This is Episode 166 of Christian Research Journal Reads. This is an audio version of the CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL article, “The Dark Side of Eternity: Hell as Eternal Conscious Punishment” by Robert A. Peterson. This article first appeared in the CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL, volume 30, number 04 (2007). https://www.equip.org/articles/the-dark-side-of-eternity-hell-as-eternal-conscious-punishment/
This podcast presents audio versions of Christian Research Journal articles. As the flagship publication of the Christian Research Institute, the Journal seeks to equip followers of Christ to think and to live Christianly—to exercise truth and experience life. Truth, especially essential Christian doctrine, forms the basis for how we live our lives in Christ. As the apostle Paul instructed Timothy in 1 Tim. 4:16, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”The Christian Research Journal enjoyed a print incarnation of almost 45 years. Now exclusively an online publication, the Journal consists of thousands of free articles. We hope that through these audio articles you are not only equipped to proclaim and defend your faith but that as a disciple you also draw closer to Christ in your walk with Him. You can find the written version of each article that is an episode of Christian Research Journal Reads at the website of the Christian Research Institute, equip.org. All Christian Research Journal articles at equip.org are completely free and do not require a subscription and are not under a paywall.All episodes are available at the following podcast platforms with more being added daily! You can help spread the word about this podcast by giving us a rating and review from the other channels we are listed on and telling others!You can view off our Website at the at this link and off our Journal main page.
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This podcast presents audio versions of Christian Research Journal articles. As the flagship publication of the Christian Research Institute, the Journal seeks to equip followers of Christ to think and to live Christianly—to exercise truth and experience life. Truth, especially essential Christian doctrine, forms the basis for how we live our lives in Christ. As the apostle Paul instructed Timothy in 1 Tim. 4:16, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”The Christian Research Journal enjoyed a print incarnation of almost 45 years. Now exclusively an online publication, the Journal consists of thousands of free articles. We hope that through these audio articles you are not only equipped to proclaim and defend your faith but that as a disciple you also draw closer to Christ in your walk with Him. You can find the written version of each article that is an episode of Christian Research Journal Reads at the website of the Christian Research Institute, equip.org. All Christian Research Journal articles at equip.org are completely free and do not require a subscription and are not under a paywall.All episodes are available at the following podcast platforms with more being added daily! You can help spread the word about this podcast by giving us a rating and review from the other channels we are listed on and telling others!You can view off our Website at the at this link and off our Journal main page.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/christian-research-journal-reads--6022978/support.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
This is episode one hundred and sixty six of the
Christian Research Journal Reads podcast. The Dark Side of Eternity
Hell as Eternal Conscious Punishment by Robert A. Peterson. This
article first appeared in the print edition of the Christian
Research Journal, Volume thirty, number four in twenty twenty seven.
(00:30):
The Christian Research Journal Reads Podcast presents audio versions of
Christian Research Journal articles. To read the full text of
this article and its documentation, go to equip dot org.
That's e qu ip dot org.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
The Dark Side of Eternity Hell is Eternal conscious Punishment.
This article is by Robert A. Peterson and is read
by an autumn voice synopsis. Eternal conscious punishment, also called traditionalism,
holds that the wicked will suffer in hell forever. Annihilationism
or conditionalism, holds that the final punishment of the wicked
(01:14):
is their extinction of being. This extinction is irreversible, and
the annihilationist definition of eternal punishment is extermination without remedy.
I reject annihilationism and believe in endless punishment for three
main reasons. First, traditionalism is the historic view of the
Christian Church. Second, endless punishment fits better than annihilationism with
(01:36):
other spiritual teachings. Third, and most importantly, five biblical passages
constrain my belief in eternal conscious punishment. Matthew twenty five,
forty one forty six, Mark nine, forty two, forty eight
to Thessalonians one, verses five to ten, Revelation fourteen verses
nine to eleven, and Revelation twenty ten fourteen to fifteen.
(02:01):
Jesus declares in Matthew twenty five, verse forty one that
the destiny of the unsaved is the eternal fire prepared
for the devil. Matthew twenty five, verse forty six uses
the same adjective eternal to describe the fates of the
lost and saved, eternal punishment and eternal life. Jesus depicts
(02:21):
hell as a place where their worm does not die
and the fire is not quench Mark nine, verses forty
seven and forty eight. Paul's reference to eternal destruction into
Thessalonians one, verse nine indicates a figurative devastation that the
dan will experience forever in hell, separated from the lord's
royal presence. Revelation fourteen, verse ten, where we read that
(02:46):
the impenitent will be tormented with burning sulfur depicts the
hell fire imagery as agony, not an ehilation. John speaks
of everlasting torment when he adds and the smoke of
their torment rises forever and ever, verse eleven. John's description
of Satan's fate in Revelation twenty verse ten is being
placed in the lake of fire and sulfur, and being
(03:07):
tormented day and night forever and ever, signifies everlasting pain,
a fate that lost human beings share. Revelation twenty verse fifteen.
Hell is at the end of the day. The darkness outside,
dense like a black hole, is the place of cosmic waste. Who,
indeed is sufficient for these things? The question is surely rhetorical.
(03:29):
None of us is sufficient. But our sufficiency is to
be found in Christ, the Savior, the perfect Man, the Redeemer,
the judge. We must constantly remind ourselves that it is
the Savior who spoke clearly of the dark side of eternity.
To be faithful to him, so must we. Sinclair Ferguson
is right on several counts. Hell is too awful for words.
(03:52):
Only Christ enables us to endure the thought of unsaved
persons suffering forever. We too, must act as witnesses to
its reaction, because He clearly taught the truth of hell.
Here I will define terms, explore the reasons why I
believe certain things, and present the reasons why I believe
in endless punishment rather than the annihilationism definition of terms.
