• Table of Contents
  • What you must know to read and understand this book
  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1: The Purpose of this Book
  • Chapter 2: The Dead Sea Scrolls Textual Variant
  • Chapter 3: The Dead Sea Scrolls Variant Points to the Old Testament Sacrifices
  • Chapter 4: The Second Coming Fulfills the Old Testament Sacrifices
  • Chapter 5: The Wicked are a Sacrifice
  • Chapter 6: The Meaning of the Sacrifice Symbolism in Isaiah 34
  • Chapter 7: Additional Hard Stops for the Duration of Punishment
  • Chapter 8: The End of the Wicked is Ashes Outside the City, Not Endless Torment
  • Chapter 9: The Wicked of the Sea are No More
  • Chapter 10: More "αἰῶνας αἰώνων" Pointers to Ashes, Dead Souls, and Second Coming Judgment
  • Chapter 11: Hell is Made Holy and Poetic Justice is Served
  • Chapter 12: The Language of Action with Endless Results and Finite Duration
  • Chapter 13: Final Interpretation and Checking the Answer in the Back of the Book
  • Glossary
  • Bibliography

Hell is Made Holy

How the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Book of Revelation show that the wicked and hell cease to exist

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Over 75 Free Online Bible Commentaries

By David Aaron Beaty

Visit author’s web site at www.davidaaronbeaty.com

Chapter 10

More "αἰῶνας αἰώνων" Pointers to Ashes, Dead Souls, and Second Coming Judgment

I've been dropping on you, one here and one there, those special Psalms and Susanna passages which contain the same odd and unique word construction,

"αἰῶνας αἰώνων", "ages ages", for "forever and ever" found in Revelation 14:11 where, "the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; they have no rest day and night". Recall that all of these passages must contain the wording of Revelation 14:11 or pertain directly to the judgment of the wicked in Revelation 14 in order for us to be convinced that the use of "αἰῶνας αἰώνων", "ages ages" in Revelation 14:11 is an intentional and exclusive pointer to the six Psalms and Susanna. Otherwise we would just have a mildly coincidental similarity. I've already demonstrated that four of these Psalms and Susanna passages meet the criteria for a convincing connection to Revelation 14:11, and now I would like to demonstrate that the last three also convincingly connect. Psalm 19 will be next in line. This just looks like a Psalm praising God and the beauty of his creation, but as we'll see this is Jesus at His second coming, bringing judgment on the wicked, and maybe even resurrection to the righteous:

Who is the Sun in Psalm 19 below? Who is the groom who returns at the second coming?............................

[Psalm 19:4-5 NASB20] 4 Their line has gone out into all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, 5 Which is like a groom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices like a strong person to run his course.

Who is this below in Psalm 19 who makes himself known from one end of the heavens to the other?..................

Who is this in Psalm 19 below with the true and righteous judgments? From what passage in Psalms is Revelation 19 far below quoting from in capital letters in regard to the King, the Lamb, Jesus? You got it. Revelation is quoting from and pointing to Psalm 19 numerous times with words and phrases like "judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous". Take a look...............................

Who is this puttin out the "heat" below in Psalm 19?..............

This Revelation 16 passage below blends the language of the sacrificial system and the "altar" with the language of Psalm 19. It does this from amidst its own descriptions of the nasty bowl judgments, doled out onto the wicked which take up all of the chapter of Revelation 16. So Revelation 16 gives us yet another indication that the wicked are a sacrifice on the "altar". The Greek word for "bowl" used here in Revelation 16 is the same Greek word in the Septuagint for the bowls which were used to pour out the blood of the sacrifices onto the altar in the Old Testament sacrificial system (Zechariah 14:20; Numbers 4:14; Exodus 27:3; Exodus 38:3). If you read the full description of the bowl judgments in Revelation 16 do you see any blood getting poured out like the Old Testament sacrificial system?................

As you can see, the themes in Psalm 19 create a dead ringer connection to abundant second coming judgment content which is also, in part, the focus of Revelation 14. Of course, Revelation 14 is where we find the verse that is the centerpiece of our discussion here, namely Revelation 14:10-11. This creates a clear but indirect connection from Psalm 19 to Revelation 14:10-11. And, as you may have

noticed, we were directed by the "Sun" in Psalm 19 yet again to make our way back to "the Sun of Righteousness" in Malachi 4 where the fate of the wicked is to be ashes. This keeps coming up doesn't it? Maybe we should take a hint that's not really a hint, but really might be more like a flashing neon sign from the Holy Spirit speaking through the Psalms, John, Ezekiel, Jesus, Peter, and Jude above and here again below multiple times regarding the fate of satan and the ungodly:

[2 Peter 2:6 ESV] 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;

[Jude 1:7 ESV] 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

[Matthew 25:41 ESV] 41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

And here in Ezekiel 28 below we see what the eternal fire mentioned above in Matthew 25 does to satan:

[Ezekiel 28:13-14, 18-19 ESV] 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. 14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. ... 18 By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. 19 All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever."

