Of course, as previously discussed, the trumpet, loud sound, shouting and loud voice in the Bible is symbolic of proclaiming a clear message far and wide – especially the gospel message and warning of judgement. General Booth interpreted these expressions more literally, believing we must literally shout a loud warning. One of the main driving motives for General Booth’s loud and animated worship and preaching was to get people’s attention in order to keep them from the fiery pits of hell. He believed in eternal conscious torment for the unrepentant. Therefore, there was a strong sense of need to compel people to repent by whatever means possible. Hence, the louder the noise the Salvation Army could make and the more demonstrative they were, the better.

The Salvation Army message, including the lyrics of their songs, was filled with warnings of judgement and hell. The New York Press reported the Salvation Army lassies singing the following song in the crowded sections of the city of London:

“The bells of hell go ding-aling-ling
For you, but not for me;
The sweet-voiced angels sing-a-ling-ling
Through all eternity.
Oh, death, where is thy sting-a-ling-ling;
Oh, grave, thy victory!
No ding-a-ling-ling, no sting-a-ling-ling.
But sing-a-ling-ling for me.”⁴¹³

One Salvation Army author wrote:

“Look till you see the gay forms that sported about two hours ago writhe in the agonies of a torture you cannot possibly exaggerate, and hear the bitter ceaseless wailings of the very voices you just heard shouting with laughter! Look till the little wreathes and puffs of smoke you saw come from them just now swell out into dense black firelit clouds, that roll and roll and twist and swell again till they cover the whole scene with dense darkness – the smoke of your neighbours’ torment ascending up for ever and ever!”^{414 (p64)}

Mrs White grew up in the Methodist Church with this same understanding of eternal suffering for the wicked. Consequently, she was tormented in her mind by thoughts of hell. She wrote of her early years:

“When the thought took possession of my mind that God delighted in the torture of His creatures, who were formed in His image, a wall of darkness seemed to separate me from Him. When I reflected that the Creator of the universe would plunge the wicked into hell, there to burn through the ceaseless rounds of eternity, my heart sank with fear, and I despaired that so cruel and tyrannical a being would ever condescend to save me from the doom of sin.”^{348 (p31)}

However, Mrs White’s understanding of hell quickly evolved in her early life. She grew to trust in God’s loving mercy and, as she studied Scripture, her understanding of hell and what happens to us when we die also changed.

There is not much discussion in General Booth’s discourses on why he believed in eternal conscious torment. He seems to have simply accepted what he had learned from the Methodists on the doctrine of hell, as he did with the other doctrines. Mrs White and the early Adventists, on the other hand, had a lot to say about this doctrine. They made a distinction between what is plain literal language and what is metaphor to help harmonise Biblical references to hell and life after death. For example, Paul said in plain language, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 6:23).” Similarly, Jesus said, “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (Matt 25:46).” Jesus also said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (Jn 3:16).”

Mrs White came to believe from these and related passages that only the righteous live eternally, while the wicked perish – they are eternally annihilated:

“He who chooses a course of disobedience to God’s law is deciding his future destiny; he is sowing to the flesh, earning the wages of sin, even eternal destruction, the opposite of life eternal. Submission to God and obedience to His holy law bring the sure result.”^{231 (p376)}

In other words, Mrs White, along with fellow Advent believers, came to believe in annihilationism. This gave her much comfort, knowing that the wicked were not to consciously suffer for eternity, especially as she grew in her understanding of the depth of God’s love and mercy.

In contradiction to these verses, however, Revelation tells us that the wicked live on forever:

“…the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” (Rev 14:11)

So, do the wicked die an eternal death or do they live on forever in torment? Being a literalist in his approach to understanding the Bible, General Booth interpreted this verse in Revelation very literally. He often applied Scripture very literally. His discourses on hell were very vivid depictions of individuals literally writhing in pain. His church was not just an army in a spiritual sense, but he named and organised his church like a literal army – they were dressed in uniform; assigned to officer ranks, such as lieutenant, colonel, commissioner and general; and they marched to the beat of the drum. He also managed the Salvation Army with an autocratic style of governance much like in a real army.^{161 (pp120-131)}

Adventists, on the other hand, recognised the highly symbolic context of Revelation 14:11 – with references to a beast and an image to the beast and so on. Therefore, they argued, nothing can be taken at face value. If there is no literal ‘wine’ and no literal ‘beast,’ we cannot be sure the ‘smoke’, ‘fire’ or eternal torment are literal either. They were trying to find the harmony between conflicting passages.

