “drift away” (2:1), depart “from the living God” (3:12), “fall away” (6:6), “draw back” (10:39), or “turn away” (12:25) demands a point of departure from which they could fall. The only such point in the epistle is Jesus Christ and their confession of Him.
6. They were encouraged to enter God’s rest (4:11) and go on to maturity (6:1). As in the Old Testament, “rest” refers not just to the reception of God’s promise but also to the enjoyment of it. It is a privilege for believers only, as is the possibility of growth into maturity.[14]
7. They suffered for their faith after they were “illuminated” (10:32-34). They were able to endure this persecution because they knew they had a heavenly possession (10:34).
8. They were never told to believe in Christ, which one would expect if they were unbelievers. Instead the epistle was written to exhort or encourage the readers (13:22).
9. They were described as having experienced the blessings that come with faith in Christ. The most convincing evidence is from 6:4-5: They “were enlightened,” had “tasted the heavenly gift,” had “become partakers of the Holy Spirit,” and had “tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come.” They had also “received the knowledge of the truth” (10:26), were “sanctified” (10:29), “know” God (10:30), were “illuminated” (10:32), and by implication were called “just” or righteous (10:38). Any attempt to apply these descriptions to unbelievers is at the expense of the plain sense of the language.
10. They were given Old Testament analogies that in the past and now in their present apply to God’s chastening of His people. Hebrews 3:15 cites Psalm 95:7-8 in referring to the redeemed who came out of Egypt, and so this obviously applies to the redeemed readers. Hebrews 10:30 cites Deuteronomy 32:36, which speaks of God judging “His people.”
11. They were urged to “serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (12:28), which is impossible for unbelievers to do.
12. They faced the prospect of rewards conditioned on their faithful perseverance and obedience. They can be “partakers of Christ” (3:14), can enter God’s “rest” (4:9,11), can have “an enduring possession . . . in heaven” (10:34), can receive a “great reward” (10:35), and “are receiving a kingdom” (12:28).[15]

The evidence is overwhelming, both in the general nature of the epistle and in the warnings themselves; clearly the author was addressing Christians. There is no need to see those addressed by the warnings as unbelievers. They were in need of faithful endurance, not of salvation.

The Sin Facing The Readers

Most agree that the epistle in general is an exhortation to the readers to persevere in faithfulness. The warnings are a negative motivation toward this same end, but they also indicate that the readers could fall away, that is, fail to persevere, or worse, turn back to the safety of Judaism.[16] Evidently these were Jewish believers who were tempted to mask their Christianity with Judaism, or revert altogether, because of the threat of persecution.

The warning in chapter 6 is especially informative. The immediate context is neatly bracketed by a concern that the readers were “dull of hearing” (νωθροὶ ταῖ'ς ἀκοαῖς, 5:11) and might become “sluggish” (νωθροὶ, 6:12). The author reminded them that they should have been “teachers” by now (5:12). This matches the recurring exhortations in Hebrews to press forward in Christian faith and growth (3:6; 4:14; 10:23; 12:1). Forming an inclusio with 5:11-12 is 6:11-12, another exhortation to grow and press on in their faith.

The warning in 6:4-8 implies that the readers could “fall away” (παραπεσόντας),[17] which is interpreted by some as apostasy from Christian beliefs or a total denial of the Christian faith.[18] A similar word, πίπτω, is seen in 4:11, translated “fall,” which refers to the example of the Israelites’ sin of rebellion against the Lord at Kadesh Barnea (cf. 3:12; Num. 14), an obvious background for this warning.[19] The argument and context of Hebrews suggest that this is a falling away from their profession of Christ and confidence in Him (Heb. 3:6, 14; 10:23-25, 35-39), which would be the case if they returned to the Mosaic system of sacrifices and the safety of Judaism to avoid persecution.[20] In the grammar of the original language, “falling away” is not treated as hypothetical.[21]

The sin in the warning of 6:4-8 seems to be the same in the warning of 10:26-39. The willful sin of 10:26 would be a deliberate abandonment of their confession of the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice for a return to insufficient Jewish sacrifices. The author had written that “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many” (9:28), that “by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (10:14), and that once forgiven “there is no longer an offering for sin” (10:18). The Law offered them nothing, since it looked forward to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ (10:1-10).