(04:14):
The eternal conscious punishment is the view that the wicked
will suffer the pains of hell forever. It is also
called traditionalism because it is the church's traditional view. Annihilationism,
by contrast, is the view that God will exterminate the
wicked in hell. Conditional of immortality conditionalism, for short, is
the view that God does not give immortality to all
(04:35):
human beings, but only to believers, and that he will
resurrect unbelievers who lack the gift of immortality to face
ultimate annihilation. Because annihilationism and conditionalism reach the same conclusion,
the lost finally will be eliminated, I will use the
two terms interchangeably. Evangelical annihilationists teach the return of Christ,
(04:56):
the resurrection of the dead, and the last judgment with
conscious punishment. According distance committed, the last stroke for the
wicked is the extinction of their being. This extinction is irreversible.
Thus unulationists define eternal punishment as extermination without remedy. Grounds
for belief. There are several reasons why I believe in
(05:18):
various Christian doctrines, including Hell. These involve respect for the
consensus of the Church through history, for the systematic consistency
of doctrinal teachings throughout scripture, and most of all, for
the very witness of Scripture itself, the testimony of Church history.
I previously wrote of eleven figures who share the consensus
(05:38):
that the wicked will suffer endless punishment. Tertullian, Augustine Aquinas, Luther,
Calvin Edwards, Wesley, Francis Peeper, Lewis Berkhoff, Lewis Berry Chafer,
and Millard Erickson. The figures hail from various countries, inhabit
diverse periods in church history, and represent major branches of
(05:59):
the Church. It is significant, then, that, in spite of
their great diversity, these theologians agree on the subject of
Hell's duration. This consensus leads us to ask an important question.
Is it possible that these eleven figures are raw on
the topic of Hell. It is possible, but highly unlikely.
In fact, I cannot think of even one doctrinal issue
(06:20):
in which they all are in error. It is not
that they agree on every detail of theology. They differ
in their understanding of baptism and of the millennium, to
choose two examples, but on basic aspects of the Christian
faith they are united, and one of those aspects is
eternal punishment. This then places the burden of proof on
those who break with Church tradition and espouse conditionalism. The
(06:43):
testimony of historical theology, however, is not the fundamental reason
why I believe in endless punishment the consistency of theological doctrine.
As a systematic theologian, I am more convinced now than
when I began teaching seminary twenty seven years ago that
although I belie believe that the Bible does not contain
a complete system of truth, its doctrines cohere. The teachings
(07:05):
do not contradict one another, which makes systematic consistency one
test of biblical truth. In view of that, I argue
that endless punishment better and more consistently comports with a
biblical understanding of other doctrines than does annihilationism. In two
views of Hell, a biblical and theological dialog, which I
wrote with fellow evangelical Christian Edward William Fudge. I argued
(07:29):
that traditionalism hits better than annihilationism does with scriptural teaching
on the intermediate state Christology and the inseparability of Christ's
to natures and the personal eschatology or nature of final
punishment the intermediate state. Fudge argues for ultimate annihilationism in
Revelation twenty fourteen in June seven on the basis of
(07:50):
his view that death means extinction of being rather than
separation of soul from body. Because physical death means extinction
of being, the second death means final excts distinction of
the resurrected unsaved. But this is an error. I say
this because seven passages teach the survival of the soul
after the death of the body two Corinthians five to eight,
(08:12):
Luke twenty three, forty six forty three, Philippians one, twenty three,
Revelations six to nine, Hebrews twelve, twenty three, Luke sixteen,
Verses nineteen to thirty one. Study of these texts should
give annulationists pause, and forbi theological reflection should do the same.
The intermediate state slash resurrection view demonstrates the continuity of
(08:34):
personal identity. The same person who dies lives on without
the body, and will one day be reunited in body
and soul in the resurrection of the dead. The extinction
slash recreation view, however, encounters serious difficulties in maintaining personal
identity at the resurrection. In what sense is a human
being who died as and ceases to exist the same
(08:55):
person as the one who is recreated by God at
the resurrection christology. Fudge therefore seeks to strengthen his case
for annihilationism by arguing that Jesus endured final punishment by
being annihilated on the cross. The systematic implications of such
a view are enormous. Nothing less than orthodox Christology is
(09:16):
at stake. The Word of God declares that, as a
result of the incarnation Jesus Christ is both truly God
and truly man. He is one person with two natures,
one divine and one human. These natures are not mixed
together and are not separable. If Fudge is right and
Jesus was annihilated, and Chalcidon is wrong and Christ's natures
(09:38):
were separated, personal eschatology, Fudge accepts the traditional eschaeological scenario
right up to the point of eternal destinies. He affirms
suffering for the unsaved in hell, and thus upholds a
biblical principle that there will be degrees of punishment in hell.
But when he makes annhilation to Caboose, he derails the
whole train, for, in spite of his claim that cessation
(10:01):
of being is the worst possible punishment, it to the contrary,
would bring an end to punishment. The wicked would be
delivered from their terrible suffering and would experience the pains
of hell. No more, I am persuaded them that endless
punishment meets the test of systematic consistency better than conditionalism.
That still is not the primary reason why I believe
(10:21):
in endless punishment, However, the witness of Holy scripture. I
respect historical theology and systematics, but scripture is what ultimately
constrains my belief I have a spectrum of beliefs, ranging
from truths that are essential to salvation to loosely held
beliefs about unimportant things, and I believe many things in between,
including endless punishment. I would include endless punishment under the
(10:45):
category of things not necessary for salvation, but things important.
In two books, I adduce ten passages of scripture that
I maintain teach endless punishment. I still believe that my
exegesis of those ten passages is sound, and I hear
point to f five of those passages that most clearly
teach endless punishment. Matthew twenty five forty one forty six.
(11:07):
The Returning Son of Man says to the wicked, depart
from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels Matthew twenty five
forty one. Jesus here consigns unsaved or cursed human beings
to eternal fire, stating that they will suffer the same
fate as Satan. John says in Revelation twenty ten see below,
(11:29):
that the devil will be tormented forever and ever. The
conclusion of depart from Me into the eternal fire in
Matthew twenty five forty one, then is incontestable. Unsaved human beings,
along with the devil and his angels, will endure endless punishment.
Our Lord also affirms endless punishment in Matthew twenty five
(11:50):
forty six, concerning goats and sheep respectively. He says, then
they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous
to eternal life. Jesus con trusts the fates of punishment
and life and modifies them both by the same adjective eternal.
