Commentary on the Gospel of John

                                  Chapter Fifteen

                                                                                                                                              Verses 6-8

Jesus spoke about those humans who turn  themselves over to practice evil. These types of persons put themselves outside of God's created branches. These are the atheists, materialists, and cruel criminals of the world. They wither inside because they rarely feel God's presence in their lives. When they face the judgment of Christ when they die, He will usually cast their souls and spirits into a burning Hell. Hebrews 9:27. But Christ did not say they would be in Hell forever.

About the only verses in the entire Bible (KJB) on which one can base the doctrine that living humans remain in a burning Hell forever occurs in Mark 9:43-48. Jesus did teach that the fires of Hell burn forever, but He also taught that only the "worms" of living humans would be in that eternal fire. When Jesus spoke about their "worms," He had to have referred to Isaiah's prophecy about the final resurrection. Isaiah 66:18-24. Isaiah prophesied that in this general resurrection, God will raise all living humans from the dead, cause them all to go to Jerusalem to worship Him, and they will be able to look back at their dead carcasses and see their "worms" in an everlasting fire. In order for this prophecy to be true, these "worms,' which symbolize man's evil, spiritual deaths, had to have been separated from their living, recreated bodies by God's use of His fiery wrath against evil. Just before the final resurrection, God will use His fiery wrath to dissolve every repentant human system confined to the regions of death in order to melt them down to separate His living nature from these humans that He created and loves for Him to recreate from their dead spiritual natures that He will cast into the eternal lake of fire. I Corinthians 3:11-15; II Peter 3:9-13; Psalm 75:3; Revelation 5:11-14; Revelation 20:5. In Revelation 20:11-15, God clearly states that He will cast only dead humans into the eternal lake of fire, not living humans. All living humans that God created in His image are forever alive to God. Genesis 1:27; Genesis 3:20-21; Luke 20:38.

In the very next verse, Jesus taught that "every one shall be salted with fire." Mark 9:50. In other words, Jesus taught that every living human will be either sanctified by fire or preserved by God's use of His fiery wrath against evil. Humans saved by grace will be sanctified by God's fire when filled with the Holy Spirit, and all living humans not saved by grace will be forever preserved by God's fire. Acts 2:1-4; Genesis 8:20-21; I Corinthians 3:11-15. In this verse, Jesus referred to God's establishment of the Old Testament burnt offering to symbolize His use of His fiery wrath against evil to save all living humans confined to the regions of death when He will cause them all to repent and believe in Him as their Savior just prior to His final judgment. Genesis 8:20-21; Revelation 5:11-14. At that time, Christ will use His fiery wrath against evil to dissolve their systems in order to save their repentant, living natures and to cast their dead, unrepentant natures into the lake of fire. Matthew 12:31-32; I Corinthians 3:11-15; II Peter 3:9-13; Psalm 75:3. I Corinthians 3:15 cannot refer to humans saved by grace because they are not saved by fire. They may be sanctified by fire when filled with the Holy Spirit, but not saved by fire. Humans saved by grace are saved only by being washed in the shed blood and water that flowed from Jesus' body on the cross. I John 5:7-8.