Eternal Torment

Questions or points in this section...

Will the antediluvians be punished with fire?

Do you believe Satan will be tormented for ever?

What is unquenchable fire?

What is the lake of fire?

"You shall not surely die"

The fear of eternal judgment

Question: Will the antediluvians be punished with fire?

“The generations from Adam to Noah were all swept away by the flood. Only Noah and his sons were left. That was the punishment for their sins. So that generation met their punishment and died. My question is, will they have part in the promised punishment of fire which is coming to our generation or have they completed theirs?”

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Answer:

There is nothing in the Bible to indicate that the antediluvians suffered the second death, from which there is no resurrection. There is more evidence that Sodom and Gomorrha will not be resurrected than there is that the antediluvians will not be resurrected. Jude wrote, “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (Jude 1:7) Sodom and Gomorrha suffered the vengeance of eternal fire, yet Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.” (Matthew 10:15)

Jesus spoke of a future judgment for Sodom and Gomorrha, indicating that they will yet have to suffer the punishment for their sins. You see, those who lived before the flood, along with the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha, suffered a death similar to all humans down through the ages. They never had to give an account to God for the things done in their life. But Paul wrote, “We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:10)

Every person will have to give an account before God, including the antediluvians and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha. With this in mind, I pray that each of us will take advantage of the wonderful opportunity for our sins to go beforehand to judgment (1 Timothy 5:24), to be pardoned, so that we can stand before the throne unashamed.

In the second death, from which there will be no resurrection, the sufferers’ mental anguish of the reality that eternal life has been forfeited, and their knowledge that they will die and never come back, will be more difficult to bear than the physical pain caused by the lake of fire. They will confess that God was right in all his judgments. This aspect of the second death could not have been experienced by the antediluvians and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha, for their deaths were sudden. Therefore, they will arise in the resurrection of the wicked after the millennium.

I hope this helps to answer your question.

This question and its answer were printed in the February 2002 issue of Present Truth.

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Question: Do you believe Satan will be tormented for ever?

“Revelation says that the beast and the false prophet and Satan will be tormented forever and ever. This is evident in the Greek. Any other translation is inaccurate with the Greek. Do you believe what it says?”

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Answer:

Yes, I most certainly believe what this and every text says. (Matthew 4:4) The verse you are referring to says, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)

I believe that a correct understanding of this text must include a consideration of other texts on this subject. Let us notice a few:

Referring to the devil’s companions in the previous verse we read, “And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” (Revelation 20:9) Here we learn that Satan’s companions will be “devoured” by “fire [that will come] down from God out of heaven.” The Greek word katesqiw that was translated “devoured” in this verse means, “by fire, to devour i.e. to utterly consume, destroy.”  (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon) According to this verse, Satan’s companions will be completely destroyed by fire. Yet the following verse seems to indicate that Satan’s life will be prolonged to be tormented without end, when it says, “the devil… shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Does this mean continued existence in torment with no end? Let us see.

In Ezekiel chapter 28 we read a graphic testimony and prophecy about Satan. God said,

Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;… Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee… thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. (Ezekiel 28:12-19)

Here we learn that God has promised to make a complete end of Satan. He will be devoured by flames, turned into ashes, and never be any more. Very similar language is used regarding the final destruction of the wicked. They too will be “ashes” (Malachi 4:3) and “be as though they had not been.” (Obadiah 16) David wrote, “For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be… But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.” (Psalm 37:10, 20)

This language cannot be mistaken. According to the Bible, the wicked will be completely annihilated, along with Satan himself. Yet, if this is true, there must be some explanation for the text that says, “the devil… shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Fortunately the Bible does not leave us in the dark on this subject.

There is no question that there will be torment in the lake of fire, but will this torment continue for eternity without end? Zechariah chapter 14 describes it in this way: “And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.” (Zechariah 14:12) That is a very unpleasant picture, but it is exactly what will happen. From the context of Zechariah 14 you can see that it is speaking of the same time-period that we find in Revelation 20, when fire comes down from heaven and burns up the wicked. This is also the time when “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2 Peter 3:10)

Regarding the “everlasting fire,” or “eternal fire,” Jude says, “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (Jude 7) Here, the fire that consumed Sodom and Gomorrha is said to be “eternal.” Yet we know that the fire is not still burning, for Peter said that God turned “the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes [and] condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly.” (2 Peter 2:6) The fire had eternal consequences, and that is why it was called “eternal fire.” It is this eternal fire that the wicked will be tormented with. This eternal fire will just as thoroughly do its work as the eternal fire did its work on Sodom and Gomorrha. It will burn up the wicked, and Satan, and turn them into ashes. “Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.” (Isaiah 47:14)

But, the question still remains, why is Satan said to be “tormented day and night for ever and ever”? We have already seen from the abundant testimony of Scripture that he will be tormented until he is burned up and turned to ashes. Could the term “for ever and ever” in this case really mean, “until it is finished”?