If the "eternal fire" in the passages above creates ashes, but not endless torment, could we understand the "eternal" in "eternal fire" of Jude 1:7 above to be referring to the eternal nature of God who completely destroys and consumes sinners? Maybe these passages here tell us just that:

[Deuteronomy 4:24 NASB20] 24 "For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

[Deuteronomy 9:3 NASB20] 3 "So be aware today that it is the LORD your God who is crossing over ahead of you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that you may drive them out and eliminate them quickly, just as the LORD has spoken to you.

[Isaiah 33:10-15 TLV] 10 "Now I will arise," says Adonai. "Now I will be exalted. Now I will lift Myself up. 11 You conceive chaff, you will give birth to stubble. My breath is a fire that will consume you. 12 Then peoples will be burned as lime, like thorns cut down, burned in the fire. 13 Hear, you who are afar off, what I have done, and you who are near, acknowledge My might." 14 Sinners in Zion are afraid. Trembling has seized the godless: "Who among us can live with the consuming fire?" "Who among us can live with everlasting burnings?" 15 One who walks righteously, and speaks uprightly, who refuses unjust gain by extortion, who shakes his hands free of bribes, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from looking on evil.

Alternatively, we could understand the "eternal" in "eternal fire" to just be describing the endlessness of the results of the fire, and not necessarily the endlessness of the process or action of the burning. This would be just like the word eternal, Strong's word G166, αἰώνιος is elsewhere used in the Bible to describe:

eternal sin
eternal salvation
eternal judgment
eternal redemption

The processes or actions of accomplishing these four biblical phrases above aren't endless are they? Of course they aren't, the results are. So could the results of the "eternal fire" be endless and not the action of the burning?

Back in the discussion we just completed regarding Psalm 19 in which Jesus, the Sun Groom coming out of his chamber to dispense vengeance and to marry his bride at the second coming, did you notice any special convergence of several concepts which could add together to mean something significant? If you were thinking from a very high level perspective you may have seen the convergence. There are two instances of the smoke going up forever and ever in Revelation 14:11 and 19:3 which I have been arguing extensively are a reference to the virtually endless smoke starting at the commencement of the continual morning and evening regular sacrifice at the coming of the Lord to the Old Testament tabernacle inauguration. In the vicinity of each of these two instances in Revelation of the endless smoke, there are three concepts which are pointed to with John's borrowing of material from Old Testament passages. Those three concepts are:

1. Jesus the Sun Groom coming out of his chamber in the morning at sunrise to marry his bride. (Of course this is consistent with all the other passages I've already shown you about Jesus' second coming being described as the sunrise, the dawn, the morning, the sunlight back in chapter 4, starting on page 65.)

2. Smoke goes up forever, just as in Isaiah 34 where the wicked are extensively described as a sacrifice.

3. A Psalm or song that is sung over a morning sacrifice.

The convergence of the three concepts above is obviously a sacrifice which is given to the Lord in the morning at dawn at the coming of the Lord while a morning Psalm is being sung. Could the convergence of these three concepts in both places in Revelation where the endless smoke occurs convince us that the endless smoke in Revelation is symbolism from the continual morning and evening regular sacrifice? In what follows I am showing just a brief description of how the endless smoke in each of Revelation 14 and Revelation 19 is connected by borrowed material to the three numbered concept list I just showed above. The boldened underlined words in each of the Revelation 14 and Revelation 19 passages that I show below are where the borrowed material occurs:

[Revelation 14:6-11 WEB] 6 I saw an angel flying in mid heaven, having an eternal Good News to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language,

and people. 7 He said with a loud voice, "Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters!" 8 Another, a second angel, followed, saying, "Babylon the great has fallen, which has made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality." 9 Another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead, or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. They have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.

[Revelation 19:1-7 WEB] 1 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God; 2 for his judgments are true and righteous. For he has judged the great prostitute, who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand." 3 A second said, "Hallelujah! Her smoke goes up forever and ever." 4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, "Amen! Hallelujah!" 5 A voice came from the throne, saying, "Give praise to our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, the small and the great! " 6 I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns! 7 Let’s rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let’s give the glory to him. For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready."

