HELL

 Hell is a real place where certain people will be punished forever.

This is the historical, orthodox doctrine of hell. Some theologians claim, though, that it is a temporary place prior to annihilation. We will, of course, look at what the Bible says about it.

First, what did Jesus say? 

He spoke of hell as an eternal reality.

Jesus spoke of hell more than anyone else in the Bible. He referred to it as a place of eternal punishment, a place of suffering, and a place where there is no fellowship with God. 

Hell is a place of eternal punishment.

In his story referring to the righteous as sheep and the wicked as goats, He said of the goats “these will go away into eternal punishment”. (Matthew 25:46) 

The punishment is for rejecting Jesus through unbelief. John 3:18 says “Whoever believes in him (Jesus) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only So of God.” Condemned means judged and sentenced to punishment, not just criticized. 

Paul echoed this theme when he wrote:

“…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might…” (2 Thessalonians 1:5–10)

The punishment of hell is permanent and eternal. 

Hell is a place of suffering.

Jesus says in hell “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:12). The intensity of misery will makes a person grind his teeth as he or she bears the suffering. Weeping and gnashing of teeth is Jesus’ typical description of suffering in  Matthew’s Gospel. 

The identical phrase appears in Matt. 8:12; 13:50; 22:13; 24:51; and Matt. 25:30.

The cause of the suffering is often credited to eternal fire. For example, Jesus referred to hell as a “fiery furnace” where law-breakers will be thrown at the end of the age when he returns. 

“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” (Matt. 13:41–42). 

He referred to it as the “hell of fire”. (Matthew 5:22), the “unquenchable fire” (Mark 9:43) and the , “eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41).

He said that, upon his return, the wicked would be thrown into the fiery furnace where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:40-42)

Jesus also described hell in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, in Luke 16:19-31. The rich man in hell was “in torment” and “anguish”.

This punishment is permanent, not temporary. John’s vision of eternity was that  sinners’ “portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death”. (Revelation 21:8)

One should fear eternal death more than physical death since eternal death is forever. That is what “eternal” means, after all. 

The verse functions as an argument against Annihilationism as well. Annihialationism is the view that those consigned to hell will eventually cease entirely to exist. But, if the final judgment simply ended existence, then it would be of the same nature as physical death. Jesus calls upon men and women to believe in him because eternal life and eternal death are at stake.

Hell is a place with no fellowship with God.

While believers bask in the glory of God in eternity, so bright that there is no need of sun or moon (Revelation 21:23), Hell will be bereft of God’s glory, a place of gloomy darkness. 

"Cast into outer darkness" is a phrase from the Gospel of Matthew (8:12, 22:13, 25:30) describing hell as place of exclusion, woe, and judgment. It represents a state of total separation from the light, joy, and presence of God. 

Hell will not only be the abode of unbelieving humans, but of the devil and his angels who joined him in rebellion against God. God did not spare these angels, “but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness”.  (2 Peter 2:4) Imagine having to spend eternity with those guys! 

In other words, all the joys that we associate with light will be withdrawn, and all the fears that we associate with darkness will be multiplied.

Jonathan Edwards wrote this about Revelation 6:15-17: “Wicked men will hereafter earnestly wish to be turned to nothing and forever cease to exist that they may escape the wrath of God.”

Conclusion

Hell is not a subject we like to think or talk about. But, it is necessary for all to understand the seriousness of rejecting Christ. And to appreciate God’s grace in sparing us from his wrath.