What is Hell?

What does the Bible’s narrative show us about hell?

To understand what the Bible teaches about hell, we first need to grasp the broader narrative the Bible presents. From beginning to end, the Bible is the story of a God who created humanity to live in relationship with him, and the God who acted in love to rescue us when we rebelled.

Creation: Designed to Dwell with God

In the beginning, God created the world “and it was good” (Genesis 1:31). Humanity was the crown of God’s creation, made in his image (Genesis 1:27), and placed in a garden filled with beauty, peace, and purpose. With humans now in his world, “God saw all that he had made and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). Adam and Eve walked in close communion with God. There was no death, no pain, and no separation. Their relationship with God was marked by trust, intimacy, and joy.

God did not force that relationship. He gave Adam and Eve the ability to choose him by placing the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden (Genesis 2:16–17). Every time they walked past the tree and chose not to eat, they demonstrated their desire to trust him, to belong to him, and to live under his loving care. Their freedom to choose to love, honor, and worship him made their relationship real.

Fall: Sin Brings Separation

And then, they rebelled. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, sin entered the world (Genesis 3:6), and everything good was now tainted by sin and no longer good. God had warned them, “You will surely die” (Genesis 2:17), and that warning came true. Not only did their bodies begin to decay, but their hearts turned away from God. With sin came a rupture in their relationship with each other and with God (Genesis 3:16–19). Instead of walking with him, they were driven out of the garden (Genesis 3:24). Instead of perfect fellowship, there was now shame, fear, and distance (Genesis 3:10).

Sin created a barrier—a physical and spiritual separation—between humanity and God. Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden and cut off from the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:22–24). From that point forward, God’s immediate presence became inaccessible.

Throughout the Old Testament, God reminded his people of this separation, caused by sin. At Sinai, as he gave his perfect law to Moses, the people could not approach the mountain where God descended (Exodus 19:12–13). In the tabernacle and temple, access to God’s presence was restricted. Only a purified high priest could enter the Most Holy Place, and only once a year, and only with blood (Leviticus 16:2–4, 29–34; Hebrews 9:6–7).

This separation was more than physical. The Bible says we were “dead in [our] transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). That death is spiritual. It alienates us from God (Isaiah 59:2), dulls our ears to his voice, and renders us unable to return to him by our effort (Romans 3:11). We don’t just stand guilty before him; we are corrupted and opposed to him in our hearts and minds (Romans 8:7).

After the fall, humanity lost the ability to choose God as Adam and Eve once had. Instead, we inherited Adam’s likeness; not just his physical image, but his spiritual condition. Soon, Adam’s sons were born “in his own likeness” (Genesis 5:3), a likeness characterized by sin and death. The first genealogy (Genesis 5) rings the funeral bell over and over again, ending nearly every verse with “and then he died.” Commenting on the depravity of humanity, God next said, “that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5).

Because of this natural inclination away from God, we do not seek God, are born alienated from him (Ephesians 2:3), and following the path we enter life on, we would be forever separated from him in hell. The first chapters of the Bible clearly show us how this separation occurred, and the last chapters of the Bible reveal where that separation ultimately leads. Without a course correction, eternal separation, hell, would be our certain and final destination.

The spiritual separation caused by sin in Eden—being cast out from God’s presence and barred from the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:22–24)—foreshadows a far more final separation. Revelation 22:14–15 tells us that to remain cut off from the Tree of Life is to remain outside of eternal life with God. This separation is what the Bible refers to as the “second death” (Revelation 21:8).

In other words, without rescue, our destination isn’t just spiritual separation—it’s eternal separation. Hell. And this breaks God’s heart. Genesis 6:6 tells us that the Lord was grieved and that his heart was filled with pain. God does not look at sin with detached anger. He looks with sorrow at what has been lost. But from that sorrow, his plan of redemption begins to unfold.

Redemption: God Wants No One to Perish

After Adam and Eve chose sin, God responded, not just with consequences but with a promise. Speaking to the serpent, he declared, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

The Oxford English Dictionary defines enmity as “the state of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.” Adam and Eve had aligned themselves against God and with the devil. This first gospel promise was to move enmity back to where it belonged—from between God vs. man & Satan back to God & Man vs. Satan. In other words, he would bring about a new allegiance, one that restores our relationship with him and separates us from evil.

