The Nature of Hell According to the Bible

The biblical data speaks loud and clear concerning the nature of hell and the eternality of suffering.  Albert Barnes comments on 2 Thes. 1:9, “It never is in clearer language in any creed or confession of faith, and if it is not true that the wicked will be punished forever, then it must be admitted that it would not have been possible to reveal the doctrine in human language!”⁴⁵

Regarding the nature of the eternal fire, it must be in some sense real but not always physical.  The unbeliever will be given an imperishable resurrection body (John 5:28-29; Rev. 20:13-15), so a literal fire as we know it would not do them physical harm.  Matt. 25:41 further confirms this idea by stating that the fire of hell was originally prepared for the devil and the fallen angels. This fire must be metaphorical, for a physical fire cannot harm a spirit being without a body.⁴⁶ Finally, the above figures of speech listed to describe hell could be misconstrued as contradictory if taken completely literally.  It is eternal fire, and yet dark; a second death, and yet eternal consciousness; a dump with a bottom, and yet a bottomless pit.  A metaphorical view of the fire would be consistent with Christ’s use of dramatic language to describe hell (Matt. 18:6-9, 26:24; Mark 9:42-48).  However one chooses to interpret the descriptions of hell, it is important not to develop a soft view of the unbeliever’s destiny.  The nature of the fire in hell must be seen in the larger picture as a relatively minor issue once it is accepted that hell involves eternal, conscious torment away from the presence of God.

The scriptures above may be summarized to present the unified Biblical view of hell.  First and foremost, hell is eternal (Isaiah 66:24; Matt. 18:8, 25:41, 25:46; 2 Thes. 1:9; Jude 1:7), everlasting (Dan. 12:2; Matt. 25:46), and lasts forever and ever (Jude 1:13; Rev. 14:11, 20:10).  There is no other way to state it; hell will never cease to exist.  Secondly, hell itself is described as a lake of fire (Rev. 19:20, 20:10, 14, 15, 21:8), eternal fire (Matt. 18:8, 25:41; Jude 1:7), unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43), the second death (Rev. 20:14), and darkness (Matt. 8:12, 22:13, 25:30; Jude 1:13).  The wicked consigned to hell will never cease to exist and their body will never be consumed (Isaiah 66:24; Mark 9:43, 48); they must face eternal punishment (Matt. 25:46), eternal destruction (Matt. 10:28; 2 Thes. 1:9), and their torment will last forever and ever (Rev. 14:11, 20:10).  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 8:12, 22:13, 25:30), they will be weak (Isaiah 14:9-10) and lack any interaction with those outside of hell (Ecc. 9:4-6).  Upon the unbeliever’s death he will be an abhorrence (Isaiah 66:24), shut out from the fellowship of God (2 Thes. 1:9), experiencing God’s wrath (Rom. 2:8; Heb. 10:27; Rev. 14:10), anger (Rev. 14:10), indignation (Rom. 2:8), retribution (2 Thes. 1:8), vengeance (Heb. 10:30), and judgment (Matt. 25:31-46; Heb. 9:27, 10:27, 30; Rev. 20:11-15).  Hell will be dreadful and painful for all, but for some it will be worse than others (Matt. 5:22; Rev. 20:12-14).  Finally, there will be no second chance for the unbeliever to change his destiny (Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:29; Luke 16:26; Heb. 9:27).  All in all, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31).