God, The Bible And Eternal Punishment - Jesus Christ Spoke More About Hell Than Heaven.

For good reason hell is not a popular subject. It is ignored, disbelieved, scoffed at and denied but nothing will alter its reality. Jesus Christ spoke more about hell than about heaven and said that the majority of people are heading there. In Matthew 7.13-14, He said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

The Bible describes hell as a place of eternal torment. In Matthew 25:46, Jesus said that the unrighteous "will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Taken at face value, this verse says that both life in heaven and punishment in hell are eternal.

Jesus said that people "will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" and into "the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth," (Matthew 8:12 and Matthew 13:42). In Mark 9:42-48, Jesus said that if a hand, foot or an eye caused you to sin, it would be better to lose it and enter heaven maimed than to be tossed into hell. Jesus said that in hell the worm doesn't die and the fire is never quenched. The fire represents external torment and the worm describes internal torment. There are many other verses which describe hell as a terrible, dark place of eternal, fearful punishment.

Some argue that hell is not eternal but that the unrighteous will, after just punishment, be annihilated. There are verses, and alternate interpretations of verses, which give strong support to annihilation. These can be found easily with a quick internet search on Annihilation and Conditional Immortality.

If the Beast and False Prophet are human then Rev. 19-20 make it clear that hell is eternal, as the following shows:

1) In Rev. 19:20, the Beast and the False Prophet are thrown into the Lake of Fire.

2) One thousand years later, the Devil is thrown into the Lake of Fire where the Beast and False prophet had been thrown and they will all be tormented day and night forever (Rev. 20:7-10). Because the Beast and False Prophet are still alive, after being in the lake of fire for 1000 years, it is obvious that hell is eternal.

Whatever hell is, it is certainly a place to fear because God is going to pour His anger out on those who reject His Son. God allowed Jesus to suffer greatly on the cross to bring us to Himself. How much more is He going punish those who reject His offer of forgiveness?

1 John 4:8 says that "God is love." God has proven this love to the world through His Son Jesus. However, little thought is given to the fact that He is also Holy, Righteous and Just and that He will do all of what John 3:36 says will be done ... "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." There will be eternal life in heaven for believers and God's wrath for those who reject Jesus.

Each and everyone of us has the choice given by God in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Please go to How To Be Saved, consider it carefully, and choose life.

Click here for my YouTube videos on the salvation.

Return to previous page                                                                                            Mick Alexander
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