I used to believe that God would torture the unrighteous
in Hell forever. I grew up in churches and
I attended a Bible Seminary which taught that view. I myself believed it and taught it to
others. But as a result of much in depth
Bible study, supplemented by reading multiple books by Christian authors with
various views on Hell, I have changed my view.
I now am convinced that the Bible teaches that the unrighteous will be
resurrected, stand before the judgment seat of Christ, be judged according to
what they have done, be cast into Hell, will experience some finite amount of
conscious suffering in the process, and will eventually be burned “to ashes” (2
Peter 2:6), “destroyed” (Matthew 10:28), “perish” (John 3:16), and experience “second
death” (Revelation 21:8) in such a way that they will forever cease to be
conscious, thinking people.
The view described above is often called “annihilationism”. I just preached a two part sermon on this
topic. Here are the links on YouTube:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Even if
Annihilationism is True, Why is it Important?
The simplest answer is that annihilationism is in the
Bible. The timing for my two messages
was based on the fact that this topic came up in the book of Luke, which I am
preaching through verse by verse.
But there is nothing wrong with trying to further
understand why this particular Biblical truth is important in the lives of
people.
The fundamental problem with believing that God tortures
unsaved people forever in Hell is that this view is inconsistent with the truth
that God is entirely good, loving, holy, and just.
I understand that this inconsistency does not bother many
Christians. Some Christians deal with
the inconsistency by avoiding thinking about it. Some have come up with various
rationalizations and (failed) attempts to explain how it is actually just and
right for God to torture the unsaved forever.
But for other people, this inconsistency has created real and severe
problems.
Here are some ways this inconsistency affects people in
real life:
1. Some people
have rejected Christianity and the Bible in part because they say that any God
who would torture forever those who reject Him must be unjust and cruel. I have heard atheists say this with great
passion. (To hear an example of an
atheist who is greatly bothered by the inconsistency of eternal conscious
torment, you may listen to minutes 32-42 of an onlinedebate here. There are many other examples.)
2. Some Christians
have embraced theological liberalism/postmodernism and the many errors
associated with that outlook in part as a reaction against the idea that God
would torture people forever. A good
example is Rob Bell in his book “Love Wins”.
There are many other examples. Far from being a step towards
universalism or theological compromise of some kind, the Biblical truth of
annihilationism is a strong defense against these errors.
3. While some
orthodox Christians are not bothered by the inconsistency of a good God who
would torture people for more than a hundred trillion years for sins committed
in one short lifetime, others are understandably deeply disturbed by this
thought. The famous theologian John
Stott, whom God used mightily to promote missions and evangelism, wrote this
concerning the wrong belief that God will torture people forever:
Well, emotionally, I find the
concept intolerable and do not understand how people can live with it without
either cauterising their feelings or cracking under the strain. But our
emotions are a fluctuating, unreliable guide to truth and must not be exalted
to the place of supreme authority in determining it. As a committed Evangelical,
my question must be—and is—not what does my heart tell me, but what does God's
word say? And in order to answer this question, we need to survey the biblical
material afresh and to open our minds (not just our hearts) to the possibility
that Scripture points in the direction of annihilation, and that 'eternal
conscious torment' is a tradition which has to yield to the supreme authority
of Scripture.
You can read the rest of Stott’s short essay on
annihilationism online here.
I really believe that taking ninety minutes to listen to
my two sermons on this topic will be time well spent. In fact, my sermon is just a brief
introduction to the Biblical evidence for annihilationism. If you want more . . .
Resources for
Further Study
The best resource for studying this topic is of course
your own Bible combined with prayerfully seeking God’s truth. God also uses other Christians to help us
understand the Bible, so I also recommend these resources.
1. By far the most
in depth resource on this topic is “TheFire that Consumes” by Edward Fudge.
2. There is a
website with a massive amount of discussion and resources related to annihilationism. It is RethinkingHell.com .
May God bless us all as we seek His truth.
Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .
