What is…
eternal death

also known as: the second death, eternal separation from God, eternal judgment, eternal punishment, eternal wrath, eternal destruction, eternal fire

Introduction

Eternal death is the miserable fate of the wicked in Hell.

[they are] …guilty of an eternal sin… —Mark 3:29 NASB

[they face]…eternal judgment… —Hebrews 6:2 NASB

These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power —2 Thess. 1:9 NASB

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. —Matthew 25:46 NASB

…He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angelsMatthew 25:41 NASB

…cast into the eternal fireMatthew 18:8 NASB

punishment of eternal fireJude 1:7 NASB

Unending

Scripture clearly teaches the unending duration of the penal sufferings of the lost; it is “everlasting,” “eternal.” The same Greek words in the New Testament (aion, aionios, aidios) are used to express…

  1. …the eternal existence of God (1 Timothy 1:17; Romans 1:20; 16:26)

  2. …of Christ (Rev. 1:18)

  3. …of the Holy Ghost (Hebrews 9:14)

  4. …the eternal duration of the sufferings of the lost (Matthew 25:46; Jude 1:6-7).

Their condition after casting off the mortal body is spoken of in these expressive words: “Fire that shall not be quenched” (Mark 9:45-46), “fire unquenchable” (Luke 3:17), “the worm that never dies,” the “bottomless pit” (Rev. 9:1), “the smoke of their torment ascending up for ever and ever” (Rev. 14:10-11).

See: the curse of DEATH—the first death and the seond death

Annihilation?

At death, do people just wink out and simply cease to exist? Certainly not. The human soul is an eternal. The idea that the “second death” (Rev. 20:14) is, in the case of the wicked, their absolute destruction, their annihilation, has not the slightest support from Scripture, which always represents their future as one of conscious suffering—enduring forever.

Restoration?

The supposition that God will ultimately secure the repentance and restoration of all sinners is equally unscriptural. There is not the slightest trace in all the Scriptures of any such restoration. Sufferings of themselves have no tendency to purify the soul from sin or impart spiritual life.

The atoning death of Christ and the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit are the only means of divine appointment for bringing men to repentance. Now, in the case of them that perish, these means have been rejected, and “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26-27).

About Hell and damnation

Also see

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Eternal LIFE

Article Version: February 1, 2022