IS THE BIBLICAL HELL A MATTER OF ETERNAL TORMENT?

 

 

 

I don’t want to bore anyone. However, this topic is absolutely essential. The teaching of eternal torment—ET—has become for many the biggest obstacle for commitment to the Christian faith. There are several people who claim that they cannot accept the biblical God because of the alleged biblical teaching that hell is a matter of eternal torment. Even committed Christians struggle with this doctrine, sometimes to the point where they wonder about the assurance of their salvation. Therefore, we need to re-examine this important issue. Does the Bible require us to believe in ET?

 

ETERNAL TORMENT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

 

Is there any biblical evidence for eternal torment in the OT? Actually, we find overwhelming evidence that death is the final destination for the unrepentant:

 

·       You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name forever and ever. The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their cities you rooted out; the very memory of them has perished. (Psalm 9:5-6)

 

·       In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there...But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away…But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found. (Psalm 37:10, 20, 36; see also Psalm 68:2; Hosea 13:2)

 

·       Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish...his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish. (Psalm 49:11-12, 19-20)

 

·       “From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me,” declares the Lord. “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die [but their body will die], their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.” (Isaiah 66:23-24)

 

·       “For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow [the cup of God’s wrath] and shall be as though they had never been.” (Obadiah 16)

 

 

·       “Behold, when it [the vine] was whole, it was used for nothing. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it ever be used for anything!  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” (Ezekiel 15:5–6)

 

There are many other OT verses which give no indication of ET. To other writers of Scripture, God had revealed the ultimate binary fate of humanity—eternal life and death. David often demonstrated that he had knowledge of the afterlife. Here is just one example of that knowledge:

 

·       Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, from men by your hand, O Lord, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants. As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. (Psalm 17:13-15)

 

However, David never indicated any awareness of ET. Asaph was also given a revelation of the fate of humanity following this present life:

 

·       How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors…You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you…For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. (Psalm 73:19, 24-25, 27)

 

Although the writers of the OT were not given the fullness of the NT revelation, they still had knowledge of heaven and also its corollary—eternal death. ET was entirely unknown to the OT.

 

 

NEW TESTAMENT

 

JESUS’ TEACHINGS:

 

·       “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.” (Matthew 7:13)

 

·       “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

 

·       “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

 

·       “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not (“never” ESV) see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (John 3:36)

 

·       “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” (John 15:6)

 

·       “Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:40–42; see also 49-50)

 

·       “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:11–12)

 

Although there are indications of torment—“weeping and gnashing of teeth”—in these last few verses, there is no evidence that this torment will be eternal or even long-lasting. Instead, the fire consumes, just as it does to weeds that are thrown into a fire (Isaiah 66:24).

 

OTHER NT TEACHINGS:

 

·       Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:32)

 

·       For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. (Romans 2:12)

 

·       But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:21–23)

 

·       What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. (Romans 9:22)

 

·       Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. (Philippians 3:19)

 

·       They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power. (2 Thessalonians 1:9)

 

·       For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. (Hebrews 10:26–27)

 

·       There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? (James 4:12)

 

·       …if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly. (2 Peter 2:6)

 

·       And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. (Jude 6–7)

 

We cannot interpret “eternal fire” as “eternal torment.” In 2 Peter 2:6 (above), this fire is characterized as extinction. Sodom and Gomorrah ended up as ashes. In Jude 6, the “eternal” only lasts “until the judgment.” Therefore, the “eternal fire” mentioned in Jude 7 cannot be taken in the usual way. The literal fire did not last eternally; it was only a symbol of eternal destruction. In Jude 13, we can see that “utter darkness has been reserved forever” is perhaps an indication that the candle of life has been extinguished.

 

·       But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction…(2 Peter 2:12)

 

·       He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:12)

 

PROBLEM VERSES

 

·       “And these will go away into eternal punishment [perhaps “eternal death”], but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46)

 

·       “And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” (Revelation 14:11; It is the smoke which “rises forever,” not their ET)

 

·       “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)

 

·       And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:13-14; see also 21:8)

 

None of these problem verses indicate eternal torment for any humans—only for the devil, the beast, and the false prophet (Revelation 20:10). However, I suspect that the “second death” in “the lake of fire” will also include this unholy trio. Perhaps the second death will replace the everlasting torment of the three.

 

Is there any evidence for the annihilation of the unholy trio? Many verses that indicate that our Lord will eventually remove all forms of evil from His world:

 

·       For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:19–20)

 

·       …as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:10)

 

·       …so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10–11)

 

·       For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22)

 

These verses suggest that all those who remain—meaning exclusively those who are saved—will give the glory to God. If this is true, then it also suggests that the devil and his allies will have been destroyed at some prior point in time, along with the rest of the lovers of darkness. The only alternative understanding for the meaning of these “all” and “every” verses…is universalism. But are we actually to believe that Christ “will reconcile to himself all things,” including the devil? Are we to understand the words, “…in Christ shall all be made alive,” to include the beast and the false prophet? This is unthinkable. And yet, this is what would take place according to those who believe in universalism—that all of humanity will be saved, including its ancient foes. Such an aberrant paradigm would condemn the entire Christian faith as unnecessary.

 

If I have made a good case for the idea of eternal death over eternal torment, it must be admitted: the idea of eternal death is still horrific to contemplate. Furthermore, it is possible that some form of torment might precede the complete annihilation of those who refuse to serve God.

 

If God is all-merciful, is He required to grant eternal life to those who consistently reject Him (John 3:17-20)? If they hated God in this life, they will hate Him even more in the next life, where His exposing light and His fires of purification will be even more intolerable:

 

·       The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: “Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?” He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil. (Isaiah 33:14–15)

 

Consequently, those who hate God will not repent but flee from His presence:

·       In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. (Isaiah 2:20–21; Psalm 1:5; 24:3-4; Revelation 6:15-16; 20:11 Deuteronomy 5:25; Malachi 3:2)

 

It seems that if they want rocks to fall on them, they would also prefer non-existence to existence with God. Shouldn’t He allow them to have what they have chosen for themselves? What could be more just!