The Doctrine of Hell: The Effects of the Origin of Hell Upon Evangelism

Naw H. Sein

Universitas Pelita Harapan

TH 313: Christian Theology I

David K. Kim

16 October 2023
 The Doctrine of Hell: The Effects of the Origin of Hell Upon Evangelism

When I was little, my family members, the church, and many teachers kept on saying:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should

not perish but have eternal life.” (ESV, Jn 3:16) to me. I did not believe it then; but later in

my life, I came to believe in it. I came to believe that God loves me and that without the work

of Jesus Christ, my life was going to perish. Perish; forever in hell. That was the reason why

God sent his only Son to us.

In Christianity, the concept of hell was being introduced in the Bible. The word ‘hell’

is mentioned in the King James Version for 54 times (Filer, 2022). According to a missionary,

Elliot (2018), who was determined to find out how many times Jesus spoke about hell in the

bible found out that Jesus spoke about hell for 3% in his direct dialogues. If Jesus, the Son of

God, mentioned about hell while he was on this earth, it is worth our time to invest in

exploring the doctrine of hell. Thus, this paper will explore on how the origin of hell in the

doctrine of hell has an affect on evangelism.

The Aspects of Hell in the Scripture

The Origin of Hell

In the Christian Bible, it clearly mentions in Genesis 1:1 that “God created the

heavens and the earth.” Ironically, it does not say “God created hell”. Therefore, speculations

have been made on who created hell.

It is true that the bible does not plainly and literally say “God created hell, such and

such.”, but there are scriptural evidences that God created hell and the main purpose of it. In

the bible, it says that hell was prepared for the devil and his fallen angels. It can be seen in the

book of Matthew, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into

the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (ESV, 25:41). According to a
commentary author, Guzik (2015), he explains that this verse was spoken by Jesus: an

indication that hell was a place for the devil and his angels. If humans go to hell, it is because

of their own siding with the devil and his angels in rebellion toward God; not because God

intends them to hell (Guzik, 2015). Another bible verse indicates that God created hell for the

devil and his angels—2 Peter 2:4, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast

them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the

judgement;” This is clear that God is the one who sends the devil and the fallen angels to hell

as punishment. Thus, we may conclude that hell was created as a place for punishment for the

angels that rebelled against God.

The Nature of Hell

If the concept of hell should be held seriously as it is recorded in the bible, it is vital to

know the nature of hell; what hell is like. In the New Testament, it has mentioned about the

nature of hell for more than 5 aspects. People are being tormented eternally (ESV, Luke

16:23); a place with no exit (ESV, Luke 16:19-31); a fiery place that burns you (ESV, Mark

9:43); a place of darkness (ESV, Matthew 25:30); and a place of regret and gnashing of teeth

(ESV, Matthew 13:42). These things were being warned by Jesus himself. Nevertheless,

throughout the centuries, theologians came up with different perspectives on the nature of

hell based upon their differing doctrines, henceforth affecting evangelism.

Controversial Views of Hell

The nature of hell and who is going to hell is divided into three different perspectives:

eternal conscious torment, annihilationism, and universalism.

Eternal Conscious Torment

The oldest form of the doctrine of hell is known to be an eternal conscious torment.

As Grudem (1994) wrote, in the traditional view of hell, hell is a place where the wicked are

eternally punished forever and ever. According to the book of Revelation, those that sinned
and chose the devil would be tormented day and night (ESV, 14:9-11). As hell, according to

the New Testament, is a place of fiery furnace (ESV, Mark 9:43) , and weeping and gnashing

of teeth (ESV, Matthew 13:42), the book of revelation confirms that the unbelievers or who

denies Jesus are to be eternally punished while they are in their consciousness forever

(Grudem, 1994). Some people hold this believe, but others say that this is too cruel of God.

Annihilationism

In order to make up to God’s goodness, kindness, and love, some people, out of

mercy, came about another theological perspective of hell. They do not dare to think that

people would be forever punished. Annihilationism then came into picture. Annihilationism,

according to Grudem (1994) means God will annihilate or cease to exist the wicked after they

have suffered in hell for a time. For those that believe in annihilationism say that the

punishment for those who would be in hell would suffer while they are conscious; yet, not

eternally. Their arguments derived from scriptures, such as Philippians 3:19; 1 Thessalonian

1:9; 2 Thessalonian 1:9 based on the concept of destruction. They have interpreted the word

‘destruction’ into ‘total annihilation’. Thus, some people see that this befits the nature of God

and the doctrine of hell.

