Hell is not a popular subject today and never has been. It is rarely mentioned in many churches, although the Bible has a lot to say about it. Jesus spoke very clearly about the reality of hell with its horror, agony, and torment. Hell is not figurative or symbolic. It is literal. It is the eternal home of those who reject the only way of salvation offered by a loving God, through Jesus Christ, his son.
Hell is a place of eternal and unquenchable fire. It is referred to as a lake of fire, a place of everlasting burnings, a furnace of fire, a place of fire and brimstone, a fiery lake of burning sulfur and a place where people gnaw their tongues in agony because of their pain. It is also spoken of in the Bible as a place of chains of darkness, gloomy dungeons and of the blackest darkness.
Jesus told a parable about a rich man and a beggar by the name of Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. It is a story about a rich man who lived in the lap of luxury. By way of contrast, Lazarus was a beggar who daily laid at the rich man's gate, content to eat the crumbs from the rich man's table. The rich man died and went to hell; Lazarus died and went to heaven.
In hell, the rich man lifted up his eyes and prayed for Father Abraham to have mercy and pity on him by sending Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool his tongue, because he was tormented in the flame. Abraham told him this was impossible, because a great chasm was set between heaven and hell. Upon realizing his own eternal fate, the rich man then asked Abraham to send someone to his five living brothers and warn them not to come to the horrible place of hell.
The Bible only has one good thing to say about hell, and that is that no one need go there. Salvation is a free gift from God made possible through the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross for the sins of all humanity. If we will totally forsake our sins and confess them with sorrow to God and place faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross and through the empty tomb, we can be saved.
If you are not sure of your eternal destiny, you can be. Place your faith in Christ, and do not insist on paying for your own sins through all eternity. You can escape the horror of hell, and live eternally in the holiness of heaven. Listen to what the Bible says about hell. You will be glad you did.
