Hell is a real place according to the Bible where sinners are sent after death as punishment for their sins against God. Both physical and spiritual death result in eternal separation - physical death separates the body and soul, while spiritual death separates man from God. The Bible describes hell as a place of eternal fire, torment, and punishment with no end. In contrast, heaven provides eternal life in the presence of God. There are only two possibilities after death - an eternal destiny in either heaven or hell depending on whether one has faith in Jesus Christ.

1. Heavenor Hell? – 26th
April 2017
“And thesmokeoftheirtormentwill riseforeverand ever.Therewill beno restdayornightforthosewho
worship thebeastand itsimage,or foranyonewho receivesthemarkofitsname.”(Revelation 14:11).
It isinterestingthatamuch higherpercentage of peoplebelieveinthe existence of heaventhanbelieve
inthe existence of hell. Butaccordingto the Bible,hell isjustasreal as heaven.The Bible clearlyand
explicitlyteachesthathell isareal place to whichthe wicked/unbelievingare sentafterdeath.We have
all sinnedagainstGod and the justpunishmentforthatsinisdeath.One may respondthatwithor
withoutsinwe die anyway! Sowhatisdeath?
First,we needtomaintainthe distinctionof death,asScripture does,betweenphysical deathand
spiritual death.The Bible speaksof the twodistinctly,buttheyshare one commoncharacteristic.The
Biblical definitionof death - whetherphysical orspiritual - isnotnon-existence,butseparation.Physical
deathis,the separationof bodyand soul.We can learnthisfrom Ecclesiastes 12:7, “…andthe dust
returns to the groundit came from, and the spirit returns to Godwho gave it.” Spiritual deathmeans
that man, withoutsalvationinChrist,isseparatedfromGod.All whoare sinners,withoutsalvationfrom
God sufferphysical death,justasall whoare justifiedinChristare made alive inChrist aswe can read
from1 Corinthians15:22, “Foras in Adamall die, so in Christall will be madealive.” Due to our sinwe
alienate ourselvesfromGodspresence. AlienatedinGreek isapellotriomenoi,meaningestrangedor
shutout fromthe life of God" Paul explainsfurtheraswe read Ephesians4:18, “They are darkened in
their understandingandseparated fromthe lifeof Godbecause ofthe ignorancethat isin them due to
the hardeningof their hearts.” Thisis true eventhoughthe unsavedpersonhasphysical life.The final
state of unsavedsouls istothe Lake of Fire for eternity andiscalled"the seconddeath"inboth
Revelationchapters20and 21. We can learnfrom same: “
Thendeath andHades were thrown into the
lake of fire.The lake of fire isthe seconddeath.”(Revelation20:14).
Whenwe sin,our sinisultimatelyagainst God.Since Godisan infinite andeternalBeing,the
punishmentforoursin, whichis death,mustalsobe infinite andeternal. Whenone has NOTplaced
theirfaithinChristand remains asun-repentedsinners,theywill NOThave salvationandhence the
aftermathof physical deathis a journeyto hell.Itisthe infinite andeternal deathwhichwe have earned
because of our sin. Sinnerswillbe castto the lake of fire for an eternity.We cangetan inclinationwhen
we learnfromRevelation 14:11, “Andthe smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever. There will
be no rest dayor nightfor those whoworshipthe beast andits image,or for anyone whoreceives the
mark of its name.”
In neithercase doesthe Biblical definitionof death - physical orspiritual - implyorentail cessationof
existence.Actuallyonthe contrary!The punishmentof the wickeddeadinhell isdescribedthroughout
Scripture as “eternal fire”We canlearnwhere Jesussaid: “Thenhe will say to those on hisleft, ‘Depart
from me, youwho are cursed,into the eternal fire prepared for the devil andhis angels. (Matthew
25:41). Hell isdescribedasan “unquenchable fire”anda place of “shame and everlastingcontempt.”It
isa place where “the fire isnotquenched” andisa place of “torment”and “fire”causing“everlasting
destruction”“Theywill be punishedwitheverlastingdestruction andshut out fromthe presence of the
Lord and fromthe gloryof hismight”(2Thessalonians1:9).

2. The punishmentof the wickedinhell isasneverendingasthe blissof the righteousinheaven. The Old
Testamentstates:“Multitudeswhosleepin the dust of the earth will awake: someto everlastinglife,
others to shame andeverlastingcontempt.”(Daniel 12:2). JesusHimself indicatesthatpunishmentin
hell isjustas everlastingaslife inheaven aswe canread from Matthew 25:46, “Thenthey will go away
to eternal punishment,butthe righteousto eternal life.” The wickedare foreversubjecttothe furyand
the wrath of God. Those inhell will acknowledgethe perfectjustice of God.Those whoare inhell will
knowthat theirpunishmentisjustandthat theyalone are to blame.Yes,hell isreal.Yes,hell isaplace
of tormentandpunishmentthatlastsforeverandever,withnoend. ButGod providedusthe wayout of
our sinand sinfulnessthroughJesusChrist.Throughourfaithandtrust inHim andin Jesusalone,we can
escape thiseternal fate:“ForGodso lovedthe worldthat he gave his one andonly Son,that whoever
believes inhim shall notperish but have eternal life.” (John3:16).
The Bible isclearthat there are twopossible destinationsforeveryhumansoul followingphysical death:
Heavenor hell.We canlearnfrom 2 Thessalonians1:8–9, “He will punishthose whodo not know God
and donot obey the gospel ofour Lord Jesus. 9
They will be punishedwitheverlastingdestructionand
shut out fromthe presence of the Lord and fromthe gloryof hismight.” The miseryof hell will consist
of the agonyof beingcutoff fromeveryavenue of happiness. We know thatGod isthe source of all
goodthings:“Every goodand perfect giftis from above,comingdown fromthe Father ofthe heavenly
lights,whodoes not change likeshiftingshadows.”(James1:17). To be cut off fromGod isto forfeitall
exposure toanythinggood.Hell will be astate of perpetual sin;yetthose sufferingthere will possessfull
understandingof sin’shorrors.Remorse,guilt,andshame will be unending,yetaccompaniedbythe
convictionthatthe punishmentisjust.
To be separatedfromGodis tobe forevershutoff fromlight.We can readthisfrom 1 John 1:5, “Thisis
the message we have heard from himand declare to you: Godis light;inhim there isno darkness at
all.” AsChristianswe knowthatGod givesusthe abilityto islove, have joy,andpeace because Godis
the source of all those goodthings.Anygoodwe observe inhumanityismerelyareflectionof the
character of God, in whose image we were created.
While the spiritsof those regeneratedbyGod’sHolySpiritwill abide foreverwithGodina perfected
state as we can learnfrom 1 John3:2, “Dear friends,now we are childrenof God,andwhatwe will be
has notyet beenmade known.Butwe know that whenChristappears,we shall be like him, forwe shall
see himas he is.”But the opposite istrue of those inhell.None of the goodnessof Godwill existin
them.Whatevergoodtheymayhave thoughttheyrepresentedonearthwill be shownforthe selfish,
lustful,idolatrousthingitwas.We can readfrom Isaiah64:6, “All ofus have become like one who is
unclean,andall our righteousacts are like filthyrags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, andlike the wind
our sinssweep us away.” Man’s ideasof goodnesswill be measuredagainstthe perfectionof God’s
holinessandbe foundseverelylacking.Those inhell have foreverlostthe chance tosee God’sface,hear
His voice,experience His goodness,orenjoyHisfellowship.Tobe foreverseparatedfromGodisthe
ultimate punishment.