WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT HELL?
As we have already noted, the spirit and soul of an unbeliever wing their flight to hell at the time of death. Hell is a place of conscious punishment. The soul in hell is spoken of as a person, having eyes, ears, fingers, a tongue and memory. There is full knowledge of the conditions there. Luke 16:23-25. This is not a parable because parables do not include personal names of people. This is an actual event.
The Bible speaks about another place of torment at the final judgement of all mankind. It is called “The Lake of Fire.” At the Judgment of the Great White Throne, the souls in hell will be united with their bodies, which are to be raised from the graves. Christ will then pronounce the final sentence of judgment upon the wicked dead, and they will be cast into the Lake of Fire, the eternal abode of the lost. Revelation 20:11-15. Hell may thus be likened to the local jail where the prisoner temporarily awaits his sentence. They are taken from the jail to appear before the judge for final sentencing. Revelation 20:9-15 is the record of this Great White Throne Judgement of Satan and all who have rejected Christ and followed him. The Lake of Fire may be likened to a prison to which are committed those under sentence for the duration of their eternal existence. In describing hell, our Lord speaks about the undying worm and the unquenchable fire. Mark 9:43-48. It is a place of conscious punishment. It is a place of literal fire. It is punishment for sin eternally.
In the book of Revelation, the phrase “forever and ever” is used to describe the misery of the lost. Revelation 14:11. Can a God of love allow men to go to hell?
A. God does not want men to perish. Heaven and Hell are both personal
choices that each individual makes while here on planet earth. God provided for man’s salvation through the work of His Son on Calvary’s cross. Romans 5:6-8. If men reject the Savior, they go to hell by their own choice. Someone said that God loves the sinners so much that if they choose to go to hell rather than heaven He will let them go. Remember that they all go by their own choice.
B. God is a God of love, I John 4:8, but He is also holy, I Peter 1:16. He must punish sin. If He allowed sin to enter heaven, it would destroy all that God has done in redeeming mankind. Satan made his choice in the Garden of Eden. Man makes his choice during his lifetime. At death man’s eternal destiny has been determined. There is no purgatory or in-between place. The Bible clearly teaches that there are only two places. “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Matthew 25:46.
C. Men do not hesitate to put sick people in hospitals, criminals in jail, or corpses in the cemetery. This does not indicate a lack of love on their part. What about the heathen who has never heard the Gospel? Like the rest of mankind, heathens are lost sinners, and only Christ can save them. They can tell that there is a God through the works of creation, Romans 1:20 and Psalm 19:1; and through their own consciences, Romans 2:15. If they live up to the light, which they have, God will give them more light – see Cornelius, Acts l0 and 11.