Three times the Lord Jesus speaks of “hell.” Three times (in the footnotes of the NIV, ed. note) he says, “their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”
These are awful expressions. They call for reflection rather than exposition. They should be pondered, considered and remembered by all who claim to be Christians.
It matters little whether we regard them as figurative and symbolic. If they are, one thing at least is very clear.
The worm and the fire are symbols of real things. There is a real hell, and that hell is eternal.
J. C. Ryle, Mark, Crossway Classic Commentaries (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), 140.
Comments