What is hell?

Understanding Matthew 25:46

Hell is one of the most difficult doctrines in Christianity. It is also one of the most clearly taught. Jesus spoke about hell more than any other figure in Scripture, and His warnings were neither casual nor ambiguous.

The biblical vocabulary:

The English word 'hell' translates several different biblical terms, and confusing them leads to misunderstanding:

1. Sheol (Hebrew) / Hades (Greek) — The realm of the dead in general. In the Old Testament, 'sheol' is where all the dead go — righteous and wicked alike. It is not primarily a place of punishment but a shadowy, diminished existence. The Hebrew concept of sheol is not identical to the later Christian doctrine of hell. In the New Testament, 'Hades' serves a similar function, though Jesus' parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) depicts a divided afterlife with comfort and torment.

2. Gehenna (Greek, from Hebrew ge-hinnom) — The Valley of Hinnom, a ravine south of Jerusalem where child sacrifice was practiced under kings Ahaz and Manasseh (2 Chronicles 28:3, 33:6). King Josiah desecrated it (2 Kings 23:10), and it became a symbol of divine judgment. By Jesus' time, 'Gehenna' was the standard term for the place of final punishment. Jesus uses it 11 times in the Gospels, always as a warning of ultimate and irreversible judgment (Matthew 5:22, 29-30; 10:28; 23:33; Mark 9:43-48).

3. The lake of fire (Revelation 19:20, 20:10, 14-15) — The final destination described in Revelation. Death and Hades themselves are thrown into the lake of fire (20:14), suggesting that Hades is a temporary holding place and the lake of fire is the permanent, final state.

4. Tartarus (2 Peter 2:4) — Used only once, describing where God confined fallen angels. This is not a place for human souls.

What Jesus said about hell:

Jesus' language about hell is vivid and terrifying:

• 'Eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels' (Matthew 25:41)
• 'Where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched' (Mark 9:48, quoting Isaiah 66:24)
• 'Outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth' (Matthew 8:12, 22:13, 25:30)
• 'Eternal punishment' contrasted with 'eternal life' — using the same Greek word (aionios) for both, making it impossible to affirm one as eternal without affirming the other (Matthew 25:46)
• 'Fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell' (Matthew 10:28)

Jesus did not present hell as a metaphor or a state of mind. He presented it as a real, terrible, and avoidable destiny. And critically, He presented it as a reason for urgent repentance and faith — not as a tool for control or manipulation.

Three major views on hell:

1. Eternal conscious torment (traditional view) — The majority position throughout church history. Hell is conscious, unending punishment for those who die in unrepentant rebellion against God. Proponents cite Matthew 25:46 (eternal punishment parallel to eternal life), Revelation 14:11 ('the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever'), and the rich man's conscious suffering in Hades (Luke 16:23-24). This view is held by the Catholic Church, most Protestant denominations, and the Eastern Orthodox tradition.

2. Annihilationism / conditional immortality — The view that the unsaved are ultimately destroyed (cease to exist) rather than tormented forever. Proponents argue that 'eternal punishment' could mean a punishment with eternal results (permanent destruction, not permanent torturing). They cite passages describing the wicked being 'destroyed' (Matthew 10:28, 2 Thessalonians 1:9), 'burned up' (Matthew 3:12), and 'perishing' (John 3:16). Key evangelical advocates include John Stott and Edward Fudge.

3. Universalism — The view that all people will ultimately be saved. Proponents argue that God's love and Christ's atonement are so powerful that no one will be permanently lost. They cite passages like 1 Timothy 2:4 ('God wants all people to be saved'), Colossians 1:20 (God reconciling 'all things'), and 1 Corinthians 15:22 ('in Christ all will be made alive'). This view has been held by some notable theologians (Origen, George MacDonald) but has been rejected by the vast majority of Christian traditions as contradicting Jesus' explicit warnings.

Why hell exists:

The most important theological question about hell is not its temperature but its justice. Why would a loving God allow anyone to suffer eternally?

Several considerations:

1. Sin against an infinite God carries infinite weight. The severity of an offense is proportional to the dignity of the one offended. Rebellion against the infinitely holy, infinitely good Creator is not a minor infraction.

2. Hell is the consequence of human choice. C.S. Lewis wrote: 'The doors of hell are locked from the inside.' God does not drag unwilling people into judgment; He honors the choice of those who persistently reject Him. Hell is the ultimate respect for human freedom — even the freedom to choose wrong.

3. God has done everything possible to prevent it. The cross is the measure of God's desire to save. He did not spare His own Son (Romans 8:32). The existence of hell makes the gospel urgent, not cruel — it means the stakes are real and the offer of salvation is infinitely precious.

4. Hell vindicates justice. Every human heart longs for justice — for wrongs to be made right, for evil to be punished. Hell is the final assurance that no injustice will go unanswered. Without it, the worst atrocities in human history would ultimately go uncorrected.

Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44) because its people would not accept salvation. The doctrine of hell should produce in Christians not smug satisfaction but urgent compassion — the kind that compels us to share the gospel while there is still time.