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HELL KNOW!: Eternal Torment or Everlasting Destruction?
Hell is a hot topic! The Bible teaches that unredeemed people will stand before God on Judgment Day and those whose names are not found in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire. The Bible calls this the "second death." What is the nature of this second death? Will these people suffer fiery torment forever and ever, as has been taught since the time of Augustine in the early 5th Century? Or will they be BURNED UP—literally destroyed forever with no hope of resurrection? And what about universalism, the idea that everyone will ultimately be saved? The author used to subscribe to the eternal torture doctrine until he honestly studied the Scriptures and discovered what they plainly teach on the subject—EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION. The biblical evidence is actually overwhelming! Read HELL KNOW and see for yourself. HELL KNOW has been a hit on the internet for years. This is the freshly edited NEW REVISED EDITION (2018).
353 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 6, 2018
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February 22, 2026
A STRONG ATTACK ON ‘ETERNAL TORTURE,’ AND A SUPPORT OF CONDITIONALISM
Dirk Wren is the director of the Fountain of Life Teaching ministry, and author of ‘Sheol Know,’ and other books.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 2014 book, “The Bible teaches that those who reject God’s message of reconciliation and gift of eternal life will be cast into the lake of fire, which is described as ‘the second death.’ This is eternal damnation with no hope of redemption. The purpose of [this book] is to examine the Holy Scriptures to determine the precise nature of this ‘second death.’ Let me emphasize that there’s absolutely no disputing the fact that eternal damnation is a dreadful reality in Christian thought. We should take the Bible’s repeated warnings of such seriously, and encourage others to do the same.”
He explains in Chapter 1, “I read in a major news magazine that the teaching of hell as eternal torture has all but disappeared from the pulpit ministry in both mainline and evangelical churches… yes, you’ll hear ‘hell’ thrown around now and then, but you’ll rarely, if ever, hear anyone explain what he or she means by the term---suffering fiery conscious torment forever and ever with no merciful respite from the agony. If this is true, why is everyone so timid about spelling it out loud and clear? The answer is obvious. They’re ASHAMED of it because, as Clark Pinnock puts is, the doctrine of eternal torture makes God out to be morally worse than Hitler ‘who maintains an eternal Auschwitz for his enemies… How can one love a God like that?’” (Pg. 10)
He continues, “Although there are many good reasons for questioning this teaching, the most important reason is the simple fact that the Bible does not teach it… The Bible gives strong, irrefutable proof to any honest reader that hell, the lake fo fire, signifies literal EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION for ungodly people, not eternal conscious torment. This is the main reason why so many Christians of all persuasions are embracing the doctrine of everlasting destruction not because they’re ‘going liberal’ as supporters of eternal torment claim. It’s a case of going BIBLICAL, not going liberal.” (Pg. 11)
He explains, “Notice that [in 2 Tim 1:10] life and immortality are only available to people through the gospel… The gospel literally means ‘good news.’ Its main message is summed up in … John 3:16… Note what is clearly being contrasted in both of these passages: In John 3;16 ‘perish’ is contrasted with the gift of ETERNAL LIFE; in 2 Timothy 1:19 death is contrasted with both IMMORTALITY and LIFE. If the eternal torture doctrine were true, these verses would be contrasting eternal life and eternal life being tortured, or immortality and immortality in fiery torment.” (Pg.14-15)
He notes, “the usual, basic meaning of the Greek word ‘apollumi’---‘to perish,’ or ‘destroy utterly’ by many other biblical words that likewise describe the second death strictly in terms of literal death and complete destruction… Jesus and the apostles’ descriptions of the second death: [is] die, death, destruction, destroy, and perish… This ‘language of destruction’ is consistently used to describe the eternal fate of the ungodly in the New Testament, not the language of eternal conscious torment, not the language of ‘eternal separation from God,’ not the language of ‘ruin, loss…’ but the language of DESTRUCTION.” (Pg. 31)
He states that in Jude 7, “the Bible clearly states that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by ‘eternal fire.’ Yet, how could this be since the fiery destruction of these cities has long since taken place? This shows that the phrase ‘eternal fire’ refers to fiery destruction that lasts forever and not to eternal torture because the fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah has long since gone out, but their destruction remains.” (Pg. 63)
