Many today insist that God would never punish anyone forever. They argue that the wicked simply vanish after judgment. The question is unavoidable. Does Scripture teach extinction, or does it present a judgment that endures for all eternity?
Eternal Punishment in the Teaching of Jesus
In Matthew 25:46 Jesus places eternal punishment and eternal life together. The duration is the same for both. Scripture never separates the two into temporary judgment and endless reward. Christ speaks clearly, and His words carry final authority.
In Mark 9:47-48 He describes hell as the place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. These images communicate continuation, not exhaustion. The judgment does not run its course and end.
The Biblical Picture of Unending Judgment
Revelation 14:10-11 states that the smoke of the torment of the wicked rises forever and that they have no rest. The language in Scripture gives no place for the idea of passing out of existence.
Isaiah 66:22-24 confirms the same truth. The final vision of Isaiah shows the judgment of the wicked standing as an everlasting witness to the righteousness of God.
These passages uphold a single truth. The punishment of the wicked is conscious and eternal.
The Cross Confirms Eternal Judgment
The gospel does not present Christ as saving His people from disappearance. He saves them from the wrath of God. If judgment ends in extinction, then the suffering of Christ loses its meaning. Scripture teaches that He bore what His people deserved. Real sin required real wrath, and Christ endured the full weight of it.
Semper Reformanda
Objection: “Matthew 10:28 says God destroys the soul, so the wicked must cease to exist.”
Scripture often uses the word “destroy” to speak of ruin under judgment rather than erasure. Jesus Himself clarifies the nature of final judgment in Mark 9:48 when He describes a place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. Matthew 10:28 establishes God’s authority to judge. Other passages explain the judgment as ongoing.
Objection: “Second Thessalonians 1:9 speaks of destruction, not continued punishment.”
Paul describes an eternal destruction that occurs away from the presence of the Lord. Location and duration both imply conscious existence. Destruction describes their condition under wrath, not the end of their being.
Objection: “Revelation is symbolic, so Revelation 14:10-11 cannot describe real torment.”
Symbols communicate truth. They heighten it. The text says the wicked have no rest and that their torment rises forever.
Truth That Withstands
The doctrine of eternal judgment reveals the holiness of God and the gravity of sin. Christ endured wrath so that sinners might receive mercy. God warns because He loves. Hell magnifies the worth of Christ and the glory of salvation. To deny it is to diminish both.
Shortlink: reformlet.com/hell