Hell Study

“HELL – More Than a Cuss Word”

Study by Pr. Michael W. Wilson

 

The faithful preaching and teaching of the Christian message from God’s Holy Word produces two distinct reactions: (1) Some put their faith and trust in Christ and are saved, while (2) others reject Him and are lost. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says: “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” The Gospel of Christ is, and has always been, a divider of men. A man is either saved or he perishes.

 

Many scoff and say that this view is too cut-and-dried, too narrow minded, too exclusive. However, the Bible clearly teaches that in the warfare between God and the devil there is no in-between, no “no-man’s land.”

 

Heaven is the destination of the redeemed. Descriptions of Heaven’s radiant glory and blessedness are given throughout the Scriptures. However, not until we enter its sacred gates shall we fully comprehend its infinite beauty and splendor. Some day – and this is the certain confidence of the children of God – we shall be united with our Lord Jesus Christ and with our believing loved ones who have gone on before us.

 

On the other hand, Hell is the final destination of the lost, those who have rejected God’s gracious offer of salvation through Christ. Our honest contemplation of God’s perfect holiness and mankind’s utter sinfulness leads us to recognize the fact that all men deserve Hell. Romans 3:23 declares, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” and 6:23 goes on to say, “The wages of sin is death.” Moreover, the Bible says: “There is none righteous, no not one!” (Romans 3:10). Yet God cannot ever be accused of being cruel because He permits men to go to Hell, for He has done everything possible to redeem fallen mankind. God’s Word tells us that “He is not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9). God is gracious and merciful, and He offers eternal salvation to every man, woman, and child if we will but turn to Christ in repentance and faith.

 

As a preacher of the Gospel, it is my duty to warn men and women of the wrath to come, to awaken them to the danger before it is too late. Hebrews 10:31 says: “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.” In 2 Corinthians 5:11 the Apostle Paul reveals the urgency of the message of salvation when he says: “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men.”

 

Yet many people simply refuse to believe in the reality of Hell. They refuse to be persuaded. They claim that it is a hideous and repulsive doctrine concocted by mean-spirited, manipulative preachers to frighten people into compliance with a religious system or moral code. They claim that a loving God could not possibly have anything to do with an eternal Hell as it is described it the Bible.

 

This reaction is to be expected because people always tend to reject a belief that condemns them or makes them feel uncomfortable. Many people reject the whole notion of sin and the sin nature for the same reason. The thought of future punishment strikes terror in people’s hearts, so they refuse to believe that it is a reality. Thus, they lump their silly notions about Hell in with boogeymen, monsters under the bed, and the Tooth Fairy.

 

However, the concept of Hell is integral to Biblical teaching. Moreover, it is closely associated with the concept of Heaven. To reject the one is to lose the other because they go together in Scripture.

 

It is important to observe that people’s opinions are only important if they agree with the facts. For example:

1.    A man may deny the existence of God, but his denial will not alter the fact that God exists.

2.    Nearly everyone used to believe that the earth was the center of the universe. In 1633 Galileo was adjudged a heretic by the Holy Inquisition and forced to recant under threat of death after he proved using the telescope the truth of the Copernican Theory, namely, that the planets are in fact, in orbit around the sun rather than around the earth, which was the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church at that time.

3.    Seamen in Christopher Columbus’ day were of the firm opinion that the world was flat and that you would simply fall off over the edge into space it you sailed too far. However, their opinion did not alter the truth of a spherical earth. The fact eventually won out over their opinion.

 

So too with the fact of Hell. People may dislike the idea and deny it vehemently, but their denial will not alter the fact of Hell’s existence. The Bible teaches certain things about Hell. To deny these truths is to call into question the remainder of Scriptural teaching. The Bible is not a buffet meal. We cannot pick and choose to believe only the parts we like. People will often say that the teaching of Hell is incongruous with the Biblical portrayal of a God of love. However, their confusion stems from a misunderstanding of God’s character. It is true that God is love, but He is also a God of holiness, justice, and wrath. In the New Testament the two people most associated with the doctrine of God’s love, John the Apostle and Jesus himself, are the two that had the most to say about the realities of Hell.

 

I. HELL – False Views

A.   Annihilationism

¨    This is the belief that God is far too gracious and good to condemn the souls of men and women to a place of everlasting torment and punishment. Instead, He merely blots them out and they cease to exist in any form, whether material or spiritual. The souls of the wicked are simply annihilated, snuffed out like pinching a candle wick. Poof, they’re gone! (cf. Revelation 19:20; 20:10)

B.   Restorationism

¨    This is the belief that God, because of His fatherly love, always gives second chances, regardless of the depth of man’s iniquity. God is too kind to permit the unbeliever to suffer forever for his sins. No matter how long it may take, God will eventually restore all His creation, including mankind, to fellowship with Himself in Heaven. Thus, what the Bible calls Hell is little more than a temporary rehabilitation center where spiritually under-evolved or unprepared humans are made ready for Heaven. This view is also called “universalism.”

C.   Presentism

¨    This view is widely held. Based upon sheer fantasy, its adherents insist that people experience their personal “heaven” or “hell” in this present life, that reward or retribution is meted out here and now on earth. They say that physical death is the end of everything, both for good people as well as bad.

 

II. HELL – Scriptural Terms Used

A.   Sheol

¨    This Hebrew word is used 65 times in the Old Testament to mean “the place of the dead,” not the grave itself, but the place of those who have departed from this life. It is used with reference to both the righteous and the wicked. Sheol is depicted as an underworld where people exist in a form that cannot really be called life, but rather a shadowland where souls await a future resurrection. It is interesting to observe that the Old Testament does not make it clear that there exists a distinction between the waiting places of the wicked and the righteous. That teaching becomes more evident in the New Testament with the unfolding of God’s revelation,

B.   Hades

¨    This New Testament synonym of the Old Testament word Sheol appears eleven times in the New Testament, also describing an intermediate state of being between the grave and the ultimate abode of the soul. The concept has a further evolution, however, in that Hades in the New Testament is described as having two separate parts, one side being the abode of the wicked and the other being the abode of the righteous, also called “Abraham’s Bosom” or “Paradise.’ The two portions are evidently separated by a great chasm so there is no passing back and forth.

¨    Jesus’ account of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 offers us the most complete insight into Hades with its two parts, Abraham’s Bosom where Lazarus was, and the other side occupied by the wicked. Apparently the righteous were awaiting their final resurrection in a place characterized by peace, beauty, comfort, and rest. The wicked, however, were in constant torment suffering pain, thirst, flames, and bitter remorse.

¨    Most evangelical Bible scholars believe that at Christ’s ascension He liberated the waiting saints from “Abraham’s Bosom” and took them with Him to Heaven. This teaching is based primarily on Ephesians 4:8-9 and   1 Peter 3:19. We believe that today when a Christian dies, he/she goes directly to Heaven to forever remain with the Lord. God’s Word tells us: “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” This being true, then indeed the only occupants of Hades today are the wicked who still await the day of judgment when they will appear before God’s Great White Throne to be sentenced to the eternal “Lake of Fire,” which is referred to as Hell in Revelation 19-20.

¨    It is very important not to confuse the Biblical teaching about Hades with the mythical and ungrounded dogma of Purgatory as set forth by the Roman Catholic Church. The idea of Purgatory, which literally means “a place of purging,” came from the mind of Pope Gregory I in about AD 590. He concluded that there must be another place besides Heaven and Hell where God deals with those who are too good for Hell but not holy enough for Heaven, a place where people can pay off their debt of sin through personal suffering before entering the blessedness and holiness of Heaven. This figment of Gregory’s imagination has come to be a firm teaching of the Roman Church, even though it has no Biblical support whatsoever. Catholics claim that Purgatory is preparation for Heaven, but the Bible affirms that Hades is the waiting room for Hell.

C.   Gehenna

¨    This Hebrew word used 12 times in the New Testament, is always translated “Hell,” and always refers to the ultimate place of eternal punishment, that is Hell itself, not an intermediate state. The word Gehenna derives from the place name, the Valley of Hinnom, a deep narrow gorge just outside the south wall of Jerusalem. This place is first described in 1 Kings 11:7 as the center of Jewish apostasy where the Jews celebrated the idolatrous rites of Molech worship by casting their own children into the fires as a sacrifice to that hideous pagan god. It was later converted by King Josiah into a place of abomination where dead bodies were thrown and burnt (cf. 2 Kings 23:10-14). It became Jerusalem’s garbage dump with its ever-burning fires. Moreover, the bodies of executed criminals were flung into Gehenna. Hence, the place served as a symbol and the name was appropriated to designate the abode of lost spirits.

¨    The word Gehenna is always translated “Hell” in the New Testament and rightly so, for it always denotes the eternal state of the lost after the final resurrection. Jesus himself repeatedly used this word in the Gospels to give an awesome warning of the consequences of sin. Gehenna then is identical in meaning with the term “the lake of fire” referred to in Revelation 19 and 20, and also “the second death” mentioned several times in the New Testament.

D.   Tartaros

¨    This last biblical word also translated “Hell” is Tartaros, a word that the Romans used to denote the underworld abode of the wicked. It only appears once in the New Testament in 2 Peter 2:4. Here Peter describes tartaros as “pits of darkness” where some of the wicked angels await their final judgment. The verse, however, says nothing about it being the abode of the souls of men.

 

III. HELL – A Real Place

A.   A Prepared Place

¨    Before Jesus ascended to the Father He comforted His disciples by saying: “Behold, I go to prepare a place for you.” He was talking, of course, about Heaven. But in the same way, Hell is a real, prepared place. However, the Bible clearly states that Hell was not built for men but for the devil and his demonic angels. Men end up there by their own doing when they reject Christ and side with Satan, the enemy of God. Listen to Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:41, “Then He [God] will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.”

B.   A Place That Endures Forever

¨    The Bible makes it clear that Hell is not a temporary facility but will continue without end. Just as Heaven is eternal with no end, so too will be Hell. Listen to these verses:

Ø  Matthew 25:46, “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous in eternal life.”

Ø  Isaiah 33:14, “Sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling has seized the godless. Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with everlasting burning?”

Ø  Revelation 20:10, “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

C.   A Place Eloquently Described in Scripture

¨    God has spared no effort to paint us a vivid picture of what Hell will be like. This is so that no one can say that God did not warn us.

D.   A Place to Be Avoided at All Costs

¨    The good news for us today is that no one needs to go to Hell! God has provided a way to have eternal life through Jesus Christ. In the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16, the rich man wanted someone to go and warn his brothers of the wrath to come so that they would be saved from experiencing his awful fate. Once he got a taste of Hell, he suddenly became very evangelistically minded.

¨    Some people are drawn to salvation by the marvelous love of God. They come to Christ joyfully and gratefully, seeing in Him the Savior that they have been seeking. Others come to salvation by another door, through fear of the awesome and awful consequences of their sinful condition and the terror of Hell. Both motives are valid. Jesus himself said in Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell.”

¨    Everyone who refuses to trust in Christ as Savior and Lord will one day appear before Him, the Righteous Judge. Horrified, they will hear Him utter those terrifying words, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire. I never knew you.” If you have not made your peace with God, do it today, I beg you. Do not put it off. If you are a Christian, don’t you dare just drift complacently. There is a Heaven to gain and a Hell to shun. We must warn people while there is still time.

 

The Bible obviously employs figurative language to characterize both Heaven and Hell. Heaven is described in terms of the most beautiful and precious things of which humans can conceive – golden streets, gates made from costly gems, colorful rainbows, crystal-clear rivers, joyful singing, etc. Yet Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 that these things do not even come close to describing the real glories and blessedness of Heaven. He says, “But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” ¹⁰ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.”

Hell, on the other hand, is described in terms of the most horrible things we can imagine – continual loneliness, utter blackness, fire, pain, burning, separation from God and loved ones, and unending remorse. These are horrors to which we can relate. However, we must ask ourselves: If Heaven will be much better than the Bible describes, might Hell be much worse? It is worth considering. So, exactly how is Hell described in Scripture?