Revelation should always be interpreted in light of the rest of Scripture, they concluded. For example, Adventists turned to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah which was totally destroyed by fire and brimstone (Gen 19:12-29). Almost two thousand years later, Jude tells us that Sodom and Gomorrah are “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 1:7).” Eternal fire here cannot be taken literally, they concluded, since the fires of Sodom and Gomorrah burned out two thousand years earlier.

Uriah Smith, a prominent theologian in the early Seventh-day Adventist movement, also turns to Isaiah to shed light on Revelation 14:11.⁴¹⁵ Concerning the Babylonian destruction of Edom, Isaiah says:

 “Its land shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night or day; Its smoke shall ascend forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; No one shall pass through it forever and ever.” (Is 34:9b-10)

Since there are no perpetually burning fires in Edom still burning today, Uriah Smith argues that ‘eternal fire’ and ‘smoke ascending forever’ should not be understood literally. Therefore, it is argued, the imagery of Revelation 14:11, which is very similar to these passages, is also to be understood figuratively.

This is a good illustration of how Seventh-day Adventists interpret Scripture: there is less freedom to allegorise passages which are written as if literal, such as the flood story, but passages which show us by their context that they are figurative must be interpreted based on the meaning of other passages of Scripture. Many scriptural passages written in literal language, including direct teachings of Jesus, tell of our mortal nature and eternal annihilation of the wicked.

The Seventh-day Adventist church is one of the minorities that interprets Revelation 14:11 as figurative rather than literal. Using this line of thinking, Revelation could be interpreted to mean that so great is the contrast between death and the reward of the righteous that, even in their death, it is as if the wicked are tormented and have no rest day and night because of the glory they have missed out on.

Also, belief in eternal torment of the wicked requires belief in the immortal soul – the belief that the soul is a separate entity that continues to exist after death. Many protestant denominations, as with the Roman Catholic Church, hold to the teaching of immortality of the soul. Adventists argued that these beliefs – the doctrines of immortality of the soul and eternal conscious torment of the unrepentant – are based on philosophical reasoning and just a few Biblical references which are highly figurative in nature. Uriah Smith, for example, argued that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is based on philosophical reasoning rather than express teachings from the Bible:

“We are told that the Bible assumes the immortality of the soul as a truth so evident that it is not necessary expressly to affirm it. This is why the doctrine has come to be so generally received notwithstanding there is such explicit evidence against it. It has been taken for granted! Says Bishop Tillotson: ‘The immortality of the soul is rather supposed, or taken for granted, than expressly revealed, in the Bible.’”^{416 (p318)}

Several reformers, such as Martin Luther and William Tyndale, also opposed the doctrine of the immortality of the soul and, instead, defended the teaching of soul sleep – the belief that the soul is unconscious after death until the resurrection. In fact, Luther placed the doctrine of the immortality of the soul among the “monstrous fables that form part of the Roman dunghill of decretals.”^{417 (p255)}

Another problem Mrs White and early Adventists had with interpreting Revelation 14:11 literally is that they felt it does not harmonise with what the Bible teaches about God’s love and mercy. Mrs White said:

“How repugnant to every emotion of love and mercy, and even to our sense of justice, is the doctrine that the wicked dead are tormented with fire and brimstone in an eternally burning hell; that for the sins of a brief, earthly life they are to suffer torture as long as God shall live.”^{159 (p535)}

Eternal torment seems to contradict the loving character of God, although not everyone agrees. The website, Got Questions, gives an explanation for eternal torment despite God’s loving nature:

“As fallen, sinful human beings, we have difficulty grasping the nature of God. We tend to see God as a kind, merciful being whose love for us overrides and overshadows all His other attributes. Of course, God is loving, kind, and merciful, but He is also holy and righteous and just. His attributes exist together and cannot be separated from one another. In His holiness, He cannot tolerate sin (Proverbs 6:16–19). In His righteousness, He is angry with the wicked and disobedient (Isaiah 5:25; Hosea 8:5; Zechariah 10:3). In His justice, He must punish sin. If He failed to punish wrongdoing, God would be unjust.”⁴¹⁸

Mrs White concurs with the sentiments of this statement:

“It is the glory of God to be merciful, full of forbearance, kindness, goodness, and truth. But the justice shown in punishing the sinner is as verily the glory of the Lord as is the manifestation of His mercy.”⁴¹⁹

Many people choose to reject God because they simply do not accept God’s intolerance of sin and His judgement of sinners. God created us in his loving image and with the ability to reason through these issues. People choose to either accept or reject God based on their understanding of His character. The Got Questions article goes on to say:

“All sin is ultimately against God (Psalm 51:4). It is a transgression of His law (1 John 3:4). God is infinite in His nature, infinite in glory, and infinite in worthiness. This makes Him infinitely worthy of obedience, and crimes committed against Him warrant an infinite penalty—eternity in hell.”⁴¹⁸

According to this statement, because of the infinite character of God, sinners must be infinitely tormented. It is an interesting argument; however, for the Adventist, as with the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, rather than relying on express teachings from the Bible, the article relies too much on philosophical reasoning aimed at upholding the doctrine. There is no Biblical reference provided that gives definitive support for eternal conscious torment. Even if the premise of the argument is correct, why cannot the punishment be eternal death? It would still be true to His infinite nature.

