The Truth About Hell
The misconception that most people have about hell is that it is an actual place. They believe that at death the wicked will go to hell, the good will go to heaven, and if you're good but you still have unconfessed sins, then you go to purgatory for penance before finally going to heaven. For centuries, the Catholic Church has taught that an eternally burning hell is Biblical truth and, therefore, millions of people believe it. The belief which is integral to this teaching is that no one ever dies. Remember, Satan told Adam and Eve the first lie in the Garden of Eden when he said, "You will not surely die." Most of the Christian world believes that, at death, your soul travels immediately to its destination, whether it be hell, heaven, or purgatory.
Romans 6:23-- For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 5:24-- Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on
him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is
passed from death unto life.
1 John 3:15-- Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no
murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
From the texts listed, you can see that you have two choices: Sinners will die,
and the faithful will have eternal life. Nowhere does it say that sinners will live eternally.
So, therefore, if sinners don't live forever, then what happens at death?
Eccl 9:5-- For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing,
neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Eccl 9:6-- Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have
they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
Psa 146:4-- His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his
thoughts perish.
These texts show that the dead "know not anything." If, as Psalms 146: 4 says,
"his thoughts perish," then how could a person's spirit be alive in heaven or hell? Next,
let's look at one of the most popular Bible texts quoted.
John 3:16-- For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Here, too, there are only two choices. If you believe on Him, then you will
receive eternal life. So then, logically, if you do not believe in Him, then you won't have
everlasting life. The whole point of the plan of salvation is to forever get rid of sin. Why
would He allow sin to live on eternally? God is too merciful to allow his children to suffer
forever.
Next, let us look at some texts that some people, including the Catholic church, try to use to prove that the soul lives on after death.
2 Cor 5:8-- We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body,
and to be present with the Lord.
Some people have used this text to mean that the spirit goes immediately to heaven
at death. This is not true. Instead, death is like sleeping. Take a look at the following.
Deu 31:16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt
sleep with thy fathers; ...
1 Ki 2:10-- So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in
the city of David.
Acts 13:36-- For David, after he had served his own generation
by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers,
Acts 2:34-- For David is not ascended into the heavens: ...
(Keep in mind that even though David is dead, he has not gone to heaven).
1 Ki 11:43-- And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David
his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
2 Sam 7:12-- And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I
will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish
his kingdom.
John 11:11-- These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend
Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
John 11:12-- Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
John 11:13-- Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of
taking of rest in sleep.
John 11:14-- Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
1 Cor 15:51-- Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed,
1 Cor 15:52-- In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet
shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1 Cor 15:53-- For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality.
1 Cor 15:54-- So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal
shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,
Death is swallowed up in victory.
1 Cor 15:55-- O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
(Notice that you do not get immortality until the second coming of the Lord)
1 Th 4:14-- For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which
sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1 Th 4:15-- For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive
and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (precede) them which are
asleep.
1 Th 4:16-- For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1 Th 4:17-- Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
So all of these verses are saying that death is like a sleep and the dead will not rise,
or gain immortality, until the coming of the Lord. How can you argue against so many
texts stating this fact? Death is just like sleep. Your thought processes cease and
you do not realize the passage of time; not until the coming of the Lord. But then what
about the thief on the cross? Didn't Jesus say that he would be with him today in
Paradise?
Luke 23:43-- And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be
with me in paradise.
Keep in mind that the original texts of the Bible did not include any punctuation. If
we just move one comma in this text it reads:
Luke 23:43-- And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee To day, shalt thou be
with me in paradise.
To be translated into better English it would read as:
Luke 23:43-- And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with
me in paradise.
Here Jesus is promising the thief that he will see Paradise, but not that same day.
If you look at the next verse, you will find that even two days later Jesus had not returned to
heaven yet!
John 20:17-- Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my
Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your
Father; and to my God, and your God.
Next, let us look at what the ultimate fate of death is, according to Revelation.
Rev 20:14-- And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15-- And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire.
1 Cor 15:26-- The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Note that both death and hell were thrown into the lake of fire to be totally
obliterated. How could this be if there is going to be an eternal hell? The second death
spoken of is the total destruction of the wicked and of Satan and his angels. No wickedness
will survive. Now, to add more proof to the argument, let us look at what the Bible says
will happen to Satan.
Rev 20:10-- And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever
and ever.
