LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

THE HELL DEBATE

A RESEARCH PAPER SUBMITTED TO

PROFESSOR MASHALL WICKS
IN COMPLETION OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THEOLOGY 350

BY
JOHNNY CARTER

LYNCHBURG, VA
JULY 6,2012

Introduction
When trying to have a conversation about hell Hendrikus Berkhof says concerning the
dominant ecclesiastical idea of hell as eternal punishment that there has always been a
reluctance to engage in a deeper probing of this frightening conviction.1 In other words no one
wants to talk about hell some churches have even avoided this topic for fear of losing members.
Nevertheless, hell has been a hot topic debate for centuries, and there are many different views
regarding hell and the nature of hell. This paper will address two of the most common views in
the hell debate. One view called The Classic View- says that hell is a place of unending torment
for the wicked. The Annihilationist view-says that hell is a place where the wicked shall be no
more2. In regards to the hell debate there are some who believe that we are living in hell right
now here on earth. However, hell is viewed there is always several questions that is often asked.
How could a God who is so loving and caring, treat his people this cruelly by banishing them to
hell for eternity? How could a God who says that he loves everyone be this mean? Is this how
God shows his love for his children? Why would God create us just to torture us? These are all
legitimate questions and finding an answer that will please everyone is not an easy thing to do.
However, as a Christian we are bound by our faith to believe that hell does exist, and if it does
exist what really happens once a person is sent there? There are those who are bold enough to
stand up and tell you that there is no hell its just something made up by man to scare people into
becoming a Christian. The fear of hell is the basis for the Christian faith.3 Evangelical
1
2

Berkhof, H. Christian Faith: An Introduction to the Study of Faith (rev.ed., Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1990) 535.
Gregory A.Boyd, and Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009) 280

Tentmaker Ministries Quotes About Hell http://www.tentmaker.org/Quotes/hellquotes.htm (accessed July 2,

2012)

Christians disagree over whether this punishment is eternal in duration or in consequence. That
is, when the Bible speaks of eternal destruction, does it mean rebels will eternally suffer a
process of destruction, or does it mean that once rebels are destroyed, it is eternal (namely,
permanent, irreversible)?4

What is Hell?
The Bible tells us that God created hell, preparing it in part for the devil and his angels, and that
Satan will one day end up there. 5 So we see from the beginning hell wasnt created for people,
once sin came into the picture all bets where off. It all came down to choice. The bible tells us in
plain english to choose for yourself whom you will serve. Joshua 24:15 (NKJV). Hell is a place
where real people will suffer real punishment for a real eternity.6 Hell has been given several
names such as Sheol, Hades, Tartarus, and Geheena. Sheol is known as the place of the dead
or more specifically, the place of the unrighteous dead according to the Hebrew bible.7
Hades is a Greek noun used 61 times in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint) to translate the
Hebrew term she ol, which refers to the grave or the realm of the dead8 Tartarus was regarded
by the ancient Greeks as that abiding place where rebellious gods and other wicked ones were
punished. Its only New Testament use is in 2 Peter 2.49 The New Testament uses Gehenna to
speak of the place of final punishment. In Gehenna worms are constantly at work in a fiery
environment that burns forever (Mark 9:48) Only God can commit people to Gehenna.10

4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Gregory A.Boyd, and Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009) 281.
Boice, Montgomery, James, Foundations of the Christian Faith (Downers Grove, Inter Varsity Press, 1986) 173.
Towns, Elmer Theology for Today: (Belmont, Wadsworth Group 2002) 809
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Hell (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1482
Ibid 699
Ibid 745
Ibid 631

Yet with all these descriptions this is still not enough to convince people of the realization of
hell. As the debate about hell continues there are many people who will argue you and down
because they believe that there is no such place as hell. As I stated in the introduction many
people have a problem with a God of love condemning people to such a deplorable place like
hell. However there are others who feel that once you die thats it, theres no heaven or hell.
Nevertheless, regardless of what people may think, hell is a real place where the unbelievers will
spend eternity. The bible talks of such a place as hell and gives very vivid descriptions of hell.
Matthew 25:41 - describes hell as everlasting fire in verse 46, hell is described as everlasting
punishment. Matthew 8:12 - hell is described as outer darkness. 2 Thessalonians 1:9- hell is
described as everlasting destruction and in Revelation 19:20- hell is described as the lake of fire.
I want to make it very clear that God doesnt get pleasure in condemning people to hell. 2 Peter
3:9- states that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance
Every one will be given the chance to accept Christ as their personal savior so that you can spend
eternity in heaven.

