At the last Judgment a complete and eternal separation takes place between the ungodly and the godly. Matt. 25,46: “These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal ."
The fact that there will be an everlasting punishment may be deduced to some extent also from the natural knowledge which man has of divine things, Rom. 1,18—21. The knowledge of God’s judgment (δικαίωμαὶ) is a part of the divine Law which God has written in the human heart, Rom. 1, 32. On the basis of the Law, conscience condemns the sinful acts of man as transgressions, for which he is held accountable to God, Rom. 2,15; 1,20. 32. Hence also among the heathen we find a certain doctrine of an eternal retribution, though this, of course, is distorted by many fanciful speculations. (Cf. Christl. Dogmatik, III, 611 f.)
Holy Scripture teaches the doctrine of eternal damnation so clearly and definitely that only those can rightly deny it who reject the divine authority of God’s Word (cf. the doctrine of restitution, ἀποκατάστασις τῶν πάντων, παλιγγενεσία, τοϑρίϊειεϊο οπιπὶωπι). If any one presumes to reject the everlasting punishment (εἰς κόλασιν αἰώνιον), he must reject also the everlasting life (εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον), since both are placed side by side, indeed, in contrast to each other, Matt. 25, 46; John 3, 36.
While it is true that the term eternity is sometimes used in Scripture in the weakened sense of “long duration” (עַד-עוּלם, Ex. 12,14. 24; 21, 6, etc.), it is employed in its strict sense (sine fine) in all those passages where it describes either the blessedness of God’s saints in heaven or the misery of the damned in hell, 2 Thess. 1, 9; Matt. 18, 8; Mark 3, 29.
In addition, the endless duration of the agonies of the damned is clearly described in other unmistakable terms (Is. 66, 24; Mark 9, 48: “where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched”; Rev. 14,11: “The smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night”; Rev. 20,10: “And shall be tormented day and night forever and ever”).
The Augsburg Confession therefore justly condemns all who deny the eternal punishment of Satan and his followers when it writes (Art. XVII): “They condemn the Anabaptists, who think that there will be an end to the punishments of condemned men and devils.” Also the Apology declares (Art. XVII, Triglot, p. 335): “At the consummation of the world Christ shall appear and shall raise up all the dead and shall give to the godly eternal life and eternal joys, but shall condemn the ungodly to be punished with the devil without end (sine fine)."
If the objection is raised that the very idea of an eternal punishment is so dreadful that it cannot be true, we reply that it is not for finite man, but for the infinite God to determine the punishment of those who have rebelled against Him, Jude 6—8.
The argument that the idea of an eternal punishment is irreconcilable with divine love or with divine justice or with the unity of the divine “world-plan” (the final conversion of the penitent in hell and the annihilation of the impenitent) is based upon human speculation and not upon God’s Word, so that it is worthless, since God cannot be judged by our feeble sense, 1 Tim. 6, 16; Rom. 11, 33—36.
While the terms שאוּל and ἄδης may denote either the state of death or the grave, Ps. 16, 10; Acts 2, 27. 31, they properly signify “the place (ποῦν) in which the wicked suffer and in all eternity sustain the most miserable condition and ineffable tortures” (Gerhard). (Cp. Deut. 32, 22; Ps. 49, 14; Prov. 15, 24; Matt. 11, 23; Luke 10, 15; 16, 23; etc.)
Against the Russellites, who claim that neither שאוּל and ἄδης can mean hell in the sense of “the place of the damned,” we reply that we do not depend on these terms alone to prove the existence of hell, since the doctrine of an eternal punishment is otherwise clearly taught in Scripture (cp. γέεννα, Matt. 5, 22; Mark 9, 43. 44; Luke 12, 5).
The valley of Hinnom (Gehinnom) near Jerusalem, with its ceaselessly burning fires to consume the city offal, was surely a fitting symbol of the eternal hell-fire, “where their worm dieth not and their fire is not quenched.” It is certainly most impressive that our beloved Savior, who is Love (1 John 4, 8), Himself taught the eternal punishment of the damned so persistently and emphatically, Matt. 5, 29. 30; 10,28; 11,23; Luke 16,23. The eternal punishment of the damned is proved also by Christ’s descent into hell (τοῖς ἐν φυλακῇ πνεύμασιν... ἀπειϑήσασιν), 1 Pet. 3,18—20.
