What and Where Is Hell?

What and Where Is Hell?

Several friends were visiting together one day, and one of them asked the question, "Is there a hell?"

"Of course there is!" came the prompt answer. "Why, if there were no hell, just where do you think my enemies would go when they die?"

"Nonsense," said another. "All the hell there is, we get in this life. There's all the trouble and sorrow anyone needs to punish him for his sins. We get all the hell that's coming to us right here and now."

"Well, if I believed there was no hell, I'd do all the devilment I please. What do you think makes most people go straight in this world, anyhow? The fear of punishment, that's what!" replied the fourth friend.

"Is there a hell? What a question!" commented the fifth. "Of course there's a hell; a hot one, too, and don't you forget it! Why, when a bad man dies, his soul goes straight into everlasting burning, where he suffers endlessly for the sins of a lifetime. That's hell as I see it."

"You're right, man," said the sixth. "As far as I'm concerned, if there's a heaven where good people go when they die, then there just has to be a hell where the bad ones go when they die. You have to go somewhere when you die, don't you? Sure thing! And what's more, if a just God lets good people live forever in heaven, He will have to let the bad ones live just as long in hell. That's my opinion!"

"Come, come, you fellows," climaxed the seventh. "You could have scared folks into heaven a hundred years ago with that sort of talk, but not now. You ought to update your thinking and discover what the world believes today. Hell is just a scare the old religionists throw at anyone who would listen. In this enlightened age we know better. There is no hell at all. God is a God of love, and He will never punish anyone."

"Looks to me like all you folks have your own private interpretation of the subject," said the first. "Guess I'll have to find a more competent authority than mere opinion."

Seven men—and no two of them agreed on the subject. And why not? Because not one of them gave the Bible answer to this vital question. So let us turn to the Word of God for the truth about hell.

1. WHY SHOULD THERE BE A HELL?

In the beginning God created our world perfect. It was never His purpose that sin and death should mar and destroy the beautiful world and the perfect people He had made. Had sin never entered our world, sickness and death would have been unknown. Man would have lived endlessly, ever learning at the feet of his Creator-God.

But sin came. Decay made its inroads into our world. Death followed. Calamity, disaster, and chaos resulted. To all appearances, God's marvelous handiwork was forever doomed.

Yet God's purpose for our world must be fulfilled. The chaos of sin must be ended. The devil, the author of sin, must be destroyed. All the wicked—those who choose to follow the devil in his rebellion—must be destroyed with him. The earth must be restored to its original beauty and perfection. Every trace of sin must be removed. To accomplish this, God has provided a place and a time for the final destruction of sin and sinners.

Some people believe that hell is now burning, and that when a wicked man dies, his soul goes directly to hell fire. But in our study of the Bible we discover that hell fire does not burn now. God has appointed a time for hell.

2. WHEN WILL HELL BURN?

Jesus said:

". . . the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; SO SHALL IT BE IN THE END OF THIS WORLD."—Matthew 13:39, 40.

Note that the tares—the wicked—are NOT burned now, but "in the end of this world."

Notice how Jesus makes this even clearer in verse 49:

"SO SHALL IT BE AT THE END OF THE WORLD: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just."

Speaking of the wicked, the apostle Peter wrote:

"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to RESERVE THE UNJUST UNTO THE DAY OF JUDGMENT TO BE PUNISHED."—2 Peter 2:9.

Notice that the wicked are NOT being punished now, but are "reserved unto the day of judgment to be punished."

Job says:

"The wicked is RESERVED TO THE DAY OF DESTRUCTION. They shall be BROUGHT FORTH TO THE DAY OF WRATH."—Job 21:30.

In the last lesson we learned that the judgment of the wicked takes place during the thousand years following Christ's second coming. During that time the cases of all the wicked will be reviewed, and the justice of God's sentence will be established before the entire universe.

At the close of the 1,000 years, the wicked will be resurrected and summoned to stand before the judgment bar of God. All the unnumbered host of the lost will be brought "forth to the day of wrath." (Job 21:30.) They will hear from the lips of Jesus, the righteous Judge, the terrible sentence, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 25:41.)

3. WHERE IS HELL?

Some people say that hell is in the center of the earth. Some say it is on the sun. Others say it is in some remote corner of the universe. What does the Bible say?

". . . the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, THE EARTH ALSO AND THE WORKS THAT ARE THEREIN SHALL BE BURNED UP."—2 Peter 3:10.

"Fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them [the wicked]."—Revelation 20:9.

Notice that hell fire is right here on this earth! Here is where the wicked will be punished. Here is where hell fire will burn.

Proverbs 11:31 says:

"Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: MUCH MORE THE WICKED AND THE SINNER."

So when someone asks you where hell is, tell him that it will be right on this earth, for the Bible says so.

4. HOW LONG WILL HELL BURN? (Part 1 of 3)

Many sincere people have been misled by the idea that hell fire is now burning, and that it will burn through all eternity. That would mean that God would keep sinners alive in hell fire for millions and billions and trillions of endless years—eternally suffering the unutterable agony of fire.

What a terrible concept of God! God is a God of love, a God of justice, a God of mercy. Endlessly burning human beings in hell fire is not God's way. The doctrine of eternal torment has turned thousands of people into infidels and atheists.

The Bible teaches that hell fire will burn only as long as there is anything left of sin and sinners to burn. Fire destroys. That is the function of fire. When a house burns down, the fire burns until the house is completely destroyed. Then the fire goes out. So it will be with hell fire.

Note the Bible description of the destruction of the wicked:

". . . the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, SHALL BE STUBBLE: and the day that cometh SHALL BURN THEM UP, saith the Lord of hosts, THAT IT SHALL LEAVE THEM NEITHER ROOT NOR BRANCH."—Malachi 4:1.