For this verse, many people often try to say that it means that the wicked will be
tormented forever. The actual Greek word used for "forever" is the word "aion." From
"aion," we derive the English word "eon," an indefinite amount of time. So therefore
an eon does have an ending. The actual concept of an eternally burning hell came from
the lake of fire. But, in Revelation 20: 14, the lake of fire is called the second death,
which means total and absolute destruction. Let's continue with more evidence. The next
verses seem to say that there will be an everlasting fire.
Mat 18:8-- Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them
from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two
hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
Mat 18:9-- And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for
thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
Mat 25:41-- Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Jude 1:7-- Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner,
giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an
example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
To settle the question about everlasting fire, let's look at the last verse. Sodom and
Gomorrha were burned and totally destroyed by God with "everlasting fire." Do these cities
still burn today? Of course not. It just means that once it is burned, there is no way to bring
it back again. You could say that they were "eternally burned," never to be rebuilt again.
Mat 25:46-- And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into
life eternal.
From the verses above we can see that this only means that the results of the
punishment are eternal. To make this point even clearer, look at the following.
2 Th 1:8-- In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Th 1:9-- Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the
Lord, and from the glory of his power;
Now, here again it says "everlasting," but it also says destruction. The wicked will
be eternally destroyed, never to return to life. Next is another popular verse used to prove
the existence of hell.
Mat 10:28-- And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul:
but rather fear him (God) which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
This simply means that you shouldn't be afraid of people who maim or kill your
body. Instead, you should be afraid of God who will destroy the wicked in hell (the second
death; lake of fire) at the end of the 1,000 years in heaven. Next, read what the consequence
of sin was for Adam and Eve.
Gen 3:22-- And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to
know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of
life, and eat, and live for ever:
Gen 3:23-- Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till
the ground from whence he was taken.
Gen 3:24-- So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden
Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree
of life.
So you can see here that because of Adam and Eve's sin, God did not allow them
to eat from the tree of life, which would give them immortality. Humanity was condemned
to die because of their sin and so God placed an angel to guard the entrance to the garden
so man could not eat of the tree and live forever. Sinners were not meant to live forever,
so this is even more proof that an everlasting hell is not Biblical.
Next we should discuss another frequently used text which many people use to try to prove the existence of consciousness after death, including consciousness in hell. Luke 16: 19-31 is often used by those who believe in eternal hellfire to prove its existence. Luke 16: 19-31 tells a story about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. Keep in mind that this story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is actually the fifth in a series of parables told by Jesus, beginning in Luke 15. We must remember that parables are meant to teach the hearers a moral lesson. The story would just get confusing if you took everything at face value. Read Luke 16: 19-31 and answer the following, trying to think of it in a literal sense.
Do people actually have conversations between Heaven and Hell?
Can those in heaven see people burning in Hell?
Can they hear their screams?
Would a finger dipped in water actually lessen the torment of another?
Abraham must have a very large bosom to contain all the individuals who go there!
As you can see, this story wouldn't make very much sense if we took it to be literal.
How terrible a place would heaven be if we had to constantly hear the screams of those in
hell? So what was the point of this parable? Read the following quote taken from
Michael Scheifler's Bible Light Homepage
The Jews had a common story describing death as passing through a valley of darkness
and they pictured salvation as fleeing to the security of Abraham's bosom. The Jews also
believed that riches were a sign of God's favor and poverty a sign of His displeasure. Surely
the poverty of Lazarus was an indication he had committed some grave sin, the Jews thought.
But, the rich man in the story, whom the Jews thought blessed of God, ends up in Hell, while
the poor man is in heaven. Jesus had reversed the outcome from what the Jews expected. This
is why Jesus used the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in the way he did. It was not
intended to convey the exact circumstances of Heaven or Hell, but rather to show to the Jews
that they had grave misconceptions about who was saved and who was lost.
As you can see, Jesus only used this story to prove a point to the Jews. Here are
the main points of this parable:
1. Wealth attained through greed or dishonesty are not signs of God's favor. Wealth is
not an indicator of salvation.
2. Our decisions made in life are final after death. No second chances.
3. Jesus says that if the Pharisees of the day reject the plain speech of God's word
concerning salvation, then even raising someone from the dead wouldn't make them
believe.
Notice later that in John 11: 38-44, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. This
caused many of the Jews to grow angry at Jesus and they even attempted to kill
Lazarus (John 12: 10). So what Jesus said about the Pharisees not believing
even if someone was raised from the dead actually came to pass.
Well, I hope that you have learned what the Bible actually says about the existence of hell. The existence of hell as a place of eternal fire and burning punishment as the Catholic Church teaches is total fiction and not supported by the Bible. Read John 3: 16 again and remember that it says that only the righteous will receive eternal life.
