Eternal Hell: 125 Biblical Evidences

[all passages RSV]

For overviews of the subject, see:

Biblical Evidence for an Eternal Hell [1998]

Jewish and Old Testament Views of Hell and Eternal Punishment [4-14-04]

Biblical Annihilationism or Universalism? (w Atheist Ted Drange) [9-30-06]

Universalism is Annihilated by the Book of Revelation [National Catholic Register, 6-23-19]

Salvation and Eternal Afterlife in the Old Testament [8-31-19]

The Bible Teaches that Hell is Eternal [National Catholic Register, 4-16-20]

Defense of Immortal, Conscious Souls (vs. Lucas Banzoli): #11 (“Second Death” = “Lake of Fire” = Eternal Torment in Hell. Jesus & Luke Believed in Both Hades and Hell) [11-25-22]

See many more articles on my Hell and the Devil / Last Things web page

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Deuteronomy 32:22 For a fire is kindled by my anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol, . . .

1 Samuel 2:6 The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.

Job 33:28 He has redeemed my soul from going down into the Pit, and my life shall see the light.

Psalm 6:4-5 Turn, O LORD, save my life; deliver me for the sake of thy steadfast love. [5] For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in Sheol who can give thee praise?

Psalm 9:16-18 The LORD has made himself known, he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. . . . [17] The wicked shall depart to Sheol, all the nations that forget God. [18] For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever.

Psalm 16:10-11 For thou dost not give me up to Sheol, or let thy godly one see the Pit. [11] Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence there is fulness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.

Psalm 31:16-17 Let thy face shine on thy servant; save me in thy steadfast love! [17] Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I call on thee;
let the wicked be put to shame, let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.

Psalm 49:14-15  Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; straight to the grave they descend, and their form shall waste away; Sheol shall be their home. [15] But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.

Psalm 55:23 But thou, O God, wilt cast them down into the lowest pit; men of blood and treachery . . .

Psalm 88:6-7 Thou hast put me in the depths of the Pit, in the regions dark and deep. [7] Thy wrath lies heavy upon me, and thou dost overwhelm me with all thy waves.

Psalm 89:48 What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?

Psalm 103:2-4 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, [3] who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, [4] who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

Psalm 143:7 . . . Hide not thy face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the Pit.

Isaiah 14:11, 15 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are the bed beneath you, and worms are your covering. [15] But you are brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the Pit.

Isaiah 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: “Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”

Isaiah 38:18 For Sheol cannot thank thee, death cannot praise thee; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for thy faithfulness.

Isaiah 66:24 “And they shall go forth and look on the dead bodies of the men that have rebelled against me; for their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

Jeremiah 15:14 . . . in my anger a fire is kindled which shall burn for ever. (cf. 17:4)

Jeremiah 23:40 “And I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.”

Ezekiel 26:20-21 “then I will thrust you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you to dwell in the nether world, among primeval ruins, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you will not be inhabited or have a place in the land of the living. [21] I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more; though you be sought for, you will never be found again, says the Lord GOD.”

Ezekiel 31:16-17 I will make the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the Pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, will be comforted in the nether world. [17] They also shall go down to Sheol with it, to those who are slain by the sword; yea, those who dwelt under its shadow among the nations shall perish.

Ezekiel 32:23, 25 whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the Pit, and her company is round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living. . . . [25] . . .  they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit . . .

Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (cf. Judith 16:17: “The Lord Almighty will take vengeance on them in the day of judgment; fire and worms he will give to their flesh; they shall weep in pain for ever.”)

Hosea 13:14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death? . . .

Matthew 3:10, 12 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. . . . [12] His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

Matthew 5:20-22 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. [21] “You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ [22] But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire.

Matthew 5:29-30 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. [30] And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.”

Matthew 7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 8:11-12 “I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, [12] while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.”

Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

The word for “destroy” is apollumi, which means, according to W. E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, “not extinction, but ruin, loss, not of being, but of well-being.” The other verses in which it appears make this meaning clear (Mt 10:6; Lk 15:6, 9, 24; Jn 18:9). Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament or any other Greek lexicon would confirm this.

Matthew 13:41-42 The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, [42] and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.

Matthew 13:47-50 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; [48] when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. [49] So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, [50] and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.

Matthew 18:8-9 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. [9] And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

Matthew 18:14 “So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

Matthew 21:39-41 And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. [40] When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” [41] They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, . . .

