Many religions, especially Abrahamic religions (such as Christian religion) and Vedic religion (such as found in Hindu literature) believe in the existence of hell. For some popular literature, hell is psychological suffering faced here on earth, and they do not believe in the physical realm of hell.
While many believe that their actions during life will determine whether or not they go to hell, Christianity is unique in that Jesus Christ the son of God came to die for sinners like us. This article looks at hell as described in the Bible, and it is a physical place, not a “spiritual” realm of rebirth. We look at hell in the following order:
– Origin of hell,
– Description of hell,
– Names of hell in the Bible,
– Compartments of hell,
– Objections towards hell
Origin of hell
Isaiah 14:12-15: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”
Due to Satan’s rebellion, God created hell.
Matthew 25:41: “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”
Hell was not prepared for sinners. It was initially meant for Satan and the fallen angels.
2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Psalm 9:17: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
The reason why people go to hell is because of sin.
Isaiah 14:9: “Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.”
Hell is below man’s feet, beneath the earth. It is not in another dimension.
Christ went down to Hell
Matthew 12:40: “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
Christ did not go down to hell to be burned. He preached to the damned at hell.
Descriptions Of Hell
Below are verses that describe the characteristics of hell.
Matthew 25:46 states that hell is for everlasting punishment and conscious punishment.
Luke 16:23 says that hell is a place of conscious suffering or torment.
Matthew 18:9: “And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.”
Matthew 13:42,50: “And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
It is a place of wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 22:13 shows that it’s a place of outer darkness, full of black fire.
Hell is a place that can expand.
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.”
Proverbs 27:20: “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.”
Names of Hell in the Bible
Psalm 9:17: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” – Sheol
Revelation 20:13: “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.” – Hades
Mark 9:47: “And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:” – Gehenna
Revelation 20:14: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” – Death or Second Death
2 Thessalonians 1:9: “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;” – Destruction
Revelation 14:10: “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:” – Wrath of God
Revelation 20:14: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” – Lake of Fire
Compartments of Hell
People who go to hell serve different sentences depending on their sins. They suffer different levels of punishment. God has enough common sense to put different levels of punishment in hell, depending on the sin. Some of the different compartments in hell include the place of torment where most people go, and a place of comfort for Old Testament saints (covered later).
Matthew 23:14: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.”
Psalm 86:13: “For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.”
Abraham’s Bosom
Before Jesus died on the cross, people from the Old Testament have to go somewhere. They went to a place in hell called Abraham’s Bosom, which is also called paradise.
Luke 16:22-23: “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.”
Abraham’s Bosom is in hell because the setting of the verse is in hell. Lazarus was able to see the rich man from where he was. If he wasn’t in the same place (hell), then that wouldn’t be possible. Further evidence is shown by the great gulf that divided the place where Lazarus was from the place where the rich man was burning.
Luke 16:25-26: “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.”
Judas Iscariot has his own place in hell (Acts 1:25, John 17:12, Revelation 17:8)
Acts 1:25: “That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.”
John 17:12: “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.”
Revelation 17:8: “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”
The Bible says that Judas went to his own place when he died. In John 17:12, Judas is called the son of perdition because Jesus says that He didn’t lose any of his disciples except for the son of perdition. Throughout the Bible, the beast is also called the son of perdition. This means that Judas Iscariot is the beast, which in turn makes him the antichrist. In Revelation 17:8, the antichrist comes out of his own place from hell.
Hell also has a place called the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1-3, Numbers 16:30-33)
Revelation 20:1-3: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”
Numbers 16:30-33: “But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord. And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.”
The bottomless pit is a place where Satan goes to (Revelation 20:1-3), but Korah, Dathan, and Abiram also went there according to Numbers 16:30-33.
Tartarus (2 Peter 2:4)
2 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;”
God has a specific place for fallen angels, which is called Tartarus in Greek (2 Peter 2:4). The accurate English translation is hell, so that’s what people should use.
