I’ve tried my best to show that there are good, compelling, biblical arguments in favor of terminal punishment and that the eternal conscious torment view of hell, while possessing some biblical merit, is not the only clear way to interpret the biblical text.
In my previous post, I summarized some of the strongest biblical arguments in favor of terminal punishment. In this post, I want to summarize the best arguments for eternal conscious torment (ECT)—the traditional view of hell where the wicked will experience never-ending punishment. Let me begin with some of the weaker, though common, arguments that are often given for ECT.
In my previous post, I said that while I am not an “Annihilationist,” I do see enough biblical support for this position to qualify it as an Evangelical option. I have not yet had the time to clear my desk to engage in prayerful, thorough, painstaking exegesis to have landed on this position. But from what I have seen, there’s a good deal of sound, biblical arguments for it. Before we examine these, we need to know what it is we’re even talking about.
When I was nearing the end of Seminary back in 2002, I’ll never forget hearing that the great Evangelical leader John Stott was an “Annihilationist;” that is, he believed that hell does not consist of everlasting conscious torment. I remember thinking, “What? I thought that John Stott was a Christian?”
Francis Chan and I co-wrote this book back in 2011. Much of what we think about hell comes from presuppositions and tradition. So Francis and I were eager to figure out what the Bible actually says about hell, and this book is the fruit of our study. But we don't just look at verses and passages. We want to figure out how Christians should live in light of this difficult doctrine.