From that moment on, the Bible traces the unfolding of this rescue plan. Over and over, God revealed his heart: he does not desire the death of the wicked, but that they turn and live (Ezekiel 33:11). He is patient, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). He longs for all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). Through prophets, and promises, God pointed forward to the One who would come and deal with sin fully and finally.

Jesus: The One Who Took Our Separation

The one promised back in Genesis 3 finally arrived. Jesus came to redeem us from the curse of sin and secure for us everything necessary to make us worthy to live in God’s presence. He accomplished this by taking our place in God’s courtroom.

First, he lived the perfect, sinless life we could never live (Hebrews 4:15). Then on the cross, he took upon himself the sins of the whole world, becoming the one who was cut off in our place (Galatians 3:13; Isaiah 53:4–6). He bore the wrath and abandonment our sin deserved to satisfy justice and restore our fellowship with God (Matthew 27:46; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Then, to show us that he had defeated sin, death, and the devil, he rose victoriously from the grave, vicariously providing new life spiritually and eternally for you and me and everyone.

Therefore, the story of the Bible for those in Christ doesn’t end in the separation described earlier in Revelation 22. Instead, it culminates in Revelation 21:1-4, where restoration and a renewed creation where those who are in Christ dwell with God forever, is described. This eternal communion with God belongs to those united to Christ by faith, those who have been washed in the blood of the lamb, brought near and made alive in him. But apart from Christ, there is no life, no hope, and no home with God. However, as you will learn later in this article, hell isn’t a place of God’s desire for anyone, but it is the final, terrible result of remaining separated from him.

Jesus spoke so often about hell, not to scare people into obedience, but to call them to life. He willingly endured the curse and separation of sin so we could be spared. These truths are weighty. But they come with the invitation to run to the One who faced hell for us.

What is the biblical definition of hell?

When many people hear the word hell, they picture red devils, fiery caves, or a punishment reserved only for the worst of the worst. In Mormonism, hell is often seen as a temporary spirit prison or as a final destination only for Satan, his angels, and a few “sons of perdition.” But the Bible presents a far more serious and sobering picture.

Hell is real. It is eternal. It is just. And it is the final destination for all who die apart from Christ.

Jesus described it as a place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Luke 13:28), where people face the full consequences of their rebellion against God. The Bible uses vivid imagery—fire (Revelation 20:10), darkness (Matthew 22:13), and separation (Matthew 25:46)—to express the agony of being cut off from the God of life.

This separation is not symbolic or temporary. It is final. Paul writes that those who do not know God “will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). There is no progression after death. “People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). No second chances. No spirit paradise. No lower kingdoms. Only two eternal outcomes: one with God, and one apart from him.

If that’s hard to hear, you’re not alone. These truths are meant to sober us—but also to show how far God was willing to go to rescue us.

Hell is not unfair. It is the righteous judgment of a holy God. It is not only punishment. It is also the tragic end of those who remain cut off from the source of all goodness, love, and life. And it is not what God desires for anyone (Ezekiel 33:11; 2 Peter 3:9).

What other terms does the Bible use for hell?

The Bible uses a variety of words and images to describe hell, each highlighting a different aspect of its horror and finality:

• Outer Darkness – A term Jesus used to describe exclusion from God’s kingdom (Matthew 8:12). It emphasizes sorrow, isolation, and the absence of God’s light and joy.
• Sheol – A Hebrew word in the Old Testament often meaning “the grave” or the realm of the dead. Sometimes poetic, but always representing loss and distance from God (Psalm 16:10).
• Hades – A Greek term for the place of the dead. In Luke 16, Jesus describes it as a place of conscious torment for the unrighteous.
• Gehenna – The word Jesus used most often for hell. It referred to a valley outside Jerusalem where refuse and corpses were burned—a powerful image of judgment and destruction (Matthew 10:28).
• The Lake of Fire – A term found in Revelation for the final place of judgment, where death, the devil, and all who reject Christ are cast (Revelation 20:14–15).

These words are not just symbolic curiosities. They are warnings spoken in love, meant to stir our hearts and awaken us to what’s at stake.

Who will go to hell?

