THE

REALTY OF
HELL !
By, Niki Voelpel
 THE REALITY OF HELL

A Research Paper submitted to

Professor- Dr. Boeke

Systematic Theology III

Crossroads Bible College

By Niki Voelpel

November 25, 2004

 Bibliography

1,Blanchard John, Whatever Happened to Hell, Evangelical

press, Duurham, England, 1993

2,Sumner Robert, Hell is No Joke, Zondervan, Michigan, 1959

3, Braun Jon, Whatever Happened to Hell, Thomas Nelson

Publishers, New York, 1979

4, Woodson Leslie, Hell and Salvation, Fleming H. Revell

Company, 1973

5, McCrossan T. J., The Bible Its Hell And Its Ages,

McCrossan T. J., 1941

6, Humberd R. I., The Lake of Fire, R. I. Humberd, Flora

Ind.

7, Pink W. Arthur, Eternal Punishment, Reiner Publications,

Swengel, PA

8, Greene B. Oliver, Hell, Oliver B. Green, U. S. 1969

9, Walvoord John, Crockett, Hayes Zachary, Pinnock Clark,

Four Views On Hell, Zondervan Publishing House, Michigan,
1992

10, Munsey William, Eternal Retribution, Sword of The Lord

Publishers, 1951

11, Johnson Carl, Hell You Say, Hearthstone Publications,

Williamsport, Pa. 1974

12, Bryson Harold, The Reality of Hell and the Goodness of

God, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton Illinois, 1984

13, Rawlings Maurice, To Hell and Back, Thomas Nelson

Publishers, Nashville, 1993

14, Peterson Robert, Hell on Trial, PR Publishing, New

Jersey ,1995

15, Shedd William, The Doctrine of Endless Punishment,

Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1886

16, Dixon Larry, The Other Side of Good News, SP

Publishing, U. S. 1992
 Thesis Statement

I stand on the belief of the metppharical view of

Hell, but only with the literal interpretation of the

context of scriptures. This position signifies in the

traditional language that there is the pain of loss, but

not the pain of sense, the fire being metaphorical. Though

other views may seem more logical or moral we can not deny

the authority of the scriptures when considering a view.

Views of Hell

There are four views of Hell, the literal view, the

metaphorical view, the purgatorial view, and the

conditional view. Many Christians still argue which is the

correct one today. Different occults will also argue their

beliefs on Hell. This is why it is very important to know

where we stand. In this report I will expand on what these

views consist of and why I hold to the literal view.

The Literal View

(In The Old Testament)

In the Old Testament the word Sheol referred to the

after life and sometimes to Hell. As described in the Old

Testament Sheol is a place of darkness. Job, for instance

describes it in these words: "Before I go to the place of

no return, to the land of gloom and deep shadow, to the

land of deepest night, of deep shadow and disorder, where

even the light is darkness" (Job 10:21-22). The expression

" silence of death" is used in Psalm 94:17; 115:17. David

also questions whether there will be any praise to God from

the grave Ps.6:5. Those in the grave have no knowledge of

what is transpiring on earth. As Job states in Job 14:21,

"If his sons are honored, he does not know it; if they are

brought low, he does not see it. "Job goes on to say that

the one in the grave" feels but the pain of his own body

and mourns only for himself" (14:22).

The Old Testament is clear that judgment follows the

death of the wicked in Job 21:30-34, where the idea that

the wicked escape punishment and are spared from the day of

calamity and God's eternal wrath is declared to be

"falsehood. "Obviously, the wrath of God is more than mere

physical death. Psalm 94:1-2 states," O Lord, the God who

avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth. Rise up, O Judge

of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve. "In

verse 23 of the same psalm the psalmist says of God, "He

will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their

wickedness; the Lord our God will destroy them. "In Isaiah

33:14-15, Isaiah writes The sinners in Zion are terrified;

trembling grips the godless:' Who of us can dwell with a

consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting

burning?" Of the wicked whom God will condemn, the same

prophet later writes, " And they will go look upon the dead

bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will

not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be

loathsome to all mankind"(Isa.66: 24).