Upon the basis of clear Scripture-passages we teach that the form (forma), or essence, of the eternal damnation consists in everlasting banishment from divine grace and communion, or in the everlasting separation of the damned from God’s love and mercy, Matt. 25, 41; 8,12; 2 Thess. 1, 7—9. Originally man was created for communion with God, and in this alone he finds supreme happiness, John 17,20—23; Ps. 17,15; Matt. 11, 28f. Hence separation from God, the Supreme Good (summum bonum) and the only Source of every good and perfect gift, Jas. 1,17, in itself means suffering the greatest bodily and spiritual anguish.
Holy Scripture, moreover, very carefully describes the unspeakable sufferings of the damned as “tribulation and anguish” (Rom. 2, 9), “being in torments” (Luke 16, 23), “being tormented in this flame” (Luke 16,24), “being cast into unquenchable fire, where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9,43. 44), “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8,12), “wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 13, 50), etc. In short, Scripture employs the strongest terms to show that the sufferings of the damned in soul and body are the greatest conceivable. In fact, they surpass our feeble understanding, since they are both continuous and everlasting, the fire burning endlessly and yet not consuming, Mark 3,29.
While the suffering of the body in hell-fire will be extreme, the soul will be perpetually tortured with the sense of God’s wrath (sensus irae) and His eternal condemnation, Gal. 3,10, as also by the terrors of a fully awakened conscience (terrores conscientiae), Luke 16, 27. 28. Hollaz adds the pertinent remark that “the tortures of hell will befall the souls of the damned as soon as they have departed from the body,” i. e., in death, Luke 16, 23.
To describe the torments of the damned more accurately, our dogmaticians divide them into privative and positive sufferings. The privative sufferings include a) forfeiture of the beatific sight of God, Matt. 25, 41; b) separation from the communion of the blessed. Luke 16,26: c) exclusion from heavenly light, rest, and happiness, Matt. 8,12; d) entire denial of pity, divine and human, Luke 16, 25. 26; and e) complete lack of everything that might comfort them, Rev. 6,16.17.
The positive sufferings are both internal and external. The internal are the most inexplicable pains and tortures of the soul, Mark 9, 44, and the external, their association with devils, Matt. 25, 41, their everlasting confinement in a place of unspeakable sorrow. Matt. 25, 30; 1 Pet. 3,18—20, and their ceaseless torments in fire that burns, but does not consume, Luke 16,23. 24; Rev. 14, 10.11; 20,10.15.
Whether the fire of hell is material (real fire) or immaterial (unspeakable torment) does not matter, for even in its figurative meaning (Gerhard, Quenstedt) the term denotes indescribable anguish and agony. Is. 66, 24. Our dogmaticians rightly warn all curious minds that it is much more profitable to seek to escape the agony of hell than to argue concerning what the fire of hell may be (Gerhard).
Dr. Pieper aptly remarks that in hell there will be no atheists, since their torment in endless punishment will convince them of the existence of a righteous and omnipotent Judge, whose sovereignty must be recognized, Luke 16, 27. 28.
The question whether the damned in hell will continue in sin may be affirmed in the sense that their entire moral condition of reprobation (lack of faith, hope, and inward obedience) is a ceaseless state of transgression. To this we may add that the fire of hell is not cleansing (hell is no purgatory), but punitive, so that the damned will not be morally improved by it. Hence, if they do acknowledge God’s majesty, they will do so only under coercion in endless agony.
That the damned will actually blaspheme God is hardly probable, Luke 16, 27. 28. The passage Rev. 16,11 no doubt refers to men who blaspheme God on account of the tribulations of this present life.
That the punishments of hell differ in degree , according to the quality and measure of sin, Scripture teaches very plainly, Matt. 11,24; Luke 12,47; Matt. 23,15. The sin that will be punished most severely is that of malicious opposition to the Gospel of Christ, Matt. 11,16—24.
While on the basis of clear Scripture-passages we speak of hell as a place, Luke 16, 28; 1 Pet. 3,19, this must not be understood in a physical sense. Nor are we to determine where this place is, since Scripture does not give us any information on this matter. Hell may be said to be where God reveals to the damned His eternal punitive justice by banishing them from His gracious countenance (Pieper). Quenstedt quotes Chrysostom on this point, who says: “Let us not seek where it is, but how we may escape it.”
