Is Hell God’s Enjoyment in Punishing the Unbeliever? (13)

What’s your immediate impression when you hear the word hell?

The word hell is translated 31 times in the KJV from the Hebrew word Sheol, which means grave; and 11 times from the Greek word Hades, which means the same thing (Acts 2:31). 12 times it is translated from the word Gehenna, which means “the valley of Hinnom”, referring to a burning dumpster outside Jerusalem. This is used as a figure of the final punishment of the wicked.

God will punish the wicked, yet He has given us all enough time, truth and power to chose the way of life. This is summarised in, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) As we study, it will be clear that God hates sin, but loves the sinner. That hell is the means of eradicating sin, including all who cling to it, and not as many assume, a means of perpetuating sin. So, Why, Where and When is hell? Let us continue with looking at God’s character.

Does God take pleasure in the punishment of the wicked? Ezekiel 33:11
“11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (See also 2 Peter 3:9, where it’s clear states that God wants no one to perish, but that would to repent of their wickedness.)

Was hell at any point prepared for the purpose of torturing sinners? Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46
“31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: … 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: … 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” (See also Hebrews 1:9, where we learn that God hates sin and will destroy it, but as the preceding text says, God loves the sinner and is doing all to save him. )

Are the fires of hell burning today? 2 Peter 3:7
“7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”

When will hell take place then? John 12:48
“48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”

Where will hell take place? Proverbs 11:31
“31 Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.”

How does this passage confirm the time, place and fairness of hell-punishment? Revelation 20:7-9, 13
“7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. … 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”

What does the lake of fire result in and who will be cast into it? Revelation 20:14-15
“14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

The wicked will punished with everlasting fire, what sort of fire were Sodom and Gomorrah punished with? Jude 1:7
“7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

What we the result of eternal fire for Sodom and Gomorrah, and to whom is this a warning today? 2 Peter 2:6
“6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;”

The Bible teaches everlasting and unchangeable punishment, not everlasting punishing, therefore eternal or everlasting fire means a fire with eternal or final consequences. 

But doesn’t the Bible teach that the fires of hell are unquenchable? Matthew 3:11-12
“11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

The gates of Jerusalem Jerusalem were burned with unquenchable fire, did it ever go out? Jeremiah 17:27
“27 But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.” (See also Nehemiah 2:3, 13, 17, which confirms that the unquenchable really means no man can put it out till the fire has destroyed its victim. The gates of Jerusalem was consumed, as in burned to the ground, then the fire was quenched.)

Will there be a time when the wicked will exist no more, or vanished? Psalm 37:9-10, 20, 36
“9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. … 20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. … 36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.”

What will be the sinners’ end condition according to the Old Testament? Obadiah 1:16
“16 For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.”

What is the reason of their judgment and how is it executed? Hebrews 10:26-27
“26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.”

How complete, final or everlasting will be the hell destruction of the unrepentant sinner? Malachi 4:1, 3
“1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. … 3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this this, saith the LORD of hosts.” (See also John 8:44, where Jesus declares Satan to be the father of lies, the originator, root of evil and his followers the branches.)

What will be Satan’s fate relating to hell? Ezekiel 28:16-19
“16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. 19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.”

Does the most famous text in the Bible teach that the those who remain sinners suffer eternal torment? John 3:16
“16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (See also Romans 6:23, which highlights that the wages of sin is death, not continually punished.)

Friend,

Is it clear to you, from what we have studied, that the purpose of hell is to eradicate sin, not perpetuate it? Jesus died the second death in your place so that you can spend eternity with Him; everlasting life is the only reward that will last forever. Is there anything that would keep you from joyfully giving your heart to Him today?