Well, okay, so maybe it's not the last word on hell, but this post represents the final remarks by both Chris Date and Jerry Shepherd. I want to extend my thanks to both contributors for their tireless attention to the biblical text and, most of all, their devotion to the Author of the text. I've learned much from this dialogue and have appreciated the cordial, yet direct, tone in which it was handled. 

This is Chris Date's second rebuttal to Jerry Shepherd's presentation of eternal conscious torment. Here are Jerry's FIRST, SECOND, and THIRD posts. Chris's first two posts can be found HERE and HERE. We'll wrap things up next week with a short conclusion by both Chris and Jerry. ABUSING THE ANALOGY OF FAITH Jerry leaves unaddressed the vast majority of the texts

Jerry Shepherd offers his second rebuttal to Chris Date's argument for the annihilation view of hell. Jerry focuses on the apocalyptic language of the book of Revelation and the statements that refer to the wicked being tormented forever. 

We continue our discussion on the duration of hell. Here's Jerry Shepherd's response to Chris Date's initial essay. My thanks to Chris for his well-articulated initial essay. I will, however, now attempt to “destroy” his arguments, though, of course,

My thanks to Preston Sprinkle for inviting me to participate in this exchange with Chris Date. And also my thanks to Chris for his expressed desire, which is mine as well, to have a very amicable discussion. This should actually not be hard, inasmuch as I have already gotten to know the heart of my brother through our communications the past few days. And besides, he’s Reformed. How could we not get along?!

As many of you know, I’ve been wrestling with the concept of hell for quite some time. It started back in 2011, when Francis Chan and I wrote Erasing Hell, which explored and defended the traditional view that hell is irreversible.