“Dad, is Hell real?”
That jarring question came flying from the back seat of my pickup truck recently. My elementary-aged daughter was curious. Apparently, her classmates had a theological debate on the playground that day. While the first part of the answer was simple — Yes, Hell is real — it was all of the follow-up questions that created the complexity.
All orthodox Christians believe in eternal condemnation for those who reject Jesus, but the real debate lies in the extent and nature of that punishment. As theologians Gregory Boyd and Paul Eddy write,
“Evangelical Christians disagree over whether this punishment is eternal in duration or in consequence.”
(Across the Spectrum, p. 172)
This is the crux of the debate.
The Classic View — The Unending Torment of the Wicked
For most of church history, Christians have held that those who fail to call upon Jesus for salvation will be cast into hell, where they will experience punishment for all eternity (eternal torment). While this is an uncomfortable doctrine for many, it has long been considered an essential expression of God’s righteous judgment.
When Jesus returns, He will “judge the living and the dead.” That judgment, though sobering, is not arbitrary or cruel—it is the outworking of His righteousness and goodness. N.T. Wright reminds us,
“Throughout the Bible… God’s coming judgment is a good thing, something to be celebrated, longed for, yearned over… In a world full of exploitation and wickedness, a good God must be a God of judgment.”
(Surprised by Hope, p. 137)
The Bible contains several examples that support the classic view of hell.
- Daniel 12:1–3 speaks of the final resurrection, when “some will be raised to everlasting life, and others to everlasting contempt.” A consistent interpretation suggests both “everlasting life” and “everlasting death” are eternal in duration.
- Jesus’ teaching reinforces this view: “In the furnace of fire… there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 13:42; 22:13). These images suggest conscious awareness, not annihilation.
- Mark 9:48 adds, “the worm that devours will never die and the fire will never go out.”
Finally, in Revelation 14:10–11, we are told that the wicked “will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb… and the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever.”
Taken together, these passages paint a vivid and terrifying picture: hell as a place of unending, conscious separation from God. The seriousness of sin, the righteousness of God, and the explicit language of eternal punishment throughout Scripture give strong support to the classic view of hell.
Annihilationism — A Newer Perspective on Hell
Over the last century, another perspective has gained renewed attention—Annihilationism. This view holds that in a swift act of judgment, God will bring an end to all who have rebelled against Him and rejected His salvation. To say it simply, the wicked will cease to exist.
Those who object to annihilationism often accuse it of downplaying sin or weakening the justice of God. But that’s a misunderstanding. Annihilationism does not deny the reality or severity of judgment—it offers a different understanding of what that judgment means.
Annihilationists argue that the early church’s view of hell was shaped by Greek philosophical ideas about the soul’s inherent immortality. But when we re-read Scripture apart from that Hellenistic lens, we find that immortality is not innate—it is a gift that God graciously gives to those who trust in Christ:
“God graciously offers immortality as a gift to people who align themselves with his will” (see John 3:16; Rom. 2:7; 6:23; 1 Cor. 15:53; Gal. 6:8; 1 John 5:11).
(Across the Spectrum, p. 174)
Annihilationism does not claim that the wicked escape punishment. The Bible clearly teaches that the punishment of the wicked is eternal (Matt. 25:46; 2 Thess. 1:9). The difference lies in how it is eternal. Punishment is eternal, not because it goes on forever, but because its results are final and irreversible.
“The damned do not undergo an eternal process of punishment or destruction,” Boyd and Eddy explain, “just as the elect do not undergo an eternal process of redemption.”
(Across the Spectrum, p. 175)
Throughout Scripture, God’s judgment is often described in terms of destruction or consuming fire (Matt. 7:19; 13:40; John 15:6). James 4:12 describes God as “the one who is able to save and to destroy.”
In this view, hell is not an eternal chamber of rebellion but the final eradication of evil, confirming that Christ truly reigns over all (Eph. 1:10, 21–22). It aligns with Revelation 21’s vision of a renewed creation—no more mourning, no more pain, no more sin.
Conclusion
Both views affirm that hell is real and that judgment is certain. The difference lies in what the end of judgment looks like. The classic view emphasizes eternal torment; annihilationism emphasizes the final destruction of evil. At the heart of both views is a God who is both just and good.
In my next post, I share which view on Hell I’ve come to hold and why.
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