whatever happened to hell?

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

Message:
Hebrews 2:1-3
"Since all this is true, we ought to pay much closer attention than ever to the truths that we have heard, lest in any way we drift past [them] and slip away.
For if the message given through angels [the Law spoken by them to Moses] was authentic and proved sure, and every violation and disobedience received an appropriate (just and adequate) penalty, How shall we escape [appropriate retribution] if we neglect and refused to pay attention to such a great salvation [as is now offered to us, letting it drift past us forever]? For it was declared at first by the Lord [Himself] and it was confirmed to us and proved to be real and genuine by those who personally heard [Him speak]."
JUDGMENT--ETERNAL PUNISHMENT--HELL!
Not popular subjects to say the least, but if we are to preach the whole gospel, then these subjects must be discussed.
Deep below the surface of things, a proliferating erosion concerning the seriousness of hell, brought on by a complex web of modern ideas about hell, has stripped this weighty word of most of its awesome solemn content.
Frivolous modern notions about hell have arisen to compete with what the people of God have for centuries understood and believed about the unending punishment of the wicked. The threat of having multitudes of people deceive into taking hell lightly is greater now than it has ever been in human history.

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Consider the notion--HELL ON EARTH! The "Hell-on-earthers" agree that there must be some form of negative consequences for wrongdoing because justice demands some retribution for evil.
Then there is the notion-- IT CAN'T BE ALL THAT BAD!
Those with this view see the difference between heaven and hell as one of degrees of something basically good.
Our generation has a powerful propensity to believe that what anyone in the past believed to be true is now probably all wrong! The fallacious line of reasoning often goes, "In the older days folks couldn't figure out a way to keep bad people and little children in line. So they conjured up the idea of a monstrously grotesque place of gloomy darkness and frightening, everlasting torments. Armed with the threat of consignment to such a terrible place, they scared the stubborn and a young into submission to their cultural patterns." They say: "Hell is a concept invented by the ancients that fits nicely into the ignorant life-schemes of antiquity and medieval times."

We may define Hell as follows: HELL IS A PLACE OF ETERNAL CONSCIOUS PUNISHMENT FOR THE WICKED.
Scripture teaches in several passages that there is such a place. At the end of the parable of the talents, the Master says, "Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth" (Matt. 25:30). This is one among several indications that there will be consciousness of punishment after the final judgment. Similarly, at the judgment the King will say to some, "Depart from me, you cursed, into the ETERNAL FIRE prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:41), and Jesus says that those thus condemned "will go away into ETERNAL PUNISHMENT, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matt. 25:46)
In this text, the parallel between "eternal life" and "eternal punishment" indicates that BOTH STATES WILL BE WITHOUT END.
Jesus refers to HELL as "the unquenchable fire" (Mark 9:43), and says that HELL is a place "where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:48).
The story of the rich man and Lazarus also indicates a horrible consciousness of punishment:
Luke 16:22-24:
"The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom, and he called out, "Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water to cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame."

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When we turn to Revelation, the descriptions of this eternal punishment are also very explicit: (Rev. 14:9-11)
"If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 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 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."
This passage very clearly affirms the idea of eternal conscious punishment of unbelievers.
The idea that there will be eternal conscious punishment of unbelievers has been denied recently even by some evangelical theologians. David L. Edwards, John R. W. Stott and Clark Pinnock are some of those who have chosen to give their own interpretation of Hell and turn from the teachings of Scripture. Those who deny eternal conscious punishment often advocate "ANNIHILATIONISM"--a teaching that, after the wicked have suffered the penalty of God's wrath for a time, God will "annihilate" them so that they no longer exist.
Arguments advanced in favor of ANNIHILATIONISM are: (1) the biblical references of the DESTRUCTION of the wicked, which, some say, implies that they will no longer exist after they are destroyed (Phil. 3:19; 1 Thess. 5:3; 2 Thess. 1:9; 2 Peter 3:7); (2) the apparent inconsistency of eternal conscious punishment with the LOVE OF GOD; (3) the apparent injustice involved in the disproportion between sins committed in time and punishment that is eternal; and (4) the fact that the CONTINUING PRESENCE OF EVIL CREATURES IN GOD'S UNIVERSE will eternally mar the perfection of a universe that God created to reflect his glory. With these we disagree!
After all has been said, we have to admit that the ultimate resolution of the depths of this question lies far beyond our ability to understand, and remains hidden in the counsels of God.
Because the doctrine of eternal conscious punishment is so foreign to the thought patterns of our culture, and, on a deeper level to our instinctive and God-given sense of love and desire for redemption for every human being created in God's image, this doctrine is emotionally one of the most difficult doctrines for Christians to affirm today. It also tends to be one of the first doctrines given up by people who are moving away from a commitment to the Bible as absolutely truthful in all that it affirms. Among liberal theologians who do not accept the absolute truthfulness of the Bible, there is probably no one today who believes in the doctrine of eternal conscious punishment.