Though some may conclude that the Old Testament

revelation is only partial and much confirming revelation

is found in the New Testament, it clearly suggests that the

sufferings of the wicked last forever. Many opponents of

this concept will point out that such important words in

the New Testament as Olam and Nesah, though commonly

translated as" ever"(as it is in the kjv 267 times)

nevertheless, in some contexts is limited as to the

duration of time. However an important principle must be

observed all throughout the scriptures: while the term

"forever" may sometimes be shorter in duration according to

the context, such a context is not used in the Old or New

Testament in relation to the punishment of the wicked.

Unfortunately this is not recognized by those opposed to

eternal punishment. However much additional information is

opened to this subject in the New Testament, where the word

Hades is equivalent to the Old Testament word Sheol.

 (In The New Testament)

In the New Testament three different words are used to

regard to life after death for the unsaved. The Greek word

Hades is transliterated as "Hades is used five times in the

NIV (Matt.16: 18; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14); twice is

translated as " in the depths"(Matt.11: 23; Luke 10:15)

once as "hell (Luke 16:23), and twice as "the grave" (Acts

2:27, 31). In general the Greek word Hades is equivalent to

Sheol in the Old Testament. The most definitive term in the

New Testament is Gehenna, which is translated as "hell" and

referring to everlasting punishment in (Matt. 5:22, 29, 30;

10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5; James

3:6). In one instance the Greek word tartaros is translated

as "hell" in 2 Peter 2:4 and is considered equivalent to

Gehenna.

One significant thing to note is that Jesus expounded

more on everlasting punishment than anyone else in the New

Testament. All references to Gehenna, except James 3:6 are

from Christ. The term Gehenna is derived from the valley of

Hinnom and was traditionally considered by the Jews the

place of final judgment for the ungodly. It was located

just South of Jerusalem and is referred to in Joshua 15:8

and 18:16, where this valley was considered a boundary

between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. In this place

human sacrifices were offered to Molech, but the altars

were destroyed by Josiah in (2 Kings 23:10). The valley was

later declared to be the valley of slaughter" by Jeremiah

in Jer. 7:30-33. The valley was used as a burial place for

criminals and for burning garbage.

Some instances of this usage come from the parable of

the weeds (Matt. 13:29) were Christ declares that the weeds

will be burned, implying eternal punishment by fire. In the

parable of the talents (Matt. 25:30) were the worthless

servant is thrown in to darkness, where there is weeping

and gnashing of teeth. Also the revelation of the goats on

the Day of Judgment (Matt 25:31-46) are declared to be cast

in to eternal fire prepared by the devil and his angles

again implying eternal punishment. Other instances are

found in (Matthew 18:6) where it states it would be better

to be drowned than lead a child astray. In the parable of

the wedding feast (Matt. 22:13), were the one with out a

garment is cast in to darkness where there will be weeping

and gnashing of teeth.

Another verse that is very convincing of this truth is

Revelation 14:10-11 which states that those who receive the

mark of the beast will drink of the wine of God’s fury,

which has been poured full strength into the cup of His
wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the

presence of Holy angles and if the Lamb. And the smoke of

their torment rises up forever and ever. There is no rest

day or night for those who worship the beast and His image,

for anyone who receives the mark of his name.

Jesus also indicated that the punishment in Hell would

be in certain degrees, depending on the understanding of

God's will. Accordingly, one servant would have a lighter

beating than another (Luke 12:47, 48) and hypocrites would

receive more condemnation than others (Mark 12:40). It

would be better for those who did not know about God than

those who did and turned their back on Him.

Metaphorical View

This view believes that Hell is a really place, but

the imagery in the Bible about fire and so forth was only

meant to be taken figuratively. Fire is often non literal

in Jewish writings and is often used to make a point. The

scripture that speak of Hell being forever are just

metaphorical. This position signifies in the traditional

language that there is the pain of loss but not the pain of

sense, the fire being metaphorical.

Some examples of this are in the scriptures when God is

said to be a consuming fire Deut. 4:24. It also says In

Dan. 7:9-10 that God has a thrown flaming with fire.

Sometimes the images of fire approximate our

understanding of material fire on earth. God speaks out of

fire that does not consume the desert bush Ex 3:1-6) and

carries a prophet to Heaven in a chariot of fire 2Kings

2:11). In the New Testament, John says that Christ’s eyes

were like blazing fire in (Rev 1:14). Fire is also used

figuratively for discord of fighting in Luke 12:49, for

judgment in 1 Cor. 3:15, sexual desire, in 1 Cor. 7:9, and

unruly words in James 3:5-6. When writers use fire to

describe judgement or Hell, they use an image that will

demonstrate the burning wrath of God.

