“Every quest for the truth must have the wisdom to eliminate what we prefer to be true as well as what we prefer not to be true in order to discover what is actually true.” (Source unknown)

Scriptures on Hell – Is Hell eternal torment?

In a recent discussion with one of my grandsons, he stated, “I don’t believe a loving God would send someone into everlasting torment in hell.” He went on that he loves his fellow man and would always be ready to forgive him like the father who forgave the prodigal son. Then the grandson added, “If I, a mere human, loves this much, surely God loves at least this much and probably more.” Thus, he believes God would forgive and receive a person even in hell who finally repented and wanted to come back like the prodigal.

Well, I had never before heard this view expressed and didn’t have a comeback, so I told the grandson I would do some reading, studying, and thinking on this and get back to him. So, this paper documents that study and my conclusions.

Old Testament scriptures on Hell, Hades, Sheol, Gehenna

The word Hell in the KJV of the Bible is the word Sheol translated as Hell. It means the grave or the place of the dead – the place we are before resurrection and judgment. It would include those who are with God, i.e. paradise, heaven before the resurrection and end time. I looked at each occurrence of Sheol in the O. T. and none refer to a place of eternal punishment.

New Testament scriptures on Hell, which is translated for the words Hades and Gehenna:

Here is a complete list with my comments added:

Matthew 5:22, 22 “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Comment: This could mean Jerusalem’s ever-burning garbage dump or after-life punishment in hell.

Matthew 5: 29-30, “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”

Matthew 18:8-9, “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.” Also in Mark 9:47.

Comment on hell: The point is that the after-life punishment in hell is really bad and drastic measures should be taken to avoid it. Matt 18:8 adds the words “everlasting fire” referring to hell. Thus, hell is everlasting. This scripture does not say how long those punished in hell will stay. But can you imagine what 1000 years in hell would be like, or a lifetime, or even a year for that matter? I think God describes it as fire because that is the worst pain we know of. It may be some other form of torment in the afterlife that we don’t know about but is so bad God is warning us so we can take action to avoid it. It could even be that a soul in the afterlife would experience extreme torment if it were separated from God. The desire to be with God and experience His glory could be so great, so intense that it is utter torture being separated from Him. We truly don’t know what forms of hell are available to God, but He does.

Matthew 10:28,  “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also in Luke 12:5.

Comment: Fear God rather than man because He will be your judge – deciding whether you go to heaven or hell. Implicit is the badness of hell, thus take action to avoid it.

Matthew 11:23, “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.” Also in Luke 10:15.

Comment: The people of Capernaum had witnessed Jesus’s miracles, yet it’s implied that many if not most did not answer Jesus’s call to repentance and belief. Jesus is saying even the people of Sodom would have repented and believed if they had witnessed Jesus’s mighty works (his miracles). Heaven and hell here are metaphors for good and bad, respectively.

Matthew 16:18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Comment: Jesus is saying that Satan will not prevail against the church.

Matthew 23:15. “ Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”

Comment: Child of hell is a metaphor for worse.

Matthew 23:33, “ Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?”

Comment: After Jesus’s 7 woes to the hypocritical Pharisees, He says they are worthy of going to hell, which Jesus affirms exists and is a damnation.

Matthew 25: 31-46, “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the Holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:35 For I was an hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”

Comment: In this story, Jesus wants us to understand that our choices in this life – to proactively help others or not – reveal whether we are saved or not. Jesus says the saved will go to eternal life in heaven and the lost to everlasting punishment (or the age of punishment – see note on the Greek Aionios below) in everlasting fire – the same fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels.

Aionios vs aidios: Aiōnios has a range of meanings including life, age, generation, and eon. It can also mean eternal, but only when God is the subject. Aidios on the other hand always means eternal or everlasting and is only used twice in the Bible: Romans 1:20 concerning God and Jude 6 concerning the bonds on fallen angels. NOTE” THE GREEK WORD USED FOR EVERLASTING IN THE PASSAGE ABOUT THE SHEEP AND GOATS IS AIONIOS. Thus, verse 41 probably should be translated “…into the age of fire, prepared for …” and verse 46 “…into the age of punishment…”

Luke 16:23-28, “ And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.”

