Eternal Punishment and Hell

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GOD SAID, Luke 16:19‑26:

19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

MAN SAID: There is no God, there is no hell, and there is no soon coming judgment day. 

Now THE RECORD.  Long before science ever understood (and minimally, we should add) the geologic nature of the core of the earth, God described it as Hell—a place of extreme heat and flames, where the wicked awaiting judgment day currently reside until they are judged and cast into a place known as outer darkness or the lake of fire.                           

Hell is a very real geographical location, and it is just as God has described. 

The following excerpt is a review of volcanoes from the March 1999 issue of Discover magazine: 

The quakes shook loose the rock that had stopped up the volcano's plumbing.  Through the newly cleared rocky pipes came an inferno of molten rock and boiling water driven upward by the intense pressures and temperatures of the inner earth miles below.

 Imagine the tremendous heat necessary to convert rocks into boiling liquid.  Another feature article from Discover magazine reads, “Geologists Are Now Probing the Earth's Deepest Secrets.  The Center Of Its Core Seems To Be Hotter Than the Sun.” 

Religious circles, academia, and society at large have been busy attempting to defang hell.  The reason should be obvious.   

The following e‑mail came from Rob:

I have enjoyed the careful accuracy of your site.  I’ve always been taught that those whose names are not found written in the Lamb’s book of life will be cast into the lake of fire where they will burn forever.  I understand that there are degrees of punishment in hell.  Is there a Bible teaching that validates the “eternal death” of unbelievers, meaning that they will literally burn continuously for all eternity?  Any help concerning this question is appreciated.  Thanks, Rob

Is there really a place called hell?  A place where the unsaved who die are kept until the Day of Judgment?  A place which will then to be cast into a lake of fire where its inhabitants will endure eternal punishment? 

Only Satan benefits when man loses his fear of hell and a coming judgment.  Jude 1:23 reads, “And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”  Years ago, while preaching the Word, I asked the congregation how many were motivated to give their hearts to Christ as a result of the fear of hell.  Approximately 75% of the hands went up.  The Word of God declares in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge:...”  Surely it’s Satan’s desire to destroy the fear of God and his prophesied coming judgment.

In the ranks of the skeptics, hell is discarded as an antiquated religious myth not to be entertained by an enlightened and sophisticated society. 

In the religious world, hell takes on new and unbiblical dimensions.  To some, just like the worldly skeptics, it does not exist.  To others, it is a place where sinners are consumed instantaneously by fire and are engulfed by oblivion.  Yet there are those who know it to be as the Bible describes. 

In the new, post‑Westcott and Hort translations, the name hell is changed to Hades, which takes on various definitions.  The Assyrian culture introduced the idea of Hades as an intermediate state.  They called it “Happy Fields.”  The Egyptian Hades was called “Amenti,” a place of “dreamless sleep.”  Some, of course, depict Hades as the Biblically described hell.  Those who are cast into hell, and then finally into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:12‑14), will experience everlasting punishment.  The Bible’s account of hell that we read in Luke, in the beginning of this feature, is not a parable.  It mentions proper names and a specific location.  It shows the rich man in hell being tormented but not consumed by the flames.  Jesus declares in Matthew 25:31‑46:

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?     

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

41 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:

42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.  

Revelation 14:9‑11:

9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Revelation 20:10‑15:

 10 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.

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.         

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.      

Yes, Brother Rob, hell is a real physical place that houses the wicked (those who are not born‑again) until the great white throne judgment when all whose names are not recorded in the book of life, as well as hell, will be cast into the lake of fire, a place of eternal cognizant judgment.  Those of you reading this article who are not born‑again must click onto “Further With Jesus” now while you still have time.  Don’t procrastinate.  Today is the day of salvation. 

GOD SAID, Luke 16:19‑26:

19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

MAN SAID: There is no God, there is no hell, and there is no soon coming judgment day. 

Now you have THE RECORD.