Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment

Robert A. Peterson was professor of systematic theology at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He is author or editor of twenty books, including Salvation Accomplished by the Son: The Work of Christ (Crossway, 2012), Our Secure Salvation: Preservation and Apostasy (P&R Publishing, 2009), and, coedited with Christopher Morgan, Hell Under Fire (Zondervan, 2004).

     <P>Gregory K. Beale (PhD, University of Cambridge) is J. Gresham Machen Chair of New Testatment, Proferssor of New Testament and Bible Theology at Wheaton College Graduate School.</P>  
     <P>Daniel I. Block (D.Phil, University of Liverpool) is Gunther H. Knoedler Professor of Old Testament, Wheaton College.</P>  

Sinclair B. Ferguson (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is a professor of systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary.

R. Albert Mohler Jr. has been called "one of America's most influential evangelicals" (Economist) and the "reigning intellectual of the evangelical movement" (Time.com). The president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, he writes a popular blog and a regular commentary, available at AlbertMohler.com, and hosts two podcasts: The Briefing and Thinking in Public. He is the author of many books, including We Cannot Be Silent and The Prayer that Turns the World Upside Down, and has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and on programs such as NBC's Today, ABC's Good Morning America, and PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. He and his wife, Mary, live in Louisville, Kentucky.

Douglas J. Moo (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is the Kenneth T. Wessner Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. His work centers on understanding the text of the New Testament and its application today. He has written extensively in several commentary series, including the NIV Application Commentary and the New International Commentary on the New Testament. With is son Jonathan Moo, he coauthored Creation Care: A Biblical Theology of the Natural World, part of Zondervan’s Biblical Theology for Life series.

Robert W. Yarbrough (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is chair and professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Al Mohler writes the opening chapter, "Modern Theology: The Disappearance of Hell," which clearly defines and illustrates the modern theological landscape on the subject of hell. This is followed by detailed study of what the Old Testament has to say on hell (Daniel I. Block), what Jesus said (Robert W. Yarbrough), what Paul wrote (Douglas J. Moo) and what the Book of Revelation teaches (Gregory K. Beale). One of the most enlightening sections within these articles is a discussion of the five New Testament texts used by universalists to support their view (pp. 97-102).

These discussions are followed with an excellent chapter by Christopher W. Morgan, "Biblical Theology: Three Pictures of Hell," which provide a helpful overview of how each New Testament author views hell (pp. 136-142) and the predominant pictures of hell found in Scripture: punishment, destruction and banishment (pp. 143-151). Robert A. Peterson supplements Morgan’s chapter by viewing hell from the vantage points of the Trinity, divine sovereignty and human freedom, and the "already—not yet" concept.

J. I. Packer tackles universalism in chapter eight, showing the various types, why it is gaining in popularity and why it must be rejected biblically. Annihilation is given the same treatment in the following chapter written by Morgan. Sinclair Ferguson concludes the volume with "Pastoral Theology: The Preacher and Hell." His quote of Robert Murray M’Cheyne to his friend Andrew Bonar, who had just preached on hell, summarizes the chapter well. M’Cheyne asks his friend, "Did you preach it with tears?" This is a fitting end to ,em>Hell Under Fire. We must know well what the Bible teaches on hell but this knowledge should lead to soft hearts as we recognize, and warn about, the very real dangers of the eternal destiny of the lost.

In light of ever increasing pressure to abandon the conservative biblical understanding of hell, both on the scholarly and the popular level, Hell Under Fire is a must read. – Gary Gilley, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com