Hell

"the fire of hell" Matthew 18:9
"the outer darkness" Matthew 18:12
"his soul went to the place of the dead, There, in torment" Luke 16:23
"death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire" Revelation 20:14
"Shut out from the presence of the Lord." 2 Thessalonians 1:9  

The word, ‘Hell’ comes from the word ‘Gehenna’ a garbage dump outside Jerusalem where even bodies were burned. So, what is hell like? Is it eternal, is it fire, is it exclusion? Can fire and darkness coexist? The Bible uses images to describe the humanly indescribable. The way I think of it is this. Right now even those who fully reject God live by the provision and Grace of God. It is God who provides air to breathe, food to eat, life itself. When they die, still wanting the things God provides, yet rejecting God, they will miss out on both. You can’t have it both ways. I picture our world plugged into God. When Christ comes back the plug will be pulled on the world of those who reject God and they will exist but with nothing left. It will be like being shut out, living in the outer darkness as Jesus described it. Life without God is existence, not life.
 
Are you in danger of loving the gifts of God but not God Himself? The former without the latter can be had in this life, but not in the next one. Show others what it is like to love God, not only how you love what He does for you.
 
Prayer
 
“Lord, help me to do precisely that.. . . to display my love for You more than my love for what you do for me. Amen”