The background for understanding the warning of 10:26-39 is very likely Numbers 15:30-31. No sacrifices were stipulated for certain serious (or presumptuous) sins; therefore those who committed those sins were “cut off” from their people (put to death). The author of Hebrews was saying that if his readers abandoned the only sufficient sacrifice for their sins, they too would be judged severely. Their salvation was not the issue.

The sin in view for the warning of Hebrews 12:24-29 is named in 12:15 as “falling short of the grace of God,” which would be a more general way of characterizing the apostasy to Judaism in chapters 6 and 10.[22] This corresponds to the exhortation “let us have grace” in 12:28.

It seems that the warnings concern the same sin, that of neglecting to persevere in the Christian faith and worse, of turning back to Judaism. However, the exact nature of the sin does not necessarily impact the nature of the judgments.

God’s People Judged By Fire

In both the Old and New Testaments fire is said to be a judgment against God’s people. The examples that follow do not exhaust the references, but they are enough to show how God deals with His people who persist in sin.

In The Old Testament

The Old Testament is an obvious background for the language and warnings of this epistle to Jewish believers.[23] Pertinent to this study is how fire is used of Israel in a nonsoteriological sense. The concept of eternal hellfire is difficult if not impossible to find. Fire is used in the Old Testament of God’s disciplinary punishment, His jealousy, or His purifying purposes.

Fire as divine discipline. Sometimes God’s wrath is spoken of as fire that disciplines His people. Some of the clearer examples follow with a brief summary of the context.

Leviticus 10:1-2. Fire consumed Nadab and Abihu for offering “profane fire” to God, who then consumed them with a literal fire. These were Levitical priests in God’s service.

Numbers 11:1-3. Some of the Israelites who complained were consumed by fire, but some of the complainers were spared when Moses interceded for them. This shows that these complainers had a privileged relationship with God as part of Israel.

Numbers 16:35. When Korah (a Levitical priest), Dathan, Abiram, and 250 of Israel’s leaders challenged Moses’ leadership, the ground swallowed the three men while the 250 were consumed by literal fire from God.[24]

Psalm 78:21. In spite of God’s blessings of provision for Israel in the wilderness, they still complained, so “a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel.” The judgment fire in the wilderness was a literal fire.

Psalm 80:14-16. The psalmist prayed for God’s revival because Israel is like a vineyard with broken-down hedges and a vine that has been burned.

Psalm 89:46. After listing the temporal judgments endured by Israel and reminding God of His covenant with David, the psalmist asked how long God’s wrath would burn like fire against Israel.

Isaiah 42:25. Because Israel disobeyed, God burned them with His furious anger, but He intended to redeem them as His own (43:1-2).

Jeremiah 4:4. God called the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to repentance to prevent His sending His fury on them like a burning fire.

Jeremiah 11:16. God compared Judah and Israel to a tree He had planted but that He could break and burn because of their worship of Baal.

Jeremiah 15:14. Because of Manasseh’s sin God would judge Israel with temporal judgments that are compared to a fire kindled in His anger that burns them.

Jeremiah 17:4. Israel’s idolatry had kindled a fire of God’s anger, which would result in their servitude to their enemies.

Lamentations 2:3-4; 4:11. God had “blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire” and “kindled a fire in Zion.” These statements refer to the calamity of Jerusalem’s siege and destruction, which resulted in famine.

Amos 2:5. God would send a fire on Judah because they disobeyed His commandments.

Fire as a picture of God’s jealousy for the devotion of His people.

Deuteronomy 4:24. God’s jealousy was compared to a consuming fire, because He longed for Israel’s devotion and He would judge them if they worshipped idols.

Psalm 79:5. The psalmist asked how long God’s anger would last against Jerusalem and how long His jealousy would burn like fire.

Fire as a cleansing or purifying trial or judgment.

Psalm 66:10-12. The psalmist declared how God had refined Israel as silver and brought her through fire.

Zechariah 13:9. In the Day of the Lord God will call one-third of Israel, “My people,” and they will be brought through the refiner’s fire like silver or gold.

Malachi 3:2-3. As a refiner purifies silver and gold, God will refine and purify the sons of Levi.

These examples refer to God’s temporal wrath, not eternal judgment. In the Old Testament God’s fire is sometimes used in unequivocally positive ways. For example His appearance was sometimes marked by fire (Gen. 15:17; Exod. 3:2). God used a pillar of fire to guide the Israelites through the wilderness (Exod. 13:21-22; Num. 9:15-16) and to accompany the tabernacle (Exod. 40:38). In the Song of Solomon love is compared to a fire (Song 8:6).[25]

In The New Testament

New Testament uses continue the pattern of God’s judgment of His people with references to fire.

