Hell Where Is It
Hell
We have often heard statements such as “War is hell” or “I went through hell.” These expressions are, of course, not taken literally. Rather, they reflect our tendency to use the word hell as a descriptive term for the most ghastly human experience possible. Yet no human experience in this world is actually comparable to hell. If we try to imagine the worst of all possible suffering in the here and now we have not yet stretched our imaginations to reach the dreadful reality of hell.
Hell is trivialized when it is used as a common curse word. To use the word lightly may be a half-hearted human attempt to take the concept lightly or to treat it in an amusing way. We tend to joke about things most frightening to us in a futile effort to declaw and defang them, reducing their threatening power.
There is no biblical concept more grim or terror-invoking than the idea of hell. It is so unpopular with us that few would give credence to it at all except that it comes to us from the teaching of Christ Himself.
Almost all the biblical teaching about hell comes from the lips of Jesus. It is this doctrine, perhaps more than any other, that strains even the Christian’s loyalty to the teaching of Christ. Modern Christians have pushed the limits of minimizing hell in an effort to sidestep or soften Jesus’ own teaching. The Bible describes hell as a place of outer darkness, a lake of fire, a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, a place of eternal separation from the blessings of God, a prison, a place of torment where the worm doesn’t turn or die. These graphic images of eternal punishment provoke the question, should we take these descriptions literally or are they merely symbols?
I suspect they are symbols, but I find no relief in that. We must not think of them as being merely symbols. It is probable that the sinner in hell would prefer a literal lake of fire as his eternal home to the reality of hell represented in the lake of fire image. If these images are indeed symbols, then we must conclude that the reality is worse than the symbol suggests. The function of symbols is to point beyond themselves to a higher or more intense state of actuality than the symbol itself can contain. That Jesus used the most awful symbols imaginable to describe hell is no comfort to those who see them simply as symbols.
A breath of relief is usually heard when someone declares, “Hell is a symbol for separation from God.” To be separated from God for eternity is no great threat to the unrepentant person. The ungodly want nothing more than to be separated from God.
Their problem in hell will not be separation from God, it will be the presence of God that will torment them. In hell, God will be present in the fullness of His divine wrath. He will be there to exercise His just punishment of the damned. They will know Him as an all-consuming fire.
No matter how we analyze the concept of hell it often sounds to us as a place of cruel and unusual punishment. If, however, we can take any comfort in the concept of hell, we can take it in the full assurance that there will be no cruelty there. It is impossible for God to be cruel. Cruelty involves inflicting a punishment that is more severe or harsh than the crime. Cruelty in this sense is unjust. God is incapable of inflicting an unjust punishment. The Judge of all the earth will surely do what is right. No innocent person will ever suffer at His hand.
Perhaps the most frightening aspect of hell is its eternality. People can endure the greatest agony if they know it will ultimately stop. In hell there is no such hope. The Bible clearly teaches that the punishment is eternal. The same word is used for both eternal life and eternal death. Punishment implies pain. Mere annihilation, which some have lobbied for, involves no pain. Revelation 6:15-1615 Then everyone-the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person-all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.Jonathan Edwards, in preaching on the above verse in Scripture said, “Wicked men will hereafter earnestly wish to be turned to nothing and forever cease to be that they may escape the wrath of God.”Hell, then, is an eternity before the righteous, ever-burning wrath of God, a suffering torment from which there is no escape and no relief. Understanding this is crucial to our drive to appreciate the work of Christ and to preach His gospel.
Hell is eternal. There is no escape through either repentance or annihilation.
HELL does it exist
Rev. 20: 10 ,14 & 15 Mark 9 : 43-48
Rev. 14: 10 & 11 2 Thess: 1:9
Rev. 21: 8 2 Pet. 2: 4 , 6 & 9
Dan. 12:2 Rom. 2: 4& 5
Matt. 10:28 Mark 16:16
Matt. 25:41 & 46 Isaiah 57 :21
Ps 9:17 Luke 16 : 23Isaiah 14:9 Ezek. 32:27
Num. 16:30-33 Matt. 13:42 & 50 Matt. 3 : 12Isiaah 33:14 Heb. 9:27
Psychiatrists say that we deny that what we fear the most.
Maybe that is why we do not want to believe that a place called Hell actually exists
There are 162 texts in the the New Testament alone which speak of the doom that awaits the impenitent and over 70 of these were uttered by the Lord Himself.
In the original language three terms are used- Sheol, Hades and Gehenna. But unfortunately in English these have been translated : hell, pit , grave losing the force of the original.
One of the most crucial issues which determines our understanding of what the Bible teaches about death and the afterlife is the proper interpretation of such key terms as Sheol, Hades and Gehenna. No study of death is complete without a thorough understanding of these terms.
SHEOLThe Hebrew word Sheol is found 66 times in the Old Testament. While the Old Testament consistently refers to the body as going to the grave, it always refers to the soul or spirit of man as going to Sheol. The nature of Sheol and the condition of those in it is crucial to our understanding of what the Bible teaches about what happens to man after death.
HADESThe second key term in the biblical understanding of death and the afterlife is the Greek word Hades. This word forms a linguistic bridge which takes us from the Old Testament view of death to the New Testament position. The importance of a proper interpretation of this word cannot be overstressed.
In the Septuagint, Hades is found 71 times. It is the Greek equivalent for Sheol 64 times. The other seven times it is found in the Septuagint, it is the translation of other Hebrew words, some of which shed significant light on what Hades meant tothe translators of the Septuagint.
GEHENNAThe third and last crucial term is the word Gehenna. This word is found twelve times in the New Testament and is correctly translated each time by the KJV as "hell." It is a word which describes the ultimate fate of the wicked after the general resurrection and judgment. While Sheol and Hades describe the temporary abode of the dead until the resurrection, Gehenna is the place of future punishment in the eternal state.For more information on the three terms used see in depth study Sheol, Hades, and Gehenna
Def. What is Hell ?
Banishment from the presence of God 2 Thess .1:9
9 They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.
It is a place of torment and punishment Luke 16:23
23 and his soul went to the place of the dead.[a] There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
The Bible repeatedly says That both heaven and hell are eternal , everlasting Matt.25:46
We may not be able to understand it, but we accept it as true , for God says so.
This doctrine is in harmony with the deeply rooted inborn conviction of men.
Few object to the fact that heaven is eternal, why object to eternal punishment ?.
If one ceases so must the other.
“Is hell real? Is hell eternal?”It is interesting that a much higher percentage of people believe in the existence of heaven than believe in the existence of hell. According to the Bible, though, hell is just as real as heaven. The Bible clearly and explicitly teaches that hell is a real place to which the wicked/unbelieving are sent after death. We have all sinned against God
Romans 3:23For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.
The just punishment for that sin is death Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord..
Since all of our sin is ultimately against God
Psalm 51:4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.
Since God is an infinite and eternal Being, the punishment for sin, is death, must also be infinite and eternal. Hell is this infinite and eternal death which we have earned because of our sin.The punishment of the wicked dead in hell is described throughout Scripture as "unquenchable fire "
Matthew 25:41"Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ÔÇÿAway with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. "unquenchable fire"
Matthew 3:12 He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire." "shame and everlasting contempt"
Daniel 12:2 Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace.
a place where "the fire is not quenched"
Mark 9:43-49If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It's better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell[a] with two hands.45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It's better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet.47 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It's better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,48 ÔÇÿwhere the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.'49 "For everyone will be tested with fire.
a place of "torment" and "fire"
Luke 16:23-24and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
24 "The rich man shouted, ÔÇÿFather 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.'
"Everlasting destruction"
2 Thessalonians 1:9They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.
a place where "the smoke of torment rises forever and ever"
Revelation 14:10-11must drink the wine of God's anger. It has been poured full strength into God's cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.11 The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name."
"A lake of burning sulfur" where the wicked are "tormented day and night forever and ever"
Revelation 20:10. Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.The punishment of the wicked in hell is as never ending as the bliss of the righteous in heaven. Jesus Himself indicates that punishment in hell is just as everlasting as life in heaven
Matthew 25:46"And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life."
Psalm 76:9-10You stand up to judge those who do evil, O God, and to rescue the oppressed of the earth.10 Human defiance only enhances your glory, for you use it as a weapon.The wicked are forever subject to the fury and the wrath of God. Those in hell will acknowledge the perfect justice of God
Those who are in hell will know that their punishment is just and that they alone are to blame Deuteronomy 32:3-5 I will proclaim the name of the Lord; how glorious is our God! 4 He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair.He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is! 5 "But they have acted corruptly toward him; when they act so perversely, are they really his children? They are a deceitful and twisted generation.
Yes, hell is real. Yes, hell is a place of torment and punishment that lasts forever and ever, with no end. Praise God that, through Jesus, we can escape this eternal fate John 3:16"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:18."There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son.
John 3:36And anyone who believes in God's Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn't obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God's angry judgment."
