Coming to Grips With the Biblical Hell
[RICHARD FOSTER]
From the outset it might be asked why I have chosen to write about such an unpleasant subject as hell. But the reason is simple: I have found that since leaving Adventism and moving into biblical faith in an evangelical church, Adventists always tend to be very concerned what I think about hell. Do I really believe like most Christians believe, that those who are lost will be consciously, eternally punished for their sins in a place called hell? Some Adventists have even tried to get me to reconsider Adventism on the basis that it doesn’t teach eternal hell. For others this seems to be a roadblock that would keep them from leaving Adventism, even if they object to most of its doctrines.
Just up front I will say the struggle to come to grips with what the Bible says concerning hell has been very real in my life. One of the contributing factors for me becoming an Adventist at the age of 19, was that as an Adventist I didn’t have to believe in an eternal conscious punishment. Then, once I discovered the many problems with Adventism and began attending an evangelical church, once again I had to wrestle with and go through a struggle over this doctrine. In this article, therefore, I will share a few evidences that helped me come to grips with the doctrine of hell.
Why Do Most Christians Believe Hell Is An Eternal, Conscious Punishment?
First and most important is the questionof why eternal hell is the predominant orthodox view amongst Christians. For Bible believers, the answer must be because it is biblical. If the Bible teaches the doctrine, it’s undoubtedly damaging to our Christian walk to reject it rather than to believe it. On the other hand, if the doctrine is not really biblical, then it will be damaging to our Christian walk to believe it. So we must determine first: is eternal conscious punishment for the lost the true Bible teaching?
There are a number of verses in the Bible that indicate in very explicit terms that the punishment for those lost will be eternal. Below is a sampling.
And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the ETERNAL FIRE (Matthew 18:8).
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” (Matthew 25:41).
And these [in context the goats] will go away into ETERNAL PUNISHMENT, but the righteous into eternal life (Matthew 25:46).
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 (Revelation 14:11).
[A]nd the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night FOREVER AND EVER (Revelation 20:10).
Now I can remember as an Adventist reading these texts and saying, “But forever doesn’t have to mean forever.” “Jude 7 says Sodom and Gomorrah suffered eternal fire, but Sodom and Gomorrah were burned up,” and so forth.
There are several problems with the Adventist interpretation, though. Regarding Jude 7 (which was a go-to text for me as an Adventist) “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” is actually present tense. While the physical cities themselves were destroyed to ashes, that does not mean the wicked inhabitants don’t continue under the fiery judgement of God. Peter indicates that the ungodly are kept “under punishment” until the final day of judgment (2 Peter 2:9). Also, we learn that the same Greek word used for “eternal” in reference to eternal life is used for eternal fire, or eternal punishment. Furthermore, the phrase “forever and ever” used in Revelation 14:11 and 20:10 is used twelve times in the book of Revelation. I didn’t realize this fact until I prepared for this article. Let’s take a quick look at the usage of the phrase “forever and ever” in Revelation (literally “to the ages of the ages”).
…and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion FOREVER AND EVER. Amen (Revelation 1:6).
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives FOREVER AND EVER, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives FOREVER AND EVER… (Revelation 4:9-10).
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might FOREVER AND EVER” (Revelation 5:13)!
…saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God FOREVER AND EVER! Amen” (Revelation 7:12)!
…and swore by him who lives FOREVER AND EVER, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay (Revelation 10:6).
Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign FOREVER AND EVER” (Revelation 11:15).
And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives FOREVER AND EVER (Revelation 15:7).
Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up FOREVER AND EVER” (Revelation 19:3).
And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign FOREVER AND EVER (Revelation 22:5).
We have just gone through every usage of “forever and ever” in the book of Revelation, except for 14:11, and 20:10, where torment of the lost is mentioned in connection with “forever and ever”. Notice in eight of the uses the point is made that God lives or reigns forever and ever. One usage is talking about the destruction of Babylon, and one usage is talking about God’s people reigning with Him forever and ever.
Now I would ask Adventists and those who share their view at this point: is there any possibility that God won’t live or reign forever and ever? Is there any possibility that God’s people won’t reign with Him forever and ever? Is there any possibility that judgement on Babylon won’t be forever and ever?
