Does Hell exist?

Jesus said there is a Hell.

In Luke 16, Jesus spoke of a certain rich man that ended up in Hell when he died. The rich man was being tormented in flame. This place had a boundary called a great gulf, which prevented the rich man from leaving.

You may think this was just a parable that Jesus used to show us something, but Jesus always states when he is speaking a parable and he never stated that in this story. Also he gave the name of the poor man, which he does not do in parables.

The parable excuse to not believe that Hell exists, has been used since a long time ago. In Ezekiel 20:49 the people are saying that the description of Hell, which Ezekiel just gave from the word of the LORD, was a parable.

If God loved us then why would he have created Hell?

You have probably heard the often quoted John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." It is true. God loved us so much that he was willing to give his only begotten Son that we might have eternal life.

God did not create Hell for mankind. He created it for the Devil and his angels according to Matthew 25:41, "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:"

Doesn't God want us all to live eternally in Heaven?

Yes he does as II Peter 3:9 shows, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." He doesn't want you to go to Hell, but he also does not force you to go to Heaven. He leaves the choice to you.

Do you just burn up into non-existence in Hell?

No. You have an eternal soul that will spend eternity in one of two places, Heaven or Hell.

In Revelation 14:11 the Bible says, "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." There's that torment again. Those in Hell will not burn away, but instead will burn continually. You may try to claim that that's not fair to have to burn forever. Well it is fair, God gives everyone a choice. The choice is yours.

Do I have a choice about where I spend eternity?

Yes. The gift of eternal life is available to you. It is truly a gift, not something you can earn. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

You accept his gift by:

Recognizing and admitting that you are a sinner. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
Realizing that you deserve eternal punishment for your sins. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death;" And death is eternal torment in flame. Revelation 20:14-15 says, "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."
Believing that Jesus Christ was crucified and died for your sins, and was resurrected into Heaven. Romans 5:8 says, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Confess to God that you are a Hell deserving sinner, tell God that you want to accept Jesus' finished work on the cross as payment for your sins and ask him to take you to Heaven when you die and to be your personal Saviour.

That's all. If you have done this and you meant it from your heart, then you are now an adopted child of God. The Holy Spirit is now in you and he will help you change your life for God and he will also help you understand more of the Bible. The next thing you should do is go buy yourself a King James Bible and start reading, Galatians through Philemon. Praise God! You're saved!

If you have chosen not to accept God's gift of eternal life at this time then you have rejected Jesus' finished work and you are still on your way to Hell. But that can change! You must accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour before you die or it'll be too late. You don't know when or how you'll die, so don't count on putting it off until you're on your death bed. You might not get that luxury.

Scott R. Roffers