In the traditional view of Hell, Hell is a place of eternal conscious torment (ECT), in which the damned will continue to exist forever in a state of suffering. Recently, an alternative view of Hell, known as annihilationism, has become increasingly popular. According to annihilationism, the damned will be annihilated and completely cease to exist. It is undeniable that Scripture teaches there will be some period of suffering experienced by the damned in Hell, but annihilationists argue that this will be temporary, and that the damned will eventually be destroyed.
Arguments for Annihilationism
One argument annihilationists use to argue against the idea of Hell as ECT is that, if one really thinks about what it entails, the idea of ECT is so utterly horrific and disturbing that it cannot possibly be true. But this is an emotional, rather than a logical argument. Hell as ECT is certainly horrific and disturbing. But this does not necessarily mean that it is not true. There are many horrific and disturbing truths.
Another argument annihilationists use to argue against the idea of Hell as ECT is that an infinite amount of suffering in Hell is a disproportionate (and therefore unjust) amount of punishment for whatever finite number of sins any human being could commit during their earthly life. But how can we know for certain this is true? Many advocates of the traditional view of Hell argue that any sin against an infinite God is an infinite offense, and therefore deserving of infinite punishment. Alternatively, some advocates of the traditional view of Hell argue that the damned will continue to sin in Hell, and therefore continue to merit additional punishment forever. Both of these arguments seem plausible responses to this objection.
Another argument annihilationists use to argue against the idea of Hell as ECT is that people who are resurrected to eternal life in God’s new creation could not possibly be perfectly happy knowing that there are other people, possibly including people they love and care about, being tormented in Hell at the same time; if ECT is true, then it would ruin the Heavenly bliss of the saved. But how do we know that the saved will ever spend time thinking about those who are damned? Even if they do, it is not clear that a finite amount of sorrow that might be felt over the sufferings of those in Hell could actually decrease the infinite joy the redeemed will experience in God and His perfect new creation. In any case, if the saved would experience sorrow over the fate of the suffering damned in Hell, then, if annihilationism were true, we would also have to say that the saved would experience sorrow over the fate of the damned who have been annihilated in Hell. So, it is not clear that affirming annihilationism would actually solve this problem.
Another argument annihilationists use to argue against the idea of Hell as ECT is that, if ECT is true, then sin, suffering, and rebellion against God will exist forever, and so God’s victory over evil will never actually be complete. This is the one argument in favor of annihilationism that actually seems to have some significant force. On the ECT view, God brings His creation to the perfection He always intended for it, except for one part of it (presumably cordoned off in some alternate dimension), which continues to be sinful and evil. This idea of evil continuing to exist for all eternity seems very theologically awkward and untidy. Annihilationism thus does seem to some extent more theologically coherent than the ECT view.
Annihilationism and Scripture
There are, of course, many references to Hell in the New Testament. But most of these references actually provide no support to the idea of ECT. In His story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) Jesus depicts the wicked rich man as being in agony in flames after his death. However, Jesus never states that the rich man’s torment will be never ending. Several times, Jesus states that those condemned at the Final Judgment will be thrown into a place where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth,” but He never says that these torments will last forever (Matt 8:12, 13:42, 50, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30; Luke 13:28). Jesus refers to the wicked being cast into “Hell” (Greek: Gehenna) numerous times (Matt 5:22, 29-30, 10:28, 18:9, 23:33; Mark 9:43-7, Luke 12:15), but He never actually states that they will experience ECT there (Gehenna was Jerusalem’s garbage dump. Jesus is basically saying that the damned will be thrown out with the trash, which could be consistent with either an ECT or an annihilationist view). Jesus does say that “the fire never goes out” in Hell (Mark 9:43), but this is perfectly consistent with the idea that the damned will eventually be burned up and destroyed by Hell’s fire.
