Revelation 14:10-11

“He also will drink the wine of God’s wrath… and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur… And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night.” — NKJV

Part of the Nature of Hell study.

The Common Reading

The wicked are tormented with fire and sulfur, their smoke rising forever — proof of eternal conscious torment without relief, day or night.

What the Passage Actually Says

The Hebrew Gospel Text

v.10: “This one shall drink from the wine of the wrath of YHWH which is in the cup of fury, and shall be punished (H6064 anash) with $fire and sulfur before his holy messengers and the lamb.”

v.11: “And the smoke (H6227) of their punishment shall go upward from age (H5769 olam) to age (H5769), and they shall not have rest (H4496 menuchah) day or night — those who received the mark and who pray to the graven-image.”

“Tormented” → H6064 Anash (Fined / Penalized)

The Greek G928 basanizo (touchstone testing) becomes H6064 anash in Hebrew — a word meaning to impose a fine, to penalize judicially. Its OT uses:

• Ex 21:22 — a man who causes a miscarriage “shall be surely punished (anash)” — he pays a FINE, assessed by judges
• Deut 22:19 — the false accuser “shall be fined (anash) a hundred shekels of silver”
• 2 Chr 36:3 — the king of Egypt “fined (anash) the land”

This is a judicial/financial penalty — not torture. The Hebrew describes a sentence being carried out, not sadistic torment.

Smoke Rises “From Age to Age”

The Hebrew uses olam to olam — age to age. Compare Rev 19:3, where the Hebrew says Babylon’s smoke rises “from generation (H1755 dor) to generation (dor).” Babylon is not still burning. The smoke is the EVIDENCE of completed destruction — the permanent aftermath, not ongoing fire.

Compare Isaiah 34:10 about Edom: “the smoke thereof shall go up for ever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste.” Edom is not still smoking. The language describes permanent desolation — the result endures, not the burning.

“No Rest” → H4496 Menuchah (Sabbath-Rest)

The Hebrew word for “rest” here is H4496 menuchah — the word for the rest of the Promised Land, the sabbath-rest. “They shall not have menuchah” means they do not enter the rest that remains for God’s people (Heb 4:9). This is the language of EXCLUSION from rest — denied entry into the inheritance — not active, ongoing torture.

Who Is This About?

The passage specifies: “those who received the mark and who pray to the graven-image.” This is a specific group during a specific judgment — beast-worshippers — not a universal statement about all unsaved humans throughout history.

Harmony

1. H6064 anash means judicial penalty/fine — not torture. Used for court-assessed fines in Exodus and Deuteronomy.
2. Smoke = evidence of completed destruction — Babylon’s smoke “rises from generation to generation” (Rev 19:3), but Babylon is destroyed, not still burning. Same pattern.
3. “No rest” = H4496 menuchah — denied the sabbath-rest of the inheritance. Exclusion, not torture.
4. H5769 olam = age, concealed time — “from age to age,” not necessarily “forever.”
5. This applies to beast-worshippers specifically — not a universal statement about all unsaved people.

Hebrew & Greek Reference