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WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE UNSAVED? 
AFTERLIFE OPTIONS: ALIVE OR DEAD
I believe the Bible teaches that only people God saves will have eternal life (John 3:16, John 5:24, Roman 6:6-7, 1 John 5:13, John 3:36, 1 Timothy 1:16, John 17:3, John 6:47)

The rest will have the opposite, which would be the lack of eternal life, which would basically mean being dead forever. To say that somebody will suffer conscious torment in hell for ever is equal to saying that they are eternally alive. For consider this, if an object can see, think, feel, hear, and talk. Would you not say it has life? To say the unsaved will think, feel, see, hear, and talk in a place of torment in the afterlife forever is to assign to them the attributes of life.

The Bible teaches that the unsaved are headed for destruction:
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it." (Matthew 7:13)

"These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, " (2 Thessalonians 1:9)

If somebody is destroyed and eternally dead how can they, think, feel, hear, speak, etc.?

DESTRUCTION OR TORMENT?
What purpose would it serve God to keep the unsaved alive in torment? Would that bring God pleasure? God created us for his own pleasure (Revelation 4:11). The Bible says God doesn't even have pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11). Then how much less pleasure would God have in the eternal torment of the unsaved?

Does God have the power to destroy people into a state of non-existence? Scripture seems to say it is very much possible, for Jesus said:
"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

ETERNAL PUNISHMENT
If you cease to exist for ever, that is an everlasting punishment. So I do not reject “Everlasting Punishment”, I just believe the punishment of non-existence will never be undone in the future. Also when the Bible speaks of “everlasting fire”, the description of “eternal” or “everlasting” does not describe the duration of the suffering in the fire as lasting for eternity, but rather the attribute of eternal is given to the fire itself. More on this later.

IS ETERNAL TORMENT CORE TO THE GOSPEL?
Sadly, some who believe in eternal torment consider rejecting that idea an obstacle to fellowship. Personally I don't think eternal conscious torment in hell forever can be considered a core doctrine. The Bible says to avoid divisive people, I don’t think Christians should be divisive on this matter. Personally I enjoy fellowship with anybody that loves Jesus and seeks His kingdom regardless of their views about the afterlife.

I would class as a dangerous "heresy" any doctrine that adds or removes something from the core gospel message. Is eternal torment a core part of the gospel message? Consider these:

Was eternal torment mentioned by Paul in his letters that make up about a quarter of the New Testament? If Paul did not mention it, wouldn't that mean he failed to present the gospel in his writings if eternal torment was part of the gospel?

Does the gospel of John mention hell or eternal torment? Does the gospel of John contain the gospel or not since it doesn't mention eternal torment or hell?

Consider all the sermons in the book of acts, they don't mention a place called hell nor eternal torment. Do all the sermons in the book of Acts fail to present the gospel?

I don’t deny the existence of hell, I just believe it is a temporary place of the dead, and will one day cease to exist after it is thrown in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14).

JUSTICE OF GOD
In the law of Moses, the severity of a punishment was limited by the severity of the crime committed, an eye for an eye, etc. (Exodus 21:24-30, Leviticus 24:20-21, Deuteronomy 19:21). According to this judicial logic which God Himself established and authorized, to be guilty of eternal suffering, you must have inflicted eternal suffering on somebody. But that is impossibility!

We would expect a God of supreme justice would announce the cost of sinning to His children before they sinned, and that is exactly what God did! He made it clear in Genesis that eating the forbidden fruit would cause death. God did not say they might suffer never ending torment. Eternal torment is infinitely worse than death! Surely God would have given a warning of such a possibility! Could it be that God didn't warn Adam and Eve of eternal torment because it was not an alternative he would ever consider?

GOD’S PERFECT PLAN
In the beginning God's plan was for a perfect world without suffering. What God wills he will make come to pass. In a perfect world there cannot be any humans being tortured alive forever.

Was God's plan in the beginning for there to be no suffering? Has God's plan changed? Suffering and sorrow did not exist before sin polluted creation, therefore they will no longer plague any corner of creation after the world has been restored into perfect harmony with God. If any suffering or sorrow could be found anywhere in the future perfect world, it would be less glorious than the perfect world was in the beginning.

God is perfect, everything He does is perfect, His plans are perfect and whatever He sets to do He will accomplish perfectly. Would a perfect plan allow for even a single person to be tormented for eternity?

God has said in the Scriptures "Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand" (Isaiah 14:24),

God's plans don't change. He will fulfil his original plan of a perfect world with no suffering. The writer of Acts talks about: "the times of restitution of all things" (Acts 3:21). The word "restitution" means to restore to a former state. So it would seem logical to assume the world will one day be restored to the way God planned it to be. Nobody was suffering in the beginning, so nobody can be in the end.

COUNTER ARGUMENTS
Revelation 20:10 is one Scripture that many use to support the doctrine of eternal torment. But when looking at the underlying Greek text, it easy to see that it is not a solid foundation at all. For example one of the most literal English Bible translations reads as follows:

"and the Devil, who is leading them astray, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where [are] the beast and the false prophet, and they shall be tormented day and night -- to the ages of the ages." Revelation 20:10
(Youngs Literal Translation.)

From this the duration of torment can be understood to be until the ages of the ages. The beginning of an era of time that will eclipse all past ages of time. Regardless of this, parables and prophetic books are generally avoided for building a foundation for a doctrine. More solid Scriptures for building foundations for Christian doctrine are for example the writings of Paul.

