Hell

PRAY FIRST that I wouldn't exaggerate, or ignore and that I would treat the text honestly
Personal thoughts

For now let me define Hell as a place of conscience torment where the wicked are punished forever
How should a Christian determine the nature and existence of Hell?

Someone could argue that a loving God would never send anyone to Hell and another person could counter that by pointing out that most cults don't believe in Hell

But how should we ultimately determine the truth?

By accurately understanding the Bible

There are hell-fire preachers who embellish and exaggerate Hell
There are compassionate preachers who make Hell almost seem attractive

There is almost nothing about Hell in the OT even though people often think of the OT as the violent part of the Bible

Much of what we know about Hell comes from Jesus' mouth in the Gospels and Revelation and He is the most loving man who ever lived

I believe that God wanted to make sure that we got our information from the one who has loved us more than anyone else

Is Jesus the lord of our minds?

Jesus said in John 14:2 "If it were not so, would I have told you". Do we believe that or not?
If Jesus is your lord, then you accept what He says is true whether your mind says it is or not. But if you only accept His sayings when your mind agrees with them then you are lord, not Jesus.

Whatever your view on the details, do not erase the big picture

Some people, in an effort to soften Hell, have made Hell not seem like a terrible place to be

Whatever the meaning of fire and brimstone and torment and weeping and gnashing of teeth, at least let us recognize that Hell is to be a dreadful place
It is important whenever studying Scripture to:

Be consistent

Sometimes we will take the most obscure verse about something that we like (e.g. God's love) and expand upon it without any critical thinking and then skeptically dissect a verse on Hell looking for even a slight possibility that it might be overstated
When studying a particular verse, do so in light of the rest of the Bible. If we only had one verse on Hell it would be much harder to defend than when we have many on that topic
In general, if a verse has a plain meaning but someone finds it plausible to explain how it really means something else, choose the straightforward meaning

*I might come across as factual and hard but this study has made me feel almost sick as someone who believes that many will end up in Hell. Hopefully that emotional response to this topic does not just leave me feeling bad for unbelievers but rather drive me to seeking to see the lost find Jesus.

How does society imagine hell is like?
The Bible almost always is addressing Believers when speaking about hell
Christian trends

Liberals prefer universalism/second chance

John 12:32
Romans 3:32
1 John 2:2

Evangelicals prefer annihilationism

Some say it is at the first death which would mean that the unsaved no longer exist
Others say that they will cease to be at the second death after they are raised for judgement

Chronological look at existence

There are a lot of things that we don't know about Heaven and Hell because it is more important to know where we will end up than it is to know the details of what it will be like
When was hell created?

Genesis 1:1
Genesis 1:31
We don't know when Hell was created but my guess is that Hell was not created until Satan sinned, thus invoking the need for such a place

What is hell like?

How does Jesus describe it?

What is the Greek word for hell?

Gehenna which means "the valley of (son of) Hinnom"

Jeremiah 7:31-32

Matthew 5:22

Fire

Matthew 13:40-42

Weeping
Gnashing of teeth

Mark 9:47-48

Worm never dies

Matthew 8:11-12

Darkness

Hell may not be in its final state

John 14:2

Matthew 25:41
The word translated 'prepared' always refers to getting something ready which could happen quickly or slowly so just as God may still be working on Heaven until it is occupied, the same could be true of hell

Where is Hell?

Revelation 14:9-11

Discuss main possible theories and objections

What happens when humans first die?

Disembodied spirit (from death to their resurrection)

Ecclesiastes 12:7
Genesis 3:19
Acts 7:59

Do you think there will be an intermediate state between earth and Heaven/Hell?

Hebrews 9:27
Revelation 20:10
Matthew 25:31-34,41

As far as I can tell, hell is not occupied by humans yet

Demons/satan

Job 1:7
Ephesians 2:1-2
Ephesians 6:12
2 Peter 2:4

Jude 6

Revelation 20:10

Mankind

Hebrews 9:27

We all die at different times but will be judged at the same time so what about the present time now?

People who die are not unconscious/asleep or in a coma-like state

1 Peter 3:18-20

The wicked who died in the flood were in prison
It wouldn't make sense to preach to a sleeping audience, nor would it be necessary to keep them in prison
Revelation 20:13
The dead are not currently in their final place, but rather consciously awaiting their sentence to the lake of fire/hell

Philippians 1:21-25
2 Corinthians 5:6-8
Luke 23:43
From these passages it seems that Believers are with God although Heaven is not specifically mentioned

Revelation 6:9
In this verse martyred Believers are kept under the alter in Heaven (as opposed to living and exploring all of Heaven)

In fact, they are alive

Luke 20:37-38

The judgement

Who will be doing the judging of who goes to Heaven and who goes to hell?

Acts 17:30-31
John 5:22

Scripture study C

What will we be judged for?

2 Corinthians 5:10
Galatians 6:1 vs Hebrews 10:26

*Same in Leviticus with sacrifices

Matthew 25:34-45

Our eternal destiny will be based on how we treat believers

Matthew 12:50

What about demons?

James 2:19

However:

Hebrews 2:15-16

What will happen to all people?

New bodies

John 5:28-29

What is resurrection?