It’s essential to begin with the understanding that hell was not intended for us. Jesus taught that hell was “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). God’s desire for humanity was not destruction, but life. He created us for relationship with him. Yet those who remain aligned with the devil in rebellion, rejection, and unbelief will share in his fate.

Hell is not arbitrary or excessive. It is the right and just consequence of separation from the God of life.

All People Deserve Hell

This reality may be one of the most brutal truths to accept.

It means giving up the idea that we are born with the power to choose God. It means surrendering the belief that we are basically good, or at least neutral, only in need of some guidance or growth. It means acknowledging that the chasm between a holy God and sinful humanity is not small, but infinite.

The Bible’s message is sobering: the problem isn’t just what we do. It’s who we are.

The idea that only the worst people go to hell is foreign to the Bible, which teaches that all people, no matter how generous or religious, are born separated from God and deserving of judgment:

• “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin” (Romans 5:12).
• “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
• “We were by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3).
• “Surely I was sinful at birth” (Psalm 51:5).

We are not born spiritually neutral, with the ability to choose the right, or on a path to glory. Instead, we are born spiritually dead, opposed to God, unable to draw near to him, and in desperate need of rescue.

This truth humbles us. It confronts our pride, our performance, and our sense of purpose, as well as our sense of control. But it also prepares us to see the beauty of grace. Until we grasp how lost we are, we cannot fully comprehend the completeness of God’s rescue.

Hell Is the Default Destination

Since all people are born spiritually dead and turned away from God, hell is not just for the worst offenders; it is for everyone. It is the destination we have inherited from our sinful father, Adam. Jesus said, “Whoever does not believe stands condemned already” (John 3:18). We are not waiting for judgment day to find out where we stand. Apart from Christ, we are already lost.

We do not become sinners deserving of hell by rejecting the gospel. We reject the gospel because we are already sinners by nature. That is why the Bible describes salvation as a rescue (Colossians 1:13). God must intervene in order to save us. Unless he rescues us and gives us new life and makes us his own, we remain under his wrath (John 3:36).

In Christ, Everything Changes

But God did not leave us in our condemnation. He sent his Son to do what we could never ever do for ourselves. Jesus took the judgment we deserved so we could have peace with God and life in his presence. And now, for those who belong to Christ, there is no more condemnation (Romans 8:1). They are forgiven, made new, and secure in his love.

This rescue is what we explore next.

Jesus Faced Hell for Us: The Substitute Who Took Our Place

Hell is not an abstract concept. It is the just consequence of sin—complete separation from the goodness, love, and presence of God. It is what every sinner deserves. But in an act of staggering love, Jesus stepped into our place and faced what we could not bear.

Jesus Faced What We Deserved

Though he was perfect and sinless, Jesus bore the full weight of our sin on the cross. The punishment he suffered was not just physical. It was spiritual. As Isaiah prophesied, “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities… the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5–6).

Jesus endured the judgment we earned because of our sin (Romans 6:23). And “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This was not a metaphor. On the cross, Jesus truly suffered the punishment of hell that our sin deserved.

At its core, hell is not just suffering. It is forsakenness, being cast away from God’s presence forever (2 Thessalonians 1:9). That is precisely what Jesus experienced. As he hung on the cross, he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Those words echo the agony of hell.

In that moment, Jesus experienced what we were destined for. He entered outer darkness for us. He faced abandonment so that we could be welcomed. He bore the judgment so that we could receive mercy.

The Cross Was a Substitutionary Rescue

Jesus did not simply die as a martyr or moral example. He died as our substitute. The punishment that brought us peace was placed on him. He took what we deserved so that we could receive what he accomplished, his perfect righteousness and eternal life (Romans 6:23)

For this to be possible, Jesus had to be fully human and fully God. As a human, he could stand in our place. As God, he could bear the infinite weight of sin’s penalty. Only someone both fully human and fully divine could take our place and bear the full weight of our sin. As a man, Jesus stood in our place. As God, he could carry the infinite burden our sin deserved and fully satisfy God’s justice.

What This Means for You

You do not have to fear hell. If you belong to Christ, then your punishment has already been carried out on him. “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). What you deserved was given to Jesus. What he earned has been given to you. Jesus did not just help us make up the difference. He paid it all. The cross—the atonement—wasn’t just suffering and surrendering to God—it was substitution. He took our place completely.