The word eternal allonios, does not of itself mean everlasting
(12:10):
in duration, but rather indicates a long period of time
with limits set by the context. The limits of audionios
when referring to last things, however, are set by the
life of God himself. The age to come lasts as
long as He does forever. The New Testament speaks of
the eternal God Romans sixteen twenty six, the eternal Spirit
(12:31):
Hebrews nine fourteen, eternal Life Romans five twenty one, Eternal
Salvation Hebrews five to nine, Eternal glory one Peter five ten,
and the eternal Kingdom two Peter one eleven. Matthew, as
Dia Carson notes, uses the adjective audionios only for what
is eternal. The punishment that the laws suffer in Hell
(12:55):
is parallel to the bliss that the righteous enjoy on
the new Earth. Augustine draws the logical implication if both
are eternal, it follows necessarily that either both are to
be taken as long lasting but finite, or both as
endless and perpetual. The phrases eternal punishment and eternal life
are parallel, and it would be absurd to use them
(13:17):
in one and the same sentence to mean eternal life
will be infinite, while eternal punishment will have an end. Hence,
because the eternal life of the saints will be endless,
the eternal punishment, also for those condemned to it, will
surely have no end. The goats will experience everlasting punishment,
even as the sheep will experience everlasting life Mark nine,
(13:40):
Verses forty two to forty eight. Jesus also teaches endless
punishment and a passage in which he urges his hearers
to take drastic measures rather than sin, especially rather than
this lead children. He warns against going into hell where
the fire never goes out verse forty three, and a
being thrown into hell where their worm does not die
(14:00):
and the fire is not quenched Verses forty seven to
forty eight. Conditionalists interpret Jesus language via their interpretation of
Isaiah sixty six twenty four, which Jesus cites as teaching
the annihilation of the wicked. The fire of Hell that
never goes out, they say, is a never ending memorial
to the extinction of the wicked. The undee worm lives
(14:22):
until it consumes its prey, and the unquenchable fire relentlessly
consumes what is put into it until it exists no more.
This is not what the passage says. However, Hell is
where the fire never goes out verse forty three. Because
the suffering of the wicked in Hell never ends. Scripture
in a number of passages uses fire imagery to depict
(14:42):
the sufferings of the wicked, rather than their extermination, as
conditionalists teach. For example, Matthew thirteen forty two, forty nine
to fifty twenty five forty one, Luke sixteen twenty three,
twenty five, twenty eight, Revelation fourteen ten, twenty ten. Jesus
teaches that the pains of Hell last forever. When he
(15:03):
says it is better for you to enter the Kingdom
of God with one eye than to have two eyes
and be thrown into Hell, where their worm does not
die and the fire is not quenched Verses forty seven
to forty eight. He points to the activity of worms
and fired in this life to teach figuratively about the
life to come. All maggots die when they consume their
(15:23):
prey and exhaust their fuel. All fires go out when
they run their course and exhaust their fuel. Jesus says
that the worms and fires of Hell, by contrast, will
never run out of fuel. The worm of the wicked
is undean, and the fire of Hell is not quenched.
That is, Hell knows no end. Author Robert Yarborough agrees,
(15:44):
stating in an essay on jesus view of Hell in
this Mark in setting, Jesus is at conspicuous pains to
underscore the unending nature of Hell's affliction. He does this
first by speaking of the fire that never goes out.
Then he does it by quoting Isaiah's sixty six twenty five.
This is one of at least two Old Testament passages
that clearly teach the notion of eternal punishment. Compare Daniel
(16:07):
twelve to two. In Mark nine, then Jesus teaches that
Hell's agonies are ongoing and never an ending two Thessalonians one,
Verses five to ten. This is Paul's most extensive treatment
of the fate of unbelievers. He extols the justice of God,
who will deliver his persecuted people and punish their persecutors.
(16:27):
When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing
fire with his powerful angels, he will punish those who
do not know God and do not obey the gospel
of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting
destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord
and from the majesty of his power two Thessalonians one,
verses seven to nine. The words everlasting destruction from this
(16:50):
passage have become a slogan for conditionalism. Conditionalists teach that
hell will consist in the extinction of the wicked, and
that this extinction is ever last in that it is final.
The exterminated wicked will not live again. According to conditionalism,
everlasting destruction means irreversible annihilation. Is this what Paul really means?
(17:13):
A careful study of the expression everlasting destruction in this
passage yields in negative answer. Paul writes, they will be
punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence
of the Lord and from the majesty of His power.
Verse nine. If everlasting destruction means irreversible annihilation, then being
shut out from the presence of the Lord means the
(17:34):
same thing. This will not do, however, because for exclusion
from the Lord's presence to mean annihilation, the Lord's presence
must be interpreted as his omnipresence. Fudge teaches this in
a footnote in his book The fire that consumes One,
God's presence will fill all that is in every place.
Two the wicked will not be in his presence. Three.
