Christian Varela
For centuries, Christians have feared hell as a place of endless punishment. Post-apostolic writers like Justin Martyr (AD 100–165), Irenaeus of Lyons (130–202), Tertullian (155–230), Cyprian of Carthage (d. 258), Lactantius (240–320), and Augustine of Hippo (354–430), among others, upheld the belief in eternal punishment.1 However, in recent years, biblical-theological approaches such as annihilationism/conditionalism2 and universalism3 have questioned this millennial belief. This study will address the question: Does eternal punishment exist in hell? To do so, it will briefly analyze the primary references to unquenchable fire punishment in the Old Testament (OT), the punishment in the intertestamental period, the eternal fire in Jesus’ teachings, and the references in the Book of Revelation.
The prophets used various rhetorical devices to describe Jehovah’s retributive judgments. Fire was a punitive instrument of divine actions against the wicked (Gen 19:24; Lev 10:2; Num 16:35; Deut 32:22; Isa 10:16; 29:5–6; 30:27–28; Jer 21:14; Ezek 10:2–8; 20:46–48; 22:7; 23:25; Zeph 1:18; 3:8; Zech 11:1–3; 12:6; Joel 2:3). The most significant expressions for this study are the repeated mentions of divine fire or wrath that does not go out. The prophets alluded to these as references to punishment and destruction upon Israel (Amos 5:6), Judah, and Jerusalem (Isa 1:31; Jer 7:20; 15:14; 17:4; 21:12, 14; Ezek 15:7–8; 20:47–48; 21:31–32). This image emphasized God’s imminent intervention that no one could prevent due to injustices (Jer 4:4; 21:12).
Interestingly, the expression was not taken literally by its listeners and readers. The unquenchable fire implied military actions that fulfilled their purposes of punishing, destroying, and desolating populations through Assyrian and Babylonian invasions (Jer 25:9; 39:8; 52:12–14; Lam 4:11; 2 Chr 36:17–20). The fire did not burn “forever.” Today, it is not burning in Jerusalem or its vicinity since those times.
Related to the previous passages, Isaiah 66:24 should be mentioned. Denny Burk claims that this passage “explicitly supports the traditional view.”5 But does it refer to the conscious punishment of the wicked for eternity?
First, Isaiah prophesied to Judah in the eighth century BC. Chapters 65 and 66 deal with their future restoration if they turned from their apostasy (1:16–20). For this reason, the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary states that “Isaiah’s words cannot be directly applied to the situation of the future new earth.”6 The promises of restoration were conditional on their covenantal faithfulness. As Gerald Wheeler states, “Sadly, Israel failed to accept God’s offer. Much in the book of Isaiah is only ‘what could have been.’ God could not progressively transform the world. His people continued in rebellion.”7 Therefore, Isaiah 66 was not fulfilled.
Second, the prophecy begins by destroying “rebels and sinners” with a fire that no one can extinguish (1:28, 31). The final text of the book complements this initial warning.8 Claude Mariottini affirms: “Both chapters use the same word to describe the evildoers: those who ‘have rebelled against me.’ Both chapters use the same manner to describe the punishment upon the wicked: punishment by fire. Both chapters use the same way to describe the totality and finality of the punishment: no one will be able to quench the fire.”9
As previously stated, fire was the means used by Jehovah to destroy. The book of Isaiah contains multiple references to it as an image of destruction, devastation, and imminent annihilation (1:7; 5:24–25; 29:5–6; 30:27; 33:11–12; 47:14; 64:10–11; 65:5). The use in the last verse of the book was no different in nature. In his final chapter, the prophet affirmed that the Lord would come as a warrior: “For behold, the Lord will come with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword the Lord will judge all flesh, and the slain of the Lord shall be many” (66:15–16 NKJV). In the face of this image of war and extermination, the bodies of the defeated remain dead on the battlefield. Death without burial expressed dishonor for the deceased, being displayed and left exposed for vengeance (2 Kgs 9:10, 34; Jer 14:16; 16:4; 19:7; 25:33). It is one of the tragic consequences of having broken the covenant (Deut 28:26).