Matthew 22:13 “Then the king said to the attendants, `Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.'”

Matthew 23:15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you traverse sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

Matthew 23:33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

Matthew 24:50-51 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, [51] and will punish him, and put him with the hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.

Matthew 25:29-32 For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. [30] And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’ [31]When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. [32] Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,

Matthew 25:41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, `Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;

Matthew 25:46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

The Greek meaning of aionios (“eternal,” “everlasting”) is indisputable. It is used many times referring to eternal life in heaven. The same Greek word is also used to refer to eternal punishments (Mt 18:8; 25:41, 46; Mk 3:29; 2 Thess 1:9; Heb 6:2; Jude 7). In the verse above, the word is used twice: once to describe heaven and once for hell. “Eternal punishment” means what it says. There is no way out of this without doing violence to Scripture. Greek scholar A. T. Robertson wrote:

The word aionios . . . means either without beginning or without end or both. It comes as near to the idea of eternal as the Greek can put it in one word. It is a difficult idea to put into language. Sometimes we have ‘ages of ages’ (aiones ton aionon). (Word Pictures in the New Testament, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1930, vol. 1, p. 202 [commenting under Matthew 25:46] )

Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon also concurs, as does Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, the most revered and respected Greek analysis of the New Testament.

Mark 3:29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin

Mark 9:42-49 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea. [43] And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. [45] And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. [47] And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, [48] where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. [49] For every one will be salted with fire.”

Mark 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

Luke 1:79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death . . .

Luke 3:8-9 Bear fruits that befit repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. [9] Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Luke 3:17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

Luke 12:4-5  “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. [5] But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear him!”

Luke 13:3 I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. (cf. 3:5)

Luke 13:27-28 “But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!’ [28] There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out.”

Luke 16:22-24, 26, 28 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; [23] and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Laz’arus in his bosom. [24] And he called out, `Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Laz’arus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.’ . . . [26] ‘. . . between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ . . . [28] ‘. . . this place of torment.’ [refers to the compartment in Hades reserved for the wicked or reprobate, who will eventually be consigned to hell: Rev 20:14 below]

John 3:16, 18 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. . . . [18] He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.

John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 5:26-29  For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, [27] and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man. [28] Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice [29] and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.

John 6:27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal.”

John 8:51 “Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps my word, he will never see death.”

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

John 10:28 and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.

John 12:25 He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

John 15:5-6 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. [6] If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.

John 17:12 . . . I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, . . .

Acts 13:46 . . . “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. . . . you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, . . .

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth.

Romans 2:2-3 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who do such things. [3] Do you suppose, O man, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God?

Romans 2:5-8 But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. [6] For he will render to every man according to his works: [7] to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; [8] but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury.

Romans 2:12 All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, . . .

Romans 5:9 Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

Romans 5:17 If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. (cf. 5:12, 14, 21)

Romans 6:16 . . . sin, which leads to death, . . .

Romans 6:21-23 But then what return did you get from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. [22] But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is sanctification and its end, eternal life. [23] For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 7:5 While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. (cf. 7:10, 13, 24)

Romans 8:13  for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. (cf. 8:2, 6)

Romans 9:22 . . . the vessels of wrath made for destruction,

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 3:17 If any one destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. . . .

“Destroy” is the Greek, phthiro, meaning literally, “to waste away” (much like apollumi). When the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D., the bricks were still there. It was not annihilated, but wasted. So shall it be with the wicked soul, which will be wasted or ruined, but not blotted out of existence. We see the meaning of phthiro clearly in every other instance of it in the NT (usually, “corrupt”), where in each case, the meaning is as I have said (1 Cor 15:33; 2 Cor 7:2; 11:3; Eph 4:22; Jude 10; Rev 19:2).

1 Corinthians 11:32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are chastened so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

2 Corinthians 2:15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,

2 Corinthians 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.

Ephesians 2:3 . . . we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Ephesians 5:6 . . . it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Philippians 1:28 . . . This is a clear omen to them of their destruction . . .

Philippians 3:18-20 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ. [19] Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. [20] But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

“Destruction” or “destroyed” in Philippians 1:28; 3:19, Hebrews 10:39 is the Greek apolia. Its meaning as “ruin” or “waste” is clearly seen in, e.g., Matthew 26:8 and Mark 14:4 (a waste of ointment). In Revelation 17:8, when it refers to the beast (“perdition”), it states that the beast is not wiped out of existence: “it was and is not and is to come.”

