The Reality of Hell

2016-07-03

The subject of hell is something that no one likes talking about, myself included. We would all rather pretend that God is a God of love only and not a God of holiness, wrath and judgment also. Nonetheless, if we truly want to be truthful, we must talk about the reality of hell.

Many people wonder why a loving God would ever send someone to hell. Let us discuss why that is, and some of the particulars of hell.

Words Used for Hell

In the New Testament, there are three different Greek words that translate to hell: hades, tartaroo (verb), and gehenna. It is my personal belief that there is not too much difference between all of these, so I will not explain the alleged differences between them here.

In the Old Testament, hell is one translation for the word sheol, which also is translated as grave or pit, depending on the context. Hell is also prefigured as an actual geographical place on earth by the valley of the son of Hinnom, and Tophet, a place of child sacrifice in this valley. The gehenna reference in the New Testament is a transcription of the Hebrew for “valley of the son of Hinnom.”

There is also the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20; 20:10-15). This is actually a different place from hell. Hell is located inside the earth, while this lake of fire is a location in outer darkness. This is the eternal place of judgment for those who have died without Jesus Christ. Those who are in hell now will be thrown into the lake of fire at the end of time (Revelation 20:14-15).

Hell’s Original Purpose

The lake of fire was originally intended for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Lucifer, a chief angel of God, though created by God without blemish, rebelled against God, and many angels followed him. God created this place of punishment for these fallen angels, called devils or demons. Even now, some angels who have sinned against God are now in hell (2 Peter 2:4, the lone instance of the word tartaroo). This place was never intended for people.

However, when Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), the sinners were ultimately cut off from the harmony they once had with God, and they slowly started to die. They too were decreed for hell fire, for “as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

God, who is holy and righteous, cannot tolerate unholiness and unrighteousness. The imperfect cannot even come into the presence of the perfect God. Without holiness “no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). We are born dying, and on our way to hell. We need to be rescued from this fate.

Jesus Christ made it possible to be saved from this punishment. Without Jesus, who suffered and died for our sin, we as human beings are enemies of God by nature. Because of this, God Himself had to rescue us, and He did so by sending His own Son to pay the death penalty in our place. Jesus Himself was righteous without sin, but He died for us. However, if we reject Jesus Christ, then we have no hope, and will continue on our road to hell. When we die, it is too late.

A Snapshot of Hell

Luke 16:19-31 is a story Jesus tells to show us what hell is like. Let us look at this story.

“There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And 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 thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” (Luke 16:19-31)

Let us look at some of themes we see.

The appearance of the lives of Lazarus and the rich man had nothing to do with their destination after death. The rich man lived a luxurious life (Luke 16:19) and did not really have any care for the things of God until it was too late (Luke 16:27ff). Lazarus, though poor, was in heaven, and therefore must have had some regard for the promises of God during his life. Having nothing, he must have realized his need for God that much more. He now lived with Abraham, the father of the entire nation of Israel, who had lived for God by faith most of his life.
Hell is a place of torment. For the rich man, all he wanted was some water to drink, and to temporarily stop the torment of flame (Luke 16:24). This is literal flame, not some figurative illustration. The rich man would have done anything to get out of there.
Whenever you die, your destination is fixed forever. Abraham and Lazarus could not come and help the rich man. They could not even give him the temporary relief he requested. A great chasm divided them forever (Luke 16:26). The worst part about hell and the lake of fire is that it is forever.
Those in hell do not want you to go there. The rich man wanted Lazarus to somehow go back to his brothers in order to warn them (Luke 16:27-28). Often people joke about going to hell because their friends are there, and they will somehow enjoy themselves and “party.” This is a huge lie. People who have died and gone before us to hell do not want to see anyone suffer like they are suffering. Hell is not a joke; it is the destination for most of the world, and you need to be rescued from it today. It is not even separation from God, as it is often taught, because God is everywhere (Psalm 139:8; Revelation 14:10-11). God offers His salvation now; there is no option to be saved after we die.
Only the Word of God can save us from hell. Moses and the prophets (Luke 16:29, 31) is a reference to the Word of God, as they were those who wrote down the words of God in the Bible. This would be a reference to the promise of a Savior, Jesus Christ, who came to save us from our sin (Genesis 3:15). If we blow off the Word of God, how do we stand a chance to be saved?

