YHWH (the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) is a God of order and peace. YHWH gave us His teachings, instructions, and commandments so we can know His will and His way. God’s Law establishes a framework of acceptable behavior and acceptable disciplinary actions. God’s Law is the standard by which He, His people, and His kingdom as a whole must live by. There is one Law for both the native-born Israelite and the foreigner living among us; and, all are accountable to that Law.
Is torture consistent with God’s Law? Does God permit us to torture people for any reason? Is torture ever an acceptable form of punishment in the Kingdom of Heaven? Or, is torture against God’s Law?
In Holy, Perfect, and Just Awful, we considered whether eternal torture, annihilation, or universal salvation is consistent with God’s nature and character as defined in the Bible. In this article, we consider whether the popular doctrines on God’s final judgement are consistent with His Law.
Recap: The Three Popular Views on God’s Punishment of Unredeemed Sinners
There are three major doctrines on how God will carry out His punishment on the unredeemed:
1. Eternal Torture — This is the classic belief in Hell as fiery torment of the wicked. This doctrine teaches God will cast unredeemed people into a fiery netherworld where they will live forever in eternal, conscious, torture. Nobody can escape the torture of Hell, and it never ends.
2. Annihilation — This is the belief that the wages of sin is death, and God will permanently execute the unredeemed. This doctrine teaches God’s fiery wrath will destroy those who are condemned under His law. Souls are not inherently immortal, and the wicked will not survive judgement.
3. Universalism — This is the belief that everyone, without exception, will ultimately receive God’s salvation. This doctrine teaches that nobody will be placed in eternal torture or be permanently destroyed. It’s not God’s will that anyone will perish, and His perfect love and salvation will culminate in everyone being redeemed from the penalty of sin.
Is God’s Law Still Relevant Today?
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)
Jesus taught that “the Law and the Prophets” remain in full effect until heaven and earth pass away and all things are completed. Heaven and earth won’t pass away until Jesus returns to commence judgement on the final Day of YHWH (we see this passing away of the old heaven and earth in Isaiah and Revelation). All things will not be completed until judgment is finished and God’s redeemed people enter the eternal kingdom of heaven (these events are recorded in scripture and must be done before all things can be considered complete). Since the Law and the Prophets remain in full effect, we must understand them as they relate to our relationship with God and our interpretation of His word and will.
What is Torah?
In English translations of the Bible, we frequently see references to “the Law”. If we go back to the original Hebrew texts, what “Law” refers to is “Torah”. What is Torah?
The word Torah means teaching, instruction, guidance, direction, or commandment. Torah is pictured as an arrow hitting the mark, landing true on the target. Torah is God’s instructions and commandments given for our benefit. Torah teaches us to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, and clean from unclean. Torah defines God’s will, God’s guidelines, and God’s justice.
The apostle John defined sin as Lawlessness, which is violation of Torah (1 John 3:4-10). John told us Jesus’ purpose is to eliminate sin, and he never sins. Anyone who obeys Torah practices righteousness, while anyone who makes a practice of violating Torah (sinning) is of the devil. God never sins. Jesus never sins. And we who follow God and Messiah must not make a practice of sinning. Torah is to be upheld.
God Never Prescribed Torture as a Form of Punishment
Torah teaches us what is evil, and Torah commands disciplinary actions for violation of God’s instructions. Punishment under the Torah can take several forms:
1. Quarantine — Some violations of Torah make one unclean. The remedy for such a violation is for the unclean person to be segregated from the community and denied access to the temple until the unclean state is resolved. Resolution of the unclean state can include healing (if infections disease is present), washing of one’s body and clothing, waiting for a specified period of time to elapse, and presenting an offering to God to be re-admitted to the community.
2. Restitution — Some violations of Torah require one to repay another who has been wronged. For example: If one is responsible for the loss or destruction of another’s property, then he or she must repay the cost of replacing the property. If one causes the death of another’s livestock, he or she must replace the slain animal.
3. Corporal Punishment — In some instances, one can be beaten or flogged for violating Torah. The purpose of such punishment is to make correction so that the offender will be dissuaded from repeating the offense. Corporal punishment has reasonable limits and is not intended to be purely for vengeance’s sake.
4. Capital Punishment — The highest form of punishment under the Torah is the death penalty. Capital punishment is reserved for the most abhorrent offenses such as murder and rape.
Torture is never permitted as a form of punishment under the Torah. Torah places great emphasis on maintaining righteousness and justice; and, perversion of justice is repeatedly prohibited by God. The penalties under Torah are not intended to be a device for sadism, revenge, and paybacks; rather, all remedies under the Torah are aimed at correcting one who has acted wrongly and preventing the wrong behavior from spreading throughout the community. Capital punishment, the highest form of punishment, is reserved for the most personally and socially destructive behaviors.
Eternal Torture — Torture is a violation of Torah, violation of Torah is sin, and God never sins. God’s holy, perfect, and just laws are for the purpose of either correcting or eliminating sinful behavior. Eternal Torture is completely contrary to the framework of God’s Law. Eternal Torture is sinful and it fails to correct or eliminate sin. Instead, Eternal Torture is the most extreme example of unbridled hatred, vengeance, and abuse of power. Given God’s character and Law, there is simply no way we can think He will brutally torture people for all time.
Annihilation — Annihilation is consistent with capital punishment, which is established as an acceptable form of punishment under the Torah. If people remain in abject rebellion against God, refusing to ever obey, then capital punishment is a reasonable sentence. Annihilation is the ultimate form of capital punishment; it is punishment that is eternal in nature and completely eradicates sin and rebellion from the Kingdom of Heaven.
