Hell - What Does the Bible Say?

On this page, we consider what the Bible says about hell. The Bible is our standard, it is God’s Word to us and therefore we must approach any question with going to the Scriptures and examining them carefully. Consider some of the common questions asked below:

Does Believing in An Eternal Hell Really Matter?

Does the Bible really teach that there is conscious eternal punishment for anyone who is outside of Christ? You might say, “I have heard of many who teach we will just be annihilated, and I have found comfort in that.” Well, what does the Bible say? Read this article: Believing in Eternal Punishment Matters

Is Hell Truly Necessary?

Why would God need to have a lake of fire? Is this truly necessary? Often people will want to argue with God and they fail to comprehend His holiness and how for God to be just He must punish the wicked. Video: Hell is Necessary

Will Most People Go to the Lake of Fire?

When I read the Scriptures it says in Matthew 7:21-23 that few there will be who find eternal life. Does this teach that most people will end up in hell? Video: Few People Make it to Heaven | God Justly Punishes People We Know and Love

An Overview of The Doctrine of Eternal Punishment

In this Bible study from 2012, Tim Conway gives an overview of the Biblical doctrine of hell. One of his own daughters was there that night and it led to her conversion. Video: The Doctrine of Hell. Also this series: Part 1 | Part 2.

J.C. Ryle On Those Who Say There is a Non-Eternal Punishment

I cannot reconcile the concept of a “non-eternal” punishment with the language of the Bible. Its advocates speak loudly about love and kindness, and say that it does not harmonize with the merciful and compassionate character of God. But what does the Scripture say? Who ever spoke such loving and merciful words as our Lord Jesus Christ? Yet, His are the lips which three times over describe the consequence of refusing to repent of sin, as “the worm that does not die, and the fire that is not quenched.” He is the Person who speaks in one sentence of the wicked going away to “eternal punishment,” and the righteous to “eternal life.” (Mark 9:43-48; Matthew 25:46) Who does not remember the Apostle Paul’s words about love? Yet he is the very Apostle who says, the wicked “will be punished with everlasting destruction.” (2 Thessalonians 1:9) Who does not know the spirit of love that runs through all John’s Gospel and Epistles? Yet the beloved Apostle is the very writer in the New Testament who dwells most strongly, in the book of Revelation, on the reality and eternity of future agony. What will we say to all these things? Will we be wiser than that which is written? Will we admit the dangerous principle that words in Scripture do not mean what they appear to mean? Is it not far better to put our hands over our months and say, “Whatever God has written must be true.” “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.” (Revelation 16:7) [From his sermon Eternity!]