Also, in Mark 9:48 Jesus says that hell is “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” A fire can only remain if it has something to burn. If a worm cannot die in this fire, then who is to say that the flame would annihilate a human soul?
Furthermore, if hell is either annihilation or a metaphor then Jesus lied in telling the story about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). In this story the rich man is in conscious torment and is never annihilated or ceases to exist or feel pain. Furthermore, if this story is only a metaphor or a parable (as the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach) then why would Jesus go against the usual form of His parables, in which He never mentions the names of real people (Lazarus and Abraham)? Here is the passage:
“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” (Luke 16:19-31)
Pluralism
Another belief that is the kissing cousin of universalism is pluralism: the belief that there are many ways to God besides Jesus. This is the gist of pluralism: Although Jesus is the Son of God and the highest manifestation of God and His will (John 14:9), other religions also teach a lower level of truth about God and, hence, are also able to be a dispenser of God’s grace to penitent followers.
The idea behind pluralism is that each person only has a certain amount of revelation about God and will be judged according to the revelation they have. The implications of this belief are significant: If someone is a good Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, follower of Confucius, etc. they will be saved even though their religion is not equal in value or revelation to Christianity.
Scripture challenges this position. Jesus wasn’t too kind with all His religious predecessors when He called them “thieves and robbers” (John 10:8). He said in no uncertain terms that He is the only door to salvation (John 10:9) and the only light of the world (John 8:12). Divine revelation only comes through Him (John 1:9) and through the Spirit He sends (John 16:7-15). Jesus left no doubts as to His place as the only way to salvation when He said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” and that “no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The apostles carried this theme and taught that salvation is only in the name of Jesus, and that there is no other name by which a person can be saved (Acts 4:12).
Finally, there are some who interpret Romans 2:12-16 to mean that God will give everyone a chance to choose Christ after they die. This is because everyone has a sense of God’s revelation in their hearts that they follow the best they can, based on following the innate Law of God given to men at birth through their conscience. Let’s look at this passage:
