“Forever” In Scripture

Now let’s turn to several texts which, to some, seem to suggest an eternally-burning hell. Many believers find the idea of endless torment abhorrent, but see no way around it because of the way certain texts have been interpreted.

We have already seen that the “eternal punishment” Jesus speaks of in Matthew 25:46 is not unending burning, but “everlasting destruction” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). The punishment and its effect are indeed “everlasting”—they result in everlasting death.

Another scripture that troubles people is Matthew 25:41 where Jesus speaks of “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Doesn’t “eternal” here suggest hell is forever? Well, let’s examine the same phrase in other passages.

Jude 7 presents Sodom and Gomorrah “as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.” Obviously those cities aren’t still burning. But the fire WAS eternal in the sense that it resulted in permanent destruction. 2 Peter 2:6 clearly points out that the Eternal God “condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly.” The ungodly of Sodom and Gomorrah are not still in agony over in the Holy Land. The cities and their inhabitants were reduced to ashes long ago. And yet the fire that burned them is “eternal” in its consequences—permanent destruction. Remember the distinction: eternal means permanent punishment, not punishing.