Answer
The Bible is clear that there are two possible destinations for every human soul following physical death: heaven or hell (Matthew 25:34, 41, 46; Luke 16:22–23). Only the righteous inherit eternal life, and the only way to be declared righteous before God is through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (John 3:16–18; Romans 10:9). The souls of the righteous go directly into the presence of God (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23).
For those who do not receive Jesus Christ as Savior, death will result in everlasting punishment (2 Thessalonians 1:8–9). This punishment is described in a variety of ways: torment (Luke 16:24), a lake of fire (Revelation 20:14–15), outer darkness (Matthew 8:12), and a prison (1 Peter 3:19), for example. This place of punishment is eternal (Jude 1:13; Matthew 25:46).
Second Thessalonians 1:8–9 associates hell with a separation from God: “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” The misery of hell will include not only physical torture, but also the agony of being separated from God in a way never experienced before. At the judgment, Jesus will tell the wicked, “Depart from me” (Luke 13:27, ESV; cf. Psalm 6:8). Hell is where those sent away will go.
God is the source of all good things (James 1:17). To be separated from God is to be shut out from all exposure to anything good. It is to be excluded from every avenue of happiness. In this life, no one is totally separated from God. Everyone experiences divine blessing in some form: “[God] has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy” (Acts 14:17; cf. Matthew 5:45). In hell, none of those blessings will be available. Hell will be devoid of all happiness, all comfort, all virtue, and all honor. If it’s good, it will not be in hell.
Hell is characterized as the complete absence of goodness; righteousness will be lacking. After the judgment, the state of the wicked will be fixed and unchanging, with not a shred of goodness: “Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile” (Revelation 21:11). Denizens of hell will thus be in a state of perpetual sinfulness, accompanied by a full understanding of sin’s horrors. The remorse, guilt, and shame will be unending. And there will be no recourse, no rescue, because those in hell are eternally separated from the Savior.
To be separated from God in hell is to be forever cut off from light (1 John 1:5), love (1 John 4:8), joy (Matthew 25:23), and peace (Ephesians 2:14) because God is the source of all those good things. Any good we observe in humanity today is merely a reflection of the character of God, in whose image we were created (Genesis 1:27).
The spirits of those regenerated by God’s Holy Spirit will abide forever with God in a perfected state (1 John 3:2), but the opposite is true of those in hell. Those who die in their sins will exist forever apart from God in a sinful state. Their separation from God will be irreversible. Those in hell have forever lost the chance to see God’s face, hear His voice, experience His forgiveness, or enjoy His fellowship. To be forever separated from God is the ultimate punishment.
