The Silence is Defining

“The silence is deafening” is a familiar oxymoron. An oxymoron is “a literary device in which two contradictory words are used together. From the Greek “oxy” (wise) and “moron” (foolish) the word “oxymoron” is itself an oxymoron.”  

How can silence be deafening when silence is the absence of any noise? As contradictory as it “sounds,” we understand the cliche to mean that sometimes saying nothing says a lot. In fact, sometimes silence is so striking it’s blaring.  

“But I didn’t say anything,” the husband protests. “You didn’t have to,” the wife scolds as she rolls her eyes. “By not saying anything you said plenty.” That’s not only true of new outfits and hair-dos, it’s accurate about some topics in the Bible.  

Scripture says what it means and means what it says, and sometimes what it doesn’t say says as much as what it does.     

This is especially the case with the myth of endless torment. There are passages where the silence is deafening. And defining. With a matter as vitally important as the ultimate fate of man, there are key places in the Bible where absence of information is exceptionally informative. Our goal in this chapter is to show how in these instances not saying anything said plenty, and saying nothing said everything.

If it is true that immortal souls are in danger of ceaseless suffering, there are so many times in the Bible that something should have been said. Such a consequential truth should be blazened throughout the length and breadth of Scripture, should be deep dyed in the warp and woof, underscored by prophet and apostle, emphasized in song and sermon, and made so unmistakably clear that no one could miss it or misunderstand it.  

But it’s not. Not even close. There were times, ideal times, when if something like that were true then something surely should have been said. Right then. Right there. But it wasn’t. 

Let's start from the beginning. If endless torment is true, why wasn’t Adam told? Name a better opportunity to establish the doctrine for all of time and all of mankind. You can’t. That was it. That was the best chance possible. He’s the first man. He committed the first sin. God should have told him. Right then. Right there.  

It’s not that God was silent. The Creator spoke plainly before and after Adam’s transgression, making the consequences known. “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16, 17).  

Thou shalt surely die was the warning. What did that mean? After Adam ate the fruit, God defined death as a “return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:19). The Bible’s built-in dictionary contrasts death with life: “cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life… till thou return unto the ground” (3:17-19).  

Death is the loss of life. Eve knew it. “God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die,” she said. But the serpent denied it. “Ye shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4).  

God says you’ll lose your life. The devil says you won’t. Traditional theologians agree with the devil. Like Cinderella’s fairy godmother, they have taken this unadorned language and dressed it up to waltz at the immortal ball. Wearing a splendid gown that separates the undying soul from the lifeless body, death is no longer loss of life but rather life elsewhere.  

Thou shalt surely die and thou shalt return to the ground, says the Lord, but the devil and the divines say, no, ye shalt not surely die. Ye shall live on. Only the body dies. You don’t, and never will.  

But death as loss of life, returning to the ground, dust to dust, is what it says. That is loud and clear. But even louder is what is not said. In neither the warning of dying or explanation of what it means to die is anything said about soul survival or separation of the soul from the body. Not one word.  

And the silence concerning punishment in hell is deafening. And defining. This stark silence defines the penalty of sin as death, and death as the loss of life, not immediate torment in hell nor infinite torment in the lake of fire. If such were the case, God should have said something! No doubt if it were He would have. He didn’t because it isn’t.

God should have told Adam, and Moses should have told the Hebrews. The Lawgiver of Israel issued unambiguous ordinances with specific requirements for those who transgress. Jewish tradition enumerates 613 commandments in the law of Moses. Thou shalt. Thou shalt not. Do this. Don’t do that. If you don’t do what you should, or if you do what you shouldn’t, then you must do this. If endless torment is true, Moses, of all people, should have said something. If it were so, surely he would have.  

The book of Deuteronomy alone, eighth longest in the Bible (34 chapters, 959 verses, 23,008 words) is a series of three sermons, a song, and a deathbed blessing by Moses to the children of Israel. His third sermon ends with a stirring call to action.

“See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments... that thou mayest live…But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish… I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (30:15-19). 

Moses movingly made his appeal but majorly missed his chance, his perfect chance. He should have told them right then and there about ongoing agony. He had so much to say, but nothing about endless torment. He wanted them to do right, warning them if they didn’t they would “surely perish.” He set before them life or death. But what about life after death? What about hell?  

Moses mentions hell one time: “a fire is kindled in mine anger, (the LORD said) and shall burn unto the lowest hell (Sheol).” This consuming fire devours and destroys: it “shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction” (32:22, 24).  

