More and more "religious people" are rejecting the Biblical doctrine of hell. They contend that the God of love and mercy could not create such a place as hell and confine man, who is created in his own image, to such a horrible place for eternity.

If there is an eternal hell, you are entitled to know about it to be warned thereby. If the notion of a hell of torment is a doctrine of men, you are certainly entitled to know that. It would be morally wrong to teach the idea of a burning hell just to scare men into doing certain things. In the course of this study we will go to God, who cannot lie, and find the truth on this subject.

The fact of sin's existence proves that there is a hell. From the Bible we learn that sin is "the transgression of the law" I John 3:4. But if there were no penalty imposed for breaking the law, the law would be worthless. Take, for example, the laws that govern speed on our highways. Why do we learn these laws and take care to obey them? For one thing, we know that there are policemen on duty who are charged with arrested speeders. If there were no laws to regulate speed, men could drive at any speed they desired and not be guilty of crime. But there are laws and the speed limit is specified on every street and highway in the state. And, in order to make the laws effective, there are penalties for their violation and men charged with enforcing them.

In the very same way, the law of God would be meaningless if there were no penalty for its transgression. The fact of a penalty for the violation of God's law is an incentive for men to obey him rather than transgress his laws. Sin, the violation of God's law, is an unquestioned reality; therefore, hell, the penalty for sin, must be a reality. The Bible ascribes many characteristics to God. He is described as love; but he is also described as a God of justice. Neither of these characteristics should be so exaggerated as to exclude the other. Some have supposed that since God is a God of great love, he could not possibly bring suffering to anyone for any reason. But, because he is also a God of justice and holiness, he must punish sin.

The writer of the book of Hebrews makes this very same argument about necessary punishment for sin. Notice it carefully. "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? Which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us bv them that heard him Hebrews 2:1-3. God must punish those who break his law. Since his law is the highest and holiest of all laws, it necessarily demands the greatest penalty for its violation. Hell does exist!

Furthermore, the reality of hell is clearly seen because Christ clearly taught it. He once said, "And if thy hand offend thee, cut if 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" Mark 9:43. And, in giving a picture of future judgement, the Lord represented himself as saying to those on his left hand, "Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" Matthew 25:41. We should not hesitate to say that we believe every statement that Jesus ever made to be a true statement. These statements that he made about a literal hell of torment cannot be dismissed as inconsequential to our study. There can be no doubt that there is a real hell, for Christ taught it. This doctrine is not, as some have suggested, from men; but it is from God and is clearly taught in the Scriptures.

What does the Bible tell us about Hell? First, hell is described as a place of fire and brimstone. "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and 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" Revelation 21:8. Someone will always ask the question, after reading this verse, "Will hell be literal fire and brimstone - as we know these substances?" Probably not. We don't expect heaven to be made of literal gold, pearls and precious stones. When the Bible speaks of streets of gold and gates of pearl, we understand that accommodative language is being used. Since heaven is a spiritual place which is composed of elements that we do not even know about, God had to describe it to us in human language and use descriptive terms which would impress us with the fact of heaven's beauty and grandeur. In the same way, we should understand "fire and brimstone" to be descriptive human terms which God chose to impress us with the fact of hell's horror.

Second, hell is described as a place of "weeping and gnashing of teeth". "The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" Matthew 13:41-42. There is no more heart-rending sound on earth than to hear a grown person cry out in severe pain and to literally grind his teeth together in anguish and suffering. The Lord warns us that hell will be a place where suffering will be so intense that men will not be able to restrain their cries. How frightening are the consequences of sin!

Third, hell is described as a place of outer darkness. In the Parable of the Talents, the man who buried his talent in the soil was called an unprofitable servant and was cast "into outer darkness" Matthew 25:30. There is no description of hell's horrors which more nearly impresses its terror as this. It is the nature of all living things to seek light. Men have even developed artificial light for use in times of natural darkness. Needing and wanting light as we do, try to imagine an existence in total darkness. Just to think of such a prospect as this is uncomfortable to the human mind!

