The “Non-mnipresence” of God
Introduction
Recently, one of the “buzz-topics” that has been floating around in the theological grapevine is the issue of God’s omnipresence and hell. Is God going to be present in hell? When I first heard the arguments which I shall state before they are refuted, I must admit I was swayed with this new “wind” of doctrine. However, upon closer examination I discovered that not only is the Bible clear on this issue–it is abundantly clear!
I will not begin with the greatest argument the Bible gives. When a carpenter is pounding nails with a hammer, he first lightly taps the nail three or four times to make sure it is straight before he gives it one or two good solid whacks to drive it all the way home. A good argument is arranged the same way as the carpenter pounding nails. Your smaller arguments come first. It builds suspense to the big finale. When those last several (usually airtight) arguments hit, the opposition feels the weight of the Bible pounding on them as if God Himself whacked them upright.
A Case for the “Non-mnipresence” of God
Non-mnipresence Defined
What is the argument? Breifly stated the whole issue is over God’s proximity to sin. The doctrine would state that because God cannot look upon or dwell with sin, He cannot be present in hell.
Non-mnipresence Defended
Keep in mind during these next points that I am presenting all of the arguments that I have heard regarding this subject. I am going to play “the Devil’s Advocate,” and will appear to be arguing against that which I truly believe. Please keep in mind: I do not believe what I am about to write.
God’s Proximity to Sin
Sin has separated man from God (Is. 59:2). God has said in His word that He cannot even look upon evil (Hb 1:13). Because of this, “God cannot dwell with sin.”
2 Thess. 1:9 reads:
”They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power”
This text clearly shows that those who are going to be punished in Hell are going to be punished away from the presence of the Lord. If they are being punished away from His presence, they cannot be in His presence!
Non-mnipresence Debunked
1. The Definition of Omnipresence
Omnipresence is defined as being present everywhere at the same time. Although this word cannot be used to entirely disprove the Non-mnipresence of God, it is very important. The same people who say that God cannot be present in Hell sign doctrinal statements that say that God is omnipresent. If one believes that God cannot be present in Hell, then He is not omnipresent, a different word must be used to define this particular attribute of God.
2. The Present Omnipresence
The verses that are used to show that “God cannot dwell with sin” (Hb 1:13; Is 59:2) are interpreted to mean that God cannot dwell with sin. There are several major problems that the exegete encounters. The first major problem is the problem with Satan in heaven. Both in the book of Job and in Revelation the Bible records appearances of Satan’s entrance into heaven. If God cannot dwell with sin, the author of sin surely would not be allowed into heaven to speak face to face with God!
Secondly, (if those who are in hell are viewed to have imputed sin) if God cannot dwell in Hell because of sin then how could He dwell on the face of the earth right now with the very people who will be in Hell?! If those who are in hell from now, through the church age, Millennium and into eternity are “tainted” to the point that God cannot be in their presence, then how can He be in their presence now? The obvious answer is that He can’t. But the Non-mnipresentist would not argue that God is Non-mnipresent on the face of the earth because the Bible specifically states that He is (Is 66:1)!
3. Sheol
Psalms 139:8 says the following:
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
The word for “hell” here is the Hebrew word “Sheol.” In the Old Testament, this was the place for all of the dead, both righteous and unrighteous. Sheol was a general word to describe the place that the two “holding tanks” of souls were kept. Some discredit this view saying that the word Sheol here may only mean the “tank” of the righteous. Although it is not within the scope of this article to go into much detail on the place of the dead in the Old Testament, the word is used throughout the Old Testament to describe the place of the Righteous and the Unrighteous. If God was in the presence of the Righteous souls in the Old Testament, He was also present with the souls of the Unrighteous.
4. The Millennial Kingdom
Isaiah 66:24 shows us that in the Millennial Kingdom, Hell will be present and viewable on the face of the earth:
“ And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
During the Millennial kingdom, however, Christ will also dwell on the face of the earth in Jerusalem (Is 24:23). If Christ can dwell in the presence of Hell in the Millennial Kingdom, why not now or in the future also?
5. 2 Thessalonians 1:9
Now that I have “tapped” enough to get the nail straight, it’s time to drive home the argument.
A very general, even uneducated glance at this passage in the original greek text reveals that the text was translated incorrectly. The phrase “away from the presence of the Lord” in the greek is actually
απο προσωπου του κυριου
A first semester Greek student can read this simple statement. In English it actually says: “Away from the face of the Lord” (emphasis mine).This translation fits perfectly into Is 59:2 and Hb 1:13. Isaiah 59:2 says
But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear.
