The character of God is the guarantee that all wrongs will be righted someday; when the ‘day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed’ arrives, retribution will be exact, and no problems of cosmic unfairness will remain to haunt us. God is the Judge, so justice will be done. J.I. Packer

In Luke 16:18-31, Jesus gives the account of a poor man named Lazarus and a rich man whose name we do not know and their eternal destination in death. He tells of Lazarus being taken to Abraham’s bosom while the rich man was in Hades being tormented. We read of the great chasm lying between these two areas in Sheol, and we also understand that Lazarus is being comforted while the rich man is in anguish among the flames of Hades. Though the rich man wanted someone to go warn his brothers of that dreaded place, Abraham told the rich man, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” (Luke 16:31)

I think it is important to note a few things here. Jesus spoke of this place, it would seem, literally rather than parabolically. It demonstrates the finality of physical death, which we are all promised (Hebrews 9:27), and it confirms eternal existence. Whether an individual is eternally with God in heaven or eternally separated from God in eternal judgment is based upon receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior for the forgiveness and atonement for sin. It is also worth noting that Jesus speaks of Abraham referencing “Moses and the Prophets”, which are the Old Testament Scriptures containing the gospel testifying of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Luke confirms this very thing in Luke 24:27 with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. How beautiful is the Word which testifies of Jesus Christ!

It has been stated that Jesus spoke of hell more than anyone in the Bible and that He spoke more about hell than He did heaven. Jesus spoke of it being a place of eternal torment, where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:48). Many in His earthly ministry would have understood the synonymous reference to Gehenna, a valley outside Jerusalem where refuse, criminal corpses, and dead animals were discarded and burned continuously. Jesus explained to His disciples the parable of the weeds and the eternal state of those at the end of the age as they are thrown into the fiery furnace. He tells them there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:42).

Imagine the polar responses to being in such a place of torment. While one weeps in despair, another seethes with fury at God, the God whose righteousness is like the highest mountains and whose judgments are like the deepest seas (Psalm 36:6). Hell was indeed prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41), but we also know from Scripture that this is the second death for those whose names are not written in the Book of Life (Revelation 20:11-15). Hell is not the devil’s playground, and it is not his kingdom. It is his eternal punishment for rebelling against God. It is the eternal punishment for those who reject Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Scripture is sufficient in helping us to understand this truth. Yet numerous people have claimed to have taken trips to hell. These are not only reported by those who had near death experiences, but individuals have given accounts in interviews and books written solely for the purpose of telling their story of taking trips to hell. Some claim to have seen Satan and demons there while others tell of seeing specific famous people. Others may state that God has nothing to do with hell and its existence. Some have even stated that Jesus Himself told them to write a book about it and to pass on the revelation about hell so that others would not come. It may leave one to wonder why this revelation was not given until almost two thousand years after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and why the main focus is on hell and the demons rather than on Him. It may lead one to consider why Scripture is not sufficient in this matter or others.

A sincere question to ask is why do we need these personal accounts of seeing hell? Can we not read Scripture to see the sobriety and severity of our sin and the penalty due without Christ? The reality of hell to be understood and shared along with the gospel is the reason for it and the existence of it. It has been said that God does not send people to hell; people send themselves there. Though there is partial truth to that because of the rejection of Christ for the forgiveness of sin in the ministry of reconciliation, God is the just Judge who renders a verdict based on the lack of justification for sin for those who reject Christ.

There is no need for such personal accounts of hell. What is needed is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news to our bad news. John 5:24 says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever 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.” We who are alive today and have believed in Christ Jesus to save us even though we have not seen Him are blessed in this blessed assurance. We believe Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead because we have heard the gospel. We have heard all that the Word of God testifies of concerning Christ. We believe in Him and have inexpressible joy because of Him (1 Peter 1:8). We are thankful because we were once hell bound in our sin and rebellion against God, but because of His rich mercy, we are delivered and washed clean by Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. Thanks be to God for this glorious news!

Hell is a real place. We need not shy away from it when sharing the truth in love, nor do we need a personal visit to hell to verify its existence. As for those who are in Christ Jesus, be encouraged by the words of Thomas Watson, “Whatever trouble in this life a child of God meets with, it is all the hell he will ever have.”

Check out these short articles discussing the term Gehenna and the differences between Sheol, Hades, Hell, and the lake of fire: What is the difference between Sheol, Hades, Hell, the lake of fire, Paradise, and Abraham’s bosom? | GotQuestions.org What Is Gehenna? (blueletterbible.org)

Listen to this episode of The Lovesick Scribe podcast as the discussion continues about trips to hell, why it exists, and the importance of the gospel of Jesus Christ in conjunction with it: There Will Be Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth – The Lovesick Scribe Podcast | Podcast on Spotify