Theology Thursday: Is eternal conscious torment biblical?

Welcome to Theology Thursday! Theology is the study of God, his relation to the world, and our relation to him. I hope these newsletters help enhance your faith and deepen your love for God and his people, the church.

Today's question: 
Is eternal conscious torment biblical? What happens to those who go to hell?

Pastor Brady's thoughts:
Last month, popular Christian actor Kirk Cameron stirred up a bit of a kerfuffle when he announced that he now holds to a theological view called annihilationism. Annihilationism is the idea that those who haven’t come to saving faith in Christ Jesus will, after judgement, ultimately be destroyed or cease to exist (be "annihilated").

Here are part of Cameron’s comments:
 
“Eternal judgment or eternal punishment doesn’t necessarily mean that we are being tormented and punished forever and every moment for eternity. It means that the punishment we deserve is irreversible. It’s permanent. It’s eternal. You’re dead. You’ve been destroyed. You have perished. You’re gone. And…you’re never coming back.”

Annihilationism differs from the idea of eternal conscious torment (ECT), which is the view held by the majority of Christians historically. ECT holds that those who haven’t come to saving faith in Christ Jesus will, after judgement, be subjected to never-ending suffering. ECT posits that souls in hell are fully aware of their existence and continuously experience physical and mental anguish with no hope of relief or end. This punishment is seen as a permanent, irrevocable separation from God's mercy and presence.

The alternative idea of annihilationism is a “great relief” to him, Cameron said, because “I don’t want to believe in conscious eternal torment for anybody, no matter how wicked they are.” He said, “If the scriptures taught it, I would believe it, because this is the Word of God. But if it doesn’t teach that, we are severely misrepresenting the character of God.”

I am sympathetic to Cameron’s point here; I don’t want to believe in something as terrible as eternal conscious torment, either. But I agree with Cameron that we aren’t to rely on what we want to be true, but what the witness of the Bible reveals to us is true. If the Bible points to ECT as the fate of the damned, we can’t just create a different theological position because it makes it feel better.
 
So, the question is, does the Bible teach ECT?

Few doctrines are as sobering—or as emotionally difficult—as the Christian teaching of hell. We rightly struggle emotionally and even logically with the idea of some kind of permanently terrible existence where lost souls experience the constant harsh reality of their rejection of God, with no possible relief.  

We recoil at the thought of everlasting judgment because we sense the weight of it. But, doctrine is not shaped by what feels bearable, but by what God has revealed. And scripture, read carefully and humbly, consistently presents final judgment as conscious, eternal, and just.

Jesus himself speaks most clearly and most frequently about hell. In Matthew 25:46, he draws a direct parallel: “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” The same Greek adjective for “eternal” —aiōnios—describes both destinies. If eternal life is unending, then eternal punishment must be as well. To argue that one is everlasting while the other is temporary fractures the symmetry of Jesus’ teaching.

Likewise, Jesus describes hell as a place “where the worms that eat you do not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48, echoing Isaiah 66:24). This imagery does not point to an eventual extinction, but of ongoing affliction.

The book of Revelation reinforces this. Revelation 14:11 speaks of those under judgment: “...the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” Revelation 20:15 places those not found in the book of life into that same lake of fire. The language is explicit, repetitive, and intentionally eternal.

Annihilationists often argue that words like “death,” “destruction,” and “perish” imply cessation of existence. But in scripture, these terms frequently describe ruin rather than non-being. The “lost” sheep in Luke 15 still exists. The “perishing” wineskins are not annihilated but rendered useless. Most significantly, scripture speaks of a “second death” (Revelation 20:14), which—paradoxically—occurs after resurrection. This is not the end of being, but the final state of separation from the life-giving presence of God.

At root, eternal punishment reflects the nature of sin itself. Sin is not merely the breaking of rules; it is cosmic rebellion against an infinitely holy God. The seriousness of an offense is measured not only by duration, but by the dignity of the one offended. A moment of treason against a king carries consequences far beyond the moment itself. Persistent, unrepentant rejection of God results in a settled condition—one scripture portrays as fixed (Luke 16:26).

This doctrine is not given to satisfy curiosity or stoke fear. It is given to awaken hearts. God “takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked” (Ezekiel 33:11), and he has gone to unfathomable lengths to rescue sinners. The cross stands at the center of this teaching. ECT shows us not that God is cruel, but that sin is deadly and grace is costly. If judgment were ultimately trivial or temporary, the atonement - Christ’s saving work on the cross - would be diminished. But because hell is real and eternal, the gospel is urgent and glorious.

We do not maintain our belief about hell with glee, but with tears—and with hope - for the same scriptures that warn of eternal judgment also proclaim an eternal Savior, who bore wrath so that all who trust in him might never taste it.

Related resources: 
What does the Bible say about hell?
Hell as endless punishment
Why hell is integral to the gospel

TO KNOW GOD AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN!
- Pastor Brady

Have a question for Theology Thursday? Send an email to office@minierchristian.org and we'll respond, or we'll include in a future Theology Thursday Buffet.