Third, the worms that do not die describe the decomposition of the corpses (Isa 14:11). This prophecy refers to the wicked as “dead bodies.” The Hebrew word peger always refers to a dead animal or human body (Gen 15:11; Isa 5:24–25; 34:3; 37:36). For the prophet, these bodies are simply dead. The fire and the worms have the same purpose: to destroy the remains. This expression contrasts with verse 22, which affirms that “all flesh” will present themselves before Jehovah to worship.
In conclusion, the prophecy described the restoration of the people of Judah and the destruction of the apostates. Unfortunately, the chosen people did not change their condition. The image emphasizes the destruction of the wicked. It did not refer to the post-mortem judgment of the wicked. For this reason, Jesus used this prophecy as a hyperbole to refer to God’s final judgment and the eschatological future of the wicked. It went beyond a military situation and individual eschatology. The evangelist used the verb teleuta, which is conjugated in the present indicative active, warning that “the idea of everlasting duration either for the fire or the worm is simply not present.”10
The political and religious turbulence during this period gave rise to documents with intense apocalyptic speculation against God’s enemies. This is where the idea of torturous fire punishment for the unfaithful began to be depicted.11 Its foundation was consolidated by Platonic influence on human nature, which upheld the soul’s survival once the body died.12 This soul could be blessed in paradise or cursed in a place of punishment. However, these ideas are foreign to Old Testament scriptures, which maintain a holistic or monistic anthropology of the person as an integral biopsychospiritual unit. Death is the complete disintegration of being. Nothing survives; therefore, there is no intermediate place (Gen 3:19).
Due to space constraints, only Edward Fudge’s observation regarding the theological diversity in intertestamental writings on hell and its duration will be mentioned. During this period, documents were presented where the wicked would perish ultimately (Sibylline Oracles, Damascus Document/Zadokite Fragments, Psalms of Solomon, 4 Ezra), those that were ambiguous (Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and the Life of Adam and Eve), those with mixed conceptions (The Book of Jubilees and 1 Enoch/Ethiopian Enoch), and those with endless conscious torment (2 Enoch/Slavonic Enoch and 4 Maccabees).13 For this reason, Hans Scharen pertinently states that the concepts of hell in this period can be divided into three groups: “the continuation of the ‘traditional’ Old Testament view of Sheol; Sheol as an intermediate state; and Sheol, Gehenna, and Tartarus as places of final punishment.”14
Gehenna was the term most used by Jesus to refer to the final place of divine punishment for the wicked (Matt 5:22, 29; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5). For this reason, some Spanish Bible versions translate it as “hell.” However, it would not be appropriate to translate it this way. To fully understand Gehenna in Christ’s thought, it is necessary to consider the background of Ge Hinnom presented in the Old Testament. Although the Hebrew Bible does not use this term in a technical sense, it does use it as a reference to a geographical location near Jerusalem and as a place of eschatological punishment for apostates and rebellious enemies of Jehovah.
Ge Hinnom was a valley associated with various idolatrous practices carried out by some kings of Judah (Jer 32:35). Ahaz and Manasseh sacrificed their children there (2 Kgs 16:3; 21:6). Thus, the place acquired a bad reputation as a site of apostasy.
The location became a symbol of the destruction of apostate Jews (Jer 7:29–34; 19:1–15). Jeremiah called it the “Valley of Slaughter” (Jer 7:32; 19:6) or the “Valley of Dead Bodies and Ashes” (Jer 31:40). Kim Papaiounou relates it to the punishment and destruction described in Isaiah 66:24, the battle in Ezekiel 39:11–16, and Joel 3:1–21. 15Therefore, its references were negative due to idolatry, vengeance, and eschatological battles, becoming a type of future and final judgment of YHWH against the wicked.
