Is Hell Eternal?

While many try to argue away this point, the Bible clearly states that hell is eternal. Those who would attempt to teach or promote otherwise will be gravely mistaken.

If we do not believe in an eternal hell, we call Jesus a liar because He spoke of hell in 46 separate verses.

It may be surprising to know that many people give little thought to the afterlife. So many today ignore the warnings of a place of torment. Hell is real and many people are going there. Why? Because there is no other place that exists for people to go who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Maybe these same people would give more attention to this topic if they understood that hell is eternal. The torment and fear that awaits these desperate souls will never end.

Many people cannot reconcile a loving God with a God that will allow people to suffer in hell for eternity. We have to understand that God is not just loving, but He is also just, holy and righteous. He says that our sin is deserving of eternal punishment. Romans 7 explains, “Our sin is exceedingly sinful to God.” It deserves eternal punishment.

It took an eternal God, Jesus Christ, to pay for our eternally deserved sin. Time would never suffice to pay for our sin. If God were to let someone out of hell after a few hundred years, where would He put them? He can’t take people to heaven in our fallen nature because Revelation 21:27 says, “He’ll let nothing into heaven that defiles or corrupts.” We would make a mess of heaven if He let us in the way we are. He has to give us a new heart and a new spirit and that doesn’t come through time spent in Hell. It comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ. When we trust in what Jesus did on the cross, He considers our trust as if we were righteous, and He gives us a new heart and a new spirit. God has to give us a new nature and that doesn’t come through time or work.

The good news is that not one person has to go to hell. It’s our choice. People choose to reject the only provision for our sin, which is Jesus Christ. It’s not my opinion that matters but what the Bible says. What does it say? Here are just a few verses:

In Matthew 25:46 Jesus said, “These shall go away into everlasting life and these shall go into everlasting punishment.” He used the same word, everlasting, which is the word ionios. Just as heaven is everlasting, hell is also everlasting. You can’t change the definition or the meaning of the word because we know heaven is everlasting.

First Timothy 1:17 and Hebrews 5:9 speak of eternal salvation.

Revelation 14:6 speaks of the eternal gospel. The same word eternal is used about God, the Savior, our salvation and the gospel. You can’t change the definition of that word.

It says the same thing in John 5:29, Mark 16:16, Daniel 12:2, Acts 24:15, Matthew 13:30 and many other verses that point out hell is eternal.

Second Thessalonians 1:9 points out that those who obey not the gospel shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord. You have to exist to be away from His presence.

Hebrews 6:2 mentions eternal judgment. That’s one of the six foundational doctrines of the Bible.

Jude 7 describes eternal fire.

Revelation 14:10-11 says, “And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night.”

It is abundantly clear that people who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will be in hell suffering for all eternity. It’s a horrible thing to consider but remember that God has warned us. If hell is not eternal, Jesus would not have said, “It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

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.