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If our hearts are never moved with deep sorrow when we contemplate this doctrine, then there is a serious deficiency in our spiritual and emotional sensibilities. When Paul thinks of the lostness of his kinsmen the Jews, he says, "I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart" (Romans 9:2). As long as we see and think about others to need to hear the gospel and trust in Christ for salvation, it should cause us great distress and agony of spirit to think about eternal punishment. Yet we must also realize that whatever God in His wisdom has ordained and taught in Scripture is right. Therefore we must be careful that we do not hate this doctrine or rebel against it, or seek to rationalize or explain it away, but rather we should seek, insofar as we are able, to come to the point where we acknowledge that eternal punishment is good and right, because in God there is no unrighteousness at all.
At the very root of disbelief in the eternal punishment of the wicked is a questioning of the truthfulness of God! The Bible says: "Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thess. 1:6-8)
Although the Old Testament case for eternal punishment is conclusive enough, the New Testament teaching on it is even more definitive. So lucidly clear is it that no man or woman of right mind who hears or reads the facts in Scripture could possibly be justified in doubting the overwhelming seriousness of hell.
As Paul once said: "...let God be found true, though every man be found a liar..." (Romans 3:4)
That same type of exhortation was offered by Martin Luther in a letter he wrote in 1522:
"...one must separate widely our way of thinking from God's truth, and take care that we do not make God a liar, but far rather allow that all men, angels and devils will be damned than that God should not be truthful in His words."
IF YOU LOOK AT THE WORDS OF GOD, YOU WILL SEE WHY THE CHURCH HAS CONSISTENTLY MADE THE SAME INTERPRETATION OF THEM.
After every Scripture has been examined, every orthodox creed considered well, and the opinions of orthodox theologians taken into account, one issue stands as far more basic than all others combined: WHAT DID JESUS SAY? All else in the Bible about eternal punishment must be understood and interpreted in the light of what He said. He is, after all, the final authority!

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Nothing any human could write to explain Jesus' words could be as clear and powerful as His own words. Therefore, let me bring to our attention the great majority of the words of Jesus that bear unequivocally and directly on the subject of eternal punishment. "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on His left...Then He will also say to those on His left, "Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;...And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
(Matthew 25:31-33; 41, 46)
(Mark 9:43-48)
"And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, then having two feet, to be cast into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where their worm does not die, and fire is not quenched."
"And do not fear those who kill the body, but are able to kill the soul; the rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt. 10:28)
"The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire, in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 13:41, 42)
"Many will say to Me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me you who practice lawlessness!" Matt. 7:22-23
"You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell? (Matt. 23:33)
"So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 13:49, 50)

