The subject of hell is a frightening one to discuss. For some, the mere thought of hell sends shivers of the spine, causes one to lose all thought processes, and maybe even pace the room. For others, hell doesn’t seem to scare them. In a video for the Freedom from Religion Ron Reagan (president Reagan’s son) said these words about himself, “Ron Reagan, lifelong atheist, not afraid of burning in hell.” “Some jokingly said they did not want to go to heaven because all their friends were going to hell!”[1] Dispositions like these cause the honest, fearful, and sincere Bible students to shutter, because they realize what God says about hell. Is hell a place for which to look forward? Should people be excited to be cast into a place so feared by many for millenniums? Is it acceptable to talk about hell haphazardly and without some sense of fear? Here are four reasons why you will not enjoy hell if you were to ever go.
Because You Will Be in Pain Forever. No one likes pain. There are pains of the body and mind. Pains that inflict self, loved ones, and friends. Pain that is almost unbearable and persistent. Hell’s pain; however, is much different. The word “hell” comes from the Greek word geenna (Gehenna). Its Hebrew origin takes one back to valley of Hinnom, which was a place where dead things were burned. During Judah’s idolatrous period, children were burned there (cf. 2 Kings 23:10). Mounce observed that the fires kept burning! Jesus said hell was a “furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:50). John said it was a “lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15). This fiery furnace will never go out, as Mark recorded Jesus as having said that it “never shall be quenched” (Mark 9:43, cf. 44, 45, 46, 48). John observed that those in hell would find no rest either: “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night” (Revelation 14:11). How hot will this fire be? John pictured hell as being with brimstone, which boils at over 800 Fo! Although these are pictures, it illustrates the pain that exists in hell. The pain in hell will be so unbearable that it is likened to the “gnashing of teeth”—“used to denote extreme anguish and utter despair.”[2] While earthly pain is often relentless and perilous, hellish pain is extreme and far beyond anything one could imagine. On earth, thankfully, we have medicines and doctors to cure a plethora of problems, but in hell, pain will exist with no hope of recovery (cf. Luke 16:26), for hell is eternal (Daniel 12:2; Matthew 25:46; 2 Thessalonians 1:9).
Because You Will Have No Light. Light brings comfort, peace, and ease. It is light that illuminates paths and dark rooms (cf. Psalm 119:105; Matthew 5:16), exposes things done in the dark (John 3:19-21), and gives life (John 8:12). Darkness makes us shutter. Whether it be a dark forest, a dark hallway, or a dark room, the absence of light is scary. While you may say “I’m not afraid of the dark” now, you should be of hell’s darkness. Jesus described hell as being a place of outer darkness (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30). Jude described the reservation of the false teachers as “blackness of darkness” (Jude 13). About Jesus’ wording, Albert Barnes wrote:
It is not improbable that the image was taken from Roman dungeons or
prisons. They were commonly constructed under ground. They were shut out
from the light of the sun. They were, of course, damp, dark, and unhealthy,
and probably most filthy. Masters were in the habit of constructing such
prisons for their slaves, where the unhappy prisoner, without light, or company, or comfort, spent his days and nights in weeping from grief, and in vainly
gnashing his teeth from indignation.
Perhaps it will be darkness that you can feel. Perhaps it will be so crowded that one would not be able to see who it is they are bumping into as he is wailing. Second, you will not like hell because it will be like that dark ally, that unlit field, or that shadowy forest, only infinitely worse. The feeling of insecurity in this black darkness will be everlasting.
Endnotes
[1]Douglas Hoff, https://www.churchofchristinbridgewater.org/resources/blog/2019/08/19/the-reality-of-hell
[2]Thayer
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