On Hell

What do we know about Hell?

We know that for a good portion of the Bible "Hell" (and its synonyms) is not a reference to the eternal resting place of the unsaved. For the most part, it refers instead simply to the place of the dead. This place is in view when Jesus gives His parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31). The place of the dead included a place of torment and a place called "Abraham's bosom" that was quite comfortable it appears. We know that, in the final judgment, death and Hell are thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14). It's called "the second death". So we know that we should be careful in our examination of the subject of Hell because sometimes it's not that place that people think of.

We know that the place that people think of, the place of "eternal torment", the place most people think of as "Hell", is a real place. Try as the modern "scholars" might, it is not possible to move this place to an imaginary condition and retain Scripture. Why do I say that?

Jesus often referred to a place -- an actual place -- called "Gehenna" (Matt. 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5). James used it in his epistle (James 3:6). Gehenna was the trash dump for Jerusalem. It was in the valley of Hinnom. At one time the Ammonites and, later, Israel worshiped Moloch there, including the sacrifice of children by fire. It became the place that they burned everything -- animal corpses, trash, whatever. Of that place it was said that the fire was unquenchable (Mark 9:48). Matt. 18:8-9 refers to it as eternal fire. So what goes on there is eternal.

Modern thought is tainted with a "literalist" perception brought by the likes of Dante and his types. They gave us an image of "Hell" as a place where there is fire and lots of naked, writhing bodies. This "literalist" approach, however, is not likely the actual truth any more than the idea that, when sinners are finally judged, they will end up in the valley of Hinnom. In Scripture there are places in which human comprehension is exceeded and we're left with metaphor to try to get the message. John's Revelation of Jesus Christ is full imagery that is clearly intended to convey what John saw while lacking the words to actually get it across. In Rev. 21:18, for instance, the streets of the New Jerusalem are described as "pure gold, like clear glass." Now how does that work? Is it clear or gold? John's description in Rev. 1:12-16 is clearly not literal, but John's attempt at getting across an image that we couldn't possible comprehend without having seen it. In the same way, the biblical descriptions of Hell are not likely intended to be literal any more than the descriptions of heaven should be taken at simple face value. In both cases God is attempting to get across to the finite human mind something that is outside of our experience and comprehension. How do you do that? You tell them things they do understand in comparison.

Hell -- the final resting place, the "lake of fire", the final home of the unsaved -- is a place of eternal torment. How painful is it? Not likely physical pain, but let me try to get you to understand the depth of the torment. Imagine, if you will, that you're standing in blazing fire. There is no protection. There is no end. You are not consumed. It's just a constant searing burning pain beyond any other pain imaginable. Or, here, try this. Imagine that you're being eaten alive by worms. You don't actually get consumed; you are just being eaten. You know, something out of the most hideous horror film ever made. Got it? Well, Hell is much, much worse. It's not simple physical torment. It's eternal separation from God. How to get that across is beyond me. Truthfully I'm not 100% clear on it myself. But it's the worst of all possible torments you can imagine, and telling you it's like a fire is a start.

There are those who would like us to believe that the place we've always been told as the place of eternal punishment doesn't actually exist. No such place will ever be. God is too gracious. Some suggest that no one need worry about such a thing; God will save everyone. Others understand that this doesn't work with Scripture. So they assure us that He'll simply annihilate you. You'll just cease to be. Neither of these options meet the standard of what Scripture pictures for us. The torment will be real and eternal. It is contrasted with the real eternal life offered to the saved. In Matt. 25:46, there is either eternal punishment or eternal life. Universalism or annihilationism doesn't meet that definition. Rev. 14:11 says of those who serve the beast "the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever". Universalism or annihilationism doesn't satisfy that requirement.

So, I'm thinking that Hell, that place of eternal torment, is something that I'd like to avoid and something that I'd like the people I care about to avoid. Just a thought.