“Where is hell? What is the location of hell?”Various theories on the location of hell have been put forward. A traditional view is that hell is in the center of the earth. Others propose that hell is located in outer space in a black hole. In the Old Testament, the word translated "hell" is (Hebrew) Sheolin the New Testament, it's Hades(Greek) meaning "unseen" and Gehenna("the Valley of Hinnom"). Sheolis also translated as "pit" and "grave."Or place of the dead.Both Sheol and Hades refer to a temporary dwellingfor the dead before judgment.Psalm 9:1717 The wicked will go down to the grave.(Hebrew to Sheol) This is the fate of all the nations who ignore God.Revelation 1:1818 I am the living one. I died, but look-I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.(Greek Hades)Gehenna refers to an eternal state of punishment for the wicked dead Mark 9:4343 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It's better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell(Greek Gehenna; also in 9:45, 47 ) with two hands.(where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.' See 9:48)The idea that hell is below us, perhaps in the center of the earth, comes from passages such as Luke 10:15
15 And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead.(Greek to Hades ). Also, in 1 Samuel 28:13-15, the medium of Endor sees the spirit of Samuel
13 "Don't be afraid!" the king told her. "What do you see?""I see a god[a] coming up out of the earth," she said.
We should note, however, that neither of these passages is concerned with the geographic location of hell. Capernaum's being thrust "down" is probably a reference to their being condemned rather than a physical direction. And the medium's vision of Samuel was just that: a vision.9 Notice that it says "he ascended." This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.[a]Ephesians 4:9 says that before Jesus ascended into heaven, In the King James Version, says that"he also descended . . . into the lower parts of the earth."
Some Christians take "the lower parts of the earth" as a reference to hell, where they say Jesus spent the time between His death and resurrection. However, the New International Version gives a better translation: "he also descended to the lower, earthly regions." This verse simply says that Jesus came to earth. It's a reference to His incarnation, not to His location after death.The idea that hell is somewhere in outer space, possibly in a black hole, is based on the knowledge that black holes are places of great heat and pressure from which nothing, not even light, can escape. Surprisingly, this concept of hell is presented in the 1979 Walt Disney film "The Black Hole". Near the movie's end, all the characters pass through a black hole. On the other side, the villain finds himself in a fiery place of torment, while the other characters enjoy disembodied bliss. It's interesting that a Disney movie would include a depiction of hell, but we should not base our theology on movies!Another speculation is that the earth itself will be the "lake of fire" spoken of inRevelation 20:10-15.10 Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.The Final Judgment11 And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. 12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave(Greek and Hades; also in 20:14) gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. 14 Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. 15 And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.
When the earth is destroyed by fire we read about that in: 2 Peter 3:1010 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.(Other manuscripts read will be burned up; still others read will be found destroyed.)
Revelation 21:1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.The theory goes, God will use that burning sphere as the everlasting place of torment for the ungodly. Again, this is mere speculation.To sum up, Scripture does not tell us the geological (or cosmological) location of hell. Hell is a literal place of real torment, but we do not know where it is. Hell may have a physical location in this universe, or it may be in an entirely different "dimension." Whatever the case, the location of hell is far less important than the need to avoid going there.I read a very interesting …… the other day it said "Why would a loving God send people to Hell, but let's rather say "Why would anyone rather chose to go to hell than go to heaven."
“What are the gates of hell?”Answer: The phrase the "gates of hell" is translated in some versions as the "gates of Hades." The gates of hell or gates of Hades is found only once in the entire Scriptures, in Matthew 16:18. In this passage, Jesus is referring to the building of His church: "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). At this time Jesus had not yet established His church. In fact, this is the first instance of the word "church" in the New Testament. The church spoken of by Jesus is derived from the Greek ekklasia which means the "called out" or assembly. In other words, the church that Jesus is referencing as His church means the assembly of people who have been called out of the world by the gospel of Christ. Bible scholars debate the actual meaning of the phrase "and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." One of the better interpretations to the meaning of this phrase is as follows. In ancient times, the cities were surrounded by walls with gates, and in battles the gates of these cities would usually be the first place their enemies assaulted. This was because the protection of the city was determined by the strength or power of its gates. As such, the "gates of hell" or "gates of Hades" means the power of Hades. The name "Hades" was originally the name of the god who presided over the realm of the dead and was oftentimes referred to as the "house of Hades." It designated the place to which everyone who departs this life descends, regardless of their moral character. In the New Testament, Hades is the realm of the dead, and in this verse Hades or hell is represented as a mighty city with its gates representing its power.Jesus refers here to His impending death. Though He would be crucified and buried, He would rise from the dead and build His church. As such, Jesus is emphasizing the fact that the powers of death could not hold Him in. Not only would the church be established in spite of the powers of Hades or hell, but the church would thrive in spite of these powers. The church will never fail, though generation after generation succumbs to the power of physical death, yet other generations will arise to perpetuate the church. And it will continue until it has filled its mission on earth as Jesus has commanded: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20).It is clear that Jesus was declaring that death has no power to hold God’s people captive. Its gates are not strong enough to overpower and keep imprisoned the church of God. The Lord has conquered death (Romans 8:2Acts 2:24). And because "death no longer is master over Him" (Romans 6:9), it is no longer master over those who belong to Him. Satan has the power of death and he will always use that power to try to destroy the church of Christ. But we have this promise from Jesus that His church, the "called out" will prevail: "Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live" (John 14:19).