This is not a fun topic, but nonetheless important. Jesus teaches that final judgment includes a real and eternal separation between the righteous and the wicked, and this punishment is not temporary but everlasting, eternal, and perpetual. In Matthew 25:46, Jesus states, “These (people) will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” He uses the same word (aiōnios, “eternal”) to describe both destinies, indicating equal duration. This theme is found elsewhere in the New Testament, presenting hell as conscious, ongoing punishment/torment for those (goats) who don’t have the Holy Spirit, while eternal life is granted as a free gift to those (sheep) who have the Holy Spirit. Those who have the Holy Spirit aren’t perfect by any means, but because of their simple faith in Jesus, their multitude of sins have been removed from their account by the blood of Jesus only.
It should be noted that God won’t be doing any tormenting; He simply declares a final judgment and sends unbelievers to the spiritual location that is devoid of everything good, godly, and holy. The Lord will be totally distant and totally negligent toward the unrighteous for eternity and will uphold the word of His final judgment forever.
2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
- Heaven is an everlasting spiritual location (better than we can imagine)
- This Earth is a temporary physical location
- Hell is an everlasting spiritual location (worse than we can imagine)
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Matthew 25:46, Mark 9:48, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Revelation 14:11