Hell is a real, literal place of eternal punishment for the wicked and all who reject the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus spoke about hell more than anyone in Scripture. In Matthew 10:28, He warns, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Hell is described as a place of fire and torment. Mark 9:43 speaks of “the fire that shall never be quenched.” Luke 16:23-24 recounts the rich man in torment, begging for a drop of water to cool his tongue, for he was “tormented in this flame.”
Revelation 20:14-15 states, “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” It is eternal separation from God, where the full wrath of God is poured out.
Hell is just, because it is the righteous judgment of a holy God. 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 says that God will take “vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and they “shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.”
God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11), but has made a way of escape through the cross. John 3:16-18 shows that those who believe in Christ are saved from condemnation, but those who do not believe are condemned already.
Hell is real, eternal, and terrifying, but it is avoidable through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
