How to reconcile both Outer Darkness and Unquenchable Fire as descriptions of Hell From the book &quot;4 Views On Hell&quot;, edited by William Crocket (there is a second edition edited by Preston Sprinkle) I understand that until around the 16th century the traditional, orthodox view of the Christian Church regarding Hell has been one of literalism and that the metaphorical take on Fire, Darkness, and Suffering only began to gather momentum since then.
Among those denominations who hold that the &quot;outer darkness&quot; in Matthew 8:12, 22:13, and 25:30 are literal references to Hell, how is this reconciled with Hell's depiction as a place of unquenchable fire?  Is it a fire that gives off no light?
Jesus describes a 'great gulf' when he revealed something of the deceased condition of the rich man, separated by great distance from Lazarus, the beggar who once was left, daily, at his gate, who received nothing from him during life.
In the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, in 14:10-11, John reports the vision concerning the lake of fire :

... he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night ... [KJV]

So there is a great gulf between the justified and the wicked, but the wicked are punished in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.
Thus a great gulf of darkness separates one from the other. The wicked, who worshipped the Beast and his image (Revelation 4:9) are, in comparison to the justified, in an outer and distant darkness . . .
. . .  where there is an unquenchable fire, and brimstone, and a smoke arising.
The holy angels, and the Lamb, who both have a spiritual existence that is not bound by dimension, are present at the place of torment : and also present (and there is the bodily presence of the Son of man) with the justified in the glory of New Jerusalem, the city of the Great King.
But the justified souls and the wicked souls, both raised in the general resurrection, are separated (the one from the other) by a vast distance of darkness.
So I would suggest that both descriptions ('outer darkness' and 'unquenchable fire') are true and are not incompatible.