Universalism — Universalism could possibly be consistent with Torah so long as it includes an element of reasonable punishment. If the doctrine of Universalism includes punishment that leads to correction and change, then Universalism could be acceptable within the framework of Torah.
God Set Reasonable Limits for Punishment
If there is a dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty, then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense. Forty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight. (Deuteronomy 25:1-3)
God established reasonable limits on punishment. First, God mandated the parties to a dispute receive a trial to determine guilt. This is common throughout the Torah; there is a written standard of commandments, people accused of wrongdoing receive a trial, and there must be witnesses and evidence to convict an accused person.
Second, we see that if one is found guilty and subject to corporal punishment then the amount of punishment is to be proportionate to the violation committed. Furthermore, there is a maximum amount of punishment that can be given. So, punishment under Torah is reasonable and cannot be taken to an extreme.
Third, dignity is maintained even for the convicted sinner. God told us that punishing people beyond a reasonable limit degrades them before the rest of the community. According to God, even a guilty law-breaker is due some basic dignity, consideration, and compassion in judgement.
Eternal Torture — Eternal Torture is contrary to God’s guidelines of punishment. The doctrine of Eternal Torture does contain a trial at the end of the age; however, the punishment given to the condemned is disproportionate to the sinners’ offenses. Continual torture is infinitely greater than anything humans could have conceivable done in their short lifespans. Additionally, the extreme agony of eternal, conscious, torture degrades people far beyond what could be accomplished with a forty-first strike. This doctrine simply doesn’t align with God’s justice as defined in the Bible.
Annihilation — Annihilation does comply with the guidelines of punishment given by God. There is a trial at the end of the age. The punishment given to the condemned is expedient and final, thereby avoiding an extreme. Dignity and compassion are maintained by swiftly completing punishment and not unnecessarily prolonging or amplifying it.
Universalism — Universalism does include a trial at the end of the age. The doctrine avoids extreme punishment and doesn’t intentionally degrade the condemned. So long as there is a fitting punishment for the condemned, then the doctrine is consistent with punishment under the Torah.
God Requires that Punishment fit the Crime
Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. Whoever takes an animal’s life shall make it good, life for life. If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him. Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, and whoever kills a person shall be put to death. You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am YHWH your God. (Leviticus 24:17-22)
God consistently establishes that punishment should fit the offense. Human life is held in the highest esteem by God; so, murder is a capital offense. When we study all portions of Torah that address murder, we never see God command that the convicted murderer be tortured. Capital punishment is always expedient, never unnecessarily prolonged, and never made to be extreme.
If an animal is killed, the one who killed it must make restitution. An equivalent animal must be supplied in place of the one that was killed. So the punishment fits the offense; if we kill a neighbor’s livestock we must provide our neighbor with a suitable replacement.
In the case of assault, the convicted offender is subject to equal injury that he or she caused. Not greater injury. Not ongoing torment or torture. Not prolonged incarceration. No, the remedy for assault and personal injury is equal to the damage caused and is carried out immediately. Justice is swift and fair, with no partiality and no intent to escalate the punishment for hatred or revenge.
God’s Law matches punishment to the offense without unreasonably escalating the punishment or requiring anything the condemned cannot possibly pay.
Eternal Torture — Eternal Torture absolutely fails to match punishment in proportion to offense. The doctrine calls for infinite punishment in retaliation for finite offenses. The doctrine makes no distinction between levels or amounts of offense. The unredeemed sinner who lived 30 years in rebellion to God gets the same punishment as one who sinned for 50 or 90 years. Regardless of how much sin one committed, the penalty is the same infinite amount that cannot reasonably be seen as proportionate to anyone’s offense. The doctrine pictures God as violating His own standards of Law and justice; He is viewed as one who goes to an unimaginable extreme to get back at the people who have angered Him.
Annihilation – Annihilation does impose a punishment fitting the offense. The offense is absolute rebellion against God and a refusal to ever change. The punishment is absolute destruction of the rebellious sinner and a refusal to ever restore him or her to the Kingdom of Heaven. There is no escalation of punishment. God doesn’t one-up the sinner.
Universalism – Whether or not Universalism is consistent with matching punishment to offense depends on what the Universalist believes the punishment will ultimately be. So long as there is a punishment fitting mankind’s sins, then Universalism can be consistent with Torah.
Conclusion
God’s Law prohibits torture, establishes reasonable limits, and maintains justice by ensuring punishment fits the offense. How do the three major doctrines of God’s divine punishment line up with God’s Law?
Eternal Torture — God’s Law prohibits torture, so Eternal Torture cannot be consistent with God’s Law. God’s Law establishes reasonable limits to punishment; but, Eternal Torture is limitless punishment. God’s Law mandates that punishment fit the offense; but, Eternal Torture infinitely outweighs any offense that mortal man could commit in a finite lifetime. The doctrine of Eternal Torture fails to align with God’s framework of Law and justice.
Universalism — Universalism does not subject mankind to punishment that is torturous, unreasonable, or extreme. Universalism allows room for punishment that leads to correction and repentance. The only issue with Universalism is that many portions of scripture speak of sinners being destroyed, burned up, or sentenced to “second death”. While Universalism can be consistent with justice under Torah, it seems inconsistent with other portions of scripture that speak of a final end to sinners. To accept Universalism, we would have to reconcile the doctrine with those portions of scripture that speak of a final end to the wicked.
Annihilation — Annihilation is capital punishment. This is an acceptable form of punishment under Torah; it’s neither unreasonable nor extreme. The penalty of permanent, final, destruction is proportionate with the offense of permanent, unrepentant, rebellion against God. Of the three doctrines, Annihilation seems most consistent with the framework of justice as given in God’s Torah.