Some of the people I associate with believe in Heaven, but don’t believe Hell is A real place. What does the Bible say about Hell, and can there really be such a place?

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Answers to Bible Questions

Scriptures are from the KJV of the Bible

(Q) Some of the people I associate with believe in Heaven, but don’t believe Hell is a real place. What does the Bible say about Hell, and can there really be such a place?

 

(A) Yes, Hell is as real as Heaven! It really does not matter if you believe in them or not, the fact is that they both exist, and they exist because God who cannot lie says they exist. God wants us to always believe what he says by Faith, but even if we don’t believe, it will not change the fact that Heaven and Hell are real.

Hell is commonly understood to mean a place of torment where the souls of those still in their sins go after physical death. We will look at some scriptures which have been translated from the Greek word Gehenna, which is always translated hell in our English Bibles. We shall start with Matthew 5:22, 29, 30:

22But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

29And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

30And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Matthew 10: 28:

28And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 18: 9:

9And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

Matthew 23: 15, 33:

15Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Mark 9: 43, 45, 47:

43And if thy hand offend thee, cut it 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:

45And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

47And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

Luke 12: 5:

5But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

James 3: 6:

6And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

If you have read the above scriptures, you can see that God is saying you better fear him, because he has the power to cast anyone still in their sins into Hell fire that will never be quenched. God always means what he says, you can count on that! Hell is a very serious matter. Anyone who ends up in Hell, is there forever with no way of escape. You will be in torment day and night, with no rest ever. Something to think about, because as I said before, it will not matter if you believe it or not, it will happen if you die in you sins. Revelation 14: 9-11 tells us a little more about Hell:

9And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

10The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

11And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

In verse 11 above it says that their smoke will ascend up forever, as if they are on fire and are not consumed by the fire. Remember, Hell is eternal, there will never be an end to it. At the conclusion of this message about Hell, I will tell you the very simple solution to keep yourself from ever ending up there. All of these scriptures about Hell are in the Bible for a very good reason. They are a warning from God! The next verses I want you to look at are in Luke 16: 19-31 which are about Lazarus and the rich man, let’s have a look:

19There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

20And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

26And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

27Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:

28For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

29Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

30And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

31And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

The above passage from Luke is not a Parable because it gives the actual names of Lazarus, Abraham, and Moses who were real people found in different places in the Bible. Again notice that the rich man is conscious, in great agony, and well aware of the fact that he cannot leave this place. Isaiah 66:22-24 talks about the fire that is never quenched, and where their worm dieth not:

22For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.

23And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.

24And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

Verse 24 above where it says their worm shall not die, may be a reference to how in the Lake of Fire the body will never be consumed. The Lake of Fire and Hell are two different places. Hell is where all people that have died in their sins are at right now. It is in the center of the earth and a place of torment, a holding place until the final judgment at which time all in Hell will be judged to the Lake of Fire. No one is in the Lake of Fire at this time and no one shall be until the time of the great white throne judgment. The Lake of Fire originally was prepared for the devil and his angels who sinned, but after the great white throne judgment, it will be home to all unsaved people of all ages. See what Matthew 25: 41-46 says about this:

41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Also let’s look at Revelation 20: 10-15:

10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

From all the verses we have looked at, I hope you can see and believe that Hell is a real place. But some will think God will not sentence the wicked to eternal torment because He is a God of love. Yes, God is a God of love. He is also a Holy and righteous God who cannot and will not allow sin to enter into His Heaven. So what did God do for mankind? Out of love He provided the one and only means of escape; the death of His Son, who was also God. The one we know as Christ Jesus died for all sin, past, present, and future. Christ died on His cross, shed His Holy precious blood for the remission (or forgiveness of sin),so that we could receive Salvation just by Faith, or belief in Him as our Lord and Savior. In Hebrews 9: 22 it talks about the shedding of blood:

22And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Only the shed blood of Christ could pay for the remission of our sins, and all we need to do is believe that He was God in the flesh, He died for us, was buried, resurrected and ascended back into Heaven in power and glory.

He was God in the flesh, our Creator the only one in the universe who was able to pay the price for our sins. It cost God the Father the life of his Son to pay for our rotten, filthily sins so we can escape the Eternal damnation of Hell. All God is asking is for us to trust Him, and believe Him by Faith what Christ did on our behalf. Belief equals Salvation, unbelief equals Eternal death in the Lake of Fire. The scriptures about Hell and the Lake of Fire are in the Bible as a warning from God who Loves all people, but each person needs to make their own choice by the free will which God has given to us all.

In conclusion, Hell is very real, but God loves everyone and does not want anyone to end up in the Lake of Fire. But again it’s your choice. One finial warning in Matthew 7: 13-14:

13Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go therein:

14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Choose Life, Not Death! You need to make the right choice NOW before you die. Your Eternal destiny is set at the time of your death. Don’t wait, for as the Scriptures say in 11 Corinthians 6: 2:

2(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

GOD LOVES ( YOU! )

John