In Matthew 25:31-46, we read about the judgment of the nations at the end of the Tribulation period.  Verse 31 tells us that this is the time when “the Son of man shall come in his glory.”  He will come to set up His kingdom for 1000 years on the earth.  Just prior to establishing His kingdom on the earth, the Lord will separate the sheep from the goats…the saved from the unsaved.  The saved will go into the Lord’s glorious kingdom, but the unsaved will not.  Let’s read Matthew 25:41 which says, “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”  The fire the Lord speaks of here is EVERLASTING.  It never ends.  Is this a literal fire that He is speaking of?  It is certainly in reference to the fierce wrath of God, but I do believe it is a literal fire. Let’s consider a couple verses that speak of the literal fire of Hell.

  • Jude 6-7, “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of ETERNAL FIRE.”
  • Mark 9:43-44, “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into THE FIRE THAT NEVER SHALL BE QUENCHED: Where their worm dieth not, and THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.”

The actual word for Hell is Gehenna, which was a definite place, the valley of Hinnom adjacent to Jerusalem on the south side.  Gehenna was an unclean place used for burning trash from the city of Jerusalem and so, the Lord Jesus used the word Gehenna as an illustration of the literal burning Hell, who’s fire never goes out.

We also learn from Matthew 25:41 that this everlasting fire was “prepared for the devil and his angels.”  From this we see that this terrible place was principally made as a place of eternal punishment for the devil and those who followed him in his rebellion against the Lord.  Revelation 12:4-5 tells us of that rebellion and one third of the angels that fell with Satan.  It seems apparent that Hell was prepared AFTER this rebellion and fall.  Of course, the Lord could have prepared this beforehand, knowing Lucifer would rebel against Him because of his pride.  So, while the Bible does not specifically tell us when God created hell, it is evident it happened sometime after the creation of the world and before the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. 

My dear friend, Hell is real, just as Heaven is real.  The Lord desires that you repent of your sins and put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 2:4 assures us that the Lord desires, “…all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”  He wants you to avoid this terrible place called Hell.  He wants you to dwell with Him in glory.  We are given a very sober warning in Hebrews 2:3, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.”  There is no escape for those who die in their sins…those who reject the Lord as their savior.  We read of the eternal abode of those who refuse to put their faith in the Lord Jesus in Revelation 20:15 which tells us, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”  I pray that you will trust the Lord Jesus as your savior and avoid this awful fate.  I pray you will do that today, before it is too late.  (CC)  (664.4)