My advice to Hershel was that, as a Jew who does not accept Jesus as his savior, he need not worry about being thrown into the lake of fire at the end of time.
These are words written by a New Testament professor to Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review in a column this month.
The professor, a scholar who is highly respected in the academy, comes to this conclusion on the basis of her analysis of the New Testament. In the column (posted in full online), she makes two main points to support her conclusion:
1. Judgment in Revelation is based only on works, not on what one believes. Those thrown in the lake of fire are wicked people.
2. The book of Revelation cannot be taken literally. By using a variety of images, Revelation itself proclaims that there is no one true vision of the things that really matter.
I have a few questions:
1. Is this a fair evaluation of all of the evidence? Or is it a selective presentation in order to obtain the desired answer?
2. Who is the book of Revelation addressed to? Does indications of who the audience is tell us anything about the role of faith?
3. Is there any relationship between the Jesus of Revelation and the Jesus presented in the Gospels?
4. Are there any other passages (besides Revelation) which connect faith to eternal destiny? Should these factor into the professor’s response?
5. What would you say to this professor who told Mr. Shanks (and now the whole world) that there is no reason to worry about divine judgment?
If you go to a doctor and he tells you that you have pancreatic cancer but it will have no effect on your life expectancy, you can go to another doctor for a second opinion. By the time that Mr. Shanks learns that he needs a second opinion, it will be too late to sue this professor for malpractice.
I had a similar reaction when I read the article last week, Todd. I’m guessing any genuine Christian who reads it will be heartbroken & upset simultaneously, but I take comfort in the belief that Mr. Shanks probably chose this scholar to ask this question for reasons completely unrelated to a genuine concern over his eternal fate.