Blake Long

Of all the doctrines of the Christian faith that stump people, Hell is certainly at the top of the list. And, just to be sure, I understand it. Hell is difficult to think about, tough to ponder. The thought of anyone going to Hell makes me shudder. I don’t want anyone to go to Hell.

But we must come to grips with the biblical text. Hell exists. For many, the question is not whether Hell exists — that is truly unquestionable — but the question is, “What is Hell?”

Recently I was watching a snippet from The George Janko Show. There have been three noteworthy people he’s interviewed in which they delve into a discussion on the characteristics of Hell. Janko interviewed Ben Carson (politician), Pete Holmes (comedian), and Cliff Knechtle (well-known apologist and pastor). And the common denominator amongst among them, including Janko, is that they don’t believe in the traditional, orthodox view of Hell. In other words, they believe in annihilationism. This view, which was even espoused by the respected theologian John Stott, teaches that “if people do not believe in Christ [in Hell] they are annihilated. That means they cease to exist in any sense at all. They have no consciousness and experience nothing. They are no more” (source).

Stott once wrote,

Emotionally, I find the concept [of eternal conscious torment] intolerable and do not understand how people can live with it without either cauterizing their feelings or cracking under the strain . . . Scripture points in the direction of annihilation.

So this raises the questions: What is Hell? What does Hell look like? Do people experience eternal conscious torment, or does God annihilate them where they cease to exist?

I would argue that Hell is eternal conscious torment, and that anything less would be an act of mercy from God. Therefore, if He wiped someone from existing, that would be a dishonoring of His justice. It would be better for some to have never existed than to suffer in Hell forever (Mk. 14:21).

In order to properly assess what Hell is like, we must look to the Scriptures. We cannot discuss this subject from emotions or feelings. Not to say we must be robots, callous, or cold hearted, but we cannot allow our feelings to ultimately dictate what we believe about any given subject, especially the doctrine of Hell.

Revelation 14:10-11 says, “he [who worships the beast] also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name” (italics mine).

This passage is abundantly clear. The punishment is not consumption or annihilation, but will go on “forever and ever, and … have no rest, day or night.”

Furthermore, the Apostle Paul refers to Hell as eternal punishment, “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thess. 1:9).

It’s important to note that Scripture points to the punishment in Hell being eternal, just like Heaven is eternal. Robert Peterson, in an article at Ligonier Ministries, wrote: “The punishment of the lost in hell is coextensive to the bliss of the righteous in heaven—both are everlasting.”

As I’ve pondered through this topic a bit, the underlying issue I see is a distrust in God’s character and justice. “The objection to [eternal conscious torment] at its root is calling into question the goodness and wisdom and justice of God,” Ligon Duncan said in a conversation at a T4G Conference. “It’s basically human beings saying, ‘God, you don’t have the right to do that. It would be wrong of you to do that. And I am now standing in moral judgment over your actions.’”

Who are we to question God for punishing unbelievers for eternity? From my analysis, at the end of the day it doesn’t sound like many people come to the doctrine of annihilationism through biblical exegesis, but eisegesis. In other words, they are reading their own emotions, feelings, and opinions into text. Ben Carson, a politician and known Seventh-Day Adventist, said, “Why would God punish someone for all eternity for something he or she did on Earth for 70-ish years?”

Have we not remembered the severity of sin? Yes, the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23), but that doesn’t mean you will be annihilated in Hell by not believing—it simply means you will physically die because of sin. Friends, the punishment of eternal conscious torment is just and right because the heinousness of sin against a holy God.

God is not unloving for pouring out His full wrath on unrepentant, unbelieving rebels for all eternity. RC Sproul was right to ask, “What’s wrong with you people?!” When we forget who God is, forget who we are, and don’t recognize the severity of our sin, then we conjure up doctrines like annihilationism.

Don’t get me wrong: Hell is a horrifying doctrine and we should not delight that anyone goes there. But may we never presume to know better than God. May we never think we would make a better decision than the Lord.

You might have a hard time talking about Hell. I do; I’m sure all Christians do. But we must understand Hell in relation to the holiness of God. When we view all things from the vantage point of God in His holiness, righteousness, and perfection, we understand why sin must be punished forever.