The Eternal Equation

This will be a small study in defense of a doctrine known as Conditional Immortality. This stands in contrast to the commonly accepted doctrine of hell as consisting of eternal conscious torment. More and more Bible students are beginning to see Conditional Immortality as being more Biblical.

The basic question is this: Does the Bible teach that lost souls suffer eternal conscious torment in hell or does it teach that, after whatever period of suffering God determines is right, the lost eventually die and either cease to exist, become extinct or are annihilated?

The first view, that the lost suffer conscious eternal torment, has been the dominant, popular view for centuries, although most people aren't really quite sure just where the Bible teaches it.

For several decades another view, known as Conditional Immortality, has gained ground among Bible students as the position the Bible really teaches. This is the view I hold, and the rest of this essay will try to Biblically support that view.

While trying to introduce some of the basic concepts of Conditional Immortality in a Bible study class several months ago, it occurred to me that there is a simple way to get to the root of this doctrine that I hadn't seen anyone explain, at least not in the way it occurred to me. Laying this insight down as a foundation would support the rest of the doctrine of Conditional Immortality while exposing the doctrine of eternal conscious torment as a concept more in line with Plato, not the Bible.

I call this insight The Eternal Equation. It consists of a number of Bible verses, each of which contrasts in its own way the fate of the dead, either lost or saved. The purpose of the equation is to compare these verses with each other so we can gain insights into each side of the equation, the lost side and the saved side. Each side contains various terms that relate to each other, but not to the other side. These terms either say the same thing in different words or they explain or define what some of the terms mean.

I call this an equation because both sides are equal in the sense that they are the only two options available to the soul after The Great White Throne Judgment, Revelation 20:11-15. The soul goes either to heaven or hell then, not, apparently, at the point of death as many suppose. We all have our own ideas of what heaven might be like. The purpose of this study is to give simple and clear Biblical insights into the nature of hell, dispelling at the same time some commonly held views as being incompatible with what the Bible teaches.

In fact, the only way the common view of hell can be held is if The Eternal Equation is wrong, and that the verses it contains don't really say what they appear to say. But if they do say what they appear to say, then The Eternal Equation is right and so is the doctrine of Conditional Immortality. Either way, the doctrines of Conditional Immortality and Eternal Conscious Torment are not compatible. They cannot both be true.

The purpose of this study is to provide you with enough researchable information to make an informed decision. It is up to you to decide which view you believe is Biblical.

In the equation I have listed ten verses which are commonly known to most Christians. Some have even been memorized as personal favorites. That's one primary reason for using them, to show that the doctrine of Conditional Immortality is not based on obscure or vaguely worded verses that might be easily manipulated or twisted, but rather is based on familiar and clearly worded verses that mean exactly what they actually say.

Another reason I have chosen these ten verses for this Eternal Equation is that they all do the same thing, that is, they all provide only two options for the fate of the dead, either heaven or hell. They don't all use the same terms, though, and so this gives us an opportunity to compare those terms to get a clearer picture of what is being conveyed. More verses could have been chosen, but this is enough.

One common thread throughout all of these verses is the concept of one side of the equation lasting as long as the other side lasts. Since this is clearly stated in the first verse, it is true for the other nine, as well. What applies to one of these ten verses applies to all of them.

Thus we have the idea of a balanced equation, as in algebra, where one side of the equal sign is equal to the other side. In this equation the actual verse number takes the place of the equal sign, with the corresponding descriptions of the state of being saved or lost on either side. The terms on the left hand side describe a condition that lasts just as long as the condition the terms on the right hand side describe. You might even say we have ten equations, all equal to and parallel with each other, with each using terms that are similar to the terms used in the other nine verses. So let's take a look at those terms, verse by verse.

But first, a word of caution about interpretation, or definition of words. Usually it is a good idea to take the words in their natural meanings, usually but not always literally. If you're going to take a word or phrase figuratively then there ought to be a compelling reason from the context to do so. And in order for the figurative meaning to have any relevance at all it must be related in some way to the primary, literal meaning.

In the ten verses we're about to look at, there appears to be no compelling reason to think the words mean something different, even the opposite, of what they ordinarily mean anywhere else. So we should take them as they are.

