Armstrongism categorically rejects the traditional doctrine of eternal hell as a place of everlasting conscious torment. Instead, it teaches that the lake of fire represents the second death—complete annihilation—awaiting only those who persistently and willfully reject God's mercy even after their calling. This is reserved for those who truly cannot be reached by God's plan.

The framework involves three or four resurrections: the first resurrection (believers in Christ), the second resurrection (those called during the Millennium), and the Great White Throne judgment (all others), with annihilation only for the finally impenitent. This theology emphasizes God's justice and mercy: no one suffers eternally in torment, but those who definitively reject God face obliteration. Armstrongism thus rejects both universalism and eternal conscious punishment.