What is Hell like?
What will Hell be like?
From (Luke 16:19-31 NIV)-
"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'
"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'
"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead. ' "
____________________________________________________________________________
Unfortunately for all unbelievers, even people who think they believe but don't produce the fruits of faith, there will be a complete and total lack of all comfort, in Hell; a lack of the daily comforts we all take for granted. When God says he brings rain on the Godly and ungodly alike, that means everyone is still in his grace; we all are still in his blessings while we are still in this life. We don't ever consider what the absence of those daily blessings would be like; what our daily lives would be without them.
Consider the pleasure of a nice cold can of pop or a nice slice of pie. Consider also how it feels working in the yard on a hot, blistery summer day, swamped with profuse sweat and dusty and dirty. The work needs to get done but the thoughts of a nice, cool shower are preeminent in the mind once the work is finished. Or, perhaps, the breathing in of a nice cool, refreshing breath of air. Maybe there's a sickness, like the flue, and the body is in so much discomfort. There might be dysentery? Think about that pain never ending.
All of these things would go without relief in Hell. Nobody in Hell would ever get that refreshing can of cold pop, nor would they ever get to taste of another piece of delicious pie, or any other tasty food that might be enjoyable here and now.
Nobody in Hell would ever get a cool, invigorating shower after dusty, dirty work and nobody would never again have a fresh breath of air. The painful, sickening feelings of an illness in the body like the flue would remain for all eternity. There would be no relief, no comforts at all in Hell. Satan certainly won't be able to provide anyone with any comforts. He'll be suffering just as much as anyone else in Hell.
Any kind of comforts, whatsoever, people currently have in this life; anything that would be considered a comfort and the things that are comforts that aren't considered, will be absent in hell.
The relief that is temporarily felt from scratching an itch. No relief from that itch in Hell. When God removes his presence from the condemned, he removes all of his blessings and his graciously bestowed, current comforts we all take for granted daily. The thought of how terrible prison life might be for anyone unfortunate enough to be sent there, hopefully never deserving for a believer, is a place of total comfort compared to Hell. The worst possible scenario that could ever become of anyone in this life would be like Heaven in Hell. Hell is a place of no comfort; completely devoid and lacking of comfort. One might think, "surely there would be a way to cope with the pain in Hell". That's the essence of Hell, nobody condemned to it will be able to cope with it. We are used to this life, it's all we know, we can't conceive of not being able to cope with something painful, even on the narrowest of margins.
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire *prepared for the devil and his angels*." (Matthew 25:41 NIV)
The eternal, almighty God has assigned two places for eternal domain: Heaven, where he has ordained for comfort, and Hell, which was prepared only for Satan and his angels. If he is able to send the strongest among us to Hell; if he is able to throw Satan, a being that is smarter and stronger than all of us combined, in Hell with ease, he is able to make it so that there is no hope; no comfort at any level.
There is hope, though, right now, in this life; hope for eternal life. God has made it incredibly simple to be safe from all this intense suffering and misery in Hell. He has provided everyone with a means of escape from this torment: his holy, precious, innocent son, Jesus Christ.
He says:
"He who believes and is baptized will be saved." (Mark 16:16a NIV)
"I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." (John 5:24-25 NIV)
"What must we do to do the works God requires? Jesus answered. The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." (John 6:28b-29 NIV)
"For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:40 NIV)
"I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life." (John 6:47 NIV)
What will Hell be like?
From (Luke 16:19-31 NIV)-
"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'
"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'
"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead. ' "
____________________________________________________________________________
Unfortunately for all unbelievers, even people who think they believe but don't produce the fruits of faith, there will be a complete and total lack of all comfort, in Hell; a lack of the daily comforts we all take for granted. When God says he brings rain on the Godly and ungodly alike, that means everyone is still in his grace; we all are still in his blessings while we are still in this life. We don't ever consider what the absence of those daily blessings would be like; what our daily lives would be without them.
Consider the pleasure of a nice cold can of pop or a nice slice of pie. Consider also how it feels working in the yard on a hot, blistery summer day, swamped with profuse sweat and dusty and dirty. The work needs to get done but the thoughts of a nice, cool shower are preeminent in the mind once the work is finished. Or, perhaps, the breathing in of a nice cool, refreshing breath of air. Maybe there's a sickness, like the flue, and the body is in so much discomfort. There might be dysentery? Think about that pain never ending.
All of these things would go without relief in Hell. Nobody in Hell would ever get that refreshing can of cold pop, nor would they ever get to taste of another piece of delicious pie, or any other tasty food that might be enjoyable here and now.
Nobody in Hell would ever get a cool, invigorating shower after dusty, dirty work and nobody would never again have a fresh breath of air. The painful, sickening feelings of an illness in the body like the flue would remain for all eternity. There would be no relief, no comforts at all in Hell. Satan certainly won't be able to provide anyone with any comforts. He'll be suffering just as much as anyone else in Hell.
Any kind of comforts, whatsoever, people currently have in this life; anything that would be considered a comfort and the things that are comforts that aren't considered, will be absent in hell.
The relief that is temporarily felt from scratching an itch. No relief from that itch in Hell. When God removes his presence from the condemned, he removes all of his blessings and his graciously bestowed, current comforts we all take for granted daily. The thought of how terrible prison life might be for anyone unfortunate enough to be sent there, hopefully never deserving for a believer, is a place of total comfort compared to Hell. The worst possible scenario that could ever become of anyone in this life would be like Heaven in Hell. Hell is a place of no comfort; completely devoid and lacking of comfort. One might think, "surely there would be a way to cope with the pain in Hell". That's the essence of Hell, nobody condemned to it will be able to cope with it. We are used to this life, it's all we know, we can't conceive of not being able to cope with something painful, even on the narrowest of margins.
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire *prepared for the devil and his angels*." (Matthew 25:41 NIV)
The eternal, almighty God has assigned two places for eternal domain: Heaven, where he has ordained for comfort, and Hell, which was prepared only for Satan and his angels. If he is able to send the strongest among us to Hell; if he is able to throw Satan, a being that is smarter and stronger than all of us combined, in Hell with ease, he is able to make it so that there is no hope; no comfort at any level.
There is hope, though, right now, in this life; hope for eternal life. God has made it incredibly simple to be safe from all this intense suffering and misery in Hell. He has provided everyone with a means of escape from this torment: his holy, precious, innocent son, Jesus Christ.
He says:
"He who believes and is baptized will be saved." (Mark 16:16a NIV)
"I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." (John 5:24-25 NIV)
"What must we do to do the works God requires? Jesus answered. The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." (John 6:28b-29 NIV)
"For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:40 NIV)
"I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life." (John 6:47 NIV)