(17:57):
Therefore the wicked will no longer exist. A paraphrase of
the text will help us to evaluate the conditionalist view
at the presence of the Lord in two Thessalonians one
to nine means God's omnipresence. Conditionalists hold that Paul taught
that the wicked will be punished with irreversible annihilation and
shut out from the omnipresence of the Lord. To the contrary,
(18:18):
when Paul referred to the fate the lost as eternal destruction,
he did not mean a literal destruction, but use the
words figuratively of the devastation that the damned will experience
forever in hell. There they will be separated not from
the Lord's omnipresence, but from his powerful royal presence. As
Paul's words indicate, they will be punished with everlasting destruction
(18:40):
and shut out from the presence of the Lord and
from the majesty of his power. Douglas Moo, in the
finest study of Paul's teaching on Hell, of which I
am aware, expresses his agreement. We would suggest, therefore, that
the destruction of which Paul here speaks may just as
likely refer to ruin. In this sense, a lethroes would
mean not that the wicked symps cease to exist, but
(19:01):
that they suffer reuben, an eternal plunge into hades, and
a hopeless destiny of death. Ruin must be placed alongside
other Pallen depictions of the state of the wicked, suffering, wrath,
spiritual death, tribulation, and condemnation. Conditionalists claim that the whole
Bible teaches their view because scripture frequently uses the vocabulary
(19:22):
of destruction, referring to God's enemies as being destroyed, perishing,
and the like. This, however, is not a strong argument. First,
most of the Old Testament references that they cite refer
to God's visiting the wicked with premature physical death. The
references do not even speak of eternal destinies. Second, there
is biblical evidence that the destruction of God's enemies is
(19:45):
their endless punishment. In Revelations seventeen to eight eleven, destruction
Appellia is prophesied for the beast. Two chapters later, the
beast and false Prophet are thrown alive into the fiery
lake of burning sulfur. Revelation nineteen. John teaches that after
state and is cast into this lake, he, the beast
(20:05):
and the false prophet will be tormented day and night,
forever and ever. Revelation twenty ten. The Beast's destruction, therefore
is not annihilation, but eternal punishment. Conditionalists consequently air when
they claim that the words destruction, perish and their synonyms
signify the final extinction of the wicked. This claim cannot
(20:26):
be established from a study of all of the judgment
passages that use these words. The passages that can be
made to conform to conditionalism, in fact, are ones in
which the words are used as shorthand without further explanation.
Revelation fourteen, verses nine to eleven. This passage pertains to
final destinies, as verse eleven indicates when it speaks of
(20:47):
the smoke of the torment of the lost rising forever
and ever. John describes a plight a lost in hell.
They will drink of the wine of God's fury, which
has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.
Verse ten, They will personally experience the holy anger of
Almighty God. John uses fire imagery to describe the suffering
(21:08):
of the impenitent in hell. Each one will be tormented
with burning sulfur in the presence of the Holy angels
and of the Lamb verse ten. There is no doubt
as to the function of the hell fire imagery gear
it depicts the agony of the dand John extends the
fire imagery in the next verse, and the smoke of
their torment rises forever and ever verse eleven. Conditionalists claim
(21:31):
that this means the ever ascending smoke is a perpetual
witness to the extermination by fire of the wicked. Such
an interpretation is not based on a straightforward interpretation of
the text. John speaks of the smoke of their torment
forever rising. As Gregory Kybile shows in his commentary on Revelation.
The word basanismos torment in Revelation fourteen, verses ten and
(21:55):
eleven has used nowhere in Revelation or biblical literature in
the sense of annihilation of personal existence. Revelation, without exception,
uses it of conscious suffering on the part of people nine,
verse five, eleven, verse ten, twelve, verse two, eighteen, verses seven, ten, fifteen, twenty,
(22:16):
verse ten. The link between the description of never ending
torment and the possessive pronoun there is noteworthy too. The
text implies everlasting, conscious torment rather than annihilation when it
describes the suffering with the unsaved as the smoke of
their torment, and the smoke is one that forever rises.
The words that follow strengthen this interpretation, and the smoke
(22:39):
of the torment rises forever and ever. There is no
rest day or night for them verse eleven. If John
had intended to teach conditionalism, he could have written, the
smoke of their destruction rises forever and ever, for they
were no more. John instead adds, after speaking of the
smoke of the suffering of the damned, perpetually rising, that
the wicked have no rest day or night, that it
(23:01):
is in contrast to those who die in the Lord
who rest from their labor verse thirteen, A lost will
never know the sweet repose of the Lord. Beale notes
his agreement in his excellent study of the doctrine of
Hell in the Book of Revelation. The phrase the smoke
of their torment goes up forever and ever Revelation fourteen,
verse eleven, is not a mere reminder of past judgment,
(23:25):
but ongoing judgment as well. It is not the smoke
of a completed destruction that goes up, but the smoke
of their torment. The nature of the torment is explained
in the second part of verse eleven, not to be annihilated,
but lack of rest. Indeed, annihilation would be a kind
of rest or relief from the excruciating torment of the
brief final judgment. Those who support ethanasia do so, usually
(23:47):
because they believe it is merciful to relieve people of
pain by annihilating their physical life. Therefore, the smoke is
metaphorical of a continued reminder of the ongoing torment of restlessness,
which endures for eternity. Revelation twenty, Verses ten, fourteen, and fifteen.
It is profitable to trace the fate of the unholy
(24:08):
Triumvirate in Revelation, and discover that this passage to affirms
endless punishment. The beast, in fulfillment of the destruction prophesy
for him in Revelation seventeen, verses eight and eleven, is
thrown into the lake of burning sulfur Revelation nineteen, verse
twenty with the false prophet. In the first edition of
The Fire that Consumes Edward, Fudge states that in the
(24:31):
case of the beast and false prophet, the lake of
fire stands for utter, absolute, irreversible. In Nahilation, consider Revelation twenty,
verse ten, however, and the devil who deceived them was
thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast
and the false prophet had been thrown, they will be
tormented day and night forever and ever. John here teaches,
(24:53):
contrary to Fudge, that after the devil is cast into
the fiery lake, as well the beast, the false prophet,
and the devil will be tormented forever and ever. The
Beast's destruction therefore is not annihilation, but eternal punishment. The
words they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Plainly admit of only one meaning everlasting conscious torment. Unnuhlationists
(25:18):
attempt to deny this by claiming that the beast and
false Prophet represent institutions and not persons, and thus could
not be tormented forever. But this is not convincing. The
best interpretation of the Beast and false Prophet I believe
is that they represent various enemies of God throughout history,
culminating in two individuals. Regardless of the precise identification of
(25:39):
these two, the Devil's identity is transparent, and there is
no doubt that he is a personal being capable of suffering.
And that is precisely what John teaches when he said
is that the devil will be tormented day and night,
forever and ever Revelation twenty verse ten. Undulationists try to
attain their goal by arguing as well that even if
Revelation twenty verse ten teaches that the devil will suffer
(26:02):
endless punishment, that text says nothing about the fate of
human beings. This argument fails also because five verses later,
John says that human beings two are thrown into the
lake of fire Revelation twenty verse fifteen Compare twenty one
verse eight. I am aware of conditionalist attempts to deny
that the lake of fire means the same thing for
(26:23):
human beings that it does for the devil. Those attempts
miss a basic point. John has just said what the
lake of burning sulfur signifies in verse ten, everlasting torment.
