What Does the Bible Say Hell Will Be Like?

More people believe in heaven than believe in hell, but hell is a literal place. There can be no heaven without a hell. Jesus actually spoke more about hell than He did heaven and He described it as a real place. He used vividly descriptive language when He spoke about it. Hell was never intended for humans but was a place of eternal punishment prepared for the Devil and his followers, the demons (Matt. 25:41). The Bible describes hell with words that simply cannot be imagined.

For a related article check here for: What Does The Bible Say Heaven Will Be Like

Biblical Words that Describe Hell

Fire and brimstone

Furnace of fire

Judgment by fire

Fiery oven

Lake of fire

Eternal punishment

Pits of darkness

Flames of fire

Burning wind

Unquenchable fire

Judgment by fire

Biblical words to describe hell often involve fire

Biblical Scriptures of the Physical Nature of Hell

Revelation 14:11 “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

II Thessalonians 1:9 “And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”

Revelation 21:8 “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Mark 9:47-48 “”And if your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”

Revelation 20:10 “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Matthew 13:41-42 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Who Goes to Hell?

Revelation 21:8 describes who goes to hell: “the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.” A critically important word in this list is “the unbelieving.” Who are the unbelievers that go to hell? John 3:18b is clear that those who do not believe in Jesus Christ suffer eternal punishment, “whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” Anyone who does not believe in Jesus Christ, anyone who does not repent of their sin, and anyone who does not ask for forgiveness, is doomed to eternal separation from God and His holy angels.

Every human who has ever lived, anyone that is alive today, and anybody who will yet live in the future who does not or did not believe in Jesus Christ are destined for hell fire. The way to avoid this unspeakable torment is to choose to trust in Jesus, place their faith in Christ, and ask for forgiveness from our Lord. Everyone has a choice to make in this life. They can either choose eternal life or eternal punishment. No one is saved by being a good person or doing good works. Many people who say they are a good person will end up in hell because they have placed their faith in their own good works. Many people who believe this believe they are going to heaven. This is not what the Bible says though. A great number of people say they are a “nice person”, but in this sense, there will be a lot of “nice people” in hell someday because they have rejected the only One Who had God’s wrath placed on Him (Jesus). Either take God’s wrath on yourself someday or ask Jesus to forgive you and believe in Him because He has taken upon Himself God’s wrath. Your good works are like filthy rags to God – but Jesus imputation is what can send you to heaven. Let Him impart His righteousness on your behalf.

What Sends a Person to Hell?

God has never sent anyone to hell. God will never send anyone to hell. Actually, people do this themselves by their unbelief. God never sends anyone to hell just as He never forces anyone into heaven, but the good news is that God desires that no one perish and suffer eternal torment (II Peter 3:9) and He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:32). People send their own selves to hell by choosing not to believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Jesus can save you today (John 3:16). You simply have to believe in Him and place your trust in Him (Rom 10:9-13). There is no other way on earth to escape hell except through faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). It may well be that you are reading this for a reason. That reason could be that this very day is your day of salvation (II Cor 6:2). That is my hope and prayer for anyone that reads this. Just believe in Him and you will be saved (Act 16:31).

Resources

NIV Bible

Photo by Matt Gruber

Tagged as: Bible and Hell, Heaven, Hell, Is there a hell?, What does the Bible Say About Hell