Universalism

People have trouble accepting that the God who loves the world that gave his only

Son would punish the creatures on this earth. Thus, came another point of view on the

doctrine of hell: universalism. This theological aspect states that everyone will be saved by

Christ after their death (Strange, 2023). Unfortunately, this doctrine does not have any strong

scriptural evidence. Rather, their argument is based on the fact that God is love. However, in

doing so, they have rejected the facts that God is also just and holy, that he has wrath against

sin (Strange, 2023). Nevertheless, this type of doctrine is a tempting hope for who seeks an

easy way out.

 Personal intake on the Doctrine of Hell, Reformed Calvinism, and Evangelism

Reformed Calvinism

If hell is an eternal conscious torment, then, one might question the purpose for hell

itself. Jesus came so that all might come to believe in him. The bible clearly said that hell was

created for the devil and his angels (ESV, Matt.25:41). If the eternal conscious of torment is

true, then, it is reasonable that Jesus came to save all sinners. Nevertheless, Reform

Calvinism holds the concept of predestination where some are elected and some are not—

from the beginning of the world (Erickson, 2001). However, if God has predestined some to

be saved and some not to be saved, the concept of ‘Annihilation’ is a hopeful one for people

that are not chosen. There would be no real punishment as Grudem (1994) has mentioned—

which seems fair. However, if we are to take the theological aspect from the universalism, it

would make no sense because Calvinism clearly said that we have been ‘elected’ or

‘reprobated’ from the beginning of the world (Erickson, 2001). Jesus clearly said “ Go

therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of

the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And

behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV, Matthew 28:19-20). In the Book

of 2 Peter, it also said that Jesus is patient, “not wishing that any should perish, but that all

should reach repentance.” (ESV, 3:9). Many more verses can be seen that Jesus came to save

the sinners. With the controversial views that we have upon the doctrine of hell, its origin and

our own theological standpoint, how then do we share the gospel?

In 2000 years of the making, Christianity has become one of the most popular

religions in the world. With its fame, came controversies as well. Jesus has clearly

commanded us to share the good news to the world. The doctrine of hell is an important

aspect that we have to consider when we evangelize. There are three theological doctrines

regarding hell that we can find these days. One being eternal torment; another being ceasing
to exist after a time of punishment; and the other being everyone being saved after death.

These play vital role in the way we view salvation, the good news, and how we see people as

a whole when preaching the gospel with our own theological stance.

Therefore, after exploring the doctrine of hell, one question remains: “Did God so

loved the world that he gave his only Son? If so, why?” Based on Jesus’ saying and

commands that he came to save the sinners, could it possible be that he does not want us to

perish forever and ever unto doom with the devil? Could it possibly be that he came to save

us all? Could it possibly be—? In order to answer these questions, one has the responsibility

to search for ones’ own yearning questions.

 References

Elliott, E. (2018, July 14). “Did Jesus talk more about HELL than He did Heaven? | by Ed

Elliott | Medium.” Medium. https://medium.com/@edelliott/did-jesus-talk-more-

about-hell-than-he-did-heaven-7e6100b4df82

Erickson, J. M. (2001). Introducing Christian Doctrine. 2nd ed.; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker

Academic.

Filer, J. (2022, June 20). “How Many Times is Hell Mentioned in the Bible?” Dei Homines.

https://deihomines.com/how-many-times-is-hell-mentioned-in-the-bible/

Guzik, D. (2015). Enduring Word Bible Commentary Matthew Chapter 25. Enduring Word.

https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/matthew-25/

Grudem, A. W. (1994) Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand

Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Pub. House.

Strange, D. (2023). “Universalism: Will Everyone Finally Be Saved? - The Gospel

Coalition.” The Gospel Coalition.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/universalism-will-everyone-finally-be-

saved/

The Holy Bible. English Standard Version, Crossway Bibles, 2016.