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Hell

Updated: May 8


The reality of hell is the most horrifying, terror striking, fearful truth known to man. It encompasses the worst possible fear and the meanest conceivable existence, continual never-ending torture.


Atheists often use Hell as an argument of disdain, noted for instance in the wikipedia article, “The Problem of Hell.” Scorners and mockers sneer at the idea of eternal hell fire for certain people, mockingly saying things such as ‘You’ve got to love God or else He’ll torture you in Hell’ or ‘God is so insecure, He needs people to love Him,’ almost as it seems a dress rehearsal for their upcoming argument of wrath before God Himself at the final judgment (cf. Rom 2:1-5). This type of ungodly dispute sets the arguer up as morally superior to the professing Christian or even God Himself, an attempt to justify his foolish ideology. Many times it also serves as an emotional appeal to support a bankrupt position.


These, and others, allegedly do not buy into “archaic” ideas such as Hell, having deceived themselves with fairy tales and fables and the deception of their own reprobate mind (Rom 1:18-32). But rest assured, one soon coming day upon taking their last breath and opening their eyes on the side of eternity, they find themselves to be in unquenchable hell fire and they will actually, completely, 💯%, buy into this "archaic" fact, just like the nameless rich man in Luke 16:

“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.” (Lk 16:22-24)

By not “buying into archaic ideas” such as the reality of hell, the reveal themselves to very well be mental/ immoral reprobates as described in Rom 1:21-32, for there was a time when they did believe in hell, but took the sorry turn down the broad path which leadeth to destruction (Matt 7:13) and entered the spiral of apostasy which leads to reprobation, then death and then hell,

“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” (Rom 1:21-23).

What is the standard of judging that this judger is judging by? Does it derive from from a random world of matter and motion, atoms colliding with one another? How is it possible in this cosmic accident of naturalism that a human can put together even two related thoughts? Is it natural for naturalism to bring about the ability of nuance to disdain? No. These atheistic and agnostic thieves that scorn Hell are in fact borrowing air from God to bring about the vibration of their larynx folds to produce their disdainful verbiage, and then from theism by using its words, which are abstract, nonmaterial ideas, whereby he constructs a moral system to account for behaviour that doesn’t exist in the arbitrary world of the naturalist. Though man may lie to himself or to those around them (Rom 3:10-18), no amount of prevarication or fabrication will ever remove the eternal reality of Hell.


Then you have the other side of the coin, where practically everyone is eliminated to go there, except for a specific individual almost everyone thinks deserves it. Like Hitler, or Stalin or Mao. General people might choose a child molester or a serial killer, while everyone else gets to go to, you know, a 'better place,' even if they don’t know what that is or where it is or why that person will go or should be going there. It doesn't help anyone to give false assurance related to Hell. Assigning someone to a better place, when he or she is really on their way to Hell, will torment that person in an eternal way.


Whether man believes God's words or not, doesn't change the eternal truth of God's Word, which is the only source of absolute truth in this world (Jn 17:17) available to every generation, whereby we find much truth on the doctrine of hell. The Bible teaches Hell. Jesus taught Hell. He taught Hell at least 8x more than Heaven. It is also taught in so many different ways. The opposition to Hell isn’t persuasive but its eternally damaging. Just because you might not like it or want it, a version of rejection of justice for sin, doesn't mean it isn't true, and it certainly doesn't mean that you won't be going there lest you repent.


So you should be keenly interested in what God has to say about Hell. Your life hangs in the balance.


What Does the Bible Teach About Hell?


Hell is translated in the OT from the Hebrew word "she'ol," which word is found 63x in the OT and translated into "hell" 31x, "grave(s)" 29x, "pit 3x, and has two basic but different meanings: the abode of the dead in the grave, or the abode in hell. In passages such as Gen 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31; 1 Sam 2:6; Job 14:13; Ps 6:5; 88:3; 89:48; 141:7; Ecc 9:10; Is 38:18-19 it means the place where the bodies of the dead are laid, i.e. the grave, while the common Hebrew word however for the grave is not sheol, but "geburah," which is used in such passages as Gen 35:20; 50:5; Num 19:16; 2 Sam 3:32; 1 Ki 13:30. Usually, though, it means the place of fire and torment where departed spirits go (De 32:22; Ps 9:17; 16:10; 55:15; 30:3; Pr 9:18; 15:24; 23:14; Is 5:14; 14:15; Ezk 31:16; 32:21, 27). Other Hebrew words describing hell are "bor" (Is 14:15) translated "pit" (Job 33:18, 22, 24, 28, 30; Ps 55:23) or "shakhath" translated as "destruction" (e.g. Ps 55:23; 103:4), and be'êr translated "pit" (Ps 55:23).


