Hell
The Bible has much more to say about hell than about heaven. Hell is a real place and those that go there will be there until the final judgement at which time they will be cast into the lake of fire. It is a place of eternal torment. Some people joke about it and say they want to go there because that is where all their friends will be. They will sing a different tune when they are actually there. Can you imagine being in a fire and feeling the pain just like you would today but over your entire body and with that pain and yet your body can't die, it isn't burned up, there is no way out, no hope for it ever ending or getting better? Add to that, it is dark. This is not the place you want to spend eternity. You need to get saved NOW so you don't spend eternity in hell. Click on this link to see how to be saved: The Ultimate Truth.
The story that Jesus told about the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:23-31 is a very descriptive explanation of hell. Some say this is only a parable but there are many reasons this is not true. A parable uses everyday things that the people of that time were very familiar with as an analogy to a truth Jesus was explaining. No names are ever given in parables. People did not know details of hell at that time so a story about hell would not make them understand anything better. Jesus would not make up a story using a scenario about something that does not exist in reality. This story is unique in many ways and does not follow the pattern of all other stories that are parables.
23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: 28For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
The primary teaching here is that you have to choose to become saved or not while you are alive because once you die, it is too late. No one is going to come back from the dead to warn you. All the warning anyone needs is in the Bible and you just have to read it and believe it. There are many more things we can learn from this story, though.
Hell is a real place in the same vicinity as a place where Abraham was at that time and where Lazarus went to and was with Abraham. Because it says Lazarus was in his (Abraham's) bosom, the place is often referred to as Abraham's Bosom and it is a place of comfort whereas where the unsaved rich man was in hell and it was a place of torment.
Hell and Abraham's bosom are in the same general location and close enough that communication is possible between them but there is a "great gulf" that prevents anyone from going from one to the other.
This place where both hell and Abraham's bosom are located appears to be inside the earth because Jesus went there for a short time after his crucifixion.
Acts 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Acts 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
Jesus being God did not stay in hell but crossed over and took those in Abraham's bosom from there to heaven with him so now that portion of that place is empty. Hell is to this day still populated with all those who are not saved. You don't want to be one of those. You need to accept Christ as your savior today.
Ephesians 4:8-10 8Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Paradise and Abraham's bosom are the same thing because on the cross he told the thief he would be with him in Paradise that day. (see Luke 23:33-43) They would have to have gone to the same place as Abraham.
Luke 23:42-43 42And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Hell is a place of fire. The rich man is tormented in the fire and wishes just for a little water to ease the pain but receives none.
There is no mercy for those in hell. Mercy is available while alive if a person accepts Christ as their savior. In hell, the rich man asked for mercy but received none.
After death, whether in hell or in paradise, a person has a physical body. A person can talk, think, be comforted in heaven, and can feel pain in hell. It is a different kind of physical body because it is not burned up even though in pain from the flames in hell.
There is more knowledge there than when alive because Moses lived over a thousand years before, there were no photographs, and yet the rich man recognized Moses.
The person has their memory intact because the rich man remembered his family and recognized Lazarus and Moses.
There are emotions because the rich man felt remorse that he was there and had compassion on his family because he didn't want his family to end up in hell with him.
Hell is mentioned 31 times in the Old Testament and 23 times in the New Testament so there is more to be learned about hell and it was known not just in New Testament times but throughout all time.
In spite of the flames, hell is dark. Hell was made for the angels that sinned, not for people, yet the unsaved go to the same place.
2 peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
A person that is arrested first goes to the city or county jail before their trial but after being convicted in their trial for a serious crime, then they go to a prison or penitentiary to do their "long" time and it is a worse place than just jail. Likewise, hell is not forever though for some has been thousands of years. God already knows who is guilty (unsaved) and who is not (saved and justified by the shed blood of Jesus) but those in hell don't actual get their trial before God until after the millennium. After they are judged, all those in hell are thrown into a different place, the lake of fire where they will spend the rest of eternity.
Rev 20:7-15 7And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Judgment Before the Great White Throne 11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
If you ever had a burn from touching something hot and it turned red, you know that pain. That is a first degree burn. If it blisters, that is a second degree burn and is still on the surface. Not many people have had third degree burns where the burn goes deeper than skin and into the "meat" or muscle and so few know that pain but that is the kind of pain in hell. Technically, there are 4th, 5th, and 6th degree burns but that involves loss of tissue and at the 6th degree, only bone would be left. Nerves are destroyed so there is no pain when that happens. A person that gets severe 3rd degree burns end up in the hospital and are given pain killers. There are no pain killers in hell. The body is not destroyed so no nerves would be destroyed to ease the pain.
We cannot imagine eternity. Being in that kind of pain for eternity cannot be imagined but suffice it to say, that is not something anyone wants to experience. Some people say they don't believe in hell. Unfortunately, not believing something does not eliminate the reality. The only solution is to accept Christ as your savior. There is no other way to avoid going to hell and then the lake of fire. There is no purgatory where you can delay going there and where you get a second chance to accept Christ. That is a made up concept that does not exist. You never know when an unexpected tragic end to your life can happen. Not only that but we are getting very close to the rapture and then the tribulation and you don't want to go through that, either. If you miss the rapture, you can still get saved but it is unlikely and you will suffer greatly in the tribulation and then likely be killed anyway.