To be in Christ is to be safe. It is to be known, loved, and held by the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep (John 10:11, 27–28). If he faced hell for you, he will never abandon you. Those who are in Christ can be confident that their relationship with God has been fully reconciled, and they will spend eternity with him.

How can a loving God send anyone to hell?

This question weighs heavily for many people: If God is love, how could he send anyone to a place like hell? There is a tension here between God’s love and his judgment. It’s not just intellectual. It’s emotional. It feels like a contradiction. Love and judgment seem like opposites. However, the Bible reveals that they are not. In fact, they are bound together. God’s love is not soft, passive affection. It is holy, active, and just. And his justice is not cold cruelty. It flows from his pure love for all that is good.

God’s judgment proves that evil matters to him. His love proves that he is not content to leave us condemned.

God’s Desire Is to Save, Not Condemn

God takes no pleasure in condemning anyone. In fact, the Bible tells us just the opposite:

• “[God] wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).
• “‘As surely as I live,’ declares the Lord, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live’” (Ezekiel 33:11).
• Jesus wept over Jerusalem, grieving that they were unwilling to come to him (Luke 19:41–42).

God’s heart is not eager to banish sinners from his presence. His heart is eager to save. That is why he sent Jesus, not to condemn the world but to rescue it (John 3:17).

God Is Not a Coercive Savior, But a Relentless One

God is not a being who forces himself on anyone. His love is freely given, not coerced or manipulated. Heaven is not a reward for good behavior. It is a relationship that welcomes one into the presence of God. But Scripture also tells us that no one seeks God on their own (Romans 3:11). Left to ourselves, we would all turn away. That is why eternal life with God is not a matter of human will but divine mercy (John 6:44; Romans 9:16).

God does not drag anyone into a relationship they hate, but he does pursue us even when we are running the other way. Tragically, many continue to resist. Hell is not God slamming the door on someone desperate to come in. It is the final result of someone who persistently closes the door on God. The Bible describes God eventually giving people over to their hardened desires (Romans 1:24–26; Proverbs 1:29–31).

As C. S. Lewis put it, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘Thy will be done.’”

The tragedy is not that God is unwilling to save, but that many are unwilling to be rescued.

Rejecting God Means Rejecting All His Blessings

The greatest tragedy of hell is not fire or darkness but the loss of God himself. He is the source of everything truly good—light, love, peace, joy, purpose, and life itself. To be cut off from him is to be cut off from all joy.

Again, hell is not filled with people who long to be in God’s presence but were unfairly denied entry. It is the final state of those who have lived apart from him and now experience the reality of that separation fully and eternally. Without God, nothing good remains. Hell is the complete and unending experience of that truth.

God’s Justice Is Not Opposed to His Love; It Proves It

Some think love means letting people off the hook. But real love does not ignore evil. Imagine a judge who lets a violent criminal go free. We wouldn’t call that loving. We’d call it an injustice.

God’s justice flows from his holy love. He cannot overlook sin, because it destroys what he loves and separates people from him. But here’s the beauty: God himself bore that justice. Jesus stepped into our place, taking our judgment on the cross. The punishment we deserved fell on him so that mercy could fall on us.

But not everyone receives the benefit of Christ’s atonement. The Bible teaches that those who are in Christ, those who belong to him by faith, are rescued from condemnation. This rescue occurs not because they were better or more deserving. It is because they were united to the One who bore their judgment. Those who remain outside of Christ, however, are still under judgment. They have not received the covering of his righteousness or the cleansing of his blood. That is why the invitation to trust in Jesus is urgent and vital. Without him, there is no refuge from the justice we all deserve.

Love and justice met at the cross. Jesus faced hell so we wouldn’t have to.

What about those who seem beyond reach?

This is one of the most tender and difficult questions Christians wrestle with: What about the infant who dies minutes after birth? What about the person in an isolated region who has never heard the gospel?

We are not given every answer, but we are told this: God is both just and merciful. He is not limited by time, geography, or human effort. He sees every heart, knows every thought, and is able to reach anyone, anywhere, in any way he chooses.

