Hell

Hell

They will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.

Matthew 25:46

The rich man shouted, “Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.”

Luke 16:24

The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night.

Revelation 14:11

Eternal punishment is not a topic most people really want to talk about. And if anyone can discuss it casually with no sense of sadness, he or she must not have considered its realities. The Bible describes hell as a place of blackest darkness, unrelenting torment, unquenchable thirst, and burning fires.

Hell is so horrible that some people have come to the conclusion that a loving God would not send people there. But Jesus spoke often of hell and the people who will go there. Thirteen percent of his teachings refer to eternal judgment and hell. Two-thirds of his parables relate to resurrection and judgment. Jesus wasn’t being cruel or dramatic. He was telling the truth that people need to hear about hell.

Gehenna was the name of a rubbish dump outside the walls of Jerusalem, infamous for its unending smolder and decay. People threw their trash—including garbage and animal carcasses—into this pit, where a fire was continually burning. Jesus used Gehenna as a word picture of hell, the place where the “worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48, NIV). Jesus described the duration of heaven and hell with the same adjective: eternal. “They will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46). Hell lasts as long as heaven.

God doesn’t want people to go to hell—that’s why he provided a way of salvation for us. But a just God cannot allow evil to go unpunished. Hell is the place where evil will be punished. And the greatest evil in the universe is for a person to choose not to trust God—to deny him and reject his offer of salvation.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

What are some ways you picture hell in your mind?

Who will go to hell?

When Paul thought about those who had not embraced Christ, he said, “My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief” (Romans 9:2). How do you feel about the eternal future of those you know who have rejected Christ?