The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

---

We should clarify that only God is truly eternal. That is, only the uncreated Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share the unique attribute of being without beginning or end. So, when we look at passages like Matthew 25:41, in what sense are we to understand the final destinies of the sheep, goats, Satan, and evil spirits as eternal? 

The Greek word rendered “eternal” in this passage is aionios, which generally means “without beginning or end, that which always has been and always will be.” In some contexts, aionios may be rendered “without beginning” or “without end, never to cease, everlasting.” R. T. France, in his commentary on Matthew, says the word “may convey either the sense of ‘going on forever’ or that of ‘belonging to the age to come.’”

Since these places of blessing and punishment are “prepared,” they must have come into existence; that is, God must have created them. Surely, the earthly kingdom in which the sheep enjoy everlasting life, and into which God brings his heavenly throne, is created (and ultimately renovated; cf. 2 Pet. 3:10-13). So, the concept of “eternal life” means not only “without end;” it also signifies a quality of life as we enjoy unbroken fellowship with the one who truly is eternal. 

Many Scriptures address the qualitative nature of eternal life with Christ. Jesus’ words in John 5:24 are one example: “Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life” (emphasis added). Believing sinners receive eternal life now, as a present reality, passing from spiritual death into new life in Christ. As Paul puts it, “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). 

This is eternal life in the qualitative sense. Followers of Jesus do not become eternally existing beings; only God is without beginning or end. But because we have entered into a covenant relationship with the Son of God, his eternal life is bound to ours. And thus, as long as Jesus lives, we live, too (John 14:19). 

But there’s more. This qualitative aspect of eternal life is permanent and non-revocable, thus everlasting. That is, those who receive eternal life through faith in Jesus enjoy the never-ending benefits of our covenant relationship with him. We look forward to the new heavens and new earth, where we enjoy face-to-face fellowship with our creator for all eternity.

Perhaps there is a similar sense in which Satan, evil spirits, and wicked people enter into both qualitative and quantitative “eternal punishment.” God certainly foreknows their banishment to the lake of fire, and they stand condemned today (John 3:18; 16:11). Just as believers are foreknown, elected, and predestined outside of time – one might say in “eternity past” – so Satan, evil spirits, and unbelievers are foreknown as those who reject God and thus choose eternity apart from him. 

Wicked angels and unbelieving people live today as renegades, outside the intimate fellowship that believers in Christ and holy angels enjoy with God. Thus, they presently reap everlasting punishment in a qualitative sense. They experience never-ending punishment, in the quantitative sense, when they are cast into outer darkness after final judgment. So, their “eternal punishment” is foreknown, determined, experienced now in spiritual darkness, and without end.

Finally, when we think of the fires of hell, we should not disconnect them from the presence of God. Remember that God often is associated with fire throughout Scripture. He appears to Moses in a burning bush (Exod. 3). His presence radiates through the pillar of fire and cloud during the Israelites’ forty years in the desert. He comes down on Mount Sinai in fire (Exod. 19:18).

The writer of Hebrews depicts him as a “consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29). John’s vision of heaven shows the seven spirits – or seven-fold Spirit – blazing like fire before the throne in heaven (Rev. 4:5). Further, John sees those who worship the beast being tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb (Rev. 14:10).

The fires with which God is associated provide holy angels and believing sinners with light, warmth, protection, and guidance. These same fires torment rebellious angels and unrepentant sinners. In some respects, the blazing brilliance of hellfire is the backside of heaven’s Shekinah glory. It continuously reveals the holiness of God and perpetually sears the blackened hearts of the damned.

The fires of heaven and hell are not two distinct fires. They share the same divine source but have very different effects on the righteous and the wicked.

Next: The Abyss (Revelation 20:1-3)