In Matthew 25:46, what is the meaning of the ‘eternal punishment’ that is mentioned?
Is Hell Eternal Punishment or Ceasing to Exist?
Eternal punishment, Hell, is an eternal place without God’s presence. Despite what some so-called Christian groups want you to think Hell is more than ceasing to exist. The Bible is quite clear that it’s an eternal destination. Ceasing to exist is not an eternal destination.
Heaven is eternal life with God, and a place for enjoying everything that comes from God. It’s counterpart, Hell, is eternal death without God, and a place where every part of you that comes from God gets slowly removed (dies).
I would argue that you DO die there, but it’s an eternal death where you just continuously die until you cease to be everything that used to be “you”.
In essence, I believe there’s truth in both perspectives. You watch yourself and everything else around you perpetually falling apart, i.e. dying an extremely slow death until the “you” that is you eventually ceases to exist.
It would reason that everything that comes from God’s Spirit would also cease in Hell because God is no longer providing it. This includes: Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, wisdom, healing, power, prophecy, grace, encouragement, generosity, mercy, righteousness, renewal of the mind, etc. (Galatians 5:22, 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, Romans 12:6–8)
Your spirit’s (not the Holy Spirit, the human spirit’s) ability to commune with God would cease. Then the volume you hear, the frequency you hear, and the very existence of your own God-given conscience would eventually corrode away.
Without God’s presence helping you individually, His presence in the world helping all who listen collectively, a complete knowledge of the truth/reality and yet zero hope whatsoever of it getting better or good conquering evil, with your own conscience slowly eroding away, and with every demon and human around you also getting worse, you would eventually become dominated by your sinful flesh and everything wicked and vile in you would permeate your soul.
In the beginning some might be happy. It would seem as though a never-ending party of extreme sin, lust, and licentiousness. This would fade quickly though as as all forms of greed, power, lust, etc are left to grow without restraint. The strongest would likely submit the weakest first. All who couldn’t be used would be destroyed. Eventually the most evil would probably subdue all lesser evil until beings “devolved” to become more evil to keep up, get promoted, or fight back. Wars of all kinds would happen (groups fighting each other, civil wars, internal wars of the mind and emotions (i.e. depression, hopelessness) until eventually there is nothing left.
The realm of the dead.
(Proverbs 15:24, 23:14, 5:5, 9:18)
It’s important to mention here that “the realm of the dead” is NOT Hell. They are entirely distinct separate places.
The realm of the dead, called Sheol in the Old Testament, and Hades in the New Testament is where people not in Christ go when they die.
The Bible teaches that all of the dead there will be resurrected and appear before Christ on Judgment Day. Then all of those whose names are not on the Lamb’s Book of Life will be thrown into the eternal Lake of Fire (Hell), where Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet were thrown into.
Hell as an Eternal, Dying Destination.
Matthew 5:29 – “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”
Matthew 10:28 – “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
2 Thessalonians 1:9 – “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”
Daniel 12:2 – “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.”
Revelation 19:20, 20:10-15 – “Satan and the beast thrown into the lake of burning sulfur… To be tormented day and night for ever and ever… Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”
For additional study see also: Matthew 10:28, 13:40–42, 25:41–46, Mark 9:42–48, John 5:29, Isaiah 33:14, 51:6–8, 53:5, 64:6
Not fun to think about I know, but at least if you’re reading this then you also know how to avoid it too! Repent (turn away from your sins) and trust in Jesus Christ, the only Son of the only God, as your Lord and Savior! He died to pay the penalty of your sins and defeated death, Hell, and Satan so that you wouldn’t have to go to Hell!