John 15:6. Believers are compared to branches that either abide in Jesus Christ and bear fruit or do not abide in Him and are as useless as vines that are burned.[26]

1 Corinthians 3:13. At the Judgment Seat of Christ believers whose works are unworthy will have those works burned, though they themselves will be saved.

1 Peter 4:12. Peter encouraged his readers to rejoice in the fiery trials they were experiencing because they were an opportunity for God’s blessing in the present and in the future.

In the New Testament fire is also used positively in references to the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11-12; Acts 2:3). Since in both Testaments fire can be used positively or negatively, literally or figuratively, and temporally or eternally, the context of each use must determine its meaning.

In The Three Warnings In Hebrews

In evaluating the references to fire in the three warning passages in Hebrews, it is important to note that eternal fire, eternal torment, hell, and Gehenna are never mentioned in these warnings.

Hebrews 6:7-8. Before considering the judgment of fire in verse 8, it is important to note that the first consequence of falling away is the impossibility of renewing these believers to repentance. Those who say Hebrews 6:4-8 teaches that Christians can lose eternal life must admit that it also teaches it is impossible for them to repent to be saved again. They would have no second opportunity for salvation. Since they had already repented of the “dead works” of the Mosaic system (6:1; cf. 9:14), they could not do that again because they knew better. When the readers became Christians, they had rejected the Jewish sacrifices and accepted the eternal sacrifice of Jesus Christ. To go back and identify with Judaism would be to deny the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice and show implicit agreement that Christ deserved to die. This is why the author wrote in 6:6, “since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” With such an attitude it is impossible to bring them back to repentance. These believing readers could make a pivotal decision not to press forward, to deny the provision of Christ’s sacrifice, and thus forfeit the benefits of professing and growing in Christ. If they did, they could not claim ignorance and start over. Again this alludes to the pivotal incident at Kadesh Barnea mentioned in 3:7-19 in which the Israelites who decided to turn back were not allowed to enter the promised land, though they tried (cf. Num. 14). The author later used Esau (Heb. 12:15-17) as an example of one who could not have another chance, though he “sought it diligently with tears” (v. 17).

Hebrews 6:7-8 compares believers to earth that is blessed by rain and that brings forth either fruit or thorns. A believer who receives God’s blessings but turns away from the faith is like earth that produces thorns and briars instead of fruit and is “rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.” The word “rejected” (ἀδόκιμος) means “to not pass the test or to be disqualified.”[27] It is used of believers who lose future rewards, but it is never used of hell. According to common agricultural practice, earth that bears useless thorns is set on fire to burn the thorns so that the earth might become productive in the future. The earth (the believer) is not burned, but the thorns (what the believer produces) are burned. Also the earth is near to being cursed, not actually cursed. This shows the seriousness of the apostasy (v. 6), but stops short of a total (eternal) rejection. The words “whose end is to be burned” refer not to the earth itself, but to the thorns and briars being burned off the earth, because the earth itself cannot burn. Thus it pictures a fire of judgment and/or purging that burns up what is useless. This judgment could be God’s temporal discipline in this life, since its goal is the productivity of the judged believer’s life (cf. John 15:6).[28] Some who take the judgment as temporal also see it as a reference to the loss of rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ.[29] It would make sense if it referred to both, since a believer who is disciplined for ignoring God’s warning would also lose his or her reward at the Judgment Seat of Christ. As mentioned earlier, some also take this as a reference to the danger associated with the Jews and the physical destruction of Jerusalem.[30]

This warning seems to be related to Isaiah 5:1-7, which warned Israel that God would treat her much like an unfruitful vineyard.[31] The warning in Hebrews 6 shows that believers who do not go forward with their faith squander God’s blessings so that what is produced is not useful but useless and fit only to be discarded or burned. Thus the fire does not indicate hellfire.

This passage does not teach that one can lose eternal salvation, nor is it addressing unbelievers or presenting a hypothetical situation. It addresses Hebrew Christians in danger of making a terrible choice of abandoning their forward progress in faith to return to Jewish rituals. They would lose forever the progress they would have otherwise made and would experience judgment.

