Hell, does it really exist?...
Why would God send the very souls that He created to a place like this? Are the things I heard about it true? If so, how do we escape? By the grace of God, we are going to take a concise and simple look at what the bible says about Hell.
I have heard people misuse the word Hell quite often over the years. It is quite common to hear people say “why the h— are you doing that?!?” or “what the h— were you thinking?!?” …or “that person just got the h— beat out of them!”. While we have heard and even used these expressions ourselves in the past, the accumulative effect of hearing this abuse should not be ignored, the end result is a loss of fear and respect for the actual object and reality of Hell. The point of writing on this topic is to bring back into focus what the Bible says Hell is in contrast to what many have come to believe about it.
When asked, many people would say that they absolutely believe in Heaven. They believe that we are all going somewhere after we die. I would argue, if we believe in Heaven then we should also believe in Hell. God created our universe with opposites, there is apparent good and evil, there is hot and cold, up and down and so there is also Heaven and Hell. Hell is referred to over 50 times in the King James Version of the Bible. The Bible also refers to Hell at times as Hades, Gehenna, the Lake of Fire and the Place of Torment to name a few. If we were to give a basic definition of this awful place, it could be summed up as being forever separated from God, it is an eternal place of fiery torment, agony and great regret. Many people generally believe that “bad” people go to Hell and “good” people go to Heaven. While this is basically true as the Bible refers to the righteous and the wicked more specifically, however, we have to ensure that we arrive at the Biblical definition of righteousness and wickedness. For example, the Bible calls anyone living in a true relationship with God through the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ and living in faith, good, acceptable and righteous, that is they have been declared in right standing with God by the blood and sacrifice of Christ. In contrast, anyone who does not know Christ, meaning they are not trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior, are referred to as wicked and not belonging to God (see Romans 8:9). Remember, Jesus asked the rich young ruler, “why do you call me good, there is only one that is good, my Father in Heaven (see Luke 18:18,19) and in another place Jesus said, “I and the Father are One” and yet in another place, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life and no one comes to the Father but by Me".
I believe this is very important, because again, what we hear and see often affects how and what we think about a topic or subject. Hollywood usually depicts Hell as generally a bad place, somewhere you’d rather not go. But way too often it is seen, to a certain degree as pretty tolerable; I’ve even seen it depicted like a never-ending party. Some would have us believe Hell is a place where its subjects will be hanging out with friends and having a good time. I don’t think it is inaccurate to say in our society today that Hell is often made light of and taken as a joke, this too is by design. The less I think about an impending danger the less I will prepare for it, and even worse if I'm underestimating its doom and finality, I will again not prepare for it properly. I’ve watched movies and TV shows where they often mock the severity of what Hell is going be like, sometimes insinuating there is a way out once you are there. According to the scriptures, none of these perceptions or assumptions are actually true, which is quite dangerous.
The Bible says that Hell was originally created for the devil (Satan) and his angels (see Matt 25:41). God created Lucifer as one of the most beautiful angels in heaven, Lucifer ultimately lead a revolt against the Almighty (see Isaiah 14:1-20). The Bible tells us that as a result of his rebellion, Lucifer was kicked out of heaven and where he became Satan and has been in opposition against God ever since. Because he sinned against God in eternity, the punishment was eternal, meaning permanent. Every person who also makes the choice to reject God’s pardon through Christ, when they die (we too will enter into eternity when we die (see Hebrews 9:27) will also face an eternal punishment and will suffer a similar fate. Contrary to what some religions believe, there will be no escape, or way out or second chance. There is no reincarnation and we don't conveniently cease to exist upon death, as some would have us believe. A person can't go around committing sins all their life and then vanish into nothing, there will be a day of accountability before God Almighty that each of us will face, whether we believe it now or later is up to us. Hebrews says "it's appointed every man to die and then the judgment". The bible says that we are made up of three parts, body, soul and spirit. Our soul will continue to live in eternity after our bodies have expired, that is why we refer to death as "passing", as we are passing from the natural dimension to the eternal dimension. Therefore, it is so important in this life to understand and receive the pardon that God extends to all men through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! (see Born Again)
There are two descriptions of Hell in the Bible. One is of an intensely burning fire. Jesus often used the Hebrew word GEHENNA to describe Hell. Gehenna, was literally the refuse dump outside Jerusalem that was always on fire. Jesus said Hell was a place of worms, maggots, fire, and great agony. From this, we get the image of a lake of fire and the concept of it perpetually burning. The evil ones that have been sent there are full of remorse and torment (see Mark 9:43-48). Jesus also said that in hell there would be "outer darkness." There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 8:12, see also Matthew 22:13). Here the image is one of terrible loneliness. There will be separation from God and man. Those who are cast into Hell will be put out into the inky blackness of eternity, with nobody to turn to, nobody to talk to, and they will be constantly alone. They will suffer the remorse of knowing they had sufficient opportunity to come to Christ and to be forgiven of their sins and live in heaven with God but rather chose to reject His free gift to them so He has rejected them.
