In recent weeks, there has been renewed interest in the doctrine of hell. The reason for the renewed interest is due to the comments of Kirk Cameron, a public Christian figure. Cameron is well-known because of his time in Hollywood, his work with Ray Comfort, and his outspoken faith. Recently, however, Cameron has made headlines because of his questions regarding the doctrine of hell. It seems Cameron has endorsed a position known as annihilationism (see here and here for Cameron’s own words).

What is annihilationism, and how does annihilationism differ from the more traditional view of eternal conscious torment (ECT)? The annihilationist believes that those who do not come to Christ by faith (and thus are not justified and will not finally be saved) will experience conscious punishment in hell for a limited time. After a time of punishment, they experience the second and final death. The second death is understood as ceasing to exist. They are, in a word, annihilated. The more traditional view is known as eternal conscious torment (for an excellent treatment of ECT, see this article by Denny Burk). This view agrees with the annihilationist in that the lost are sent to hell to experience God’s judgment, but it asserts that this judgment is experienced consciously forever (i.e., eternally). That is, the second death does not end in annihilation but in consignment to a place of eternal suffering as payment for their sins. Just as the saved experience a conscious and joyful existence with God in the new heavens and new earth, the lost experience a conscious and grievous existence apart from God in hell.

As this discussion has been renewed here at the end of 2025, a few things caught my attention.

First, Ryan Denton, a pastor in Texas, tweeted a passage from G. K. Beale‘s commentary on Revelation 14 that aimed to undermine the doctrine of annihilationism. Beale noted that if annihilationism is indeed the correct view of God’s judgment against sin, then how do we account for the fact that Jesus, in bearing the wrath of God, did not cease to exist (nor could he!)? Denton summarized Beale: “If Jesus suffered the penalty of sin, and if that penalty is annihilation and not eternal suffering, then would not Jesus have been annihilated and thus gone out of existence at the cross? And if this logic be accepted, it involves a Christological heresy: How could the second person of the Trinity have gone out of existence at any point?” (See this post and the subsequent pushback from those in the annihilationist camp for intriguing points.)

Second, one question I have is how annihilationism deals with the resurrection of the dead. That is, at what point are the lost annihilated? As we noted above, at some point in the future, God will raise the dead. Those in Christ are raised to eternal life, and those outside of Christ are raised to eternal damnation (John 5:29; cf., Rev 20:11–15). Therefore, the annihilationist position posits that ceasing to exist is what happens to those who are raised outside of Christ. Thus, those who die without Christ in this life are certainly judged in hell for a period of time. They will eventually be raised unto judgment, where they are finally annihilated (i.e., the second death). I’m not advocating for the correctness of such a few, merely describing what seems to be the position. This renewed discussion filled out the picture for me in terms of chronology.

(This, by the way, is one reason theological debate is often helpful. It helps us learn and clarify.)

One other thing caught my eye during the online discussion. Some have cried, “heresy!” in reference to the annihilationist view. Others have suggested that, though this is not the traditional view, it is not heretical. Concerning the latter position, Wesley Huff asserted that annihilationism was likely unorthodox, but it is not a theological heresy. Here are Huff’s remarks on X:

With @KirkCameron announcing his position on conditionalism I’m seeing a lot of people attempting to critique it. I hold to ECT, but I do understand the topic of conditional immortality and I have yet to see anyone actually give a rebuttal that shows me they’ve interacted with the arguments and biblical reasoning from the other side. To condemn conditionalism/annihilationism as heresy is to say that John Stott, Edward Fudge, F. F. Bruce, potentially even Athanasius of Alexandria, are all heretics. This is, with all due respect, ridiculous. While the position might be unorthodox it is not heresy.

For Huff, the annihilationist position is likely unorthodox; however, it shouldn’t be categorized as heresy (Huff recommends this video to help understand the issues). That doesn’t mean it isn’t a serious error and worthy of our careful study. Denny Burk writes, “At the end of the day, this is a question of biblical interpretation. What does the Bible teach?… [and]…Western “Christians” who forsake the traditional doctrine of Hell tend to be drifting in other crucial areas of doctrine as well” (read his article). More recently, Burk has offered this caution to Cameron (and others): “While a sincere Christian may be in error on this point, the error is far more than a trifle [bold emphasis added] because it implicates the majesty and holiness of God. For that reason, I hope and pray Cameron will reconsider. The issue is too important” (see this article).

Where do we go from here? I’d suggest we let this renewed discussion drive us to read more of our Bibles, think more deeply about the doctrine of hell and its duration, and share the gospel with more urgency and passion.

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:41–46)