He indicates no change in meaning between verse ten and
verse fifteen. Conditionalists teach that although the lake of fire
means endless punishment for the devil, it means unhilation for
(26:44):
human beings. This seems forced. The lake of fire means
the same thing for the devil that it means for
unsaved human beings, endless punishment implications of our study. Although
I respect the powerful witness of Christian history to traditionalism
and am impressed by arguments from systematic theology, at the
end of the day, I appeal to a higher authority
(27:06):
than history or theology. I am convinced that a straightforward
exposition of these five scriptural passages and more confirms the
thesis that the sufferings of hell consist in everlasting, conscious punishment. Jesus, Paul,
and John teach the suffering of the lost in hell
will know no end. Sinclair Ferguson is right. It is
(27:27):
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who spoke most clearly
of the dark side of eternity. To be faithful to him,
we must do the same.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Thank you for listening to another episode from the Christian
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you will find a brand new article for the Christian
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(28:00):
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Research Journal articles. That's e qu ip dot rg.
This is episode one hundred and sixty six of the
Christian Research Journal Reads podcast. The Dark Side of Eternity
Hell as Eternal Conscious Punishment by Robert A. Peterson. This
article first appeared in the print edition of the Christian
Research Journal, Volume thirty, number four in twenty twenty seven.
(00:30):
The Christian Research Journal Reads Podcast presents audio versions of
Christian Research Journal articles. To read the full text of
this article and its documentation, go to equip dot org.
That's e qu ip dot org.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
The Dark Side of Eternity Hell is Eternal conscious Punishment.
This article is by Robert A. Peterson and is read
by an autumn voice synopsis. Eternal conscious punishment, also called traditionalism,
holds that the wicked will suffer in hell forever. Annihilationism
or conditionalism, holds that the final punishment of the wicked
(01:14):
is their extinction of being. This extinction is irreversible, and
the annihilationist definition of eternal punishment is extermination without remedy.
I reject annihilationism and believe in endless punishment for three
main reasons. First, traditionalism is the historic view of the
Christian Church. Second, endless punishment fits better than annihilationism with
(01:36):
other spiritual teachings. Third, and most importantly, five biblical passages
constrain my belief in eternal conscious punishment. Matthew twenty five,
forty one forty six, Mark nine, forty two, forty eight
to Thessalonians one, verses five to ten, Revelation fourteen verses
nine to eleven, and Revelation twenty ten fourteen to fifteen.
(02:01):
Jesus declares in Matthew twenty five, verse forty one that
the destiny of the unsaved is the eternal fire prepared
for the devil. Matthew twenty five, verse forty six uses
the same adjective eternal to describe the fates of the
lost and saved, eternal punishment and eternal life. Jesus depicts
(02:21):
hell as a place where their worm does not die
and the fire is not quench Mark nine, verses forty
seven and forty eight. Paul's reference to eternal destruction into
Thessalonians one, verse nine indicates a figurative devastation that the
dan will experience forever in hell, separated from the lord's
royal presence. Revelation fourteen, verse ten, where we read that
(02:46):
the impenitent will be tormented with burning sulfur depicts the
hell fire imagery as agony, not an ehilation. John speaks
of everlasting torment when he adds and the smoke of
their torment rises forever and ever, verse eleven. John's description
of Satan's fate in Revelation twenty verse ten is being
placed in the lake of fire and sulfur, and being
(03:07):
tormented day and night forever and ever, signifies everlasting pain,
a fate that lost human beings share. Revelation twenty verse fifteen.
Hell is at the end of the day. The darkness outside,
dense like a black hole, is the place of cosmic waste. Who,
indeed is sufficient for these things? The question is surely rhetorical.
(03:29):
None of us is sufficient. But our sufficiency is to
be found in Christ, the Savior, the perfect Man, the Redeemer,
the judge. We must constantly remind ourselves that it is
the Savior who spoke clearly of the dark side of eternity.
To be faithful to him, so must we. Sinclair Ferguson
is right on several counts. Hell is too awful for words.
(03:52):
Only Christ enables us to endure the thought of unsaved
persons suffering forever. We too, must act as witnesses to
its reaction, because He clearly taught the truth of hell.
Here I will define terms, explore the reasons why I
believe certain things, and present the reasons why I believe
in endless punishment rather than the annihilationism definition of terms.
(04:14):
The eternal conscious punishment is the view that the wicked
will suffer the pains of hell forever. It is also
called traditionalism because it is the church's traditional view. Annihilationism,
by contrast, is the view that God will exterminate the
wicked in hell. Conditional of immortality conditionalism, for short, is
the view that God does not give immortality to all
(04:35):
human beings, but only to believers, and that he will
resurrect unbelievers who lack the gift of immortality to face
ultimate annihilation. Because annihilationism and conditionalism reach the same conclusion,
the lost finally will be eliminated, I will use the
two terms interchangeably. Evangelical annihilationists teach the return of Christ,
(04:56):
the resurrection of the dead, and the last judgment with
conscious punishment. According distance committed, the last stroke for the
wicked is the extinction of their being. This extinction is irreversible.
Thus unulationists define eternal punishment as extermination without remedy. Grounds
for belief. There are several reasons why I believe in
(05:18):
various Christian doctrines, including Hell. These involve respect for the
consensus of the Church through history, for the systematic consistency
of doctrinal teachings throughout scripture, and most of all, for
the very witness of Scripture itself, the testimony of Church history.
I previously wrote of eleven figures who share the consensus
(05:38):
that the wicked will suffer endless punishment. Tertullian, Augustine Aquinas, Luther,
Calvin Edwards, Wesley, Francis Peeper, Lewis Berkhoff, Lewis Berry Chafer,
and Millard Erickson. The figures hail from various countries, inhabit
diverse periods in church history, and represent major branches of
(05:59):
the Church. It is significant, then, that, in spite of
their great diversity, these theologians agree on the subject of
Hell's duration. This consensus leads us to ask an important question.
