If God isn’t good, there’s no hope, and if we need anything, it’s hope.  Without it we’re lost.  And most of us have probably at times placed our hopes in the things of this world more than we should, to ultimately end up feeling somewhat empty.  We need to hope in something bigger than and beyond this life.

For those of us who have accepted the Bible as truth, and whose hope is in the God of Scripture, just exactly Who the God of Scripture is becomes very important.  Jesus said to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.  I’ve found this difficult at times, for many reasons, and it’s often my own issues that interfere with following Jesus’s command.  But another major hindrance to an all-out heavenward love is simply some of the attributes and concepts of God which have become part of Christian tradition, with virtually no Scriptural support.  For me personally, believing that God is wholly merciful to all His creation is an integral part of loving Him.  Yet some of the doctrines which have become part of mainstream Christianity make believing in a merciful God almost impossible, unless we push these teachings someplace out of mind, as I suspect many Christians do.

The traditional Christian doctrine of judgment tells us that all who reject Christ will suffer conscious punishment in Hell for all eternity.  This is, and for centuries has been the predominant stance of mainstream Christianity.  But should it be?  I’m a Christian, and yet found myself struggling with the ramifications of the doctrine for years, as much in terms of the light it paints our Merciful Creator in, as in what it means for individuals.  As I suspect so many others do, I found my own ways to handle the doctrine, inadequate as they were, and generally put as little thought into it as I could.  But a number of years ago, while trying to answer a question about hell for a friend, I dug in a little deeper, and some promising finds pushed me into an intense months-long study of the subject.  It was quite revealing, and has continued for well over a decade now, as I’ve turned my study into the book you’re holding.  I was relieved and surprised to find that serious Bible study on the matter reveals a quite different fate than we’re most often taught for those who never find salvation, and most importantly, reveals a far more merciful God, hence the title.

Rather than being tormented for all eternity, the lost will instead be taken out of existence altogether – not a soft punishment, or a fate to pursue, especially when an eternity at peace with your Maker is the alternative.  But considering we were nothing before God brought us into being, I found it relieving to learn that the ultimate punishment for those who reject the pull of God is to be returned to what and where we were (or weren’t, technically) before we were created.  This is in stark contrast to the traditional idea of those who reject God burning “alive” for all eternity, with the first billion years not being even a drop in the bucket of timelessness.

In the pages that follow, I’ll offer substantial scriptural evidence against the traditional position.  There are about ten verses in the Bible which have been used to build and maintain the doctrine of the eternal conscious suffering of the lost, and I’ll show alternative ways to understand those verses, without violating other themes and concepts from Scripture.  But before we get to those, we’ll find some serious scriptural problems with the idea that all humans, even without salvation, already possess an immortal soul that cannot be fully destroyed.  This belief is really at the core of what appears to be error in final judgment doctrine.  And we’ll also see that from Genesis to Revelation, death, not eternal torment, has been the stated punishment for failing in faith by rejecting God.

This study did not convert me into an “annihilationist,” not in the strictest sense at least.  Let me be clear that physical death is not the final end of being for those without salvation, and yes, I do “believe in Hell.”  However with multiple Greek and Hebrew words all being translated into the same English word “hell,” the question “Do you believe in Hell?” isn’t as simple to answer as it might seem.  But the lost will be raised to stand judgment prior to their destruction.  And contrary to even many other non-traditionalists who believe in full soul sleep between the time of physical death and final judgment, there’s a great deal of evidence this phase could be a conscious one, at least for some portion of that time period.  So while I consider myself a “conditionalist,” in the sense that I believe immortality in any form is conditional upon whether or not one puts their faith in the one true living God, I have some differences with other conditionalists, especially with any who believe physical death is the final end of consciousness for the lost.

I’ve been greatly encouraged and enlightened by conditionalist writers like Edward Fudge and others, but have also at times felt like some of the more common conditionalist answers to the traditionalist arguments aren’t the most sound or Scriptural.  In the end however, I hope to take very little away from these who have gone before me in the fight against what appears to be a false doctrine within mainstream Christianity, and hope to add much more evidence to the non-traditional position.  I wouldn’t be writing at all if I didn’t believe I had something to offer the conversation, and I hope you find this volume valuable in your search for truth on the matter.

I also cannot address the topic of judgment and ignore the growing movement toward Universalism.  There are many names for this belief, but ultimately those who call themselves “Christian universalists” (CU) and similar designations all believe that at some point, after a time of initial judgment and punishment on those who do not accept God’s salvation in this first physical life, there will be another opportunity for salvation and that none will be judged eternally, either with true death and cessation of being, or with eternal conscious punishment.  I’ve read Rob Bell’s book Love Wins promoting this universal redemption idea as well as Julie Ferwerda’s more in-depth and very well written universalist book Raising Hell, which is the best modern attempt I’ve seen at promoting this doctrine.

