Hell Is A Literal Place Of Eternal Punishment In Fire

Revelation 20:14-15, “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

I was saddened today to learn that Renee Roland, who hosts a popular YouTube channel promoting the free grace Gospel, doesn't know if Hell exists or not. She questions the Bible, admittedly saying she 'DOESN'T KNOW,' and considers the possibility of annihilation instead of eternal punishment in a burning place of fire and brimstone for the damned. In her video she rationalizes that is goes against God's good nature to send someone to Hell forever. 

Now, I like Renee's fighting spirit and she has even promoted some of my Gospel articles (for which I am grateful). However, I am here to tell you dear friend that HELL IS VERY REAL! Hell is a literal place. It is a physical place inside the earth that burns with “fire and brimstone,” just like the Scripture teaches in our two text passages. The Bible actually has more to say about Hell than it does Heaven! I did not write this article to be mean or criticize Renee, God knows my heart; but rather, to simply set the record straight. HELL IS A REAL PLACE!!! Who goes to Hell? Only Christ-rejecters who choose to go there! 

Here is a Scripture passage that disproves the heresy of ANNIHILATION. Matthew 10:28, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The Bible tells us not to fear men, who can just kill our body; but to FEAR GOD, who can destroy both body and soul IN HELL!!! If annihilation were a true teaching (which says unsaved people will merely die and cease to be conscious permanently), then this Bible verse would make no sense at all. If all God is going to do is annihilate men, so that they are no longer conscious in their grave, then what more fear is there of God than men? If men kill you, you are dead in the earth. If God annihilates you, you are dead in the earth? Why then should we fear God more than men? Clearly, as the Bible says, God has the power to DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY IN HELL. So Hell then must be a different punishment than merely ceasing to exist! 

It behooves me how anyone, especially a professed born-again Christian, could even entertain the foolish idea of annihilation for the unsaved. 

Seventh-Day Adventists Deny The Existence Of Hell

Here is a quote from their own SDA website:

“We reject the doctrine of eternal torment for the following reasons: 

(1) Because everlasting life is a gift of God (Rom 6:23). The wicked do not possess this – they ‘shall not see life’ (John 3:36); ‘no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him’ (I John. 3:15). 

(2) Because eternal torment would perpetuate and immortalize sin, suffering, and woe, and contradict, we believe, divine revelation, which envisions the time when these things shall be no more (Rev. 21:4). 

(3) Because it seems to us to provide a plague spot in the universe of God throughout eternity, and would seem to indicate that it is impossible for God Himself ever to abolish it. 

(4) Because in our thinking, it would detract from the attribute of love as seen in the character of God, and postulates the concept of a wrath which is never appeased. 

(5) Because the Scriptures teach that the atoning work of Christ is to ‘put away sin’ (Heb. 9:26) – first from the individual, and ultimately from the universe. The full fruition of Christ’s sacrificial, atoning work will be seen not only in a redeemed people but in a restored heaven and earth (Eph. 1:14)” 

SOURCE: 'Questions On Doctrine,' p. 543, released by the General Conference of Seventh Day Adventists in 1957 [emphasis added]

SDA's and Jehovah's Witnesses BOTH share similar beliefs, denying the Biblical teaching of eternal punishment for lost sinners. SDA's deny the torments of fire and brimstone in a literal place called “Hell.” It is foolish for SDA's to rationalize that letting somebody go to Hell forever contradicts God's character of love. They are forgetting about God's character trait of holiness (1st Peter 1:15-16). A holy God demands justice! All sin must be paid for (Romans 6:23). There are absolutely NO EXCEPTIONS! 

It was God's love that sent His only begotten Son into the world to pay for our sins (John 3:16). The entire Old Testament reveals the holy nature of God, who will not tolerate sin. The New Testament reveals the loving grace of God, that offers redemption to all mankind. For someone to focus only on God's love, denying that the Lord could let ever allow a sinner to be punished in hellfire for all eternity, is to completely ignore the LAW of God in the Old Testament. We've got a bunch of New Testament churchgoers today, woefully ignorant of Bible theology. 

