Editor’s note: Several years ago, in response to a comment from my daughter-in-law, I published “Hell What, Where, Who’s Been There?”. My daughter-in-law’s comment was “And in case I forget, I really would like to talk about your concept of quote unquote hell”. That made me think; what about hell, what is it, where is it, and who’s been there. So I wrote that post.
I read something on Crosswalk.com written by the Christianity.com Editorial Staff. The article was titled, “What Is Hell? A Biblical Guide of It’s Existence”. This article provides information about hell and its existence and includes scriptural references. There is overwhelming evidence that hell is a real place, and that God has prepared hell for those who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is a real place of eternal separation from God where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth”, and to be avoided at all costs.
I edited the article to include the full scriptures that were referenced by the authors.
What Is Hell? A Biblical Guide of Its Existence
By Christianity.com Editorial Staff
“Hell is a place of total, conscious, eternal separation from the blessings of God,” Bryan Chapell, president of Covenant Theological Seminary, said in the video below. “And there’s a sense in which hell is people getting exactly what they want.” In that if a person rejects God all throughout life, never submitting to him in repentance, then the person will enter eternity after death without God.
What Happens after Death?
We know from that everyone has sinned and therefore stand condemned before a holy God.
Romans 3:23 ESV for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Because of God’s great love for the whole world, he stepped in to rescue people from this helpless trajectory, if they only trust in Christ Jesus – the Messiah. God incarnate.
John 3:16-17 ESV "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 20:30-31 ESV Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Matthew 1:23 ESV "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).
John 1:1-3 ESV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:14 ESV And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This rescue from condemnation is not forced but received by grace through faith. And should someone die without faith in God, the Bible says their sin has condemned them to hell. The Bible does not indicate further opportunity to receive salvation after a person dies.
Hebrews 9:27 ESV And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
A parable in Luke 16:19-31 Jesus describes “a great chasm” between heaven and hades (meaning: place of the dead) that is “set in place,” so that no one can cross from one side to the other.
Luke 16:26 ESV And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.'
I read something on Crosswalk.com written by the Christianity.com Editorial Staff. The article was titled, “What Is Hell? A Biblical Guide of It’s Existence”. This article provides information about hell and its existence and includes scriptural references. There is overwhelming evidence that hell is a real place, and that God has prepared hell for those who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is a real place of eternal separation from God where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth”, and to be avoided at all costs.
I edited the article to include the full scriptures that were referenced by the authors.
What Is Hell? A Biblical Guide of Its Existence
By Christianity.com Editorial Staff
“Hell is a place of total, conscious, eternal separation from the blessings of God,” Bryan Chapell, president of Covenant Theological Seminary, said in the video below. “And there’s a sense in which hell is people getting exactly what they want.” In that if a person rejects God all throughout life, never submitting to him in repentance, then the person will enter eternity after death without God.
What Happens after Death?
We know from that everyone has sinned and therefore stand condemned before a holy God.
Romans 3:23 ESV for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Because of God’s great love for the whole world, he stepped in to rescue people from this helpless trajectory, if they only trust in Christ Jesus – the Messiah. God incarnate.
John 3:16-17 ESV "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 20:30-31 ESV Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Matthew 1:23 ESV "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).
John 1:1-3 ESV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:14 ESV And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This rescue from condemnation is not forced but received by grace through faith. And should someone die without faith in God, the Bible says their sin has condemned them to hell. The Bible does not indicate further opportunity to receive salvation after a person dies.
Hebrews 9:27 ESV And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
A parable in Luke 16:19-31 Jesus describes “a great chasm” between heaven and hades (meaning: place of the dead) that is “set in place,” so that no one can cross from one side to the other.
Luke 16:26 ESV And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.'
Does Hell Exist?
Alistair Begg posed the question “Is Jesus Christ true in what he says?” in the video below. “If Jesus Christ is Lord, then I have to believe exactly what he taught,” Begg said. “If we start from that premise, then we can’t simply excise the hard parts out of it. We’ve got to take him at his word. The most loving person who has ever lived spoke so straightforwardly about the awfulness of hell.”
Hell Meaning: The Difference Between Gehenna, Sheol, and Hades
Gehenna
In the New Testament, the word hell is translated from the Greek word, Gehenna, which is Hebrew for the “Valley of Hinnom” (Strong’s 1067). This is a place southwest of Jerusalem where, years before the Jews inhabited Israel, pagans in the land would worship Molek by sacrificing children.
Leviticus 18:21 (ESV)21 You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 20:2-5 (ESV)2 “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.3 I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name.4 And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death,5 then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.
Deuteronomy 12:31 (ESV)31 You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.
“This was a place outside Jerusalem’s walls desecrated by Molech worship and human sacrifice, thus turned into the dump where rubbish and refuse were burned. The smoldering fires and festering worms made it a graphic and effective picture of the fate of the damned,” according to David Guzik.
Sheol
In the Old Testament, the King James Version translates שְׁאוֹל as hell, but this is more appropriately translated by most other versions as sheol, meaning underworld or “place to which people descend at death” (Strong’s 7585).
