I was recently asked by a woman if Hell is “really that bad” because she believes that people will eventually find inner peace and happiness in Hell once they accept their eternal fate, despite suffering. She also asked why Heaven is better than Hell if those in Hell are their authentic selves, whereas those in Heaven are missing a huge part of their identity: their sinful nature.
I responded to this woman by first explaining that the entire reason Jesus left the glory of Heaven to become a man and die a grueling and torturous death on the cross willingly and experience the agony of separation from His Father for the first and only time ever was to redeem sinners from an otherwise horrifying, excruciating, and torturous existence in Hell, followed by the Lake of Fire for eternity. I also explained that the horrific suffering experienced by those in Hell (and, ultimately, the Lake of Fire) is eminently worse than anything they could have imagined or anticipated.
I told her that the Bible describes Hell (and the Lake of Fire) as a furnace of unquenchable fire where there is conscious weeping, gnashing of teeth, and eternal suffering, torment, anguish, disgrace, and everlasting contempt in outer darkness for those confined there. Consequently, nobody will experience a moment of peace, happiness, or relief in Hell or the Lake of Fire, but will undergo constant, excruciating, and eternal agony without hope of rescue or reprieve for having rejected Jesus Christ and His gracious offer of forgiveness on Earth.
Next, I told her that Jesus gave the religious leaders in Israel a glimpse into the devastating reality of Hell. He shared how one man was in such torment and agony in its unquenchable flames that he cried out for the sore-infested beggar he refused to help on Earth to come to him with a drop of water on his finger to cool his burning tongue. This sinful man’s desperate plea for the fleeting relief of a wet fingertip on his scorching tongue conveyed the level of sheer agony, torment, and desperation he was experiencing—yet his plea was denied (see Luke 16:19-31).
Additionally, in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus told His disciples that those in Hell will continually wail and gnash their teeth in response to the eternal reality of their agony and torment. He said in Matthew 13:41-42, “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
I then asked the woman to consider other verses about Hell and the Lake of Fire to see if she thought it was a place where its inhabitants would eventually find inner peace and happiness:
Mark 9:43-50 says, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched – where, ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched – where, ‘Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire – where, ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’”
Matthew 8:11-12 says, “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Daniel 12:2 says, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.”
Revelation 14:9-11 says, “Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.’”
Hebrews 10:26-31 says, “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Revelation 21:8 says, “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
After conveying the horrific reality of Hell, I explained some of the glories of Heaven and what awaits those who have trusted Jesus for salvation on Earth. I told the woman that Heaven is a place of complete righteousness and where believers are continually enveloped in God’s unfathomable love, experiencing immeasurable peace and joy eternally. Psalm 16:11 says, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
I also shared that Heaven is completely void of all sin, suffering, sickness, sadness, pain, disease, and death. Revelation 21:1-5 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first Earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’ And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’”
I went on to explain that Heaven’s inhabitants are fully and spiritually alive and the most authentic versions of themselves ever to exist—having been transformed, renewed, restored, and perfected in every way like Adam and Eve’s existence was in the Garden of Eden before they sinned. 1 John 3:2-3 says, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” Philippians 3:20-21 says, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”
I then asked the woman to consider other facts about Heaven and its glory to see if she thought it was better or worse than Hell:
Revelation 21:22-27 says, “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the Earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Revelation 22:1-5 says, “Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.”
Revelation 21:9-14 says, “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, ‘Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”
Revelation 21:15-21 says, “The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements. The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”
2 Peter 3:13 says, “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”
I never heard back from the woman after sharing these biblical truths with her. However, I hope this information helps you understand the extreme differences between Heaven and Hell and explain them to others when the subject arises.