Matthew defines the punishment of the fire of Gehenna as eternal. For this, he uses the Greek adjective aiônios (Matt 18:8–9; 25:41, 46). Some commentators refer to it as endless time, while others view it as a limited period of time. Due to space constraints, the present study will present three brief observations to consider when interpreting this word. First, Kim Papaiounou asserts that the passage in Matthew 25:46 shows a contrast between the two eras, where no mention is made of the quantity of time but instead of a qualitative element of the reward or punishment to come.16 Second, Basil Atkinson claims that when used with an action noun, the adjective refers to the result, not the process. Therefore, the fire emphasizes its permanent result.17 Third, the LXX used the word aiônios several times to translate the Hebrew word ‘olâm. Its range of meanings is quite broad. Both the Greek and Hebrew terms are not limited to an absolute sense of endless time. The use depends exclusively on the context in which they are employed and the entity they refer to. When these words are used for God and his attributes, they refer to unlimited time (Gen 21:33; Isa 40:28; 45:17; Dan 7:14, 27; Rom 16:25; Heb 5:9; 2 Pet 1:11). However, when applied to human institutions (Exod 12:14; 28:40; 29:28; 30:21; Lev 16:29, 31, 34; Num 18:18) or human situations (Exod 21:6; Deut 15:17; Jon 2:6; Phil 1:15), it has connotations of limited time, either short or long duration.
The most evident text that defines the concept of the duration of the “eternal fire (aiônios)” as limited time is Jude, who affirmed that Sodom and Gomorrah suffered vengeance through that means (v. 7). It is logical to say that today that fire is not ongoing but is instead a definite reference to the effects of its complete destruction (2 Pet 2:6). Ilaria Ramelli and David Konstan, in their study of the Greek terms for time aiônios and aïdios, demonstrate that Greek classical writers, the Greek Septuagint translation (LXX), the New Testament, and some Church Fathers differentiated the meanings of both words to distinguish between limited and eternal time.18 They conclude that aïdios would be the most accurate Greek word to define endless time, and it is never used in the context of fire punishment.19
Revelation presents the last biblical references regarding the duration of fire punishment for the impenitent in 14:10–11, 18:18, 19:3, and 20:9–10. We will analyze some fundamental aspects concerning the nature and time of the fire.
The Celestial Warning in Revelation 14
The last of the three angelic messages in Revelation 14 is a celestial warning against those who worship the beast or its image or receive its mark. Whoever does so will face the consequences of final punishment, described symbolically through the torment of smoke that ascends forever and a life without rest day and night.
The Smoke of Torment
To understand the expression of smoke rising forever, it should be noted that smoke is used in the OT to describe destruction (Gen 18:28; Josh 8:21; Nah 2:14; Isa 51:6), incineration (2 Sam 22:9), and eschatological annihilation of the Lord’s enemies (Ps 37:20; 68:3). Therefore, smoke, more than representing torment, specifies the result of complete ruin. John uses two Old Testament images. First, it is an allusion to the story of Abraham when he saw smoke rising from the total destruction of the cities by divine execution (Gen 19:28). Second, it is a reference to Jeremiah’s prophecy of the destruction of the Neo-Babylonian empire as he did with Sodom and Gomorrah (Jer 25:12; 50:40 cf. Isa 13:19). The same text also shows smoke rising in thematic and linguistic parallelism with the passages in 18:18 and 19:3 regarding the destruction of eschatological Babylon. The condemnation and destruction of the worshipers of the beast or its image and Babylon is carried out in the following chapters (15–19). Therefore, smoke is evidence that all elements were incinerated, and the judgment was definitive and complete.