In the first verse, Matthew 25:46, we find eternal punishment contrasted with eternal life. Those who believe the Bible teaches eternal conscious torment for the lost usually turn to this verse for support, claiming correctly that both punishment and life are described as being eternal. There may be more to them than that, as described in other verses, but at least we know their duration from this verse.

The problem, though, is that just as eternal life involves more than just life that never ends, so this verse does not describe what the nature of that eternal punishment is. Many assume it is conscious torment, and thus the belief that this has to last as long as heaven lasts is established, it is thought.

But what if the nature of this eternal punishment is something else? The only description of this punishment in this verse is that it is eternal, that is, it lasts forever, but its exact nature, what it actually is, is not mentioned at all. That's where the other nine verses in this Eternal Equation come into play, for they do describe the nature of this eternal punishment. And they describe it in simple terms, over and over again, in a clear and unmistakeable way. Let's take a look:

Let's look first at the right hand side of the equation. We see that all the terms used there in the remaining nine verses describe the same thing. Thus eternal life, live, saved, save, has eternal life, and citizenship in heaven are all synonymous terms describing the same thing, the fate of the saved. That's easy enough to see.

Now let's look at the left hand side of the equation for those same nine verses. Here we find the nature of that eternal punishment described over and over. The terms used are perish, death, perishing, condemned, destruction, destroying, destroy, and not see life. We can see that the lost will be condemned to death and will be destroyed, and thus will not see life, and that condemnation, destruction, and death will be eternal, that is, it will never be reversed. Once the lost suffer what Revelation 20:14,15 calls the second death, they will never recover. They will be eternally dead. This is their eternal punishment. So even though the act of destroying or killing them might be momentary, the resulting destruction, or death, will last forever and thus will be an eternal destruction or death.

Not once is anything resembling eternal conscious torment even hinted at in these nine verses.

There is no apparent reason to suppose that death really means an otherworldly deathless life in which the dead are more active than they were even in life. This makes Universalism, the concept that the lost will somehow eventually escape hell and end up in heaven, impossible, for they will no longer exist, at least not in any viable way.

Whether the lost dead end up extinct like the dinosaurs or merely nonfunctional like broken light bulbs or cease to exist as if they had never been born is irrelevant, in my opinion. Matthew 25:46 says their punishment is eternal, and the other nine verses, in one way or another, say that punishment is death. There is no getting around that.

One objection raised is Revelation 20:10, where it says the devil, beast, and false prophet all are to be tormented day and night forever in the Lake of Fire. Verse 14 says that death and Hades are then thrown in there, and is referred to as the second death. Verse 15 says the lost go there.

The objection is, if the devil, beast, and false prophet go there to be tormented forever, why not the lost, since they're in the same place?

This exposes the problem of using apocalyptic language to prove a doctrine. Almost everybody understands the beast and false prophet to be merely figurative representations of corrupt governments and false religions, not actual beings that can feel anything. Death and Hades being thrown in indicates the end, or destruction, of both.

And if the devil is a fallen angel, and thus a higher order of created being than humans are, Hebrews 2:7, then it is entirely possible that the lake of fire could destroy the lost, Matthew 10:28, while not destroying the devil. Think of a metal fork and a plastic toy put into a hot oven. The fork gets hot but the toy melts away. Thus the lake of fire just might torment the devil forever while at the same time destroying souls, Matthew 10:28.

In any event, there is way too much speculation for these verses here to prove much of anything other than hell is not a place anyone would want to go.

But what about the concept of immortal souls? How can the soul die if it is immortal? The fact is, the Bible never speaks of an immortal soul. That idea comes from Plato, as you will see if you research that yourself.

Instead, in 1 Timothy 6:16 Paul describes God alone as being immortal, and in 2 Timothy 1:10 Paul further points out that life and immortality are brought to light through the gospel. That means that, far from everyone having an immortal soul, the truth of the matter is that immortality, as part of eternal life, is also part of the gift only given to the saved. Thus our immortality is derived, not inherent. The lost are never said to possess it. In fact they rise, John 5:28, 29, only to die again, what John called in Revelation 20:14,15 the second death.

Ezekiel 18:20 says the soul who sins is the one who will die. Jesus himself, in Matthew 10:28, said to fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell. That's an empty threat if it is not possible for God to do that if the soul is inherently immortal on its own. But Jesus' statement seems clear enough on its face.

