The most important reason why we know for certain that hell is eternal is because Jesus said it in Matthew 25:41 and 46. God the Father also said it is in Isaiah 34:10. Twenty-three other authors of the Bible wrote about hell as well. Fourteen of them said it was eternal. That list includes Job, Jonah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, David, Peter, Paul, Jude, John the Baptist, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And at least 28 of the greatest church fathers and leaders believe in an eternal hell, as well as many of the most respected commentaries and dictionaries.
The next reason is that our sin against God is deserving of eternal punishment. We must consider whom we have sinned against. This is not just another human being, but the eternal, omnipotent, Almighty God. We have to realize that the greater the one sinned against, the graver the sin. If someone kills a dog or cat, it would deserve some amount of punishment. However, if they kill a person it would deserve a much greater punishment. God is an infinite being therefore sin deserves an infinite punishment.
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Reason number three is that eternal punishment is fair and just. You might think that an eternity of punishment is unfair for sins committed for only a lifetime. You may say that the crime doesn’t fit the punishment. Time is the wrong premise for three reasons:
1. Time spent in hell would represent works. It would be saying that a person paid off their sins with time. The Bible says that we cannot pay off our sins but only by grace (Eph. 2:8-9). We cannot work off our sins.
2. The time it takes to commit a crime has nothing to do with the duration of punishment. It may only take seconds to commit murder, but the punishment should not last only seconds! Even if we sin for only our life span, it is still deserving of eternal punishment because of God’s eternal nature that we’ve sinned against.
3. Our time is not valuable enough to pay the penalty for sin. Only the blood of Jesus is the supreme value necessary (Heb. 9:22).
The fourth reason we know hell is eternal is the word used in the bible does in fact mean eternal. Some scholars and teachers say that the word eternal means a limited period of time. Not true. The word used for eternal is the Greek word Aionios. It is also used to describe the existence of God the Father, of Jesus, of the Holy Spirit, of heaven, the throne of God, the Gospel, the covenant, and our salvation. If the definition of eternal means a limited period, then God only exists for a limited period of time. Jesus said in Matthew 25:41, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” He told us hell is eternal and prepared for the devil and men would go to the same place as the devil.
The final reason we know hell is eternal is because there are limits to God’s mercy. Many people think God is only love, and He will always tolerate sin. That is incorrect. God is also just and a God of judgment. Proverbs 11:21 says “The wicked shall not go unpunished” and Job 36:17 reads, “But you are filled with the judgment due the wicked; Judgment and justice take hold of you.” You might think you are a pretty good person but is that how God sees you? The Bible says, “there is none good, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10, 12).
If you have rejected Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior then you are His enemy. God loves you and will strive with you to help lead you toward salvation but you are nevertheless His enemy. Ignoring His offer of salvation is rejecting it.
It doesn’t matter if you think an eternal hell is unfair. God’s Word is what matters and He has said hell is eternal. If you still don’t believe hell is eternal, then you call God and Jesus Christ a liar. That will be an unwise decision at judgment day.
Bill Wiese is the author of New York Times best selling book, 23 Minutes In Hell, the story of his life-changing visit to hell in 1998. Bill has since authored six additional book titles, and continues to share his experience around the world. He and his wife Annette founded Soul Choice Ministries in late 2006 and have dedicated their lives to reaching the unsaved. For more information about Bill Wiese and Soul Choice Ministries please visit us at: https://soulchoiceministries.org/.
You can find more of Bill’s teachings at: https://www.youtube.com/user/BillWieseTV.
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