In the New Testament, this word is translated as hades in Greek, which also refers to the place of the dead.
Hades
Luke 16:23-24 (ESV)23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’
In this passage we find the term hades, which is the invisible world of the dead (Strong’s 86).
“The New Testament use of Hades builds on its Hebrew parallel, Sheol, which was the preferred translation in the Septuagint,” according to Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary.
Hell Described in the Bible
The word of God warns about hell describing it with images of darkness, gnashing of teeth, fire, and complete separation from God.
1. Darkness
From the oldest book of the Bible (Job) to the last book (Revelation), darkness is consistently associated with hell.
Job 10:21-22 (ESV)21 before I go—and I shall not return— to the land of darkness and deep shadow,22 the land of gloom like thick darkness, like deep shadow without any order, where light is as thick darkness.”
Job 17:13 (ESV)13 If I hope for Sheol as my house, if I make my bed in darkness,
Job 15:23 (ESV)23 He wanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand;
Other references throughout the Bible include:
- “Realm of darkness”
- “Thrown outside into the darkness”
Matthew 22:13 (ESV)13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 25:30 (ESV)30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- “Blackest darkness”
- “Plunged into darkness”
2. Gnashing of Teeth
Jesus, who spoke about hell more than anyone else in the Bible, used this phrase to describe the intense suffering in hell. According to Strong’s 1030, gnashing means binding or grinding.
Here is where Jesus warned people about the place “where there will be gnashing of teeth”:
Matthew 8:12 (ESV)12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 13:41-43 (ESV)41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Matthew 13:50 (ESV)50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 22:13 (ESV)13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 24:51 (ESV)51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 25:30 (ESV)30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Luke 13:28 (ESV)28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.
3. Fire
Isaiah in the Old Testament prophesied about hell as the place where “the fire that burns them will not be quenched”
Isaiah 66:24 (ESV)24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
This unquenchable fire is also referenced in:
Mark 9:43 (ESV)43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.
Mark 9:48 (ESV)48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
Other fire references throughout the Bible include:
- “Blazing furnace”
Matthew 13:50 (ESV)50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- “Fire of hell”
Matthew 18:9 (ESV)9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
- “Eternal fire”
Matthew 25:41 (ESV)41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
- “Tormented with fire and brimstone”
4. Separation from God
Often without knowing it, both the redeemed and the unrepentant experience God’s blessings on earth.
Matthew 5:45 (ESV)45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Luke 6:35 (ESV)35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
Romans 2:4 (ESV)4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Hell, however, is eternal separation from God’s presence, love, and other blessings.
Here are Bible passages describing the reality of hell as separation from God:
- “Shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might”
- “‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”
- “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (
Did God Create Hell … or Did We?
In one respect, we can answer the original question affirmatively. Yes, Gehenna is a physical place. Jesus points to a particular location as an image and illustration of hell.
In another respect, however, Gehenna is created by the sinfulness of humanity. It is sinful humanity that creates and lives out separation from God.
In Christ’s parable of the Rich man and Lazarus, the main image of hell is not one of fire or torture, but one of separation.
Luke 16:24-26 ESV And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’
Hell is described as eternal separation from God. This eternal state of separation is an outcome of the very life that the rich man chose for himself. So we could say that hell is reserved for the very people who choose it.
God created humanity with free choice. In God’s love and mercy, He gives us the capacity to reject him. Not only does God give us the ability to reject Him, but He respects our choice. Jesus allowed the rich young ruler to walk away from Him.
Matthew 19:21-22 ESV Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
This same principle applies to us and to our eternal life. Jesus makes eternal life available for all who come to him in faith. However, it's our choice whether to accept or reject this invitation. While this may not mean that we will feel our skin burning under eternal fire, this does mean that our eternity will be defined by the absence of God’s love, grace, and gift of salvation. That really will be hell.
In one respect, we can answer the original question affirmatively. Yes, Gehenna is a physical place. Jesus points to a particular location as an image and illustration of hell.
In another respect, however, Gehenna is created by the sinfulness of humanity. It is sinful humanity that creates and lives out separation from God.
In Christ’s parable of the Rich man and Lazarus, the main image of hell is not one of fire or torture, but one of separation.
Luke 16:24-26 ESV And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’
Hell is described as eternal separation from God. This eternal state of separation is an outcome of the very life that the rich man chose for himself. So we could say that hell is reserved for the very people who choose it.
God created humanity with free choice. In God’s love and mercy, He gives us the capacity to reject him. Not only does God give us the ability to reject Him, but He respects our choice. Jesus allowed the rich young ruler to walk away from Him.
Matthew 19:21-22 ESV Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
This same principle applies to us and to our eternal life. Jesus makes eternal life available for all who come to him in faith. However, it's our choice whether to accept or reject this invitation. While this may not mean that we will feel our skin burning under eternal fire, this does mean that our eternity will be defined by the absence of God’s love, grace, and gift of salvation. That really will be hell.
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