Sadly, most Christian churches today teach that God will throw all unrepentant sinners into hellfire for all eternity, where they will suffer the most excruciating pain as punishment for their sins. This has caused many to reject God, and for good reason. If God is truly loving, why would He torture people in hell for eternity? How many of us could endlessly torture a friend or family member because they never repented of their sin? Are we more loving than God if we are not willing to do this? It is not hard to see that these two ideologies are in complete opposition. God cannot be just, neither can He be loving, and torture people forever. Thankfully, the doctrine of eternal hell has its origins in ancient paganism and cannot be found in the Bible.
The idea of eternal hell is founded upon the very first lie that is recorded in Scripture. God gave permission for Adam and Eve to eat of every tree of the garden except one. They were told that if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would surely die. Satan, however, fed them a different story and he has continued this same deception today.
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4-5
The idea that humans are immortal and will live forever started with Satan's lie to our first parents. For hell to be eternal, mankind must also possess eternal life. This was the basis of Satan’s first lie, ‘You will not surely die’, and he has maintained this deception to lead people into a false perception of the love and justice of God. It is Satan’s desire to misrepresent the character and love of God. Naturally, we will hate things that we deem to be unjust, severe, and unkind. By creating the lie of eternal life in hell, Satan has cast doubt upon the loving nature of our Heavenly Father. However, God made very plain in the beginning what the result of sin would be.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17
From the start, God set forth clearly what the result of disobedience would be. In the book of Romans, the same truth is presented,
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
After Adam and Eve sinned God sent them out of the garden and placed Cherubim with flaming swords to bar access to the tree of life so that sin would not be immortalised.
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”- therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. Genesis 3:22
If we naturally possess immortality, it would not have been necessary for God to cut off our access to the tree of life. From the time that God blocked access to the tree of life, not a single person has eaten its fruit. Therefore there is not an immortal sinner. The Bible tells us that God alone possesses immortality (1 Timothy 6:16). All other creatures rely on God for their existence. Immortality was promised to us on condition of obedience, however, it has been forfeited by our transgression. While “death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned,” Christ “hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” (Romans 5:12 and 2 Timothy 1:10). It is only through Christ that immortality can be obtained, a gift that is not given to unrepentant sinners.
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Revelation 22:14
The redeemed saints will once again receive access to the tree of life when they enter into the holy city of God. This fruit will once again perpetuate eternal life to the redeemed as God originally intended.
Satan has led people to accept a different meaning of the divine sentence, ‘the soul that sins shall die’ (Ezekiel 18:4), believing it instead to say that the soul that sins will not die but will live eternally. This lie, which originated alone with Satan, is sadly being preached from the pulpit of most churches today.
Eternal life is a gift given to those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. The most famous verse in the Bible teaches this important message clearly.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
All “who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality,” will receive “eternal life,” (Romans 2:7). Immortality is the gift of God to those who follow Him, no unrepentant sinner will receive this gift.
The teaching of eternal torture represents God as a revengeful tyrant that will plunge into hell all those who do not please Him so that they might forever feel the wrath of His displeasure; all the while God looks down upon these suffering souls who are writhing in unutterable anguish with satisfaction. Such cruelty is satanic, but our God is love. Satan has promoted such false doctrines to undermine our trust and confidence in God’s love and justice. We do not need to attend law school to realise that there is no justice in torturing someone for the rest of eternity for any sin. The punishment should be in proportion to the guilt, and no sin, no matter how offensive it may be, deserves an eternity burning in flames. Satan has caused many to turn away from God because of this false teaching.
Surely, if anyone should deserve to burn in hell for eternity, it would be Satan, the most wicked being in existence, who for thousands of years has tormented, harassed and destroyed millions of people. However, the Bible tells us that even Satan will not burn forever. Speaking of Satan the Bible says,
You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It DEVOURED you, and I turned you to ASHES upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You have become a horror, and shall be NO MORE FOREVER. Ezekiel 28:18-19
Satan will be devoured by fire so that he is turned to ashes upon the earth. Finally, he will disappear out of existence forevermore. If this is the fate of the most wicked being to ever exist, how can we believe that God would punish any one of us in a more severe way?
