What is Hell?

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Luke 16:19-31
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And 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; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 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. But 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. And 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. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Matthew 13:41-43
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

2 Peter 3:3-9
Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 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.

John 3:16
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.

The Truth About Hell - An examination of the place the Bible calls hell. We’ll present documented evidence for a place called hell. Don’t take what you’re going to read lightly. YOU COULD BE IN SERIOUS DANGER! I love you and want nobody to experience this. It is your future. We all have eternal life, it’s just a matter of where you spend it. With God, or without Him. The choice is yours to make, choose wisely!

23 Minutes In Hell (approx. 1 hour) - An incredible testimony of Bill Wiese and his 23 minute trip to hell. Bill was placed in hell not as a casual observer, but as someone who was not saved. He recounts all the horrid details with such precision that it captivates the listener from start to finish. There is a transcript as well as video (70MB) and audio (6MB) versions.

Here is a short study of hell by Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D.

shared by crmann at FulfilledProphecy.com

He says we don’t hear many sermons about hell any more. However in this nation’s history, “Hell, Fire & Brimstone” sermons played a key role in The Great Awakening. The sermon he is referring to is Jonathan Edwards, Sinners In The Hand of An Angry God. The message was preached in Enfield, Connecticut July 8, 1741. This powerful message can be read here.

For the most part, “Hell, Fire & Brimstone” preaching is a thing of the past, even within fundamental circles. The politically correct messages of this era steer around anything controversial. They do not address the issues of sin or God’s judgment on sin, but rather focus on love, unity, and grace. While these are perfectly good topics to preach on, if they are framed biblically, preachers need to follow the pattern of the Apostle Paul who wrote…

Acts 20:27
For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

Hell is a very real place. And while it was not initially created by God for people but the sinning angels, it will be the abode of all nonbelievers for all of eternity.

Matthew 25:41
Then 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.

2 Peter 2:4-9
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.

Psalms 9:17
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

We cannot dare to ignore these teachings on hell!

Hell In the Old Testament:

The word hell occurs thirty one times in the Old Testament. The first time the word hell is used in our King James Bible is:

Deuteronomy 32:22
For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

The Hebrew word commonly translated “hell” is Sheol. In the Old Testament, the word Hell (Sheol) has two meanings. Sometimes it means the place where the bodies of the dead are laid (Psalm 6:5, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Isaiah 38:18-19). But it normally refers to the place where the soul and spirit went upon the death of a person. (Genesis 37:35, Psalm 9:17, Psalm 16:10, Psalm 30:3 Psalm 55:15, Proverbs 15:24, Proverbs 23:14).

Hell In the New Testament:

The word hell occurs twenty three times in the New Testament. The first time the word is used in the New Testament is in:

Matthew 5:22
But 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.

What Is Hell Like?

Hell is…

• A place of punishment – Matthew 25:46 “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
• A place of banishment – 2 Thessalonians 1:9 “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”
• A place of fire & worms – Mark 9:42-48 “And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. And 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: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And 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: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And 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: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
• A place of darkness – Jude 1:13 “Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.”
• A place of torment – Revelation 20:10 “And 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.”
• A place of consciousness and feeling – Luke 16:23 “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”
• A place of thirst – Luke 16:24 “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.”
• A place without hope of escape – Luke 16:26 “And 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.”
• A place of unfulfilled desires and unanswered prayers – Luke 16:27-31 “Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”
• A place of weeping and gnashing of teeth – Matthew 25:30 “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This gnashing of teeth, is not because of torment, but these people in hell will be gnashing their teeth in anger an hate, cursing the name of Jesus.

Hell’s no joke! Hell is a very real, and very horrible place! Those who have not believed the Gospel and received Christ as your Savior, will find themselves in this place for all of eternity. Paul wrote that Christ is coming

2 Thessalonians 1:8-9
In flaming fire taking vengeance on 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;

But remember, Hell was prepared for Satan and his angels. The vengeance talked about is a vengeance that was to be directed towards Satan and his angels. Multitudes of people have chosen to reject God through Jesus and in fact have condemned themselves to this place called Hell. It is not God’s desire that any should perish, but to have everlasting life. God sends no one to hell, every person chooses to walk the path that separates them from God. Just remember that God is love.