Adventists feel that some doctrines are held too firmly without considering Paul’s advice to “Test all things; hold fast what is good (1 Thes 5:21).” Even if it is true that someone’s infinite character requires them to torment others for eternity, it would not necessarily make it moral and just.

God repeatedly challenges us to compare Him with other gods to determine if He is all powerful, righteous, all-knowing, just and loving. For example, in Isaiah 40 we read of the coming Messiah who will bring good tidings (v9) and will reveal the glory of the Lord (v5). This same God who brings salvation to the world is the same mighty God who “measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure (v12).” Then God asks, “To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal (v25)?” and the prophet says, “Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; he calls them all by name, by the greatness of his might and the strength of his power; not one is missing (v26).” We are invited to consider God’s character and attributes. We are given a reason to acknowledge God as worthy of our praise, not simply because He is God, but because of His mercy and glory and His greatness and power above all else.

What if God asked, “To whom then will you liken me. Who else tortures the wicked for eternity?” Would this be something to attract us to Him? The psalmist rejoices in the Lord, asking: “Lord, who is like You, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him (Ps 35:9-10)?” What if the psalmist said instead, “Lord, who is like You, with your strong hand, you will eternally torment unbelievers because they do not love you?” Would this endear our hearts to Him?

The sentiment we get from Mrs White’s statement above is that there is nothing to admire in such an attribute – why would we want to worship, adore and live with someone whose character causes him to torture for eternity people he claims to love? Every single human being, apart from the most vile and depraved, is revolted by this kind of behaviour in humans. Yet, if it was true of God, there would be nothing anyone could do about it, for God is all powerful and immortal. Anyone who objects would have to live with a God whose character they detest, even though they did not choose to be born. Even worse, they would have to be the victim of that eternal torment. On the contrary, according to Mrs White, God does not desire anyone to persist in misery if they do not love Him, “for to bring them into the company of the pure and holy would make them exceedingly miserable.”^{147 (p221)}

Mrs White points out that the purpose of destroying sin is to remove suffering from the universe (Rev 20:15; 21:1,4,8) because sin causes suffering (Gen 3:16-19). So why would God destroy sin only to perpetuate suffering for eternity in hell, she reasons. We do not worship God simply because He is God. We worship Him because we are also attracted to His character, including His grace and mercy. The doctrine of annihilationism teaches that there is nothing attractive about a character that eternally torments people. Everyone either accepts or rejects God based on their understanding of His nature. This doctrine teaches that, if God’s character is such that sinners who reject Him must be tormented for eternity, those who cannot stomach a God of torture have no choice but to yield to Him, for fear of facing the horrifying and unspeakable distress of hell themselves. In other words, God forces acceptance of Him on pain of eternal torment.

Seventh-day Adventists claim that we can safely conclude, in harmony with God’s loving character and with Scripture, that He will not torment the wicked eternally. If they are correct, it is reason to lift our voices to God in joyous praise for eternity! When we truly harmonise with God’s character, praise comes easily.

General Booth describes having visions and dreams throughout his life. In 1906, he published some of these visions, including his famous Vision of the Lost in which he sees people drowning in a dark, stormy ocean, representing the billions of sinners lost in sin and going to hell. In the middle of the ocean is a rock, representing Calvary, where people are rescued from doom.

