WHAT HELL IS, THE LAKE OF FIRE
Nowhere in Scrip ture is hell described as a t orture chamber wher e people ar e f orced ag ainst their will t o under go ag onizing pain. Ma hew 13:49,50 Hell is described as a place of t orment. T orment is self -inflicted b y one’ s o wn will. T orment is the anguish tha t r esults fr om being e vil as a r esult of selfish choices and being quar an ned from all tha t is lo vely and g ood. Gnashing of t eeth is not about r epentance. W eeping and gnashing of t eeth is living out self indigna on t oward g ood and God. Hell does not c ontain people sorr y f or their injus ces, but people angr y f or not being able t o ha ve their w ay and angry a t being separ ated fr om the c ommon gr ace of God which g ave them fr eedom t o choose their o wn pa th. Those who ar e c ast in to hell w ould not be happ y in hea ven bec ause the y were ne ver born ag ain of the Spirit so ha ve ne ver los t the ap tude f or sin and e vil. Their happiness is in sin and y et sin has them bound in isola on. Sa tan is not t ormen ng the los t souls. Sa tan is being t ormented. The t orment of hell is solely self -induced. And not e very los t soul is t ormented t o the same degr ee. Self -induced t orment is in flicted t o the degr ee tha t anger has en veloped their being. Doing g ood t o y our enem y is some mes described as heaping c oals of fir e upon their head. Hell is depict ed as a place of e ternal fir e. The fir e is r eal, but not necessarily ph ysical. P eople in hell will ha ve imperishable ph ysical bodies, so normal fire will not a ffect them. Hell has flames, y et it is out er darkness. Hell is a bo omless pit. Today on earth all people e xperience the c ommon gr ace of God which is g ood and giv es opportunity f or fr ee choices. Hell has no c ommon gr ace, no opportunity , and no fr ee choices. Hell is the c onsequence of bad choices. The w orst choice of all is r efusing t o c ooperate with the Spirit of God and be br ought t o sa ving f aith in Jesus f or sin r emoval and e ternal lif e. Self decep on is a choice and includes the r efusal of dependence upon God, r efusal of the need for sin r emoval, and r efusing the need f or righ t s tanding with God. Jesus c ame t o pr ovide all that w e need f or lif e with God. R efusing the Spirit of Chris t means lif e without God. Lif e without God is hell. Hell in the Lak e of Fir e is a r eal des ny f or those who r efuse God.