The term “for ever” is used quite often in the Bible, and I would like to share just a couple of places where it means, “until it is finished.”

In Exodus 21:6 we read, “Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.” This verse is talking about a servant who decides to serve his master for the rest of his life. The way the term “for ever” is used here, certainly does not mean that there will be no end to it, but it does mean that the servant will serve his earthly master for the rest of the days of his life on this earth.

Here is another example of this usage of the term “for ever:” “But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever.” (1 Samuel 1:22) Here Hannah committed her son, Samuel, to abide in the temple in Shiloh for ever. Yet, a few verses later she explains her words. She said, “I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.” (1 Samuel 1:28) Here the term “for ever” is used to mean “as long as he liveth.”

So when the Bible says the devil will be tormented for ever, he will be tormented as long as he lives, until he is consumed. This is how the term “for ever” is used in the Bible; it does not always mean “without end.” (For other examples of this usage of the term for ever read Joshua 4:7; 1 Samuel 27:12; and Jonah 2:6.) The Bible never contradicts itself. Many times it may seem to contradict itself, but the Scriptures can be harmonized if they are searched diligently, without overlooking any portion on the subject, and if you have the guidance of God’s Spirit.

I hope this helps to answer your question.

This question and its answer were printed in the September 2002 issue of Present Truth.

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Question: What is unquenchable fire?

“You quoted in one of the tracts you sent me that the wicked people are not going to be tormented in hell fire forever but some quotations in the Bible say that these people are to be tormented forever. Eg. Isaiah 66:24; Mark 9:43; Revelation 14:11, etc. Please, I want you to give me further explanations.

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Answer:

Regarding the biblical term “for ever,” and its usage in Revelation 14:11, please read the previous question and answer since it is used in the same way as Revelation 20:10. Let us read the other verses you mentioned.

“And [the redeemed] shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.” (Isaiah 66:24)

“And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched.” (Mark 9:43)

These people, whose fire shall not be quenched, are the same people talked about in Isaiah 47:14. “Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.” (Isaiah 47:14) When a fire is quenched it is put out, either by water or by some other method. This fire will not be quenched. It will not be deliberately put out, and if those suffering from it would try to put it out, they could not. The fire will consume them. But as you can see, “there shall not be a coal to warm at” when it is all over.

Referring to the wicked, Isaiah 66:24 says, “their worm dieth not,” and several times Jesus made very similar statements. Many people falsely interpret this to mean that their soul will not die, as if the word worm represents a person’s soul. This could not possibly be what it is referred to because there is no place in the Bible that would indicate that worm represents soul, and the Word of God says, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:20) Certainly the soul of the wicked will die. Therefore the words, “their worm dieth not,” could not possibly be referring to the soul.

To understand this verse we must examine other texts on the subject:

Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned. The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree. (Job 24:19, 20)

Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation. (Isaiah 51:7, 8)

The worm is a creeping thing that feeds upon dead bodies. The worm that dieth not is referring to worms feeding upon the bodies of the wicked, not the souls of the wicked.

I hope this helps to answer your question.

This question and its answer were printed in the September 2002 issue of Present Truth.

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Question: What is the lake of fire?

“I am wondering about your view of the lake of fire. Do you believe that everyone will be instantly annihilated when they are thrown there? I have heard false explanations of Rev. 20:10 that are not accurate with the Greek. The Greek plainly shows that they will be tormented for ever and ever. It also would seem as if (other than the 7 vials) the beast and the false prophet would be getting off easy since they are, ‘cast alive into the lake of fire.’ (Rev. 19:20) It seems, according to annihilation, that they get to skip right on through death and judgment by just disappearing… The way Scripture puts it in Revelation 20:10 is that they will be ‘tormented for ever and ever.’ The word torment here denotes ‘pain.’ How can someone experience any pain if they are non-existent?”

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Answer:

Regarding the biblical term “for ever,” please read the previous two questions and their answers. According to the Bible, “the lake of fire… is the second death” (Revelation 20:14), and it is certain there will be pain there, for death by fire is painful, especially if it is prolonged. The description that Zechariah gives in chapter 14, verse12, of his book is a very vivid picture of pain, and it is referring to this very same scene. However, in both cases it is brought out that this pain and death will come to completion. Three times in Zechariah’s account they are said to “consume away.” In John’s account it is said that “fire… devoured them.”

Regarding the beast and the false prophet “getting off easy,” that is far from the truth. According to Revelation 19:20, they are to be cast into the lake of fire at Christ’s second coming, 1000 years before Satan is to be cast there. Some people may think that the beast and the false prophet were consciously suffering throughout this 1000 year time-period, but the Bible says, “the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” (Revelation 20:5) According to the Bible, the wicked will not be alive during the thousand years, this would include anyone who was a component of the beast and the false prophet.