That would have been the ideal time to add “and the same will happen to you, except you won’t be consumed, destroyed, or devoured. You will burn on and on.” But he didn’t. This silence is defining - they were in danger, but of finally perishing, not infinitely suffering. Wow, that’s loud!

What of the prophets? They should have said something. In their effort to deliver “thus saith the Lord” and urge their listeners to turn to God, the prophets sure said a ton! Elijah and Elisha, Joel and Jonah, Isaiah and Jeremiah, Hosea and Hezekiah, Zephaniah and Zechariah, Micah, Malachi, and more, the prophets issued the most direct and dire of warnings!

Paul knew what they said. After the prophets were read in the synagogue at Antioch, Paul was invited to speak. He ended his “word of exhortation” with “Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets” (Acts 13:15, 40). Surely if endless torment is true, it would have been endless torment that the prophets would have said would come upon them. But no, it never was. Never.

They warned of torment in death, never of torment after: “shall die with tumult” (Amos 2:2); “will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die” (Isaiah 22:18); “the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner” (Isaiah 51:6).  

This utterance is especially revealing: 

They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. Jeremiah 16:4  

So much to say about what “they” would face after death: “they shall not be lamented… neither… buried; but they shall be as dung… and they shall be consumed… and their carcases shall be meat” for the birds. Why nothing about torment after death? If after their grievous death they were right then enduring conscious suffering, why would they care about their dead bodies? What about their undying souls?

And according to these sermonizing seers death would be by multiple means: “I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence” (Jeremiah 14:12); “The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him” (Ezekiel 7:15). Death, death, and more death was the prophesied punishment, but no mention of any punishment after death.  

If the prophet’s audience were indeed in danger of immediate descent into the flames of hell, isn't it odd that they weren’t told?

Isaiah had direct revelation: “And it was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord God of hosts” (Isaiah 22:14). The son of Amoz sure missed his chance! Not only would “this iniquity… not be purged… till ye die,” it would never be purged at all, even after a gazillion years of ongoing agony. But wait, Isaiah said exactly what the Lord revealed in his ears. So was it really God that missed His chance?

War and captivity, famine and drought, beasts and bugs were all part of the plethora of impending ominous acts of God:  

“behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard” (Isaiah 49:2)

“Israel shall surely go into captivity” (Amos 7:17) 

“I called for a drought upon the land” (Haggai 1:11) 

“So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee: and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the Lord have spoken it” (Ezekiel 5:17). 

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria” (Isaiah 7:18).

All these temporal tragedies were terrible and terrifying, but of no comparison to ceaseless suffering. The prophets really should have said something.  

And these wandering watchmen of woe were under strict orders to do so: “When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand” (Ezekiel 33:8). If the wicked man’s blood would be required of the silent envoy, what about the wicked man’s undying soul in eternal torment?!  

But not... one... word.  

The silence is defining. 

And consider this horrible misinformation from Jeremiah: “They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field” (Lamentations 4:9). How could being slain with the sword be better than being slain with hunger? Wouldn’t those slain go straight to hell? I’m fairly certain most would rather put that off as long as they could, even if it meant pining away of hunger.  

The silence of the prophets echoed through the hills of Judea and the banks of Jordan, from the walls of Jerusalem to the plains of Jericho. What they did say was “thus saith the Lord;” thus, the Lord said nothing about infinite anguish. Can’t you hear ever so clearly what they didn’t say? Their silence is defining.

The apostles should have said something. They preached numerous sermons, wrote multiple letters, gave ample testimony, and engaged in frequent debate. They had a lot to say, and so much of what they said is recorded in our New Testament, but neither in the Acts or Epistles is anything said about torment in hell. 

There are at least twenty gospel presentations by the apostles and others in Acts, including Peter at Pentecost, Stephen to the Sanhedrin, Philip to the Ethiopian Eunuch, and Paul at Mars Hill. Nothing about hell.  

In Acts we have this frequency of occurrences: gospel – 6x; faith – 14; repent/repentance – 10; grace – 10; crucifixion (references to Christ’s death) – 7; resurrection – 15; salvation – 14; Lord - 102; Jesus – 67; Christ – 30; preach/teach – 37; hell – 2; Endless Torment – 0. The two references to hell refer to David’s prophecy: “He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption” (Acts 2:27, 31).

Paul, who “as his manner was… reasoned with them out of the scriptures” (Acts 17:2), left no account of using the word “hell.” Not once.  

This silence is from the chosen vessel who reminded his hearers: 

And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Acts 20:25-27   

If ongoing agony was part of “all the counsel of God,” it’s not part of the inspired record that Paul ever declared it.  

