Is hell eternal?
Is hell eternal? There are two answers to this question. The first answer, regarding the duration of hellfire, is yes; it will burn forever, according to several New Testament scriptures. And it does need to burn forever to justly and eternally punish the devil and his evil angels, who, according to the Bible, are eternal beings. However, the second answer, regarding how long sinners will suffer in hell fire, is no. The overwhelming weight of Biblical evidence contradicts the widely accepted teaching that God will torment lost sinners in hellfire for trillions of years of eternity.
Throughout the Bible it is stated that the final destiny of the wicked is death, not a miserable and eternal life of pain and agony. The Bible declares that the soul that sins will die, not that it will be tortured forever (Ezekiel 18:4; Ezekiel 18:20). It also establishes that the wages of sin is death, not eternal torment (Romans 6:23). The prophet Malachi declares that the day will come when the wicked will be burned like stubble, and reduced to ashes under our feet (Malachi 4:1-3). If they have turned into ashes that returned to the ground under the feet of the redeemed who will occupy the “new earth”, how can they continue to burn? The Book of Psalms tells us that the wicked will be destroyed, they will perish and “have no future,” and that they “shall be no more” (Psalm 145:20; Psalm 37:37,38; Psalm 37:10; Psalm 37). :twenty).
It is significant that the Bible clearly states that “God alone” possesses immortality (1 Timothy 6:16). Man does not possess immortality apart from the “born again” experience in Christ. Without that new birth experience, there is no immortality for man. Lost people, of course, have not been born again in Christ; consequently, they do not have an immortal soul to “live forever” in hell. These are not my words, but are precisely what the Bible teaches. As I said earlier, the Bible declares that “only God” has immortality (1 Timothy 6:16). Since man does not have it on his own, Romans 2:7 says he must seek it (in Christ, of course). The Apostle Paul clearly states that the immortality of human beings is only “enlightened” (available) through the gospel of Christ (2 Timothy 1:10). In other words, only those who put their faith in Jesus Christ have access to immortality. This undeniable truth is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt in 1 John 5:11-12, where he states that God has given us eternal life “in his Son” from him; Furthermore, this passage continues to affirm that the one who has the Son has eternal life, but the one who “does not” have the Son of God “does not have eternal life” (Case closed!). Therefore, according to the Bible, it is impossible for people without Christ to possess immortality and live forever in hell!
This fact, that “fallen mankind” possesses no immortality apart from Christ, becomes obvious immediately after the fall of man, as recorded in Genesis chapter three. God found it necessary to ban Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, and also to place angels to prevent them from accessing the “tree of life.” The Bible clearly says that God did this so they could not eat from the tree of life and live forever (Genesis 3:22-24). Therefore, the now sinful couple had obviously become “mortal beings” as a consequence of their sin, and God did not want the sinful beings to immortalize themselves by eating from this supernatural tree of life. It is clear from this text, as well as many others that could be cited, that there was no “immortal nature” inherent in human beings after they had fallen into sin. And, according to the Bible, it is also evident that the only means to receive immortality was to eat from the tree of life or through faith in Christ. Of course, the Bible records that God immediately cut off access to the supernatural tree, leaving only “a means” to receive immortality, which is faith in Christ. The Bible clearly teaches that without faith in Christ, there is nothing immortal within humanity. Eternal life is only for those who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. However, according to the doctrine of “eternal torment” taught by most preachers and theologians, the wicked also have eternal life. His eternal life is terrible and painful, but it is still an eternal life. This is a flagrant contradiction of Scripture!
Another important point to consider is that the Bible teaches that we will be rewarded “according to our works”, both for those whose deeds have been good, and for those who have done evil (Matthew 16:27; Revelation 22:12; 2 Corinthians 5:10). In fact, the Bible specifically states that God will reveal his wrath against the wicked on the day of judgment, repaying each “according to his works” (Romans 2:5-6). If God is going to repay those who have done evil, according to his works, will he punish them with lives of seventy years of disobedience, with pain and torment for trillions of years without end? That would not be a punishment based on people’s deeds, but rather a billion and trillion times punishment.
It is also obvious that if we are rewarded or punished “according to our works”, then the rewards and punishments must necessarily vary according to those works. Sadistic tyrants and murderers like Hitler and Stalin, who were responsible for the torture and murder of millions of innocent people, cannot receive the same sentence of torment in hell for trillions of years of eternity as a boy or a girl. sixteen years old who died. before putting her faith in Jesus, but that she had never done anything to harm another human being.
In Luke 12:42-49, Jesus himself illustrates this principle. He makes it clear that unfaithful servants are punished differently based on their personal measure of guilt. Some will be beaten with “few lashes” while others will receive “many lashes.” After stating this, Jesus immediately refers to the “fire” that he will send upon the earth. Is this a coincidence? Probably not, because it is in that fire that the wicked will receive their punishment, or “scourges”, if you will; some will receive a few and some will receive many. However, it is interesting to note that “none” of them will be “hit forever.” This agrees with what David says in Psalm 28:4, where he tells God to measure the punishment “in proportion to his wickedness” from him.
There are literally dozens of other scriptures I could share in this article that clearly refute the widely held teaching that God torments lost sinners in hellfire throughout the infinite ages of eternity. However, I will share just three more passages at this time. All of these texts use the Greek word, “apollumi,” to refer to the final fate of the wicked. This is significant because the Scriptures always use this Greek word to mean destruction, perish, kill, die, or utterly destroy. The only exception to this rule is in a few cases when apollumi is translated as lose or lost, describing things that are lost and can be found, such as sheep, coins, and people. However, this word “never” is used to describe eternal torment or suffering.
In Luke 17:27-30 Jesus said that the wicked in the days of Noah and Lot were destroyed (apollumi). Of course, we know that in both cases the wicked were not inflicted with painful suffering forever, but were killed. It is also significant that Jesus said that it will be the same scenario when he returns. In other words, once again, the wicked will be destroyed or killed (apollumi); they will not be subject to eternal torture, just as the wicked in Noah’s flood did not continue to grow forever.
Likewise, in 2 Peter 3:5-9, we are told once again that the flood waters in Noah’s day caused the wicked to perish (apollumi). As stated above, did the flood waters torture the wicked forever? No! They killed the wicked by drowning them. Then Peter goes on to compare that destruction of the wicked to the destruction that will occur in hell fire. He uses the same Greek word, “apollumi,” in verse nine for those who will perish in hellfire, as he did for those who perished in the flood in verse six. In other words, the wicked destroyed in hellfire will experience the same fate as the wicked in the flood, which was death, “not eternal torment.”
Finally, Jesus removes all doubt in Matthew 10:28. After telling us not to fear men, who can only kill the body, he tells us to fear God, who will destroy (apollumi) “both soul and body” in hell! Remember, “apollumi” means to perish, be destroyed, kill, or cause death. “Never” is used to describe eternal torment! Therefore, Jesus is stating unequivocally that “both body and soul” will be destroyed, killed or put to death in hell, they will not suffer throughout the centuries.