·      A lake of fire. Revelation 19:20; 20:10-15

·      A horrible storm with fire and brimstone and burning wind. Psalm 11:6

·      Consuming fire with unabated burning. Isaiah 33:14

·      A place of outer darkness with weeping and great sorrow (“gnashing of teeth”). Matthew 8:12

·      A furnace of fire. Matthew 13:41-42; Luke 16:24

·      A place of torment. Luke 16:23

·      A place of immortality. Revelation 14:10-11

·      A place of memory and remorse. Luke 16:19-31

·      A place of agonizing thirst. Luke 16:24

·      A place where people blaspheme God continually without repentance. Revelation 16:11

·      A place of frustration and anger. Matthew 13:42; 24:51

·      A place of eternal destruction. 2 Thessalonians 1:9

·      A place of absolute darkness. Matthew 25:30; Jude 13

·      A place of misery and pain where there is no comfort or rest. Luke 16:25; Revelation 14:10-11

·      A place where people beg for help and mercy. Luke 16:24, 27

·      Eternal separation from God’s presence. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9

·      A place of undiluted divine wrath. Revelation 14:10-11

·      A place originally prepared for Satan and his host of demons. Matthew 25:41

·      A place of torment that will last for all eternity. Daniel 12:2; Matt. 25:46; Jude 7

·      A place populated by murderers, sorcerers, liars, fornicators, and the like. Revelation 22:15

·      A place where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. Mark 9:48

·      A place where no one wants to see his loved ones go. Luke 16:28

 

In Psalm 103:1-2 the psalmist says: “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” What does he mean by that? The person who knows the Lord and belongs to Him also receives the benefits and blessings that God bestows upon His children. Conversely, the person who rejects the Lord is also saying “no” to all the good things that go with Him. The Bible says in James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights.” James is talking about all those benefits that come when we know the Lord and trust in Him. What are some of those good things? I think we must include things like joy and happiness, laughter and friendship, beautiful sunsets, fellowship, the feel of sunshine on your face, breath-taking panoramas, etc. These are all things that God has given for His children to enjoy, and I believe they will all be part of our experience in Heaven.

 

Hell, on the other hand, has been described as “the absence of God.” The unbeliever rejects God in this life, demanding that God leave him alone to live by his own rules. He rejects the gracious offer of salvation. Many even refuse to acknowledge God’s existence. They do not realize that in Hell not only will God not be present, but none of the good things, His “benefits,” will be there either. Think about that for a moment. Hell will be black because light is a gift from God. Hell will be lonely because friendship, fellowship, and companionship are some of God’s benefits. Hell will only have cacophony and discord because music and harmony are part of God’s creation. Hell will provide no peace because peace is the gift of God.

 

In Hell, people will simply receive what they have been demanding. God will withdraw Himself from them for all eternity, leaving them to stew in the fetid slurry of their own making, with endless time to consider their poor choices. That is the true horror of Hell – the absence of God and the unrelenting remorse of having rejected Him.

Misinformation abounds about Hell. That is because no one has ever been there and come back. It is a one-way ticket. Many of our images and concepts come from religious paintings on chapel ceilings, stories, myths, and fanciful accounts like Dante Alighieri’s “Inferno” in his work The Divine Comedy. Dante describes Hell as having seven (7) levels, each one more horrible than the one before. He says that the sign over the gateway to Hell reads: “All hope abandon ye who enter here.” Some of these images are such that people even tell jokes about Hell. They make light of Hell perhaps as a self-defense mechanism against their fears. 

We also have lots of folk-sayings and expressions using the word “hell.” For example:

·      “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

·      “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”

·      “There will be hell to pay.” (i.e., facing a reckoning with severe consequences)

·      “He’s hell-bent for election.” (i.e., moving or acting recklessly with great speed, yet heedless of consequences)

·      “He rode hell-for-leather.” (i.e., running a horse or buggy at top speed, perhaps recklessly, which is hard on bridle, saddle, etc.)

·      “All Hell broke loose.” (i.e., a fight resulted)

·      “It’s a hell of a deal...”

·      “It’s hotter than Hell.”

·      “She’s a hellcat!” (i.e., a spiteful, bad-tempered woman)

·      “We just did it for the hell of it.”

·      “You’re gonna catch hell when you get home!”

