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Yeshua spoke more often about hell than He did about heaven. Still, no one talks much about hell today; no one likes to think about hell. However, anyone who denies that Hell is real, is actually denying the work of salvation that Messiah paid for on the cross, because He died to offer us eternity and to save us from "hell". The Bible teaches that hell is a real place, prepared for the devil and his demons, and those who refuse God's gracious offer of salvation through faith in Yeshua haMaschiach (Jesus the Messiah)who was our Final Sin Sacrifice. The bottom line is, hell is a place of eternal separation from YHWH (Yahweh = the Father)!
What is Hell?
The Bible makes many references to Hell throughout its pages:
- Hell is a place of physical agony, mental suffering, loneliness and emotional sorrow. Yeshua described it as a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.(Jude 6; Matt 8:12; Matt 13:42, 50; Matt 25:30;).
- Hell is a place of insecurity and fear. The Bible describes it as a bottomless pit, an abyss. (Revelation 20:1).
- Hell is a place of instability. It is described as a lake of fire. Hell is a place
where every moment is lived in uncertainty (Matthew 5:21-23; Revelation 20:15).
- Hell is a pit of darkness; totally devoid of light. It is pitch black in hell; there's nothing to distract people from their suffering, sorrow, fears, insecurities, and instability. (2 Peter 3-5).
- Hell is a place of dissatisfaction. Yeshua described it as a fire; a fiery furnace. It may be a literal fire that creates a physical sensation of burning or just
an overwhelming yearning for God, for love, for joy, for peace, for life that
will never be. (Matthew 5:22; Matt 13:42 and 50; Matt 18:8-9; Matt 25:41; Mark 9:43, 47-48) .
- Hell is a place of eternal separation from God. Each person who goes to hell will be separated forever from the source of life, the heart of love,
the very One for Whom they were created. Hell is a place where your soul will be destroyed (Matthew 7:23 and 10:27-29).
According to Scripture, Hell is eternal. Hell will be thrown into the Lake of Fire at the end judgment, along with its inhabitants. It is important to understand that Hell exists and is present at this very moment. The Bible even says that Hell enlarges itself daily. It is a sort of "holding chamber" (II Peter 2:4,9) for those who have died without accepting Yeshua (This is not the same as the purgatory heresy). Until the final judgment in the Lake of Fire is consummated, those who fail to accept Christ and die unsaved, must be held in the torture of Hell until the final judgment of the end, at which point Hell will give up the dead it has held prisoner, to be judged and thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:13). It is also at this time that Hell is thrown into the Lake of Fire. Please note that Hell is not necessarily destroyed, but being within the Lake of Fire, it will not be as it was before. It will be much worse, as the Lake of Fire consumes all, yet destroys or kills none. But if Hell is destined to be taken from its current place and thrown into the Lake of Fire in the end, then where is Hell, right now? Does the Bible tell us where the location of Hell is now? Indeed it does.
Where is Hell?
The truth is, no one can really say. Most likely it is in another dimension (as is heaven), but the Bible seems to indicate it is in the bowels of our own Earth. Here is what the Bible tells us about hell:
Matthew 11:23 - "Hades" - Strong's Concordance #86
- (NIV) - "you will go down to [the depths]"
- (KJV) - "shalt be brought down to [Hell]"
- (NLT) - "you will be brought down to [the place of the dead]"
Luke 16:23 - "Hades" - Strong's Concordance #86
- (NIV) - "In [Hell], where he was in torment, he looked up..."
- (KJV) - "And in [Hell] he lift up his eyes, being in torments,"
- (NLT) - "And his soul went to [the place of the dead],"
II Peter 2:4 - "Tartaros" - Strong's Concordance #5020
- (NIV) - "but sent them to [Hell], putting them in gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;"
- (KJV) - "but cast them down into [Hell],"
- (NLT) - "He threw them into [Hell], in gloomy caves and darkness until judgment day"
Amos 9:2 - "Sheol" - Strong's Concordance #7585
- (NIV) - "Though they dig down to the depths of [the grave],"
- (KJV) - "Though they dig into [Hell],"
- (NLT) - "Even if they dig down to [the place of the dead], I will reach down and pull them up."
Numbers 16:31-33 - "Sheol" - Strong's Concordance #7585
- (NIV) - "the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, ...They went down alive into [the grave],"
- (KJV) - "the ground clave asunder that was under them. And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, ...They, ...went down alive into the [pit],"
- (NLT) - "the ground suddenly split open beneath them. The earth opened up and swallowed the men, ...So they went down alive into [the grave],"
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