Is hell a real place?

Many believe hell is not a real place. Some say heaven and hell are right here on earth. Others say hell is a state of mind; while others are appalled at the idea that God would send anyone there because God is a God of love, and man is basically good. And then there are some that actually say they want to go to hell because all their friends will be there and they can party forever. Really? As always our guide for all truth is the Bible. The Bible declares hell to be an actual place. The Hebrew word of hell is the word sheol. It means the abode of the dead. It also means the grave and also for those who are being forever tormented for their sins. The main NT Greek word for hell is Gehenna.  Hell is eternal separation from God whereas heaven is eternal life with the Father God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit all the redeemed, and the holy angels.

                                                                 Did Jesus teach on hell?

In a word yes. This may shock most people, but Jesus taught more on the reality of hell than heaven. Let me prove it. Jesus either mentions eternal damnation by saying the word hell itself, or everlasting fire, or the outer darkness.  Oddly, some believe that when Jesus mentions outer darkness, and weeping and gnashing of teeth, that He is not making reference to eternal judgement but some temporary judgement for disobedience. I believe those that hold that view are wrong. The following verses I will site I believe clearly proves my point.

Matthew 25:46 - And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Matthew 10:28 - And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Revelation 20:15 - And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Mark 9:43-48 - And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched…

Revelation 20:14 - And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Matthew 13:50 - And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

2 Thessalonians 1:9 - Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; making reference to those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 14:11 - And the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name.

Matthew 5:22 - But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Matthew 23:33 – You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?

                                                                       More on Gehenna

The word Gehenna is the Greek form of the Hebrew gē-hinnom which means “valley of Hinnom”. This place is where idolatrous worship occurred among the Israelites to the Ammonite god Molech the “fire god” This gross worship involved child sacrifice in the fire. King Josiah in 2 Kings 23:10 destroyed this evil worship practice, and made the area a perpetual garbage dump where trash burned twenty four hours a day.  So we see how the valley of Hinnom mirrors metaphorically the eternal torment in the Lake of fire for those who die in their sins (Rev 20:15); the wicked will forever burn like the thrash in the valley of Hinnom right outside Jerusalem.

An actual account of someone in hell is in Luke 16:19-31. Jesus is speaking here.               

There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.  But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hell, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

“Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers,  that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’  Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’  But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

               

This is a most vivid description of hell declared by the Lord Jesus Himself. Now, does this sound like any place on earth as some claim hell is; here on earth? Obviously not! Hell is in the bowels of the earth. It’s the underworld. The abode of the dead. In the OT hell or sheol in Hebrew simply meant the grave. All people that die go there. In the NT, hell is describing the wicked dead – those who die in their sins and are forever tormented (John 8:24).

                                                                   Hell is eternal

Just like heaven is eternal, so is hell. Why did Jesus and the apostles talk about it so much? So we could avoid that dreadful place. By sincerely trusting in Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice on the cross, one can enjoy the glories of eternal life with God. By rejecting the sacrifice, one must endure the eternal tortures of the Lake of fire without God. All people for all time will be resurrected; some for the resurrection of life, and others for damnation (Dan 12:2; Matt 25:46; John 5:29). Some have argued, “why should someone suffer eternally for a temporary life of sins?” Answer? Our lives either good or bad have eternal consequences. People who die do not go to Purgatory, nor are they annihilated like the Catholics and Jehovah Witnesses believe respectively. Both teachings are foreign to scripture.

Those that are hell bound will be resurrected with a body fit for hell. Those that go there will forever burn, but will never be consumed. One must endure the darkness, the torture, and the maggots perpetually, forever, and forever. Those that are heaven bound also will receive a glorified body fashioned for heaven where they will live in unimaginable bliss with the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (I Cor 15:51-58; I Thess 4;13-18; Phil 3:21).

We must as teachers never fail to deliver the whole counsel of God. Even the portions of the Bible that make us uncomfortable. I have read of several people who claim to be Christians refuse to acknowledge that hell is a real place because it’s unimaginable to them that God would send anyone there. It seems way to harsh and unloving.  While it is true God is love and gracious. He is also a God of justice and wrath on the ungodly. No one ever receives injustice from God.  With God it is either justice (getting what we deserve), or non-justice (not getting what we do deserve or mercy). What our problem is that we think way to casual regarding our sin because we are looking at it through our own eyes so it’s not as bad. We measure our sin horizontally – amongst one another and deduce we are not that bad; at least not as bad as him or her over there.  We must look at our sin vertically. In other words how does God view my sins? Then we will begin to see it for the heinous disease it is, and why He must punish it forever.

Finally, hell is real. Praise God there is a way to avoid it. You must sincerely repent of your sins today, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for your soul salvation, and the forgiveness of your sins. Jesus paid the penalty for all sins on the cross with His blood.