What Did Jesus Teach About Hell?
Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'
-Matthew 25:41
Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.
-Matthew 25:46
One: In Matthew 25:41, 46 Jesus says that Hell is “eternal fire and punishment” as the final abode of the angels and human beings who reject God.
Two: The word Jesus uses for Hell is gehenna—a valley outside of the walls of Jerusalem where piles of garbage and corpses were burned.
If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.
-Mark 9:43
Three: In Mark 9:43 Jesus speaks of a person going to Hell where “the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”
Jesus is referring to the maggots that live in the corpses on the garbage heap.
When all flesh is consumed, the maggots die.
Jesus is saying that the spiritual decomposition of hell never ends and that is why the “worm does not die.”
Why did Jesus, the Lord of Love and Author of Grace speak of Hell in such blood curdling language?
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
-Matthew 10:28
Is Hell real?
What is Hell like?
Who goes to Hell?
What are the signs that you are headed in that direction?
1. Is Hell real?
Jesus said it was real and that it is a place to be avoided.
- Heaven and Hell are both eternal.
- Heaven and Hell can both be experienced physically and spiritually.
- Heaven and Hell cannot be truly fathomed in intensity.
2. What is Hell really like?
Metaphors: Fire and Darkness
To be isolated from God means to be isolated from life and all that is good—all that you take for granted.
‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
-Acts 17:28
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.
-Psalm 24:1
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
-Psalm 16:11
All the life, joy, love, pleasure, fellowship, and favor and meaning we have looked for and longed for is found in the presence and work of God.
They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.
-2 Thessalonians 1:9 (NASB)
Separation from God and His provisions and blessings forever is the reality to which all the symbols point.
apollumi: not annihilation, but total ruin–made useless for the intended purpose
In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony; He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.
-Acts 14:16-17
Even those who rebel against God continue to enjoy many of the things associated with his holding all things together.
However, when we lose God’s supportive presence all together; the result is hell–the absence of all good things.
HELL is ultimately God’s fairest and worst punishment He can give a person.
A rejection of God–or–the failure to pursue God–is the demand for independence from Him.
Since what may be known about God is plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–His eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
-Romans 1:19-20
Why is there so much pain and suffering and evil in our world?
It is not because God is not good. It is because man insists on living apart from God and therefore, apart from His provision, grace and mercy, and therefore, treats his fellow man with contempt.
Hell is God actively giving us up to what we have freely chosen–to go our own way, be our own master, be the captain of our own soul in order to get away from Him and His control. It is God banishing us to the regions we have desperately tried to get into all our lives.
If the thing you most want is to worship and be with God in the beauty of His holiness, then that is what you will get.
If the thing you most want is to be your own master, then the holiness of God will become an agony, and the presence of God a terror you will flee forever.
God is intent on giving you the desires of your heart: His presence or being away from his presence.
3. Who Goes to Hell?
There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’
-Luke 16:19–31
Hell is simply one’s freely chosen path going on forever.
Who goes to Hell? Those who choose to live independently from God.
4. What Are Some Of The Signs You Are Headed That Way?
One: You resent God’s control over your life.
Two: You find church, worship and prayer as an inconvenience.
Three: You resent God’s sovereignty over your finances.
Four: You detest God’s claim over every area of your life.
Five: You claim God has not given you enough information.
Six: You have little to no compassion, pity, and mercy for those who are less fortunate.
There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.
-Luke 16:19-20
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.'
-Matthew 25:31-46
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
-Matthew 6:14-15
Misconception: “My God is too loving to pour out infinite suffering on anyone for sin.”
This shows a deep misunderstanding of God and the cross.
God is so loving that He poured out the punishment that we deserve on Himself.
In our effort to make God more loving we have made him unjust and less loving.
Without the cross how does God express His love?
On the cross God poured out His love for us.
Make a Decision