Have you ever wondered what is really meant by “hell’? These
definitions are found in Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary:
a nether world in which the dead continue to exist; Hades; the nether
realm of the devil and the demons in which the damned suffer
everlasting punishment.
In Romans 12:20 of the Bible the expression “burning coals” is used
to describe a feeling of guilt or conviction:
20 "But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty,
give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals upon his
head."
~ New American Standard Bible
I believe that hell is not so much a physical lake of fire or place
of physical torment (since such a state does not fit with the
retribution of a loving God) as it is an eternal conviction, or constant
burning reminder, of the unrepented evil that one did in life. This is
not the same as remorse, because remorse leads to repentance; and
repentance is the key to salvation.
Revelation 20:14-15 says:
14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake
of fire is the second death.
15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he
[or she] was thrown into the lake of fire.
~ New International Version
The King James Version of the above passage says that “death and hell
were cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:14)
In the King James Version of the Bible, the word “hell” is mentioned
31 places in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and 23 places in the New
Testament for a total of 54. The New American Standard Bible and the New
International Version each mention the word “hell” only in the New
Testament: 13 places and 14 places respectively; while in the New Living
Translation, the word “hell” appears twice in the Hebrew Bible (OT) and
17 times in the New Testament for a total of 19.
No matter where you look in the scriptures, hell appears to be a very
unpleasant experience whether it entails physical, emotional, or
spiritual pain.