Lack of Rest Day and Night
Associated with the temporal concept of smoke, the expression “day and night” (14:10; 20:11) is traditionally interpreted as unlimited suffering.20 The binomial “day and night” is used in the Old and New Testaments as the unit of time of twenty-four hours (Gen 1:18; Exod 13:21; Lev 8:35; 1 Sam 28:20; 30:12; Neh 4:3) or as a figurative way to refer to continuous or constant activities of limited duration (Deut 28:66; Josh 1:8; 1 Kgs 8:29, 59; 1 Chr 9:33; 2 Chr 6:20; Neh 1:6; Ps 1:2; 32:4; 42:4; 55:11; Isa 27:3; 60:11; Jer 8:23; 14:17; Lam 2:18; Luke 18:7).
The passage directly alludes to Isaiah’s prophecy about Edom’s destruction—“the day of vengeance of Jehovah” (Isa 34:5, 8). The prophet symbolically announced that the dust of the land would turn into “brimstone,” burning “perpetually” (Heb. ‘ôlamîm) and not extinguished (34:9–10). The judgment against this nation, through the smoke of the fire that would burn day and night, was a strong image of condemnation and imminent destruction. The torment without rest also contrasts with the rest of the redeemed (Heb 4:3), those who die in the Lord (14:13), and the heavenly beings who worship God (4:8).
The warnings of the third angel in Revelation 14 find their fulfillment after the millennium. Revelation 20 describes the final destiny of the impenitent in the lake of fire and brimstone. For this reason, the nature and time of this place will be studied.
The Fire that Comes from God Has a Purpose: To Consume
Revelation 20:9–10 symbolically refers to Ezekiel’s prophecy against Gog, in which God would rain down “hailstones, fire, and brimstone” (38:22). During this battle, God would be glorified through the destruction of the enemy, defending His people (38:14–16, 23). Fire from heaven was a manifestation of divine retributive and penal punishment in the OT. Numerous examples include what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18:24, 28), Nadab and Abihu (Lev 10:2), the rebellious people in the desert (Num 11:1), the two hundred fifty men rebelling against Aaron’s priesthood (Num 16:25; 26:10), the fifty soldiers who sought Elijah (2 Kgs 1:10, 12, 14), among others.21
In Revelation 20:9, the prophet emphasizes their complete annihilation with the verb katephagen—devoured or consumed. In the Old Testament, the verb akhal—“devour”—was repeatedly used to refer to God’s complete and definitive destruction of His enemies (Lev 10:2; Num 26:10; Deut 32:22; 1 Kgs 18:38; 2 Kgs 1:10–14; 2 Chr 7:1; Jer 17:27; 48:45; Ezek 15:4; Zech 9:4; Obad 18). Therefore, the fire that descends from God will purify the earth and exterminate the rebels, not preserve them suffering forever.22
“Forever and Ever” in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone
The temporal expression “forever and ever” appears thirteen times in Revelation. In three instances, it refers to the final punishment of the wicked (14:11; 19:3; 20:10) and once is applied to the redeemed rewarded in the New Jerusalem (22:5). The rest are used in a doxological context about the dominion and permanence of God’s and Christ’s reign (Rev 1:6, 18; 4:9, 10; 5:13; 7:12; 10:6; 11:15).