He asserts, “The bottom line is that nowhere does the bible state that the human soul, once created, is immortal and can never die. ‘Nepesh,’ the Hebrew word for ‘soul,’ appears 750 times in the Old Testament and ‘psuche,’ the Greek word for ‘soul’ appears over 100 times in the New Testament… yet none say anything about [the soul] being immortal by nature… God plainly informed Adam, who was a ‘living soul,’ that he would ‘surely die’ if he sinned (Gen 2:17). He also pointed out that in Ezekiel 18: 4, 20 ‘the soul (nepesh) who sins.. will DIE.’… Jesus plainly declared that God would ‘DESTROY both soul (psuche) and body in hell (Mt 10:28)… Obviously this idea that a human soul cannot die or be destroyed is alien to the God-breathed Scriptures.” (Pg. 87-88)
He observes, “The key phrase here that eternal torturists use to support their position is, of course, ‘there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ [Mt. 13:40-42, and elsewhere.]… regarding the ‘weeping,’ if you were an unrepentant rebel against God, would you not be weeping the day you finally fell into His hands for judgment?… Edward Fudge interestingly points out that ‘gnashing of teeth’ in the Bible describes the wrath of an adversary about to kill his victim. In other words, the … the wrath of an adversary about to kill his victim.” (Pg. 118)
He argues, “So what does Jesus say will be done with the unrighteous in Matthew 25:41 an 46 above?… What he says is that they will be cast ‘into the eternal fire’ which is the ‘lake of fire’… Please note that Jesus said ‘eternal punishment’ and not ‘eternal punishING.’… Like eternal redemption and eternal judgment, eternal punishment is eternal in the sense that its RESULTS are eternal… Furthermore… Jude 7 plainly states that Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown by ‘eternal fire.’ Since these cities have long since been completely incinerated, ‘eternal fire’ in this context must refer to total destruction which LASTS forever and not never-ending conscious torment.” (Pg. 122-123)
He acknowledges, “[Revelation 14:9-11] describes the harsh divine judgment that will befall people who choose to worship the beast and receive his mark during the Tribulation period. I admit that a casual reading of this passage gives the IMPRESSION that these people will suffer eternal roasting torment, but … There are four solid reasons why we cannot interpret this passage as a reference to eternal torture. First of all… ‘Smoke’ indicates that they will be burned up and ‘torment’ would refer to the anguish experienced while being burned up… The second reason … is because this passage has a ‘sister text’ which uses the very same terminology where the meaning can’t possibly be mistaken… Reading [Isaiah 34:9-10] we get the impression that the kingdom of Edom will burn forever and ever… Therefore the statement … cannot be taken to mean what it might casually appear to mean… The third reason … is because there are other passages in the book of Revelation [Ch. 18] that also use the terminology … but…. These passages distinctly refer to complete DESTRUCTION by fire… Fourthly… Notice… where the tormenting is taking place: ‘...in the presence of the holy angels and of the lamb.’ … This presents a problem for the view of eternal torment as it shows a God who sadistically tortures his human enemies in his presence forever and ever.” (Pg. 133-137)
He asserts, “never-ending torment is such a fiendish notion that it can only originate from the dark recesses of the flesh, the carnal side of the human psyche… I personally believe that these people who staunchly support eternal torture… have given reign to their flesh in this one area.” (Pg. 195)
He also contends, “In most Christian circles abortion is considered a great evil… but the doctrine of eternal torture would actually make abortion a virtuous act. After all, killing a child in the womb would guarantee his/her salvation from perpectual existence in roasting agony.” (Pg. 196)
What about postmortem evangelism? “Most people who reject the idea … quote Hebrews 9:27… [But] all this passage states is that every person is destined to die and be judged. Who’s to say that God’s judgment will not include an opportunity to accept the gospel, particularly those who never really had a chance to do so?” (Pg. 206)
He states, “Although I personally reject a strict take on restrictivism and believe that God will offer salvation to qualifying unevangalized people, it would be counterproductive to get bogged down in such weighty matters… I entertain the possibility that such people will be given some kind of simulation test where God can properly verify if they would receive the gospel of reconciliation or reject it...” (Pg. 208-209)
He recounts, “I belonged to a large Evangelical/Charismatic church … from 1986-1996… It’s important to bring up my background so that no one accuses me of being an ex-Jehovah’s Witness or that I was somehow poisoned by Adventist theology or what have you… the truth slowly started to dawn on me… By the early 1990s I had become absolutely convinced of what the Scriptures taught concerning eternal damnation.” (Pg. 239-240)
He concludes, “the doctrine of eternal torture is a sadistic teaching completely foreign to the Bible. It originates from a satanic lie, is founded on a pagan view of human nature---an immortal soul apart from Christ---and is perpetuated by religious tradition. It is a horrible stain on Christianity and a blasphemy to the just, merciful nature of the almighty LORD.” (Pg. 247)
This strongly-worded critique of the traditional doctrine will appeal to many rejecting hell, and/or supporting conditional immortality.
