Is Hell Forever?
Will a just and loving God torture people in a never ending hell for only a lifetime of sin?
How many does Jesus want to save?
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
If God could save every single person, without infringing on their freedom to choose, He would, but this He does not do, because He respects every person’s free will. Instead, He knocks patiently at the door of every heart (Revelation 3:20), waiting to be let in.
What is He like?
The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
God is love, but He is also holy. He loves the sinner and has made ample provision for salvation from sin, because sin, and anyone who chooses to cling to it, cannot exist in the presence of a holy God—He is a consuming fire to it.
What does the Bible say about the wicked?
Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
Because the wicked choose to cling to sin, which, at its core, is selfishness and in complete opposition to the government of love, God has no other choice but to destroy them. The Bible calls this a strange act because God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked; these are people for whom He died, but because they refuse to turn from their path of sin and destruction, He must respect their choice and leave them to its consequences so that the curse of sin—the misery, suffering, and ruin—can be finally blotted out. Note also that Malachi says the fire will burn them up and turn them into ashes, meaning they will not burn in hell forever.
What does the Psalmist have to say?
For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
These verses are clear that the wicked will cease to exist after the fire finishes its work. They will not be suffering in hell for eternity.
What about Matthew 25:46?
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
The word “everlasting” here refers to the eternal consequences of the punishment—it is final.
How is the fire of Sodom and Gomorrha described?
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.
And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly.
The fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha was an eternal fire too, but, obviously, the cities are no longer burning. The Bible is referring to the eternal consequences of the fire, which turned the cities into ashes—never to exist again.
Doesn’t the Bible talk about unquenchable fire?
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
The fire is unquenchable in the sense that nothing can put it out until it finishes its work.
Is there another instance of this in the Bible?
Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.
And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein; then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever. And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD.
But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
2 Chronicles 36 was the fulfillment of the prophecy given by Jeremiah in chapter 17. Obviously, the fire is no longer burning, but when it was burning, it was an unquenchable fire that could not be put out until it consumed everything.
What about Revelation 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 for ever and ever.
Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.
But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever. ... Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.
The Greek word for “for ever” in Revelation 20:10 is “aion.” It’s where the word “eon” comes from. In the Bible it’s often used to indicate an unspecified period of time. In Exodus 21:6 it represents the life of a slave, and in 1 Samuel 1:22, 28 it means as long as Samuel lives; likewise, in Revelation 20:10 it means the torment lasts until death brings it to an end.
Where and when will the fire come down?
As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
The Bible says the fire comes down on earth at the end of the 1,000 year period when the wicked are raised from the dead and Satan deceives them, for the last time, to make an attempt to capture the New Jerusalem (see “1,000 Years of Peace”). This is referred to as “the end of the world” in other Bible passages because it is God’s final act of cleansing the world of sin. This also means there is no one burning in hell now. The Bible makes it clear that the dead are in their graves waiting for the resurrection: the saved are waiting for the first resurrection at the second coming of Christ (see “Are the Dead Really Dead?”), while the lost are waiting for the second resurrection at the end of the 1,000 years.
Who else will be destroyed?
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.
Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
The fire cleanses the earth from all traces of sin, and so the fallen angels, including Satan, will also be destroyed by it, turning them to ashes, because the entire rebellion against God started with Satan and the angels he managed to deceive (see “Origin of Evil”).
Is everyone punished equally?
And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
The punishment is according to a person’s deeds. Those who are guilty of henious crimes against humanity will suffer longer than those who are not. It would be unjust and unfair any other way.
What is the result of the fire?
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
Hell cannot burn forever because the wages of sin are death, not eternal torment for a short life of sin. How cruel would that be! This eternal hell teaching goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden where Satan told Eve she would surely not die (Genesis 3:4) even though God clearly said that sin brings death (Genesis 2:17). But make no mistake, Jesus would rather die on the cross Himself than watch His creation destroyed by fire; nevertheless, He also respects every person’s freedom of choice, and in an effort to purge the world from the misery of sin, it is, ultimately, an act of love to bring the rebellion to an end. And so the fire will burn out once it finishes its work, and there will be not a coal left to warm at. Satan, his angels, and the wicked will cease to exist, never to live again.
What happens once it goes out?
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
Once every trace of sin is wiped out, God will create a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. The universe will be forever secure from the curse of sin ever rising again because everyone will know, from experience, that God is love. The rebellion brought out the love of Jesus and the Father like nothing else could, and it was their love that conquered it.