Most Christians assume that the New Testament clearly and consistently teaches eternal conscious torment in hell. But when you actually go looking for this doctrine in the text, the picture becomes far more complicated than you might expect.
On one hand, you have a handful of passages that seem to teach eternal punishment. On the other hand, you have a remarkable number of passages that appear to promise the salvation of all people. And when you examine the Greek words involved, the case for eternal torment becomes even less certain.
David Bentley Hart puts it well in That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation (pp. 93-95):
There is a general sense among most Christians that the notion of an eternal hell is explicitly and unremittingly advanced in the New Testament; and yet, when we go looking for it in the actual pages of the text, it proves remarkably elusive. The whole idea is, for instance, entirely absent from the Pauline corpus, as even the thinnest shadow of a hint. Nor is it anywhere patently present in any of the other epistolary texts. There is one verse in the gospels, Matthew 25:46, that—at least, as traditionally understood—offers what seems the strongest evidence for the idea (though even there, as I shall explain below, the wording leaves room for considerable doubt regarding its true significance); and then there are perhaps a couple verses from Revelation (though, as ever when dealing with that particular book, caveat lector). Beyond that, nothing is clear. What in fact the New Testament provides us with are a number of fragmentary and fantastic images that can be taken in any number of ways, arranged according to our prejudices and expectations, and declared literal or figural or hyperbolic as our desires dictate. True, Jesus speaks of a final judgment, and uses many metaphors to describe the unhappy lot of the condemned. Many of these are metaphors of destruction, like the annihilation of chaff or brambles in ovens, or the final death of body and soul in the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna). Others are metaphors of exclusion, like the sealed doors of wedding feasts. A few, a very few, are images of imprisonment and torture; but, even then, in the relevant verses, those punishments are depicted as having only a limited term (Matthew 5:26; 18:34; Luke 12:47-48, 59). Nowhere is there any description of a kingdom of perpetual cruelty presided over by Satan, as though he were a kind of chthonian god.
On the other hand, however, there are a remarkable number of passages in the New Testament, several of them from Paul’s writings, that appear instead to promise a final salvation of all persons and all things, and in the most unqualified terms. I imagine some or most of these latter could be explained away as rhetorical exaggeration; but then, presumably, the same could be said of those verses that appear to presage an everlasting division between the redeemed and the reprobate. To me it is surpassingly strange that, down the centuries, most Christians have come to believe that one class of claims—all of which are allegorical, pictorial, vague, and metaphorical in form—must be regarded as providing the “literal” content of the New Testament’s teaching regarding the world to come, while another class—all of which are invariably straightforward doctrinal statements—must be regarded as mere hyperbole. It is one of the great mysteries of Christian history (or perhaps of a certain kind of religious psychopathology). And it is certainly curious also that so many Christians are able to recognize that the language of scripture is full of metaphor, on just about every page, and yet fail to notice that, when it comes to descriptions of the world to come, there are no non-metaphorical images at all. Why precisely this should be I cannot say. We can see that the ovens are metaphors, and the wheat and the chaff, and the angelic harvest, and the barred doors, and the debtors’ prisons; so why do we not also recognize that the deathless worm and the inextinguishable fire and all other such images (none of which, again, means quite what the infernalist imagines) are themselves mere figural devices within the embrace of an extravagant apocalyptic imagery that, in itself, has no strictly literal elements? How did some images become mere images in the general Christian imagination while others became exact documentary portraits of some final reality? If one can be swayed simply by the brute force of arithmetic, it seems worth noting that, among the apparently most explicit statements on the last things, the universalist statements are by far the more numerous.
Passages That Seem to Teach Universal Salvation
Hart goes on to list passages that appear to promise salvation for all. Here they are in the NASB translation:
Romans 5:18-19
So then, as through one offense the result was condemnation to all mankind, so also through one act of righteousness the result was justification of life to all mankind. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
1 Corinthians 15:22
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
2 Corinthians 5:14
For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;
Romans 11:32
For God has shut up all in disobedience, so that He may show mercy to all.
1 Timothy 2:3-6
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.
Titus 2:11
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.
2 Corinthians 5:19
Namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Ephesians 1:9-10
He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He set forth in Him, regarding His plan of the fullness of the times, to bring all things together in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.
Colossians 1:27-28
To whom God willed to make known what the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles is, the mystery that is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every person and teaching every person with all wisdom, so that we may present every person complete in Christ.
John 12:32
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.
Hebrews 2:9
But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of His suffering death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
John 17:2
Just as You gave Him authority over all mankind, so that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.
John 4:42
And they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One truly is the Savior of the world.”