God’s ability to reach people goes far beyond what we can see or imagine. Consider the faith of unborn John the Baptist, who leaped in the womb as Mary approached, carrying Jesus (Luke 1:41–44). God sent Jonah to the wicked Ninevites and, along the way, saved a group of pagan sailors (Jonah 1:16; 3:5–10). He pursued the proud King Nebuchadnezzar until the king acknowledged God’s sovereignty (Daniel 4:34–37). He welcomed Rahab the prostitute into Israel’s story of redemption (Joshua 2:9–11; Hebrews 11:31). Even the Magi (Wisemen) from the east were drawn to worship the newborn King, though we know little about how they came to seek him (Matthew 2:1–12). He sent Peter to Cornelius before Cornelius even knew what to ask (Acts 10). Throughout Scripture, God proves that he is not bound by our limitations.

We do not know how God works in every hidden situation, but we do know that no one is overlooked. No one is forgotten. No one ends up in hell by accident or because God failed to reach them. God’s mercy is not careless or haphazard. It is wise, intentional, and always just.

When we cannot answer the question, What about them?, we cling to what we do know: The Judge of all the earth will do what is right (Genesis 18:25). We can trust that God’s love and mercy are greater than we can imagine.

How can I trust God with those I’ve lost?

This may be the most challenging hell related question of all. It isn’t abstract or theological—it’s deeply personal. You might be wondering: What about my parents, my spouse, my child, or my best friend who died as a faithful Latter-day Saint? What if they never truly trusted in the Jesus of the Bible?

The weight of that question is real. If you’ve left Mormonism, you already know how tightly it ties eternal life to family relationships. Coming to believe the biblical gospel can feel like losing your eternal family all over again. The grief is deep. The fear is sharp. The guilt can be overwhelming.

We want to sit with you in that pain, not rush past it. These aren’t questions to dismiss or avoid. They are burdens we carry to the Lord. As we explore this question, let’s examine what we know with certainty. 

What We Know About God

When we don’t understand everything, we hold onto what we do. The Bible assures us that God is perfectly just and perfectly merciful. He is the Judge of all the earth, and he always does what is right (Genesis 18:25).

God doesn’t take pleasure in condemnation. He takes no joy in anyone’s death apart from him (Ezekiel 33:11). His heart is to save. His reach extends far beyond what we can see or know.

Even when someone was raised in error or surrounded by false teaching, the gospel still has power. Many Latter-day Saints have heard the true and life-giving words of the Bible in a quiet moment or a surprising place. God is not bound by bad doctrine or confused systems. He is able to reach the heart, and he alone knows what happens in those final moments of life (2 Timothy 2:19; Romans 10:17).

This truth does not erase our sorrow, but it reminds us that our hope rests in the God who sees every heart perfectly. It also calls us to trust his perfect mercy and justice, especially when we don’t have full clarity.

A Plea to Share the Gospel Boldly and Urgently

What we know about God and his word is also why we speak with urgency to those still living. The gospel is not just a better version of Mormonism. It is an entirely different message, one that calls people to stop trusting in their worthiness and works and start resting in Jesus alone.

Mormon doctrine is not salvific. It cannot save. While it speaks often about Jesus and includes pieces of biblical language, it ultimately points people away from the finished work of Christ and toward their own progression, obedience, and temple worthiness. It replaces God’s free gift with a system of personal effort.

The tragedy of Mormonism is not just that it is wrong. It keeps people from hearing the real gospel. It takes their eyes off of Christ’s finished work and puts them back on their own efforts. As a result, many sincere people spend their entire lives tirelessly climbing a ladder that doesn’t reach heaven (Galatians 1:6–7).

We share the gospel not to condemn but to invite. Not to shame but to rescue. We don’t know how many opportunities someone will get to hear the gospel, but we know that today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Trusting the One Who Loves Perfectly

If you are grieving someone who died without confessing the biblical Christ, you are not alone. Even Jesus wept over those who would not come to him (Luke 19:41). He understands your sorrow. So please bring your questions and your tears to him. He is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). Though you may never have perfect peace about a loved one’s eternity, you can have perfect peace about God’s character. He is good. He is just. He is merciful. He is wise.

Let your grief draw you closer to the Savior who conquered death. Let it shape the way you love those still living. Let it anchor your hope in the God who never makes mistakes.