Eternal Judgment Part 2: What Is The Eternal Judgment And Is Hell Eternal?

NOTE: This is the second of a two part series looking at the eternal judgment to discover the truth… is hell eternal?

Let's look at these various options one at a time.
*** A. Let all enter Heaven no matter what they decided. ***

At first glance this looks like a beautiful option. After all, we are only human.

However, if we spent our lives choosing to reject Jesus while on earth would I consider it an act of love to be forced to remain with Him for all eternity? I don't think so.

If I didn't want to build a relationship now, being forced to be with Him for all eternity would not be heaven for me.

It would be hell!

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*** B. Send the unrighteous into an eternal lake of fire. ***

At first glance this option makes the most sense.

After all, my own actions let me to this consequence. The problem arises when attempting to explain how this option would be an act of love on the part of Jesus.

Remember the verse we covered earlier?

John 3:17
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

So the question is would allowing someone who rejected Him to burn eternally be an act of love?

Here's something to consider.

You have a child that is very difficult to raise. Every time you turn around they are getting in trouble in one-way or another. You've come to your wits end and they push that button too. Would you consider it love to start spanking this child and never stop? After all, they deserve it for being so bad, right?

I think most anyone would be hard pressed to make that rationalization. Including God for that matter.

Thus sending people who reject God to an eternally burning lake of fire where the will live out their eternities would not be an act of love at all. If it's not love, then it’s a contradiction of John 3:17 and scripture does not contradict itself.

C. Send people to an eternal purgatory or "no man's" land.

There are people that believe this to be what takes place. Given that I can't find any scriptural position for this concept I would have to disagree and leave it at that.

D. Allow those who chose not to follow Him to cease to exist.

If you were in an intimate relationship with someone who chose to end everything that the two of you had built, wouldn't the greatest act of love be to let them go their way? Unless, of course, there were a prayer of a chance that things between the both of you could be fixed.

Given all the other options available this seems to be the only option that would be an act of love for Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. How does this option fit with other scriptures about the aftermath of death among the unrighteous?

Malachi 4:3
Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty.

Jude 1:7
In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

Revelation 2:11
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.

If you were to take these verses for exactly what they say it would not be hard to understand eternal judgment being an act of none existence instead of an everlasting lake of fire. Therefore, if asked "is hell eternal" the answer according to scripture would have to be no.