Does the Bible teach eternal torment? Matthew 25:46 and the alternatives

The passages

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Matthew 25:46

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 10:28

Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Romans 5:18

Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1 Timothy 2:4

The problem

Much of Christian history has taught that those who die outside the faith will suffer conscious torment forever. This rests on texts such as Matthew 25:46 and Revelation 20:10. Other passages speak of "destroying" soul and body, of perishing, of death as the wages of sin. A third set speaks of God reconciling all things (Colossians 1:20) and wanting all to be saved. The moral objection is that endless suffering for finite sins seems disproportionate to a loving God.

What believers and scholars say

Traditional view. Morgan, Peterson and the classic confessions hold that the language of "everlasting" and "for ever and ever" is plain, that Jesus spoke of hell more than any other New Testament figure, and that God's justice and the seriousness of sin require it.

Conditional immortality. Fudge, and with some caution Stott, argue that the biblical words for the fate of the lost (destroy, perish, consume) mean that they cease to exist, and that "eternal punishment" means an everlasting result, not an everlasting process. Immortality of the soul, on this view, comes from Greek philosophy, not scripture.

Universalism. Hart and others read passages such as Romans 5:18, 1 Corinthians 15:22 and Philippians 2:10-11 as promising final restoration. Some early church writers, among them Origen and Gregory of Nyssa, held a version of this view. Critics note that other texts speak of a final separation, and that the church later condemned Origen's teaching.

Reverent agnosticism. Many Christians hold that the Bible warns of serious consequences and does not give enough detail to decide among these views.

Where this leaves it

All three views claim the text, and all three have been held by sincere, learned Christians. The traditional view is the oldest in the majority of the church, but the others are neither new nor marginal. The question is less about one verse than about how to weigh the warnings against the hope.