When taken in to account the various images that

describe Hell, we see that God has not painted a complete

picture of the afterlife. God always communicates to people

in ways they can understand. He uses the language and

images of that day to disclose the truth. It is no surprise

that the Jewish people use regional designations like

Gehenna when referring to final punishment.

To conclude the wicked will be banished from the

presence of God forever. Whatever the punishment is we know

it is not good and will be full of sorrow. The Bible does

not give a clear picture of what Hell is like, so we can

only speculate from the metaphorical imagery given in the

Bible.

The Purgatorial View

This view is highly held by the Catholic Church and

has been for a long time. It teaches that there is a place

of purification before one enters Heaven. If a person did

not lead a righteous life on earth instead of going to Hell

they will just have to spend some time in purgatory. While

one is in this place they won’t have to stay there long if

many people are praying for them.

This view is only backed up in the apocryphal book of

Maccabees 12:41-46. In this text some soldiers of Judas

Maccabeus had been killed in battle and then were

discovered to be wearing pagan amulets. This was a

violation of Torah and therefore a serious matter. Judas

took up a collection from among his surviving soldiers and

sent it to Jerusalem to provide what the text calls an

expiatory sacrifice. This action was motivated by what the

author calls a holy pious thought. After that he made

atonement for the dead that they might be freed of this

sin. Maccabees is not included in the Protestant canon, nor

is it accepted as a part of the Biblical canon.

 The other text that is used to back up this view comes

from Matthew 12:31-32. This verse talks about how blasphemy

of the Spirit will not be forgiven in this age or the one

to come. The question that is raised is that if sins can’t

be forgiven in this age or in the age to come are there two

realms where sins can be forgiven? The verses the

Protestants use to back up there position come from Romans

3:28; Galatians 2:21; Hebrews 9:27-28; Revelation 22:11 and

Ephesians 2:8-9. But Catholic Theologians find these to be

ambiguous.

Conditional

The fourth view of hell that I would like to discuss

is the conditional view. They believe that the soul is not

an immortal substance that has to be placed somewhere if it

rejects God. They believe that God alone has immortality

1Tim. 6:16 but grants everlasting life to His people. This

means that the one’s that don’t except will only be

annihilated instead of being tortured for all eternity.

This view argues more on the basis of morality rather

than scripture. The fact that God would allow certain

individuals to suffer for all eternity does not depict God

as being just. The question is raised to what life style

and what actions would ever deserve such a punishment of

everlasting destruction? Sending a person to everlasting

destruction would be treating them worse then they deserve.

In the Old Testament the punishment for sin was always

equivalent to the sin such as an eye for an eye (Exod

21:24). But in the New Testament Jesus calls His followers

to even a greater standard of mercy then was in the Law

(Matt. 5:38-39). If Jesus calls His followers to such high

standards of mercy then how could He also not be as

merciful? To give a punishment that is much greater than

deserved does not depict God as merciful, but as cruel.

Another argument that is used is the metaphysics of

Heaven and Hell co existing. It says in (1 Cor. 15:28) that

God is going to be in all in all and in (Rev 21:5) that He

will make everything new. How could there be two kingdoms

co existing at once if God is the ruler of all? If God has

victory over Satan wouldn’t that also mean that Hell where

he is the ruler will also be destroyed along with him in

the second death?

 My View

I stand on the belief of the metaphorical and literal

view of Hell. In this I mean literal interpretation of the

context not every word. In other words since there is no

clear picture of Hell painted in the scriptures we cannot

rule out that there will not be fire, but we also can’t

rule out that there will be fire.

This position signifies in the traditional language

that there is the pain of loss, but not the pain of sense,

the fire being metaphorical. When taken in to account the

various images that describe Hell, we see that God has not

painted a complete picture of the afterlife. God always

communicates to people in ways they can understand. He uses

the language and images of that day to disclose the truth.

Though I believe that the descriptions of Hell are

probably metaphorical Jesus makes it clear that Hell is an

eternal place of punishment. Some examples come from the

parable of the weeds (Matt. 13:29) where Christ declares

that the weeds will be burned, implying eternal punishment.

