Is there an eternal burning hell where immortal human souls are tormented without end? Anyone that has questioned this thought has been considered a heretic. I we want to go to the Scriptures themselves and see what they are truly telling us.
There are two words used to express immortality in the Greek New Testament: aphtharsia and apthartos. Aptharsia: incorruptible or an unending existence. Apthartos: undecaying. Let’s examine their uses in the New Testament.
“To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:” Romans 2:7
This verse, in Romans, speaks of people who seek immortality among other things. This implies that they do not innately possess immortality. The typical evangelist of today portrays us as immortal souls. You will live eternally one way or the other, either in heaven or in hell. Here the apostle implies a need to receive immortality.
“52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:52-54
In this verse the apostle is denoting our mortal bodies, not our souls. He is stating that our corruptible and mortal bodies must put on incorruption and immortality. In this way the typical evangelical theologian believes this to say, it is only our bodies which lack immortality, but our souls are immortal.
“To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:4
Believers are to be given an inheritance that is immortal. It is not given to unbelievers. There is not one verse used in Scripture that renders immortality to the condemned sinner. All verses in the Bible that speak of immortality are applied as a reward to faithful believers. Eternal life is bestowed upon us through the Son of God.
“11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” 1 John 5:11-12
God has given us eternal life. We are not born inherently to it. And if you have the Son, you have life; and if you do not have the Son of God you do not possess eternal life.
“Who only [sole, single, alone] hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.” 1 Timothy 6:16
God alone is immortal. He is incapable of dying, growing old, etc.
John 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Notice, the Father has life in himself: he alone has immortality But he has GIVEN the Son to have life in himself. We read above in 1 John 5:11-12 that we are given eternal life through the Son of God. God is giving his family eternal life by inheritance.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
Eternal life is not the default condition of every human being. Only those that are a chosen by God before the foundation of the world will respond to the Gospel and be given eternal life. Eternal life is a gift of God, not the automatic existence of every human that was ever born.
Defining Eternal
In Noah Webster’s original “Dictionary of the English Language,” the definition of eternal is: “without beginning or end of existence” or “without end of existence.” These definitions are also clearly how Brother Branham defined the word, as well.
“The word ‘eternal’ means ‘eternity,’ which had no begin or has no end.” [1]
However, do the Greek words that are translated as “eternal,” “everlasting” or “forever” have the same meaning? Let’s first look at how Strong’s has defined these words. The first word we want to study in the Greek is “aion.” In Strong’s Greek Concordance it is defined thus:
“properly an age; by extension perpetuity (also past); by implication the world; specifically (Jewish) a Messianic period (present or future): – age, course, eternal, (for) ever (-more), [n-]ever, (beginning of the, while the) world (began, without end).”
It is clear from this definition that the word aion means an age, a period of time. Now, let’s review most of its usages in the New Testament. I want you to read the word “eternal” into each of these instances so that you can clearly see that the word aion changes meaning based upon its context and the words it is used in conjunction with. I will put it in brackets before each time aion is used. Aion is signified by the bold, italic, underlined word in each Scripture.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, [eternally] for ever. Amen.” Matthew 6:13
In this usage and several others, we see it used in reference to God or to his kingdom. We can look at this in connection with God and say that it consists of all ages. God’s power, kingdom and glory last throughout the ages.
“And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward [eternally] for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.” Matthew 21:19
Here we see another usage of the term aion that is impacted by its context. Jesus is saying that the tree will be cursed, and it withered away. That is, the tree died and will never again produce fruit because of that. This is not speaking of no beginning or ending, but rather a complete cessation of existence for the tree.
“And he shall reign over the house of Jacob
[eternally]
for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:33
Jesus Christ will rule over the house of Jacob for 1,000 years, and at the end of that time he will give his kingdom back to the Father, so that God will be all in all according to 1 Corinthians 15:28.
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:51
Once again, the meaning is impacted by its context. One way the Jewish people speak about the millennial kingdom is, “the age to come.” This would be an important concept for every Jewish mind and one that all of them looked forward to. When Jesus refers to the reward of those who eat the Bread of Life he says they will live in the age to come and also, by implication, not only during that time, but they will be immortal and will never die.
“Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.” John 8:52
This is an interesting usage of this term aion. In this context, it means never. It is used in conjunction with a special Greek word that is a double negative. When used that way it means never, not in this age or the age to come. There will never be death for anyone who keeps the sayings of Jesus.
“Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.” John 9:32
Here we see aion used in connection with the word beginning. Since the ages began.
“Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” Acts 3:21
Yet again we see it used in connection with beginning and will do so again in other verses.
“Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.” Romans 9:5
It is used again in conjunction with Christ and speaks of him being blessed of God in every age.
“Even the mystery which hath been hid from [eternity] ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints.” Colossians 1:26
The mystery was not hidden from eternity, but hidden during the ages, a period of time. In eternity the mystery will already have been revealed.
“Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this [eternity] world, but also in that which is to come.” Ephesians 1:21
There are many ages, but there is only one eternity.
“For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present
[eternity]
world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.” 2 Timothy 4:10
This is a self contradiction: you cannot use a reference to time with the word eternity: this present eternity or the future eternity. Eternity is always eternity: it is this present age.
“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before [eternity] the world unto our glory.” 1 Corinthians 2:7
There is no such thing as BEFORE eternity.
“As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest [eternally] for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” Hebrews 5:6
Jesus was a Prophet when on earth; he is now a Priest and will come in the future to be King and sit on the throne of his father, David, during the millennium.
“As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this [eternity] world.” Matthew 13:40
Eternity does not end, but this age ends. As you can observe the word aion definitely changes based upon the context in which it is used; but it almost always refers to a period of time and does not correlate to our English term eternal, unless it is speaking in terms of God or the kingdom. Then it only speaks of eternity by implication. This is testified of, in the way it used throughout the New Testament. There is another word that is used and is translated as eternal: aionion; and here is how Thayer defines it in his Greek Concordance:
1) without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be
2) without beginning
3) without end, never to cease, everlasting
Part of Speech: adjective
By looking at several key verses I want to demonstrate that it essentially has the same meaning as the word aion. This is almost always the term that is translated as eternal or everlasting throughout the New Testament. The term is used seventy one times in the New Testament. Fifty one of those times it is used in reference to eternal life or something connected with eternal life. Six times it is used to refer to the punishment of the damned.
“For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:11
The kingdom of Christ is certainly spoken of as forever. As we understand from the book of Revelation and the verse, 1 Corinthians 15:28 it lasts for 1,000 years, which is a period of time.
“Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.” Romans 16:25
This is the same usage we find with aion. It is used here in conjunction with a time reference. Thus, it speaks of an age or a time-period.
“Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” Jude 1:7
The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha suffered the vengeance of eternal fire. This is a very revealing verse in that it is likening the punishment of false believers with the punishment of Sodom. If the fire is eternal, then it would follow that Sodom and Gomorrha are still burning and will never cease to burn. However, it is clear from the record of Scripture that, Sodom was burned in an instant. The nature of eternal fire is that it burns up and consumes until there is nothing left. In this case the time-period that “eternal fire” lasted for was very short. The word aionion is also a word that changes meaning based upon its context. It can speak of eternal life and eternal punishment in the same verse. There are different meanings based upon the context. The “aionion God” or the “aionion life” has a different meaning than “since the aionion began” or “aionion punishment.” The context of the entire Bible must be considered to gather the meaning of these words. God is aionion. It doesn’t mean he exists only for a span of time, as the meaning of aion suggests; rather that he has no beginning and no ending. When referencing the gift of aionion life, we have to understand the concepts taught in the rest of the Bible. It denotes the time that we die, then present with the Lord, but absent from the body speaks of a resurrection into an immortal body that will not be corrupted. The concept of hell is spoken of throughout the Bible and we must study it to determine what “aionion fire”, “aionion destruction” and “aionion punishment” really means.
The Biblical Truth of Hell
“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Matthew 25:46
By all appearances this Scripture is telling us that the condemned sinner is punished for all eternity. Both punishment and life are the same word in the Greek, aionion. Let’s look at the biblical context on the doctrine of hell. The term hell itself in the Hebrew is sheol and it means the literal gravesite, also the place where both the just and the unjust go to when they die. In the New Testament there are a few terms used, which it is not necessary to go into detail about. The main point is, in the New Testament the picture becomes clearer in that the damned souls go to hell and the just souls go to paradise. The location of hell is in the heart of the earth. Both the just and the unjust went into the heart of the earth during the Old Testament dispensation. After Christ rose from the dead the paradise section of hell was emptied out and ascended to heaven. It is clear from the story of the rich man and Lazarus that there is a literal hell where people are now being tormented. The Scripture does not lead us to believe, as many state, that your soul is asleep until the resurrection. There is a literal hell that is a literal place of punishment.