The fact is that if lake of fire doesn’t continue literally forever and ever, then it’s up for negotiation that God will continue forever and ever! It’s up for negotiation that the saints’ eternal life with God will continue forever and ever! I would just ask, if eternal punishment in hell is true, if God’s word was trying to inform us that this is the reality, how could God have possibly made it more clear than He already has?
Hell shall continue as long as God shall live, and it shall continue as long as God’s redeemed continue in glory with God.
The sobering and solemn reality that every person who takes all the words of the Bible seriously must face is this: hell shall continue as long as God shall live, and it shall continue as long as God’s redeemed continue in glory with God.
Exegetically there’s just no way around this. Arguments against the eternality of hell tend to be more philosophical than they are exegetical. “A God of love can’t do that;” “What benefit would it be for God to keep sinners eternally under judgement somewhere?” And so forth.
Now an Adventist may object at this point and say: “But the choice is between eternal life or death, (Romans 6:23), or between eternal life or perish (John 3:16).”
But in objecting in this way they make an assumption that “death” or “perish” means unconscious non-existence. But how does the Bible define death?
First of all, nowhere does the Bible say or indicate that the meaning of death is unconscious non-existence. In Ephesians 2 Paul says that before we were made alive in Christ, we were “dead in trespasses and sins”. Now, obviously, prior to our new birth in Christ, we were conscious, and we existed. That we were “dead” in sin does not mean we did not exist. But it certainly means we were separated from God. In fact, Jesus Himself tells us what it means to have eternal life: “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3).
Jesus does not describe eternal life as a continued existence in opposition to non-existence, but as knowing God, and Himself, as opposed to not knowing God! To have eternal life is not simply to exist eternally, but the real essence of eternal life is to know God, to know Jesus Christ, and to have eternal fellowship and communion with Him!
Biblically defined, death is a separation. To be physically dead means the body is separated from the spirit (James 2:26), and to be spiritually dead, i.e. dead in sin, means to be separated from fellowship with God and hostile to Him. Once we realize that biblically death is a separation, a lot of interpretive problems get cleared up. The lost will perish or die forever, because they will forever be out of fellowship with God and separated from communion with their maker.
What Benefit Is It To Believe Such a Difficult Doctrine As Eternal Hell?
As I’ve already pointed out, to correctly understand Bible doctrine is always beneficial to our Christian walk, even when it’s hard and difficult doctrine. As the Apostle Paul has said:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
To understand the full weight of what Paul is saying means that to correctly understand anything and everything we possibly can in Scripture will be of benefit to our Christian life. And to correctly understand the Bible’s teaching on hell is no different.
So what are some beneficial things we realize from understanding that God’s judgement on sin will be unending? I’ll go through five ways that my picture of God and my spiritual walk has benefitted from understanding the serious reality of eternal hell:
- God is a lot more holy than I realized.
- Sin is a lot worse, and more evil than I realized.
- Grace is a lot more gracious than l realized.
- The cross of Christ and His great salvation for us is a lot more precious and marvelous than I realized.
- Sharing the gospel with lost people is a lot more important than I realized.
Regarding the first point that God is more holy than I realized: it’s interesting to note that out of all the attributes of God mentioned in the Bible, His holiness is is the only one mentioned to the third degree. We learn from Isaiah and Revelation that the praise of sinless angels before God is “Holy, holy, holy!” We don’t read in the Bible of the angels saying “Love, love, love”, or “Justice, justice, justice”. Neither do we find them crying, “Mercy, mercy, mercy”, although these are all attributes existing perfectly in the Triune God of Scripture.
Holy sinless beings that live in the direct presence of the Lord God, however, are overwhelmed with awe and praise by God’s awesome and unfathomable holiness.
Holy sinless beings that live in the direct presence of the Lord God, however, are overwhelmed with awe and praise by God’s awesome and unfathomable holiness. Indeed, an interesting Bible study is to look at the reactions of God’s people whenever they catch a glimpse of God in His majesty. Isaiah exclaims “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Is. 6:5).John records that upon catching a vision of Christ in heavenly glory his instant reaction was to fall at His feet as dead (Rev. 1:17). And on we could go with biblical examples of God’s people being overwhelmed with His holiness and glory.