Is it possible that these eleven figures are raw on
the topic of Hell. It is possible, but highly unlikely.
In fact, I cannot think of even one doctrinal issue
(06:20):
in which they all are in error. It is not
that they agree on every detail of theology. They differ
in their understanding of baptism and of the millennium, to
choose two examples, but on basic aspects of the Christian
faith they are united, and one of those aspects is
eternal punishment. This then places the burden of proof on
those who break with Church tradition and espouse conditionalism. The
(06:43):
testimony of historical theology, however, is not the fundamental reason
why I believe in endless punishment the consistency of theological doctrine.
As a systematic theologian, I am more convinced now than
when I began teaching seminary twenty seven years ago that
although I belie believe that the Bible does not contain
a complete system of truth, its doctrines cohere. The teachings
(07:05):
do not contradict one another, which makes systematic consistency one
test of biblical truth. In view of that, I argue
that endless punishment better and more consistently comports with a
biblical understanding of other doctrines than does annihilationism. In two
views of Hell, a biblical and theological dialog, which I
wrote with fellow evangelical Christian Edward William Fudge. I argued
(07:29):
that traditionalism hits better than annihilationism does with scriptural teaching
on the intermediate state Christology and the inseparability of Christ's
to natures and the personal eschatology or nature of final
punishment the intermediate state. Fudge argues for ultimate annihilationism in
Revelation twenty fourteen in June seven on the basis of
(07:50):
his view that death means extinction of being rather than
separation of soul from body. Because physical death means extinction
of being, the second death means final excts distinction of
the resurrected unsaved. But this is an error. I say
this because seven passages teach the survival of the soul
after the death of the body two Corinthians five to eight,
(08:12):
Luke twenty three, forty six forty three, Philippians one, twenty three,
Revelations six to nine, Hebrews twelve, twenty three, Luke sixteen,
Verses nineteen to thirty one. Study of these texts should
give annulationists pause, and forbi theological reflection should do the same.
The intermediate state slash resurrection view demonstrates the continuity of
(08:34):
personal identity. The same person who dies lives on without
the body, and will one day be reunited in body
and soul in the resurrection of the dead. The extinction
slash recreation view, however, encounters serious difficulties in maintaining personal
identity at the resurrection. In what sense is a human
being who died as and ceases to exist the same
(08:55):
person as the one who is recreated by God at
the resurrection christology. Fudge therefore seeks to strengthen his case
for annihilationism by arguing that Jesus endured final punishment by
being annihilated on the cross. The systematic implications of such
a view are enormous. Nothing less than orthodox Christology is
(09:16):
at stake. The Word of God declares that, as a
result of the incarnation Jesus Christ is both truly God
and truly man. He is one person with two natures,
one divine and one human. These natures are not mixed
together and are not separable. If Fudge is right and
Jesus was annihilated, and Chalcidon is wrong and Christ's natures
(09:38):
were separated, personal eschatology, Fudge accepts the traditional eschaeological scenario
right up to the point of eternal destinies. He affirms
suffering for the unsaved in hell, and thus upholds a
biblical principle that there will be degrees of punishment in hell.
But when he makes annhilation to Caboose, he derails the
whole train, for, in spite of his claim that cessation
(10:01):
of being is the worst possible punishment, it to the contrary,
would bring an end to punishment. The wicked would be
delivered from their terrible suffering and would experience the pains
of hell. No more, I am persuaded them that endless
punishment meets the test of systematic consistency better than conditionalism.
That still is not the primary reason why I believe
(10:21):
in endless punishment, However, the witness of Holy scripture. I
respect historical theology and systematics, but scripture is what ultimately
constrains my belief I have a spectrum of beliefs, ranging
from truths that are essential to salvation to loosely held
beliefs about unimportant things, and I believe many things in between,
including endless punishment. I would include endless punishment under the
(10:45):
category of things not necessary for salvation, but things important.
In two books, I adduce ten passages of scripture that
I maintain teach endless punishment. I still believe that my
exegesis of those ten passages is sound, and I hear
point to f five of those passages that most clearly
teach endless punishment. Matthew twenty five forty one forty six.
(11:07):
The Returning Son of Man says to the wicked, depart
from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels Matthew twenty five
forty one. Jesus here consigns unsaved or cursed human beings
to eternal fire, stating that they will suffer the same
fate as Satan. John says in Revelation twenty ten see below,
(11:29):
that the devil will be tormented forever and ever. The
conclusion of depart from Me into the eternal fire in
Matthew twenty five forty one, then is incontestable. Unsaved human beings,
along with the devil and his angels, will endure endless punishment.
Our Lord also affirms endless punishment in Matthew twenty five
(11:50):
forty six, concerning goats and sheep respectively. He says, then
they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous
to eternal life. Jesus con trusts the fates of punishment
and life and modifies them both by the same adjective eternal.
The word eternal allonios, does not of itself mean everlasting
(12:10):
in duration, but rather indicates a long period of time
with limits set by the context. The limits of audionios
when referring to last things, however, are set by the
life of God himself. The age to come lasts as
long as He does forever. The New Testament speaks of
the eternal God Romans sixteen twenty six, the eternal Spirit
(12:31):
Hebrews nine fourteen, eternal Life Romans five twenty one, Eternal
Salvation Hebrews five to nine, Eternal glory one Peter five ten,
and the eternal Kingdom two Peter one eleven. Matthew, as
Dia Carson notes, uses the adjective audionios only for what
is eternal. The punishment that the laws suffer in Hell
(12:55):
is parallel to the bliss that the righteous enjoy on
the new Earth. Augustine draws the logical implication if both
are eternal, it follows necessarily that either both are to
be taken as long lasting but finite, or both as
endless and perpetual. The phrases eternal punishment and eternal life
are parallel, and it would be absurd to use them
(13:17):
in one and the same sentence to mean eternal life
will be infinite, while eternal punishment will have an end. Hence,
because the eternal life of the saints will be endless,
the eternal punishment, also for those condemned to it, will
surely have no end. The goats will experience everlasting punishment,
even as the sheep will experience everlasting life Mark nine,
(13:40):
Verses forty two to forty eight. Jesus also teaches endless
punishment and a passage in which he urges his hearers
to take drastic measures rather than sin, especially rather than
this lead children. He warns against going into hell where
the fire never goes out verse forty three, and a
being thrown into hell where their worm does not die
(14:00):
and the fire is not quenched Verses forty seven to
forty eight. Conditionalists interpret Jesus language via their interpretation of
Isaiah sixty six twenty four, which Jesus cites as teaching
the annihilation of the wicked. The fire of Hell that
never goes out, they say, is a never ending memorial
to the extinction of the wicked. The undee worm lives
(14:22):
until it consumes its prey, and the unquenchable fire relentlessly
consumes what is put into it until it exists no more.