Comment: In the afterlife, some will experience torment in hell, which cannot mean the grave or the dead here since the rich man is alive.

Acts 2:31, “ He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.”

James 3:6, “ And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”

Comment: Hell is a metaphor for the badness the tongue can cause.

2 Peter 2:4-9, “ For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly;7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.”

Comment: Another reference to the hell prepared for the devil and demons, but also characterized as chains of darkness, i.e. confined and absent from the light of God. The unjust will be punished following judgment.

Revelation 1:18, “ I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”

Revelation 6:8, “ And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

Revelation 20:13-14, “ And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”

Comment: Here hell likely means the grave.

References to eternal or everlasting destruction or damnation:

Mark 3:29, “ But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.”

Comment: Eternal is better translated as “an age of” or “period of.”

Jude 7, “ Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Comment: Eternal is better translated as “the age of”.

Matthew 25:41, “ Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Comment: Everlasting is better translated as “the age of” or a period of punishment.

Matthew 25:46, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”

Comment: Same as above.

2 Thes 1:9, “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.”

Comment: Better translated as “punished in the age of destruction…” or punished by being destroyed forever, i. e. the soul is destroyed and no longer exists.

Judgment, vengeance, torment, damnation:

John 5:28-29,  “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

Comment: Damnation = a period of punishment followed by destruction of their soul.

Romans 12:19-21, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Comment: God, not humans, has the responsibility to carry out justice and take vengeance. It is wrong for us to do that but right for God. This is one way God is different from us. He did not put within our “ought to” to take vengeance. On the contrary, as Jesus taught, He put within us love and forgiveness. (See the paragraph on Justice below)

1 Cor 3: 12-15,  “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

Comment: This is a metaphor for a person’s heavenly rewards. If one does things that make him rich toward God, he will be rewarded in heaven. If his works in this life are not pleasing to God though he repented and believed in Him, then he will miss heavenly rewards. God is not mocked – you will reap in heaven (or hell) what you sow on earth.

2 Cor 5:10, “ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

Comment: A shorter way of saying the immediately preceding verse. Things = rewards. Good things pleased God; bad things were worthless to Him.

Rev 14:8-11,  “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the Holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

Comment: Forever and ever is aionios and aionios – ages and ages of torment – not eternity.

Rev 20:10, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Comment: Forever and ever better translated “for ages and ages”

God as Just and who administers justice:

Is 45:21, “Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.”

Deut 32:3-4, “ Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”

Neh 9:33, “Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly.”

Jer 50:7, “All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers.”

Zeph 3:5, “ The just Lord is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.”

1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.”

Rev 15:3, “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”

Justice:

God is not made in our image, we are made in His – in part. He is everything we are morally and ethically and more. One way He is more is as our Sovereign, our ultimate authority, and, as such, certain actions only belong to Him and not us. There is (at least) one character trait of God that is right for Him but is bad if we do it, for He says it is His alone. In fact, part of the “ought” He put in our hearts says we are not to behave this way. What is it? It is taking vengeance on whom it is due. “Vengeance is Mine sayeth the Lord!” Put another way, He is responsible for carrying out justice

What my grandson was missing is that God, who is the authority over all, has the responsibility for ensuring justice is done. He is a just God as well as a loving one. The idea is like our authorities on earth. It is they who are to carry out justice, not us. It is right for them and wrong for us. Furthermore, God, who is all-wise, knows the exact amount of punishment due to each who receives punishment in the afterlife. Many injustices go unrighted in this life, but in the afterlife, God will ensure that all injustices are made right.

My main point here is that we must not take the view that we cannot believe in a God who exercises His responsibility to take vengeance where it is due – the appropriate amount and intensity of punishment in hell. Even though He gave us a sense of justice, He did not put vengeance in our hearts because it is not our job. It is His job alone. In fact, we ought to want God to ensure in the grand scheme of things that there is justice. What if there were no justice? I say you would not want to believe in a god that did not give attention to or care about justice. But, as the scriptures above show, God does care about it – He is a just God. But He has not only the sense of justice He put within us but also the job of carrying it out.

