by Patricia Gilliam

Created on: June 28, 2010   Last Updated: June 29, 2010

Hell is not a Biblical metaphor to deter evil-doers simply in the fact the Bible doesn't even say your relative goodness as a person has anything to do with whether you end up there or not.  The whole notion that "good" people go to Heaven and "bad" people go to Hell is a kind of pop culture interpretation of Christianity.  It's also contradictory to what the Bible actually says about the entire situation.

If you have a genuine curiosity on the topic, I want to encourage you to do your own research.  Here are some concepts however that I hope will help cut through a lot of confusion if you're not familiar with what the Bible says about Hell:

1)  How Was Hell Created and Why Does It Exist?

Despite the fact that we don't always have physical references, our brains are still wired to understand the possibility of absolutes.  Just by reading the word "perfection," your brain knows that perfection can exist even though you've never seen the full manifestation of it.  This is important when you start talking about the traits of God in comparison to the traits of Hell.  I also have an analogy that I believe will help:

Suppose you owned a field made up of 100 acres, and you cared and tended to everything to the full extent of your ability.  If for a purpose you pulled your presence away from one of those acres, after awhile it would begin to look very different from the other 99.  That acre would be a reflection of your absence, not an indicator of your actual traits.

It's the same way with God on a much greater level.  All the physical traits of Hell are due to God pulling His presence away from the location.  While there are some horrible environments and situations on Earth, they still contain at least a portion of God's qualities on them.  Hell has absolutely nothing of God in it-no light, love, peace, rest, comfort, relief, or hope.  There are also Bible verses that describe Hell in physical terms-the burning heat, stenches of sulfur and death, darkness, and to a certain extent its layout made up of different levels.

Hell exists as a place of isolation and containment intended for Satan and the fallen angels that followed him in a revolt against God-a kind of prison and quarantine until they could be judged.  It was never even meant for humanity, and we were drawn into the situation much later.

2)  When Sin Entered Humanity, It Separated Us From God as Well

Through deception, Satan was

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