Hell

What is hell and why is it talked about in the Bible?

A1 Terms

B1 Hades is the place of those who do not believe God. (Sheol is the Hebrew word).

C1 It is a place of torment. It is a holding cell in jail until the Judgment day.

C2 "…and in Hades, where he was in great pain, he looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side." (Luke 16:23, GNB92)

C3 "Death is the destiny of all the wicked, of all those who reject God." (Psalms 9:17, GNB92)

C4 "You snakes and children of snakes! How do you expect to escape from being condemned to hell?" (Matthew 23:33, GNB92)

C5 The direction is down.

D1 "And you, Capernaum, the one having been exalted to heaven, you will be brought down to Hades; because if the miracles which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained to this day." (Matthew 11:23)

D2 "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:40)

C6 It is not a permanent place for souls. "And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to their works." (Revelation 20:13)

B2 Abyss

C1 Literally it means "without bottom."

C2 It is the place of the evil dead, demons, and sorrows. It is essentially the same as Hades.

C3 "…or, 'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). (Romans 10:7, WPNT)

C4 "And he kept imploring Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss." (Luke 8:31, EMTV)

C5 "And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the Abyss and a huge chain on his hand. And he seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is a slanderer, even Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years; he threw him into the Abyss and locked and sealed it over him so that he should not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years were finished. And after these years he must be loosed for a short time." (Revelation 20:1-3, WPNT)

B3 Tartarus

C1 A place for evil angels who went and remain there for their coming judgment.

C2 It is used once in the New Testament.

C3 "For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but rather confined them to Tartarus, and delivered them into chains of darkness, reserved for judgment." (2 Peter 2:4)

B4 Gehenna

C1 This is more or less the same as the Lake of Fire.

C2 It is a place of final judgment for those who did not obey the Gospel.

C3 "…but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 8:12)

C4 "…and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 13:42)

C5 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both the soul and the body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

B5 Lake of Fire

C1 A place prepared for the everlasting abode of the devil, his angels, and those whose names are not found in the Lamb's Book of Life.

C2 "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where also the Beast and the False Prophet are. And they shall be tormented day and night forever and ever." (Revelation 20:10)

C3 "And if anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the Lake of Fire." (Revelation 20:15)

A2 Questions

B1 Why would God send anyone to hell? I thought He is a "God of Love."

C1 Breaking God's law must be punished just like any law that are broken.

D1 "And now go, lead the people to where I spoke to you. Look, my angel will go before you, and on the day when I punish I will punish them for their sin." (Exodus 32:34)

D2 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

C2 God warns that the penalty is eternal. Some might think that the punishment is greater than the crime, but God warns all people.

D1 Those who have God's Law know what is right and wrong.

D2 Those who do not have God's Law know that murder, lying, stealing, etc. is wrong.

D3 So both are guilty.

D4 "The Gentiles do not have the Law of Moses; they sin and are lost apart from the Law. The Jews have the Law; they sin and are judged by the Law. For it is not by hearing the Law that people are put right with God, but by doing what the Law commands. The Gentiles do not have the Law; but whenever they do by instinct what the Law commands, they are their own law, even though they do not have the Law. Their conduct shows that what the Law commands is written in their hearts. Their consciences also show that this is true, since their thoughts sometimes accuse them and sometimes defend them. And so, according to the Good News I preach, this is how it will be on that Day when God through Jesus Christ will judge the secret thoughts of all." (Romans 2:12-16)

D5 "These, then, will be sent off to eternal punishment, but the righteous will go to eternal life." (Matthew 25:46, GNB92)

D6 "And these shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew 25:46, EMTV)

B2 Why is hell forever? Doesn't eternity seem too long? They will repent once they are in hell, so then they should be let out and go to heaven.

C1 God warns all that hell is forever.

C2 Anybody in their right mind would not want to stay in hell. It would not be a true repentance, just a fake one to get out of punishment.

C3 We are saved by faith, but once we are dead then we know. It is then fact, not faith.

C4 Rebellion (not obeying God's rules) is very serious.

C5 God has provided a way. See Need God.

 

A3 Other's article/response

B1 http://www.gotquestions.org/eternity-hell-just.html

B2 http://www.gotquestions.org/hell-real-eternal.html

B3 http://pleaseconvinceme.com/2015/is-christianity-unduly-harsh/