Published on 05/29/2006

Hell is a real place, mentioned 23 times in the New Testament, 15 times by Jesus himself. Jesus calls it a place of "torment" (Luke 16:23). Hell is real, despite its unpopularity today. Sixty two percent of all Americans, including 52 percent of "born-again Christians, say that Satan does not exist. Only two percentof all Americans are worried about going to hell. But our ignorance and deceit do not change the fact that hell is real.

Commentary

Last week we considered heaven. Now we'll look at the other place.

God's word often describes hell as "fire" (v. 24). Jesus said, "The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:49-50). Jude 7 calls hell "the punishment of eternal fire." There God's enemies "will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever" (Revelation 14:10). Hell is "the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15).

Hell is also called "darkness": "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 22:13; cf. Jude 6). In another description, this one taken from the literal trash heap called Gehenna, Jesus said, "Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:49; cf. Isaiah 66:24).

Worst of all, hell is separation from God (Luke16:26). Remember Jesus' warning: "I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers'" (Matthew 7:23). This separation is permanent (Luke16:26), for it is the "second death" (Revelation 20:14).

Dr. Charles Garfield has done extensive research with those who died and were brought back to life medically. His results: "Almost as many of the dying patients interviewed reported negative visions (demons and so forth), as reported blissful experiences." Dr. Maurice Rawlings tells about one of his patients, a man who died three times. At his first death he saw things so horrible that he experienced a religious conversion. His second clinical death, some days later, produced a wonderful, heavenly experience. At his third and final death, he was the one reassuring his doctor.

I especially appreciate the way Calvin Miller puts it: "God, can you be merciful and send me off to hell and lock me in forever?" "No, Pilgrim, I will not send you there, but if you chose to go there, I could never lock you out." God doesn't choose hell for us (2 Peter 3:9). But we can choose it for ourselves. Tragically, many do. Don't join them.