Where We Expose Faulty Teaching to Gain Godly Wisdom in This Modern World
Each month, we prayerfully dig into God's Word to discern truth from almost truth and help you learn how to defend your faith in a world where false teaching is enticing more and more people to turn from wisdom and righteous living.
Jeremiah 14:14, ESV
And the LORD said to me: "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds."
Is Hell Really Real?
Yes. True.
The concept of eternity carries profound significance for every person. It is described in the Bible as a timeless and boundless existence that surpasses our human understanding. Yet the significance of eternity is mentioned often, perhaps so that we will take it seriously, though we don’t fully comprehend its reality.
We are three-dimensional beings: soul (mind), body, and spirit. Eternity is where our souls will be (place and condition) after our current earthly bodies die. I like how one person put it: “You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” (The airline industry is correct when they reference the number of souls onboard their aircraft.)
According to Daniel 12:2–3, Matthew 25:46, John 5:28, and Revelation 20:14–15, there are two options for eternity: hell or heaven. And they both last forever.
So, What Is Hell?
There's not just one biblical depiction of hell. There are many—a lake of fire, an eternal pit, outer darkness, and more. What is consistent with all of them, though, is that hell is the place of total, conscious, forever separation from the blessings of God. It's a place filled with extreme torment because its residents have been eternally disconnected from the grace of their Creator, making it devoid of joy, hope, and love. They only know God's wrath and judgment.
The reality of hell, much like heaven, is hotly debated (pun always intended) and often minimized. There are three primary reasons. First, because hell will only be filled with the final judgment after Jesus's second coming, no one has visited and returned with a firsthand knowledge of what it's like. Also, as we'll see, there is a biblical story of someone waiting to enter hell—terrified. Second, for some, it's just too frightening to believe. And third, for many, they can't understand the significance of an eternity apart from God. Their eyes are blinded to the reality of the horror, causing hell to be a source of flippant remarks or even jokes instead of something to fear or avoid.
Thank you for the blessing, but I’m OK with going to hell, if that is indeed my destination, since the vast majority of all humans ever born will be there. (Elon Musk, 2022)
Listen to theologian R. C. Sproul's understanding of hell:
As with anything else in the Christian faith, we can best know what hell is like by 1) studying how God’s Word as a whole describes it and 2) by learning and trusting what Jesus specifically taught about it.
Not only do Old Testament verses confirm hell's existence, but Jesus's "red-letter" words compel us to understand the reality of hell more than any other part of Scripture. In Matthew 8:12, Jesus spoke of hell as “outer darkness" where “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Jesus also calls it a "hell of fire” (Matthew 5:22), a place of "unquenchable fire” (Mark 9:43), and a place of “eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:46). This leaves little wonder about where the Gary Larson's Far Side comics and all those cartoon depictions of hell came from—I'm reminded of an episode of Tom and Jerry, which I realize hints at my age.
Where Is Hell?
People often speak of heaven as "up" and hell as "down." That’s a simple way to consider it. But both are in the spiritual plane.
The truth is there are differing views about believers' immediate afterlife and where we will wait. Some say Christians will be in heaven with God and the angels until Jesus returns. Others say there is another place where we rest as we wait. Let's unpack this with Scripture:
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word sheol was used for what English and Greek speakers refer to as "Hades." Hades is where souls go as they await Jesus's second coming; it's the place of the dead, translated literally from the Greek as "the abode of the spirits of the dead," meaning the place where those heading to hell are gathered. Sheol, or Hades, is where Jesus descended after his death on the cross, grabbed the keys to hell, and from where he was raised again on the third day.
"Great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol" (Psalm 86:13).
Believers, on the other hand, rest in "paradise" (from Luke 23:43) as they await the time when Jesus will bring the new heaven and new earth with him upon his second coming. It's a place full of light and is otherwise known as "Abraham's bosom" (from the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19–31).
Regardless of the debate about these temporary "waiting rooms," what is widely and commonly understood are the eternal places assigned once Jesus returns with his sword to judge the nations. There is the new earth and new heaven (Revelation 21:1), and there is a final hell (Matthew 25:41, Revelation 20:15).
Who Ends Up in the Final Hell?
Once Jesus comes and claims his victory, the righteous will be ushered into the new heaven and new earth, while the unrighteous will be banished to hell with Satan and his demons. I don't say this as someone who knows how to differentiate those two groups, aside from what is found in the Bible. No one can look at someone and know their eternal destiny. Neither I nor anyone else know the depths of anyone's heart or their relationship with our heavenly Father. So I'll turn exclusively to Scripture to answer this question of who ends up in hell.
Psalm 9:17, NIV.
"The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God."
