Topic(s): Eternity & Judgment, Bible Study

Bob Prichard

It is quite common in today’s religious world to reject the biblical teaching of the reality and duration of hell. Many claim that the old time understanding of “eternal hell fire” is out of character for a loving God, and that when this life is over, the unsaved will simply cease to exist. This is an appealing doctrine to many, because it eliminates the possibility of punishment for sin. However, Jesus said, that the wicked “shall go away into everlasting punishment” (Matthew 25:46). Paul spoke of those who do not know God, and refuse to obey Him, “who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

Hell, the ultimate abode of the wicked, is translated from the Greek word, Gehenna. This is a different term from hades, another Greek word incorrectly rendered as hell in the King James Version. Hades is the abode of all the dead, righteous and unrighteous, before the resurrection. The literal Gehenna, from which hell is derived, was a narrow gorge near Jerusalem that represented the worst of Jewish history. Years before the Jews stained this valley with the blood of their own innocent children offered in sacrifice to the idol Baal. In Christ’s day, Gehenna was a continually burning garbage dump whose name He appropriated to describe the final abode of the wicked.

Again and again the scriptures describe hell as a place of unending punishment for the wicked. Jesus spoke of the day when His angels would gather those who do iniquity and “cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:42). John described hell, saying “the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night” (Revelation 14:11). Other passages describe hell as “outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12), a “furnace of fire” (Matthew 13:42), and “eternal fire” (Jude 7).

Jude 7 speaks of Sodom and Gomorrha, the wicked cities that were “giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 7). Some contend that since the “eternal fire” that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha burned out, then the eternal fire of hell must do the same. The point Jude was making however, was that the wickedness of Sodom brought God’s wrath, and its destruction was so utter that the only thing to compare it with was eternal fire. Even today, the fire of Sodom is still burning in the sense that it serves as a warning to all men of the importance of obeying God.

What is the duration of hell? Jesus said that the wicked “shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:46). Hell is just as eternal as heaven is, and in the same sense. If the fires of hell burn out, and are not eternal, then we should not expect the bliss of heaven for the righteous to be eternal. The term “eternal” literally means “always being.” Hell is eternal, and is not going to burn out. We must prepare to avoid it by obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ.