Let me assure you, Hell is a certainty. The Bible is clear on this issue. We are going to spend some time today talking about this very issue. We are going to list why some people claim there is no Hell, and refute their arguments with the truth as presented in God’s Word.

Some people believe there is no Hell because it is supposedly unscriptural, or because it is supposedly unreasonable. People also believe there is no Hell because it is supposedly against God’s love, and also that it is against justice. We’re going to be looking at these reasons and we’re going to see if they hold water…or in this case fire!

The first argument against Hell is that it is unscriptural, but when we consider the Bible we find that it only takes a few verses to indeed confirm the existence of Hell. Let’s start with (Mat 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: (Mat 25:42) For I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: (Mat 25:43) I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. (Mat 25:44) Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? (Mat 25:45) Then 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. (Mat 25:46) And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

These verses can tell us a lot. First off, we are told what can send us to everlasting punishment. If we turn away the hungry in our world, if we do not take care of each other, we are going to find ourselves in a very bad spot. Why do we have to take care of each other? Because this shows our fruits, and we shall be known by our fruits. If you do good and take care of the poor, then odds are God is working in your life and heart. But if you are not doing good for others, not serving man in some manner, in some way, you are not producing fruit, and the fruitless tree is chopped down and thrown into the flame.

The other thing we can learn from these verses, and the more central point, is that those that are cast away from Jesus are sent into everlasting, with the first verse calling it everlasting fire, and the last verse naming it everlasting punishment. Both are telling us that there is a place of punishment that is eternal. According to Strong’s, in the Greek we have the word being numbered as G166, and means literally perpetual. We know this to mean everlasting and eternal. The translators were dead on in these verses, everlasting is as good a word as any for what is intended by G166. Another interesting thing to note is that the word ‘eternal’ used right after ‘life’ in verse 46 is the same word, G166.

So right there we have a huge scriptural problem. If you believe in Jesus, then you should believe in His words, as given in the Bible. If you believe in Heaven, and believe it is eternal, then this section of verses requires the belief in Hell! It clearly says there will be some that will be sent away from Jesus into punishment. Deny that, and you’re denying the Scripture. And the Bible has to be the basis for the discussion.

Then we are told that the same duration would apply to both those that go into life, and those that go into punishment. Eternal punishment, which is established by these verses, would fill our concept for Hell, even if you chose to give the punishment a different name. No matter what it’s called, Hell is Hell.

(Mar 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: (Mar 9:44) Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Here Jesus gives us some more details about Hell. He says that in Hell the worm ‘dieth not’ and the fire is never quenched. This ‘worm’ business is talking about man’s existence. This term comes from the Book of Isaiah, verse 66:24. In this spot, the reference seems to refer to man existence through the fact that the ‘worm’ that feeds on the corpse will not die. By having this worm continuing to exist, it would appear to me to say that the person would continue in existence.

Then we also have the mention of the fire never being quenched. This also comes from that same verse in Isaiah. (Isa 66:23) And 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. (Isa 66:24) And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses 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.

With this fire that will not be quenched we see that the righteous is looking down at those that have sinned against God, who are in eternal punishment, including everlasting fire. The fact that this fire is so unusual indicates that it is not a natural fire, but instead something supernatural, and that makes it highly unlikely that this is referring to a physical, earthly location.

Jesus uses the term ‘Gehenna’, or literally the Valley of Hinnom to describe this place. This valley was defiled by King Josiah as we see in 2Kings 23:10. Jesus took the name of this very horrible place, and applied it to the horrendous place of Hell.

There are many that claim that this is referring only to an area that served as the city dump. This cannot be true for a few different reasons. Firstly, the worm has died there, and the fire has been quenched. There is no raging pit of flames outside Jerusalem. Or even inside for that matter. If this is Jesus’ Gehenna, then these facts would clearly mean the Bible is wrong. This in turn ‘breaks’ the Scriptures, since if it is wrong about Gehenna, maybe it is wrong about eternal life! This is clearly foolishness. Jesus Himself tells us (Mat 24:35) Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. That is to say that His words are right, true, and correct, and will be fulfilled. Hence this cannot be the city dump since the fires have been extinguished. No, Jesus was talking about a different dump, a place where wicked souls are ‘dumped’.

There is also some dispute as to whether the population ever dumped their trash in the Valley of Hinnom at all.

(Rev 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 forever and ever. Here we have both components that Jesus mentioned earlier, fire and eternity. The stating of forever and ever clearly means eternity. When you look at the Greek you could state it as ‘ages and ages’ which is still to say forever.

It is clear to us through these verses that Hell is indeed a real place of real torment. Now let us consider if Hell is reasonable.

The argument goes like this: a loving God would not damn His own creations to eternal suffering. Not even man is that cruel. To that I would like to point out that this is a hypocritical statement. Man tries to get as close as he can to a punishment like this.

What insanity am I spewing? Well, let’s think about this from an atheistic point of view. In this view, this world is all there is. There is nothing after, so our existence on this mortal plane is everything. Well, if this is true, then man gives two punishments that are as close to eternal as he can possibly get. These punishments are life sentences and the death penalty.

If this life is the only existence we get, then a life sentence takes away a person’s chance at life. They are basically being punished for the rest of their existence. I am not critiquing the justice system, as I realize that punishment is needed, I’m merely pointing out that a life sentence punishes the recipient for the rest of their lives. And if this life is all there is, then that’s a permanent punishment.