Stubble burns quickly and is completely consumed. So the wicked will be burned up. Root and branch will be destroyed. Satan is the root of sin; the wicked are the branches. Both will be completely destroyed.

"And ye shall tread down the wicked; for THEY SHALL BE ASHES UNDER THE SOLES OF YOUR FEET in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts."—Verse 3.

The wicked will be burned up—reduced to ashes—by hell fire!

". . . the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; INTO SMOKE SHALL THEY CONSUME AWAY."—Psalm 37:20.

"For yet a little while, AND THE WICKED SHALL NOT BE: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, AND IT SHALL NOT BE."—Verse 10.

Notice that the wicked "shall consume away"—"into smoke shall they consume away." "They shall be as though they had not been." (Obadiah 16.)

4. HOW LONG WILL HELL BURN? (Part 2 of 3)

In Ezekiel 28:11-19 Satan is represented by the king of Tyrus. Notice what God says about the ultimate fate of the devil:

". . . therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, IT SHALL DEVOUR THEE, AND I WILL BRING THEE TO ASHES UPON THE EARTH IN THE SIGHT OF ALL THEM THAT BEHOLD THEE. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, AND NEVER SHALT THOU BE ANY MORE."—Verses 18, 19.

Satan himself will be reduced to ashes upon the earth. He will be completely destroyed and "never . . . be any more."

Jesus spoke of the destruction of the wicked in these words:

". . . fear him which is able to DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY IN HELL."—Matthew 10:28.

Hell fire destroys both soul and body. Nothing is left of sin, sinners, or the devil. All are completely destroyed.

But someone asks, "Doesn't the Bible speak of 'everlasting fire' and 'unquenchable fire'?"

Yes, it does. Let us examine these expressions in the light of the Bible.

In Matthew 25:41 Jesus says that the wicked shall depart "into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."

What is "everlasting fire"? It is fire that consumes completely and eternally. Its results are everlasting. It is fire that cannot be put out until it has accomplished its work of complete destruction.

In Jude 7 we read that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by "eternal fire":

"Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them . . . ARE SET FORTH FOR AN EXAMPLE, SUFFERING THE VENGEANCE OF ETERNAL FIRE."

Are Sodom and Gomorrah burning today? No! They were turned into ashes thousands of years ago. 2 Peter 2:6 says:

"And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha INTO ASHES condemned them with an overthrow, MAKING THEM AN ENSAMPLE UNTO THOSE THAT AFTER SHOULD LIVE UNGODLY."

Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by "eternal fire"—fire that produced eternal destruction. They were turned into ashes as an example of what will happen to the wicked in hell fire.

What about "unquenchable fire"? In Matthew 3:12 John the Baptist says that Jesus "will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

4. HOW LONG WILL HELL BURN? (Part 3 of 3)

"Unquenchable fire" is fire that cannot be quenched or put out by any human power. It burns until everything is consumed, and then goes out of itself.

In Jeremiah 17:27 God warned the people of Jerusalem:

". . . then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, AND IT SHALL NOT BE QUENCHED."

That prophecy was fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar burned Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 36:19.) The fire was unquenchable—no one could put it out. It burned until the palaces and gates were destroyed, and then it went out. Jerusalem is not burning today.

What about the expression "forever and ever"? Revelation 20:10 says that the devil "was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone . . . and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

The words "forever" and "forever and ever" as used in the Bible do not always mean without end. They mean a period of time, long or short, limited by the nature of the person or thing to which they apply.

For example, Exodus 21:6 speaks of a servant serving his master "for ever"—meaning as long as he lives. 1 Samuel 1:22 speaks of Hannah bringing Samuel to serve in the tabernacle "for ever"—meaning "as long as he liveth." (Verse 28.) Jonah says he was in the belly of the fish "for ever"—which was actually three days and three nights. (Jonah 2:6; 1:17.)

So when the Bible says the wicked will be tormented "forever and ever," it means for as long as they are capable of enduring the fire. Some will suffer longer than others, according to their deeds. But eventually all will be consumed and turned to ashes.

5. THE SECOND DEATH

The Bible calls the final destruction of the wicked in hell fire "the second death."

"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. THIS IS THE SECOND DEATH."—Revelation 20:14.

From the first death—the physical death that comes to all men in this life—there will be a resurrection. The righteous will be raised in the first resurrection; the wicked will be raised in the second resurrection. But from the second death there is no resurrection. It is eternal death—complete, final, everlasting annihilation.

"The wages of sin is death; BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD."—Romans 6:23.

Notice the contrast! The wages of sin is DEATH—not eternal life in torment, but DEATH. And the gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ.

Life is the reward of the righteous; death is the punishment of the wicked.

6. A CLEAN UNIVERSE

When hell fire has done its work, the entire universe of God will be clean once more. Sin, sinners, Satan, death, and hell will be no more.

Then God will create "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." (2 Peter 3:13.)

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DEATH, NEITHER SORROW, NOR CRYING, NEITHER SHALL THERE BE ANY MORE PAIN: for the former things are passed away."—Revelation 21:4.

Think of it! A world without death, without sorrow, without crying, without pain! A clean universe, filled with love, peace, and eternal joy!

God does not want anyone to perish in hell fire.

"The Lord is . . . NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE."—2 Peter 3:9.

God has provided a way of escape for everyone. Jesus died on Calvary so that you and I might have eternal life.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE."—John 3:16.

The choice is yours. Will you choose death in hell fire, or eternal life with Jesus? Give your life to Jesus today, and claim His promise of eternal salvation.