What About Hell?

Ryan Denton, Founders Ministries

At last, the topic of hell is being discussed in conservative Christian circles. I want to use the occasion not to debate it, at least not here, but to challenge the reader with the question—have you fled from the wrath to come? Perhaps you’ve run from the idea of hell in the past, but at least once in your life, would it not be wise to ask the question—what is it? Who goes there? How can I escape it?

What Do You Think About Hell?

Hell shows us that God is not a casual observer of evil. He is not indifferent to rebellion and sin. He is a holy, sin-avenging Judge, and His throne is founded on righteousness and justice. For God to wink at sin would be a betrayal of His very nature. It would make a mockery of His holiness. It would be an act of cosmic injustice against Himself as the universe’s Lawgiver. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Genesis 18:25).

Yes, He will—and He does.

This is why hell exists. Not because God is cruel, but because God is good. Hell is a necessary outworking of His perfection.

Here’s another way to think about it. The real monstrosity is not God’s justice that damns the sinner to hell for eternity. It’s the sinner who turns against his Creator while breathing the air God gives, basking under God’s sunlight, eating the food God provides with the miracle of tastebuds that cover his tongue, all while walking and living on the earth God made. These very gifts are used to defy Him. The creature depends on God every moment for life, breath, and being—and yet lives as if God is unnecessary. This is the height of treason and ingratitude. This is why hell is not excessive.

What the Bible Says About Hell

No one in the Bible spoke more often or more vividly about hell than Jesus Christ. We learn from Him that hell is not a metaphor. It is a real place, described in real terms.

Scripture speaks of it as outer darkness, where the soul is exiled from all light, beauty, and hope (Matt. 8:12). It is a lake of fire where the pain is constant, and the flames are never quenched (Rev. 20:10). It is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, where sorrow and rage are expressed for all eternity (Luke 13:28). Hell is “eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). It is separation not just from physical blessings such as sunlight, rain, and good health, but from the gracious presence of God Himself. It is not annihilation—it is conscious, unrelenting punishment. Jesus described it as a place “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). The “worm” here is not literal. It’s worse. It’s the unending gnawing of guilt, horror, and self-loathing.

And yet none of these descriptions come close to the full reality. Because when God punishes, He punishes as God, not man. “Who knows the power of Your anger?” (Psalm 90:11). The answer? No one. We cannot imagine it.

And make no mistake: the devil does not rule Hell. God does. Hell is not Satan’s kingdom. It is God’s. God’s wrath is what makes hell, hell. “If anyone worships the beast…he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb” (Revelation 14:9–10).

Yes, even the Spirit of Christ is present in hell in all His judicial majesty. In fact, it is Christ’s wrath that fuels the fires of hell: “The punishments of sin in the world to come are everlasting separation from the comfortable presence of God, and most grievous torments in soul and body, without intermission, in hell fire forever” (WLC 29).

The Wrath of God

So what do you make of the wrath of God?  In the Reformed Confessions, God is described as “most just, and terrible in His judgments; hating all sin” (WCF 2.1). The Heidelberg Catechism asks, “Will God allow such disobedience and apostasy to go unpunished?” The answer? “Certainly not. He is terribly angry about the sin we are born with as well as the sins we personally commit” (HC 10). In the Canons of Dort, we find that “God is not only supremely merciful but also supremely just. And His justice requires…that the sins we have committed against His infinite majesty be punished with both temporal and eternal punishments” (CD II.1).

No human mind can grasp the full force of divine wrath. We see flickers of it at times, such as in earthquakes that shatter cities, tsunamis that swallow coastlines, and lightning storms that split the heavens. These disasters terrify us, but they are merely sparks of the real flame.

This is why, had you the strength of ten thousand angels or the will of ten thousand demons, you still could not endure even one second under the wrath of God. It would crumple you. His fury is more dreadful than all the armies of earth combined. More violent than the worst wildfire.

In hell, the full blaze of His fury is turned toward the sinner. Every faculty of the soul will feel it. Every nerve ending in the body will burn with it. The eyes, ears, heart, brain, tongue, hands, and feet—all will be instruments of judgment. The whole man will be engulfed in divine fire. And the sinner will know, without a shadow of a doubt, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31), and that “Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29).

Hell is Eternal

But what makes hell truly terrifying is this: it never ends. The damned will be overwhelmed by the sheer length of it. Forever. Endless time. There will be no ticking clock to count down the pain. No sleep to offer escape. No hope to pierce the gloom. Hell is agony without expiration.

You might endure the greatest torment imaginable if only you knew it would end. But in hell, there is no relief. No reprieve. No finish line. The fire is eternal (Mark 9:43). The smoke of their torment goes up forever (Revelation 14:11). Sinners in hell will wish for annihilation. They will plead to be unmade. But they will never get their wish. They will live forever with guilty consciences and suffering divine wrath.

But why is hell eternal? Because sin is committed against an eternal, infinite, and infinitely valuable God. And crimes against infinite majesty demand infinite punishment.

