Hell
2 Thess. 1:9 (ESV) They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
Hell has been a controversial doctrine of the Christian Church, and of Judaism for that matter, since Moses. I’d like to look at the doctrine of Hell with an apologetic approach. I would like to examine the doctrine of hell, by looking at the five most common voiced objections to the belief.
Let me give a brief definition of hell first: “[The] place of God’s final retributive punishment. Scripture progressively develops this destiny of the wicked: the Old Testament outlines the framework, while the New Testament elaborates on it. Jesus, however, is most responsible for defining hell” (The Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology). Now the questions:
- How can a loving God send people to hell? This is by far the most common objection. People struggle to reconcile God’s love with eternal punishment and often assume that a truly loving God would never punish anyone.
John 3:17-18 (ESV)For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Mankind is fully condemned due to their non-belief in Jesus, the only Son of God. Since God is holy and cannot stand in the presence of unholiness, and our sin makes us unholy, we are condemned already. What God has done is set up a system, a program, by which our belief in the name of Jesus as our Savior saves us. The answer to the question is then: God does not send people to hell. We deserve it. But we can “get out of it” by asking Jesus to save us.
- Is hell eternal, or does the punishment eventually end (annihilation or a finite term of suffering)? Matt. 25:41-46 (ESV) 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Both life and the punishment mentioned in vs 46 are eternal. Annihilationists (those who believe God ends our existence soon after we stand before Him) say the punishment is eternal, but the life of the punished is finite, that the wicked are destroyed for eternity rather than punished eternally. They say this to try and get out of the fact the Greek word for eternal is exactly the same. If we will live forever, the wicked will be punished forever. (See also Mark 9:43–48; cf. Isaiah 66:24; Revelation 14:11; 20:10; Luke 16:19-31)
- What about those who have never heard the gospel? Rom 1:19-20 (ESV) 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
We all have a chance. God has revealed Himself through the Bible (Special Revelation), certainly, but He has also made Himself known through His creation. Those who seek the Creator who is revealed in such a beautiful and well-engineered and complex universe will find Him.
4. Is the fire of hell literal, or is it metaphorical?
The Bible uses multiple images—fire, darkness, outer darkness, undying worm, weeping and gnashing of teeth, lake of fire, second death—to describe the same reality (Matthew 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 25:30; Mark 9:48; Revelation 20:14–15; 21:8). These are not contradictory; they are complementary ways of conveying extreme, conscious, irreversible suffering and separation from God.
Whether the fire is physical flame or the most vivid possible language for spiritual agony under God’s wrath, the effect is the same: real, conscious torment. Jesus treats the danger as literal enough to warn people to take radical action to avoid it (Matthew 5:29–30; 18:8–9).
5. Is eternal hell a fair or just punishment for sins committed in a finite lifetime?
PS. 51:4 (ESV) Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
Yes, it’s fair because the seriousness of sin is measured by the infinite worth of the One sinned against, not merely by the duration of the act. Every sin is ultimately against an infinitely holy God (Psalm 51:4). Finite creatures who reject their Creator incur a debt of infinite magnitude.