 

People regularly damn one another, mules, lawyers, cats, politicians, and machinery to Hell. How odd it is that in anger people will willingly send someone to Hell even though, if asked, they would probably deny Hell’s existence. It is foolish however, because only God can consign anything or anyone to Hell.

 

Through the years many famous people have weighed in on this subject, giving their opinions about Hell. Here are three of them:

1.    Machiavelli, that famous Florentine statesman and writer on government most noted for his work entitled The Prince, offered these words on his deathbed in 1597: “I desire to go to Hell not to Heaven. In Hell I shall enjoy the company of popes, kings, and princes, but in Heaven are only beggars, monks, hermits and apostles.”

2.    John Milton in his work Paradise Lost said: “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.”

3.    America’s beloved Mark Twain revealed his own ignorance when he said: “I prefer Heaven for climate, but Hell for company!”

 

Frequent Questions & Answers About Hell

Most people are curious about Hell and have questions they would like answered. Let’s look at some of the most common questions people ask. 

I. “Where is Hell located?”

A.   Scripture does not reveal Hell’s location. However, the Bible makes it clear that:

1.    Hell is a real place, not imaginary like the Land of OZ or Neverland.

2.    Hell is a prepared place, created for Satan and his angels.

3.    Hell is not merely a state of mind.

B.   People have offered several suggestions for Hell’s location:

1.    Hell is in the center of this earth because of fire, darkness, etc. (cf. Sheol – Genesis 37:35 “go down into Sheol”; cf. also Genesis 46:38 etc.)

2.    Hell is on another planet – whether one known or unknown to us.

3.    Hell is in another dimension, which we just cannot see. 

II. “Who goes there?” (Hell’s future inhabitants)

A.   The Devil (Satan), along with the “Beast” (= Antichrist) and the “False Prophet” of Revelation 19:20; 20:10.

B.   Fallen angels (= “demons”) – The Bible implies that 1/3 of the angels rebelled against God and were cast out of Heaven (cf. Revelation 12:3–4). They will all end up in Hell. (cf. 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6, etc.)

C.   The “wicked” (= humans who have rejected God and His salvation)

·      Psalm 9:17, “The wicked will return to Sheol, even all the nations who forget God.”

·      Matthew 25:41, “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.”

·      Revelation 20:15, “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

·      2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, “…the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” 

III. “Will there be degrees of punishment in Hell?”

·      My answer is: I believe there will be, or at least I sincerely hope so. Clearly there will be degrees of reward in Heaven (e.g., crowns, glory, commendation, etc.). Therefore, it is logical to assume that Hell will have degrees of punishment based upon the relative evilness of men. This logic is what led to Dante’s “Inferno” with its levels of punishment.

·      Christ’s parable about the stewards in Luke 12:47-48 seems to show a difference in levels of punishment: “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, shall receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few [lashes]. And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required, and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”

·      In Matthew 11:20-24 Jesus reproaches the cities in which most of his miracles were done because they did not repent, even after they had seen His glory. He says to them in verse 24, “Nevertheless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.” This clearly seems to point to a difference in accountability.

·      Our human view of “fairness” demands a difference, yet all of Hell will be terrible. 

IV. “Will people recognize their friends in Hell?”

·      Sometimes we hear people joke about going to Hell to be with their friends, pointing out that they wouldn’t know anybody in Heaven. They even laughingly make plans for parties and barbeques when they get the band back together. However, there will be no “fellowship” in Hell, just loneliness and suffering and regrets.

·      Luke 16 gives us some insights. In the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus the rich man was conscious and recognized Lazarus afar off. He could remember the past and he still knew all about his brothers and their spiritual condition. However, he took no comfort in other people around him. He was apparently isolated and alone.

·      The Bible speaks of Hell as “outer darkness” (cf. Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30, etc.). Here the wicked are thrust out from the light, joy, and festivity into gloom, anguish, agony, wrath, and despair. Just as physical darkness is the absence of physical light, so spiritual darkness is the absence of spiritual light, which is defined in Scripture as separation from God and from the company of the saved. 

