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| Hell: Loose icon in Gelati monastery. (Wikipedia) |
(Part of a series on death and the hereafter)
Hell was not created to punish human beings. God created hell to punish those angelic beings which rebelled against him. There is no possibility of redemption for them. Though hell was not created for human beings,
because of
sin, it is our default destination for punishment with the rebellious angels
because God’s character of holiness requires punishment of rebellion and sin.
Hell exists for retribution of evil deeds (Matt 16:27; Luke 12:47-48; 2 Peter
2:13; Jude 15; Rev 14:9-11; Rom 1:18-32) and the righteous rule of God (Matt
25:31-46; Rom 12:19; 1 Cor 15:24-25; 2 Cor 5:10).Hell was not created to punish human beings. God created hell to punish those angelic beings which rebelled against him. There is no possibility of redemption for them. Though hell was not created for human beings,
What
is Hell like? Hell is the total absence of God and anything holy (2
Thess. 1:9), beyond human comprehension. Hell is a place of utter misery (Matt
13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28). The Bible has numerous images to
describe the awful reality of Hell’s punishment. It is a place of horrible
destruction (2 Peter 3:7). “Fiery hell” and “lake of fire” indicates the agony
of incineration (Matt. 5:22; 13:50; 18:9; Rev 20:15). Jude 13 describes hell as
“black darkness” devoid of all but pain. Matthew describes the intensity as
“weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:12; 13:42, 50). One of the agonies is
the conscious awareness that others you have influenced in life may be headed
to hell based on your example and encouragement (Luke 16:27-31).
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