HELL – Does It Really Exist and Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone There?

What Will Hell be Like?

To get an idea of what Hell will be like, consider the story Jesus told of two men – one described as the unnamed “rich man” and a poor man named “Lazarus.” 

            ¹⁹"Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously

living in splendor every day.  ²⁰"And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate,

covered with sores, ²¹and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the

rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.  ²²"Now the

poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich

man also died and was buried.  ²³"In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and

saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. ²⁴"And he cried out and said, 'Father

Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger

in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.'

 ²⁵"But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good

things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you

are in agony. ²⁶'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed,

so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none

may cross over from there to us.'

²⁷"And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house - ²⁸for

I have five brothers - in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come

to this place of torment.'  ²⁹"But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets;

let them hear them.'  ³⁰"But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them

from the dead, they will repent!'  ³¹"But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and

the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Luke 16:19-31 New American Standard Version

Here is what we can observe about Hades that will give us impressions of Hell:

• After death, the rich man is in torment v23
• He asked for relief v24
• He was not given relief, but remained in agony v25
• He was not given any hope of changing his situation v26  (i.e., no Purgatory)
• He expressed concern for his brothers who were still living – he did not want them to suffer the same fate he had v27-28
• He was told his brothers had Moses and the Prophets (i.e., the Old Testament) just as he had for guidance v30
• He pleads that if someone (Lazarus) came back from the dead, that his brothers would repent v30
• He is told if they will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead v31.   The truth of this statement was confirmed in the fact that even after Jesus’ resurrection, most refused to believe.