Tophet and the Valley of the Son of Hinnom

The word Tophet actually means burning place, and the historical Tophet was an area in the valley of the son of Hinnom. This place was a pagan worship place where people would sacrifice their children to false gods (Jeremiah 7:31-32, see also Jeremiah 19:1-15):

And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place. (Jeremiah 7:31-32)

From this, we are disgusted at the thought of people killing their own children and calling it worship. It sickened God so much, He told them there was a time He was going to destroy His people and they would be buried there in Tophet. It is no wonder that Jesus refers to hell as gehenna; the “Tophet” that waits for humanity is hell, and later, the lake of fire. Living in a society that kills its children, calling it “abortion” and “healthcare” and other benign terms, we should be able to relate with the people of ancient Israel, and expect the same fate.

The punishment of hell and the lake of fire is forever (Mark 9:44, 46, 48; cf. Isaiah 66:24). God has the ability to send us there or not (Matthew 10:28), and has declared that believing on the Lord Jesus is the only way of deliverance from hell (John 14:6). Jesus Christ has the keys to hell, and to keep people from going there (Revelation 1:18). He is our only hope to be saved from hell.

But if God Were Loving...

Many of you may ask the question, “But if God is a loving God, why would He send anyone to hell?” It is true that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). God, however, is also holy, and sin and wickedness cannot come into His presence. We are born into the sinful human race, and ever since, we are sinners that do nothing but sin against God, as the Bible reads, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). His love for us is not “love” like we see in the movies, which is all emotion and lip service. We are His enemies, and He actually is angry with His creatures that have rebelled against Him.

Therefore, His love for us must mean something else. His “love” is actually “service.” We read that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). He sent His Son Jesus Christ, who was without sin, to suffer and die for us. I would even go so far as to say that He went to hell for us, as we know that a true sacrifice for sin is burned (Leviticus 4:10). He paid everything in full so that we would be saved from sin and its penalty, and no longer be enemies with God.

Eternal Hell for Finite Sins?

But others have argued, “Why would someone go to hell forever for a finite number of sins?” First, we have sinned against the infinite God, so that is part of the answer. But also, remember sin is more than actions and moral pollution; sin is a state of being at enmity with the eternal God.

But What About Those Who Never Heard About Jesus?

The only way to be saved is Jesus Christ. Since every single person ever born was born a sinner and an enemy of God, the destination is the same. This is why we send missionaries to places where there is little or no knowledge of Christ, and why I am sitting here now writing this paper, because the need is dire to tell others about Jesus Christ. If a man were sick with a terminal illness, and we had medicine to heal him completely, what would happen if he never got the medicine? Would he still live just because he never heard of the medicine? On the contrary, he would die. We must get to those who are not saved with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

What to Take Away from This Paper

First, if you are not sure if you are saved from hell or not, you need to believe on Jesus Christ, that He has died for our sins and rose again from the dead. If the subject of the Bible, Jesus, and faith is new to you, and a lot of this does not make sense, please take time to either read or watch Everlasting Life: An Introduction to the Bible. It assumes you nothing about the Bible. It is free and can be distributed freely.

Second, if you are a Christian, as I am, we need to be cognizant that this is the reality for every unsaved person. Nobody likes talking or thinking about hell. We all wish it did not exist, and do not want anyone to go there. At the same time, we cannot stick our heads in the sand and wish hell would go away. We must live daily with this in our minds, so we can warn those we meet about the reality of hell and the salvation found in the Lord Jesus Christ.