If the soul is not immortal, then what happens to it when a person physically dies?

In spite of the popular hymn I'll Fly Away and the line it contains, “When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I'll fly away,” John 5:28,29, 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 have both Jesus and Paul seeming to indicate that the soul remains with the body from death until the second coming in some way. Some of the passages refer to this interim as a sleep, I assume from the lack of movement a dead body has which is similar to a sleeping person not moving, This might be one reason why cremation is so distasteful for some people. But God is bigger than we are, so we shouldn't let that bother us. God can handle the logistics of it all.

There are several popular hymns that treat this subject much more biblically. One is How Great Thou Art. The third verse begins, When Christ shall come with shouts of acclamnation, And take me home... The timing fits perfectly with John 5:28,29. We go home when Jesus comes for us, not at our death.

The entire hymn When We All Get to Heaven speaks of it as a future group event, not an individual one at our death.

The second verse of When the Roll is Called Up Yonder is very revealing. It says, On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise, and the glory of his resurrection share, when his chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies, and the roll is called up yonder I'll be there.

As does There is a Land That is Fairer Than Day.

These events happen at the second coming, not before, at our deaths.

So even though some songs get it wrong, some get it exactly right, but I wonder how many even notice the difference, the discrepancy?

Many people visiting gravesites get comfort from the belief that their loved one is not really there, only the body is, and that the essence of the person, the soul, is somewhere else, usually heaven. But is there any Biblical basis for such a belief?

What if the soul is really with the body in the grave in some way? Does the metaphor of sleep have any merit? What did the ancients believe? What does the Bible say?

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is particularly telling. Here the Thessalonians are apparently concerned about their loved ones who have died in Christ. The fear is that at the second coming they will be overlooked, forgotten. Out of sight, out of mind, so to speak.

Why didn't Paul remove their fears by telling them that the souls of their loved ones are already in heaven now? Why instead go through the complicated answer he gives them? The only reason can be that the souls of their loved ones are not in heaven now. So what is Paul's response to the Thessalonians?

In verse 14 he says that when Jesus comes again he's coming for his own, and he will bring them all back with him to heaven, including those that have fallen asleep. (Some think the verse says Jesus will bring them with Him from heaven when He comes again, but that again begs the question, why not just say they're in heaven now? Matthew 13:39, 16:27, 25:31 and Mark 8:38 all speak to this event, mentioning harvesting angels gathering the saved from their graves. 2 Thessalonians 1:7 and Jude 14 (NIV holy ones are the angels, not saints (KJV) or souls) also support this.

Paul goes on to explain in the next verses that when Jesus comes the dead in Christ will rise first, verse 16, and then those still alive at the time will join them.

From where are they rising first? From heaven? That means heaven is below us. If that's the case, again, why not just say the souls of the saved are already there? That also means Jesus isn't coming from heaven when he comes again, nor is he bringing the souls of the saved with Him.

No, the dead are rising from their graves, both body and soul, in some way. I Corinthians 15:42-44, 51-53 also says the same thing in perhaps clearer terms.

So Paul's assurance is that at the second coming the dead in Christ will be raised as spiritual bodies of some kind (exactly what, we don't yet know, 1 John 3:2) and, next, those alive at the time will be changed into that same kind of spiritual body, and then we all will ascend to the Lord in the air. That's the order of things. Our hope is not in an immortal soul, but rather in our resurrection, of which Jesus' resurrection is the first fruits. If the souls of the saved dead are already in heaven then none of the above is true.

All of this seems to completely contradict the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, found in Luke 16:19-31. There it appears that the rich man after death has gone straight to hell while Lazarus has already gone to heaven, described metaphorically as "Abraham's side." But what can we really know about this story? Is it designed to give us a literal view of life after death? Or is something else in mind?

If the former, then a number of problems arise.

First, we have people judged before the Great White Throne judgment of Revelation 20:11. If they are prejudged at death then there is no reason to judge them again, nor is there any reason to fear that judgment since you'll already know your fate before then.

Second, people are still living on the earth.

Third, the second coming, described variously in John 5:28,29, 1 Corinthians 15, and 2 Thessalonians 4:18ff, hasn't even happened yet.

So all of this is seriously out of whack.

But there is another explanation that resolves these problems.