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"Do not marvel at this: for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds, to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment." (John 5:28-29)
JESUS HAD MORE TO SAY ABOUT HELL THAN ANY OTHER SPEAKER OR WRITER IN THE BIBLE. If He was mistaken in what He said, then the Almighty, Eternal, and Ever-lasting God was mistaken!
There is no other Christianity than that which Jesus Christ established. And His Christianity clearly, distinctly, emphatically and even threateningly speaks of a very real hell.
A CLEAR MEANING OF JESUS' WORDS ABOUT HELL CAN BE GAINED FROM AN EXAMINATION OF FIVE PERTINENT WORDS USED IN RELATION TO IT.
These words are: Hades, Tarturus, Gehenna, forever, and eternal.
(1). HADES
For the Greeks and the Romans, Hades was the world of all the dead, both good and evil. Located in the very bowels of the earth, it was a happy place for no one. The Hades of the Greeks and Romans was sullen and dull. At its best it was far from being as pleasant as the former life had been at its worst.
It was this Greek word HADES that those who translated the Hebrew Old Testament word SHEOL chose to use in almost every case. It happened to be the most convenient and closest word available in the Greek language.
Hades is used ten or eleven times in the New Testament, and without doubt it refers to the exact same place as SHEOL does in the Old Testament. There is one interesting difference, however. In the New Testament HADES is never used to mean simply a sod grave; its only use is to describe the place of retribution for the wicked.
I have referred to the passage in Luke 16 in which Jesus talks about Lazarus and the rich man. Let me quote the entire text. "Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. And in HADES he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, "Father, Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame." But Abraham said, "Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad thing; the now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us." (Luke 16:22-26)

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These were not the words of some ill-informed, unlearned child of his time. They came from One who is fully God and fully man. Jesus gave us here a cutaway view of what exists beyond the grave. Regrettable, there are those who would attempt to discredit Christ, the Bible and the church by insisting that because of the use of the word HADES, the whole idea of Hades was borrowed from paganism by early Christianity. That is followed by the assumption, "Of course, now that we've matured, we need to reject it completely as paganism itself." No plausible support can be given to such an idea.
(2) TARTURUS
The apostle Peter used in expression involving hell that appears only once in the whole New Testament. In context it is extremely illuminating on the subject of the judgment of God and ensuing punishment. Let me quote 2 Peter 2:1,3,4,9,10:
"But false prophets also arose among the people [in the Old Testament], just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduced destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves...and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into HELL and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment...then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despised authority."
The expression of interest here is "God...cast them into HELL. There is actually no noun in the Greek New Testament for the word HELL in this statement. The verb TARTAROO, which means, "to send or cast into Tarturus," is used. The translation, "cast them into hell," is quite proper, however.
Tarturus is another Greek expression almost identical in meaning to Hades. Tarturus was, in fact, the lowest spot in the Greek Hades.
(3) GEHENNA
Hades and Tarturus are powerful words indeed, but there is one that is stronger yet--GEHENNA. It is the ultimate in terms of severity. The word appears twelve times in the New Testament. Used in its primary, literal sense, GEHENNA is the Valley of Hinnon, located just south of Jerusalem. Topheth, one of the names given to the Valley of Hinnon, means "THE PLACE OF BURNING. According to the ancient rabbis, the idol, Moloch, was hollow inside, and after being 

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heated with fire, little children were laid in its arms and veritably roasted alive!
Though Jesus is the only one in all the New Testament to use GEHENNA in this specific sense, He was not the first to use the word to signify the place of eternal punishment. Jesus used the term to describe the place of retributive suffering, the place of fire and brimstone, the lake of fire, the place of the eternal torment of those condemned because of unrighteousness. It is the everlasting abode of the devil, his angels, and those whose name are "not found written in the Lamb's book of life."
Hell has come under popular ridicule in recent times because of the idea of unquenchable fire. We are told bizarre preachers have used the imagery purely for emotional effect. Those with such a complaint however, are going to have to lodge it against Jesus Christ Himself! It is none less than he who makes that unquenchable fire so plain, ugly, terrifying and inescapable in His teaching on hell.
In conclusion, just because we may not believe in a literal HELL does not, in any degree, lessen the truth of this terrible place where the ungodly and unbelievers will spend eternity.
Just as sure as there is a Heaven to gain, there is a HELL to shun!