Eldon Woodcock states that “‘forever and ever’ is an emphatic explicit unambiguous designation of the what is endless [period].”23 Faced with these proposals, important questions arise: if John declares that the wicked will be punished forever using the adjective aiônios, why do conditionalists affirm that the impenitent will be exterminated? Shouldn’t the same word be interpreted the same way for both conditions?24 In light of these questions, it is necessary to reaffirm what was previously stated about the terms ‘ôlam and aiôn. They are conditioned by the nature of the subject to which they refer. Quezada Case states, “If anyone or anything that does not possess immortality is the subject, ‘ôlam and aiônrefer to a limited time period that can be long or short, i.e., as long as the nature of the subject allows.”25 Thus, the expression about the wicked refers to continuity until the fire’s purpose is completed, which is to consume them. On the other hand, immortality is reserved only for the redeemed. Meaningfully, David Hamstra states, “Without Jesus, ‘forever’ only lasts until the accomplishment of its purpose, but with Jesus, forever never ends.”26
At the same time, the lake of fire where the tormented will be found does not seem to be associated with endless time, as it is defined as the “second death” (20:14 cf. 21:8). The first death comes to all people regardless of faith, race, age, character, etc., with the assurance of a future resurrection (Dan 12:2; John 5:28–29; Acts 24:15). The second death, on the other hand, is the retributive and penal punishment for the sinner’s personal choice and will only be executed after the sentence. Ranko Stefanovic states that “the lake of fire is not a literal everlasting burning hell but rather a metaphorical expression describing complete destruction (cf. Matt 10:28). It is the place of the full and ultimate end of all rebellion against God.”27 The lake of fire and the second death are God’s final, definitive, and annihilating punishment for all impiety.28 This is why claiming that eternal hell contains sinners forever would make sinners immortal, and it was never God’s plan for sinners to live forever since the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23 cf. Gen 3:24). Moreover, could a just and merciful God let His creation suffer conscious torment for unlimited time? God’s justice and love ensure that every sinner is treated equitably, including a fair judgment by giving each one according to their works (Exod 32:34; Job 34:11; Ps 62:12; Matt 16:27; Rom 6:2).
Christian tradition has upheld the belief in eternal fire punishment for centuries. However, Gehenna and the lake of fire refer to the eschatological second death. Today, sinners are not suffering in fire. This will be God’s final, definitive, and exterminating punishment upon His enemies of all ages. The correct interpretation of this place is based on the Old Testament concepts regarding its nature and timing. The second death will be of the same nature as sustained by the rest of Scripture—the complete inexistence of being. With sin and sinners eliminated, the stage is set for recreating the new world (Rev 21–22). This essay can be concluded well with the words of King David, who stated: “Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off” (Ps 37:37–38 NKJV).
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1 Edward Bouverie Pusey (1800–1882) cited 84 patristic authors whom he identified as “witnesses” of the belief “in eternal punishment.” Edward Bouverie Pusey, What is of Faith as to Everlasting Punishment? (London: Walter Smith and Innes, 1888), 172–290. Cf. Alan E. Bernstein, The Formation of Hell: Death and Retribution in the Ancient and Early Christian Worlds (London: UCL Press, 1993). Dongsun Cho, “The Doctrine of Eternal Punishment: The Biblical and Theological Rationales of Augustine” (PhD diss., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2008). Christian Varela, “Argumentación bíblica de los principales escritores patrísticos griegos prenicenos sobre el castigo del fuego eterno” (Master’s thesis in theology, Universidad Adventista del Plata, Entre Ríos, 2019).
2 See recent works where prominent evangelical theologians defend conditionalism and annihilationism of hell as presented in the Scriptures. Christopher M. Date and Ron Highfield, eds., A Consuming Passion: Essays on Hell and Immortality in Honor of Edward Fudge (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2015). Christopher M. Date, Gregory G. Stump, and Joshua W. Anderson, eds., Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2014). Edward Fudge, The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, 3rd ed. (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2011).
3 Gregory MacDonald, The Evangelical Universalist, 2nd ed. (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2012). Thomas Talbott, The Inescapable Love of God, 2nd ed. (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2014). David Artman, Grace Saves All (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2020). Bradley Jersak, Her Gates Will Never Be Shut (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2009). Keith Giles, Jesus Undefeated: Condemning the False Doctrine of Eternal Torment (Orange, CA: Quoir, 2019). Gerry Beauchemin, Hope Beyond Hell (Olmito, TX: Malista Press, 2016).
4 For more information, see Christian Varela, “El castigo y la destrucción de los impíos en la escatología del Antiguo Testamento,” in Encrucijadas teológicas: ensayos exegéticos, teológicos y misionales desde una perspectiva interamericana, ed. Cristian Cardozo Mindiola (Medellín: Editorial SEDUNAC Corporación Universitaria Adventista, 2022), 58–77.
5 Denny Burk, “Eternal Conscious Torment,” in Four Views on Hell, edited by Stanley N. Gundry and Preston Sprinkle (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 21.