This is not what the passage says. However, Hell is
where the fire never goes out verse forty three. Because
the suffering of the wicked in Hell never ends. Scripture
in a number of passages uses fire imagery to depict
(14:42):
the sufferings of the wicked, rather than their extermination, as
conditionalists teach. For example, Matthew thirteen forty two, forty nine
to fifty twenty five forty one, Luke sixteen twenty three,
twenty five, twenty eight, Revelation fourteen ten, twenty ten. Jesus
teaches that the pains of Hell last forever. When he
(15:03):
says it is better for you to enter the Kingdom
of God with one eye than to have two eyes
and be thrown into Hell, where their worm does not
die and the fire is not quenched Verses forty seven
to forty eight. He points to the activity of worms
and fired in this life to teach figuratively about the
life to come. All maggots die when they consume their
(15:23):
prey and exhaust their fuel. All fires go out when
they run their course and exhaust their fuel. Jesus says
that the worms and fires of Hell, by contrast, will
never run out of fuel. The worm of the wicked
is undean, and the fire of Hell is not quenched.
That is, Hell knows no end. Author Robert Yarborough agrees,
(15:44):
stating in an essay on jesus view of Hell in
this Mark in setting, Jesus is at conspicuous pains to
underscore the unending nature of Hell's affliction. He does this
first by speaking of the fire that never goes out.
Then he does it by quoting Isaiah's sixty six twenty five.
This is one of at least two Old Testament passages
that clearly teach the notion of eternal punishment. Compare Daniel
(16:07):
twelve to two. In Mark nine, then Jesus teaches that
Hell's agonies are ongoing and never an ending two Thessalonians one,
Verses five to ten. This is Paul's most extensive treatment
of the fate of unbelievers. He extols the justice of God,
who will deliver his persecuted people and punish their persecutors.
(16:27):
When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing
fire with his powerful angels, he will punish those who
do not know God and do not obey the gospel
of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting
destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord
and from the majesty of his power two Thessalonians one,
verses seven to nine. The words everlasting destruction from this
(16:50):
passage have become a slogan for conditionalism. Conditionalists teach that
hell will consist in the extinction of the wicked, and
that this extinction is ever last in that it is final.
The exterminated wicked will not live again. According to conditionalism,
everlasting destruction means irreversible annihilation. Is this what Paul really means?
(17:13):
A careful study of the expression everlasting destruction in this
passage yields in negative answer. Paul writes, they will be
punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence
of the Lord and from the majesty of His power.
Verse nine. If everlasting destruction means irreversible annihilation, then being
shut out from the presence of the Lord means the
(17:34):
same thing. This will not do, however, because for exclusion
from the Lord's presence to mean annihilation, the Lord's presence
must be interpreted as his omnipresence. Fudge teaches this in
a footnote in his book The fire that consumes One,
God's presence will fill all that is in every place.
Two the wicked will not be in his presence. Three.
(17:57):
Therefore the wicked will no longer exist. A paraphrase of
the text will help us to evaluate the conditionalist view
at the presence of the Lord in two Thessalonians one
to nine means God's omnipresence. Conditionalists hold that Paul taught
that the wicked will be punished with irreversible annihilation and
shut out from the omnipresence of the Lord. To the contrary,
(18:18):
when Paul referred to the fate the lost as eternal destruction,
he did not mean a literal destruction, but use the
words figuratively of the devastation that the damned will experience
forever in hell. There they will be separated not from
the Lord's omnipresence, but from his powerful royal presence. As
Paul's words indicate, they will be punished with everlasting destruction
(18:40):
and shut out from the presence of the Lord and
from the majesty of his power. Douglas Moo, in the
finest study of Paul's teaching on Hell, of which I
am aware, expresses his agreement. We would suggest, therefore, that
the destruction of which Paul here speaks may just as
likely refer to ruin. In this sense, a lethroes would
mean not that the wicked symps cease to exist, but
(19:01):
that they suffer reuben, an eternal plunge into hades, and
a hopeless destiny of death. Ruin must be placed alongside
other Pallen depictions of the state of the wicked, suffering, wrath,
spiritual death, tribulation, and condemnation. Conditionalists claim that the whole
Bible teaches their view because scripture frequently uses the vocabulary
(19:22):
of destruction, referring to God's enemies as being destroyed, perishing,
and the like. This, however, is not a strong argument. First,
most of the Old Testament references that they cite refer
to God's visiting the wicked with premature physical death. The
references do not even speak of eternal destinies. Second, there
is biblical evidence that the destruction of God's enemies is
(19:45):
their endless punishment. In Revelations seventeen to eight eleven, destruction
Appellia is prophesied for the beast. Two chapters later, the
beast and false Prophet are thrown alive into the fiery
lake of burning sulfur. Revelation nineteen. John teaches that after
state and is cast into this lake, he, the beast
(20:05):
and the false prophet will be tormented day and night,
forever and ever. Revelation twenty ten. The Beast's destruction, therefore
is not annihilation, but eternal punishment. Conditionalists consequently air when
they claim that the words destruction, perish and their synonyms
signify the final extinction of the wicked. This claim cannot
(20:26):
be established from a study of all of the judgment
passages that use these words. The passages that can be
made to conform to conditionalism, in fact, are ones in
which the words are used as shorthand without further explanation.
