One of the most serious and emotionally charged questions in all of Christian theology is this: Does the Bible truly teach that God will torment sinners consciously, forever and ever, with no end: without relief, without mercy, without hope?
For centuries, this doctrine, often called eternal conscious torment, has catalyzed fear, confusion, and doubt about the character of God. Many believers have struggled silently, wondering:
- How can a loving God torture His creatures eternally?
- Is endless torment truly just?
- Is this really what Scripture teaches, or is it a tradition passed down and assumed?
If you’ve asked these questions, you are not a rebel or a defective Christian (well, we’re all defective, but Jesus makes us perfect). These are biblical questions, born out of a sincere desire to understand who God truly is.
Scripture itself invites us to examine what we believe:
“Test all things; hold fast what is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
So what does the Bible actually teach about the fate of the wicked? When we open the Word and dig deep into its passages (remembering that Scripture interprets Scripture), we find that eternal conscious torment contradicts the revealed character of a loving God. It is not a biblical doctrine.
Scripture doesn’t sugarcoat the dangers of sin or the severity of divine justice. Neither should we. But we should also remember the Bible’s most repeated command: “Do not fear.” We should test what we believe. We should let the Bible speak for itself.
Who Is God?
To test any doctrine about divine punishment, we must begin by studying the nature of God Himself.
The Bible describes God clearly and consistently:
“The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth.” (Exodus 34:6b)
“The LORD is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.” (Psalm 145:9)
“God is love.” (1 John 4:8b)
God’s love is principled, not merely sentimental. He loves us dearly because that is who He is. In the same way, His justice is measured, not cruel. And His judgments are never arbitrary or vindictive.
In Ezekiel 18:32, God makes this remarkable statement:
“For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies. Therefore turn and live!’”
If God takes no pleasure in death, how could He delight in eternal torture?
Sin’s Penalty: Death or Endless Life in Pain?
Scripture plainly defines the penalty for sin:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
Notice what the verse does not say:
- “The wages of sin is eternal torment.”
- “The wages of sin is everlasting conscious suffering.”
Scripture continuously contrasts eternal life and death, not happy eternal life and miserable eternal life. Because death is the opposite of life. (Just look at the Bible’s most popular verse, John 3:16, which contrasts “everlasting life” with “perish.”)
Jesus Himself said:
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)
The words kill and destroy do not mean “preserve alive forever in agony.” By using both words, Jesus makes His point clear: in hell, souls and bodies will be brought to ruin, to an end; they will perish.
Is the Soul Naturally Immortal?
A major assumption behind the doctrine of eternal torment is the idea that every soul is inherently immortal.
The Bible says otherwise:
“[God] alone has immortality.” (1 Timothy 6:16a)
Human lives are not naturally endless: eternal life is granted, not possessed by default.
“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” (1 John 5:11)
If eternal life is gifted only to the saved, then the lost do not possess it. Jesus said plainly:
“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life . . . ” (John 3:36)
The wicked will not receive life at all.
The Language of Judgment: Preservation or Destruction?
Again and again, the Bible describes the fate of the wicked using words and phrases like:
- Destroy
- Perish
- Consume
- Burn up
- Be no more
- Vanish
Let Scripture speak:
“For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more.” (Psalm 37:10)
“But the wicked shall perish; and the enemies of the Lord . . . shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away.” (Psalm 37:20)
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up . . . that will leave them neither root nor branch.” (Malachi 4:1)
Nothing left. No life. No pain, misery, or torture. Burned up.
What Does “Eternal Fire” Mean?
There are Bible verses, taken individually, that appear to support the idea of eternal conscious torment. Even Jesus spoke of “everlasting fire”:
“Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matthew 25:41)
But what does that phrase actually mean? Five verses later, Jesus explains:
“These will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46)
Notice carefully: the wicked’s punishment is eternal in result, not in process—as only the righteous receive life forever. This definition of “eternal fire” is supported elsewhere in the Bible:
“As Sodom and Gomorrah . . . are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (Jude 1:7)
Are Sodom and Gomorrah still burning today? No. God’s punishing fire is not eternal in its duration. It completely destroys.
Will Hell Produce Eternal Screams or End in Ashes?
Scripture clearly describes the final outcome of the great controversy:
“You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet.” (Malachi 4:3a)
Ashes are the result of something fully burned, not eternally burning.
Many use Revelation 20:10 to support the doctrine of eternal torture for the wicked:
“ . . . And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
It’s important to understand that this verse is written in apocalyptic language; in fact, it refers specifically to the devil, the beast, and the false prophet (the latter two are symbolic creatures). What’s more, this chapter and its predecessor (see Revelation 19:20) explain that these three entities and “anyone not found written in the Book of Life” will be cast into the “lake of fire.” Fire totally consumes, remember?
The torment of the wicked will be severely distressing. Its impact, its “smoke” (Revelation 14:11)? It will last forever. But it will end in eternal death.
Four verses later, Revelation’s author leaves no question:
“This is the second death.” (Revelation 20:14b)
What does “second death” mean? Find the answer here!
Is Endless Punishment Just and Proportional?
God’s justice is always fair.
“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25b)
Would our perfect Judge repay finite sins with infinite torment? No. The Bible teaches measured judgment:
“And the dead were judged according to their works.” (Revelation 20:12)
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)
Used here, the word “body” refers to a person’s existence in the present sinful world (see verse 6).
Eternal torment allows no proportionality in punishment, no distinction between levels of ignorance or opportunity (see Luke 12:47–48).
On the other hand, annihilationism reflects:
- Accountability
- Justice
- Finality
- Mercy
Is Eternal Torment Compatible With the Cross?
Everlasting torture renders the cross incomprehensible. Jesus bore our correct penalty:
“Christ died for our sins . . . ” (1 Corinthians 15:3b)
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” (1 Peter 3:18)
Jesus died. If the wages of sin were eternal torment, Christ would still be suffering.
Can God Win If Pain Remains?
Scripture describes a future without pain:
“There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4b)
Eternal screams from hell would contradict this wonderful promise from God. His victory is complete:
“Affliction will not rise up a second time.” (Nahum 1:9b)
God wins. His perfect universe is restored. Pain is no more.
Evil Ends. Love Endures.
The Bible answers each and every question listed above; it teaches complete destruction and merciful closure.
A loving God does not torture forever. A just God does not punish finite transgression with infinite fire. A holy God does not preserve evil eternally.
“The LORD is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works.” (Psalm 145:17)
All of us face eternal death.
“The soul who sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4b)
But the Gospel preaches hope and life.
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake;
And I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25)
“Choose life . . . ” (Deuteronomy 30:19b)
Related Articles:
- Ray Comfort or Kirk Cameron? What Really Happens to the Wicked? Eternal Torment or Annihilationism?
- God’s Character Attacked: Annihilationism or Eternal Torment
- Why Many Religions Teach the Nonbiblical View of Eternal Torment (Hell)
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Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