The morning sacrifice song, Psalm 22 above, is even further connected to Revelation 19 far above, because Jesus in Psalm 22 says that he will praise and sing to God in the assembly. This is just as we see Jesus with the "voice of many waters" in Revelation 19 praising God among the multitude. Jesus is the one with the "voice of many waters" praising God in the multitude in Revelation 19. Jesus is the one with the pierced hands and feet in Psalm 22 declaring that he will praise God in the assembly. Revelation 19 declares the fulfillment of Psalm 22. In that limited sense, Revelation 19 is the singing of Psalm 22, the morning sacrifice Psalm, over the sacrifice which is wicked Babylon. Jesus is the one with the "voice of many waters":

[Revelation 1:12-18 WEB] 12 I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. Having turned, I saw seven golden lamp stands. 13 And among the lamp stands was one like a son of man, clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white as white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. 15 His feet were like burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace. His voice was like the voice of many waters. 16 He had seven stars in his right hand. Out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. 18 He laid his right hand on me, saying, "Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last, 18 and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.

So we can see by all the connections shown above for Revelation 14 and 19 that at each instance of the smoke going up forever and ever in Revelation 14 and 19 we have numerous pointers to: Jesus coming as the morning sunrise, a morning sacrifice Psalm being sung, and what is very likely the endless smoke of the continual morning and evening regular sacrifice described in Isaiah 34. So could this wording from Isaiah 34 below which is pointed to by the smoke going up forever in Revelation 14:11 and 19:3 be describing the continual morning and evening regular sacrifice?

"its smoke goes up for generations", "it burns night and day", "it will not be extinguished forever/eternally/for an age"

Now the only remaining of the seven passages being pointed to by the odd and unique word construction, "αἰῶνας αἰώνων", "ages ages", for "forever and ever" in Revelation 14:11 are the apocryphal short story of Susanna and Psalm 45. It is generally recognized that Susanna was written sometime in the third to first centuries BC as part of the Septuagint, well before John wrote Revelation. So it is very possible that Susanna was content that John's ancient audience of Revelation would have been familiar with. I am not trying to assert here definitively that Susanna was considered by John's ancient audience to be a part of inspired scripture. I am only saying that it is possible that it would have been something that they knew of and read. So does Susanna connect well to the content and or wording of Revelation 14:11? It most certainly does. The story is about two false witnesses who attempt to bring the death sentence on an innocent woman. Their plot is foiled by the wisdom of the young prophet Daniel, who strategically questions the false witnesses and exposes them. The punishment from God on these two false witnesses is described here from the Septuagint text that John's ancient audience of Revelation may have been familiar with:

[Susanna 55, 59, 60-61 LES2] 55 And the young man said, "Right, you have lied to your own soul; for the angel of the Lord will tear apart your soul today." ... 59 Then Daniel said, "O sinful man, now the angel of the Lord has set it up, having a sword among the people. And he will utterly destroy you, in order that it may saw you asunder." ... 60-61 Then all the assembly cheered aloud for the young man, that out of each one’s mouth, with agreement between them, they established both of them as false witnesses. And as the law states clearly, so they did to them. Just as they had acted wickedly toward a kinswoman, so they gagged them and, after leading them away, they threw them into a ravine. Then the angel of the Lord threw fire into the middle of them. And thus, innocent blood was saved on that day.

As you can see, the themes of the Susanna passage above have numerous similarities to the judgment content of Revelation 14:11 and its connections with the lake of fire found directly in Revelation. Could the two false witnesses in Susanna be a parallel to the false prophet and the antichrist in Revelation? If you read the entire story of Susanna, you will find that this woman Susanna, who the two false witnesses are attempting to put a death sentence on, is the faithful wife of her husband. Does this sound like antichrist and the false prophet fecklessly attempting to kill Jesus' faithful bride by martyring God's people in the fifth seal during the tribulation in Revelation 6? In Revelation 19:20 antichrist and the false prophet are thrown into a ravine/Gehenna/lake of fire and fire overtakes them. Jesus said, "fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna" specifically referring to the valley of Hinnom with its Greek name "Gehenna". As I showed previously, Gehenna is the lake of fire. Susanna above describes a ravine into which fire is thrown. And of course, the phrase in Susanna above "tear apart your soul" also bears similarities to Jesus' words in Matthew 10:28 regarding the destruction of souls. And of course, the fire of the Angel of the Lord would have reduced these two false witnesses in Susanna to what in the end?.........Ashes. So is this reference to Susanna yet another hard stop, given by John and the Holy Spirit, explicitly limiting the duration of the punishment of the wicked? You be the judge. These references are popping out of every corner of the book of Revelation.

