The Role Of Hell In Orthodox Christianity

Through the centuries, Christians have asserted that those who do not accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ will suffer conscious, everlasting torment. Among other things, hell has been branded as cruel and barbarous. Though traditionally accepted without question within the Christian faith, this doctrine is steeped with difficulty. It gives challenge to ideas concerning the inherent good of mankind, as well as the love and kindness of the God of the Bible. Unbelievers in general have questioned hell’s existence and justice. However, mainstream orthodox Christianity has historically defended the reality and equity of hell. For the past century the traditional doctrine of Hell has been under contention. The results of the battle have culminated

Indeed, this text gives validation that hell was created specifically for Satan and his demonic host. Impenitent men will meet the same fate, being followers of Satan. This is significant when taken in the context of the text of the Book of Revelation that speak of the Devil's fate , giving justification in predicating this same fate to unredeemed men. The final state of the wicked is recorded as one of everlasting punishment. Therefore, it follows that the wicked are not annihilated. William Shedd logically maintains that "the extinction of consciousness is not of the nature of punishment." If suffering is lacking, so punishment is also; punishment necessitates suffering. Suffering requires consciousness. "If God by a positive act extinguishes, at death, the remorse of a hardened villain, by extinguishing his self-consciousness, it is a strange use of language to denominate this a punishment." The eternal punishment of the unregenerate demands separation from God as a focal component. Note that Christ banishes the impentient forever from His presence. As Guthrie observes, "When we penetrate below the language about hell, the major impression is a sense of

The words used in these texts are forms of the Greek word basanizo. According to Thayer, basanizo defined is "to vex with grievous pains (of body or mind), to torment." The analysis of the use of the verb basanizo and its various noun forms throughout the New Testament shows consistency of great pain and conscious misery, not annihilation or cessation of consciousness. The very nature of torment requires a sentient subject to experience it. This gives validity that this torment is conscious. If one ceases to exist, there cannot be torment. The most explicit statements on the unending nature of hell are found in these verses. In the most emphatic language possible, Scripture explicitly states that the torment is unending. John describes the torment as lasting “forever and ever,” which in Greek forms are eis aionas aionon and eis tous aionas ton aionon ("unto the ages of the ages"). The forms used are plural in number further reinforces the idea of never-ending duration. R. C. H. Lenski observes:

The strongest expression for our 'forever' is eis tous aionan ton aionon, 'for the eons of eons'; many aeons, each of vast duration, are multiplied by many more, which we imitate by 'forever and ever.' Human language is able to use only temporal terms to express what is altogether beyond time and