Doctrine 22. Hell fire.

BIBLE DOCTRINE 22: HELL

God’s Word teaches:

That Hell fire is a place of everlasting punishment where sinners (all who do not have their names in the book of life) will suffer torments for ever and ever. It was prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41) but God has decreed that the wicked and those who forget Him and reject Christ will also be cast there because of their sin and neglect of His salvation – Psalm 9:17; Matthew 25:46; Luke 12:4,5; 16:19-31; Matthew 5:22,30; Mark 9:43-47; Revelation 14:10,11; 20:10,12,15.

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

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:  25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Luke  12:4 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.  12:5 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.

Luke  16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:  16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,  16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.  16:22 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;  16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.  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.  16:25 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.  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.  16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:  16:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.  16:29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.  16:30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.  16:31 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  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.  5:30 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.

Mark  9:43 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:  9:44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.  9:45 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:  9:46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.  9:47 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:  9:48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Revelation  14:10 The 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:  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.

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.  20:12 And 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.  20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The fact and reality of Hell is an important and recurring theme in the Scriptures. It is vividly captured as a place of agonizing torment and everlasting punishment in unquenchable fire for the unconverted (Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:23,28).

Owing to its frightful credentials, there are those who merely explain away hell as a biblical truth. Many have even drawn up the broken cisterns of erroneous assertion to rationalize their gross inadequacies.

The Bible, however, unambiguously provides ample illuminations of hell, as the indisputable abode of sinners (Psalm 9:17; Proverbs 9:13-18; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:22-28; Revelation 20:13-15; 21;8).

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

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.

Hell is a fearsome ‘rest place’ for transgressors. And the Lord Jesus Christ spent considerable time lending weight to this reality.

He told the city of Capernaum, for instance, that it would be turned into hell because of its iniquities (Matthew 11:23).

Matthew  11:23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

He warned repeatedly on the danger of hell and the need for His listeners to steer clear of it (Matthew 5:22,29,30; 10:28; 18:8,9; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 12:5). 

He offered vivid explanations on hell as a place of everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:41,46; Mark 9:43- 48; Luke 16:22-28; Revelation 14:10,11).

He revealed that sinners who die unsaved would have their lot in hell (Matthew 7:15-19; 13:40-42,50; 23:33; 25:41-46; Luke 16:23; Revelation 19:20; 20:14,15; 21:8).

The Apostle also followed the same thematic explanations of hell as offered by the Lord (Romans 2:5-9; 2 Thessalonians 1:8,9; Hebrews 10:26,27; James 3:5,6; 2 Peter 2:4,9; 3:7; Jude 7,23; Matthew 3:7- 10).

Romans  2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;  2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:  2:7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:  2:8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,  2:9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

2 Thessalonians  1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:  1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

Jude  1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.  1:23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

The church today cannot afford to assume a less specific position on the teaching of hell, without subverting the sacredness and completeness of Scriptures.

The word ‘Hell’ is found about fifty-four times in the King James Version of the Bible. Its translation in Hebrew, ‘Sheol’, occur thirty-one times, while the Greek interpretations ‘Gehena’ and ‘Tartarus’ occur twelve times and once respectively. Its regular usage in Scriptures, apart from the allusions drawn to it by the Lord and other bible characters, lend sufficient validity to its reality.

When a sinner dies, his soul immediately proceeds to hell where, with full consciousness, he tastes the excruciating pain that hell offers.

The story of poor Lazarus and the rich man best exemplifies the eternal punishment awaiting the sinner (Luke 16:23,24).

Luke  16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.  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.

Hell is also a place where the memory of the damned comes alive. The rich man in Luke 16:23,24 remembered his riotous living while on earth as well as five other brothers yet unsaved.

Apart from the acute discomfort of hell, the regret of an error of judgment while on earth on the part of the unsaved, presents an everlasting torment of its own.

The teaching of the doctrine of hell must scrupulously avoid erroneous and unscriptural views of false teachers.

The concept of purgatory, representing a so-called intermediate state between death and appearance before God has no biblical foundation.

Neither is the notion of the annihilation of the wicked correct.

The future punishment of the wicked is eternal while the sinner at death automatically receives an express translation into hell “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44- 48; Deuteronomy 32:22; Job 26:6; Isaiah 5:14; Amos 9:2; 2 Peter 2:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

The needless controversy over the reality of hell is not strange as the Scriptures clearly allude to this: “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Since God is holy, sin must be punished in the person of the sinner or in the person of the sinner’s substitute, The Lord Jesus Christ.

No man believes in Hell because he simply wants to. He believes in Hell because he is compelled to. It is true that eternal punishment is not a pleasant subject for discussion, yet it is a fearful reality, an awful and tragic fate.