Hebrews 10:26-27. The believer who sins “willfully”[32] will face “a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.” This willful sin is the same as in chapter 6, a turning back to Judaism, which would be tantamount to giving approval to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.[33]

God’s discipline of believers can be fearful. Christians can face a fearful judgment either temporally or at the Judgment Seat of Christ (or both). When Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead by God because they lied, “great fear came upon all the church” (Acts 5:11). The Judgment Seat of Christ can also be a fearful prospect for those who have not lived well.[34]

The “fiery indignation [Heb. 10:27, πυρὸς λῆλος, ‘fiery zeal’] which will devour the adversaries” refers to the zeal of God’s judgment toward sin. Believers can experience the same zeal of judgment toward their sin as God’s enemies experience toward theirs, though the results differ. This part of verse 27 is from Isaiah 26:11, a prophecy of God’s judgment against His covenant people. However, as Tanner notes, “The fire is a threat to the unrighteous within the nation, but not to the righteous.”[35] The “worse punishment” in Hebrews 10:28 is compared to the death penalty for the presumptuous sin of Numbers 15:30-31,[36] which was the severest penalty at that time. Is there a punishment worse than death? Absolutely! Suffering in this life can be so terrible that some people would rather die and find relief.[37]

In the end those who would be judged are still “His people” (Heb. 10:30). This is a quotation from Deuteronomy 32:36, “The Lord will judge His people.” In that passage God will not only judge the enemies of His people, but based on His impartiality He will also judge His own when they forsake His covenant. With great privilege comes great responsibility. Bruce comments, “The privileges which Israel enjoyed as God’s covenant-people meant that their responsibilities were greater and that retribution would be the more severe in their case if they gave themselves up to unrighteousness.”[38] These who sin will not fall into hell, but “into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31). Though it is a “fearful” prospect, at least they will be in His hands, not out of them. Also the contrast in verse 39 between “destruction” (ἀπώλειαν, “ruin”) and “saving of the soul” (περιποίησιν ψυχῆς, “preserving of the life”)[39] could contrast physical life and death or contrast a ruined life with a life delivered from the consequences of a negative judgment.[40]

This warning that mentions fire is meant to picture the terrible consequences believers face if they willfully turn away from Jesus Christ. The consequences are spiritually devastating, even more painful than death, but eternal hell is not mentioned. The readers—Hebrew Christians being tempted to re-identify with sinful Israel—might also have understood this as a warning about the impending national judgment of a fiery destruction of Jerusalem that occurred only a short time later (A.D. 70), something they would have known about from Jesus’ warnings (Matt. 23:37-24:2; Mark 13:1-2; Luke 21:5-6).

Hebrews 12:28-29. The third warning that mentions fire contrasts the fearful scene at Mount Sinai (when the Mosaic Law was received) with the readers who were assured that they had come to experience Jesus Christ and the salvation of the New Covenant. The Jewish Christian readers had a much more privileged position than those Jews who received the Law. With greater privilege and revelation comes greater responsibility. Thus the readers must not ignore God’s warnings. There will be no escape from the consequences for failure to persevere in godly faithfulness. That God is “a consuming fire” is a motivation to practice godly reverence in God’s service, which is mentioned in verse 28. This cannot be a threat of hell, because verse 28 speaks confidently of the readers “receiving a kingdom.” This metaphor of God as a consuming fire comes from Deuteronomy 4:24, which speaks of God’s jealous judgment. Jealous for Israel’s devotion, He would judge them if they turn from His covenant to worship idols.

Conclusion

The interpretation of the fire imagery in Hebrews impacts the interpretation of the epistle as a whole, but it also shapes theological and pastoral concerns. It is very clear that Hebrews, including the warning passages, was written to believers. The three warnings in Hebrews that mention fire refer not to hellfire but to a severe judgment for believers. Though fire in the Bible sometimes refers to the fiery punishment of unbelievers, fire is more often a threat or punishment against those who are called God’s people. While one aspect of fire is the judgment of hell, fire also is used of God’s temporal discipline characterized by His anger, zeal, and jealousy, or used of trials that test or purify believers. Fire also characterizes a future judgment of works at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Also it is possible that the fire in these warnings was understood by the readers as the fiery destruction of Jerusalem, which happened a short time after this book was written, a judgment on Israel for rejecting and crucifying Jesus Christ. In any case believers need not fear burning in hell, but they may experience God’s burning anger if they willfully turn from the benefits of the eternal salvation Jesus Christ provided through His death and resurrection.

