Worms don’t die in hell but never stops causing torment.
Mark 9:43 "And
if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life
crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot
causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than
with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye
causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of
God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire
is not quenched.’"
- Mark 9:43 Some manuscripts add verses 44 and 46 (which are identical with verse 48) English Standard Version (ESV)
Gehenna was Jerusalem’s
ancient garbage dump. It was located on the south side of Jerusalem, and it best
illustrated the endless sufferings of unrepentant
sinners.
During the Old Testament times, babies and children
had been sacrificed to idols there (2 Kings 23:10).
In Jesus’ day, it was a place constantly burning
with fires to consume wastes thrown there. The material burned there included
everything from household trash to animal carcasses to convicted criminals (Jeremiah 7:31–33).
The Jews considered Gehenna a cursed place of
impurity and uncleanness.
The word translated “hell” in Mark 9:43 is the Greek word Gehenna, which comes from the Hebrew name for a place called the “Valley of Hinnom.”
The word translated “hell” in Mark 9:43 is the Greek word Gehenna, which comes from the Hebrew name for a place called the “Valley of Hinnom.”
The Jewish people often associated the Valley of
Hinnom with spiritual death.
In Mark 9:48, Jesus says, “Where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (ESV).
In Mark 9:48, Jesus says, “Where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (ESV).
Jesus quoted from Isaiah 66:24: “They
will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the
worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be
quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”
In both texts the word translated as “worm” literally
means “grub” or “maggot.”
A maggot would have an obvious association with a
dump like Gehenna where dead bodies are thrown; however, the maggot Christ
speaks of “will not die.”
This text is one of the most awful descriptions of what hell is like. The
thought of eternal torment, likened to maggots eating away at a rotting corpse,
is undoubtedly ghastly.
Hell is so awful that Christ said, figuratively
speaking, it’s better to cut off the hand that causes you to sin than to end up
in hell (Matthew 5:30).
Jesus does not mean that there are literal worms in hell or that there are worms that live forever; rather, Jesus is teaching the fact of unending suffering in hell—the “worm” never stops causing
torment.
Jesus does not mean that there are literal worms in hell or that there are worms that live forever; rather, Jesus is teaching the fact of unending suffering in hell—the “worm” never stops causing
torment.
Notice that the worm is personal.
Both Isaiah 66:24 and Mark 9:48 use the word their to identify the worm’s owner. The
sources of torment are attached each to its own host.
Some Bible scholars believe the “worm” refers to a man’s conscience.
Some Bible scholars believe the “worm” refers to a man’s conscience.
Being completely cut off from God, those in hell exist
with a nagging, guilty conscience that, like a persistent worm, gnaws away at
its victim with a remorse that can never be mitigated.
No
matter what the word worm refers to, the most important thing to be
gained from these words of Christ is that we should do everything in our power
to escape the horrors of hell.
The
Bible says “All have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Psalm 143:2 adds, “No one living is righteous before you.”
Romans 3:10 affirms, “There is no one righteous, not even one.”
We cannot save ourselves. If salvation were based on our own efforts, no one could be saved.
We cannot save ourselves. If salvation were based on our own efforts, no one could be saved.
Instead,
we are saved when we believe in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the
cross.
Ephesians 2:8–9 teaches, “It is by grace you have been saved, through
faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so
that no one can boast.”
We
are saved by God’s grace. And grace, by definition, means cannot be earned. We
do not deserve salvation; we simply receive it by faith.
Receive
this free gift of salvation now and avoid the worms that never die.
Tomorrow
might be too late.
I am truly sorry.
I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and live a new life
pleasing to you.
Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.
I believe and confess that Jesus Christ is the way,
the truth, and the life, and no man comes unto the Father, but by Him.
Lord Jesus, I pray and ask You, to come into my
heart and be Lord of my life. I thank you that you have given me eternal life,
and according to your Word, I am born again.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of the Holy
Spirit that is in me now. I surrender my life to you.
Use me for your glory.
Use me for your glory.
In Jesus Name. Amen.”
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lyrics
1. Alas!
and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sov’reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
And did my Sov’reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
o Refrain:
At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
2. Thy
body slain, sweet Jesus, Thine—
And bathed in its own blood—
While the firm mark of wrath divine,
His soul in anguish stood.
And bathed in its own blood—
While the firm mark of wrath divine,
His soul in anguish stood.
3. Was
it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
4. Well
might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker died,
For man the creature’s sin.
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker died,
For man the creature’s sin.
5. Thus
might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears.
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears.
6. But
drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
’Tis all that I can do.
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
’Tis all that I can do.
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