John 12:47
If anyone hears My teachings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
1 John 4:14
We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.
Matthew 18:14
So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven for one of these little ones to perish.
Philippians 2:9-11
For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Colossians 1:19-20
For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
1 John 2:2
And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
John 3:17
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.
Luke 16:16
The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John came; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
Hart notes that the Greek word biazetai here could also be translated “is being forced into” the kingdom.
1 Timothy 4:10
For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all mankind, especially of believers.
Hart follows this list with a discussion of what “especially” (malista) could mean in this context. If God is the Savior of all, but “especially” of believers, what does that imply about non-believers?
Passages That Seem to Teach Eternal Punishment
Now for the other side. These are the passages most often cited as teaching eternal conscious torment.
Matthew 25:46 (The Sheep and the Goats)
These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Universalist interpretation: This verse hinges on two Greek terms often discussed in universalist readings. First, aiónios (usually translated “eternal”) is the adjectival form of aión (“age”) and can mean “of the age” or “age‑long,” so its force here is contested; some argue it points to the quality of the coming age rather than explicitly to endless duration. Greek also has the word aïdios, often regarded as a stronger term for “everlasting,” which the New Testament uses only twice and never directly for human punishment. Second, kolasis (“punishment”) has roots in the idea of pruning and, in classical writers, can denote corrective discipline; Aristotle distinguishes kolasis from timōria, saying the former is for the benefit of the one punished, while the latter is retributive. On this basis, universalists like David Bentley Hart render the phrase as “the chastening of that Age,” understanding it as serious, age‑long corrective judgment, in contrast to the “life of that Age” enjoyed by the righteous, rather than as a proof of endless retributive torment.
Luke 16:23-26 (The Rich Man and Lazarus)
And in Hades he raised his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his arms. And he cried out and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.” But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who want to go over from here to you will not be able, nor will any people cross over from there to us.”
Universalist interpretation: Both characters are portrayed in Hades, an intermediate realm of the dead rather than the final state, which fits common Jewish ideas of the time about separate regions for righteous and unrighteous awaiting final judgment. Many universalists see the story as Jesus reworking a familiar Mediterranean reversal‑of‑fortunes folktale (paralleled in Egyptian and rabbinic literature), using stock afterlife imagery to press home a warning about ignoring Moses and the prophets rather than to give a literal map of the hereafter. In the parable, the “great chasm” is fixed and uncrossable for Abraham, Lazarus, and the rich man, but some universalists, drawing on texts like Ephesians 4:8–9 about Christ’s descent and his leading captives, argue that what is impossible for humans within the story may be overcome by God’s redemptive action beyond it.
Revelation 14:9-11
Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
Universalist interpretation: Revelation uses highly symbolic apocalyptic imagery, so this passage is read as a vivid warning of the severe, consuming consequences of allegiance to the beast rather than a literal blueprint of unending torture for individuals. The “smoke of their torment” echoes Old Testament judgment scenes such as Edom in Isaiah 34, where “smoke going up forever” signals a decisive, remembered destruction, not an eternally burning city. On this reading, the text emphasizes the seriousness and apparent finality of God’s judgment against idolatrous empire, while other passages about God’s ultimate reconciliation and the end of death leave open the possibility that this judgment is not God’s last word for every person.
Revelation 20:10-15
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them according to their deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Universalist interpretation: Revelation’s lake of fire scene is read as symbolic, not literal, especially since Death and Hades themselves are thrown into the fire—imagery that points to the final defeat of death rather than the endless existence of a torture chamber. Universalists note that the “nations” and “kings of the earth,” who have been deeply implicated in evil throughout the book, later appear walking by the New Jerusalem’s light and bringing their glory into it (21:24–26), and that its gates are “never shut.” On this reading (articulated, for example, by Robin Parry), the ever‑open gates and the ongoing invitation, “I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost” (21:6), suggest that even after severe, purifying judgment, God’s welcome ultimately remains open to all.
Conclusion
I’m not suggesting these questions are simple. But I am suggesting that the New Testament’s teaching on final judgment is far more complex than I was led to believe growing up. The passages that seem to promise universal salvation are, as Hart notes, “by far the more numerous” and tend to be straightforward doctrinal statements. The passages that seem to teach eternal punishment are few and come wrapped in metaphorical, apocalyptic imagery.
At minimum, this should give us pause before we confidently proclaim that the Bible clearly teaches eternal conscious torment. It should make us ask why we’ve tended to read the metaphorical passages literally and the straightforward passages as hyperbole.
And it might open us to the possibility that God’s patience and love really do extend further than we’ve been taught to imagine.