The English word "Hell" is found in the NT of the King James Bible 23x. Twelve of those times it is translated from the Greek word "gehenna," a word of Hebrew origin literally derived from the valley of Hinnom, Gehenna, a valley south of Jerusalem where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned; a fit symbol of sinners and the wicked and their future destruction. Thus it is used figuratively as a name for the place and state of everlasting punishment, i.e. "hell" — "Gehenna," or "Gehenna of fire." "Gehenna" is found in Matt 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mk 9:43, 45, 47; Lk 12:5; and Jam 3:6. In 11 other occasions "hell" is translated from the Greek word "hades," meaning departed souls, grave hell. "In Biblical Greek it is associated with Orcus, the infernal regions, a dark and dismal place in the very depths of the earth, the common receptacle of disembodied spirits.


Usually Hades is just the abode of the wicked, Luk 16:23, Rev 20:13-14; a very uncomfortable place." (TDNT). "Hades" is translated "hell" 10x, and "grave" 1x. Hades "hell" is found in Matt 11:23; 16:18; Lk 10:15; 16:23; Ac 2:27, 31; Rev 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14 and Hades "grave" is found in 1 Cor 15:55. Also, there is the lake of fire (Rev 19:20; 20:10, 14-15; 21:8). From Lk 16:19-31 and Rev 20:11-15 we see that "Hades" is a temporary hell that will be cast into the final hell, the lake of fire. Within hell we find angels who sinned are presently confined "into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;" (2 Pet 2:4; Ju 1:6). There is also "abussos" found nine times in the NT which is translated into "deep," "bottomless," and "pit" all of which are found in Revelation besides Lk 8:31 and Rom 10:7, and all of which refer to the abode of the devil and demons, some of which will be released upon the earth in the near future (Rev 9:1-11). In Lk 8:31 the demons that Christ took out of the demonic of the Gadarenes besought Christ to not send them into the pit. The Antichrist who deceives the whole world (Rev 13:8; 2 Th 2:8-12) will come out of this "bottomless pit" (Rev 11:7; 17:8) in the future after bring confined to this abyss for a thousand years (Rev 20:1-3), after which he will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:10). Though the bottomless pit has similarities to the lake of fire (Rev 20:1-3, 10), it is evident that the abyss or pit is not the same place as the final hell, "the lake of fire and brimstone." Noteworthy is the name of the angel of this bottomless pit, "whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon" (Rev 9:11) which literally means "destruction," and is translated as such in in Job 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; Ps 88:11; Pr 15:11; 27:20.


Hell is the place of punishment and imprisonment and destruction for ever for those who rebel against their Creator. God specifically created Hell for Satan and the rebellious angels (Matt 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:” (Matt 25:41).

Unsaved men will also go to this eternal abode of torment and gnashing of teeth (Matt 25:41-46).

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:. . . . And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” (Matt 25:41-46).

Some false Christian groups and cults such as the Seventh Day Adventism (SDA) teach that the unsaved will be annihilated in Hell. Is this true? No its not, and the following four points amongst others, proves this beyond any doubt.

  1. As noted in the next section, God's Word warns us very plainly, perspicuously plain in fact, that unrepentant/unsaved sinners will suffer in Hell fire of torment, wailing and gnashing of teeth, for ever, eternally (Matt 25:46; Mk 9:43-48; Lk 16:26-31; Rev 14:10-11; 19:20; 20:10).

  2. God's Word also tells us that the punishment of the unsaved will be worse than violent death (Mk 9:42-48), which proves that the punishment of hell is not annihilation, but is eternal torment.

