1. Eternal Torment (aka "Traditionalism”)
Primary Texts: Matt.25:41, 46 / Mk.9:43-48 / 2 Thess.1:9 / Rev.14:10-11; 19:20; 20:10, 15
Notable advocates: Tertullian, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and the majority of evangelical theologians throughout most (though not all) of church history
Affirmations and Arguments:
A. As a consequence of being made in the image of God (Gen.1:26-27), people, unlike animals, are immortal beings, and must necessarily spend eternity consciously in one state or another (alternatively: immortality is not innate, but will be conferred by God after the resurrection);
B. Though the wages of sin is "death,” this does not preclude continuing conscious existence beyond the grave, as is seen in the story of "Lazarus and the Rich Man” (Luke 16:19ff). The terms "dead” and "death” do not necessarily refer to a cessation of existence, nor of consciousness, in scripture (Eph.2:1; Col.2:13; 1 Tim.5:6);
C. Only those who believe in Christ may dwell in God’s presence for all eternity (John 3:16). All others, must remain forever absent from God, apart from all light, joy, and consolation (2 Thess.1:9);
D. After the final judgment, the souls, as well as the bodies, of the lost will be cast into Gehenna (Matt.10:28; Mark 9:43, 45, 47), which is also called "the lake of fire” (Rev.20:10, 14-15);
E. In Gehenna, the unbeliever will suffer torment, possibly of both body and soul, suggested by terms like "furnace of fire...weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt.13:42, 50) and "cast into outer darkness” (Matt.8:12; 22:13; 25:30);
F. That this torment never ends for the lost in hell is suggested by terms "eternal” and "forever” in phrases like "eternal fire” (Matt.25:41), "eternal punishment” (Matt.25:46), "eternal destruction” (2 Thess.1:9) and "tormented...forever” (Rev.20:10). All this is contrasted with the "eternal life” enjoyed by the redeemed (John 3:16; Matt.26:46);
G. Justice demands eternal punishment. Only a punishment that is eternal is suited to the crime of sinning against the eternal God. Sinning against God is a crime against infinite Majesty, and warrants punishment of infinite duration;
H. There will be no eternal grieving on the part of believers for those who are lost. God will wipe away all tears from their eyes (Rev.21:4). This may involve the erasing of memories about former relationships (Isa.43:18), or it may involve a change in perspective on the part of believers, once they see the matter from God’s point of view (Isa.55:8-9; Job 42:5-6).
2. Conditional Immortality (aka, "Conditionalism," "Annihilationism,” "Extinctionism,” "Terminalism”)
Notable Advocates: John R.W. Stott, Clark Pinnock, Greg Boyd, Roger Forster, John Wenham, Michael Green, Edward William Fudge, Glenn Peoples, Ben Witherington III, F.F. Bruce (open but undecided)
Affirmations and Arguments:
A. Only God is immortal by nature (1 Tim.6:16)
B. Man, not innately possessing immortality, must seek to obtain it (Rom.2:7)
C. God gives eternal life (immortality) to men, on the condition of their believing in Christ (John 3:16; 10:28/ 1 John 5:11-12/ Rom.6:23)
D. In scripture, the lost are never declared to be immortal. Their fate is described using terms such as "destroy,” "consume,” "perish,” and "death” (Matt.10:28/ 1 Thess.5:3/ 2 Thess.1:9; 2:8/ John 3:16/ Rom.2:12);
E. Certain scriptures assert that conscious existence does not continue beyond the grave (Ps.6:5; 146:4; Eccl.9:5);
F. After death, the wicked will be punished proportionately to their guilt (Luke 12:47-48), and not all suffer equally (Matt.11:22, 24), which means that the suffering is not infinite or eternal;
G. The punishment (though not the punishing) of the wicked is eternal, permanent and irrevocable (Matt.25:46);
H. God’s eternal loss of those who will not repent is the terrible cost that He Himself endures out of His determination to honor the creature’s freedom of choice (Isa.5:3-7; 66:3-4; Ezek.33:11; Matt.23:37; Luke 19:41-44). Nonetheless, it brings a just and final solution to the problem of sin in the universe, and does not require God (or us) to eternally endure the grief of knowing that millions of souls who were loved in this life are being tormented endlessly in the next;
I. The lost will be resurrected, along with the righteous, in order to face the judgment (John 5:28-29/ Acts 24:15). Upon being condemned, they will be cast into the lake of fire (hell) where they will either be immediately consumed, and cease to exist, or they will suffer punishment proportionate to their guilt (Luke 12:47-48), after which they will be allowed to pass into natural non-existence (the same condition they were in before they were born). In the end, it will be as if they never existed;
J. Though this view does not have as happy an ending as does Christian Universalism, it nonetheless ends with a tolerable and just resolution to the problem of sin in the world, and it takes seriously the scriptures about the eternal forfeiture of eternal life by those who die in rebellion against Christ.
3. Universal Reconciliation (aka, "Christian Universalism,” "Restorationism”)
Notable Advocates: Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-215), Origen (185-254), Gregory of Nyssa (332-398), Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390), William Law, George MacDonald, Hannah Whitall Smith, F.W. Farrar, William Barclay, Jacques Ellul, Thomas Talbott, Rob Bell (apparently, but not certainly).
Affirmations and Arguments:
A. God desires for all people to be saved (1 Tim.2:4/ 2 Peter 3:9/ John 3:16/ Ezek.18:23, 32)
B. Christ died to redeem the whole world (John 1:29/ 1 John 2:2/ 1 Tim.2:6)
C. If all for whom Christ died are not ultimately reconciled, then Christ will never receive all that He died to obtain, and He becomes the cosmic Loser for all eternity, while the devil wins his desired object””which hardly agrees with biblical statements about Christ’s victory over sin, death and Satan (Isa. 42:1-4/Col.2:15/ Heb.2:14/ 1 John 3:8);
D. The Bible often speaks in terms of universal salvation and restoration (1 Tim. 4:10/ Rom.5:18-19/ Col.1:19-20/ Eph.1:9-10/ John 12:32/ Isa.53:11);
E. After death, the wicked will be punished proportionately to their guilt, or until they are brought to repentance (Luke 12:47-48);
F. There is no obvious reason (in scripture or in logic) why the God who desires that all would repent, and who will accept the genuine repentance of a life-long sinner even the moment before death, would arbitrarily declare death to be the cut-off point for any opportunity to repent and be forgiven.
G. Given enough pressure and time, all men will””if not before death, then afterward””turn to Christ and be saved (Phil.2:10-11);
H. There is nothing in this teaching to offend the sentiments of Christians, since it affirms every cardinal doctrine of the evangelical faith””in fact, it is the view that would most satisfy those who share God’s heartfelt desire for the salvation of the lost.
