On The Eternality Of Hell

On The Eternality of Hell

Monday, March 21, 2011

Well, it’s finally out. Rob Bell’s new book, Love Wins, has hit the shelves and already the Internet and blogosphere is abuzz with controversy about what is said, and where Rob Bell apparently lands on the theological grid. In the past few days there has been significant bandwidth given over to the analysis of this book – one of the best being a thorough review by Kevin DeYoung. And of course we have the tweets, most likely the most notable one being from John Piper who summed his thoughts up into three words “Farewell Rob Bell”. 

So instead of adding my voice to the many voices out there in cyberspace, I would like to take a different approach, and that being to examine the eternality of hell. One of the foundational ideas in Rob Bell’s book is that hell is not an eternal place of fire, punishment, and regret rather it is what we make it out to be. And of course, God would never create an eternal place of fire where he would personally inflict torture on those who reject his love, rather in the end his love wins and even the most hardened soul is melted and reconciled to God.

What say the Scriptures?

In the Gospels it is interesting to note that Christ spoke more about hell than he did about heaven. He warned men to do all they can to avoid it (Matthew 5:29-30; 10:28; 23:33; Luke 12:5). He spoke of it as a place of outer darkness (Matthew 25:30) and a place of unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43, 44, 47). One of his most known stories is that of a rich man who went there (Luke 16:19-31) and in that account he described hell as a place of fire, anguish, torment, memory, and unquenchable thirst. One of Christ’s most descriptive picture of hell is a place where the “worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:43, 44, 47). The question to ask is if hell is not eternal, then at some point the worm would die and the fire would go out – however Christ does not say that and in fact pictures hell again and again as a place where the fires never go out and the torment never ends.

In his great Olivet Discourse in Matthew 25:41 and 25:46 Christ describes hell as a place of everlasting fire. In fact, in verse 41 his description is that it is a place originally designed for the Devil and his angels, which brings up an interesting point. If hell is not eternal, then at some point even the Devil is reconciled to God! No, there is nothing in these passages by Christ that would hint that hell is anything but an eternal place of fire reserved for all who reject his as their Lord and Savior. The word translated “everlasting” in verse 41 and “everlasting” and “eternal” in verse 46 is the Greek word aionion – which means “eternal, never ending, into the ages.” It is a term that clearly defines the never-ending quality of something, and is the common term translated “eternal” and “everlasting” in the New Testament.

When we get to the Book of Revelation we find some of the strongest arguments for an eternal hell. In Revelation 14:9-11 we find that those who decide to follow the beast and worship his image will be tormented with fire in the presence of God and the Holy angels forever. In verse 11 John gives this chilling statement, “And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night”. Think of that, the smoke ascends up forever and ever (in the Greek aionasaionon – eternity of eternities or ages of ages) and they never have any rest. Sounds pretty eternal to me! And the fact that the torment lasts forever implies that the consciousness of those in hell last forever for how can one be tormented if one does not exist? No, hell is seen here as an eternal place of fire and brimstone and unending torment.

Another glimpse of the eternality of hell is found in Revelation 21:8, 21:27, 22:11, and 22:15. In Revelation 21:8 and 22:15 we find that all of the ungodly are specifically forbidden from entering the eternal city, the New Jerusalem. John describes these people as the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, liars, and all who are defiled, causes an abomination, or loves a lie. Who are these? They are the lost, those whose names were not found in the Book of Life (21:27). We read of this book back in Revelation 20:10-15 where we learn that all whose names are not written in the Book of Life are cast into the Lake of Fire, which is the second death. There is no indication here that this is a temporary place of existence – and this is further proven by looking at Revelation 22:11 which is the verse of “eternal fixation.” In other words, whatever character and nature one has at the start of the eternal state will be their character and nature for all of eternity. There will never be a possibility of the lost becoming redeemed, or the redeemed becoming lost. Those who are unjust – will always be unjust. Those who are filthy – will always be filthy. Those who are righteous – will always be righteous, and those who are holy will always be holy.

The Scriptures are crystal clear on this. Hell is not a temporary place of torment, and it is not a place we create for ourselves, rather it is a place of outer darkness, unquenchable fire, eternal thirst, abandonment by God, and torment for those who have rejected Christ. And once there, you will never get out and never find a day of rest or peace.

That is why hell is to be avoided at all costs!