Just how terrible is hell? Two preachers approach the question from opposite sides. Are we really convinced just how terrible hell is? Some deny the existence of a place of eternal punishment. What does the Bible say? What can we know for sure? How will this effect the way we live our lives while waiting for Christ to return?

Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

…The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. (verse 10)

"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' (verses 11-12)

 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

God is Light: 1 John 1:5 -- This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

Acts 26: I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

2 Peter 2:17 --These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. Jude 6 -- And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

“But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Etymology of the word “HELL”Etymology of the word “HELL” Derived from the Old English “HEL” or “HELLE”, which referred to the world of the dead.Derived from the Old English “HEL” or “HELLE”, which referred to the world of the dead. Christian concept originated with the Hebrew Ben-Hinnom, or the valley of the sons of Hinnom.Christian concept originated with the Hebrew Ben-Hinnom, or the valley of the sons of Hinnom. Greek translated the word as GEHENNA which is always used to refer to the realm of the wicked dead in the NT.Greek translated the word as GEHENNA which is always used to refer to the realm of the wicked dead in the NT.

In Old Testament times was a valley where human sacrifice took place to false gods like Molech: 2 Chronicles 28:3 -- He (Ahaz) burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

Jeremiah 32:35 -- They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech, though I never commanded, nor did it enter my mind, that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.

Matthew 10:28 -- Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

The valley of Hinnom was a place for detestable human sacrifice – by burning them to death. The valley came to be viewed as cursed because of its history. In NT times, the valley became a large city dump for Jerusalem – where fire burned continually to burn up the trash. Jesus uses this idea of a place of continual burning to develop the doctrine of eternal punishment for the wicked.

Revelation 19:20 and 20:10 – the “lake of fire” Mark 9:43-44 – “…to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.”

Matthew 13:42, They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth…. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

"There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.

Matthew 25:46 -- "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.“ Jude 7 -- In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

Our most outlandish imaginations cannot come close to expressing the horrors of hell. People joke about hell here on earth. There will be NO JOKES in hell. There will be no HOPE. There will be SCREAMING, CRYING, BEGGING, GRINDING OF TEETH and no relief forever.

There is only one way to avoid that horrible end. The answer is Jesus Christ the Lord.