For the last several years, I’ve been reading how people are attempting to rewrite Scripture, softening its impact to make it easier to digest. This applies to sexual sins, the consequence of a person who has lived a life of disobedience, and whether hell is real or not. This rewriting has made it hard for some to read and believe what has been written in the biblical text. 

Jesus used the example of innocent children who came to him to hear the truth but were led astray into sin.  Jesus said this about those who would cause a child to sin, “If you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck” (Mark 9:42). This is not just about causing a child to stumble; it’s about leading anyone into a life of sin. There will be consequences for such a choice.

It would be better for these deceivers not to have been born because of what will happen to them when they die and must face God’s judgment. Jesus said they will be “thrown into hell, where the maggots never die, and the fire never goes out” (vs. 47-48).  “Never” is the operative word.

Those were Jesus ‘words, not a redefined rendition of the consequence of rejecting the truth. Jesus said some will be thrown into hell, where they will be tormented in a never-ending experience of hell. This will be the consequence of unrepentant sin.

Jesus said more about hell than anyone in the Bible. His words were distinct. Yet the subject of hell, if discussed using what Jesus said, has made some in the Church uncomfortable. That discomfort has caused people to dismiss the reality of an eternal hell, thinking it diminishes the love of God or might create a fear-based faith. Jesus knew those ideas would exist, yet He addressed the reality of hell’s eternal punishment with straightforward and uncompromising statements.

At the end of time, a distinction will be made between believers and non-believers. Jesus said, “They will go away into eternal punishment”, but the righteous will go into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46). The two words used in the verse define “eternal” as something “without end, never to cease, everlasting.”

The reality of an eternal, never-ending hell has been part of what has motivated the global mission’s effort for the last 2,000 years. Some missionaries became martyrs because of that understanding. 

Paul spoke of what Jesus did for us: “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14). Jesus was preparing us for eternity, not for hell.  

Peter also spoke about this, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9).  The word used her for “perish” has been translated as “to incur the loss of eternal life; to be delivered up to eternal misery.” 

These are hard truths for people to digest when so many in the world, even some within the Church, want to dampen the full impact of hell. No matter how hard something may sound to our tender ears, God’s love and His truth remain true and unchanging, even when some struggle with the impact of what the Lord said. We can trust Jesus and what He said because He wants none to perish.