This silence is from the inspired writer of at least thirteen epistles who six separate times stressed “I would not have ye to be ignorant.” This silence is from the missionary evangelist who said “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men” (2 Corinthians 5:11 in reference to “the judgment seat of Christ” - v.10). 

As we have seen, Paul had much to say about eternal life for believers and of death, judgment, perish and destruction for unbelievers. But he says nothing whatsoever about hell or torment. This silence of Paul is defining.

Peter and James mention hell, Peter in reference to the resurrection of Christ (“thou wilt not leave my soul in hell” - Acts 2:27), and James to the tongue (“set on fire of hell” - James 3:6). That’s it. Nothing about hell as a place of torment.  

That silence is especially defining in that it was Peter who preached at Pentecost when three thousand were baptized, and Peter who told Cornelius “words, whereby” he and all his “house shall be saved” (Acts 11:14). Those “words” didn’t include the word “hell.”  

And James wrote “Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death” (James 5:20). The converted sinner is a soul saved from death, not torment.  

Peter and James had ample and ideal opportunities to say something else, and something more, but they didn't. Their silence is defining.

The only apostle to speak of torment is John. Revelation has two enigmatic references to torment, first of mark-receiving beast worshippers and then of the devil, beast, and false prophet. The first is in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb (Revelation 14:11); the second is in the lake of fire and brimstone into which hell itself is later cast (Revelation 20:10, 14). 

Neither of these references are speaking of torment in hell. The former is when the wine of God’s wrath is poured out in particular judgment; the latter ends with “the second death.”

But consider that John had a particular motivation in writing his unique gospel, his being so distinct from the “synoptic” (similar) gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In fact, it is the only book in the entire Bible expressly written for such a purpose: 

And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. John 20:30, 31  

Think of that! John wrote his gospel as an evangelistic tract with the goal that readers would become believers.  

The home of John 3:16, this is the only gospel to tell the stories of Christ’s interaction with Nicodemus at night, the woman at the well, the man at the pool of Bethesda, the woman taken in adultery, and the man born blind. It is the only gospel to include John the Baptist declaring “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (1:29), Jesus crying from the cross “It is finished” (19:30), and the testimony of Thomas after seeing the risen Christ: “My Lord and my God” (20:28). 

It is the only gospel to include the calling of Andrew, Philip, and Nathaniel (1:35-51), the raising of Lazarus (11:1-44), and the appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene in the garden (20:15-18).  

John was on a mission. There were many things he could have included, but he chose material that would inspire faith in Christ, “that believing ye might have life through his name.” And with all the things he said about eternal, everlasting life in his gospel and three short letters, he never ever mentions hell or torment.  

Surely if perpetual torture were true, the evagelistic minded apostle would have included it as an essential part of the gospel message. It isn’t, and he didn’t. The silence of John is so defining.

We have meticulously addressed the words of Jesus that have been misinterpreted as meaning perpetual pain. Being well aware of their seminal import and pervasive influence, we have not neglected a thorough examination of the rich man tormented in flames, or of the torments of Revelation. Parabolic and apocalyptic as they are, those few passages are the underpinning of the endless torment dogma. 

But of sixty-six books written by around forty authors over a period of fourteen hundred years, even traditionalists maintain that no more than four say anything resembling endless torment.  

If ceaseless suffering is indeed the teaching of the Bible, we have sufficiently proven that there are so many other times and places in which something surely should have been said. God should have told Adam. Moses should have told the Hebrews. The prophets and apostles should have said something.  

“And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of” the silence of Job and his “miserable comforters” who moralized deep and wide of life and death, but nary a word about torment in hell. Or of the one hundred and fifty Psalms that poetically span the highs and lows of human joy and sorrow and life and death, the thirty-one chapters of Proverbs filled with the insight of the sages and wisdom of the ages, or the profound philosophizing of Solomon in Ecclesiastes, his personal journal in which he gives “the conclusion of the whole matter” (12:13). 

They said so very much, but absolutely nothing of endless torment. It is the same with Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua, the Judges, Samuel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and many more. Silence.    

This is not a hollow or superficial argument; it stands to reason in a most apparent way. Something so incredibly striking, overwhelmingly consequential, and utterly inconceivable apart from divine revelation - if something of this shocking magnitude is true it should have absolutely permeated the pages of the Bible and been shouted from the housetops.   

It wasn’t. If it were true it would have been. It wasn’t because it isn’t. 

Cover your ears! The silence is deafening. And defining.