Dirk Wren is the director of the Fountain of Life Teaching ministry, and author of ‘Sheol Know,’ and other books.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 2014 book, “The Bible teaches that those who reject God’s message of reconciliation and gift of eternal life will be cast into the lake of fire, which is described as ‘the second death.’ This is eternal damnation with no hope of redemption. The purpose of [this book] is to examine the Holy Scriptures to determine the precise nature of this ‘second death.’ Let me emphasize that there’s absolutely no disputing the fact that eternal damnation is a dreadful reality in Christian thought. We should take the Bible’s repeated warnings of such seriously, and encourage others to do the same.”
He explains in Chapter 1, “I read in a major news magazine that the teaching of hell as eternal torture has all but disappeared from the pulpit ministry in both mainline and evangelical churches… yes, you’ll hear ‘hell’ thrown around now and then, but you’ll rarely, if ever, hear anyone explain what he or she means by the term---suffering fiery conscious torment forever and ever with no merciful respite from the agony. If this is true, why is everyone so timid about spelling it out loud and clear? The answer is obvious. They’re ASHAMED of it because, as Clark Pinnock puts is, the doctrine of eternal torture makes God out to be morally worse than Hitler ‘who maintains an eternal Auschwitz for his enemies… How can one love a God like that?’” (Pg. 10)
He continues, “Although there are many good reasons for questioning this teaching, the most important reason is the simple fact that the Bible does not teach it… The Bible gives strong, irrefutable proof to any honest reader that hell, the lake fo fire, signifies literal EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION for ungodly people, not eternal conscious torment. This is the main reason why so many Christians of all persuasions are embracing the doctrine of everlasting destruction not because they’re ‘going liberal’ as supporters of eternal torment claim. It’s a case of going BIBLICAL, not going liberal.” (Pg. 11)
He explains, “Notice that [in 2 Tim 1:10] life and immortality are only available to people through the gospel… The gospel literally means ‘good news.’ Its main message is summed up in … John 3:16… Note what is clearly being contrasted in both of these passages: In John 3;16 ‘perish’ is contrasted with the gift of ETERNAL LIFE; in 2 Timothy 1:19 death is contrasted with both IMMORTALITY and LIFE. If the eternal torture doctrine were true, these verses would be contrasting eternal life and eternal life being tortured, or immortality and immortality in fiery torment.” (Pg.14-15)
He notes, “the usual, basic meaning of the Greek word ‘apollumi’---‘to perish,’ or ‘destroy utterly’ by many other biblical words that likewise describe the second death strictly in terms of literal death and complete destruction… Jesus and the apostles’ descriptions of the second death: [is] die, death, destruction, destroy, and perish… This ‘language of destruction’ is consistently used to describe the eternal fate of the ungodly in the New Testament, not the language of eternal conscious torment, not the language of ‘eternal separation from God,’ not the language of ‘ruin, loss…’ but the language of DESTRUCTION.” (Pg. 31)
He states that in Jude 7, “the Bible clearly states that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by ‘eternal fire.’ Yet, how could this be since the fiery destruction of these cities has long since taken place? This shows that the phrase ‘eternal fire’ refers to fiery destruction that lasts forever and not to eternal torture because the fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah has long since gone out, but their destruction remains.” (Pg. 63)
He asserts, “The bottom line is that nowhere does the bible state that the human soul, once created, is immortal and can never die. ‘Nepesh,’ the Hebrew word for ‘soul,’ appears 750 times in the Old Testament and ‘psuche,’ the Greek word for ‘soul’ appears over 100 times in the New Testament… yet none say anything about [the soul] being immortal by nature… God plainly informed Adam, who was a ‘living soul,’ that he would ‘surely die’ if he sinned (Gen 2:17). He also pointed out that in Ezekiel 18: 4, 20 ‘the soul (nepesh) who sins.. will DIE.’… Jesus plainly declared that God would ‘DESTROY both soul (psuche) and body in hell (Mt 10:28)… Obviously this idea that a human soul cannot die or be destroyed is alien to the God-breathed Scriptures.” (Pg. 87-88)
