When was hell created?

Answer

Scripture mentions two locations as places of torment, commonly referred to as “hell.” Hades is where departed spirits reside if they did not accept God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ. In Luke 16, the rich man describes his location as a place of torment due to fire (verses 23–24). The other place of torment is Gehenna or the lake of fire, the final punishment for those who die in sin. Despite any distinctions between Hades and the lake of fire, both are equally dreadful for those there. In everyday language, hell is often a blend of these two terms.

Regarding “hell,” if it refers to the current abode of the unrighteous dead, Scripture does not specify when this place was established. Presumably, it was not necessary until the first unrighteous person passed away. God might have prepared this place in advance, but the exact timing is unknown.

If “hell” signifies the ultimate place of punishment, the lake of fire, we have limited information. In Matthew 25, Jesus talks about the final judgment. He tells the condemned, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (verse 41). If this refers to the lake of fire, it was primarily created for rebellious spiritual beings, possibly long before the world’s creation.

Considering God and time, it can be perplexing because God is not confined by time as we are. God does not need to wait to respond to situations. From our time-bound perspective, it seems logical that the lake of fire was created before the world.

Fire was created after Satan’s rebellion but before humans rebelled; otherwise, it would have been created for Satan, his angels, and those who follow in that rebellion. Although God knows the end from the beginning, there is a sense in which God did not create the lake of fire for people, even though those who refuse to bow the knee to Him will go there anyway.

The most crucial question is not when hell was created but how to avoid it. Those who have been born again by the power of the Holy Spirit will not be affected by the second death “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”, (Revelation 20:6). To evade hell, cast yourself upon the mercy of Christ, the One who died to pay for the sins of all who would trust in Him.