  3. The Lord Jesus Christ said it would've been better if Judas had never been born (Matt 26:24), which would make no sense if Judas was only going to be annihilated.

  4. The Lord Jesus also warned that its better to "enter into the kingdom of God" minus a foot or hand or eye, than "having two feet" or "having two hands" or "having two eyes" and be "cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:" (Mk 9:42-48). This would of course make zero sense if hell was not torment, and people were simply going to be annihilated.


Hell is a literal place (Matt 5:29-30; 10:28), where literal people suffer the literal torment of a literal fire (Lk 16:19-31). Though the Bible never directly tells us its exact location, there is hints in Scripture that its "beneath" us, "down into" the centre of the earth (Pr 15:24; Is 14:9; Ezk 31:15-17; 2 Pet 2:4; cf. Matt 12:40). Its temperature is burning hot (Lk 16:24; Rev 19:20). Its luminance is "outer darkness" (Matt 8:12; 22:13; 25:30), also called "the mist of darkness" (2 Pet 2:17) and "the blackness of darkness" (Ju 1:13). Its size is so massive it is never filled to capacity (Pr 27:20), though masses of people are in it and the numbers increase continually (Matt 7:13-14; Pr 27:20). Its smoke will ascend forever (Rev 14:11). Its fire will never be quenched, and the worm there will never die (Is 66:24; Mk 9:43-48). Hell is the place where the vessels of wrath (Rom 9:22) will be on display before all of mankind (Is 66:24) and before the holy angels and the Lord Himself (Rev 14:10), though His presence will not be with them (2 Th 1:9). It is where Christ will show His wrath and make His power known for all eternity (Rom 9:22; Rev 20:10).


The Bible’s Description of Hell and the Lake of Fire

  • A place of literal “fire” (Matt 13:42, 50; 18:9; Mk 9:47; Lk 16:24; Rev 14:10; 20:10,15)

  • A place where “the fire . . . never shall be quenched” (Mk 9:43, 45)

  • A place of "everlasting fire" (Matt 18:8; 25:41)

  • A place of no comfort or help or mercy (Lk 16:24-25)

  • A place of full consciousness (Lk 16:23)

  • A place “everlasting” (Matt 25:46)

  • A place "abhorring to all flesh” (Is 66:24)

  • A place “where the worm dieth not” (Mk 9:44-48; Is 66:24)

  • A "furnace of fire" (Matt 13:42, 50)

  • A place of "outer darkness” (Matt 22:13; 2 Pet 2:17; Ju 1:13)

  • A place of "wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matt 13:42, 50; 24:51; 25:30)

  • A "lake of fire" (Rev 20:15)

  • A place of “torment day and night for ever and ever." (Rev 20:10; Lk 16:23)

  • A place of “everlasting punishment” (Matt 25:46) and banishment (2 Th 1:9

  • A place of “torment in this flame” (Lk 16:24)

  • A place of “everlasting destruction” (2 Th 1:9)

  • A place of “fiery indignation” (Heb 10:27)

  • A place of “perdition” (2 Pet 3:7)

  • A place of unfulfilled desires and unanswered prayers (Lk 16:27-31)

  • A place of remembrance and regret (Lk 16:27-28)

  • A place of isolation (Lk 16:26)

  • A place without hope of escape (Lk 16:26)

“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” (Rev. 14:10)

The Lord Jesus warned,

"And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 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." (Lk 12:4-5)
"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." (Matt 10:28)
“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” (Mk 9:43).

Besides the unbearable torment and punishment being present, there are things that will never exist in Hell: God, God's Word (the Bible), Christians, godly music (hymns), fellowship with friends and loved ones, light, answered prayer, love and kindness, sunsets, enjoying God's creation, children’s laughter, gentle breezes, television, movies, Internet, music, sports, games, news, comfort, water, the preaching of the Gospel, rest, pain killers, puppies, money, entertainment, freedom, choice, pity, kind words, smiles, mercy, respite, a way out, hope.


Would a Loving God Send People to Hell?