What other responsibilities does God have that we humans do not?

• Judging mankind at the end of time
• Determining how a person is made right with Himself, or said another way, choosing how He will save mankind from their sins
• Approving when and to whom we are born and when and how we die
• Exercising providence and His other powers to accomplish His plans
• Answering prayers
• Forgiving all sins – not just the ones aimed at Him
• Preserving the forces of nature until He is finished with our present world
• Creating human souls and treating them justly given that He gave them the freedom to choose right or wrong
• Giving humanity the (right) standards of conduct that He put into our consciences
• Indwelling believers with His Spirit to guide and help them
• To raise the dead in Christ to new bodies when Christ returns and to instantly change the believers who are alive into their new bodies
• Choosing a certain people (Israel) through whom He would reveal Himself to all mankind as God come to earth in the form of a man – Jesus
• We can probably think of many more

To accomplish all these things, God has attributes that we do not have, including the one – carrying out justice or taking appropriate vengeance – that brought us into this discussion.

If hell is not everlasting torment for the lost, then what is it?

Proverbs 19:16, He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.

Proverbs 24:20, “For there will be no future for the evil man;…”

Matthew 10:28, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also in Luke 12:5.

In search of an answer, I read two papers on the subject – one entitled Re-thinking Our View of Hell by Thomas Jones and one entitled Heaven and Hell Terminal Punishment by Douglas Jacoby. Both take a hard look at scripture regarding the nature of hell and draw the same conclusion. Namely, that hell is a place of punishment followed by destruction, meaning that after the appropriate punishment, the soul is destroyed. They label this interpretation of hell as the Terminal View and the never-ending torment interpretation as the Traditional View.

Both authors argue that default immortality of the soul was a Greek idea and not a biblical one. They argue convincingly that it is only the saved who receive eternal life. The lost have their soul destroyed in hell after receiving their due punishment. They quote Jesus (Matt 10:28 above) who said that both body and soul are destroyed in hell. I am convinced their interpretation of hell is correct, which takes off the table the “problem” of people being punished in hell forever. 

Some more thoughts on justice, hell, and heaven

A. God is just. What does that imply? God is merciful. What does that imply? God is gracious. What does that imply?

– Justice means you get what you deserve. Jesus said it – God is not mocked, whatsoever

a man sows he shall reap.

– Mercy means you get better than you deserve.

– Grace also means you get better than you deserve.

– What is the other alternative? It is that you get worse than you deserve.

*** This is what God would never do – treat you worse than you deserve. Thus, the hell one will experience for rejecting God’s love will be exactly what one deserves – not worse.

B. How would a just/merciful/gracious God deal with various categories of people – categories based on their response to the light of God they had? Paul says that no one has an excuse for missing out on heaven because God made His existence evident to them through His creation and the moral and ethical standards He put in their hearts.

1. The one who seeks to know God and live in ways pleasing to Him, hears and believes the gospel, and trusts in Christ in an attitude of repentance.
2. The one like “1” but who never hears the gospel but tries to live a life pleasing to God as best they understand God, which may be another known religion or not.
3. The one like “1” but rejects the gospel in favor of another religion in which he seeks to live a life pleasing to that “moral” god. i.e. not Satan worshipers.
4. The one who heard the facts of the gospel and believed them but never repented and trusted in Christ for forgiveness, but tried to earn their way to heaven through good deeds that would offset their sins.
5. The one like “4” who believes the facts of God and Christ but refuses forgiveness and repentance in favor of a life of sin. They prefer the sinful life so much that they reject God’s standards and accept whatever punishment God meets out when they die: (1) Sins of self-indulgence and (2) The truly wicked who mistreat others
6. The one who does not believe in God – the atheist and agnostic. – but who tries to live a moral, ethical life acknowledging there is a right and wrong – that there are things we ought to do and ought not to do.
7. The truly wicked atheist, who either denies there is a right and wrong or who willingly chooses wrong believing there will be no consequence for it.

