Did you know that originally, God made Hell for the Devil and his angels (demons)? Hell was not made for man until sin entered in through Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: Matthew 25:41
Hell is also the place where those who are sinners and wicked go after their death on Earth, ( ie. if they don't repent ! ).
Some people say that there is no Hell, there is no place of torment after death, and that we are actually living in Hell now. Some say that Hell is the grave. Others say that hell is a temporary place to go until something happens to make God let you out. If you believe in God's Holy Word (the KJV), you know that these beliefs are completely untrue.
According to God's Word, there is no worse place than Hell, and once there, there is no escape nor comfort anymore!
This is perhaps the best illustration of Hell as a place in eternity for those who die lost and never repent (i.e., quit sinning).
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. Luke 16:19-31
Hell is a place with fire, a place of torment, a place that is very hot. Worst of all, it is a place of Eternity. In this passage of Scripture, we also see the power of God's Word. Abraham, in effect, told the rich man that even a great miracle of someone returning from the dead to witness to the lost is not as effective as those who speak God's words, and at times have miracles following.
Here is another vivid description of Hell, where its occupants are tormented all day and all night.
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Revelation 20:10
Hell is a very bad place to wind up when life on Earth is over! The worst place!
Who will go to Hell?
Anyone who dies unsaved will go to Hell. All who are not believers in Christ Jesus when they die will go to Hell.
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Revelation 21:8
All who are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life will end up in Hell.
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 21:11-15.
All of us will be judged by God. Some will enter into everlasting life; some will enter into everlasting damnation.
All who live wickedly will be sent to Hell.
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. Psalm 9:17
Paradise
There are some doctrines that teach that there is a place of rest in the center of the Earth, and that some people who don't go straight to Heaven when they die go there to be made worthy of being transferred to Heaven at a later time (Purgatory).
At one time in our Bible history, there was such a place, called Paradise, where all who were righteous, and even some who the Bible calls "sometime disobedient", went after death. (Refer back to the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Lazarus went to Abraham's bosom; Abraham was in Paradise.) Jesus Himself went to Paradise to preach to the people there and afterwards He took them to Heaven.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43 ( Jesus during his crucifixion speaking to one of the thieves next to him )
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) Ephesians 4:8-10
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. I Peter 3:18-20
King David even prophesied that Christ would descend when He died.
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Psalm 16:10
Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. Acts 2:29-31
Just in case someone is not sure that David was speaking prophetically of Christ, the Apostle Peter just cleared it up for us.
In Conclusion
Who has the power to send people to Hell? Only One, God Almighty, our Father!
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: II Peter 2:4-9
But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Luke 12:5
It is imperative that we fear God, which will keep us from sinning, so that we can enter into Heaven instead of Hell, when we die. May God help us to do the things necessary to receive eternal life with Him, in Jesus' name. Amen!
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