Hell in the Scriptures
By David J. Stewart
“In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction..." —2nd Thessalonians 1:8,9
So many people today don't believe in a literal place called Hell that burns
with fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8), where all who die in their sins
without Jesus Christ go to be punished for all eternity. Sadly, there are
countless people who twist the Scriptures in an attempt to teach that Hell
is not what the Bible says it is... a place of flaming torment.
The Bible contains an overwhelming amount of irrefutable evidence teaching
that Hell is indeed a literal place of torment, where those who die in their
sins without Jesus Christ are punished in flaming fire and vengeance by
God (2nd Thessalonians 1:8,9).
Here are many Scriptures to consider...
Numbers 26:10…
“And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with
Korah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and
fifty men: and they became a sign.”
Korah and the men who rebelled with him against
Moses were swallowed into Hell beneath.
Psalm 9:17…
“The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget
God.”
Carefully notice that "hell" here cannot merely mean "the grave" as some
foolishly teach. For if "hell" only means the grave, then where do the
righteous go? The Bible plainly teaches that the righteous and the wicked do
NOT go to the same place. The wicked are turned into Hell; but the righteous
unto life eternal.
Psalm 139:8…
“If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell,
behold, thou art there.”
The contrast here is between Heaven and Hell;
not between Heaven and the grave. Also notice the interesting phrase... "If
I make my bed in hell." Everyone who goes to Hell chooses to go there by
rejecting Jesus as their Christ. It is sinful men who make their own bed in
Hell. No sinner must go to Hell. The gift of eternal life is freely offered
to all mankind through faith in Christ Jesus (John 14:6; Acts 10:43;
Revelation 22:17).
Isaiah 5:14…
“Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without
measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that
rejoiceth, shall descend into it.”
It wouldn't make any sense if "hell" merely
meant the grave. What point would there be in condemning the wicked to hell
if that's the same place where the righteous go? Clearly, Hell is a place
only for the wicked who die in their sins. The righteous go to heaven to be
with the Lord (2nd Corinthians 5:8).
Ezekiel 31:16…
“I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him
down to hell with them that descend into the pit…”
Clearly, this Scripture defines "hell" as being
more than the grave. The Bible speaks about "descending into the pit." The
Bible also speaks of being "cast into Hell," which clearly implies judgment
from a holy God. If "hell" merely meant grave as Mormons, Jehovah's Witness
and other false prophets teach, then God would have said that the righteous
shall be cast into hell too; but the Bible NEVER says that anywhere!!! Only
the wicked shall be cast into Hell, a bottomless pit, where Satan is called
"the angel of the bottomless pit" (Revelation 9:11).
Matthew 5:28,29…
“But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her
hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye
offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for
thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body
should be cast into hell.”
The Bible plainly teaches that all sinners are
condemned to Hell. If "hell" simply means grave, then what harm or worry is
there in fornicating, getting drunk, raping, murdering, partying with
illegal drugs and committing all sorts of other sins? There would be none.
If there is NO place of punishment in eternity, then there is NO justice for
all the victims of crimes committed in this earthly life. So then what
advantage is there to being righteous? If one believes that the Bible is
God's Word, then you absolutely must believe that Hell is a literal place of
torment and anguish, that burns with searing flames of fire and brimstone,
where sinners are punished for their sins against a holy God.
Matthew 16:18…
“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
This is a very interesting Scripture. The word "gates" denotes the entrance (also the exit) of Hell. I heard one preacher say that the gates of Hell cannot prevent the Gospel from snatching souls from the depths of Hell. Of course, one who dies in their sins without the Lord is hopelessly lost for ever and ever. There are no second chances once a soul leaves this earthly life. There is NO such place as Purgatory and no amount of prayer or contributions to one's church can lessen God's flaming vengeance upon those who die in their sins without Jesus Christ.
This Scripture plainly teaches that the
Church's arch enemy is Satan and the forces of Hell. We also see this
evidenced by Ephesians 6:12. Our battle is not against flesh and blood
(humanity); but against principalities, powers and spiritual wickedness in
high places (the gates of Hell).
Matthew 23:15…
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and
land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more
the child of hell than yourselves.”
The Bible speaks of being "a child of Hell."
Matthew 5:9 speaks of the "children of God." Galatians 3:26 wonderfully
states, "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus."
Amen! Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees the children of Hell. The Pope
is a child of Hell. Every Catholic priest is a child of Hell. Every Lutheran
minister is a child of Hell. Every Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, Catholic,
Seventh-Day Adventist, Scientologist, Christian Scientist, Moonie, Buddhist,
Hindu, Zoroastrian, Wiccan, Muslim, Judaist, Lordship Salvationist, and New
Ager is a child of Hell.
Matthew 23:33,34…
“Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of
hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and
scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall
ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city."
Jesus warned about the "damnation of Hell," and
He spoke about "escaping" the damnation of Hell. If hell is merely the
grave, or not so bad a place as fools today teach, then why would we need to
escape it's damnation? If the wicked go to the same eternal place as the
righteous, then why do we need to escape it? What is the damnation for the
Pharisees and scribes if their fate is no different than the fate of the
righteous? Common sense tells the honest student of the Bible that Hell must
be a literal place of torment and fire, i.e., damnation.
Mark 9:45,46…
“And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter
halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire
that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is
not quenched.”