Hollaz concludes the whole matter with the fitting remark: “It is certain that the infernal prison is a real locality, Luke 16, 28; 1 Pet. 3,19, separated from the abode of the blessed, Rev. 22,15; Luke 16,23. It is also probable that it is outside this habitable world, 2 Pet. 3,10; Matt. 8,12; but where this place definitely is, is unknown to men during the present life.” (Doctr. Theol., p. 658.)
With respect to the cause of eternal damnation it is clear that, while every sin (both original, Eph. 2, 3, and actual, Ezek. 18, 20) is by its very nature (natura sua, ut stc, meritorie) damnable, 1 Cor. 5,11; Rev. 21, 8; Gal. 3,10, it is, in the final analysis, the sin of unbelief that actually condemns, John 3,16—18. 36; Mark 16, 16. Through His vicarious atonement (satisfactio vicaria) Christ has secured perfect reconciliation for all men with God, so that in Him every sinner in this world is absolved from all transgressions, 2 Cor. 5, 19—21 (objective justification). Hence a sinner is punished eternally only if he refuses to accept God’s gracious forgiveness by faith in Christ. This is an offense so great that it is rightly punished with everlasting damnation in hell.
However, if a sinner refuses to accept God’s gracious pardon in Christ Jesus, then both his original sin and his actual sins will also condemn him, since he can never atone for them, and so they are forever charged against him. It is for this reason that Scripture, on the one hand, ascribes eternal damnation to the sin of unbelief, John 3,18, and, on the other, also to all other sins, Eph. 5, 6; Gal. 5,19—21; 1 Cor. 6, 9.10; Rev. 22,15.
If we bear in mind the explanation just given, we shall neither minimize the vicarious atonement of Christ (by teaching work- righteousness) nor the condemnable character of human transgression (Rom. 6, 1: “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?”), but we shall trust the more in Christ Jesus, our divine Savior, and in the power of faith flee and combat sin, Rom. 6, 2, 11—15.
The purpose of Holy Scripture in revealing to us the doctrine of eternal damnation is to warn us against both unbelief (Mark 16,16) and carnal security (Matt. 26,41; 1 Cor. 10,12) and so to move us to seek Christ’s gracious salvation, offered to all men in the means of grace. The doctrine of eternal damnation is the severest kind of Law-preaching, and its object is repentance, Matt. 3, 7—12.
The warning, implied in the doctrine of everlasting punishment, is, however, meant not only for unbelievers, but also for believers inasmuch as they still are flesh (Matt. 8,11.12, addressed to “the children of the Kingdom”; 26, 24, addressed to Judas; 24,42—51, addressed to the disciples).
Mors tua, indicium postremum, gloria coeli,
Et dolor inferni sunt meditanda tibi.
While the doctrine of hell will never convert a soul, since the Law only “worketh wrath,” Rom. 4, 15, it is nevertheless “our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith,” Gal. 3, 24. Hence all preachers who deny the eternal punishment of the wicked are not “merciful theologians” (misericordes theologi), but the most cruel of all false prophets, who, instead of warning the sinner against his terrible doom, Ezek. 3, 17—19, do all in their power “to drown men in destruction and perdition,” 1 Tim. 6, 3—5. Christ and His holy apostles taught the doctrine of eternal retribution with great clearness and emphasis, Mark 9, 43 ff.; 2 TheBS. 2, 9, and their example every Christian preacher must follow as a faithful minister of Christ and a loyal steward of God’s mysteries, 1 Cor. 4,1. 2.
The doctrine of eternal damnation serves also to illustrate God’s righteous judgment over all transgressors, Rom. 2, 5. 6; 3,4. But since God earnestly desires that all men be saved (voluntas antecedcns), John 3, 16, it is only by His voluntas consequens, John 3,18. 36, that He exhibits and glorifies His righteous wrath and punishment.
The Calvinistic doctrine of a reprobation to hell “from eternity” is unscriptural. God never intended man for hell, but only for heaven, 1 Tim. 2, 4—6.
The doctrine of eternal damnation is denied by the Restorationists, who teach that the future punishment is not retributive, but remedial and will result in the salvation of all men and, as some hold, of the evil angels. (Restitution of all things; ἀποκατάστασις; second probation). Likewise it is denied by the Annihilationists, who teach that the wicked will be completely destroyed either at the Judgment or later. Both errors are opposed to the clear statements of Scripture.