Just as in this verse, sin has hidden God’s face, so is judgment done in 2Th 1:9 away from the face of the Lord. This idea is completed by Hb 1:13 that says God cannot look upon sin. 1Pe 3:12 says that the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, but the face of the Lord is turned to those who do evil.
6. Imputed Sin
2 Corinthians 5:19 says:
that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Christ, in dying on the cross, does not impute sin to anyone, Christian or Heathen alike. Christ bore our sins in His body on the cross (1Pe 2:24), and He is the propitiation for all sin, not ours only but also for the whole world (1Jn 2:2). If Christ already satisfied the debt of sin, and sin is not imputed to the accounts of those in Hell, those in hell will not suffer for sin. In this case, God would not be dwelling with sin anyways.
7. Revelation 14:10
This verse says:
he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
The verse in context is speaking of the beast and his image in Revelation. The phrase in the greek for “in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.” is:
ενωπιον αγγελων αγιων και ενωπιον του αρνιου
It is easy to see here that this is not speaking of the “face” like 2Th 1:9, but the presence. Context also shows that the “Lamb” here is Christ. As a final piece of evidence, this verse expressly says that the Beast will be tormented in the lake of fire (Rv 19:10) where the unsaved will also suffer for eternity (Rv 19:15). If God will be in the presence of the suffering of the Beast, He will also be in the presence of the suffering of the lost world.
Conclusion
God is omnipresent. By definition this means He is everywhere all at once. It does not violate the holiness of God to be in the presence of Hell because all sin was paid for at the cross. The Bible expressly tells us that Christ will be in the presence of Hell in the millennial Kingdom and throughout eternity and He has been in the past. If anyone says anything contrary to this fact, he is adding and taking away from the Bible, both have severe consequences (Rv 22:18-19). In closing, listen to the words of Paul concerning the teaching of bad doctrine:
If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.
1 Timothy 6:3-5
1. “omnipresence.” Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 15 Dec. 2008. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/omnipresence>.
Interesting article. Can God be omnipresent and yet choose to be absent from hell? Just a thought (albeit a philosophical one).
Your view of hell needs to be bore out a bit, at least for me. You spoke of Sheol, but is that the same as Hell? Or, more importantly, is Sheol THE eternal lake of fire or just a place of torment? Actually, what is your view between the differences of Hades, Sheol, Hell, Gehenna, Tarturus, & the lake of fire? The reason I ask is because the “hell” you mentioned in Isa. 66 is likely not the hell of eternity. Remember, death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire at the GWT. This indicates that Hades and hell/Gehenna/lake of fire are distinct. I believe that the unsaved dead are currently in Hades (no one is in hell yet since the GWT has not occurred). I believe that the 2nd Coming, the unsaved ALIVE are judged (sheep & goats of Matt. 25) and thrown into the lake of fire (they aren’t present at the GWT since Rev. 20 only mentions the unsaved DEAD).
What I am driving at is your point about what is referenced in Isa. 66 as it pertains to the MK. I do not believe the passage is clear as being Sheol/Hades or hell. We know that at His 2nd Coming, there are going to be many corpses, a lot of blood, and probably burning dead bodies. So perhaps this is not a reference to the unsaved dead’s tormenting abode at all.
To answer your philisophical question – no God cannot chose not to be in Hell because He says that He is present in Hell.
Secondly, My view of Hell would be an article in and of itself, I am merely speaking in general terms of “Sheol” in the old testament although I do mention that this term is used to describe both the place of the unrighteous dead and the righteous dead which were in the same “place,” separated by a large chasm.
Thirdly, I was mostly speaking of the location of “hell” in the M.K. The reason that I believe what I do about Is. 66:24 is because of the description. 1)they sinned against God (they are obviously not saved), 2)Their worm does not die (they are not anihilated, they are present), 3)Their fire is not quenched (fire is used to reference torment of the unsaved in the Gospels and Epistles as well, besides if this was the aftermath of the wars going into the M.K. then eventually the corpses would be burnt and the fires go out). There is just as much evidence to say that this is “hell” as there is to support some of your crazy views about the kingdom
.
Very good article. But i have onme question- You said, “If God cannot dwell with sin, the author of sin surely would not be allowed into heaven to speak face to face with God!”
..but then you’ve also said “but the face of the Lord is turned to those who do evil.” so satan surely could not have spoken face to face with God. Or could he? Please clarify.