In the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:30) where the

worthless servant is thrown in to darkness, where there is

weeping and gnashing of teeth. Also the revelation of the

goats on the Day of Judgment (Matt 25:31-46) are declared

to be cast in to eternal fire prepared by the devil and his

angles again implying eternal punishment. Other instances

are found in (Matthew 18:6) where it states it would be

better to be drowned than lead a child astray. In the

parable of the wedding feast (Matt. 22:13), were the one

with out a garment is cast in to darkness where there will

be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Another verse that is very convincing of this truth is

Revelation 14:10-11 which states that those who receive the

mark of the beast will drink of the wine of God’s fury,

which has been poured full strength into the cup of His

wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the

presence of Holy angles and if the Lamb. And the smoke of

their torment rises up forever and ever. There is no rest

day or night for those who worship the beast and His image,

for anyone who receives the mark of his name.

Jesus also indicated that the punishment in Hell would

be in certain degrees, depending on the understanding of

God's will. Accordingly, one servant would have a lighter

beating than another (Luke 12:47, 48) and hypocrites would

receive more condemnation than others (Mark 12:40). It

would be better for those who did not know about God than

those who did and turned their back on Him.

I believe that the Old Testament taught the same thing

about Hell, but the pictures are not quite as clear as in

the New Testament. The Old Testament is clear that judgment

follows the death of the wicked in Job 21:30-34, where the

idea that the wicked escape punishment and are spared from

the day of calamity and God's eternal wrath is declared to

be "falsehood. "Obviously, the wrath of God is more than

mere physical death. Psalm 94:1-2 states," O Lord, the God

who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth. Rise up, O

Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they

deserve. "In verse 23 of the same psalm the psalmist says

of God, "He will repay them for their sins and destroy them

for their wickedness; the Lord our God will destroy them.

"In Isaiah 33:14-15, Isaiah writes The sinners in Zion are

terrified; trembling grips the godless:' Who of us can

dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with

everlasting burning?" Of the wicked whom God will condemn,

the same prophet later writes, " And they will go look upon
the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their

worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and

they will be loathsome to all mankind"(Isa.66: 24).

Though some may conclude that the Old Testament

revelation is only partial and much confirming revelation

is found in the New Testament, it clearly suggests that the

sufferings of the wicked last forever. Many opponents of

this concept will point out that such important words in

the New Testament as Olam and Nesah, though commonly

translated as" ever"(as it is in the kjv 267 times)

nevertheless, in some contexts is limited as to the

duration of time. However an important principle must be

observed all throughout the scriptures: while the term

"forever" may sometimes be shorter in duration according to

the context, such a context is not used in the Old or New

Testament in relation to the punishment of the wicked.

Unfortunately this is not recognized by those opposed to

eternal punishment. However much additional information is

opened to this subject in the New Testament, where the word

Hades is equivalent to the Old Testament word Sheol

The question is raised to what life style and what

actions would ever deserve such a punishment of everlasting

destruction? Sending a person to everlasting destruction

would be treating them worse then they deserve. In answer

to this we should acknowledge that Jesus indicated that the

punishment in Hell would be in certain degrees, depending

on the understanding of God's will. Accordingly, one

servant would have a lighter beating than another (Luke

12:47, 48) and hypocrites would receive more condemnation

than others (Mark 12:40). These verses indicate that God

will not do anything unjust by punishing one more than they

deserve.

Another argument that is used is the metaphysics of

Heaven and Hell co existing. It says in (1 Cor. 15:28) that

God is going to be in all in all and in (Rev 21:5) that He

will make everything new. How could there be two kingdoms

co existing at once if God is the ruler of all? If God has

victory over Satan wouldn’t that also mean that Hell where

he is the ruler will also be destroyed along with him in

the second death?

There is really no proof for this position because

1Cor. 15:28 is generally taken in the context of the church

in Heaven. No more will believers have to seek God but He

will always be there. In Rev 21:5 it says He will make

everything new, but if you look at verse one it says he saw

a new Heaven and earth for the first Heaven and earth

passed away. If Hell had also passed away it would have

been mentioned with Heaven and Earth. Thus there is no

evidence of Hell being a temporary place, but eternal.

Conclusion

I believe that Hell is a really place that the unsaved

will be placed. Hell is an eternal place of torment, but it

is unclear what the form of torment will actually be. The

unsaved will be placed in a level of torment according to

their deeds done on earth and their knowledge of the truth.

Because of this reality Christians should be all the more

eager to share their faith.