Is hell real? Is hell eternal?

Response

It is noteworthy that a significantly higher percentage of individuals believe in the existence of heaven compared to those who believe in the existence of hell. However, according to the Bible, hell is just as legitimate as heaven. The Bible unequivocally teaches that hell is a tangible place where the wicked and unbelieving are consigned after death. We have all transgressed against God, as “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23). The rightful consequence for this transgression is death, as “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). Since all our sins are fundamentally against God, as “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.” (Psalm 51:4), and considering that God is an infinite and eternal Being, the penalty for sin, which is death, must also be infinite and eternal. Hell represents this infinite and eternal death that we have merited due to our sins.

The punishment of the wicked deceased in hell is depicted throughout Scripture as “eternal fire,” as “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:” (Matthew 25:41), and as “unquenchable fire,” as “whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into th…

He will gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. », (Matthew 3:12), “shame and everlasting contempt” «And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. », (Daniel 12:2), a place where “the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44-49), a place of “torment” and “fire” (Luke 16:23-24), “everlasting destruction” «who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; », (2 Thessalonians 1:9), a place where “the smoke of torment rises forever and ever” (Revelation 14:10-11), and a “lake of burning sulfur” where the wicked are “tormented day and night forever and ever” «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. », (Revelation 20:10).

The punishment of the wicked in hell is as never-ending as the bliss of the righteous in heaven. Jesus Himself indicates that punishment in hell is just as everlasting as life in heaven «And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.», (Matthew 25:46). The wicked are forever subject to the fury and the wrath of God. Those in hell will acknowledge the perfect justice of God “Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the rest of wrath you will restrain.” (Psalm 76:10). Those who are in hell will acknowledge that their punishment is just and that they alone are responsible (Deuteronomy 32:3-5). Indeed, hell is a real place of eternal torment and punishment, without end. Thanks to Jesus, we can avoid this everlasting destiny: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, 18, 36).