Last but not least, we need to give an honorable mention to Psalm 45 and its use of the odd and rare word construction "αἰῶνα αἰῶνος", "age age", which is pointed to by Revelation 14:11. As I mentioned previously, Psalm 45 only contains "αἰῶνα αἰῶνος" in Codex Vaticanus and no other of the ancient manuscripts considered to be important by Swete in his critical edition of the Septuagint. In spite of this, we still see abundant content in Psalm 45 which is related to the second coming judgment content of Revelation 14 and thereby indirectly to Revelation 14:11. At first blush this Psalm 45 just looks like a description of a very victorious and successful Israelite king. We have a little help from the New Testament deciding who this is though. The Holy Spirit speaking through the apostle Paul just gives it to us straight. Paul quotes Psalm 45 in Hebrews 1:8-9 and tells us in no uncertain terms that Psalm 45 is about Jesus "the Son". See below:

[Hebrews 1:1-2, 8-9 NASB20] 1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world. ... 8 But regarding the Son He says, "YOUR THRONE, GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE SCEPTER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM. 9 "YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS; THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL OF JOY ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS."

[Psalm 45:6-7 NASB20] 6 Your throne, God, is forever and ever; The scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of justice. 7 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your companions.

This being Jesus in Psalm 45 seems a little odd though. Would Jesus have a queen who bows down to him as her "Lord"? Recall that the King Jesus takes a bride in Revelation. The wife of a King is a Queen, and Psalm 45 is just repeating the same bride motif found in the Song of Solomon and Revelation. Jesus, the Groom, comes out of his tent for the Sun, just as in Psalm 19 (which we previously discussed), and marries his people. They become a Queen, and they rule and reign with Him, as they continue to bow to Him in reverence:

[2 Timothy 2:11-12 NASB20] 11 The statement is trustworthy: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; 12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He will also deny us;

How does it make you feel to be held up as a Queen, to know that he loves you that much? And then further on, we see the second coming judgment content of Revelation 14 also found in Psalm 45:3-7 where Jesus is described at his second coming judgement strapping on his "sword", shooting his "arrows", defeating the "peoples" who oppose him, and then being anointed as "King". Does this sound like the second coming of Christ?:

[Psalm 45:3-7 NASB20] 3 Strap Your sword on Your thigh, Mighty One, In Your splendor and majesty! 4 And in Your majesty ride on victoriously, For the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness; Let Your right hand teach You awesome things. 5 Your arrows are sharp; The peoples fall under You; Your arrows are in the heart of the King's enemies. 6 Your throne, God, is forever and ever; The scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of justice. 7 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your companions.

Of course the "sword" in Psalm 45 is the same one coming out of Jesus' mouth at His second coming in Revelation 1:16; 2:16; 19:15; 19:21, and the arrows in Psalm 45 being used by Jesus are a frequent second coming theme in various other passages such as these:

Habakkuk 3; Psalm 18; 2 Samuel 22:8-16; Psalm 144:5-8; Psalm 77:16-20

Also notice in the Psalm 45 passage far above that this "ride" to victory in which Jesus' judgments are doled out to the "peoples" at the second coming is said to be "true" and "righteous", just as we previously saw Jesus' second coming judgments are in Revelation 16 and the related Psalm 19. What do you suppose Jesus is "riding" on in Psalm 45:4 above? Something about Somebody and some other people riding on white horses in Revelation 19:14.....?

I should point out at this juncture that I have now demonstrated, throughout this book, that all seven of the passages which are pointed to by the odd Revelation 14:11 word construction, "αἰῶνας αἰώνων" are very highly related to the content of Revelation 14:11. Each of the seven either relate directly to the content of Revelation 14:11, or are indirectly related to Revelation 14:11 by containing second coming judgment content, just as the verses closely surrounding Revelation 14:11 in Revelation 14 do. Each of the seven either share the same wording or the same content of Revelation 14:11, or more broadly the same wording or the same content of Revelation 14. If just a few of these seven passages connected well to Revelation 14, we might be tempted to call it a coincidence, but as you've seen, they are all highly related to Revelation 14:11 or more broadly to Revelation 14. Lightning doesn't strike seven times in the same place, unless somebody intentionally puts a lightning rod there. With the phrases "αἰῶνας αἰώνων" and "αἰῶνα αἰῶνος" placed in Revelation and in the Greek Septuagint Old Testament, we clearly have an intentionally placed highly conductive pathway. Also, it is clearly not a coincidence that this unique pathway directly connects to seven passages which are all related to other Old Testament content which is being pointed to in other places in Revelation without any use of the phrase "αἰῶνας αἰώνων" to do the pointing. So we clearly have an intentional design and not a coincidence.

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