Where Does The Bible Say Hell Is?

Does the Bible say where hell is located? What do the Scriptures say about this?

What is Hell Like?

Hell has been described, mostly by Jesus, as a “fiery furnace [and] in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt 13:42) but is also described as a furnace of fire, judgment of fire, a fiery oven, a lake of fire, flames of fire, a burning wind, the unquenchable fire, and fire and brimstone but it’s also called a place of torment and being in the “outer darkness” or “pits of darkness.” Those who reject Christ will be rejected by Him at the judgment seat of Christ and it says that they “will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name” (Rev 14:10-11).

Why is there a Hell?

Hell was actually created for Satan and his demons, just as Jesus said in Matthew 25:41: “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Who are those who go to hell? It is everyone who rejects repentance and faith in Christ. God never sends anyone to hell or heaven. They have a choice. A person must repent and believe, which is what Jesus said the gospel was all about (Mark 1:15), or they can reject Christ and have the wrath of God abiding on them (John 3:36b) for all time. God doesn’t desire that at anyone die apart from saving faith in Christ (2ne Pet 3:9) and he certainly doesn’t take pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezk 18:32), but by willfully rejecting Jesus Christ, He tells everyone “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3) so “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). The Apostle Peter adds, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

Heaven or Hell?

More people believe in heaven than believe in hell which is a great mystery to me since Jesus spoke more about the judgment of hell than He ever did about the kingdom of heaven, so if someone believes in heaven but not hell, they are essentially calling Jesus a liar! That’s tragic too because God cannot lie but every person in history is or has been a liar (Num 23:19; Heb 6:18). It’s like saying I believe in heaven but I don’t believe what Jesus taught about hell but hell is real so there is no excuse since Jesus is God and we know that God cannot possibly lie and He said that there is in fact a hell.

Where is Hell?

Is hell down or is it somewhere else? Is it beneath the earth’s surface because Jesus did say of the city of “Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades” (Luke 10:15) and the Apostle Paul wrote that Jesus “ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth” (Eph 4:9)? The Apostle John wrote that he “saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done” (Rev 20:12) “And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done” (Rev 20:13) and “if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:15). Whether this is below the earth or in some other place, it won’t really matter to those who are there forever. All we know for sure about hell is not where it’s at but that it does exist and those who refuse to repent of their sins and trust in Christ include “the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Rev 21:8).

Conclusion

Where is heaven at? It’s any place where Jesus Christ is at. Where is hell? It’s any place where a person is separated from God for eternity and that is hell in itself. Daniel the Prophet wrote about the end of the age in Daniel 12:2-3 where it says that “many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” so “unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins” (John 8:24) so repent today and trust in Christ before you die and face God’s judgment (Heb 9:27) since today is the day of salvation (2nd Cor 6:2). Tomorrow may never come if Christ returns today or you die in your sins. By then, it will be too late to ever do anything about it. There is no repentance in hell and none is needed in heaven.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.