The skeptics say, "Would a loving God send someone to hell?" This is to imply if there is a Hell, how could God be loving? But this is deplorable ignorance of the true nature of the true and living Triune Just God. God is indeed love (1 Jn. 4:8), but also a Spirit who must be worshipped in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:24). He is also Light and in Him is no darkness at all, and a consuming Fire (1 Jn. 1:5; Heb. 12:29). God is a God of wrath towards unbelievers, sinners and the wicked (Jn 3:36). He is a just God that must deal with all injustices.


It was the God of Love who drowned the whole world out with the exception of Noah and his family. God's judgment upon the wickedness of man does not cancel out His love. God in His love made provision for sinful man to get into His favour, but for those who refuse His love, they must face His wrath. The duration of the damnation is determined upon the nature of God. If sin is against God, and God is self existent from all eternity, and shall be holy forever, how long will a sinner experience the wrath of God? Forever. It has nothing to do with the love of God which was rejected by the sinner, it has everything to do with God’s Just Nature, Eternity, and Holiness of God Almighty. Hell is a reality. It is the present abode for those who have died in their sins (Lk 16:19-31; Nu 16:29-35). In the future Death and Hell will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10-15).

"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all nations that forget God" (Ps 9:17).
“The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.” (Ps 9:16)

The reason people are sent to hell is because God is a God of love. This may sound incorrect to the human mind (1 Cor 2:14), but it is nonetheless the teaching of Scripture. For example, why did God kill the firstborn of Egypt (Ex 12:29-30)? Ps 136:10 says because "His mercy endureth forever." Why did the Lord destroy the Egyptian army in the Red Sea? Ps 136:15 says because "His mercy endureth forever." Why did He strike down great kings? Because "His mercy endureth forever" (Ps 136:17). Why did He slay famous kings? Because His mercy endures forever (Ps 136:18). Why did He kill Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan? Because "His mercy endureth forever" (Ps 136:19-20). Those who died in their wickedness went to hell. Yet, Ps 136 begins with these words:

"O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever." (ps 136:1)

People go to hell because God is a God of love and He is good, and His mercy endureth forever.


Rev 20:11-15,

"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 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.'

God has no choice but to send those who don't repent and obey the gospel of Christ (2 Th 1:8) to eternal hell fire and then from there into the lake of fire. There name is not written in the book of life.


Who Gets to Go to Hell?


Many people very commonly don't think they deserve Hell. Majority will say they do not deserve it because the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. It’s way too severe, reflecting on the nature of God, His righteousness, and His justice. People do not think they’re bad enough to deserve Hell. That’s for very bad people, and few think they’re that bad.


The truth is just the opposite however. I deserve Hell, and I accept that, because I do think I’m bad (Jer 17:9; Ecc 7:20; Rom 3:10-19). How bad someone is starts with the nature of God. Our standard of comparison is not our feelings or other people, but the Word of God, the Bible. The best illustration of this is Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3). They were perfect, without sin. But what many would think of as only one "minor" disobedient act, led to their fall from God's grace, from His glory, and the subsequent fall of all mankind, with billions of people ending up in eternal hell fire over the centuries. Their own son would be murdered by another son, because of this "minor" sin (Gen 4). Was it really that "small" or "minor"? I personally at a point in my life, all my life until my unregenerate and unsaved estate was changed by God, fell very far short of the glory of God. It wasn't an accident. I lived as an offence to God and couldn't please Him. Even after my conversion, I don’t please God on a regular basis. God created me for His purpose and though I did not fulfill that to any degree before salvation, I still don't always fulfill it as I ought to. Sometimes I want to serve myself rather than God.


God’s judgment turns us over to our own lusts. Rom 1 uses the language of “gave them up” (vv. 24, 26, 28). God lets people have what they want. He lets them go. They’re getting what they want. They don’t want God but their sin and evil (Jn 3:19-21), so God gives them over to a reprobate mind and immoral and wicked life (Rom 1:18-32). They don’t want what He wants. It ends in Hell, because that path leads to where God isn’t (Matt 7:13-14) and that is a very terrible place. That’s how the Bible describes it, as we have read in previous points above. A place of terrible torment, unquenchable fire and gnashing of teeth. Hell is the final destination for those God gives up. When man goes his own way, he disobeys and ignores the great command, to love Him with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength (Lk 10:27).


