The fate of the lost
Here are some of the Biblical reasonings which strongly support the teaching that the eternal damnation of sinners could be eternal in consequence, but not in duration, and possibly terminates in the Second Death, from which there is no escape or return, and in which there is no further suffering.
The fire of hell is described as everlasting in Matthew 25:41 and elsewhere, but not the torment itself.
The concept of everlasting fire is made less clear by the reference to it in Jude 7. Historically speaking, the fire that consumed Sodom and Gomorrah completed its work and was extinguished. So, we must at least admit our understanding of everlasting fire is not abundantly clear.
Revelation 14:11 is the only verse where “torment” and “forever and ever” are found together. Read it. It is a very scary verse.
But the meaning of the verse is obscured by another reference to smoke arising forever and ever found in Isaiah 34:10, in the context of verses 8-15. The land is described as becoming burning pitch and “the smoke thereof shall go up forever.” Yet in the following verses, 11 – 15 the land is described as being inhabited again by wild animals: not possible if the smoke literally continued to rise. This lends support to the idea that an event can be eternal in consequence, though not in duration.
The justice of God, emphasized over and over in the Old Covenant, is one of just retribution (an eye for an eye, etc.) mentioned in Hebrews 2:2. Retribution means that the scales of justice can be balanced.
Luke 12:58, 59 establishes the idea of paying the last penny, as the scales of justice are finally balanced.
Luke 12:46 – 48 establishes the concept of degrees of punishment for degrees of offense. Punishment is not “one size fits all,” which is what we imply when we speak of the eternal torment of the damned.
And, from Matthew 22:39 one could argue that our offenses against our fellow man are given virtually the same weight as our offenses against Almighty God. So, the argument that our sins against God alone merit eternal suffering is not a very strong one. It is merely a theological construct.
The rich man and Lazarus story in Luke 16, especially verse 25, supports the idea of retribution, for the suffering of others caused by sinners, as being exacted in hell where perfect justice balances the scales.
Hades is the place of the rich man’s torment described in Luke 16:23. Yet in Revelation 20:14 death and Hades are cast into the lake of fire, described as the Second Death. This supports the idea of the retribution of Hades coming to an end.
Why call the lake of fire “the Second Death,” if it does not imply the cessation of a previous state of existence?
Why would the Second Death not mean the second death?
If God wanted the fate of the damned to be abundantly clear, why would He designate such a questionable description of their final state? Or is it questionable? Why not take the clear meaning of the second death? Why are we so in love with the doctrine of eternal conscious torment? Is it perhaps our human lust for extreme vengeance, rather than justice?
I don’t find an ongoing action in apollumi – perish in John 3:16, or destroy in Matthew 10:28, nor in olethros – destruction in 2 Thessalonians 1:9. Destruction can be everlasting in consequence, while the process is not.
Again and again, the New Testament refers to the fate of the lost as destruction, rather than eternal torment.
See Matthew 10:28, Mark 12:9, Luke 17:29-30, Philippians 3:18-19, James 4:12.
There is no hint of eternal torment that I have found in the Old Testament; damnation yes, destruction yes, (see the Psalms) but eternal conscious torment, no.
Only in Daniel do we find anything about the fate of the lost that’s unclear. It is quite possible that Daniel, in speaking of the damned, refers to God’s remembrance of them as one of “everlasting shame and contempt.” (Daniel 12:2)
And there are additional arguments. For example, God alone possesses immortality (1 Timothy 6:16), not human beings. The “immortal soul” is an inference drawn by theologians who support the teaching of eternal conscious torment. The phrase “immortal soul” is nowhere in scripture.
Sinful human beings are unworthy of everlasting life. (Acts 13:46)
Everlasting life is promised only to those sinful human beings who choose to believe the good news of the gospel.
“God so loved the world He gave his only begotten Son (Jesus) so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
“This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10 ISV
"Now [God] commands everyone everywhere to turn to him and change the way they think and act. He has set a day when he is going to judge the world with justice, and he will use a man he has appointed to do this. God has given proof to everyone that he will do this by bringing that man (Jesus) back to life." Acts 17:30-31 GW
“If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved. For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved. Romans 10:9-10 GNB
Those in hell never hungered nor thirsted to be right with their Creator in this life. If they did, God would have revealed to them the Good News of salvation by faith in Jesus, somehow. And they would have chosen to believe Jesus. The lost do not love the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:10) So, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, will never be judicially applied to them. They are in fact, atoning for their own sins.
My point is that, for such an important doctrine, where the scriptures do not appear to be abundantly clear, and where we run the risk of actually diminishing God’s glory if our interpretation of damnation is not correct, it behooves us to tread lightly.
W. G. Lamb
wglambjr@gmail.com
W. G. Lamb
wglambjr@gmail.com