A Draft of Resolving the Problem of the Co-Existence of Unceasing Hell and Eternal Love of God

Dariusz Jaros

Abstract

The goal of this article is to resolve the theological problem which lays at the basis of the discussion about the eternity of hell and apocatastasis. This problem is the lack of a harmonious interpretation of the Biblical pericope about the mysterious reconciliation in Christ in union with texts on eternal condemnation. The author of the article differentiates evil from suffering and presents the thesis that in hell after a purifying judgment there will no longer be moral evil, but only eternal suffering. This thesis makes it possible to harmonize the interpretation of the two mentioned groups of Biblical texts, keeping their essential meanings. The article emphasizes that earthly life is a test of love, whose essence is the response a man gives to God’s proposition. The principle of the eternity of hell is stronger than the will of man, or even Satan. This principle is the fact that history can not be reversed and facts can not be ignored. Therefore, the theological explanation was developed that the eternity of hell points to the internal consequences of sin, but is independent of the theory of “eternal obduracy”. The author of the article in a new way accounts for the eternity of condemnation, even though he accepts the reparative and sensible character of suffering in hell.