How does one get to hell? The directions are actually quite simple and easy to follow. All one has to do is continue in their sin (Ezk 18:4, 20; Ecc 7:20; Rom 3:10-19; Rev 21:8, 27) without repenting (Lk 13:1-5) and thus without the new birth whereby the Lord Jesus Christ frees the sinner permanently from his sin (Jn 8:31-36). Actually it takes very "little" to get to hell (e.g. Matt 5:22; Gen 3). The gate that leads to hell is wide and the way that leads to hell is broad (Matt 7:13). Just continue on the course you have followed from birth (Ps 58:3), and you are certainly sure to get there (Rom 2:6-9).


Hell is the utter destruction of the wicked (Ps 92:5-7), where the mockers are now mocked by God (Pr 1:26) and the scoffers put to shame (Pr 3:35; 13:5). Hypocrites will be abased (Lk 14:11; 18:14), the proud humbled (Psalm 119:21) and rewarded (Ps 31:23). Liars will continually experience the reality that they have been lied to (2 Cor 4:2-4; Rev 12:9). The rich will suffer the greatest of poverty (Jam 5) and the full will be hungry (Is 65:13; Lk 6:25). Christ rejectors and the disobedient are punished (2 Th 1:8-9). The ungodly will be "utterly consumed with terrors" (Ps 73:18-19; Pr 1:24-32; 10:24; Rev 21:8). Those honoured by men are now despised and lightly esteemed by God (Lk 6:26; Ps 73:18-20; 1 Sam 2:30; Pr 14:2), and will be abhorred by all mankind to shame and everlasting contempt (Is 66:24; Dan 12:2). Those that laugh now are weeping and mourning (Is 65:14; Lk 6:25). Those who wickedly dug a pit, are now cast down into the pit (Ps 7:14-16; 9:15-17; Pr 26:27; 28:10; Ecc.10:8). Lovers of pleasure are now tormented with fire (2 Tim 3:4; Rev 21:8). Those who considered the cross foolishness (1 Cor 1:18) are now shown the unsavouriness or shrewdness of God (2 Sam 22:26-28; Pr 1:25-32). God is not mocked. Men will reap what they have sown (Gal 6:7-8).


An important question must be considered by all of mankind: when will you “receive thy good things” (Lk 16:24)? This ultimate choice fleshes itself out in this true story of Lk 16, told by the Lord Jesus Christ. There are two characters introduced by the Lord in this story, the rich man and Lazarus. The latter is a poor suffering beggar who sits every day by the gate of the rich man's mansion, begging for the basic necessities of life. The nameless rich man lives in wealth and abundance while Lazarus survives this life in absolute destitute poverty. However, at death the tables turn. The rich man opens his eyes in Hell while Lazarus upon death is swept up by angels into Paradise (heaven for those saints that died prior to Christ’ resurrection).


Jesus tells us that while the body of the rich man was being buried, he was already in hell. Upon the moment of his death, he was in immediate torment without one drop of water. When he closed his eyes one final time on earth, they immediately opened in eternity. He was in hell. Why?


Who goes to hell?


Specifically those that live in sin—sinners—and the wicked, transgressors of God’s law such as,

“...fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners,” none of which “shall inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor 6:9-10)
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. . . . And there shall in no wise enter into it [Heaven] any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.” (Rev 21:8, 27)
“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” (Rev 22:14-15).
And anyone else who is “lawless and disobedient, . . . ungodly . . . sinners, . . . unholy and profane, . . . murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, . . . manslayers, . . . whoremongers, . . . them that defile themselves with mankind, . . . menstealers, . . . liars, . . . perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;" (1 Tim 1:9-10)

Are you found in the lists above? Click on the cover of Alarm to the Unconverted.



Know that it is NOT God's will for anyone to go to hell, but that all should come to repentance:

"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." (2 Pet 3:9)
"Who ["God our Saviour"] will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim 2:3-4)

God, driven by His love, has provided the perfect deliverance from this terrible eternal place. Man must repent and believe in the glorious gospel of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, thereby entering the narrow gate unto the narrow path which leads to life and eternal life (Matt 7:13-14).


What about the Claim that Hell is Not Separation from God?