The Classical View

There are several things I would like to point out regarding the Classical View. First, I believe
that the Classical View appears to hold closely to the biblical view of hell as defined by
Christianity. It has already been established from this view that hell is a place of unending
torment for the wicked. Unending is defined as having or seeming to have no end, lasting
forever 11 Hell is an everlasting place with no end. Hell is not some place where the unbelievers
will go and party for the rest of eternity. Hell is a place where all unbelievers will be cast into

11

Merriam Webster Dictionary Online Dictionary http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unending?

show=0&t=1341355848 (accessed July 3,2012)

the lake of fire, where they will be tormented for all eternity. 12 Isaiah 5:14 tells us that hell
has enlarged itself and open its mouth beyond measure. Those that think that there will be
overcrowding in hell need not worry; there will be plenty of room for the non-believers.
Secondly, according to this view the wicked will be conscious and aware of what is happening
around them. We all know that when a person gets burned or dies from fire there is excruciating
pain. So if a person is aware of their surroundings when in hell then this signifies that they are
still alive. The fire God has prepared for hell is fire that will not consume the body but it will
torment the body forever. Luke 16:23 - talks about the rich man being in torment in Hades and
asking for something to drink. The rich man was so thirsty that he wanted water from the tip of
Lazaruss finger to cool his tongue. Its bad enough that you are being tormented by fire but not
being able to drink anything is as Elmer Towns describes thirst is one of the most painful
sensations known by man13 On the cross Jesus complained of thirst and they gave him a sponge
filled with sour wine, and put it on hyssop John 19:28-29. In hell you will not even get sour
wine. Also while in hell the unbelievers will have their memory and for all eternity they will
remember the times when they had the opportunity to accept Christ but they chose to reject him.
In Luke 16:25-31 we once again find the rich man whose already in hell and Abraham telling the
rich man to remember how in his lifetime he had no compassion for Lazarus so in hell there is no
compassion. The scripture goes on even further to say that the rich man wanted someone to go
tell his five brothers so they would not end up in hell. Sounds like someone has his memory
while in hell. One of the clearest passages on the unending nature of hell is Matthew 25:31-46.

12

La Haye, Tim and Hindson, Ed. The Certainty of Eternal Punishment for Unbelievers, The Popular
Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy, (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2004), 96.
13
Towns, Elmer Theology for Today: (Belmont, Wadsworth Group 2002) 832

Here Jesus acts as King on the Day of Judgment. Those who know Christ will be given eternal
life (v.34), while those who do not know him will be condemned to eternal punishment. (.46) 14
Finally we read in Matthew 22:13-that there will be outer darkness and weeping and gnashing of
teeth. On several occasions Jesus used the expression weeping and gnashing of teeth to
describe the personal anguish of individuals in hell15 It is my belief that the unbelievers are
weeping because they have come to the realization that they made a bad decision of not choosing
Christ. And because of the pain they are in they are gnashing their teeth together. When Jesus
used darkness to describe hell, He was emphasizing the dual nature of suffering in that place.
The victim would be cut off from the light, the place of blessing and fulfillment. They would be
victimized by darkness and all that it implies negatively. 16

The Annihilationist View

The Annihilationist View contradicts the Classic View. The Annihilationist Views argues that
the traditional view (The Classical View) resulted from people reading the Bible with pagan
philosophical presuppositions.17 The Annihilationist believes that the wicked will go to hell but
they will not endure eternal damnation. They believe that once the wicked is committed to hell
the fire will annihilate them and the suffering will be over. This view also believe that an all
loving God will not allow anyone to suffer because this goes against the message of Gods love.
The Annihilationist believes that God will justly punish the sinner for their sin and he will not
allow them into heaven. However they believe God will mercifully annihilate them so that they
14

Gregory A.Boyd, and Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009) 282.

