The Eternality of Hell

More and more Christians are jumping on the band-wagon that hell is temporary and that the punishment for sin—placed upon those who never come to know Jesus as savior—is thus limited in duration.

Bible-believing people are beginning to teach that hell is only temporary: that a good and loving God will not send people to hell for all eternity. It would be "unfair" they claim.

Most Christians haven't pondered the concept of hell to the extent it causes any great personal distress; after all, Christians by definition aren't going there, and it's far more pleasant to meditate on a heavenly destination than to spend time considering the awful images of hell portrayed in Scripture.

Let's Think About Hell

But some Christians do think about hell, as well they should. They attempt to grasp the implications of such a place, or at least prepare to satisfy inquiring people (believers and unbelievers) who wonder how a loving God could ever condemn a person to eternal punishment.

Objections to the traditional concept that the punishment endured in hell is an eternal punishment generates alternative perspectives (e.g., annihilationism) designed to satisfy emotional objections that a loving and gracious God would never punish eternally. Note well, that we call the anti-hell arguments "emotional objections."

Some people talk about hell as though it is "wrong" for God to send people there; and no one, except perhaps Hilter, deserves to be punished eternally.

This thinking has come, in our estimation, to people due to the way our own court systems deal with crime and punishment. Certainly we all agree that the teen-aged boy who steals a baseball from the sports store should not be punished with the same intensity nor duration as the man who is a child molester.

But, how does the intensity and duration of punishment apply to God, sinners, and hell? Or does it?

In order to arrive at the truth regarding the matter, there are two areas that must be considered: (1) God's Word, and (2) rational justification for the endlessness of suffering in hell. Let's examine the strongest verses and reasons for the traditional view that hell is never ending.

The Biblical Argument

Obviously in a Coffee Talk, we cannot go through all of the various passages that deal with this topic, but we can review a couple of indicative verses. Verses indicating the eternality of hell are found in Matthew and Revelation. Matthew 25:41, 46 says:

Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." . . . Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

Here we have Jesus making a clear distinction between the eternal fate of those who have chosen to reject him and those who have chosen to accept him.

The Greek word for "eternal" in verse 41 and 46 is aionios (eye-OH-nee-os). Aionios is consistently used in Scripture to mean "endless" when describing the duration of the life of the believer.

John 3:16 tells us that those who believe in Christ Jesus shall have "eternal (aionios) life." This is an important point because in Matthew 25:46, Jesus speaks of the eternal life of the righteous and contrasts it with the eternal punishment of the cursed.

Verses 41 and 46 wouldn't make sense if Jesus meant two different "eternals" when he referred to the eternal nature of the existence of both the righteous and the cursed since he used the same word for both.

When we compare the above evidence to that in Revelation 14:9-11, the picture that emerges is one that clearly supports the traditional view of hell's eternal nature. Revelation 14:9-11 says:

If anyone worships the beast and his image . . . he will be tormented with burning sulfur . . . and the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever.

The construction here is even clearer in establishing the eternality of hell. The Greek method of emphasis is used to indicate the duration of torment (not to be confused with torture).

"For ever and ever" is translated from the Greek phrase meaning "ages of ages" and is only used to emphasize never-ending duration (see also Rev. 20:10).

So, if we accept the Master and his disciple John as knowing and teaching the truth, then we see from even minimal biblical evidence that hell is a real place and the torment (which can mean both physical and mental anguish) experienced in it is eternal.

Let's now turn to the rational justification for hell's endlessness.

The Rational Argument

The rational arguments for the never-ending nature of hell are extensive, but we'll focus on just one, because we think it alone is persuasive. Here it is: the very nature of Christ's vicarious atonement depends on the endlessness of hell.

The Guilt of Sin is Eternal

The suffering in hell must be never ending so long as the reason for the suffering continues. Guilt, you see, is the reason for the endless suffering in hell.

The guilt incurred for a sin committed today will exist tomorrow.

That guilt will still exist a year from now. In fact, it will still exist ten years from now, a hundred yearsfrom now, a thousand years from now, million years from now, ad infinitum.

Your guilt for the sins you have committed is only wiped out when you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, and His vicarious death pays the penalty of your sins.

But why is the guilt of sin eternal? It is eternal because it is an offense committed against an infinite and eternal being—God.

The kid stealing a baseball from the local sports shop has committed an offense against a business that is finite.

But when we commit the offense of sin against God, He is eternal and so our guilt remains. For the guilt of sin to come to an end—outside of salvation in Jesus Christ—God himself would have to cease to exist. And—need we say it?—that is not going to happen.

In fact, if you think about it for a moment, you will see that the incarnation of an infinite being and His vicarious, infinite, atonement for sin demonstrates the eternal magnitude and duration of evil. It also demonstrates the eternal magnitude and duration of His forgiveness for those who place their trust in Him.

The incarnation of Jesus Christ, the infinite Son of God, is itself testimony, corroboration, and confirmation of the eternality of guilt, and, thus, of the eternality of the punishment for that guilt.

Without God's self-sacrifice, the remission of infinite guilt is not possible. Thus, the duration of punishment for infinite guilt is eternal.

And those who fail to come to Jesus Christ in faith do not have the remission of their sins nor of their guilt, an eternal guilt.

Some comments about this CT

By far the best CT I've read. Hope everything is well there.

Blessings,
Ed (MDiv, DMin)

I read your CT on hell, boy that is serious business. We certainly see some wild thoughts today on this issue. Where has this "symbolic hell thinking" come from? It is all subjective and emotional with no factual foundation. It's simply man saying "No way God." It is a case of "Romans Chapter One" all the way.

Franz

Just read your latest CT. Very good, there is much apathy in the churches regarding heaven and hell. My pastor just wrapped up a sermon series on Heaven and Hell. It was good to hear hard core stuff! Churches need to get back to the basics of solid doctrines of the Bible and Jesus Christ, and not the "fluff and feelings." Thanks.

Saved by HIS Blood
Lori