God is just and will reward every person according to their deeds (Matthew 16:27). If all sinners are to receive eternal torture in hell, then whether we are Hitler, or a youth who simply rejected Jesus as our saviour, we can expect to be thrown into the same everlasting torment. It is not difficult to see that this is not justice.
We are told that all unrepentant sinners will be punished according to their works. Death is the final reward of all who reject the call to repent and accept the gift of eternal life through Jesus.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28
The final destruction of the wicked will be in the lake of fire, this is called the second death. Everyone, both righteous and wicked, suffers the first death. From this, we are all raised from the grave ‘some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt’ (Daniel 12:2). At the time of the resurrection of the unrighteous God will pronounce their punishment upon them and destroy them in the lake of fire.
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:14-15
This event takes place upon the face of the earth. Many imagine hell being a place somewhere deep in the earth where it is hot and fires constantly burn. However, the entire face of the earth will one day become the lake of fire where sinners will be consumed and the earth will be utterly destroyed.
They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. Revelation 20:9
This fire will utterly destroy everything.
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.” Malachi 4:1
May sinners be consumed from the earth, and the wicked be no more. Psalms 104:35
When Jesus died on Calvary He paid the price for our sins. What price did Jesus pay? If the penalty for sin is eternal torment in hellfire, then this must be the price Jesus paid. However, the Bible says that Jesus died for us, for the wages of sin is death. Jesus is not burning for us in hellfire eternally, He is now living and reigning with the Father in Heaven, mediating for us and presenting His blood that was shed for the remission of our sins.
Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Matthew 20:28
There are a few texts in the Bible that appear to teach that the wicked will suffer for eternity in hell. Let’s take a look at a couple of these and see how they all line up with what has already been presented.
1. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— Mark 9:43
People interpret a fire that cannot be quenched to be one that lasts forever, but this is not what the word ‘quenched’ implies. To be quenched would mean to be put out. A fire can be so large and hot that nothing can extinguish it, however, once it has used up all its fuel, it will burn out. Jude presents to us Sodom and Gomorrah as examples of ‘eternal fire’ (Jude 1:7), yet if we go over to the Middle East we will not find these two cities continuing to burn today. The truth is that nothing can put out the fires of hell, they must complete their work of destruction before they will go out.
2. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. Matthew 25:46
This time we are told that the wicked will go into ‘everlasting punishment.' The key to understanding this verse is knowing what the punishment for sin is. The punishment for sin is death (Romans 6:23). So this verse is correctly understood to mean that the wicked will go into everlasting death. The punishment, death, is everlasting. All come back from the first death, but no one will be raised from the second.
3. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. Revelation 14:11
What does it mean that the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever? To find the answer to this one we must understand how the Bible uses the term ‘forever’. Although at times it is used in the same sense as we use it today, in other instances it means ‘until death’. Let’s have a look at one example.
But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will take him, that he may appear before the Lord and remain there forever.” 1 Samuel 1:22
Hannah gave her son, Samuel, to God’s work in the temple. She says that he will remain there forever, however, Samuel died a very long time ago. This is a classic example of how ‘forever’ can simply mean ‘until death’. Another example where the term ‘forever’ is used but does not mean ‘forever’ as we understand it is in Isaiah 34:10 where the destruction of Edom is described,
It [the fire] shall not be quenched night or day; Its smoke shall ascend forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; No one shall pass through it forever and ever.
The same language used in Revelation 14 is used here to describe the destruction and desolation of an ancient city, the fires of which went out once their job was done. We must remember that the Bible has perfect internal consistency; it does not contradict itself. The truth lies in finding the harmony that exists in all passages of Scripture.
We have a loving God, one who is righteous and just. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but desires all to turn from sin and accept the sacrifice He made on our behalf. If we choose to reject this gift, we will not burn forever, but we will die the second death in the lake of fire and miss out on the many wonders that God has prepared for those that love Him. The destruction of the wicked is an act of mercy on God’s part. To those who are unwilling to yield obedience to God in this life, living in the presence of God and under the laws of heaven, would be as eternal torture to them. God is unwilling to allow sin to continue to reign for eternity, to continue to reap its harvest of misery, pain and death, and so sin and sinners will be utterly destroyed.
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