Proverbs 15:24, ESV.
"The path of life leads upward for the prudent, that he may turn away from Sheol beneath."
Revelation 21:8, NIV
"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
"While hell was created for Satan and the other fallen angels, the unsaved of humanity from all ages will be with them in this place of torment where 'there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth' (Mat. 13:42). This is the 'everlasting reward' of all that die in their sins." (Bedore)
Jude 1:7, ESV.
In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
Who judges people to know where they end up? Christ is the judge. In Matthew 25:41, it says, "Then he [Jesus] will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."
Not only is hell real, located in the spiritual plane we can't yet see, and a place for those who proclaim anything but the Gospel of Jesus Christ and shun God's truth, but hell is also a forever place. Those who reject Jesus as Christ are making an eternal choice to spend their days in darkness. In Revelation 14:11, we read, "The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.”
Please understand: It's not just those who do evil or worship the devil or false gods who are at risk of hell. We're all destined for hell unless we make an active choice for Christ and are transformed from the inside out, willing to be obedient to our holy God. In John 14:6, Jesus declares, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (The next blog post will tackle this truth is greater detail.) The faithful will enjoy eternal life, but those who don’t know Christ will "be punished with everlasting destruction" (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
In Hebrews 10:29, in the NLT, it says, "Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us." Those who reject Christ or those who are willfully disobedient to God's Word will find themselves in this eternally awful place and condition. For those who "know their master's will and but don't do it" will receive a far worse punishment than those who didn't know his will for "From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more" (Luke 12:47–48).
Avoiding Hell: How to Ensure Hope in Christ Trumps the Judgment of Christ.
For Christians, there is security found in the hope of Christ and Christ alone. Matthew 25:46 says, "These [those without Christ's saving grace and their own repentance] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous [those who trust in Jesus and surrender their lives to him] into eternal life.”
We know God's Will; it's found in His Word and in knowing Him and His characteristics through a life dedicated to prayer and devotion to Him.
Second Peter 2:5–9 (ESV) perfectly outlines God's redemptive plan for those who love Him.
"If he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment."
Take a moment now to read Romans 2.
Now, let's thank God for His kindness and patience, that He paved a way for our righteousness. Those who minimize the reality of hell are false teachers, motivated by the devil himself, intent on persuading as many people as possible that life here on earth is all there is. Those people couldn't be more wrong.
Like C. S. Lewis, if there was any way to persuade our Creator to remove the reality of hell from any of our lives, I would beg Him. In his book, The Problem of Pain, Lewis says, “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this [speaking of hell], if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and, specially, of Our Lord’s own words; it has always been held by Christendom; and it has the support of reason. If a game is played, it must be possible to lose it.”
I pray with all my might that, as you claim the name of Christ, you live accordingly and don't lose.
Next Month: Is There Really Only One Way to Salvation (Heaven)?
Guidelines
As you read, learn, and possibly comment on posts, there are a few guidelines I ask you to follow. First, we are all loved by God. We must receive that love and pour it back out for others. So all comments, whether in agreement or disagreement, must be respectful. This blog will neither be for calling out false teachers by name nor to allow for ongoing debate (at least on this platform). Instead, I seek to inform readers by pointing them to biblical truth while encouraging them to think critically. Most of all, I hope readers open God's Word more than perhaps they do now. I will use the Bible as the foundation for any statement or claim made. However, I am open to correction and alternative thoughts and conclusions based on a biblical worldview. Meanwhile, I ask everyone to be kind and compassionate in their responses. We're all learning. Thank you.
Legal Stuff
COPYRIGHT (c) 2025, Cortney Donelson. If you'd like to share or quote any of this content, please credit Cortney Donelson | "True or False?" Blog | vocem LLC and the post title and date.
Not a legal requirement, but I want to give a shout-out to my co-laborer (co-struggler?) in the battle to point people to the Bible and away from false teaching: Matt Dawson, lead pastor at Journey Church in Huntersville, NC. He has been kind enough to spar ideas, check my biblical accuracy, and review my conclusions.
W. Edward Bedore, Th.D. "Hell, Sheol, Hades, Paradise, and the Grave." Berean Bible Society, n.d., accessed Sept. 9, 2024, https://bereanbiblesociety.org/hell-sheol-hades-paradise-and-the-grave/.
Scriptures marked ESV are taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION (ESV): Scriptures taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION ® Copyright© 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission.
Scriptures marked NLT are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW LIVING TRANSLATION (NLT): Scriptures taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW LIVING TRANSLATION, Copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV): Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan.
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This was very educational, Cortney. The Scripture references are most helpful, as usual! Thank you for the work you put into this.