This is a very unpopular topic, one that even some who believe in Christ tend to shy away from discussing. I believe at times we are more concerned that we may offend someone or give them the idea that God is mean or unjust. The fact is, God is not unjust, He has more than made a way of escape for each of us. As for myself, I would rather take the chance of making some feel uncomfortable for a moment and warn those who are willing to hear about the truth of the Bible, which speaks of the amazing love of God through Christ. In hearing these truths, perhaps some may not die in their sins, entering into eternity without knowing Christ and without hope.
Today our society tells us by its actions and philosophies that nothing is really permanent, the idea of being permanently separated from God strikes people as too -- well, final. We think in our own wisdom that there should be a second chance or a do-over? No wonder the belief in reincarnation has become more and more popular. It gives people the false comfort of believing that if they ruin or waste this life, they will get another, and another, and... We "waste" our lives when we neglect our creator and as a result we reject His purpose for creating us. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 12:13, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear (respect & honor) God and keep (do) His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man, yet many of us have made our lives about us.
The Bible reveals that each of us has been given one life, a life that can either be used in service and worship to God or a life that is lived without God. God has made man free to choose and has enabled us to make moral and spiritual choices, with great responsibility there are great consequences. To whom much is given much is required. I'm simply reminding you, as well as myself that our choices carry consequences, some of which will be experienced in this life and some in the life to come. Therefore, God can't be accused of casually "sending people to hell," as if He took some delight in punishing us. Far from it! But since we are free to choose, we can say "Yes" or "No" to God, we can choose to live independent from God or we can enter into an amazing and dynamic relationship with the only God who loved us enough to die for us! The Bible warns us that there will be grave and eternal consequences if we choose to neglect such a great salvation...
"As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?" (see Ezekiel 33:11)
"You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way, the selfish way, or even the religious way.
"But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it."
(see Matthew 7:13)
Jesus says "I, the Son of Man, will send my angels, and they will remove from my Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil, and they will throw them into the furnace and burn them. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the godly will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!"
(see Matthew 13:41-43)
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that is thrown into the water and gathers fish of every kind. When the net is full, they drag it up onto the shore, sit down, sort the good fish into crates, and throw the bad ones away. That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the godly, throwing the wicked into the fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (see Matthew 13:47-50)
Cowards who turn away from me, and unbelievers, and the corrupt, and murderers, and the immoral, and those who practice witchcraft, and idol worshipers, and all liars -- their doom is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death. (see Revelation 21:8)
Unless a man is born again he cannot enter the kingdom of God...
Remember, according to the Bible, we can conclude that not all religions lead to salvation. They don’t all lead to heaven. However, it is true that all religions lead to God and His judgment seat. Buddha and Confucius and Mohammed and the Pope, as well as many other false teachers, will be in the same position as every other created being. They will be among those facing an appraisal of their lives, and Jesus Christ will be the lawyer and judge. The Bible is very clear about this fact. Every person is going to be resurrected and judged individually. Every hour of life, all our words spoken in secret, every hidden thought and every motive will be made public. Our deeds and misdeeds will be tried in this perfect court described in Revelations, where there will be no misinterpretations and no getting off on technicalities. All blame will be accurately proportioned. There will be no unsolved crimes and no hidden bribes no guilty with explanation pleas accepted there.
Jesus warns us in Matthew 5:25, to agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary delivers you to the judge, and the judge delivers you to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
In this scripture, anyone who hasn’t made Jesus their personal Lord and Savior is considered His enemy, the good news is that God in Christ sacrificed Himself for us while we were yet in our sins. On judgment day our adversary or prosecuting attorney if you prefer, will be the commandments that we failed to keep and our accusing conscience. All of our secret thoughts and motives will be exposed and examined. While we are in the way with him, means while we still have breath and life in this body or as it is written in Hebrews, while it is called Today, remember tomorrow is not promised to us, note it says “at any time”. The Judge is Jesus Christ the righteous One, He has the right to judge us, well, because He is God and even more because He lived a sinless life and pleased the Father, thus demonstrating that every person who refused His representation, His propitiation, will be left standing on their own righteousness, this will not be sufficient nor end well. The officer is referring to the angels of God and the prison is the eternal lake of fire also known as Hell itself.
The only escape for us is through believing in and on Jesus Christ, repenting of our sins and turning to Jesus. Romans says, if we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that God raised Jesus from the dead we shall be saved!
If we have already made Jesus our Lord then we should be growing in grace and obedience to the Word of God and our love for the Lord, we should be encouraging other Christians and preaching the gospel revealing God’s love to lost souls. Jesus said, if you love Me you will keep My commandments.
Food for thought:
· Every true believer in Christ is born twice (natural & spiritual) but ultimately only dies once (natural death)
· Those that are unbelieving are born once but ultimately dies twice (natural & spiritual)
· The backslider - those that turn back from following Christ are born twice, but since they turn back, ultimately dies twice.