There are some references in the New Testament to the damned experiencing “eternal” punishment or destruction (Matt 25:46, 2 Thess 1:9). However, it is possible to interpret “eternal” in these cases as meaning, not an eternal process of punishment/destruction, but a punishment/destruction that is eternal in its effect; the “second death” (Rev 21:8) of the wicked, unlike their first death, will completely destroy them forever. Some proponents of the ECT view counter that, if “eternal” life is eternal conscious bliss, then “eternal” death, in order to be parallel, must be eternal conscious torment. However, this does not necessarily follow. It is the very nature of life to cause someone to continue to live, while it is the very nature of death to cause someone to stop living. So, it could make sense to say that eternal life lasts forever, while eternal death causes someone to eventually stop existing.
In support of annihilationism, there is Jesus’s statement that God can “destroy [not torment eternally] both soul and body in hell” (Matt 10:28). Additionally, the apostle Paul states that the consequence of sin is death, not endless torment (Rom 5:12, 6:23), which supports the idea that the punishment of the damned will be death, not ECT. Some proponents of annihilationism also make a theological argument that, if Jesus paid the penalty for our sins by dying for us, rather than being tormented forever for us, then the punishment of the damned must also be death, rather than ECT. However, this argument can be countered by arguing that the infinite God dying for us paid an infinite penalty, so the punishment of the damned will also be the infinite penalty of ECT.
The strongest Scriptural support for the idea of ECT is found in references to Hell in the book of Revelation. First, there is a verse that states that the worshippers of the beast will be tormented, “and the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever” (Rev 14:11). At first glance, this seems to be a very clear and explicit reference to ECT. However, we should be cautious about taking the language of this verse literally. The prophet Isaiah claimed that Edom would be destroyed with fire, and “its smoke will rise forever” (Isa 34:10). Obviously, the destruction of Edom is not still going on today, nor is there literally smoke still rising from Edom today. Rather, the prophet Isaiah was using poetic, hyperbolic language in order to emphasize how complete and extreme the destruction of Edom would be. Elsewhere, the book of Revelation uses this same language to refer to the destruction of the city of Babylon: “the smoke from her goes up forever and ever” (Rev 19:3), which, again, should obviously be interpreted in a poetic, hyperbolic sense, not a literal sense. So, it is quite reasonable to interpret the language of “the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever” as poetic, hyperbolic language used to emphasize how complete and extreme the torment of the damned will be, rather than literal language that clearly supports the idea of Hell as ECT.
Second, there is a verse that states that the devil, the beast, and the false prophet will be “thrown into the lake of burning sulfur,” in which “they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev 20:10). Unlike Revelation 14:11, this verse does explicitly state that their torment, rather than merely the smoke arising from their torment, will last forever. Some argue that the Greek word aion used here could just mean a really long time rather than “forever,” since, elsewhere, aion sometimes has the meaning of “age.” However, there are many examples elsewhere in the New Testament of aion being used in a similar manner in which aion clearly means “forever.” That is the most natural reading here, especially with multiple uses of the word piled up for emphasis (“into the aions of aions”). The most natural reading of this verse is that those in the lake of burning sulfur will experience ECT. And since, elsewhere in Revelation, all of the damned (not just the devil, the beast, and the false prophet) are said to be cast into the lake of burning sulfur (Rev 21:8), this verse does support the idea that damned humanity will experience ECT.
Conclusion
Biblical support for the idea of Hell as ECT, then, is surprisingly slim (one verse, really), but it is there. There has also been a widespread consensus in support of the idea of Hell as ECT in the tradition of the Church, which is an additional point in its favor. On the other hand, annihilationism seems to make somewhat more theological sense, and there is arguably some biblical support for the idea that Hell will mean the annihilation of the wicked. So, it is difficult to say with confidence which view is correct. But certainly, annihilationism should be considered a biblically and theologically reasonable position to take regarding Hell, alongside the traditional ECT position. In either case, the point is that Hell is real, it is very bad, and we should do all that we can to avoid it and to influence others to do the same.