Regarding point two, one of the reasons we are tempted to think eternal punishment is unfair or too harsh is because we don’t properly realize the heinous nature of sin. We are sinners by nature, personally familiar with sin and unrighteousness for as long as we can remember. To us it just doesn’t seem that bad. We wonder how a “good by our standards” person is deserving of eternal punishment, when they lived for the most part an outwardly upright life and were generally nice to others. How could they deserve hell just because they refused to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?
But it’s easy for us to think this way, because we really have no skin in the game so to speak. All sin is ultimately committed against God (Psalm 51:4). All sin (no matter how “small”) is nothing less than high treason committed against our absolutely holy, righteous, and sovereign Creator. Sin is essentially humanity saying to God: “I don’t care what you say; I will do what I want instead. I don’t care that in you I live and move and have my being, and that all the blessings I enjoy come from your hand. I value your gifts more than I value you, God.”
The sad reality is that everyone who remains in unbelief continuously assaults God’s grace and sovereignty.
Regarding point three and God’s grace, understanding eternal punishment gives us a whole new conception of just how incredibly kind God is to have extended saving grace to us. We have offended God to the degree that we owe an infinite debt which we could never repay in all eternity. Yet God has condescended to extend grace and forgiveness to us anyway, if we will simply trust Him to save us.
Regarding point four, eternal punishment helps us realize just how great a sacrifice Christ made on the cross. We realize that He made an infinitely valuable atonement on the cross. And it is at this very juncture we realize that the infinity of this sacrifice is why only the God-man Himself could pay the penalty for sin.
Sin, being committed against the infinite God, is infinitely evil and requires an infinite punishment.
Sin, being committed against the infinite God, is infinitely evil and requires an infinite punishment. Only the infinite One Himself had the capacity to make the infinitely valuable atonement that was necessary on account of sin.
In Matthew 18:23-35 Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant. From this story we begin to get some sort of conception of just how enormous our sin debt is before God. In the parable Jesus places the debt that the servant owed his master at ten thousand talents. Now there’s some debate over just how much a talent was worth. What is certain, however, is that ten thousand talents would have been an astronomical amount. In modern terms we could say it would have been well into the billions of dollars. Considering what workers wages would have been at the time of Christ, to earn ten thousand talents would have taken tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of years. So, for all intents and purposes, the servant owed a debt that he could never ever have any chance of repaying.
This impossible debt illustrates how infinite our sin debt is before our holy God. If we choose to pay for our sins ourselves rather than trusting in Christ, who made such an unfathomable sacrifice for sinners, we will end up paying our debt for all eternity. So, in realizing that sin deserves nothing less than eternal conscious judgement, we begin to realize just how great the work of Jesus Christ for our salvation really is.
Concerning point five, we realize from the Bible’s teaching on eternal punishment that everyone on earth is going to spend eternity somewhere. While the Adventist view of the lost going into non-existence is an attractive theory, wanting it to be so will not make it so. There are only two possibilities for the state that people will be in when their life on this earth comes to an end. They will either be in Christ, or they will be in their sins. If they are in Christ they will spend a conscious eternity of joy in the presence of the Lord. However, if they should die in their sins, they will spend a conscious eternity in ultimate misery, forever separated from anything and everything good.
This solemn realization puts things into the proper perspective. It helps us to realize what is really important in life. As an Adventist I often had a hard time knowing where to begin when the opportunity presented itself to share what I believed with someone. After all, it’s hard to share everything that’s a necessity to the Adventist mind in a brief conversation. I would wonder if I should tell them about the Sabbath? Or perhaps I should tell them about the state of the dead? Or perhaps I should tell them about a prophecy in Daniel? I don’t remember it ever occurring to me that I should share the gospel with the person (of course I didn’t understand the gospel; no wonder I wanted to share Adventism instead of Christ).
Now as a gospel-centered Christian, it’s a total no-brainer that I will share the simple gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ whenever the opportunity arises. Eternity lies in front of every person. And as Christians with this realization we are driven to tell about our Lord and His work to save sinners. Now it should be realized that not everyone is equally eloquent in doing this. However, since leaving Adventism I realize that people’s conversions aren’t tied up in my eloquent presentations or in my ability to tug at their emotions and intellect. Our Lord has made us as seed scatterers. In sharing Christ with people according to our capability, we have loved our neighbor. And we should remember that the Holy Spirit can use even the feeblest attempt at sharing the gospel to bring a sinner to Christ.
