There is only one of two places in eternity that we can go: Heaven or Hell.  Each one of us will be placed in one of these two places on Judgment Day to be there forever and ever.  Our Lord in speaking of eternity in Matthew 25:46 says, "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life".  Notice that the duration of the lost in Hell is exactly the same as the duration of the saved in Heaven, "forever and ever".  It is hard for us as mortals to grasp how long eternity will be, but after we have been there a billion years, eternity will have just begun.

According to the U. S. News & World Report, January 31, 2000, 36% of people do not believe in Hell.  But Hell is a real place.  To say there is no Hell is to make God a liar.  "Let God be true and every man a liar” (Romans 3:4).  Satan does not want you to believe in Hell.  Satan is accomplishing his purpose since there is very seldom any teaching on Hell today.  It is not a "politically correct” subject.  A person who does not believe Hell is real will most likely go there.  Ignoring or scoffing at Hell will not do away with it. 

We do not like to think about eternal punishment.  But it evidently must be very important or God would not have told us about it.  Let's first consider what the Lord says about eternal punishment of Hell and then we will turn our attention to a more pleasant thought, Heaven.  Jesus spoke as much about the eternal punishment of Hell as He did any other subject.  He took our punishment and gave His life to keep us out of Hell.  In His attempt to persuade us not to go there, He has given us numerous warnings in His word.

Our Lord in describing how horrible that Hell will be for the many who will end up going there, says in Matthew 13:42, "And will cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth".  This definitely will be a horrible and terrible place beyond description. Jesus says in Mark 9:43-48 concerning those who are lost, that they will be "cast into Hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched: where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched".

Jesus tells us if there is anything in our life that is going to cause us to be lost, to correct it or to get rid of it now.  Notice Jesus says a person is cast or thrown into Hell.  The worm is a flesh-eating maggot that does not die, but will continuously feed forever and ever on the lost in Hell.  In Hell, one is burning over every square inch of his body and even all on the inside but is never consumed.  The continuous fire and the worms will never accomplish the annihilation of any of the lost.  The lost in Hell will prefer to cease their existence, but they cannot.  Their perpetual nightmare of torment will continue forever and ever.  It will never cease.  The lost "shall be tormented with fire and brimstone…and the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night” (Revelation 14:10-11).  The occupants of Hell will never know relief or rest from their torment.  Hell is such a horrible place.  Hell is not a fictitious place, it is real.  

There will be no reprieve or appeal to a higher court, because we will have been judged by the highest.  The Lord is trying to get our attention and to give us fair warning.  He is pleading with us not to go there because He has already paid our price and taken our punishment.  But we make the choice.  The choice is ours.  We will bear the responsibility and the consequences.

One of the many warnings Jesus gives us is the true account of the rich man and Lazarus.  "There was a certain rich man” and "there was a certain beggar named Lazarus”.  [The rich man was lost],"And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.  Then 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.  But Abraham said, son remember…and besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us” (Luke 16:19-20, 23-26).  Notice it says there was a certain rich man and a certain beggar named Lazarus.  This is not a fictitious fairy tale.  In Hell people will be in continual unceasing torment and pain in which all will be constantly pleading for mercy.  With their unquenchable thirst they will beg for even one drop of water, but they will not receive it.  How much relief and how long would one drop of water last on the tongue of those who are being eternally tormented in the burning fires of Hell?  It would not last even one second.  We must wake up and heed our Lord’s warning.  Their desperate and hopeless state is permanent where they will remain eternally.  They are condemned there forever.  In Hell people are conscious and will see, feel, wail, and remember as they endure the continual intense pain and suffering.

Those lost in Hell will be those "whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever”(2 Peter 2:17).  Those in Hell will attempt to find God, "Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer; they will seek Me diligently, but they will not find Me” (Proverbs 1:28).  They will not be able to forget their rejection of God.  There will be no atheists in Hell, because all those in Hell will believe that there really is a God, but it will be too late then.   

"The Lord knows how to…reserve the unjust under punishment for the Day of Judgment” (2 Peter 2:9).  Hell must be avoided at all costs.  No one can begin to exaggerate how horrible Hell is going to be.  Its misery and anguish is beyond description.  It will never, never, never, ever end.  

We are being warned, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31) and "Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord we persuade men”(2 Corinthians 5:11).  We must make sure we don’t end up in Hell, and we must warn other people who will listen.  We "must be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10).  Jesus has promised, "Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life”(Revelation 2:10).  Anyone who ends up in Hell will only have himself to blame.