Question 7
Who started the idea that the wicked burn forever instead of dying?
Bible
Genesis 3:3-4
Answer
The Bible tells us that the very first lie ever told was told by the serpent, which is the devil (revelation 12). His lie was that man would not die, which directly contradicted what God told Adam and Eve. The devil is continuing this lie today with the teaching that lost sinners don't really die, but rather spend eternity in conscious torment in a place called Hell. Jesus said that the devil is "the father of lies" (John 8:44) because he is the first liar and his first lie was that man wouldn't really die.
The teaching of an everlasting place of punishment for the wicked is the natural consequence of a belief in an immortal soul that can not die. Hell had been taught in Greek philosophy long before the time of Jesus, with Plato (427-347 BC) as the important leader in this thinking. Hellfire teaching was brought into Christianity by the Roman church who copied it from pagan religions and Greek mythology.