While I believe that both of these authors are probably Christians who believe in the stance they take on this, I still find their doctrine wishful and their evidence lacking.  In the end, I’m going to settle where the bulk of evidence is on our doctrines.  For me personally, I found it in the middle ground, in between those who claim all mankind will be saved one day, and those who state that most of human creation will exist in conscious torment throughout eternity.  And even though I could hold out a little hope that the universalists are correct, it’s a dangerous doctrine to teach, in light of so much evidence that final judgment is in fact final.

Is this book for you?

If you’ve ever wondered how a God so loving that He would take the punishment for sin on our behalf could also be the same Person who causes or allows the eternal torment of billions who never find and accept His grace, then yes!

If you’re not yet a believer, having never put your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, and if your reasons for not taking that step are in any way related to questions you have about the nature and character of God that were raised because of the eternal suffering in Hell issue, then yes!

If you’re a Christian teacher or preacher, but you’ve had your own questions about this issue, and have never been fully convinced by what you were taught in seminary or Bible college, yes!

Do you have a loved one you believe died without salvation, and you’re sickened and heartbroken at the prospect that they might be in conscious torment for all eternity, then absolutely, yes.  I won’t offer you the false hope that a universalist will, but well before you’ve finished this book, you’ll find the biblical truth that no one will be in torment forever, and all suffering will one day end.

And lastly, if you’re strongly convinced that the traditional view of Hell is the correct position on what happens at final judgment, even to you I’d say yes!!  Please take one look at another viewpoint and see if Scripture doesn’t have something quite different to say on the matter than what we’ve traditionally been told.

Chapter content:

Chapter 1 lays a foundation for why the traditional doctrine needs to be challenged, but it begins with a plea for unity among Christians, even if we disagree on this or many other matters, as Christians always have.  Love for God and one another should override all doctrinal differences.  As important as I believe it is for this non-traditional view on judgment to be made known, believing correctly or incorrectly about what final judgment entails doesn’t make one saved or lost.  What we do with the knowledge of Christ does.  Salvation is in Him alone, and those who believe this should be able to worship and serve together regardless of peripheral doctrinal differences.  Among traditionalists, conditionalists, and Christian universalists, at least two of these groups are wrong about final judgment.  But we all have this one thing in common: We believe that Jesus Christ was God with us on earth, and that He suffered and died to provide salvation to eternal life, demonstrating a love beyond compare.  This should be enough to unite us regardless of our other views.

Chapter 2 may be the most important chapter.  Here we’ll deal with a pivotal question.  It’s become a foregone conclusion – not only by traditional Christians, but by those of many faiths and beliefs – that we are eternal beings from the moment of our conception.  This needs to be challenged.  This assumption is the basis that leads so many to the ultimate conclusion that the wages for sin is not true death – cessation of being – but some other sort of death that’s actually life, only in misery, and separated from one’s Maker.  Chapters 2 as well as 6 will strongly challenge this line of thinking with reasonable Biblical arguments.

In Chapter 3 we’ll look at the very plain language of Scripture and see that it clearly states what will happen to the lost, and that it’s consistent throughout Scripture.

In Chapter 4, we’ll analyze the key passages of Scripture that have been misunderstood or misused for centuries to maintain the traditional view of Hell and immortality.  Several of these passages, if taken out of context and not viewed in light of all Scripture, can certainly be interpreted to teach that the punishment for unbelief will be conscious and unending.  Digging a little past the surface on these and, in some cases going beyond the English to the original languages of Scripture helped me understand these passages in ways that line up more logically with what the entire Bible teaches about final judgment, and add nothing to the traditionalist viewpoint on eternal conscious suffering.

I’m most surprised that I needed to write Chapter 5.  It’s an argument that death, true death: cessation of life and loss of being, is actually an incredibly severe punishment.  But it did seem this chapter was necessary because many of today’s teachers and preachers make this out to be almost a non-punishment, claiming that only an eternity of conscious punishment could be severe enough to pay the debt a sinner owes.  And often, conditionalists like myself are accused of teaching a soft view of God.  We’ll find nothing soft about true final judgment.

In Chapter 6 we’ll return to the Garden of Eden, and find that universal innate immortality isn’t the only false concept that was created there.

In Chapter 7 we’ll discuss the time period between physical death and final judgment. We’ll look at the ideas of soul sleep, not only for the lost, but also the saved, and consider a number of viewpoints on this.  There’s a lot of disagreement about the matter, even among those who agree in general about final judgment.  We’ll take a look at all sides, and perhaps find some middle ground.

Chapter 8 will be a brief look at the universalist doctrine and unbiblical belief that all humanity will one day be saved.

Finally, Chapter 9 will be a look at the statements of several well-known traditionalists on the matter.  We’ll stretch back as far as 200 AD and analyze some of the early Church fathers’ statements on the doctrine, and come forward to modern times as well.

If the reader believes my challenge to the traditional view of Hell and immortality will fall short of truth, or at least not offer any evidence they haven’t seen before, then please come to that conclusion only after you read through the evidence I’ll present.  I’ve researched this carefully and been very fair to the traditionalist side, but can no longer go along with tradition after taking a careful look at it all.  I appreciate your interest in this important subject and I pray this book is a blessing to you.

God Bless,

Scott McAliley