Articles
The Big Question of Hell
Big questions don’t vanish when you become a Christian. They persist, but with faith, we seek understanding and turn to the authority of God’s Word for answers. One of those pressing questions is about Hell. What is Hell? Is it real? Who made it, and what was it made for? And now that we are Christians, how should the doctrine of Hell shape our lives?
Hell is not a comfortable topic, but we need to address it. Let’s begin by examining what the Bible teaches about Hell’s reality.
God created us as moral, spiritual, and physical beings, intricately joined together (Genesis 2:7). Death tears apart body and spirit - the body returns to the grave and the spirit goes into the unseen realm of departed souls, often called Sheol or Hades in Scripture (Ecclesiastes 12:7, Luke 16:19-31).
But death is not the end. The Bible is clear: there will be a bodily resurrection for all, leading to either eternal life with God or eternal condemnation apart from him. Jesus says in John 5:28-29:
- “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”
Heaven is the reward of the righteous - those who trust in Jesus and faithfully obey Him. But what about the wicked? Those “who have done evil?” Jesus states in Matthew 25:46 -
- “These will go away into eternal punishment…”
The Bible leaves no doubt about Hell’s reality and eternality. Yet, some promote the false teaching of “annihilationism” – the idea that the wicked will cease to exist and do not experience eternal punishment. While I won’t delve into a detailed rebuttal here, I will say this: being made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27) assures us that we are more than mere temporal beings passing through time toward oblivion. We are eternal, and so are the consequences of rejecting God.
Hell is real. It is eternal. It is an awful place where there is no reprieve or escape. Brothers and sisters, do not be swayed by false teachings that diminish this truth.
-Scott
