Hell, in general terms, means the eternal place of incarceration for those that are not true Christians [refer to "Salvation"]. When reading God's Word, the reader must be careful in identifying the use of this word. In some cases it means grave, while in other cases it may mean the place of disembodied spirits without any necessary implication as to their happiness or unhappiness. The different aspects of the word, however, does not affect the correctness of the belief indicated by the common use of the term, a belief supported by many passages in God's Word.
The actual location of hell is actually where ever God is not. For hell is the absence of God. Or, more correctly, where ever God has decided to put it. Some believe that hell is located in the middle of our planet earth. They back up this belief with the doctrine of "Christ's descent into hell" (Hades) which was to have happened between His death and resurrection.
God's Word gives us a lot of clues to the kind of existence that will be endured in the "lake of fire":
In Revelation 20:10 John says that it will be "burning sulfur" which means that it will be an extreme heat and really smells bad. In the same verse claims that the "torment" will be continuous and forever.
In Matthew 8:12 & 13:42 we learn that there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth".
In Matthew 25:46 it is referred to as "eternal punishment".
Luke 16:22-24 gives us more of a picture "I am in agony in this fire".
John 3:16 uses the word "perish" to describe hell.
Revelation 20:10 "tormented day and night for ever and ever"
In Revelation 20:1-2 John describes it as a "fiery lake of burning sulfur" where the sulfur is used to increase the heat intensity.
The story of the beggar and the rich man (Luke 16:22-24):[edit]
In this short story Luke tells of a beggar and a rich man that die before Jesus' resurrection. The "beggar", which represents those that were following God's laws and awaiting their Messiah, went to "Abraham's side" which would be Paradise. While the "rich man" represents those that rebel against God and went to "hell". Then Luke gives us a very vivid picture of the torment, pain and suffering that the rich man is having to deal with. The emphasis here is not just who will go to hell but the pain and suffering that will be endured for eternity.
In Luke 16:22-24 the beggar dies prior to Jesus' resurrection "... the angels carried him to Abraham's side. ..." which is where most scholars believe was a holding place for those Old Testament believers. These true Old Testament believers in God were waiting for their Messiah (Jesus). Then in Ephesians 4:8-10 the Apostle Paul states "This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." 9 (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)" possibly to proclaim Himself to all of those waiting at Abraham's Side and also to take them to heaven.
Some scholars believe that hell is comprised of 3 separate compartments:
Abraham's Side - This first compartment is called Abraham's "side" or "bosom." This is where the Old Testament saints, as explained above, were placed till Jesus' resurrection. In essence, this was a wonderful place with no pain or suffering, but a good place waiting for Jesus to accomplish God's will in being our sacrifice for sins. This compartment is empty now with no indication, in God's Word, that anyone will ever occupy this compartment.
Hell - In this compartment of Hades is the place of general torment. In Luke 16:19-31 we see that the rich man was not yet in the "lake of fire", but was in much torment. All those that are not true Christians end up in this compartment until the judgment day when Jesus is seated on His throne.
The Pit, Abyss or "lake of fire" - This is where God sent the fallen angels described in Genesis 6:1-6 "... The Nephilim were on the earth ..." [refer to "Giants"] to hell described both in 2 Peter 2:4 "... but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;" and also in Jude 6 "... he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains ..." Then in John's book of Revelation we see the lake of fire again:
Revelation 9:1-16 the 7 years of tribulation [refer to "Tribulation"], where the "star" or Angel releases them to "torment people for 5 months".
Revelation 20:1-3 Satan is thrown into the Abyss for a thousand years [refer to the "Millennium"] followed by a short release and battle with God's Angels.
Satan loses, and in Revelation 20:11-14 we learn that all whose name is not written in the "Book of Life" (not Born again Christians) will be cast into the "lake of fire" with Satan and all of his demons.
God's Word tells us that after Jesus died on the cross and prior to His ascension from the grave, He went down to hell (or more correctly Hades). Exactly what He did down there is a bit sketchy, but for the most part scholars believe that He did 1 or all of the following 3 tasks:
He went down there to Abraham's Side to take all Old Testament believers to heaven.
He went down to Hell to proclaim His presence to all non-believers in the one true God 1 Peter 3:18-20 "... He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. ..."
And/or He went down to the lake of fire to proclaim His presence to the fallen angels called Nephilim that were cast there because of their evil acts (fallen angels marrying women in Genesis 6:1-6 "... The Nephilim were on the earth in those days ...") [refer to "Giants"]
The first death is the human bodily death on earth while the reference in Revelation 21:8 "...fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." is the death of the spiritual being in relation to God. God's existence or presence in the lake of fire is not possible. So anything in the lake is non-existent to God or more correctly, dead to God.
For most people the concept of hell is either ignored or not fully grasped. This is mostly due to their concept of God not being evil. Which is true, but what they fail to realize is that God is an absolutely just God and must punish those that rebel against Him. Plus, God cannot be in communion with any creature that has rebelled against Him. For some they realize that hell is their eternal destination without realizing the intensity of their suffering. They will spend eternity realizing their error in total loneliness and darkness.
The "lake of fire" is the ultimate incarceration for all people that are not written in the "book of life" [refer to Salvation]. More than that, it is a place where God does not exist, darkness and loneliness will be forever without end. Matthew calls it (Matthew 25:46) "eternal punishment", (Matthew 13:40-42) "fiery furnace ... there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth". Luke (Luke 16:22-24) takes it a step further and paints a picture for us "have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire." The book of Revelation also describes it as being under lock and key (Revelation 20:1-2) "angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss" and that the fire is as (Revelation 21:8) "burning sulfur". Finally, this process of throwing people into this fiery lake (Revelation 21:8) "This is the second death" where the first death was earthly, while this death is spiritual (spiritual separation from God). An eternity knowing wh