6 Francis D. Nichol, ed., “Verán los cadáveres,” in Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, 7 vols. (Boise, ID: Publicaciones Interamericanas, 1978–1990), 4:376. Cf. Claude Mariottini, “The Punishment of the Wicked in Isaiah 66:24,” in A Consuming Passion: Essays on Hell and Immortality in Honor of Edward Fudge, ed. Christopher M. Date and Ron Highfield (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2015), 167.
7 Gerald Wheeler, Isaías: Cuando los reyes van a la guerra (Buenos Aires: ACES, 2004), 125–126.
8 Wheeler, Isaías, 127. Anthony J. Tomasino, “Isaiah 1:1–2:4 and 63–66, and the Composition of the Isaianic Corpus,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 57 (1993): 81–98.
9 Mariottini, 167.
10 Gary Kim Papaioannou, “Places of Punishment in the Synoptic Gospels” (PhD diss., University of Durham, 2004), 58.
11 Lloyd R. Bailey, “Gehenna: The Topography of Hell,” Biblical Archaeologist (1986): 189. Hans Scharen, “Gehenna in the Synoptics, Part 1,” Bibliotheca Sacra 149/3 (1992): 325.
12 Miguel Patiño Hernández, “La influencia de las presuposiciones ontológicas en la doctrina del juicio final,” Theologika 35/2 (2020): 124–143. Clinton Wahlen, “Greek Philosophy, Judaism, and Biblical Anthropology,” in What are Human Beings that You Remember Them? Proceedings of the Third International Bible Conference Nof Ginosar and Jerusalem June 11–21, 2012, edited by Clinton Wahlen (Silver Spring, MD: Review and Herald, 2015), 107–131.
13 For a complete analysis, see Fudge, 98–115.
14 Scharen, 327.
15 Papaioannou, “Places of Punishment in the Synoptic Gospels,” 32–34.
16 Ibid., 68–74. Cf. Matt 13:22; Luke 8; 20:34; Rom 12:2.
17 Basil Atkinson, “The Doom of the Lost,” in Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism, ed. Christopher M. Date, Gregory G. Stump, and Joshua W. Anderson (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2014), 100.
18 Ilaria Ramelli and David Konstan, Terms for Eternity: Aiônios and Aïdios in Classical and Christian Texts (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2013).
19 Aïdios is used twice in the LXX (4 Macc 10:15; Wisdom 7:26) and twice in the NT (Rom 1:20; Jude 6).
20 Juan Stam, Apocalipsis (Buenos Aires: Ediciones Kairós, 2014), 4:266.
21 Cf. Job 20:26; 22:20; Ps 21:9; Hos 13:8; Amos 2:5; Nah 3:13, 15; Isa 29:6; Lam 2:3; Ezek 20:47; 23:25.
22 Cf. Christian Varela, “El destino final de la humanidad: Resurrecciones, segunda muerte e inmortalidad en el Apocalipsis,” in Um pouco menor que anjos: Multileituras bíblico-antropológicas, ed. Carlos Olivares and Karl Boskamp (São Paulo: Editora Reflexão, 2021), 298–309.
23 Woodcock, Hell, 225.
24 Grant R. Osborne, Revelation, BECNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 716.
25 S. Quezada Case, “What Does ‘The Smoke of Their Torment Ascends Forever and Ever’ Mean? Revelation 14:11,” in Interpreting Scripture: Bible Questions and Answers, ed. Pfandl (Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, 2017), Kindle version.
26 David Hamstra, “‘Meaning of Forever’: Categorical or Qualified?” Ministry (August 2008), 14.
27 Ranko Stefanović, Revelation of Jesus Christ: Commentary on the Book of Revelation, 2nd ed. (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2009), 582.
28 Christian Varela, “El lago de fuego y la segunda muerte en el Apocalipsis: ¿sufrimiento sin fin o destrucción final para los pecadores?” Memrah 4 (2022): 25–50.