V. “Can Hell possibly be as bad as you Christians paint it?”

Anyone who deals with literature can tell you that figurative language almost always understates reality. You have probably heard someone say, “Words fail me to describe…” such and such. This is true, the Bible uses similes and metaphors to describe the glories of Heaven, speaking in terms of the most beautiful and precious things that we can comprehend. Thus, we read of “gates of pearl,” “streets of gold,” “a crystal sea,” etc. But the Bible tells us that the reality of Heaven will far surpass our wildest dreams.

This being true, then Hell must be far worse than the portrayal given in Scripture using figurative language. The Bible describes Hell in terms of pain, torture, loneliness, darkness, remorse, flames, thirst, anger, etc. for time without end.

One needs only to meditate on Luke 16 to be convinced that Hell will be an awesomely horrible place. Moreover, Gehenna, the word that Jesus often used to describe Hell, was a place of continual burning, disgusting smells, rotting garbage, “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48).

People say, “Well that’s silly because fire always consumes its fuel and then burns out, doesn’t it?” NO, NOT ALWAYS.

1.    The Burning Bush of Exodus 3 – ever burning but not consumed.

2.    The 3 Hebrew Children of Daniel 3 – in an oven yet not even scorched.

3.    Matthew 3:11-12 speaks of “unquenchable fire.” Take asbestos, which can be burned forever but is not consumed. Ever burning... never burned. Ever dying... never dead! 

VI. “Why should I believe in Hell?”

Answer: Because to deny the existence of Hell is extremely dangerous for several reasons:

A.   To deny that hell exists contradicts the plain teaching of Scripture and calls into question two things:

1.    The Bible’s credibility (believability).

2.    The Bible’s authority on any subject, including salvation. In Revelation 22:18-19 God pronounces a curse on anyone who adds to, or takes away from, His Holy Word. That is just plain dangerous!

B.   To deny that Hell exists is to reject as false the teaching of Jesus himself, for He preached it as a fearful reality.

·      If He taught this in ignorance - then He is not omniscient and therefore not God.

·      If He taught this knowing it was a lie - then He is not good, nor honest, and not worthy to be believed, followed, and worshiped. So, be careful! You cannot call Jesus a liar without running an awful risk of calling down the wrath of the Father. Be careful what you say about His Beloved Son.

C.   To deny the reality of Hell undermines the Biblical teaching about Heaven as well as every other major doctrine of the Christian faith.

·      All doctrine comes from the same source, the Bible, God’s Holy Word. To accept the teachings that we like and reject the one’s we do not like puts us in the self-appointed position of judge over sacred and eternal truth. This invariably results in a distorted faith, a twisted Christianity with no foundation left intact. This is how every cult got its start – by twisting Scripture to accommodate men’s preconceptions.

D.   To deny the existence of Hell makes a travesty of the New Testament teaching that men are condemned and eternally lost unless they put their trust in Christ as Savior. In fact, if there is no Hell, the Christian Church has for 2,000 years been bearing false witness and preaching what is manifestly untrue, frightening and manipulating people unjustly with a cruel and evil lie!

·      However, because the Bible teaches the doctrine of Hell, then we must believe it and propagate it. Ultimately the question comes to every man, woman, and child: “Do I want to go to Heaven or to Hell?” The Bible points the way very clearly to Heaven and shows us how to flee the horrors of Hell. (e.g., Acts 4:12; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:9-10, 13; Acts 16:30-31; Revelation 22:17)

CONCLUSION:

The Bible makes it clear that God does not send men to Hell. They send themselves by refusing God’s gracious offer of salvation through His Son, Jesus. By rejecting Jesus as Savior and Lord, they reject God. By rejecting God, they reject Heaven, because that is the place prepared for those who love Him and willingly serve Him. Hell is just Box B, Door #2, the alternative. 

The problem is that by rejecting God you also reject all the wonderful and beautiful things that God has made. The Bible says in James 1:17, “Every good thing given, and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” God is the Creator of all that is good, and lovely, and beautiful. He is the Owner and Master of the Universe. Everything belongs to Him. Hell, by definition, is the absence of God and the absence of all the good things that He has created. Think about that. He invented light, and warmth, and color, and fragrances, and the tropical breeze, and friendship, and laughter, and fellowship. If you reject God, then you reject everything that He brings with Him. Hell is the absence of all that is good. And that it the horror of it.