He observes, “The key phrase here that eternal torturists use to support their position is, of course, ‘there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ [Mt. 13:40-42, and elsewhere.]… regarding the ‘weeping,’ if you were an unrepentant rebel against God, would you not be weeping the day you finally fell into His hands for judgment?… Edward Fudge interestingly points out that ‘gnashing of teeth’ in the Bible describes the wrath of an adversary about to kill his victim. In other words, the … the wrath of an adversary about to kill his victim.” (Pg. 118)
He argues, “So what does Jesus say will be done with the unrighteous in Matthew 25:41 an 46 above?… What he says is that they will be cast ‘into the eternal fire’ which is the ‘lake of fire’… Please note that Jesus said ‘eternal punishment’ and not ‘eternal punishING.’… Like eternal redemption and eternal judgment, eternal punishment is eternal in the sense that its RESULTS are eternal… Furthermore… Jude 7 plainly states that Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown by ‘eternal fire.’ Since these cities have long since been completely incinerated, ‘eternal fire’ in this context must refer to total destruction which LASTS forever and not never-ending conscious torment.” (Pg. 122-123)
He acknowledges, “[Revelation 14:9-11] describes the harsh divine judgment that will befall people who choose to worship the beast and receive his mark during the Tribulation period. I admit that a casual reading of this passage gives the IMPRESSION that these people will suffer eternal roasting torment, but … There are four solid reasons why we cannot interpret this passage as a reference to eternal torture. First of all… ‘Smoke’ indicates that they will be burned up and ‘torment’ would refer to the anguish experienced while being burned up… The second reason … is because this passage has a ‘sister text’ which uses the very same terminology where the meaning can’t possibly be mistaken… Reading [Isaiah 34:9-10] we get the impression that the kingdom of Edom will burn forever and ever… Therefore the statement … cannot be taken to mean what it might casually appear to mean… The third reason … is because there are other passages in the book of Revelation [Ch. 18] that also use the terminology … but…. These passages distinctly refer to complete DESTRUCTION by fire… Fourthly… Notice… where the tormenting is taking place: ‘...in the presence of the holy angels and of the lamb.’ … This presents a problem for the view of eternal torment as it shows a God who sadistically tortures his human enemies in his presence forever and ever.” (Pg. 133-137)
He asserts, “never-ending torment is such a fiendish notion that it can only originate from the dark recesses of the flesh, the carnal side of the human psyche… I personally believe that these people who staunchly support eternal torture… have given reign to their flesh in this one area.” (Pg. 195)
He also contends, “In most Christian circles abortion is considered a great evil… but the doctrine of eternal torture would actually make abortion a virtuous act. After all, killing a child in the womb would guarantee his/her salvation from perpectual existence in roasting agony.” (Pg. 196)
What about postmortem evangelism? “Most people who reject the idea … quote Hebrews 9:27… [But] all this passage states is that every person is destined to die and be judged. Who’s to say that God’s judgment will not include an opportunity to accept the gospel, particularly those who never really had a chance to do so?” (Pg. 206)
He states, “Although I personally reject a strict take on restrictivism and believe that God will offer salvation to qualifying unevangalized people, it would be counterproductive to get bogged down in such weighty matters… I entertain the possibility that such people will be given some kind of simulation test where God can properly verify if they would receive the gospel of reconciliation or reject it...” (Pg. 208-209)
He recounts, “I belonged to a large Evangelical/Charismatic church … from 1986-1996… It’s important to bring up my background so that no one accuses me of being an ex-Jehovah’s Witness or that I was somehow poisoned by Adventist theology or what have you… the truth slowly started to dawn on me… By the early 1990s I had become absolutely convinced of what the Scriptures taught concerning eternal damnation.” (Pg. 239-240)
He concludes, “the doctrine of eternal torture is a sadistic teaching completely foreign to the Bible. It originates from a satanic lie, is founded on a pagan view of human nature---an immortal soul apart from Christ---and is perpetuated by religious tradition. It is a horrible stain on Christianity and a blasphemy to the just, merciful nature of the almighty LORD.” (Pg. 247)
This strongly-worded critique of the traditional doctrine will appeal to many rejecting hell, and/or supporting conditional immortality.
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