Bible Dictionary
UNQUENCHABLE FIRE
Unquenchable fire is a biblical image of the abiding and fearful judgment of the wicked. Jesus and John the Baptist use it in connection with Gehenna and the final separation of the righteous from the wicked.
Definition
Unquenchable fire is a biblical image of an awful and abiding judgment that cannot be extinguished. It describes the punishment and destruction associated with the final judgment of the wicked, without teaching annihilation in the supplied discussion.
Biblical Usage
John the Baptist uses the image for the burning of the chaff in Messianic judgment. Jesus applies it to Gehenna and speaks of fire that is not quenched; related New Testament passages associate fire with final punishment.
Historical Background
The expression is highly metaphorical and conveys the permanence and dread of judgment. The supplied material also notes Old Testament analogies involving fire that is not quenched.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>un-kwench'-a-b'-l, pur asbestos): The phrase occurs in Mt 3:12 and its parallel Lu 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 Mr 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," Mt 5:22 margin, etc.; "furnace of fire," Mt 13:40,42,50; "eternal fire," Mt 25:41; compare also 2Th 1:8; 2Pe 3:7; Jude 1:7; Re 19:20; 20:10,14,15; 21:8). For Old Testament analogies compare Isa 1:31; 34:10; 66:24; Jer 4:4; 7:20; 17:27; 21:12; Eze 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.</p><p>See PUNISHMENT, EVERLASTING.</p><p>James Orr</p>