The beast and the false prophet are not two individuals, but rather two religious/political systems. These systems will be destroyed at the second coming of Christ—at the beginning of the 1000 years. After they are destroyed they will never come back. The people that compose these systems will be resurrected after the thousand years, but the systems themselves will be completely destroyed.

I have to agree with the following commentary on this subject: “The symbol [lake of fire] indicates utter destruction. What is cast into this lake is seen no more.” (People’s New Testament Notes on Revelation 19:20) Some people get confused about this because the beast and the false prophet are mentioned in Revelation 20:10—after the thousand years are expired. It says, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10) I want you to notice that the word “are” is a supplied word, not found in the original Greek. The Revised Standard Version inserted the word “were” instead of “are,” which is more consistent with the rest of the Bible. Satan will be cast into the same lake of fire that the beast and the false prophet were cast into, yielding the same results—complete destruction.

Some may say that a political or religious system could not be cast into the lake of fire because they are not conscious beings. However, you will notice that “death and hell” will also be cast into the lake of fire, and they are not conscious beings either. At the time they are cast into the lake of fire, “death and hell” do not contain any wicked persons. The Bible says, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” (Revelation 20:13, 14) Death and hell are not persons or beings, yet they are said to be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. Paul wrote, “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:26) Death is not a person, but an event, which will be ended and destroyed after the 1000 years, just prior to God creating a “new heaven and a new earth.” (Revelation 21:1)

When death and hell are thrown into the lake of fire they are destroyed, never to return, the same as the beast and the false prophet, and Satan himself. This will be “the reward of the wicked.” (Psalm 91:8) “They shall be as though they had not been.” (Obadiah 16)

I hope this helps to answer your question.

This question and its answer were printed in the September 2002 issue of Present Truth.

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Point: "You shall not surely die"

“I saw a tract on the website that spoke about what Satan told Adam, ‘You shall not surely die.’ Yet God had already told him plainly, ‘In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’ (Gen. 2:17) Now Adam was conscious after the day that he ate, yet, he was ‘dead in sins.’ And we experienced the same death when we were ‘dead in sins.’ This is the death that I believe occurred. If someone is dead, if someone’s soul is dead, that does not mean that they are unconscious.”

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Answer:

Here, you are mixing two different uses of the word “dead.” If God had only meant that if Adam ate of the forbidden tree the penalty would be that he would be “dead in sins” while continuing to physically remain consciously alive, then there would be no reason for hell fire, the second death, or any further penalty after this life. These two concepts, death as the final penalty for sin, and death as being dead in sins, are two completely different things. It is true that being dead in sins is a result of Adam’s sin, but this is not the whole penalty for sin, nor is it what God referred to when He said, “in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) Paul wrote, “For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) This does not refer to being dead in sins, nor does it even refer to the common death that we see all around us today. No! No! The wages of sin is eternal death, contrasted with “the gift of God [which] is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

When a person’s soul is dead, they are as completely dead as anyone can be. God said, “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:20) That is not “dead in sins,” for all of us have experienced that condition (Ephesians 2:5), and if that were the penalty, we have all already paid the price for our own sins, and we would not need a Saviour. Even if we did have a Saviour, all He would have to do is experience what it is to be “dead in sins” rather than suffer “the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:8) This is far from the truth. According to Jesus, the wages of sin is a complete destruction of both body and soul. “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28) In this death there is no consciousness.

I hope this helps to clarify this issue.

This question and its answer were printed in the September 2002 issue of Present Truth.

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Point: The fear of eternal judgment

“Now as a man who is unworthy, yet by God’s grace is in Christ, I have experienced the benefits of fearing eternal judgement. ‘Perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord.’ (2 Cor. 7:1)… You spoke of the effects of the false view of the rapture that encourages people to enjoy sin for a season. In the same way, I have heard it said, ‘I can sin all I want to,’ followed by a statement something like, ‘because I will just stop existing.’ I have also experienced the temptation that arises because of such annihilation doctrines.”

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Answer:

If eternal torment were a biblical teaching we would have to accept it wether we like it or not, but it is not biblical. More than two hundred passages of Scripture plainly affirm that the wicked shall “die,” be “consumed,” “devoured,” “destroyed,” “burnt up,” “melt away,” “consume away,” turned “into smoke,” turned “into ashes,” “be as though they had not been,” “shall not be,” etc.

If it is fear of this destruction that a person wants, he can read Hebrews 10:31; Matthew 10:28; Isaiah 13:9; Malachi 4:1-3; Zechariah 14:12; Revelation 16, etc.

