A while back in my studies thru LU I did a study on Hell.  Most of it I was familiar with since Hell, Sheol or Hades is a big subject mentioned in the bible frequently.  Anyhow since I did a summary of Heaven it only makes sense to give Hell some equal time.  Here goes. 

There are many doctrines in scripture and the one most denied or questioned undoubtedly is the doctrine of Hell.  There are basically three methods Satan uses  often seen in either unbelievers or those weak in the faith to discount the reality of Hell. 

Rationalism is one method. "Since there is no God, there can be no hell."  Usually rationalism dresses up in the garb of Science.   Charles Darwin rejected the doctrine of Hell.  He said:

"Disbelief crept over me at a very slow rate, but was at last complete.  I can hardly see how anyone ought to wish Christianity to be true; for, if so, the plain language of the text seems to show that the men who do not believe, and this would include my father, brother, and almost all my best friends, will be everlastingly punished.  And this is a damnable doctrine"  "The Christian Agnostic"

Then there's ridicule.  Been there seen that.  They say, "There may be a God, but it is foolish to speculate about all those spirits heating up in some lake of fire somewhere.  Who would belief such things?" 

Robert Ingersoll who was one of America's most famous atheists loved to ridicule this belief.  He said this:

"The idea of hell was born of revenge and brutality on the one side, and cowardice on the other.......I have no respect for any man who preaches it.....I dislike this doctrine, I hate it, I despise it, I defy this doctrine!" 

hmmmmm he doth protest too much in my opinion.  What spirit is behind this? 

Another method used by Satan to discredit this belief might be surprising. It's the method of Religion.  Yes.  Some say, "There is a God, but He is a God of love, and therefore would not and could not send his people to hell."   There are theologians who deny or downplay the doctrine of Hell.  Many cults preach no hell.

Hell is referred to by different names.  The first is Sheol and is a Hebrew word found 65 times in the OT.  It is translated "hell" 31 times, "grave" 31 times and "pit" 3 times. 

There's also Hades which is a Greek word and is found 11 times in the NT.  It's translated Hell in the KJV.  Both Sheol and Hades refer to the same place but neither are really what we call Hell.  This place is a temporary holding place, until the judgment day, where all unbelieving departed human spirits  go upon death. 

The last word for Hell is Gehenna and is also a Greek word found 12 times in the NT and is always tranlated correctly as Hell. 

So where is it?   The bible indicates that Hades is somewhere down in the heart of the earth. 

"And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.  They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them; and they perished from among the congregation."  Num 16:32,33

The bible also teaches us more about Gehenna. 

"But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darknesss; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. " Matt 8:12

"These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the midst of darkness is reserved forever."  2 Peter 2:17

As you read this and more it becomes clear that Hell is located away from this earth, a place of outer darkness, to be found maybe near the edge of the universe. 

So what will it be like?  We read in scripture that Hell is a place of unquenchable fire.  It will be a place of rememberance and remorse.  It will be a place of thirst, misery and pain along with frustration and anger.  This will be a place of separation. 

Many joke about this...."when I go to Hell I'll have lots of company because all my friends will be there."  I'm not so sure.  I'm thinking it may be a place of isolation along with the darkness. 

Hell was not prepared for man at all.  Hell was prepared for Satan and his angels and those that go will go as guests of Satan and his evil angels.   How sad that the one who will refuse Heaven, which is the place prepared for man, instead would choose to eventually descend into Hell, a place originally not created for him. 

This place is a place created for eternity.  This, without a doubt, is the most difficult truth to grasp. How can a just God rightfully punish forever the sins that were committed for such a brief period on earth?  Only God can fully answer this but we can see thru scripture that Hell demonstrates the evilness of sin and the holiness of God.  Sins against God's eternal holiness will be punished by God's eternal justice. 

So who's going to Hell?  Well, Satan will be there.  So will his angels, his false Christs including the upcoming Anti-Christ, his false Prophets.  Also on the list will be Judas Iscariot and all the unsaved people who ever lived on earth.

Many believe in the present-day existence of Gehenna using both scripture and even Science to back up this belief.  From a 1972 Family Almanac.

Astronomers have recently added two new objects to the growing list of strange and puzzling objects speculated about or found in the universe.  A "black hole" is the hypothetical result of a runaway or uncontrolled gravitational collapse of a supernova.  Eventually a collapsing object, such as a star, will reach a limited size, called the Schwarzschild Radius, which depends upon the mass of the object.  For the sun, the Schwarzachild Radius would be about two miles!  If the contracting object continues to contract to less than its Schwarzachild Radius it becomes a "black hole."  The gravitational forces exerted by the object are so strong that no matter or radiation can escape from it.  The light emanating from this object is trapped and effectively removed from the "observable universe."