Is There A Place Called Hell?

Have you ever wondered about Hell?
What is Hell? Why is there a Hell?
These are excellent questions and there is only one place that has the answers that we seek in this life, The Bible.
Yes! The bible is our lifeline. It was given to instruct on how God wants you to live this life. To correct, because like children, we lose your way. To protect you from the things that God hates, which will only hurt us, and to provide us with the Words from God's own heart and His good counsel, as you are reminded of His love and the perfect plan that He has for you!
So, is there really a place called Hell? Yes!
Let's read about a man who describes hell and wants to warn his family about this place.
Luke16:19-31
Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. At his gate laid a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. As Lazarus laid there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.
“Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man also died and was buried, and he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
“The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’“But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
Heart Questions

• What (2) very different places do you see being described?  How is each described?

• Did you notice that there was distance between them?

• What does the rich man want?

• How is hell described?

• How does the rich man describe what he is experiencing? 

 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’

 “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’

 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’

 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.”

Heart Questions

• The rich man now realizes that there is no comfort for him, so what does he ask for?

• How do you feel about this?

Let’s ask the next question.

• Who will be in hell? 

Matthew 25:31-34

“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 

We can see in this scripture, a picture of two places where we can go. Note that there will be a separation that takes place, with one going to the left and the other to the right. The right is reserved for those who are described as sheep. The left is reserved for those who are described as goats. 

For the sheep, the invitation is given to come into the Kingdom which was created for them. Also, they are reminded that they are blessed by God and are called righteous (of moral character). 

Matthew 25:41,46

 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

Heart Questions

• According to this scripture, what (2) types will be in hell?

• The bible definition for hell is “the place of eternal torment.’ So how does this scripture speak to you?

Today those who do not fear God would disagree with what the bible says about the goats. You must understand that there is nothing new under the sun. God will not accept sin and this has been true from the beginning. 

We can easily see how so many believe what the world calls right or good, because the world has brought it out into the open and it has been accepted. But the truth is, it’s all totally contrary to what God says!  

Heart Questions

• Can you see the subtle lies of the world today? 

We now have our children learning the ways of the world instead of the ways of God because everything is being accepted. There are no restrictions, no boundaries, no right and no wrong. Everyone wants to do what seems right to them, without any condemnation, criticism or judgement.

Let’s find out who the goats are: 

Revelation 21:8

But the cowardly, unbelieving, repulsive, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone 

Heart Questions

• Ask yourself this important question. Can you see how our next generation is being steered away from what is true?

• What are you doing to ensure that the next generation around you will know God and have a heart towards what is true and right?

• Will you challenge yourself to continually pray for the next generation? They need much guidance, prayer and an attitude to stand against what the world calls good! 

1 Corinthians 6:9-10  

Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.

Heart Questions

• Are you surprised by the list of goats from these scriptures?

• Can you understand the heart of God about Hell?

• Will you pray for the many who are on this road to destruction?

The one question that must be asked is

• “Why is there a hell?”

You need to understand that hell was never intended for us. Hell was made for those who rebelled in heaven, which was Lucifer and one third of the angels. You can go deeper and read about how beautifully Lucifer was created and his music talents that God gave to him in Isaiah 14. It is a very interesting and tragic story.  

Revelation 12:7   Satan Thrown Out of Heaven

Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.

2 Peter 2:4

For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the Day of Judgment.

Heart Questions

• How does these (2) scriptures speak to you?

• What picture of hell do you see?  

Isaiah 14:1-25

“How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning!

You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world.  

For you said to yourself,

I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars.

I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north.

I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’

Heart Questions

• How many “I will’s” did you count?

• What do you believe was Lucifer’s downfall? Why?

• In your own words, what is Pride?

• Do you now have a better picture of why God hates pride?
Let's look at the devil after his downfall, after he lost all his beauty and place with God. 
Isaiah 14:15-17

Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.

Everyone there will stare at you and ask, ‘Can this be the one who shook the earth and made the 

Kingdom of the world tremble? 

Is this the one who destroyed the world and made it into a wasteland?

Is this the king who demolished the world’s greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?’
Heart Questions

• Now that the devil has been exposed and you see him as he really is, what do you say of him?

• Will you now pray with confidence, knowing that the devil is a liar and a bully trying desperately to cause you to fear him?

Let’s go deeper and ask

• What is hell?

According the God’s Word this is a place of eternal torment describes as;

• with everlasting fire

• everlasting punishment

• outer darkness

This gives a very clear picture of a place of constant physical torment and darkness. So the fire will be felt, the darkness will cause extreme anxiety and fear. Also, there will be no hope of escaping this punishment. 

Matthew 10:28

“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

We read in Luke 16:19-31 about how the rich man had his senses in this place. He could see, talk, feel, remember and reason. 

Heart Questions

Think for a moment about how you will feel in hell. 

• Is this a place for you?   What about a loved one?

Isaiah 14:9-10  

“Hell from beneath is excited about you, to meet you at your coming;

It stirs up the dead for you, all the chief ones of the earth;

It has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

They all shall speak and say to you:

Have you also become as weak as we?

Have you become like us?

Heart Questions

• Can you see the attitude of hell?

Isaiah 5:14   

Therefore Sheol (Hell) has enlarged itself, and opened its mouth beyond measure;

Their glory and their multitude and their splendor,

And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it.

Proverbs 27:20

Hell and Destruction are never full;

Heart Questions

• Look how hell continues to” open her mouth” to make room?

• In Proverbs 27:20, how is Hell described?

• Can you imagine how deep and wide this place is?

In reality we need to have our eyes opened to the truth about hell. It is real and many do not want to think about it or talk about it, especially in the churches of today!

Heart Questions

• When was the last time you heard a message about the reality of hell at your church? Ask yourself why or why not?

• The bible is very clear about the reality of hell and speaks more about hell than heaven. Why do you think that God warns us?

Yet, everywhere you look we see immorality, we can advertise sex, alcohol and drugs; we can sell pornography and now they have taught and encouraged our children to be whatever gender they want to be. The list goes on and on.

How ironic that today, our government will pass any and all laws that are contrary to the way our forefathers foresaw this great country of America to be when she was founded on Godly principles! Do you see how far we have fallen?

Psalm 9:17

The wicked will go down to hell and this is the fate of all the nations who ignore God.

I sincerely pray that you have learned something true and new from this lesson. Let us not be ashamed of what we know to be true and let us not be silent when everyone is shouting for immorality. May we not allow ourselves to buy into the ways of this upside down world, but rather be full of courage and wisdom to speak out against those things which are wrong! 

Prayer

Lord, help us to be bold and strong against those things which breaks your heart. You have given us so much instruction, guidance and wisdom to know what is evil and what is good. Now we must choose. 

Help us to pray and cry out to You for deliverance and protection from all the wickedness that surrounds us and our children. 

May your people find their voice and boldness to speak up about your lovingkindness towards everyone and about the reality of Hell. 

Romans 8:38

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.   Amen