Hell is described most frequently as something like:
1. A fiery furnace.
Matthew 13:41-42 –The Son of Man will send out His angels, and
they will weed out of His Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do
evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
2. Or a lake of fire.
Revelation 20:15 – If anyone's name was not found written in
the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Luke 16:19-31 – There was a rich man who was dressed in
purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a
beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the
rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when
the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also
died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw
Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father
Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water
and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember
that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad
things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all
this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who
want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to
us.’
“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father,
send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that
they will not also come to this place of torment.’
“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and
the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but
if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
“He said to him, ‘If they do not
listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone
rises from the dead.’”
Matthew 25:46 – "Then they will go away to eternal
punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
From these verses, we learn that:
- Hell
is a fiery furnace or a lake of fire. People are in agony and physical pain in
Hell. They long for someone to give them a drink because of the heat.
- They
are weeping and grinding their teeth.