An important aspect of gospel preaching is discussing the penalty of man’s sin, which includes both death and separation. Physical death results in separation from the body, spiritual death is separation from God because of sin, and that eternal death is separation from God forever in Hell. This is how the Bible reads.


Though some downplay hell by claiming that its only eternal separation from God, others downplay it by claiming it is not separation from God. The allegedly “theologian” Michael Theologian from the utterly corrupt, woke, evil and thoroughly heretical Gospel Coalition (TGC) wrote an article for the said group entitled, "Hell Is Not Separation from God." In this report he claimed Hell is horrible because "God is present."


Is there a contradiction between "separation from God" and God's omnipresence? If God is omnipresent, which He is, then how could He be separated from anything? The sinner is separated from the personal presence and the relational circumstance, yet at the same time, God is overseeing all this. This is where I distinguish between the omnipresence of God, and the special presence of God. Regarding God's omnipresence, and Hell, I think of Ps 139:7-8:

“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.”

So in one sense nothing is separated from God, because He is omnipresent, yet, it appears that eternal separation from God is taught, and Hell is the place of eternal separation from God. Here are some reasons for that conclusion, from Scripture.


1. Eternal separation from God is taught in Rev 21-22. Here is some of that text,

“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.” (Rev 21:23-27)

In the place described where God is and His glory is, some people would be there, but "there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth." Only those in the Lamb's book of life would be there, which means that those not in the Lamb's book of life would not be there.


2. Rev 22:14-15,

“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”

Here some are in the gates of the same city mentioned, and then "without" are others. Rev 22:19 continues:

“And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city.”

God takes away his part out of the holy city. All three of these passages teach separation from God.


3. The Lord Jesus promised that His people, those born again, would be with Him and He with them when He returns, which implies that He is not with those outside of Him:

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." (Jn 14:1-3)

4. A phrase used multiple times by the Lord Jesus, God the Son, is "depart from me," as seen in Matt 7:23; 25:41; Lk 13:27,

“And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matt 7:23)
“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.” (Matt 25:41)
“But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” (Lk 13:27)

Departing from God is to be separated from Him.


5. God is light and the presence of God is light (1 Jn 1:5), He is separated from darkness. The Lord gives the light of the eternal state (Rev 21:5). Someone in Hell is in outer darkness, "cast out into outer darkness" (Matt 8:12). If someone is with God, Who is light, then He stays in that light. He is a child of light, and forever remains a child of light (Lk 16:8; Jn 12:36; Eph 5:8; 1 Th 5:5). Outer darkness is separated from God, Who is light, which is why it is outer darkness, because God isn't present.


6. 2 Th 1:9 Paul makes it quite clear that the lost will be separate from God forever,

"Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power."

"From the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" is very clear. The everlasting destruction is not in this lifetime, but the next, so it is talking about someone who dies in his sin and goes to Hell.


7. Scriptures speaks of being absent from God's presence, someone being "absent from the Lord" (2 Cor 5:6). Since God is omnipresent, then no man can escape that presence, but yet here's a verse that says he is absent from the Lord. The two ideas can go together. David prays to God in Ps 51:11,

"Cast me not away from thy presence."

Unless God can cast away someone from His presence, there is no need for someone to cry to God to not be cast away from it.


Hell is separation from God. It's not only separation from God, but it's at least separation from God. To say Hell is eternal separation from God means that once someone has died physically, he has no more opportunity to be saved. He remains separated from God because of His sin.


Some Heretical Professing "Christians," Falsely Teaching A Loving God Would Not Send People to Hell


C.S. Lewis,

“Hell is a state of mind . . . every state of mind, left to itself, every shutting up of the creature within the dungeon of its own mind--is, in the end, Hell” (The Great Divorce).

John R.W. Stott, prominent British Evangelical leader and widely respected and influential among Southern Baptists and whose books are distributed by LifeWay, stated in A Liberal-Evangelical Dialogue (published by InterVarsity Press) that the torment of hell is not eternal in duration.


Billy Graham has been questioning the literal fire of hell since 1951. In 1983 he said,

“I think that hell essentially is separation from God forever. And that is the worst hell that I can think of. But I think people have a hard time believing God is going to allow people to burn in literal fire forever. I think the fire that is mentioned in the Bible is a burning thirst for God that can never be quenched” (Orlando (Florida) Sentinel, April 10, 1983).

