UNQUENCHABLE FIRE

un-kwench'-a-b'-l, pur asbestos): The phrase occurs in Matthew 3:12 and its parallel Luke 3:17 in the words of the Baptist on the Messianic judgment: "The chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire"; but also on the lips of Christ Himself in Mark 9:43, where the "unquenchable fire" is equated with "Gehenna" (which see). The same idea lies in 9:48, "The fire is not quenched" (ou sbennutai), and is implied in the numerous allusions to fire as the instrument of punishment and destruction in the Gospels and other parts of the New Testament (e.g. "the Gehenna of fire," Matthew 5:22 margin, etc.; "furnace of fire," Matthew 13:40, 42, 50; "eternal fire," Matthew 25:41; compare also 2 Thessalonians 1:8 2 Peter 3:7; Jude 1:7 Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:10, 14, 15; Revelation 21:8). For Old Testament analogies compare Isaiah 1:31; Isaiah 34:10; Isaiah 66:24 Jeremiah 4:4; Jeremiah 7:20; Jeremiah 17:27; Jeremiah 21:12 Ezekiel 20:47, 48. The language is obviously highly metaphorical, conveying the idea of an awful and abiding judgment, but is not to be pressed as teaching a destruction in the sense of annihilation of the wicked. An unquenchable fire is not needed for a momentary act of destruction. Even in the view of Edward White, the wicked survive the period of judgment to which these terms relate.

See PUNISHMENT, EVERLASTING.

James Orr

The Unquenchable Fire. August 31.
... The Unquenchable Fire. August 31. A fire which cannot be quenched, a worm
which cannot die, I see existing, and consider them among ...
/.../kingsley/daily thoughts /the unquenchable fire august 31.htm

The Preaching of John. Ch. 3:1-20
... fan is in his hand, thoroughly to cleanse his threshing-floor, and to gather the
wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. ...
/.../erdman/the gospel of luke an exposition/a the preaching of john.htm

Whether that Fire Will Engulf the Wicked?
... will purge His poor, and will gather the wheat," ie the elect, "into His barn, but
the chaff," ie the wicked, "He will burn with unquenchable fire." Hence it ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether that fire will engulf.htm

Salted with Fire
... the Baptist, where, in precisely similar fashion, there are set side by side the
two conceptions of the chaff being cast into the unquenchable fire (the same ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture d/salted with fire.htm

A Revelation on the Trial of Perfect Chastity.
... or how will that unquenchable fire which searches out the deserts of all pass me
by in that dread day of judgment, and fail to detain me, if this trivial ...
/.../cassian/the conferences of john cassian/chapter x a revelation on.htm

Whether the Worm of the Damned is Corporeal?
... Dei xx, 22): "The unquenchable fire and the restless worm in the punishment of
the damned are explained in various ways by different persons. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether the worm of the.htm

Against Plato, on the Cause of the Universe.
... And in this locality there is a certain place [1583] set apart by itself, a lake
of unquenchable fire, into which we suppose no one has ever yet been cast; for ...
/.../the extant works and fragments of hippolytus/against plato on the cause.htm

Whosoever Confesses that one God is the Author of Both Testaments ...
... His lips, and having a fan in His hands, and cleansing His floor, and gathering
the wheat indeed into His barn, but burning the chaff with unquenchable fire. ...
/.../irenaeus/against heresies/chapter xxxiii whosoever confesses that one.htm

Ye have Heard of the Ceaseless Joy, Ye have Heard of the ...
... them. Depart from me, ye cursed, into the outer darkness, and into the
unquenchable fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. I ...
/.../the extant works and fragments of hippolytus/piece xlv ye have heard.htm

The Hardening Operation of Love.
... The unquenchable fire would be quenched, and the worm would die. But He
does not let them alone. He continues His hold upon them. ...
/.../kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/xxxi the hardening operation of.htm