An even more permanent punishment is the death penalty. Now I am not going to get into whether the death penalty is appropriate or not, only that it is still a reality in some locations, and therefore is relevant to our discussion.

If there is only this life, then the death penalty would be consigning someone to oblivion. It would basically be completely and utterly destroying someone. On the premise that this life is all we have, when a person is given a life sentence, at least they still have the joy of actually being alive, even if they are in an unpleasant place. The death penalty would not even allow for this.

So how is the concept of Hell any different? A life sentence puts someone in a place of punishment for the rest of their mortal existence. And if there is no God, then it puts them there for the rest of their entire existence. Hell is the same, it puts people in a place of punishment for the rest of their existence. The only difference is the length of the ‘rest of existence’.

Man has the problem of not understanding sin sometimes. It is not that our forefathers made some mistake, or some ancestor committed some sin, but instead it is because we choose to remain in sin ourselves. God tells us what to do, and even if you do good things, but don’t follow God, you’re still being disobedient.

If I tell my kids they need to wash the dishes before they can go to the movies, then I don’t care if they mowed the lawn and did the laundry, if they haven’t done the dishes, they have disobeyed me, and I see no reason why I should let them go to the movies. It is purely a matter of obedience.

So many people live a ‘good life’ but don’t seek out God or His commands. Again this is like the dishes metaphor I presented. I don’t care what you do above and beyond what is asked of you, if you don’t do what is required, it pretty much doesn’t matter.

There are those that say that God would not damn anyone because that would go against His love. This is an interesting thought I believe, since people can easily understand the duality of man, but do not allow for God to be a complex creature as well.

Man was made by God, and so if man can be complex, then surely God must be even more complex. We can understand the idea of being a loving parent, but also enforcing disciple just fine, but the idea of God being anything more than simply love is not acceptable? It would seem that our creator would be as multifaceted as we are, if not more so.

This means that God can be love and also be justice at the same time. God Himself tells us through His word just how He is. (Psa 50:21) These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. God is telling us that He is not like what we might imagine, which I believe is reflected in us saying that God could not do this, or do that, but instead He is something beyond what we can imagine.

Nor does this nullify what I was saying about God’s complexity. I am not saying that I know what God is like. I am just saying that He is surely more complex than I am, since He created mankind. Therefore I do not limit Him to being just love or having only certain attributes, but instead I am saying that He is greater than I, how much greater is probably beyond my imagination.

God punishing mankind in Hell does not show a limit to God’s love, but instead shows a lack of love on man’s part. If you loved God, you would seek Him and do what He wants you to do. And what does God want you to do? (2Pe 3:9) 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. It’s that simple folks.

(Luk 13:3) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. God wants you to come to repentance through the Lord Jesus Christ. God does not want to send anyone to Hell, but disobedience and an alarming lack of love on man’s part has condemned many to Hell, much to God’s chagrin.

Let’s take a moment to consider the idea of destruction as used in the Bible. In that last verse there, from the Book of Luke, the word translated to ‘perish’ could also be translated as ‘destroyed’. This word is used some 90 odd times in the New Testament, and many people use the translation of ‘destroyed’ to support the idea that the soul of the wicked is brought to non-existence.

This is not the case however. Instead ‘destroyed’ means to be brought to ruin, to desolation, not to non-existence. Let’s look at an example. (Luk 5:37) And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. The bottle here is destroyed, but the bottle in the material sense continues to exist. The bottles do not exist in the state they were intended to be in, but instead now exist in the state of being in a bunch of little pieces strewn about. People who are in Hell are not in the state they were intended to be in. God did not intend for anyone to go to Hell. Just like the bottle is broken, so is the spirit of those in torment. They are broken, but they continue to be, even as they are brought to ruin.

Destruction does not have to indicate a lack of being. Think about it this way, say you total your car. Does that mean the metal is gone? Of course not. The metal that made the car is still there, but it is mangled and marred, twisted and devastated. Hell is the ultimate car wreck, where your soul is mangled and marred, twisted and devastated, but the collision never ends.

(Rom 2:8) But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, (Rom 2:9) Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile. Finally, how can anguish be visited on someone who no longer exists? Either the wicked are brought to non-existence and this verse along with the others mentioned are wrong, or the Bible is correct, and there is a Hell. Being that my faith is founded on the Bible, I think I’ll go with it.

The idea that Hell is against justice is to say that we know better than God about what is right and what is wrong. This is of course just silliness. God is the ultimate authority on all matters, and who are we to tell Him right or wrong?

Say you get a ticket in your car. Just because you deem the fine to be excessive does not mean it is unjust. Your opinion is just that, your opinion. God sets the rules and the rewards, just as the government sets the laws on the earth.

Therefore we see that Hell is indeed scriptural, justified, and in line with God’s will as presented in the Bible. The idea of the righteous being rewarded and the wicked being punished falls right in line with the idea of a just, loving God. In the end, however, it really is God’s call, is it not? With that thought in mind I believe we should do all we can to serve the Lord so that we might avoid an unpleasant fate. And the best way I know to serve the Lord is to read His word and apply it to your life. Until next time my friends, God bless.

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