Relevant questions:

1. Who of all these does God/Christ love?
2. Who of these did Christ die for and for whom He took the punishment for their sins?
3. Who of these receives mercy or grace?
4. Who of these will receive justice?
5. Will God respond to any of these with worse than they deserve?
6. Does any of these deserve to be punished for an eternity in hell – according to our human sense of justice? – according to scripture?
7. What is God’s desire for every person He created?
8. Does God force us to do right in this life by “twisting our arm” until we give in?
9. Would God do that in the afterlife?
10. Will God give the lost a chance to repent in the afterlife or will it be too late?
11. Will the sincere believer of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. who tried to live a life pleasing to their God, once they have died and seen the truth about God and Christ, have a chance to repent and believe?
12. Will those who believe in God but that Jesus is not the Messiah have a chance to repent and believe in the afterlife?
13. Since sin has consequences – even if we confess and repent, will all the consequences be experienced in this life or will some be experienced in the afterlife?
14. Are there cases where justice and mercy call for the same response from God?

Some answers and some “we trust God to do what is right”

1. He loves them all

2. Christ died for them all and paid for all their sins

3. For sure, those who have repented and trusted in Christ receive mercy and grace. I believe those in category “2” will receive mercy because they never got a chance to believe in Christ but did believe in God and tried to live a life pleasing Him. Jesus died for their sins though they never knew Him, so they meet the criterion that no one comes to the Father but through Jesus Christ.

4. A person will receive either justice or mercy or, perhaps, both. Those who will receive justice include categories “4” through “7”. This leaves only category “3”. This is a tough one. Devout non-believing Jews would fall into this category. I think only God knows if they understood the gospel well enough to be held accountable to believe. He will be their judge whether they fall into category “2” due to lack of understanding or they understood but rejected God’s true way of salvation.

5. Absolutely NO

6. Given my new understanding of hell, this is a moot question.

7. God desires that all come to repentance and be saved.

8. No, God gave us and values our free will.

9. I say no. If you see the period of punishment in hell as an opportunity for a person to repent and come to God, then I disagree. It would be God twisting their arm until they gave in. It would be by force, not by free will. If by force, then it is God doing it, not the person.

10. I believe God wants us to believe that our chance to make things right with God ends at death. Everything He has told us in scripture points to that reality. The certain way we can get to heaven is to hear and believe the gospel and repent and trust in Jesus as our Savior. Could He give some a chance to believe after death? Of course, who are we to put limits on God? He has a right to change His mind and has done so in scripture. Who might He consider doing this for? The ones in categories “2” and “3” and even perhaps those in “6” who now know there is a God and Savior who died for them.

Prov 24:12, 12 If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not He that pondereth the heart consider it? and He that keepeth thy soul, doth not He know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?

11. Answered in 3 and 10 above.

12. Answered in 4 above.

13. For the saved, the consequences will be both on earth and/or loss of rewards in heaven. For the rest, some will be on earth and some after death in hell.

14. I cried when I thought of this question, and still do. I guess the question is, when is it just to be merciful? In my own heart, I think it is the case of categories “2”, “3”, and “6”. They behaved righteously based on their own understanding of reality – whether a God or no God. Once shown the truth after death, they would be of the type to readily repent and embrace God and Christ as Savior. Proverbs 24:12 applies (see the answer to 10 above).

Conclusion: First, I thank my grandson for stating his view regarding the traditional view of hell. After this study, I have changed my view to the Terminal view that hell is a place to punish the lost after which their soul is destroyed. I hope my grandson now understands that God is not like us in some ways, one of which is that He is supposed to enforce justice, whereas we are not. He did not put that in our hearts as something we ought to do but to love instead as Jesus taught. I think that is why he feels he can forgive everyone and not retaliate. Carrying out justice for wrong actions is God’s job.