Yikes. The wresting of Scripture by the wicked par excellence (2 Pet 3:16-17). The wolf Graham repeated this heresy in his 1983 A Biblical Standard for Evangelists and in an interview with Time magazine, Nov 15, 1993.


J.I. Packer, a prominent evangelical leader and former senior editor of the excessively heretial and apsostate Christianity Today, said that he does not believe that the essence of Hell is “grotesque bodily discomfort” but is rather “an inner misery of helpless remorse.”

Kenneth Kantzer former editor of Christianity Today and head of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, said, “when Jesus spoke of flames . . . these are most likely figurative warnings” (U.S. News & World Report, March 25, 1991). Seems like Christianity Today has a ghastly history of hiring heretics and wolves.


Herbert W. Armstrong,

"The Greek word Hades simply means pit or grave." (“Is There a Real Hell Fire?)

That is absolute foolishness and shows a complete and wilful ignorance of what the Bible teaches, and considering other heresies of Armstrong, he clearly presents . What did Jesus say? In Matt 23:33, He asks, “how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” That word is "Hades." Everybody who dies goes to the grave. He couldn't possibly be talking about how can you escape the grave, for even those 'saved by the bell' from a premature burial alive, would one day end in the grave permanently. In Mk 9:43, Jesus talked about those who would go into Hell—that is, Hades— “into the fire that never shall be quenched.” What kind of a grave is that?

John MacArthur,

“You will never find any place in the Bible that God sends people to hell. You will never find any place in the Bible that God damns people.” (The Troubling Gospel, Acts 13:42-52, tape # 1746, copyright 1973)

Robert Schuller,

“And what is hell? It is the loss of pride that naturally follows separation from God. ... A person is in hell when he has lost his self-esteem” (Self-Esteem: The New Reformation, p. 14).

Greg Laurie,

“How can a God of love send people to hell? God doesn't send anyone to hell. We send ourselves there. Hell was never created for man but for the devil and his angels. When speaking of the destiny of those who hypocritically claimed to follow him, Jesus said, "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41, italics mine). (How To Share Your Faith, p. 66, also repeated in How to live FOREVER, p. 20)

Greg Laurie is a liar, and for many more reasons than just this lie about God not sending people to hell.


Rob Bell, in his 2011 book Love Wins, redefines hell as a present reality on earth. He says the statements in the Bible about hell being a place of fire and torment are mere poetry.


Raul Ries, pastor of another heretical Calvary Chapel church (Golden Springs, which averages 12,000 weekly), and President of Somebody Loves You Ministries, softens hell by claiming its not God that sends people there, it is you:

"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. God never ever ever sends anyone to Hell because of His love. If you go to hell it is by your own choice you make, your own choice." (tape # SLY 00-02)

Pat Robertson, the founder and chairman of The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., and founder and chancellor of Regent University, repeats the same lie as Ries,

"God doesn't send anyone to hell. Anyone who goes to hell will be there because of decisions they have made. In essence, you send yourself there." (Bring It On, p. 304, special CBN partner edition, 2003)

General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (GARBC) Council of Eighteen in 1993, when drawing up a resolution on hell, refused to state that there was a “literal fire.”

“Dr. Clay Nuttall was present as a witness. In his written report, he mentioned that when a man suggested "literal fire" be inserted in the GARBC resolution on hell, a Council of Eighteen member said they couldn’t do that because many of the pastors and people of the GARBC fellowship do not believe there is "literal fire" in hell” (D.A. Waite, Four Reasons for Defending the King James Bible, 1993, pp. 20-21)

Zondervan, the extremely heretical and ungodly publishing company, in 1996 published More Than One Way? which presented four “evangelical” views on “salvation in a pluralistic world.” Three of the views deny that salvation is exclusively through personal faith in Christ and that those who die without this faith will spend eternity in Hell. The book is edited by Dennis Okholm and Timothy Phillips, associate professors of theology at Wheaton College, a likewise extremely heretical and ungodly organization.