Many use the parable if the rich man and Lazarus to teach eternal torment. See this article for commentary on that: https://www.truth.info/future/rich-man.and.lazarus.parable.htm

Jesus often used an expression  "Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth" (Matthew 8:12, 13:42, 13:50, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30, Luke 13:28). This is often thought to be a description of a place of eternal torment, but throughout the Old Testament this kind of language was used to describe the sorrow and anguish that accompanied times of judgment when God rejected his people because they had rejected Him (Isaiah 22:12, Isaiah 16:9, Jeremiah 9:1, Jeremiah 48:32), the book of Lamentations is full of such lamenting. The expression "gnashing of teeth" is usually used to describe the one attacking the victim (Job 16:9, Psalm 35:16, Psalm 37:12, Lamentations 2:16, Acts 7:54). Imagine you find a wild animal has made a home on your property and you take hold of it to remove it from your land, it will likely make sounds of anguish and gnash at you with its teeth. Likewise, people that have refused to trust and be tamed by the gentle hand of God will eventually be banished from the land of the living for all eternity, and there will be anguish and gnashing of teeth when this process takes place.

ETERNAL FIRE:
God at times has punished wickedness on the earth, for example He flooded the earth in Noah's day. The Bible says that the wicked city of Sodom suffered "the vengeance of ETERNAL fire." (Jude 1:7). Yet Scripture states it was an event that happened "...as in a moment" (Lamentations 4:6). Therefore, when the words "eternal" and "punishment" are found together in the scriptures, we cannot conclude that the word "eternal" speaks of duration of the punishment. The fire is described as eternal, not the duration of the punishment. When the Bible says some will be punished with eternal fire, it is not saying they will be punished eternally with fire.

Scripture says God is eternal (1 Timothy 6:15-16, Psalm 93:2), and God is also described as an all consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24, Deuteronomy 9:3, Hebrews 12:29). So it reasonable to deduce that God and the eternal fire are connected. Scripture says the wicked will be destroyed by the brightness of His coming: "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:" (2 Thessalonians 2:8)

In the Old Testament at times fire came out from before the Lord to consume offerings (Leviticus 9:24, 1 Kings 18:38). When Israel displeased God with their complaining, the fire of the Lord burnt among them, consuming some (Numbers 11:1). And Fire also came from the Lord at one time consuming 250 men (Numbers 16:35). God's fiery presence appeared to Moses in a burning bush, that was not consumed (Exodus 3:2).

So it would seem in God's presence we find the eternal fire, in its presence we will experience either something good or bad, depending on what we are made of, just as Daniels friends survived being thrown into the fiery furnace, while the same fire killed the kings servants that had thrown them in (Daniel 3:20-25). So it may be when the presence of God is made manifest on the earth, some will be consumed while others will not only survive, but shine and bask in the glory.

In the New Testament, we read John the Baptist prophesied that Jesus would baptise people with Holy Spirit and fire. (Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16) In the book of Acts we read how on Pentecost God's presence fell like fire from heaven (Acts 2:3). Jesus often spoke of the fiery judgement of God (Matthew 3:12, Matthew 7:19, Matthew 13:40-50, Matthew 18:8-9, Matthew 25:41, Mark 9:44-49, Luke 3:9, Luke 3:17, John 15:6) Jesus even said everyone will be salted with fire (Mark 9:49) Jesus said He had come to send fire on the earth (Luke 12:49).

Jesus spoke of some being thrown into a "furnace of fire" (Matthew 13:41-42, Matthew 13:50). To the Jewish audience to whom Jesus was speaking the word "furnace" would have reminded them of Old Testament Scriptures that used  the term "furnace" to describe temporary earthly trials and afflictions such as slavery (Deuteronomy 4:20, 1 Kings 8:51, Jeremiah 11:4, Isaiah 31:9, 48:10, Ezekiel 22:18-22).

God told the captive Jews in Babylon that He had refined them and chosen them "in the furnace of affliction" (Isaiah 48:10). Being slaves in Egypt was spoken of as being in an iron furnace (Jeremiah 11:4). But God brought them "out of the furnace" (Deuteronomy 4:20, 1 Kings 8:51). Scripture speaks of God's furnace being in Jerusalem (Isaiah 31:9). In Ezekiel, God declared that the house of Israel had become dross and He would gather them into the midst of Jerusalem, and melt it there (Ezekiel 22:18-22). At a time when Israel had become more wicked than her neighbouring countries, God used the image of hair being cast into fire to describe the destruction of Israel by the Babylonians (Ezekiel 5:4-5).

Jesus spoke of a time at the end of the "age" when His angels (messengers) would gather out of his kingdom all the wicked and cast them into a "furnace of fire". In light of the Old Testament Scriptures already mentioned, can we say Jesus is referring to a spiritual furnace for souls to be tormented? or was Jesus warning his audience of a future earthly event that would result in great affliction and sorrow? Could Jesus warnings about the "furnace of fire" be talking about the destruction of the Jewish nation which took place only decades later, when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD.

HISTORY:
The idea that the unsaved will not suffer for ever is not a modern idea. It was already popular among Anabaptists in the 1500s, that is partly why they were persecuted by the Catholics, and Lutherans. The Lutheran Augsburg Confession of 1530, states in article 17: "They condemn the Anabaptists, who think that there will be an end to the punishments of condemned men and devils".

SUMMARY:
I think there are very clear Scriptures about the destruction of the unsaved. Whereas the eternal torment of the unsaved has no solid foundation when digging deeper.
In summary I believe our almighty Saviour Jesus Christ is able and willing to fulfil the unchanging glorious plans of God for a perfect world without suffering and without end.
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Brought to you by Terje Ronneberg
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