"My
God would never create hell."
Those who say that are right:
their "god" would never create hell, because he couldn’t.
He doesn’t exist. He is a figment of their imagination, a
god they have created to suit themselves. It’s called "idolatry,"
and it’s the oldest sin in the Book. Idolaters will not inherit
the kingdom of God. The one true God, however, could and did create
hell for those who reject His mercy. They will reap His just wrath.
(For the reasonableness of hell, see Psalm 55:15 footnote.)
Every heard the below statement?
“I don’t mind going to hell. All my friends will be there.”
Obviously, those who flippantly say such things don’t believe in the biblical
concept of hell. Their understanding of the nature of God is erroneous. The
slowwitted criminal thinks that the electric chair is a place to put up his feet
for a while and relax.
It may be wise therefore to speak with him for a few moments about the
reasonableness of a place called hell. Reason with him by saying, “If a judge in
Florida turns a blind eye to the unlawful dealings of the Mafia, if he sees
their murderous acts and deliberately turns the other way, is he a good or bad
judge? He’s obviously corrupt, and should be brought to justice himself.
If he is a good judge, he will do everything within his power to bring those
murderers to justice. He should make sure that they are justly punished.
“If Almighty God sees a man rape and strangle to death your sister or mother, do
you think He should look the other way, or bring that murderer to justice? If He
looks the other way, He’s corrupt and should be brought to justice Himself. It
makes sense then, that if God is good, He will do everything in His power to
ensure justice is done. The Bible tells us that He will punish murderers, and
the place of punishment—the prison God will send them to—is a place called hell.
“God should punish murderers and rapists. However, God is so good, he will also
punish thieves, liars, adulterers, fornicators, and blasphemers. He will even
punish those who desired to murder and rape but never took the opportunity. He
warns that if we hate someone, we commit murder in our hearts. If we lust, we
commit adultery in the heart, etc.”
Then take the time to tell him of the reality of hell. Sinners like to picture
hell as a fun, hedonistic, pleasure-filled place where they can engage in all
the sensual sins that are forbidden here.
But Jesus said that it is a place of torment, where the worm never dies and the
fire is never quenched (Matthew 9:45-47). We tend to forget what pain is like
when we don’t have it. Can you begin to imagine how terrible it would be to be
in agony, with no hope of relief?
Many human beings go insane if they are merely isolated for a long time from
other people.
Imagine how terrible it would be if God merely withdrew all the things we hold
so dear—friendship, love, color, light, peace, joy, laughter, and security. Hell
isn’t just a place with an absence of God’s blessings, it is punishment for sin.
It is literal torment, forever. That’s why the Bible warns that it is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
God has given His Law to convince men of their sins, and unless a sinner is
convinced that he has sinned against God, he won’t see that hell is his eternal
destiny. He may consider it a fit place for others, but not for himself. That’s
why we mustn’t hesitate to open up the Law and show that each individual is
personally responsible for sin, and that God’s wrath abides on him because of
it.
Ask him to consider why you would say such things to him if it wasn’t true. Tell
him to examine your motives. You are so concerned for his eternal welfare that
you are prepared to risk offending him.
Then ask him if he would sell an eye for a million dollars. Would he sell both
for ten million?
No one in his right mind would. Our eyes are precious to us. How much more then
is our eternal soul worth?
- - - - -
“Hell is just a metaphor for the grave.”
There are three words translated “hell” in Scripture:
Gehenna (Greek): The place of punishment (Matthew 5:22,29; 10:28; and James 3:6)
Hades (Greek): The abode of the dead (Matthew 11:23; 16:18, Luke 16:23; Acts
2:27)Sheol (Hebrew): The grave (Psalm 9:17; 16:10)
There are those who accept that hell is a place of punishment, but believe that
the punishment is to be annihilated—to cease conscious existence. They can’t
conceive that the punishment of the wicked will be conscious and eternal. If
they are correct, then a man like Adolph Hitler, who was responsible for the
deaths of millions, is being “punished” merely with eternal sleep. His fate is
simply to return to the non-existent state he was in before he was born, where
he doesn’t even know that he is being punished.
However, Scripture paints a different story. The rich man who found himself in
hell (Luke 16:19–31) was conscious. He was able to feel pain, to thirst, and to
experience remorse. He wasn’t asleep in the grave; he was in a place of
“torment.”
If hell is a place of knowing nothing or a reference to the grave into which we
go at death, Jesus’s statements about hell make no sense. He said that if your
hand, foot, or eye causes you to sin, it would be better to remove it than to
“go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dies
not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43–48).
The Bible refers to the fate of the unsaved with such fearful words as the
following:
“Shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2)
“Everlasting punishment” (Mathew 25:46)
“Weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 24:51)
“Fire unquenchable” (Luke 3:17)
“Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish” (Romans 2:8,9)
“Everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:9)
“Eternal fire...the blackness of darkness for ever” (Jude 7,13)
Revelation 14:10,11 tells us the final, eternal destiny of the sinner: “He shall
be tormented with fire and brimstone...the smoke of their torment ascended up
for ever and ever: and they have no rest day or night.”
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