It is not reincarnation or resuscitation

Notice that there are two resurrections

Revelation 20:4-5
The righteous are raised first

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Luke 14:14

Acts 24:15
Isaiah 45:23

This can literally come true since everyone will get a new body

Philippians 3:20-21
Job 19:25-26
1 Corinthians 15:35-44
1 Corinthians 15:52-55
2 Corinthians 5:1-4
Romans 8:23
Job 19:26
Unbelievers

Matthew 5:29-30

In a sense, at death God judges us

God separates us into one of two categories: saved and unsaved (sheep and goats)
He does this before we are judged
He raises these two groups at separate times because He has already determined our destination from the moment of death
The judgement to come is done corporately as all just courts do today and is not to determine where you will end up but rather how good/bad it will be for you in that final destination
Ephesians 2:8-9

This division is based entirely on Jesus' goodness and our acceptance of it, not on good works

Thief on the cross
Paul who did so much
Parable of equal wages (Matthew 20)

What will happen to believers?

2 Peter 3:13

We will have a new earth for eternity to enjoy, not just a new Heaven

Revelation 21:1-5

The current heaven is not eternal just as death and hades are not eternal
For all of eternity we will have a new earth where God will dwell will us in the New Jerusalem built in Heaven but transported to earth
I imagine we will be able to ascend into Heaven whenever we'd like because Jesus was able to go from earth to Heaven in His resurrected body (and back down again when He returns)

Speculation: perhaps space exploration will be possible without a shuttle or suit (based loosely on Jesus ascending in midair)

Luke 20:35-36

They live forever

Rewards

Matthew 5:11-12
Mark 10:21
Revelation 2:17

Memory

Isaiah 65:17
Revelation 21:4

What will happen to unbelievers?

Matthew 25:41

Cursed

Punishment

Luke 10:12-14
Luke 12:47-48
Colossians 3:25

Second death

Revelation 2:11
Revelation 20:6
Revelation 21:8

How long will hell last?

Arguments why Hell only lasts a short while

Hell is linked with fire and fire consumes things until they are gone

Wood doesn't last forever in a fire
Wouldn't a body in Hell kill that body just as our bodies today would die, thus sending them to their third death?

In Matthew 10:28 Jesus speaks of the body being destroyed in Hell
It is described as the second death, and when you die you cease to be
Rebuttals

As for the fire argument for a short existence in Hell, God lit a bush on fire when talking to Moses and it didn't burn away

The same went for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
So the association of fire and Hell is ambiguous
Also, if people hardly suffer in hell or are even burned up immediately then wouldn't that be a welcome end and why should the Bible have so many warnings about it?

As for the verse about people being destroyed in Hell, it has a lot of meanings

'lost' sheep
'lost' coin
'spilt' wine
'wasted' perfume
'leftover' food
It is sort of like the word 'perish' in English

Thousands 'perish' in the earthquake
'The water bottle has 'perished'

Hell's torment is as eternal as Heaven's bliss

Mark 9:43
Matthew 25:46

The same word 'eternal' is used of Heaven and Hell so to the extent that Heaven is eternal, so is Hell

Revelation 14:9-11

It's hard to be clearer than "forever and ever"
Revelation 22:5

The first death does not end ones existence so why should the second do otherwise?

Should we warn others about Hell?

Revelation 21:8

These are the people who we usually think of as needing to know about Hell

Matthew 22:1-14

Who is the king

Who is His son?

Jesus

What does the wedding banquet represent?

Marriage supper of the Lamb

What does the wedding invitation represent?

Preaching the gospel

What did the king do to those who would not go to the wedding?

Killed them
Burned their city

Did the man at the end:

Accept the invitation (gospel)?

Go to the wedding?

Finish up in Hell?

Why did he end up in hell?

He did not put on new cloths which I think represents cloths of righteousness

What is the point for believers?

You can end up in Hell if you do not bother to change despite accepting the gospel

Note that Matthew (being written to believers is a warning, but in Luke 14 this same parable comes across as encouraging and emphasizes the Gentiles being welcomed to the party
Romans 11:21-23

Believers are warned about Hell

Matthew 10:28
1 Peter 4:17-19
Much of Jesus' teaching and warning about Hell are given to His disciples rather than to those who didn't follow Him (Matthew 23:15 is an exception)

Even one of His disciples didn't make it to Heaven so the warnings were warranted for the 12 apostles and are most certainly appropriate for us today (Matthew 26:24)

Matthew 5:1-2,22,29
2 Peter 2:21

E.g. Judas

1 Corinthians 10:12-14
2 Peter 1:3,10
Luke 3:7-8
Use these warnings to your advantage

Acts 20:27
2 Corinthians 5:11

In light of these verses I believe that the topic of Hell is primarily to be discussed with believers but that when speaking to unbelievers it is fine to talk of Hell as long as you are balanced and share about all the other aspects of the Gospel

How many will make it to Heaven?

Matthew 7:13-14
Luke 13:23-25

How could a loving God…?

Ezekiel 18:32
2 Peter 3:9
1 Timothy 2:3-5
The Father sent His Son to die so that we could be with Him forever and ever
Make sure when we ask this question that we are genuine. Many people ask this question yet hardly do anything to try and save people from Hell and bring them into a relationship with Jesus
Many objections pit one attribute of God against another and forget that He must balance and sometimes 'choose' His attributes

Love vs Justice
Free will vs Holiness