Notes

1. When referring to eternal damnation or a similar concept this article does not distinguish between those who view the judgment of unbelievers as eternal punishment (traditional view) and those who view it as annihilation. Some who see eternal condemnation as the judgment in view are F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964); Wayne Grudem, “Perseverance of the Saints: A Case Study from Hebrews 6:4-6 and the Other Warning Passages in Hebrews,” in The Grace of God, the Bondage of the Will, ed. Thomas R. Schreiner and Bruce Ware (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995), 133-82; Homer Kent, The Epistle to the Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1972), 205; Scott McKnight, “The Warning Passages of Hebrews: A Formal Analysis and Theological Conclusions,” Trinity Journal 13 (spring 1992): 34-36; and Stanley D. Toussaint, “The Eschatology of the Warning Passages in the Book of Hebrews,” Grace Theological Journal 3 (spring 1982): 68.
2. Randall C. Gleason, “The Old Testament Background of the Warning in Hebrews 6:4-8” ,Bibliotheca Sacra 155 (January–March, 1998): 89-90; J. Dwight Pentecost, “The Apostles’ Use of Jesus’ Predictions of Judgment on Jerusalem in A.D. 70,” in Integrity of Heart, Skillfulness of Hands: Biblical and Leadership Studies in Honor of Donald K. Campbell, ed. Charles H. Dyer and Roy B. Zuck (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994), 140-41; idem, A Faith That Endures (Grand Rapids: Discovery, 1992), 173; Peter Walker, “Jerusalem in Hebrews 13:9-14 and the Dating of the Epistle,” Tyndale Bulletin 45 (1994): 39-71; and Brooke Foss Westcott, The Epistle to the Hebrews (reprint, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 453.
3. Joseph C. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings (Hayesville, NC: Schoettle, 1992), 452-53, 464-66; Zane C. Hodges, “Hebrews,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1983; reprint, Colorado Springs: Cook, 1996), 795-96, 803-4. J. Paul Tanner admits this possibility (“ ‘But If It Yields Thorns and Thistles’: An Exposition of Hebrews 5:11-6:12,” Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society 14 [spring 2001]: 30-32; and idem, “For Whom Does the Punishment of Hebrews 10:26-31 Teach a ‘Punishment Worse Than Death’?” Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society 19 [autumn 2006]: 73). Also Randall C. Gleason seems to allow for this view as well as the destruction of Jerusalem (“The Old Testament Background of the Warning in Hebrews 6:4-8,” 86-88).
4. The Judgment Seat of Christ is a future judgment for believers in which their works and faithfulness will be evaluated and rewarded (or reward denied) (see Rom. 14:10-12; 1 Cor. 3:9-15; and 2 Cor. 5:10). Those who view this judgment as a loss of reward at the Judgment Seat of Christ include Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings, 453 (he also allows for temporal judgment); R. T. Kendall, Once Saved, Always Saved (Chicago: Moody, 1983), 175-82; Thomas Kem Oberholtzer, “The Thorn-Infested Ground in Hebrews 6:4-12,” Bibliotheca Sacra 145 (July–September 1988): 319-28; idem, “The Danger of Willful Sin in Hebrews 10:26-39,” Bibliotheca Sacra 145 (October–December 1988): 410-19; idem, “The Failure to Heed His Speaking in Hebrews 12:25-29,” Bibliotheca Sacra 146 (January–March 1989): 67-75; J. Paul Tanner, “‘But If It Yields Thorns and Thistles,’ “40; and idem, “For Whom Does the Punishment of Hebrews 10:26-31 Teach a ‘Punishment Worse Than Death’?” 73-77.
5. Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.
6. McKnight, “The Warning Passages of Hebrews,” 35. See also Buist M. Fanning, “A Classical Reformed View,” in Four Views of the Warning Passages in Hebrews, ed. Herbert W. Bateman (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2007), 189-90; and Robert A. Peterson, Our Secure Salvation: Perseverance and Apostasy (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 2009), 109.
7. See for example McKnight’s criticism of Nicole’s theologically biased interpretation of the state of the readers in Hebrews 6 (“The Warning Passages of Hebrews,” 51-53).
8. The word “genuine” is used here as a concession to the discussion. However, nowhere does the Bible use qualifiers such as “genuine,” “real,” or “true” to describe believers, or “false,” “insincere,” “temporary,” or “spurious” to describe unbelievers. When the Bible refers to someone as a believer (in the context of Jesus Christ or the gospel as the object), it always means someone who has believed unto salvation.