The terms that are translated as eternal in Greek, as we have reviewed, have a varied meaning depending on the context. Used in conjunction with God or life it illustrates the quality of God which never had a beginning and never ends. When used in conjunction with beginning or present tense it refers to a span of time. When it is used in conjunction with punishment, we can note a different meaning.
If one is to be punished eternally then you would have to have the state-of-quality of being eternal. Only God has eternal life and those that he gives the gift of eternal life to. Not all are given that gift, so not all have eternal life. Let’s begin to examine more of the context of the Bible’s teaching on hell.
“43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Mark 9:43-44
The worm and the fire do not die, but the person does. The word and the fire will destroy and consume until nothing is left. Jesus is applying this example from the prophecy of Isaiah.
“And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.” Isaiah 66:24
We recognize believers who are living at the beginning stages of the millennium go out and see the carcasses of those that died in the tribulation period where their worm shall not die and neither their fire be quenched. Does this mean that their dead bodies will lay in the streets while being eaten and burned for all of eternity? It is a terrible thought. This is something that God will show to the inhabitants of the earth, during the beginning stages of the millennium, to remind us of his grace and mercy. The worm and the fire will do their work, and nothing will be left. They will be turned to ashes as Malach 4 iterates.
“And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28
If to kill is to deprive the physical body of life then hell would seem to be the deprivation of spiritual life, that is, an extinction of being. When a man or woman kills someone, that person no longer has physical existence. Jesus tells us to fear the one that can kill your soul. This would logically mean that you will no longer have spiritual life.
“He’ll die, he’ll go into a lake of fire and brimstone which burns, where burning is going on forever and forever, and maybe for a hundred million years his soul may be tormented in a lake of fire and brimstone.
238. I…You say, ‘Will it be just like regular brimstone?’ I believe it’ll be a million times worse than that. I believe you couldn’t describe it by fire, by a literal fire. The only reason it’s put ‘by fire,’ that fire is the most consuming thing that we had. It absolutely consumes and destroys everything, fire does.” [2]
Hell is described with fire because it consumes completely and totally. It is not describing a method of eternal torture. This is the picture that Catholicisim and Reformed Theology has presented to the minds of modern Christianity, but they have gotten the picture wrong. Notice, what the punishment for sinners and their status is described as in the Scriptures below.
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18
“For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish.” 2 Corinthians 2:15
“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.” Matthew 7:13
Sinners are described as those that perish which means to die or to be in a state of dying. The wages of sin is death and the way to destruction is wide and broad. Perishing, death and destruction do not tell of eternal torture. The fact is that there is a time of punishment and torment, but it is not eternal. It will last for a period, based upon their works and then they die spiritually.
“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” Revelation 20:14
The lake of fire is the second death. The first death is physical, the second death is spiritual. It is not an eternal torment, rather a death.
“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Revelation 20:10
The devil is cast into the lake of fire and tormented day and night from aion to aion. This speaks of a long time period. We don’t know how long, perhaps millions of years. Satan will be tormented, but he will have to have an end because he does not have eternal life.
“23 And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, 24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” Exodus 21:23-25
Is a crime committed, in time, worthy of eternal conscious punishment? God’s only law is an eye for an eye, etc., meaning that the punishment should be in line with the crime. That is, if someone were to steal food from your garden you would not put them to death. Instead, they would receive a milder punishment than a murderer or a rapist.
“Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4
The
soul that sins shall die. Death means the cessation of existence in that form,
so this spiritual life, called the soul, will vanish from existence because of
the sin upon it. In conclusion: it is important to see the whole context of the
Scriptures. Unfortunately, the supposed orthodox view of today is quite lacking
in that regard. They latch on to one or two verses in the Bible and take them
out of context. Hell is described using terms such as darkness, fire,
destruction, perishing, and death. These are all pictures of entire
annihilation. God’s judgement is eternal, but the punishment for sin lasts for
a span of time and then the person is completely consumed so as to cease
existence.
[1] 57-0630, Thirsting For Life, Rev. William Marrion Branham
[2] 57-0925, Questions And Answers On Hebrews #1, Rev. William Marrion Branham
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