The Bible teaches that love for personal sins is the primary reason why sinners won't come to Jesus to be saved (John 3:20). We read from the Scriptures that hell's fire will never be quenched. The "worm that dieth not" may refer to one's conscience which will eat away at them for eternity. The worst part about Hell won't be the flames of torment, it will be knowing in your heart that Jesus fully paid for your way to Heaven, and you could have gone to Heaven; but you loved your sins more and refused to come to the Savior to be saved.
To clarify, a person does NOT have to forsake
committing sins to be saved; but ironically it's one's love for sin that
prevents them from coming to Jesus... "lest his deeds should be reproved"
(John 3:20). Jesus said in John 5:40, "And ye will not come to
me, that ye might have life." To be saved, a person MUST acknowledge that
they are GUILTY before God of violating His holy Word (Romans 3:19). Most
people are not willing to repent; but instead choose to continue denying and
making excuses for their sins. God only requires us to admit our guilt
before Him and to seek forgiveness through His only begotten Son, Jesus
Christ.
Luke 10:15…
“And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down
to hell.”
Jesus prophesied imminent judgment and doom upon the wicked inhabitants of Capernaum. It is important to notice that the Bible continually speaks of being "cast down to hell" and "thrust down to hell," which clearly indicate God's angry hand of judgment. Psalm 7:11 proclaims that "God is angry with the wicked EVERY DAY." There is not a single-day that passes when God is not angry at Oprah Winfrey. She has publicly denied that Jesus is the only Way to Heaven. In lieu of the fact that the world is filled with billions of wicked Christ-rejecters, God must be One angry God. John 3:36 tells us that the "wrath of God" abideth upon all Christ-rejecters. On April 2nd , 2005, Billy Graham told Larry King on the Larry King Live Show that he believes Pope John Paul II is in Heaven. What is wrong with Billy Graham? The Bible teaches that God's wrath abideth on the wicked.
Again we see that "hell" is more than just a
symbolic term. Although one's life may seem like hell on earth, it cannot be
compared to burning in the torments of fire and brimstone for all eternity.
Luke 12:5…
“But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he
hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.”
This Scripture clearly evidences the "Second
Death" mentioned in Revelation 21:8. Men may kill us once; but God can kill
us forever in Hell. This Scripture would make no sense at all if "hell"
merely refers to the grave or a place of non-suffering. What fear would
there be?
Luke 16:23…
“And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments…”
In view of all the Scriptures I've just shared with you concerning the reality of Hell, who could honestly say that Luke 16:19-31 is merely a parable? Jesus DIDN'T say it was a parable. Jesus never used specific names in His parable; but he speaks of Lazarus and Abraham in this passage of Scripture. It is clearly NOT a parable.
Furthermore, even if it was a parable, then
what was Jesus trying to describe? It would be misleading for Jesus to speak
of Hell as a literal place of "torment" and "flames" if it weren't so.
Consider Jesus' Words in John 14:2... "In my Father's house are many
mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you..." Jesus was
a Man of His Word—He said what He meant and meant what He said. Hell is a
place of torment and fire.
James 3:6…
“And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among
our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course
of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”
Again we find a Biblical reference to "fire of
Hell."
2nd Peter 2:4…
“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to
hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto
judgment…”
If "hell" is merely the grave, then how could God cast the fallen angels into hell (Greek: Tartarus)? Angels do not die in the human sense. You don't bury them six-feet under. We clearly read that these fallen angels (i.e. demons) are reserved in chains of darkness awaiting judgment.
There are three different Greek words for our
English word "hell" today: Hades, Gehenna and Tartarus. Gehenna is the
Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15). Tartarus is a special jail for
demons reserved unto judgment. Hades is where lost sinners go now when they
die (a tormentuous place of fire, torment and suffering). For a
comprehensive examination on the subject of Hell, please read:
A Biblical Examination of Hell.
Revelation 1:18…
“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore,
Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
Here we see that death and Hell are two
separate things. I always capitalize Heaven and Hell because they are
literal places and these are their proper names. If "hell" merely meant
grave, then there would be no distinction between death and hell.
Revelation 20:13-15…
“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell
delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man
according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of
fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the
book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
How can you argue with the Biblical term
"second death"? Obviously there is a punishment that goes beyond the grave.
The Bible teaches that lost sinners will stand trial and be sentenced to the
Lake of Fire based upon their WORKS. Also, the Bible teaches that
death and Hell (Hades) were cast into the Lake of Fire (Gehenna). This
plainly shows that hell means much more than the grave. The Hebrew word
"Sheol" is the Old Testament equivalent to "Hades" in the New Testament for
"hell." Sheol doesn't strictly mean the grave. It can mean a whole lot more,
and often does. Psalm 9:17 is a perfect example: "The wicked shall be turned
into Hell." Obviously this means much more than merely the grave,
because that's also were the righteous go. It would make no sense. The clear
interpretation is that the wicked and all those who forget God will be
punished in eternity.
Conclusion
The Bible contains an overwhelming amount of evidence showing that Hell is a literal place that burns with fire. Those people today who scoff and deny the existence of a literal Hell that burns with fire are calling God a liar. Either you believe the Bible is God's Word or you don't. There is NO middle ground.
"Beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit" (Jude 1:17-19).
