Are there different levels of punishment in Hell?

1. "Are there different levels of punishment in hell?" – 2nd September 2017
“The wrath ofGod isbeing revealed fromheaven againstall the godlessnessand
wickednessof people,who suppressthe truth by their wickedness.”( Romans1:18).
The ideathat there are differentlevelsof punishmentinhell isgraphicallyportrayedin The Divine
Comedy, writtenbyDante Alighieribetween1308 and 1321. In that poem, the RomanpoetVirgil guides
Dante throughthe nine circlesof hell.The circlesare concentric,representingagradual increase in
wickedness,andculminatingatthe centerof the earth,where Satanis heldinbondage.Eachcircle’s
sinnersare punishedinafashionbefittingtheircrimes.Eachsinnerisafflictedforall of eternitybythe
chief sinhe committed.AccordingtoDante,the circlesrange fromthe firstcircle,where dwellthe
unbaptizedandvirtuouspagans,tothe verycenterof hell reservedforthose whohave committedthe
ultimate sin—treacheryagainstGod. The bible tellsusthat:“The wrath ofGod isbeing revealed from
heaven againstall the godlessnessandwickedness ofpeople, whosuppress the truth by their
wickedness.”( Romans1:18).
Althoughthe Bible doesnot specifically saythere are differentlevelsof punishmentinhell,itdoesseem
to indicate thatthe judgmentwill indeedbe experienceddifferentlyfordifferentpeople.In Revelation
20:11–15, the people are judged“accordingtowhattheyhad done as recordedinthe books” as we can
readfrom Revelation20:12, “AndI saw the dead,great and small,standingbeforethe throne, and
bookswere opened. Another bookwas opened, whichis the book oflife. The dead were judged
accordingto what they had doneas recorded in the books.” All the peoplewhofail atthisjudgment,
though,are throwninto the lake of fire as statedin Revelation20:13–15, “The sea gave up the dead
that were init, and death andHades gave up the dead that were in them,and each person was
judgedaccordingto what they had done. 14
Thendeath and Hades were throwninto the lake of fire.
The lakeof fire is the second death.15
Anyone whosename was not foundwritten inthe bookof life
was throwninto the lake of fire.” So, perhaps,the purpose of the judgmentistodeterminehow severe
the punishmentinhell will be.
A clearerpassage is Luke 10, where Jesusspeaksof comparative punishment.First,Jesussaysthisabout
a village thatrejectsthe gospel aswe can readfrom Luke 10:12,“I tell you, it will be more bearable on
that day for Sodom thanfor that town.” ThenHe speaksto BethsaidaandChorazin inLuke 10:14,“It
will be more bearablefor Tyre andSidonat the judgmentthan foryou.” Whateverpunishmentthe
formerresidentsof Sodom,Tyre,andSidonwere experiencinginhell,the Galileantownsthatrefusedto
hearthe wordof God wouldexperience more. He issayingthatthose people inthe Galileantownship
that refusedtolearnfromGods wordwill eventuallysufferforaneternityinhell whichJesusstatesas
beingwaymore than the sufferingexperiencedbypeople inSodom, Tyre,andSidon.Todaywe come
across people whoreject Godsword,andforthemthe level of punishmentinhell seemstobe tiedto
the truth inGod’s wordthat a personrejects.

2. Anotherindicationthathell has differentlevelsof punishmentisfoundinJesus’wordsin Luke12: 47–
48, “The servant who knowsthe master’s will and does notget ready or does not do whatthe master
wants will be beaten with manyblows. 48
But the one who does not know anddoes thingsdeserving
punishmentwill be beaten with few blows.Fromeveryone who hasbeen given much,much will be
demanded;and fromthe one who hasbeen entrusted with much, muchmore will be asked.” He is
statingthat those whoknowGodsword and yetcommitssinwill receive agreaterdegree of
punishmentthanthose whosin withouthavingsufficientawarenessonwhatGodrequiresfromus as
conveyedtous throughHis word. Whateverdegreesof punishmenthell contains, asChristiansitisbest
to bearin mindthat hell isaplace to be steadfastly avoided.
Unfortunately,the Biblestatesthatmostpeople will windupinhell asJesussaidin Matthew7:13–14,
“Wideisthe gate andbroad isthe roadthat leads to destruction,and manyenter throughit. But small
is the gate and narrow the road that leadsto life,and onlya few findit.” Due to our humannature
that lovestodabble withsinandsinfulness,mostchoose the wide“easytoenter”gate that leadstohell
– an eternityfilledwithsuffering.Thereforethe questionone mustaskis“whichroad am I on?”The
“many” onthe broadroad have one thingin common—theyhave all rejectedChristasthe one and only
wayto heaven. Because Jesussaid, “Iamthe way andthe truth andthe life.No one comes to the
Father except through me” (John14:6). When He saidHe is the only waythat ispreciselywhatHe
meant. ExceptthroughHimthere isNO otherway!! Everyone followinganother“way”besidesJesus
Christison the broad road to destruction,andthe sufferingishideous,dreadful andeternal.The bible
teachesusthat thiseternal sufferingisavoidable.
As believerswe know thatdue toHislove forus He provided usaway to come cleanthroughsalvation.
He gave us the optiontobe bornagain andbegina new life asa new entitywhose absolutepriorityis
God. The choice isin our handswhethertotake the broad gate that leadsto destructionorto choose
the small gate havinga narrow road accessthat will leadto an eternitywithGod. We needfaithinJesus
Christas our saviour:“If youdeclare with your mouth,“Jesusis Lord,” and believein your heart that
Godraised himfrom the dead, youwill be saved.”( Romans10:9).