For instance, the length of penalty for a crime depends on the value of the thing you commit a crime against. If I squash a bug, there is no penalty because we don’t assign value to bugs. If I kill a pet, however, it’s serious jail time—up to two years in prison. That’s because there is more value in a pet than a bug. If I kill a human, the Bible demands the death penalty because the life of a human has much more value than a bug’s or even an animal’s—because humans are made in the image of God (Gen. 9:6).

But when it comes to God, His value is infinite. God is “eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, immutable, infinite, almighty, perfectly wise, just, good, and the overflowing fountain of all good” (Belgic Confession 1). Thus, the penalty is infinite.

The Response?

1. Unless you fly to Christ, you will remember these words in hell.

You will remember that you were warned. You will remember that mercy was offered. And you will remember that you refused it. God’s Word will echo in your mind, and this very page will rise up to testify against you.

This is no small thing. You are up against eternal power. You are resisting the Almighty God. This is a war you will not win. This is an enemy you cannot defeat. Unless you are found in Christ, the Lord of hosts is against you.

There are souls in hell right now, many of them, who never sinned as brazenly as you have. Who never resisted conviction as long as you have. Who never heard the warning as clearly as you are hearing it now. And they would give ten thousand worlds to have the opportunity you have in this moment.

Scripture says that without Christ, wherever you go, the wrath of God abides on you (John 3:36). It does not sleep. It does not lessen. It abides. You eat under His wrath. You drink under His wrath. You laugh, scroll your phone, play your games, and attend your events—under God’s wrath. When you lie down at night, His anger smolders above your bed. When you rise in the morning, His fury is still there.

This is why every tick of the clock is borrowed mercy.

Your only hope is Christ. Flee to Him. Cling to Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Do not wait for some “better” moment. Do not wait to “clean yourself up.” There is no better moment coming. There is no other refuge but that which is found in Christ. He is the only hiding place from the fire of God’s wrath. Run to Him now! “Escape for your life! Do not look back… lest you be swept away!” (Genesis 19:17).

2. No one in hell thought they would end up there.

Some had Bibles. Some even went to church. But they never truly believed what God said. They never trembled. They never repented. They never looked to Christ with faith. And now they are gone—forever.

If they had really believed that God’s wrath was hovering over them… If they had really believed that His vengeance was storing up against them like water behind a dam… If they had really believed that hell was only one heartbeat away, they would have dropped everything to seek Christ.

But they didn’t. And now it is too late.

“The day of the Lord will come like a thief…with flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction” (2 Thessalonians 1:8–9).

You’ve been warned. Don’t go back to your usual routines. Don’t move on to the next thing like nothing matters. Everything is at stake here. Your soul is at stake. Your eternal good is at stake. Stop what you’re doing. Turn to Christ! Flee to Him! Grab hold of Him and don’t let go!

3. On the cross, Jesus Christ suffered the agonies of hell for sinners like you.

He was no ordinary man. He was the God-Man. And yet He trembled in Gethsemane. He sweat drops of blood, not because of Roman whips, but because of the cup of wrath He would drink on the cross. On the cross, Jesus stood in the place of guilty sinners and bore the fire of divine fury.

How did this strong Man—the strongest of Men—react? He was in great agony, distress, and sorrow. How much more must you sweat and writhe when confronted by Eternal Power?

God must punish sin. He is just. He cannot deny Himself. And yet, He has made a way for sinners to be forgiven without compromising His justice. That way is Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ kept the law you have broken. He obeyed every command, every statute, every word of His Father—perfectly. And then, at Calvary, He took the sinner’s place in judgment. He was “made a curse” for us (Galatians 3:13). He bore the guilt. He endured the judgment. He drank the cup. And when the final drop of wrath was poured out, He cried, “It is finished.” The debt was paid. Justice was satisfied. The curtain was torn open.

Then, on the third day, He rose from the dead. God vindicated Him. God proved Him righteous and gave Him all authority in heaven and on earth. This same Jesus will someday “judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31).

And now—right now—He calls you.

Not to clean yourself up. Not to try harder. But to repent and believe. Repentance means turning from sin and turning to Christ. Faith means trusting Him alone, not your works, your morality, or your church attendance, but Christ alone. “The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light… Let us walk properly as in the daytime… But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:11–14).

In the days of Noah, the whole world drowned under God’s wrath except for Noah and his family. They were spared by escaping into the ark that God had prepared. And so, God has prepared an ark of escape for you, also—Jesus Christ. Run to Him for refuge, lest the floods of God’s judgment overtake you and you perish in the way, “For His wrath may be kindled quickly” (Psalm 2:12).

Were you to die tonight, could the same be said of you? Have you believed in the Lord Jesus Christ? O Reader—don’t harden your heart! The door of mercy is still open, but not forever. Flee from the wrath to come. Throw yourself into the arms of the Savior while there is still time. He will in no way cast you out!

What About Hell?