God made two great divisions of His Word: LAW and GRACE! That is, Old Testament and New Testament! Law demands justice! Every violation of the law MUST be punished. Jesus took our place on the cross. In theology this is called a “Vicarious Death” (i.e., a substitutionary death); Christ died in our stead on the cross! Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt of sin we could not pay! JESUS PAID IT ALL!!! 

Also, please understand that God never sends anybody to Hell who doesn't CHOOSE to go there, by knowingly rejecting the dear Savior! No small child ever goes to Hell. No retarded person ever goes to Hell. No human being has ever gone to Hell, unto whom the grace of God did not appear to be saved (Titus 2:11). If someone is incapable of understanding the Gospel of free grace, God would never be so unjust as to let the angels cast them into Hell. Only conscious Christ-rejecters go to Hell! 

Psalms 9:17 Teaches The Wicked Shall Be Turned Into “Hell”

In all the corrupt modern Bible revisions, they've changed "Hell" to "Sheol" in the Old Testament, which is a gross error. For example: Psalms 9:17, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” The word "Sheol" means "realm of the dead." That is the Hebrew word from which "Hell" is translated in the King James Bible. However, the King James translators were wise and scholarly men, fully realizing that "Sheol" didn't make sense to the reader, because even the righteous go to Sheol! So if the righteous and the unrighteous go to the SAME place, then Psalms 9:17 makes no sense at all. The 1611 translators knew this, which is why they chose to use the English word "Hell," which denotes eternal damnation for the wicked! Anyone who has ever dealt with Mormons or JW's fully knows that they love to point out that "Sheol" only refers to the grave, and not a place of fire and damnation. Then why do the wicked and nations that forget God go there?

I actually learned this truth about Psalms 9:17 as a teenager, from Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989). My Christian parents had his book on their shelf called: "KINGDOM OF THE CULTS" (free .PDF version online). I love Dr. Martin's book, but I disagree with his false claim that SDA is a “Christian cult.” There ain't no such animal! 

What saith the Scripture? Mark 9:47-48, “And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Here we learn from the Bible that lost souls are “CAST” into Hell, where the “FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED”!

The True Story Of The Rich Man And Lazarus

This is a 100% true story...

Luke 16:19-24, “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.”

False prophets (e.g., Mormons, JW's and SDA's) deny that this is a true story. I was sitting at the shameful Harvest Baptist Church on Guam, and a guy named “Christian” got up behind the pulpit to teach a Wednesday evening Bible study, denying that Luke 16:19-32 is a true story. He is very wrong! How do we know this is a true story and not a parable? 

We know for a few reasons:

1. Jesus doesn't say it is a parable (as he normally does when telling a parable).
2. Jesus doesn't explain its meaning afterwards (as He does when telling a parable). 
3. Jesus uses proper names (Abraham and Lazarus), which He never does in parables.
4. If Hell is not a literal place of fire and torment, then Jesus is a deceiver. 

These are strong reasons to accept this account as valid and absolutely true. Unless the Bible says otherwise, we should always accept it at face value. 

Death and Hell Are Not The Same

Revelation 1:18, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Revelation 20:14, “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” Here we see that death, Hell (Hades) and the Lake of Fire (Gehenna) are not the same things. This passage in Revelation 20:11-15 speaks of The Great White Throne of Judgment, when “the dead” (both small and great) shall stand before God and be judged according to their works. Literally, the unsaved dead from all of history (the famous, national leaders, slaves, homeless, poor and common humanity) will all be delivered up from Hell, the bottom of the sea, and the earth, to be judged by God the Father! This will be the final judgment of all humanity. The wicked will be “CAST” into the everlasting Lake of Fire!!! 

If you are uncertain about the subject of Hell dear friend, I highly recommend reading Pastor Max D. Younce's helpful book (available free online in .PDF format) called: “A BIBLICAL EXAMINATION OF HELL.”

“Faith is asking. Faith is believing. Faith is doubting. Faith is stepping out anyway.” —Dr. Jack Hyles