Many people have their own belief as to what Hell is. These beliefs can be influenced by teachings, movies, or even one’s own interpretation of what the Bible has to say about the subject. However, what if we do not really understand what Hell is all about and our misinterpretation of Hell influences whether we believe in God, or we are even contrary to him if in fact we do believe that he exist?Movies and fiction writers have done a very good job of misrepresenting what Hell is really like. Much of the story lines adopted have to do with some eternal struggle between God and Satan, and whoever has the most souls at the end is the winner. Satan is often portrayed as some omnipotent demon beast with horns and he rules the underworld known as Hell, where all of the truly evil people go, are tortured, and in some cases are sent back into the world to do the evil lord’s bidding.
When people go to Hell they are tormented with the sheer heat of Hell and Satan’s minions actually do the tormenting of those unfortunate enough to find themselves doomed to an eternity in the fiery inferno. In many stories, Satan is depicted as influencing and actively participating in the lives of men from his fiery base of operations and converting them to his side of the battle against God, whether it is through temptation, or through simple deception, or through brute force.
Then there are those individuals that believe what they have been told by others that have no actual knowledge and the misinformation perpetuates itself through word of mouth. These are the one’s that believe that everybody that sins is going to Hell and that there is no hope in avoiding it, so why bother trying.
Well, let us tackle Satan first. Contrary to popular belief, Satan is not an omnipotent being with power that is comparable to God’s. Satan is a created being and is in fact an Angel. No, not an Angel in the good sense of the word, but he is an Angel which rebelled against God and led a third of the Angels away with him. In the book of Job of the Bible, we are given a clear picture as to the extent of Satan’s power.
Satan explains to God that he has not been able to affect Job because God had placed his protection on him. It is apparent that Satan has no power other than what God allows him to have. In general, God does use Satan for his purposes even if Satan would like to believe otherwise, everyone has his purpose in God’s plan, whether it is for good or evil.
The only power that Satan has is the power to tempt man with what is already inside of man, and that is the propensity to rebel against God and to perform evil deeds. Contrary to popular belief, Satan does not dispute the words of God, but instead will often use the words of God to deceive people into making the wrong decisions.
However, do not be deceived because Satan does have a lot of power. Remember, he is an Angel and the Angels are much more powerful then men are. In addition, he has been around a long time and with that comes knowledge. Even at the beginning he was more cunning then men, how much more so given the millennia that have passed since creation. It is very unlikely that a man can do battle against Satan or any Angel for that matter and be victorious in even the smallest matters, except that God is with him.
Hell itself is another matter entirely. For all intensive purposes, Hell is an actual place. Now, whether or not it is a physical location according to our own three-dimensional reality, or it is another dimension altogether is not clear. My own opinion is that it exists in another dimensional reality and is not a place that we can physically locate.
Although, I have heard some scholars claim it is in the center of the Earth, and some have even ventured another hypothesis claiming that the planet Venus fits the description perfectly. However, I believe that there are many places that fit the description of Hell quite nicely, so it is unlikely that any man will know until he gets there.
Hell itself is a holding area for those wicked people awaiting the final judgment of God. This is evidenced by the fact that it is stated in the book of Revelation that “Death,” “Hell,” “The Beast,” “The False Prophet,” and all of those that followed them are thrown into the “Lake of Fire.” The Lake of Fire is known as the “Second Death.” I must ask then, if this is the second death, how can it be death if you live forever?
This is where the misunderstanding comes into play and many people have a very weak understanding of what the Scriptures actually say about the matter. It is this “Lake of Fire,” which people confuse for Hell. Hell is likened by Jesus as a holding area for those that have died and await final judgment, evidenced by the story of “Lazarus and the Rich Man.”
The rich man does claim to be in a flame, however this state of existence only last until the final judgment, and the second death. Now, we must ask why the rich man is in this state of torment. This man lived his life with everything good, but he never had pity, nor did he have mercy on a man, which was afflicted when it was in his power to help.
We are told in the Bible that the fire, which the wicked are cast into, is never quenched. Well, that is true; however, it does not mean that you burn in it forever. Quite simply, the fire is what is never quenched but the person tossed into it does burn up. If a man has no compassion or mercy in him, then why should he not be in torment for a time?
In the Bible, we are also told that, the smoke of the torment of those cast into the Lake of Fire rise up into the Heavens forever and ever. However, we are also told that the prayers of the Saints rise up into Heaven in the same fashion. It is clear that this is a Spiritual description and not a physical one.
The reason that we can reconcile this is simple really. The only way that you can be given eternal life is by God granting it to you. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that you have eternal life other than in trusting and following God. If you are sent to the Lake of Fire and you burn forever, have you not received eternal life? It may be lousy, but it is eternal life regardless of how bad it is, and that is simply not scriptural.
In many instances in the Bible, we are given examples of the chaff being burned up after being separated from the wheat. The whole point of burning up the chaff is to discard it, not to keep it around and torment it. Now, that is not to say that there will not be some torment associated with being burned up in a lake of fire, I am sure that it will be very tortuous, but you will be burnt up and it is not an eternal torment. Nevertheless, it is not a fate that I wish to share and neither should anyone else.
Not everyone that sins is going into Hell or the Lake of Fire. It is likely that those that live a life of sin and have no regret or remorse are likely to be in danger of such a judgment. However, there is one sure bet that will keep you out of the fiery lake and that is to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. This is the plan of God for Salvation in that all that call upon the name of the Lord has the power to become the Sons of God.
Sources
The Holy Bible (King James Version)
Job 1:10
Revelation 12:9
Ecclesiastes 3:17
Revelation 19:20-20:50
Luke 16:23-25
John 1:12
Mathew 3:12
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