9. For example R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews and of the Epistle of James (MinneapoIis: Augsburg, 1966), 174-87, 355-57; I. Howard Marshall, “The Problem of Apostasy in New Testament Theology,” Perspectives in Religious Studies 14 (1987): 68; and Clark Pinnock, The Grace of God and the Will of Man (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1989), 17.
10. For example Gleason L. Archer, The Epistle to the Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1957), 40; Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, 118-19; Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), 215; John MacArthur Jr., Hebrews (Chicago: Moody, 1983), 136; Roger Nicole, “Some Comments on Hebrews 6:4-6 and the Doctrine of the Perseverance of God with the Saints,” in Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975), 362; and Toussaint, “The Eschatology of the Warning Passages,” 68.
11. For example Donald Guthrie, Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983), 145-47; Thomas Hewitt, The Epistle to the Hebrews (London: Tyndale, 1960), 108, 111; Kent, The Epistle to the Hebrews, 113; Westcott, The Epistle to the Hebrews, 165; Kenneth S. Wuest, “Hebrews Six in the Greek New Testament,” Bibliotheca Sacra 119 (January–March 1962): 52.
12. See Matthew 5:22; 13:37-50; Mark 9:43-48; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; Jude 7; Revelation 14:10-11; 19:20; 20:10, 14-15; 21:8. It is difficult to find in the Old Testament a reference to eternal hellfire. Isaiah 66:24 is usually thought to be the basis of the references to Gehenna and eternal punishment in passages like Mark 9:43-48. But the imagery of fire was commonly used for temporal judgment in the Old Testament. Also Isaiah’s image of the worm devouring decaying bodies in the grave is used elsewhere for an activity in time, not eternity (Job 17:14-16; 34:19-20). Not all commentators see all New Testament references to Gehenna as an automatic reference to eternal punishment. See W. F. Albright and C. S. Mann, Matthew: A New Translation and Introduction, Anchor Bible (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971), 61-62; Adam Clarke, Clarke’s Commentary: Matthew, electronic ed. (Logos Library System, 1999), s.v. “Mt 5:22”; Michael Eaton, No Condemnation: A New Theology of Assurance (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1995), 206-7; and N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (London: SPK, 1996), 332-68, 445.
13. Several New Testament passages affirm that the believer’s salvation is eternal and irrevocable (e.g., John 5:24; 10:28-30; 17:9-12; Rom. 8:28-39; 2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30). Also Hebrews teaches eternal security in 7:25; 9:14-15; and 10:14. The scriptural evidence for eternal security is too overwhelming to deny.
14. See Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “The Promise Theme and the Theology of Rest,” Bibliotheca Sacra 130 (April–June 1973): 141-50; and Thomas Kem Oberholtzer, “The Kingdom Rest in Hebrews 3:1-4:13,” Bibliotheca Sacra 145 (April–June 1988): 185-96.
15. These arguments are adapted from an article by John Hosler, “Were the First-Century Hebrew Christians in Danger of Losing Salvation and Falling into Hell Fire?” (http://www.napierchurch.org/pdf/articles/bible_study/falling_from_grace.pdf; accessed December 19, 2009). Others who argue that the readers of the warnings are regenerate include the four contributors to Bateman, ed., Four Views of the Warning Passages in Hebrews; Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings, 435-44, 459; Michael Eaton, No Condemnation: A New Theology of Assurance (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity 1995), 212-17; Kendall, Once Saved, Always Saved, 175-82; William L. Lane, Hebrews 1-8, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1991), 141; Tanner, “‘But If It Yields Thorns and Thistles,’ “30-32, and idem, “For Whom Does the Punishment of Hebrews 10:26-31 Teach a ‘Punishment Worse Than Death’?” 57-77; Oberholtzer, “The Thorn-Infested Ground in Hebrews 6:4-12,” 319-28; idem, “The Danger of Willful Sin in Hebrews 10:26-30,” 10-19; and idem, “The Failure to Heed His Speaking in Hebrews 12:25-29,” 67-75.
16. McKnight, “The Warning Passages of Hebrews,” 26.
17. From παραπίπτω, “to fail to follow through on a commitment, fall away, commit apostasy” (Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., rev. and ed. Frederick W. Danker [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000], 770).
18. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, 122-24; Lenski, The Interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews and of the Epistle of James, 185-86; and McKnight, “The Warning Passages of Hebrews,” 26, 39-42.
19. Gleason, “The Old Testament Background of the Warning in Hebrews 6:4-8,” 62-91.
20. See Hebrews 10:19-39; 12:1-4. The occasion may have been the persecution of Christians under Roman Emperor Nero.
21. The aorist participle παραπεσόντας is not conditional, but is concessive by implication. Hughes quotes the New English Bible approvingly: “for when men have once been enlightened . . . and after all this have fallen away” (A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, 212 n 56). Other verses show that believers can harden their hearts to the point of abandoning their faith (Luke 8:13; 1 Tim. 1:19; 2 Tim. 2:18).
22. Paul Ellingsworth, The Epistle to the Hebrews, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 664; and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984), 385.
23. Gleason, “Old Testament Background of the Warning in Hebrews 6:4-8,” 64; and Lane, Hebrews 1-8, cxii–cxxiv.
24. Jude 11 is not commenting on whether those who followed Korah were punished eternally. Instead the verse states that they were punished suddenly and severely in their deaths. Jude used the aorist tense “perished” (ἀπώλοντο) to emphasize that judgment of the false teachers is likewise certain.
25. Some think that the term “flames of fire” is a play on the name of Yahweh. See the NASB (“love is . . . the very flame of the Lord”) and the comment in the NET Bible. If so, this makes the comparison even stronger.
26. The context of this passage is not soteriological. In the Upper Room Discourse Jesus was discussing fruitfulness with the saved disciples (John 15:3), who are compared with branches that are in the vine, which is Christ (15:1-2). For more discussion see Charles C. Bing, Lordship Salvation: A Biblical Evaluation and Response (Burleson, TX: GraceLife Ministries, 1997), 36-40.
27. Cf. 1 Corinthians 9:27 and 2 Corinthians 13:5. See Kendall, Once Saved, Always Saved, 173-75.
28. So Hodges, “Hebrews,” 795-96. In this way it speaks of God’s disciplinary judgment intended to make believers holy and fruitful (cf. 12:5-11).
29. See Dillow, “The Reign of the Servant Kings,” 453; Oberholtzer, “The Thorn-Infested Ground of Hebrews 6:4-12,” 326; and Tanner, “‘But If It Yields Thorns and Thistles,’ “40.
30. See note 2.
31. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, 124-25.
32. Again the author includes himself as a possibility by using the first-person plural “we” in 10:26.
33. Apparently the author of Hebrews had a particular sin in mind, which becomes evident when the context is considered. He had exhorted his readers previously to hold fast to their confession (3:6; 4:14) and had warned them about the dangers of not pressing on in their faith (6:1-8). He reinforced this concern in 10:23-25, verses that immediately preceded his warning about the willful sin (10:26-29). The readers were on the verge of abandoning their confession of faith in Christ and returning to the Mosaic Law and its sacrifices. This helps explain why he discussed the inadequacy of the Mosaic sacrifices especially in chapters 8-10.
34. “Fear” (φόβος) is used in 2 Corinthians 5:11 in connection with the Judgment Seat of Christ.
35. Tanner, “For Whom Does the Punishment of Hebrews 10:26-31 Teach a ‘Punishment Worse Than Death’?” 71-72. He points out that Isaiah 33:14-15 shows that the righteous in Israel will survive God’s consuming fire.
36. Ibid., 64-65.
37. Cf. Lamentations 4:6, 9 and Jonah 4:3.
38. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, 263.
39. Περιποίησις means a safe keeping or a preserving.
40. Commenting on the parallel between 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 and the warnings in Hebrews, Randall C. Gleason remarks, “If it is true that believers will face a judgment after death linked to ‘fire’ that poses no threat to their eternal salvation, then why would we object to temporal fiery judgments experienced in life by genuine believers as divine discipline? For these reasons I find the common assumption that Hebrews warns of eternal damnation unproven” (“Moderate Reformed Response,” in Four Views on the Warning Passages in Hebrews, 255). The severity of these judgments on believers, whether divine chastening in this life and/or loss of rewards for eternity, answers the argument that eternal damnation must be in view because Hebrews presents an “escalated” judgment (see Fanning, “A Classical Reformed View,” in Four Views of the Warning Passages in Hebrews, 189-90).