Objections Towards Hell
God has attributes that are balanced, both positive and negative. He does not possess solely positive attributes.
1) Isn’t God a loving God?
God is loving, but He is also just and righteous. He also possesses the negative attribute of wrath, along with love.
Hebrews 12:29: “For our God is a consuming fire.”
2) Is there a need for eternal punishment? Aren’t all of man’s sins eventually paid for, like in purgatory?
The price of sin is not temporary; it is eternal. Romans 6:23 says that the gift of God is eternal. Likewise, the death that is caused by sin must also be eternal. Recall that death in the Bible can also refer to going to hell. In Matthew 3:12, one can see that the fire is unquenchable, meaning that it has no end. Thus, the punishment for sin is eternal, not temporary.
Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Matthew 3:12: “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
3) God is too cruel.
Deuteronomy 32:4: “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”
All of God’s work and actions are perfect, including his Judgement. Both forgiveness and punishment are eternal. Human minds are limited, whereas God’s mind is not. People perceive temporal punishment to be fair and without iniquity, but God deems eternal punishment and forgiveness as acceptable, so they cannot argue against that.
4) Why can’t God just forgive the sinning souls?
Luke 16:24-27: “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:”
God is an honest judge, who is perfect in His judgment. He doesn’t let people slide away with the crime they committed. Otherwise, God is not worthy of being the Judge.
5) Isn’t it unjust to be sent to hell for just one sin? In the same place as other wicked people like Ted Bundy, Adolf Hitler, and others?
Matthew 23:14: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.”
God is a perfect judge and has to give out perfect judgments. God deems eternal punishment as acceptable, so that is what He sentences unsaved people to after they die. Remember, there are varying degrees of everlasting punishment. Not every sinner is punished equally in hell; some are given the greater damnation, as shown in the verse above.
6) Everlasting doesn’t mean everlasting.
There are some people that will argue that everlasting does not really mean “forever”. This is obviously false, as shown in the verses below.
Romans 16:26: “But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:”
John 3:16: “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.”
Romans 16:26 shows that God is “everlasting”. Is God not everlasting? That is a ridiculous notion; no religion teaches that. John 3:16 shows that people will have everlasting life. One way to apply this is to tell a Jehovah’s Witness or a Seventh Day Adventist that the kingdom in heaven or here on earth is only temporary. They will respond by saying that the verse says “everlasting”. That will make it apparent that those people are picking and choosing verses for their convenience.
7) Hell is just the grave.
Luke 16 – The passage involving the rich man clearly shows that when he opened his eyes, he was in hell. People do not open their eyes in the grave. The place where he opened his eyes is definitely not the grave, since he was in a place of fire and torment.
8) Hell is just a state, it is not a place.
Luke 16 also debunks the notion that hell is a state of mind and not literally a place. Mark 9:45 also says that it is a place of literal torment since Jesus says that one will be cast into hell, which is not possible if it is just a “state of mind”.
Mark 9:45: “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:”
9) Hell is not really hell. It’s Hades, Sheol, or Gehenna.
These are simply translations of the word ‘hell’ in different languages. Hell does exist, and it should be called hell in English.
Some people (such as the JWs) may claim that hell is not hell, but the lake of fire. However, one can clearly see that hell and the lake of fire are different places as shown in Revelation 20:14. Regardless, it is still a place of fire.
Revelation 20:14: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
10) When one goes to the lake of fire, they will be annihilated.
People may claim that when one goes to hell, they are simply annihilated from existence and that they are gone. This is clearly false according to Revelation 14:11.
Revelation 14:11: “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”
The torment is forever since the smoke of their torment ascends forever.
11) It is unloving to preach about hell to people.
The most loving person in the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ, preached about hell more than any figure in the entire Bible. Read Mark Chapter 9 and Matthew Chapter 23 to see how much He preached about hell. Preaching to people is loving because they are being warned so that they do not end up there.