Colossians 3:5-6 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. [6] On account of these the wrath of God is coming.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 . . . Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 . . . when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, [8] inflicting vengeance upon those who do not know God and upon those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. [9] They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

2 Thessalonians 2:3 . . . the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition,

2 Thessalonians 2:8, 10, 12 And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming. . . . [10] and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. . . . [12] so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

1 Timothy 6:9-10  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. [10] For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs.

2 Timothy 1:10 . . . our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Hebrews 2:14-15 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, [15] and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.

Hebrews 6:2 . . . eternal judgment.

Hebrews 10:26-27 For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, [27] but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries.

Hebrews 10:27 must be understood in harmony with Hebrews 6:2, which speaks of “eternal judgment” (mentioned above in the discussion of aionios). The only way to synthesize all the relevant data in the Bible is to adopt the eternal hellfire view.

Hebrews 10:39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and keep their souls.

Hebrews 12:25 . . . For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

James 1:15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death.

James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the cycle of nature, and set on fire by hell.

James 4:12 There is one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. . . .

James 5:20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

2 Peter 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

2 Peter 2:4 . . . God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of nether gloom to be kept until the judgment;

2 Peter 2:12-13 But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and killed, reviling in matters of which they are ignorant, will be destroyed in the same destruction with them, [13] suffering wrong for their wrongdoing. . . .

In 2 Peter 2:12, “destroyed in the same destruction” the Greek kataphthiro is used. In the only other place in the NT where this word appears (2 Tim 3:8), it is translated as “corrupt” in RSV. If the annihilationist interpretation were applied to that verse, it would read, “. . . men of nonexistent minds. . .”

2 Peter 2:17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm; for them the nether gloom of darkness has been reserved.

2 Peter 3:7, 9 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist have been stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. . . . [9] The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

“Perish” is the Greek apollumi (see comment on Matthew 10:28 above), so annihilation, as always, is not taught, by virtue of the simple meaning of the Greek word. Furthermore, in v.6, where it is said that the world “perished” in the flood, it is obvious that it was not annihilated, but wasted, consistent with the other interpretations above.

2 Peter 3:15-16 . . . So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, [16] speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.

1 John 3:14-15 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. [15] . . . no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Jude 6-7, 10, 13-15 And the angels that did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling have been kept by him in eternal chains in the nether gloom until the judgment of the great day; [7] just as Sodom and Gomor’rah and the surrounding cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. . . . [10] But these men revile whatever they do not understand, and by those things that they know by instinct as irrational animals do, they are destroyed. . . . [13] wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars for whom the nether gloom of darkness has been reserved for ever. [14] . . . “Behold, the Lord came with his holy myriads, [15] to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness . . . ”

Jude 23 save some, by snatching them out of the fire; . . .

Revelation 2:11 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who conquers shall not be hurt by the second death.’

Revelation 6:15-17 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the generals and the rich and the strong, and every one, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, [16] calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; [17] for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand before it?”

Revelation 9:1-2 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key of the shaft of the bottomless pit; [2] he opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. (cf. 9:11; 11:7; 20:1-3)

Revelation 11:18 “The nations raged, but thy wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, for rewarding thy servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear thy name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

Revelation 14:10-11 he also shall drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and he shall be tormented with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. [11] And the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; and they have no rest, day or night, . . .

Revelation 14:19 So the angel swung his sickle on the earth and gathered the vintage of the earth, and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God;

Revelation 15:7 And one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives for ever and ever;

Revelation 17:8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to perdition . . .

Revelation 19:15 From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

Revelation 19:20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had worked the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur.

Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, . . .

Revelation 20:10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

The Greek word aion is used throughout Revelation for eternity in heaven (e.g., 1:18 [Jesus: “I am alive for evermore”], 4:9-10; 5:13-14; 7:12; 10:6; 11:15; 15:7; 22:5), and also for eternal punishment (14:11; 20:10). Some attempt to argue that Revelation 20:10 only applies to the devil, but they must explain Revelation 20:15, where it is applied to “anyone” not in “the book of life”.

Revelation 20:12-15 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done. [13] And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done. [14] Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; [15] and if any one’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:8  But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.

Summary: 125 Bible passages on hell & related concepts of judgment, Sheol, destruction, eternal punishment, the “Pit”, God’s wrath & judgment, etc.; includes 24 Old Testament passages.