Likewise, Mrs White describes visions that she had throughout her lifetime, including visions of the afterlife. For example, she describes what she was shown concerning the fate of unbelievers:

“But I saw that God would not shut them up in hell to endure endless misery, neither will He take them to heaven; for to bring them into the company of the pure and holy would make them exceedingly miserable. But He will destroy them utterly and cause them to be as if they had not been; then His justice will be satisfied. He formed man out of the dust of the earth, and the disobedient and unholy will be consumed by fire and return to dust again.”^{147 (p221)}

Adventists argue that the doctrine of eternal torment in hell portrays God as aggressive and merciless. Prior to The Age of Reason and Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, the lands of Christendom presented two options for the afterlife: eternal life in paradise or eternal torment in the lake of fire. General Booth so vividly preached of the torments of hell that listeners would shred their hymn books in anguish. Avoidance of the torment of hell was a common theme in the conversion stories of converts to the Salvation Army in the early years. An edition of The War Cry states:

“Oh, mothers and fathers, take warning, lest you find yourselves at the last day amongst the unhappy crowd, who, while waiting to hear the awful sentence pronounced upon themselves, will see the children they loved writhing with agony and pointing their hell-scorched fingers at you saying, ‘It’s all your fault; it’s all through you.’”^{420 (p83)}

This would have been particularly harrowing for mothers, given they were considered responsible for the spiritual welfare of their children.^{2 (p83)}

Annihilationists argue that the threat of eternal torment in hell allows for no freedom of choice at all. Anyone who takes the time to really think about it would prefer to spend eternity with a God they do not love than in a place of eternal physical torment. Who would choose perpetual torture? However, in true love, there is no coercion.

Paul presents a much fairer and just option from a loving God: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 6:23).” Jesus also presented the same two options: “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (Matt 25:46).” The only option that provides eternal life is acceptance of Jesus. The other option is death – and this punishment is everlasting. Non-believers who do not want to suffer eternity with a God they do not love can choose eternal death. This is fair. It is just and humane. Highly metaphorical passages, such as is found in Revelation and Jesus’ parables, should never be used to overturn the clear and plain teachings of God’s Word that unrepentant sin leads to eternal death. God’s warning to Adam and Eve was that they would surely die if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is only by God’s grace that He has provided a way for a second option: eternal life for believers. Praise God that He sings a tune of compassion, love and mercy, rather than aggression.

Empathetic beings cannot rest when they know that fellow beings are suffering. No wonder the thrust of the Booths’ evangelism focused not so much on the love of Jesus, but on a yearning “to rescue all the souls rushing to hell.”^{2 (p7)} They could not bear the thought that fellow humans were going to hell. No wonder he said he would sooner starve than preach Calvinist doctrine, “one special feature of which was that only a select few could be saved.”^{57 (p21)} He could not bear the thought that the majority of humanity, billions of people, will continue on for eternity in torment. So central was the doctrine of hell to the Salvation Army that General Booth said, “If you were to take hell out of our doctrine, The Salvation Army would soon disappear.”⁴²¹ He believed fear of eternal punishment was a powerful motivator for people to seek salvation and join The Salvation Army.

General Booth’s desire to keep people out of an eternally burning hell was the driving motivation for loud preaching, singing and shouting. He wanted to get the attention of the people. He preached with great earnestness, and rightly so given his belief that the wicked are literally tormented for eternity. For Christians who believe that the lost will be physically tormented for eternity, why are they not weeping and wailing for the lost? Where are the General Booths today? Why are there not more Christians dancing and shouting in the streets? Does anybody care?

Mrs White believed that the doctrine of eternal conscious torment is surely the making of the devil who longs to taint the perfect image of a loving God:

“Satan has painted the character of God in false colors, making people fear, dread, and even hate our merciful Creator. The repulsive views of God that have spread over the world from the teachings of the pulpit have made millions of people skeptics and unbelievers.

Eternal torment is one of the false doctrines, the wine of abomination (Revelation 14:8; 17:2), which Babylon makes all nations drink.”^{422 (p219)}

God never forces anyone to accept Him, Adventists argued; however, anyone who does not love God but truly believes He will torture them for eternity if they do not submit, will submit out of compulsion. Annihilationists teach that the threat of eternal torment removes choice from the relationship. If, on the other hand, someone can choose between death and eternal life, they have an acceptable alternative to living for eternity with a God they hate – that is, eternal nothingness. This is choice. Extreme punishment removes the element of free will. Therefore, God does not force His love on His created beings by making them choose between heaven and eternal torment.

But whether or not you believe in eternal conscious torment or in eternal annihilation, judgement is soon to come upon this earth. A loud warning must go to the world to prepare people but the message must be balanced.  General Booth discovered that he got many more converts when he focused his preaching on hell rather than on Jesus’ love. American pastor and author, the late John MacArthur, taught that hell should be the first topic discussed when we talk about the gospel.⁴²³ Mrs White, on the other hand, said:

“Love is the agency through which God works to draw the heart to him. It is the power by which he expels sin from the soul. In every department of life this principle must be the controlling power. In every enterprise of mercy this alone can give efficiency.”⁴²⁴

In other words, she believed our primary motivation for giving our lives to God should be driven by His loving character. Our message to others should perfectly balance His love and justice.