Description of Hell
Article by Kathy A. Smith
A place of weeping and gnashing of teeth - "And cast ye the unprofitable
servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth" Matthew 25:30.
A place of outer darkness - "Then said the king to the servants, Bind
him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness;
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth"
Matthew 22:13.
A place of torments - "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in
torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom"
Luke 16:23.
A place of Sorrows - "The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares
of death prevented me;" (2 Samuel 22:6).
A place of everlasting destruction - "Who shall be punished with
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the
glory of his power;" II Thessalonians 1:9).
A place where
men are tormented with fire and brimstone - "But the fearful, and
unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and
sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the
lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death"
Revelation 21:8.
A place where fire is not quenched - "Where their worm dieth not, and
the fire is not quenched" Mark 9:44.
A bottomless pit - "And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a
smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and
the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit"
Revelation 9:2.
A place of no rest - "And 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"
(Revelation 14:11).
It is ultimately a lake of fire - "And death and hell were cast into the
lake of fire. This is the second death"
Revelation 20:14.
A place of hopeless of unsatisfied desires - "And 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 " Luke 16:24). The rich
man wanted water but could not get any.
Why did God create hell?
Now you might be thinking, "Why would God create and send people to a place as terrible as hell?" First, you have to realize that hell was not even originally created for people. Hell was created for Satan and the angels that followed Satan. Matthew 25:41, "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."
Second, you should know that God does not send anyone to hell. God does not want any person to go to hell. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hell was never intended for man. But if a person rejects Jesus Christ, thereby rejecting heaven, then that person must accompany Satan forever. God gives us a choice, either eternal life with Him or eternal suffering with the devil. You would think that it would be an easy choice for people to make, but, unfortunately, many people reject Jesus Christ and God's offer of heaven.
And God will not force heaven or Jesus on anyone. There will not be one person in heaven who did not want to be there. So if a person chooses to reject Christ, that person has chosen hell for himself or herself. God did not send them there.
Sadly, there are going to be a whole lot of people in hell, even so-called nice people. So many in fact that hell had to be enlarged! Isaiah 5:14, "Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure."
God died on the cross for your sins to make a way for you to get to heaven. If you reject His free gift, there is no one to blame but yourself. It has been said that the door of hell is locked from the inside.
Why do most people give up heaven for hell?
Is it because they don't want to
change their lives and live for their creator who is really the only one
worthy of living for? Is it because they want to live for themselves
their own way until their hearts are content? Those who live this way
believe that this will give them happiness. But sadly, they are giving
up heaven for not only hell, but failures, despair, and some times of
what some would call hell on earth. This kind of living will never "fill
the void" or will never bring "fulfillment", but will always amount in a
longing for more out of life. As a person lives for themselves they
become selfish. This selfishness brings forth sin, and sin only produces
death and destruction.
By rejecting Christ, people are really giving up a heaven on earth. The
void is completely filled with the only one that can fill it. Jesus
Christ is the only one who brings true purpose and meaning to lives, not
material items. A hope of eternal life with Christ the Savior fulfills
and is all the heart truly needs.
America is in the same crisis as the Laodicean
believers.
Prosperity has weakened our daily dependence upon God. Instead of
asking, "How can I rid myself of the poisonous influences of this world?" we ask, "How much of this world can I have and still go to
heaven?" - Steve Gallagher
John 3:19
19] And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Who will end up in hell?
There are a lot of so-called good people who are going to find themselves in hell, and there are a lot of people that this world would label as bad who are going to make it to heaven. Why is that? Because the only truly "good" thing that you can do that counts towards your salvation is to repent and accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. And the only unpardonable "evil" thing that you can do is to never accept Christ as your Savior. When you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, your name is written in the Book of Life. If you die and your name isn't written in the Book of life, Revelation 20:15 warns "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
2 Thessalonians 1:8b-9 also shows us that those who die without believing in Christ will go to hell: "Them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power."
So in general, anyone who dies without repenting of their sin and asking Christ to be their Savior and Lord will end up in hell.
Now, here are some more verses detailing those who will end up in hell. (Keep in mind that there is no sin too big that Jesus' blood cannot cover it. But if you insist on rejecting Christ and you die in your sins, these verses show you the fate that awaits you):
Revelation 21:8, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
Psalms 9:17, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God."
1 Corinthians 6:9-10, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."
Revelation 14:11, "And 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."
What did Jesus say about hell?
Jesus made it clear that hell is real and that you should do everything possible to avoid going there. Here are just a few of the things He said concerning hell:
Luke 12:4-5, "And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But 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.
Matthew 5:29-30, "And 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. And 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, "And 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."
Jesus wanted us to know that the people or things of this world are not to be feared, that there are worst things than whatever this world throws your way. Christ wanted you to be concerned about what would happen to you eternally after you died.
And Jesus illustrated in a very dramatic way that you should do whatever you have to do to keep yourself from hell. It is better to give up something (or someone) now than to hold on to those things (or people) and suffer eternal loss in hell later.
And I don't know about you, but since Jesus said that hell is real, I'm going to believe Him and heed His warning.
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