First, this is a parable, not an actual historical event. The argument that all parables are or must be identified as such is incorrect. The parable of the Good Samaritan, also found in Luke at chapter 10:25-37, is never identified as a parable yet all believe it is one.

There are at least seven different versions of this reversal-of-fortunes story in rabbinic lore, so this isn't even Jesus' story.

He took a story well known to them and gave it his own unique twist, about them not believing even if someone came back from the dead. That's the main point, and he is proven right when later they still don't believe even when he himself is raised from the dead.

Thus, this parable has nothing to do with reality after death, as do all the verses used in previously in this study.

Finally, the poor way James 2:26 is usually translated has given many the wrong idea. The NIV reads, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” The problem is most people equate the spirit with the soul, but the Greek says nothing of the kind. But if this verse is not saying that the soul leaves the body at death, what is it saying?

The Greek word in question is pneuma, from which we get pneumatic. It has to do with air, and by extension breath, or breathing. This word is never translated as soul, although quite often it is translated as spirit. It is translated breath in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 and Revelation 11:11, 13:15. Is it just possible that in James 2:26 pneuma would be better translated as breathing?

James 2:26 is making a comparison all should be able to see in order for James to make his point. But if the spirit is the invisible soul, how can you tell if it has left the body or not? Have you ever seen it? How does comparing faith without deeds to something you can't see helpful, anyway? If you had to check an unconscious body to see if it was alive or dead, what would you check first, to see if the invisible soul was present, or to see if the person was breathing? You might check for a pulse next, but you'd never look for his soul, would you? Would anyone?

Now suppose that James 2:26 was translated this way: “As a body that isn't breathing is dead, so a faith that isn't working is dead.” Now, that's a comparison all can see and understand. And I think that is precisely the point James is trying to make. You can see a live body breathing, and you can see a live faith working. A faith that isn't working is just as dead as a body that isn't breathing, and many of us have seen that. Now the comparison makes sense, the way I believe James intended. Now verse 26 is a fitting conclusion to his point he began to make in verse 14. Verse 26 has nothing to say about the soul at all.

There are at least four English translations that translate James 2:26 very similarly to what I am suggesting, all translating pneuma as either breath or breathe. They are:

The Contemporary English Version, "Anyone who doesn't breathe is dead, and faith that doesn't do anything is just as dead!"

GOD'S WORD translation, "A body that doesn’t breathe is dead. In the same way faith that does nothing is dead."

New Living Translation, "Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works."

Worldwide English (New Testament), "A body is dead if it does not breathe. In the same way, believing is dead if it does not do anything good."

At this point the question might arise, What is death? Ignoring all the philosophical and metaphysical conjectures, I think a reasonably good scientific answer might be that death is simply the absence of life, much like cold is the absence of heat and darkness is the absence of light. At least we can work with that definition.

There are several Bible commentaries that mention breath as a possible translation of pneuma in James 2:26, three of which I own, including the popular Matthew Henry's Commentary, The Complete Biblical Library (New Testament) and Liberty Commentary on the New Testament. There are likely many more. So there can hardly be any doubt that the view that the spirit in James 2:26 is the soul is incorrect. There is just too much evidence against it and none in support of it, including no English versions that ever translate it that way.

Let's get back to our original premise, that the lost, rather than suffering eternal conscious torment, eventually suffer an eternal death that will never be reversed. Does this seem like the lost are getting away with something? That God is being too soft, too merciful to them? Is your sense of justice violated? Might your enjoyment of heaven be diminished if this is the case?

Would you be willing to trade places with any of them? To many, the thought of a God keeping souls alive forever just to torture them for sins committed “in a season” is barbaric. Would a compassionate, merciful God do that? Would you?

Hell seems palatable only because it's always the other guy going there, not us, or anyone we know. That kind of attitude keeps us from really thinking about hell in a serious way.

This short study is just barely scratching the surface of the doctrine of Conditional Immortality, but it is certainly plenty to think about. In conclusion, everything we think the Bible, and especially the New Testament, says about the fate of the lost must pass through The Eternal Equation. If it doesn't fit, either what we believe is incorrect or the equation is incorrect.

Will the lost suffer eternal conscious torment, or, after whatever period of suffering God determines, will the lost finally die, never to live again? What does the Bible really teach about that? Most still believe the former, but more and more are seeing the latter as more Biblical. What do you think the Bible teaches?