But How Could An Eternal Hell Reconcile With A Loving God?
Perhaps this is the biggest challenge for people coming to a realization of the biblical doctrine of hell. If God is loving, as the Bible says, then how could He commit the lost to an eternity of conscious misery? And in regards to this question several things are very important to consider.
In the time in which we are living, we have philosophical challenges affecting us which, for most of human history, were not such an issue. Especially has human reason been exalted and held up as the ultimate determiner of right and wrong, good and evil. In many cases, without even realizing it, we have been personally affected by this exaltation of human reasoning in determining what’s good and what’s not, what’s loving and what’s not, what’s just and what’s not.
As Christians we have to remember where our starting point for all questions is. We have to remember what is objective vs. subjective in determining reality. We have to remember that God alone is good, and that the Bible alone can inform us of ultimate objective realities in these matters. Our reasoning simply won’t cut it. We are flawed, fallible, fallen, and fickle creatures. Our understanding and ability is very much limited for these reasons.
God, however, is unlimited. God is perfect. And therefore God alone is qualified to decide what the ultimate reality is concerning love, justice, righteousness, and so on.
The core essence at the heart of genuine Christian faith is that we believe God, and we trust God. Even when we don’t comprehend or understand His ways, as believers we set aside our own understandings, and we trust God.
The core essence at the heart of genuine Christian faith is that we believe God, and we trust God. Even when we don’t comprehend or understand His ways, as believers we set aside our own understandings, and we trust God. As God’s word instructs us: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
This is a familiar Scripture text to many, and it is especially needful to apply it when considering difficult subjects such as God’s love and justice and how they can both exist simultaneously and perfectly in God.
In coming to grips with the doctrine of hell I have realized that at the ultimate root of the difficulty is trusting God and His character. In this respect Adventism has turned things upside down with its “Great Controversy” theology, where we as fallen creatures get to decide weather or not God is good, based on weather or not He deals with sin in a way that reconciles with our human understandings. The flaw in this reasoning, however, is assuming that we have the capability to accurately judge what true love and justice should look like.
Contrary to this Adventist perspective, the Bible upholds God alone as the objective standard of all things. God as our Creator doesn’t have to prove anything about His goodness to us. Instead, as creatures we have an obligation to recognize Him as our blessed Creator, who has given us life, many blessings, and most of all—His Son Jesus Christ for the salvation of all who will trust in Him. In summary the creature has a solemn obligation to the Creator, and never the other way around.
In conclusion, when we consider difficult subjects such as hell and eternal judgement, we should remind ourselves who we are, and who God is. We can rest assured that God never has and never will do anyone an ounce of wrong. Those who end up in hell, as bad as it is, will not get treated in the least degree worse than what perfect justice warrants.
On the other hand, the good news of the gospel is that no one has to end up in hell. God has graciously provided the way out in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mercy is available to whosoever will come to Jesus Christ.
Are you trusting in Jesus Christ alone to save you from your sins and what they deserve? If so, you know that you can trust Him in all things, including the way in which He deals with lost souls.
And if you haven’t yet trusted Christ alone to the saving of your soul, please do so today. The weight of your guilt will be lifted from you, and peace with God will be yours forever in Jesus Christ. Once you have began trusting Him for the salvation of your soul, and experience such grace and love beyond measure, you will realize that you can trust Him in anything and everything, including a difficult reality like eternal judgement. †
Richard and Virlinda Foster
See their testimony.
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- A Gospel Appeal for Adventists - July 18, 2024
- Adventism and the Sufficiency of Scripture - May 23, 2024
Excellent article, Richard. I’ll definitely point people to this as a resource.
Yes, I second Chris’s comment. Thanks for writing this, Richard, and for reminding us of the weight of eternity.
Yes, thank you, Richard! This is an excellent article on a difficult subject. Thank you for faithfully articulating the incredible holiness of our God and the significance of facing this important doctrine. So many wonderful points made here. I agree with Chris and Kaspars, this is a great resource in ongoing ministry! God bless you and your family!