Throughout its pages the Bible assumes the reality of hell. Psalm 9:17 declares: “The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God.” Jesus did not mince words in speaking about hell.
In the Sermon on the Mount, He invoked the reality of hell in His warning against His followers giving in to anger without any legitimate cause: “I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother ‘Raca’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says ‘You fool’ shall be in danger of hell fire” (Matt. 5:22).
Later in His ministry Jesus warned His followers against the sin of offending others and causing them to sin by saying, “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.” In His next breath, Jesus added, “And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire” (Matt. 18:8–9). Jesus was consistently straightforward in making repeated references to hell.
Vivid descriptions
In order to describe something of the horrors of hell, the Bible uses a variety of vivid expressions. Hell is variously referred to as a lake of fire, perdition, outer darkness, a bottomless pit, a place burning with fire and brimstone, a place prepared for the devil and his angels, a place of torment and anguish, a place of wailing and gnashing of teeth and a place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.
Not only is hell horrible because of the kind of existence it presents, it is all the more horrible because of its kind of inhabitants. While prepared as a place for the devil and his angels, according to the last reference to hell given in the Bible, its population will ultimately include the “cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars” (Rev. 21:8). In hell, no one loves Jesus or reflects His likeness.
As if the horrors described and the inhabitants characterized are not enough, the ultimate fearful features of hell are that our loving Lord is not there and it lasts forever. We are quick to grasp the frequent mention of salvations as being everlasting. Christians commonly hold that heaven lasts eternally. The Bible assigns the same duration to hell. Jesus termed it “everlasting fire” (Matt. 18:8; 25:41), “everlasting punishment” (Matt. 25:46) and “eternal sin” (Mark 3:29). Other passages speak of “everlasting destruction” (2 Thess. 1:9), “eternal judgment” (Heb. 6:2) and “the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 1:7).
Hope in Christ
When as Christians we ponder the blessedness of heaven with all its glories, our hope in Christ becomes all the more precious. In a similar but negative way, when we ponder hell’s horrors and the assurance that as children of God we will escape it and be forever established in the Father’s house, our Christian hope becomes even dearer. To know that we have a place reserved in heaven for eternal fellowship with our Lord and that we have no risk of an eternity in company with the devil and his angels — what more can be said about a hope that misses hell and gains heaven?
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