There is No Way Out of Hell’s Fire Nor Any Relief For Those Sent There

Annihilationism is the doctrine that those who are sent to hell will cease to exist rather than suffer conscious eternal torment there. Teachers of Ultimate Reconciliation claim that some will go to the lake of fire for a certain period of time but eventually be rescued and restored to dwell in the house of the Lord forever. In examining how the Bible refutes the doctrine of Annihilation, it will be simultaneously demonstrated how it refutes the doctrine of Ultimate Reconciliation.

Jesus did not speak in vain when He spoke about a narrow gate that must be entered and a constricted, narrow way that must be followed in order to inherit eternal life; and when He spoke of a broad gate and a broad way which leads to destruction. He did not warn in vain of the need to be so severe in parting from sin in order to avoid the eternal fire of hell that He would liken this to plucking out an eye or cutting off a hand or a foot (see Mark 9:42-48). Hell’s fire will also obviously not be equally as horrible for all who are sent there (see Matthew 23:14). Romans 2:4-5 teaches that, in hardening their hearts and refusing to repent towards the true God, sinners store up yet more wrath for themselves on Judgment Day.

Some might argue for Annihilationism based upon certain passages regarding the wicked being destroyed by God’s judgment in this life. There is obviously still Judgment Day and eternal hell-fire on the other side for the wicked who die in their sins. The Bible even makes it clear that the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah’s was intended to preview the eternal fire of hell. Jude 7: “Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” I’ve heard someone contending for Annihilationism by noting that these cities are not still burning. Yet this is proof against Annihilationism. The truth that these cities are not still burning makes it obvious that Jude verse 7 is referring to the wicked people who were in these cities which are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Some use verses about the wicked just simply dying in general to contend for Annihilationism. One example here is Psalm 146:3-4: “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Rather than prove Annihilationism, this is saying that man shouldn’t be trusted over God because no man can deliver himself from death nor accomplish everything he wants to while living.

Echoing the same truths, we read in Ecclesiastes 9:5-6: “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” This is by no means excluding a judgment and consequences on the other side of death. The same book even concludes with a statement that there is indeed a future judgment and consequences on the other side of death. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

Many say that the Old Testament (or Tanakh) does not explicitly teach eternal punishment for the wicked- yet passages such as Isaiah 66:24 and Daniel 12:2-3 demonstrate that these are dead wrong. Is it reasonable to also conclude then that God intended the vast multitude of threats of His judgment right in the Law of Moses, and throughout the Old Testament (such as the following), to be understood as solid implications of eternal judgment on the wicked who rebel against His supreme authority. Psalm 73:18-20: “Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.”

Jesus also associated weeping and gnashing of teeth with being cast into hell’s fire at least seven times in the Gospel accounts. Matthew 25:31-46 demonstrates that each person will be sent to unending punishment or unending blessedness by Jesus after He returns. Revelation 14:9-13 shows that those who die in the Lord rest from their labors while the wicked who drink of the wrath of God are tormented and have no rest day nor night. Some say “no rest day nor night” is only for those who worship the beast and receive his mark at the very end of time. There is no warrant to make such a claim- especially with all the Bible evidence in the other direction considered. It is foolish to imply that God will be harder on those who die in sin at the hardest time to be faithful to Jesus than He would be on the wicked at other times.

Revelation 21:7-8 shows that the portion of those who don’t overcome is the lake of fire which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death. Revelation 22:12-15 shows that the wicked are put without the gates of the city (the New Jerusalem). They don’t cease to exist. Those condemned to the lake which burns with fire and brimstone will have already had their opportunity to repent and turn to Jesus Christ in order to follow His narrow way to eternal life which ends in salvation for His faithful disciples. Who can comprehend the regret which those who never turned to Him, and those which turned away from Him, will have on Judgment Day? Jeremiah 8:20: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”