15

La Haye, Tim and Hindson, Ed. The Certainty of Eternal Punishment for Unbelievers, The Popular
Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy, (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2004), 136.
16
17

Towns, Elmer Theology for Today: (Belmont, Wadsworth Group 2002) 830
Gregory A.Boyd, and Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009) 286.

will not endlessly endure what the traditional view says they will endure.18 The Annihilationist
View is based on four major Biblical considerations: (1) the punishment of sin is death, (2) the
language of destruction of the wicked (3) the moral implications of eternal torment, and (4) the
cosmological implications of eternal torment.19 The Annihilationist uses various scriptures from
the Old Testament to back their view of total annihilation. Scriptures such as Deut 29:20 where
it talks about the Lord blotting out the name of the sinner from the book of life, verse 23 where
God says he will destroy the people and the land just like he did Sodom and Gomorrah. Psalm
1:6- God says the wicked will perish, Psalm 2:9-the wicked will be dashed to pieces like a
potters vessel. The Lords plan for evildoers is to cut off the remembrance of them from the
earth. Evil brings death to the wicked. 20 Norman Geisler, addresses the issue of annihilation by
saying, destruction does not mean annihilation, or it would not have been been termed as
everlasting destruction. Logic suggests that everlasting destruction is only feasible under
everlasting existence. Additionally, death does not refer to annihilation, but rather to separation,
as in the sting of sin, or as Ephesians 2:1 states, dead in sin. Perdition does not speak of
annihilation either, as it means to perish or to be ruined by sin.21 This is what makes the gospel
seem so difficult to grasp because whenever the scriptures dont line up to the views of a
particular group they will do everything in their power to confuse others. There are other groups
who hold to the Annihilationist View. Groups such as the Jehovahs Witnesses and The Seven
Day Adventist also hold to this view. They both teach a doctrine known as soul sleep.
The doctrine of soul sleep is the belief that after a person dies; their soul goes to sleep during
the intermediate state until the final resurrection and judgment of God before they enter their
18

Ibid 290
Bacchiocchi, Samuele. Hell; Eternal torment or annihilation? College and University Dialogue,
http://dialogue.adventist.org/articles/10_3_bacchiocchi_e.htm (accessed July 6,2012)
20
Gregory A.Boyd, and Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), 288.
21
Geisler, Norman, L, A Popular Survey of the New Testament: (Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2008), 229
19

eternal destiny of either heaven or hell.22 Even with this belief the Jehovahs Witnesses still
believe that if a person goes to hell they will be annihilated. This view is not biblical because as I
have stated through out this paper hell is for eternity and there will be pain and suffering.

Conclusion
It doesnt matter which view of hell you may believe. All that matter is hell is real and if you
refuse to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior you will end up there. The belief that an allloving God wouldnt condemn anyone to this type of suffering is a bad belief to have. Paul
teaches that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life Romans 6:23. This is
constant with Jesus teaching that those who try to find life apart from God end up losing it.
Matthew 10:39.23 God doesnt want any to perish but he does desire that we accept him and turn
away from our sinful lives. Hell is a place of constant torment, outer darkness, weeping and
gnashing of teeth. Its a place were Satan and his angels will take up permanent resident forever
and ever.

Bibliography

22

Halloran, Kevin. What is the Doctrine of Soul Sleep? Is it in the Bible? Unlocking The Bible,
http://www.unlockingthebible.org/what-is-the-doctrine-of-soul-sleep-is-it-in-the-bible (accessed July 6,2012)
23
Gregory A.Boyd, and Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), 290.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unending?show=0&t=1341355848 (accessed July

3, 2012).
Bacchiocchi, Samuele. Hell: Eternal torment or annihilation?
http://dialogue.adventist.org/articles/10_3_bacchiocchi_e.htm (accessed July 16, 2012).
Boice, Montgomery, James. Foundations of the Christian Faith. Downers Grove, Ill: Inter
Varsity Press, 1986.
Geisler, Norman, L. A Popular Survey of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books,
2008.
Halloran, Kevin. What is the Doctrine of Soul Sleep? Is it in the Bible? April 17, 2012.
http://ww.unlockingthebible.org/what-is-the-doctrine-of-soul-sleep-is-it-in-the-bible/ (accessed
July 6, 2012).
Hindson, Ed,Caner,Ergun. The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics. Eugene, OR: Harvest
House Publishers, 2008.
Holman Illustrated Bible dictionary. Nashville, TN: Holmad Bible Publishers, 2003.
"Tentmaker Ministries." Tentmaker. 2012. http://tentmaker.org/Quotes/hellquotes.htm (accessed
July 2, 2012).
Towns, Elmer. Theology for Today. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Group, 2002.