All these descriptions of hell combine in our minds to paint an awful picture of doom and hopelessness. Indeed, hell is a place where there is absolutely no prospect of present or future blessings from God. It is a place of eternal punishment for all men who choose to disobey God.

What Is Hell Like?

Hell is eternal. According to Matthew 25:46, Jesus said, "and these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal". Romans 16:26, speaks of the everlasting God. Hebrews 9:14 refers to the eternal spirit.

There are four expressions in these three verses to be considered. They are "everlasting punishment", "eternal life", everlasting God", and "eternal spirit". The only difference between everlasting and eternal in our language is a difference in spelling. They mean the same thing. The Greek word translated as everlasting or eternal in these three passages is the same. It is "ionious" which means eternal, everlasting, without end, never to cease, or indeterminate as to duration.

There is another argument which can be made against the eternality of hell. which cannot be applied against the eternality of God the Father, God the Spirit, and Heaven. If one were to take the poisition that hell were to last only a thousand years, to be consistent he would also have to contend that the Father, Spirit and Heaven will last for only a thousand years. That is true for the same word used to describe the duration of Hell's punishment is also used to describe the duration of the Father, Spirit and Heaven.

The very moment that the disobedient cease to be punished, the righteous will cease to be blessed and the Father and Spirit will cease to exist. Hell's punishment will continue forever and ever.

Two arguments advanced against this position are as follows. First, some say that would make hell too long. They argue that it would not be right to punish one eternally for five years of disobedience. If that is true it would also be wrong to bless one eternally who had lived for only five years in obedience to God's will. If not, why not? The same arguments used to rid the Bible of the doctrine of hell, can be used with equal validity against the doctrine of heaven. Those who feel that eternal punishment is too long, reflect upon every system of justice in the world. How does one determine the enormity of an act? By the time it takes to perform it? or by the act itself? For example, in fifteen seconds, a man could kill a dozen people by throwing a hand grenade into a crowded store. If that were done, should the killer go to prison for only fifteen seconds? Should he be placed in the penitentiary for only sixty seconds? Would the demands of justice be satisfied if he served a jail sentence of two minutes? Oh, no, if he were able to escape execution, he would have to spend the rest of his life behind bars for an act which took only fifteen seconds to perform. The heinousness of evil is seen in the act itself, rather than by the time involved in its perpetration. The most horrible thing one can do is live in rebellion to the will of Almighty God. Those who live five years, five months, or five days in defiance of the Lord, and die in that condition will be punished in hell forever.

Second, there are those who believe the punishment of Matthew 25:46 means eternal annihilation. They maintain that the disobedient will be cast into the fires of hell and simply experience a cessation of all existence. When Revelations 21:8 speaks of a second death, they understand it to refer to a second physical death. In their view, when one dies the first time he goes back to where Adam was before he was created. Where was Adam before he was created? He was not. They believe that at the Lord's second coming, the dead will be re-created and those who have rejected the Saviour will be burned, experience a second physical death and be annihilated forever. Everlasting punishment to them means to be dead, like an animal, eternally.

In response to that position, consider the word translated as punishment in Matthew 25:46. It is, "colason", which means to chastise, or torment. In I John 4:18, it is translated as torment. Read Luke 16:19-31, and notice that four times the rich man in the flames of Hades is described as being in anguish or torment. See Revelations 14:11 and 20:10, where the word torment is used to describe the fate of the unsaved. If those who leave this world unprepared to meet God go into eternal nonexistence, how could the words torment or anguish be used to describe their state? Torment can exist where there is consciousness. It is impossible to torment a dead dog, since he is not conscious. There is a difference between a man and a dog. Man survives the grave and judgement. The unsaved shall go away into everlasting conscious, suffering torment. That is what Hell is like, If you are not a Christian, if you are a backslidden child of God, I plead with you to turn to Christ by obedience to his will and flee from the wrath to come. Please do not neglect your soul.

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Was Lot Abraham's brother (Genesis 14:14, 16) or nephew (Genesis 11:27; 12:5; 14:12)? Is there a contradiction?