It may be true that some people are more likely to seek to avoid hell fire if they think it will have no end. However, if fear of destruction is the only motivation a person has for seeking to enter heaven, they will not be there anyway. Selfishness is an unacceptable motivation for serving God. There may be some so selfish that they honestly conclude that if eternal torment is a false doctrine, then they would rather enjoy “the pleasures of sin for a season” and suffer the pains of hell fire until they are destroyed. However, this class is not the ones who have a genuine love for God, and therefore would not make it to heaven anyway.

There have been many Christians throughout the ages who have served God unto the end, even suffering death, while rejecting the idea of eternal torment, while those believing eternal torment have been the ones to kindle the fires to burn people at the stake during the Dark Ages. There have also been many people who have rejected God and His salvation because they thought that God was so cruel He would torture His creatures for eternity without end. They have concluded that if God was so cruel they want nothing to do with Him. The doctrine of eternal torment has done much more harm than good in this world.

On this subject, one writer shared the following:

So revolting is the doctrine of everlasting torment to every sentiment of humanity, as well as to an enlightened reason, that it is no wonder that eminent men have been constrained at times to bear such testimony as the following against the unscriptural and unnatural theory. Apart from the Bible testimony on the subject, the quotation from J. C. Calhoun furnishes an objection to the doctrine from which it will be utterly and forever unable to free itself. The following are a few of the utterances alike creditable to the heads and hearts of those who made them.

Jeremy Bentham—“The dreadful dogma is not to be found in Christianity. It is the most vain, most pernicious, most groundless conceit.”

Hon. J. C. Calhoun—“It is a sufficient refutation of the doctrine of endless punishment that it is incomprehensible. For a righteous law-giver would never ordain a penalty which his people could not understand.”

Rev. John Foster—“Hopeless misery—I acknowledge my inability to admit this belief, together with a belief in the divine goodness.

Rev. P. W. Clayden—“The dogma was always repulsive to my matured reason. Against that miserable dogma every Christian heart feels some revolt, and where theological notions will not let it be confessed, there is often in reserve a kind of secret hope that in some way God’s infinite mercy and wisdom will find a way of escape from the terrible anomaly of a scene of eternal torment existing in the empire of the God of love.

Dr. Dwight—“This subject (endless misery) is immeasurably awful, and beyond all others affecting. Few persons can behold it in clear vision with a steady eye.”

Saurin—“I sink under the awful weight of my subject. It renders society tiresome, pleasure disgustful, nourishment insipid, and life itself a cruel bitter!”

Thomas Dick, LL. D.—“When I consider the boundless nature of eternity, when I consider the limited duration of man, I can scarcely bring myself to believe that the sins of a few brief years are to be punished throughout a duration that has no end.” (Review and Herald, August 12, 1862)

The most important aspect of our knowing what the Bible says about the destruction of the wicked in contrast to the widely accepted theory of eternal torment, is that our perception of God’s character is affected by how we perceive His actions. Whatever view we have of God’s character is what our own characters will be “changed into.” “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Suppose a fifteen-year-old boy gets drunk one night and steals his father’s car and wrecks it. If the father of that boy would torment him with fire for one week, we would say that man is cruel. Suppose the father tormented him for one year. Surely we would say that this punishment is far too severe for the acts that were committed. Now suppose the same young boy, did the same thing, but instead of living through it, he died in the accident. Do you suppose God will take that young boy and torment him for billions and billions of years? This would be downright cruel. More cruel than the worst criminal who has ever lived.

We will be changed into our perception of God’s character. Think about it! If a young boy at the age of fifteen, after taking his father’s car for a joy ride while intoxicated, runs into a tree and dies, would it be merciful and just to burn him forever and ever with no end? Then another man who has become a hardened criminal, after murdering many people, and committing many other crimes, finally gets shot to death. Should this man receive the same punishment as the fifteen-year-old boy? It would be quite unfair to the young boy if the other would receive the same punishment. Jesus said, “And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.” (Luke 12:47, 48)

Not only that, is it fair to torture someone for millions of years for sins that may have taken only fifteen years to commit? This surely sounds unfair to me. With this perception of God, we see Him as unfair, and accordingly we feel justified in being unfair as well. The Scripture tells us that God is just and merciful and He treats us better than we deserve.

“Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.” (Job 11:6) God gives us less than our iniquities deserve. This surely would not be the case if God would torture the wicked for millions of years.

“And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve.” (Ezra 9:13) “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” (Psalm 103:10)

Our God is a merciful and loving God. He does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked; but is great in mercy. God does the best thing He can do for the wicked who have determined to reject His free gift of salvation. He allows them to be as though they had not been. True, some will suffer more than others, and some will suffer longer than others, but they will all have an end. God “will render to every man according to his deeds.” (Romans 2:6)

I pray that this helps clarify this issue.

This question and its answer were printed in the September 2002 issue of Present Truth.

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