Evangelical Alliance of Britain in April 2000 published a report titled The Nature of Hell, which states that Evangelicals have agreed to disagree about the doctrine of Hell. It admits that “conditional immortality is a significant minority evangelical view” claiming that “the debate on hell should be regarded as a secondary rather than a primary issue for evangelical theology.” They naturally fall back to another heretical teaching, The False Practice of Ranking Doctrine into “Essentials” and “Non-Essentials” is Phariseeism.


Edward Fudge published The Fire That Consumes in 1987, a book that denies everlasting torment. The book was praised by leading "evangelical" leaders and heretics Clark Pinnock and F.F. Bruce. In Christianity Today, March 20, 1987, Pinnock said:

“The fire of hell does not torment, but rather consumes the wicked.”
Pinnock later called the traditional doctrine of eternal torment in Hell “an outrageous doctrine,” claiming that “a God who would do such a thing is more nearly like Satan than like God.”

Clearly these men are ungodly liars speaking things in completely opposition to God's Word, purposefully deceiving the hearts of the simple so as to gain a following (Rom 16:17-18). Though people choose to do evil (Is 66:3), and they love death because they love sin and hate Christ (Pr 8:36) and seek death (Pr 21:6); and "he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death" (Pr 11:19); and they bring this trouble upon themselves (e.g. Jer 2:17) — God still is the One Who sends people to Hell, as the Bible warns repeatedly.


Hell is a Necessary Motivation for Salvation


Unfortunately many people give little attention to hell, knowing how offensive it might sound, thinking it might just shut down a conversation, even though Jesus was the one who talked about it more than anyone, and really we could call the theologian of Hell.


But there is a Heaven and there is a Hell.


The Lord Jesus Christ’s spent a lot of time preaching on Hell, e.g. Matt 5:22; 12:23; 13:42, 50; 18:8-9; 23:33; 25:41,46; Mk 9:43-48; Lk 16:19-31. Christ preached eight times more about hell than heaven because he loves men and does not want them to go there. Jesus could be called the theologian on hell.


Sin was the ruin of man. As aforementioned, it started in the Garden of Eden. It ruined men and continues to do its destructive work. It takes nothing for man to live for himself. They move from one lust to the next. This is all so strong, the lusts of the flesh, that Hell is a necessary impetus to reject that. Of course there is the positive side, Heaven, God’s goodness, forgiveness, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and the truth of the Bible, but these all dovetail with the impetus to avoid hell. Hell is a necessary motivation in spite of all those good things, on the negative side, producing the fear of the Lord (Ps 115:11,13; 128:1; Pr 1:7; 9:10; 14:27; Lk 12:4-5; Ac 13:26) and repentance (Ac 3:19; 26:20; Lk 13:1-5, 23-24), both of which are required for conversion (Pr 1:20-32).


You can attempt to gain the whole world, all that the world offers, the allurement of Satan (Matt 4:8-10) at the loss of your own soul. Like the rich fool who built bigger barns to store all his worldly goods and then said to his soul,

"Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink,and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (Lk 12:16-21)

So what is the profit? (Mk 8:34-38). The eternal loss of a soul counteracts the lie of the world. It’s a nagging reality. Even if someone wants to block it out, it disquiets and afflicts and convicts. The rich man in Hell in Lk 16 gained his portion of the world in his short rapid lifetime, who would gladly give it all up for even a drop of water, while he’s in Hell. He knows he can't escape Hell, but there is one thing he wants to do, that is to get a warning out to his five brethren. This is a warning to all the living. Abraham however tells him that if they won't listen to the Word of God, they won't listen to anyone rising from the dead! What a powerful statement. Jesus Christ arose from the dead, for the justification of our souls, but sinners won't listen. Many sinners and atheists would rather mock Hell and God then receive the Lord, despite the reality of Hell.


Conclusion


“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.” (Ps 2:1-5)

When that wrath is complete and God has cast you into the furnace of fire and then from there into the eternal lake of fire, you will thoroughly understand your self-deception and love for believing a lie, and the vanity of it all including that sin that you so dearly loved. But it doesn't have to end like that, recognizing and then the awful regret, whilst in terrible torment, about not making the right choices this side of the grave (Pr 1:20-32).


"To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." (Heb 4:7)



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