Is Hell a real place?
*If it is real, how can a loving God send people there?
*Is there ever an escape from Hell for people who have committed relatively minor sins?
These questions can be answered in the Bible. We’ll address them at the bottom of this article.
The Bible says Hell is a very real place. It is described as eternal separation from God. It is explained as everlasting punishment for our sin.
The Old Testament alludes to Hell, but it is really the teaching of Jesus in the New Testament that gives us a clearer picture of its reality.
Actually, when Jesus taught on earth He taught more about Hell than Heaven. That shows that the Lord is vitally concerned that we choose Heaven and avoid the Lake of Fire.
Hell is a Fiery Furnace
Matthew 13:41-42, 49-50 say, “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace.
“In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Mark 9:43, 48-49 say, “And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire…where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. For everyone will be salted with fire.”
Hell is described as being like a fiery furnace where there will be weeping with anger and eternal regret. This weeping and gnashing of teeth is mentioned twice so as to emphasize the reality of hell.
Jesus also said it is a place not where “the” worm never dies but a place where “their” worm does not die. The worm means that it is their own personal gnawing of their conscience for their lifetime of rejecting Christ and this worm never dies, just like the Gehenna fire, which was a trash dump outside the walls of Jerusalem.
That was a place where trash was continually dumped and maggots or worms never died off because there was always something thrown onto it so the worms or maggots had a constant supply of food.
Hell is a Place of Outer Darkness
Matthew 22:13 says, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 8:12 says, “…while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Since Jesus is the light of the world and God is light (John 1) then naturally the absence of God is the absence of light. Remember at Calvary when the Father withdrew during Jesus’ death on the cross?
There were three hours of darkness because for the first time in all eternity, God the Father had to withdraw from Jesus as God cannot look upon sin and when the darkness came, it revealed that God had withdrawn.
This is why Jesus felt forsaken at the cross and said when the darkness came from the sixth hour (noon) until the ninth hour (3 p.m.) “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” (Matt 27:45-46) The answer of course was because Jesus had become sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Hell Lasts Forever
Matthew 25:46 says, “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Revelation 14:9-11; 19:3 say, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
“And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name. The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”
Since the Book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ and not really of the Apostle John (Rev 1:1), we can take the words of Revelation as Jesus’ own words.
Jesus said that “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night” so this torment is not until they pay for their sins or until they are burned up but it goes on forever and ever (ages without end, literally) and they will have “no rest, day or night,” forever and ever.
Jesus’ death and resurrection “brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim 1:10) .Immortality is not a temporary life but it is a life without end.
Hell is a Place of Torment
Luke 16:23 says, “Being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.”
Revelation 14:10-11 says, “He also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
“And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
The torment goes on for all time and even the smoke of their torment is forever and ever and “goes up” and this torment takes place “with fire and sulfur” so it is a tangible, real event in time and space where all five senses are involved.
Remember the account in Luke 16:24-26 of the rich man and Lazarus where the rich man begged Abraham to bring even a tiny drop of water to bring him some relief from his vicious thirst by saying,
“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'.”
All the senses were still being felt; thirst, a feeling of heat, the memories remain intact so that all of the memories of a lifetime of rejecting the gospel were recalled. Maybe this is why there is so much “weeping and gnashing (grinding) of teeth.”
Fear God and Live
Luke 12:5 says, “But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!”
The conclusion of the matter is to fear God and live. The surprising thing is not that only some go to Heaven (Matt 7:13-14) but that anyone goes to Heaven.
We all deserve the wrath of God because of our sin, but God extends to anyone who would believe in the Son of God His grace and mercy.
Today may be your day of salvation if you have not yet been saved.
Some say they don’t believe in Hell but not believing in something doesn’t mean it isn’t real.
Response to Questions
In response to the first question above, some say that a good God would not send anyone to Hell. They have created a god that fits their mold without biblical support.
We must remember that the Bible warns, “Fear him.” If we reject the Son of God, the Father will reject us.
Noted author and preacher Charles Spurgeon implores those who have accepted Christ to share the message of the risen Savior with the unsaved.
He writes, “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”
God will forgive any and all who repent of their sins and believe in their heart that Christ is the Son of God who paid for all our sins when He died on the cross and rose again from the dead.
Pray something like this:
Admit
"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
Pray:
Lord, I admit that I am a sinner. Others have committed bigger sins than I have, but I am still a sinner.
Believe
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
Pray:
Lord, I believe that Jesus died and shed His blood for my sins. I believe this in my heart and not just my head.
Call
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)
Pray:
Lord, I call on You to save me from my sins. I confess and repent of my sins. I know that your Son Jesus paid my debt on the cross—a debt I could never pay despite all my good works—and I thankfully accept your gift of eternal life in Heaven that His death made possible.