Revelation fourteen, verses nine to eleven. This passage pertains to
final destinies, as verse eleven indicates when it speaks of
(20:47):
the smoke of the torment of the lost rising forever
and ever. John describes a plight a lost in hell.
They will drink of the wine of God's fury, which
has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.
Verse ten, They will personally experience the holy anger of
Almighty God. John uses fire imagery to describe the suffering
(21:08):
of the impenitent in hell. Each one will be tormented
with burning sulfur in the presence of the Holy angels
and of the Lamb verse ten. There is no doubt
as to the function of the hell fire imagery gear
it depicts the agony of the dand John extends the
fire imagery in the next verse, and the smoke of
their torment rises forever and ever verse eleven. Conditionalists claim
(21:31):
that this means the ever ascending smoke is a perpetual
witness to the extermination by fire of the wicked. Such
an interpretation is not based on a straightforward interpretation of
the text. John speaks of the smoke of their torment
forever rising. As Gregory Kybile shows in his commentary on Revelation.
The word basanismos torment in Revelation fourteen, verses ten and
(21:55):
eleven has used nowhere in Revelation or biblical literature in
the sense of annihilation of personal existence. Revelation, without exception,
uses it of conscious suffering on the part of people nine,
verse five, eleven, verse ten, twelve, verse two, eighteen, verses seven, ten, fifteen, twenty,
(22:16):
verse ten. The link between the description of never ending
torment and the possessive pronoun there is noteworthy too. The
text implies everlasting, conscious torment rather than annihilation when it
describes the suffering with the unsaved as the smoke of
their torment, and the smoke is one that forever rises.
The words that follow strengthen this interpretation, and the smoke
(22:39):
of the torment rises forever and ever. There is no
rest day or night for them verse eleven. If John
had intended to teach conditionalism, he could have written, the
smoke of their destruction rises forever and ever, for they
were no more. John instead adds, after speaking of the
smoke of the suffering of the damned, perpetually rising, that
the wicked have no rest day or night, that it
(23:01):
is in contrast to those who die in the Lord
who rest from their labor verse thirteen, A lost will
never know the sweet repose of the Lord. Beale notes
his agreement in his excellent study of the doctrine of
Hell in the Book of Revelation. The phrase the smoke
of their torment goes up forever and ever Revelation fourteen,
verse eleven, is not a mere reminder of past judgment,
(23:25):
but ongoing judgment as well. It is not the smoke
of a completed destruction that goes up, but the smoke
of their torment. The nature of the torment is explained
in the second part of verse eleven, not to be annihilated,
but lack of rest. Indeed, annihilation would be a kind
of rest or relief from the excruciating torment of the
brief final judgment. Those who support ethanasia do so, usually
(23:47):
because they believe it is merciful to relieve people of
pain by annihilating their physical life. Therefore, the smoke is
metaphorical of a continued reminder of the ongoing torment of restlessness,
which endures for eternity. Revelation twenty, Verses ten, fourteen, and fifteen.
It is profitable to trace the fate of the unholy
(24:08):
Triumvirate in Revelation, and discover that this passage to affirms
endless punishment. The beast, in fulfillment of the destruction prophesy
for him in Revelation seventeen, verses eight and eleven, is
thrown into the lake of burning sulfur Revelation nineteen, verse
twenty with the false prophet. In the first edition of
The Fire that Consumes Edward, Fudge states that in the
(24:31):
case of the beast and false prophet, the lake of
fire stands for utter, absolute, irreversible. In Nahilation, consider Revelation twenty,
verse ten, however, and the devil who deceived them was
thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast
and the false prophet had been thrown, they will be
tormented day and night forever and ever. John here teaches,
(24:53):
contrary to Fudge, that after the devil is cast into
the fiery lake, as well the beast, the false prophet,
and the devil will be tormented forever and ever. The
Beast's destruction therefore is not annihilation, but eternal punishment. The
words they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Plainly admit of only one meaning everlasting conscious torment. Unnuhlationists
(25:18):
attempt to deny this by claiming that the beast and
false Prophet represent institutions and not persons, and thus could
not be tormented forever. But this is not convincing. The
best interpretation of the Beast and false Prophet I believe
is that they represent various enemies of God throughout history,
culminating in two individuals. Regardless of the precise identification of
(25:39):
these two, the Devil's identity is transparent, and there is
no doubt that he is a personal being capable of suffering.
And that is precisely what John teaches when he said
is that the devil will be tormented day and night,
forever and ever Revelation twenty verse ten. Undulationists try to
attain their goal by arguing as well that even if
Revelation twenty verse ten teaches that the devil will suffer
(26:02):
endless punishment, that text says nothing about the fate of
human beings. This argument fails also because five verses later,
John says that human beings two are thrown into the
lake of fire Revelation twenty verse fifteen Compare twenty one
verse eight. I am aware of conditionalist attempts to deny
that the lake of fire means the same thing for
(26:23):
human beings that it does for the devil. Those attempts
miss a basic point. John has just said what the
lake of burning sulfur signifies in verse ten, everlasting torment.
He indicates no change in meaning between verse ten and
verse fifteen. Conditionalists teach that although the lake of fire
means endless punishment for the devil, it means unhilation for
(26:44):
human beings. This seems forced. The lake of fire means
the same thing for the devil that it means for
unsaved human beings, endless punishment implications of our study. Although
I respect the powerful witness of Christian history to traditionalism
and am impressed by arguments from systematic theology, at the
end of the day, I appeal to a higher authority
(27:06):
than history or theology. I am convinced that a straightforward
exposition of these five scriptural passages and more confirms the
thesis that the sufferings of hell consist in everlasting, conscious punishment. Jesus, Paul,
and John teach the suffering of the lost in hell
will know no end. Sinclair Ferguson is right. It is
(27:27):
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who spoke most clearly
of the dark side of eternity. To be faithful to him,
we must do the same.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Thank you for listening to another episode from the Christian
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Research Journal published weekly. In addition, please subscribe to our
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(28:44):
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