There remains one further principal reason for questioning the ‘forever’ interpretation of ‘aionios’ when considering Jesus’ descriptions of God’s judgment. In what sense can destruction be said to be eternal? This is a difficult question to answer because destruction is not necessarily instantaneous; it usually takes time, and the extent of the destruction and severity of the punishment inflicted may be time-dependent. Similarly, although we humans are accustomed to thinking of death as a sudden event leading to a permanent state, that is not necessarily so. People that have been certified dead can sometimes be temporarily revived; and sometimes people that are dying may do so by very slow degrees, possibly involving a gradual loss of faculties and awareness, such as the slow brain death of Alzheimer’s.

So, when considering the idea of death and destruction as a consequence or punishment for evil, we need to think about both the manner in which it comes about and its permanence.

So, although it is difficult to define any hard-and-fast rule that allows us to know exactly ʻhow muchʼ (or ʻhow longʼ) such destruction may entail, we can recognize the possibility that the nature of the punishment may be adjusted to reflect the severity of the offence.

As already discussed in Appendix B, the possibility of finding ourselves in an everlasting state of conscious condemnation and regret is so frightful that we would rather opt for a state of instant annihilation. But to allow someone to inflict unspeakable pain and suffering on others – and then quit this life without ever facing the consequences – could not be called ʻjustice.ʼ

What Is Death Like?

There is still much that we do not know in answer to this question. King Solomon wrote:

For the living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything, neither do they have any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy has perished long ago; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun. (Ecc 9:5-6)

But Solomon was wrong. His father, David prophesied:

I have set Yahweh always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices. My body shall also dwell in safety. For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption. You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. (Psa 16:8-11)

Jesus, risen and victorious, declared:

I am the first and the last, and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades. (Rev 1:17-18)

And Paul explains what it will be like for those of us who have put their trust in Jesus.:

Now I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood can’t inherit the Kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this corruptible will have put on incorruption, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1Co 15:50-58)

The In-between

What will it be like in the interval between physical death and ultimate resurrection? We are not told in detail. Seen from an earthly perspective it is most commonly likened to sleep. (See Dan 12:2; John 11:11-14 & 1Th 4:13-18.) But this does not necessarily indicate a state of permanent unconsciousness. Sleepers often dream. The beggar Lazarus was being comforted Lk 16:23-25; the saints who rested under the altar were plainly aware of the passage of time Rev 6:9-11 and Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration (Mt 17:1-3 & Luk 9:28-31). Jesus’ friend Lazarus was temporarily restored to life Jn 11:39-44. Samuel was sent back to rebuke King Saul 1Sam 28:15 and others were seen in Jerusalem after Jesus’ resurrection (Mt 27:53).

Judgement and the Book of Life

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev 20:11-15)

Notice this. There is a set of books containing the record of our lives; and our judgement is based on this record. But this is not what determines our ultimate destiny. There is another book – the Book of Life – and all that really matters is whether or not your name has been recorded in that book. What is this book: and why is it so important?

The first thing we need to understand is that no-one, except Jesus himself, can possibly meet the standard that God requires for admission to heaven! We kid ourselves that, ‘on balance’, we are pretty good and fondly imagine that our good deeds will somehow outweigh our bad ones. But the Bible tells us that this is categorically not true. Heaven is God’s home. It is a place of perfection in which no selfish, loveless or corrupt behaviour will ever be tolerated. If it were, it would cease to be heaven.

Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

For we have all become as one who is unclean, and all our righteousness is as a polluted garment: and we all fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (Isaiah 64:6)

God looks down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there are any who understood, who seek after God. Every one of them has gone back. They have become filthy together. There is no one who does good, no, not one. (Psalms 53:2-3)

There is no ‘almost good enough.’ God’s standard is perfection, and there are no ‘super-perfection credits’ to compensate for our past failures, as Jesus Himself makes clear:

Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’ ” (Luke 17:10)

Ultimately, therefore, the record of our own lives can never qualify us for heaven: because it can never cancel the debt of our past sins. Justice demands both that the debt must be paid and that there should be a reconciliation of such depth and intensity that any further relapse becomes unthinkable.

It is easy to see that someone who, having lived a life of careless self-interest, when confronted with this ultimate choice, could easily profess a sudden change of heart; only to go back on this when it suits them. We can easily be fooled in this way: but not God. Only He, with His total insight into our entire past, present and future, can judge with certainty when such a change has truly taken place, or will do so. This ‘Book of Life of the Lamb who has been killed‘ (Rev 13:8) is God’s record of all those who either have or will recognize their need of His forgiveness, and therefore find their pardon through Jesus’ death as their substitute.¹

Second Death in the Lake of Fire

But what of the second death? What will that be like? We have searched for an alternative explanation of Jesus’ warning that this is a fate worse than death; to be avoided at all costs. But Jesus’ own words continue to point emphatically in this direction.

But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.” (Rev 21:8)

The Bible provides very little detail about what the lake of fire will be like. There’s not much point. It will be unlike anything you’ve experienced before. But if you carry on ignoring Jesus’ earnest warnings and the extreme lengths to which He has gone to spare you from this fate, there is no other remedy. There will then be time only for bitter regret, falling apart, consigned to the reject pile of the universe.

So will it be in the end of the world. The angels will come forth, and separate the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. (Mat 13:49-50)

There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. (Luk 13:28)

It seems that most people continue to hope that nothing worse than ‘nothing’ awaits them – some kind of instant, painless euthanasia. But even that makes a mockery of all you have ever enjoyed, fought for or believed in – as if it had never been. All your thoughts and memories will be forever lost. All memory of you forgotten by the forgotten ones that may follow you for a little while. A complete, cosmic waste of time. How long will it take for this realization of utter futility to penetrate? Is that really all you hope for? Will you drift into silence. or will it be like one of those never-ending nights when you struggle to silence your thoughts and sleep eludes you? According to Jesus, no-one will escape the justice and judgement of God.

 

Is there any hope of mercy? Maybe. Arguably, the lake of fire was only intended for the devil and his angels – those who knowingly chose to set their wills forever in defiance of the God who gave them life. Maybe these will never abandon their defiance, no matter how miserable their existence becomes. But maybe for the rest, like stubble thrown into the fire, whatever recognizable personality and consciousness remains will finally be reduced to nothing but dust and ashes.

Some may insist on describing this as God’s ultimate victory: but not so. It is not what God desired for us: but, rather the unavoidable consequence of our determination to pursue selfish self-interest rather than His way of love. He has already endured the sacrifice of his own Son – a price above any other and sufficient to clear the debt of any and every one that has ever lived – only to have it thrown back in His face as a worthless thing. Having rejected such a gift, no other remedy remains.

But, to the One who has gone to such unspeakable lengths to spare us from this fate – even though love and justice will ultimately prevail – the loss of those ruined by their folly will always be seen by Him, not as a triumph, but as a never-to-be-forgotten tragedy.

As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn you, turn you from your evil ways; for why will you die, house of Israel? (Eze 33:11. 

Footnotes

1. For a full list of references to the Book of Life see Exodus 32:32; Ps 69:28; Dan 12:1; Mal_3:16; Luk_10:20; Php 4:3 & Rev 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12; 20:15 & 21:27. John 10:27-28 is also of interest.