Degrees of judgment for the lost?

11/29/12  One student asks: When you say different people will be judged more severely in hell, what do you mean? Is hell hotter for some people?

The degrees of judgment for the lost is a difficult teaching in scripture to comprehend. Why is it difficult. One main reason seems to be at the forefront. How can hell be hotter for some, that is, is torment more severe for some than for others?

Most theologians argue for eternal conscious torment of the wicked. This means that wicked mankind that did not accept Christ will be eternally condemned in the lake of fire (Rev 20:11-15). They will be conscious during this torment. Conscious simply means aware of the situation and probably the causes of the situation (Luke 16:19-31). When we speak of degrees of judgment for the wicked, those who rejected God's revelation to them will be punished according to their deeds (Matt 11:20-24; Luke 12:47-48; Rom 2:5-6; Rev 20:11-15). The idea seems to be the greater the knowledge of God's revelation the greater the judgment. One theologian says helpfully:

"To some extent, the different degrees of punishment reflect the fact that hell is God's leaving sinful man with the particular character that he fashioned for himself in this life. The misery one will experience from having to live with one's wicked self eternally will be proportionate to his degree of awareness of precisely what he was doing when he chose evil." (Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1983, p. 1240)