"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen... That no flesh should glory in his presence."
1 Corinthians 1:27-29
Hell Is Real And Many People Are Going There
Author:
Christopher J. E. Johnson
Published: October, 2011
Updated: Nov 24, 2023

There is no Biblical reason for anyone to deny the existence of hell, but there are many false preachers who deny hell's existence anyway, and that is the reason I wrote this article. Most readers probably believe that the reason there are some pastors that are denying the existence of hell is because they want to escape it, which is true, but I believe there is a greater reason, namely, many pastors avoid the subject because preaching on such things is not very popular, and therefore, it does not bring in a lot of donations.

I did not publish this article to make readers feel good about themselves because this subject is a serious matter that concerns the souls of all mankind. The purpose of this teaching is to warn you, your family, and your friends that hell is very real, the Bible is not a book to be taken lightly, and that God's Word is settled forever in Heaven, which also means that the existence of hell is not going to be changed by anyone's personal feelings and opinions.

For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
-Psalm 119:89

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
-Matthew 24:35

As I usually do in my teachings, let's begin by looking at a definition of hell:

hell (n): the place or state of punishment for the wicked after death; called in Hebrew sheol, and by the Greeks, hades
(See 'hell', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Aug 1, 2018, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

There are many articles I have seen from online ministries that teach their readers that hell, sheol, and hades are all different concepts that have different meanings, but that is nonsense. These are simply different names for the same location, and the only reason arguments have arisen about differences between them is because new-age, corrupt bible versions have been released that have replaced 'hell' with "sheol" or "hades," which is why I encourage Christians to study the King James Bible.

If any readers may not understand why the King James Bible should be the choice of study for born again Christians, I would recommend the following resources:
  1. Why I Use The King James Bible: This will provide information about where bible versions come from, why the KJB stands far above them all, and why the KJB is not "outdated" as is often claimed by scoffers. (i.e. It is written for modern English use.)
  2. Dangers of Using Lexicons and Concordances: This will provide information about the many problems with Greek-English lexicons, and the hidden truth about the men who authored them. (i.e. They denied Christ in their writings.)
  3. The 'Original Greek' Scam: This will explain the dangers and huge errors of the so-called "pastors" and "scholars" who try to interpret the Bible by "the original Greek." (i.e. Most of them don't even know any Greek or Hebrew.)
  4. Does the Greek Septuagint Exist?: This will give more details on the non-existent, so-called "evidence" for the Greek Septuagint (LXX), and why the existence of such a document would defy historical and cultural reasoning.
For example, the corrupt ESV (English Standard Version) reads as follows in Isaiah 14:
"But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit."

However, the King James Bible reads:

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
-Isaiah 14:15

The corrupt NIV (New International Version) reads:
"And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades."

However, the King James Bible reads:

And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.
-Luke 10:15

The reason new-age bible versions change these words is not only because they want to use fancier foreign terms so they can sound really smart, but mainly because they need to change a certain percentage of words in the Bible so they can claim a copyright on it. Without the copyright, they cannot make any money from it, and so these con artists (who pride themselves to be "scholars") are more interested in turning a profit than they are interested in teaching the truth, and they would rather people end up in hell, so long as they can get their filthy lucre (i.e. money).

Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
-Titus 1:11

But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
-1 Timothy 6:9-10

Keep this in mind for later because I will come back to why the word changes in the corrupt bible versions has sparked controversy and debate. The Lord God talks about hell many times, and that the wicked would end up in it:

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
-Psalm 9:17

Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
-Psalm 55:15


It should be noted that Psalm 55:15 indicates that hell is a dwelling for the wicked, and that they will end up in hell after they die. There will also be a judgment of wicked before they are sent to hell, as indicated in Hebrews:

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
-Hebrews 9:27

For example, the context of the following verses are describing thieves and robbers who steal food and drink:

Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
-Proverbs 9:17-18

This indicates that sin causes a man to be sentenced to hell. However, those who have come to repentance (i.e. godly sorrow) of sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved from both sin and hell.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
-Romans 5:8-9

Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
-Mark 1:14-15

However, people are dying every day because they reject faith (i.e. belief in the saving blood of Jesus Christ), or repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing), or both. Hell, and the destruction that is in hell, are never so full that it cannot take in more souls:

Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
-Proverbs 27:20

The Bible teaches us that hell grows as it swallows up men of pride and respecters of persons, standing on pretense instead of humbling themselves before the Lord God. Those who glorify themselves shall be brought low, but the lowly of heart will be lifted up.

Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
-Isaiah 5:14

For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
-Luke 14:11

Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
-Isaiah 14:9

Despite what many people might want to believe, the Lord God has stated clearly that He casts wicked men into hell:

I made the nations to shake at the sound of his [Pharaoh's] fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth. They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
-Ezekiel 31:16-17

The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
-Ezekiel 32:21

When it says they lie "uncircumcised," please do not misunderstand this to think that a physical circumcision is required to avoid the clutches of hell. Hell is reserved for those who are uncircumcised in their hearts (Deu 10:16, Deu 30:6), meaning that they have not humbled themselves before God, meaning that they have not had the sorrow of repentance, and they have not come to faith in His mercy, so that they could be sanctified from wickedness.
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Circumcision" & There is No Saving Grace Without Repentance here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Later in this teaching, we will go over some of the false doctrines taught in popular mainstream church-ianity about hell, but first, let's make sure we understand the details of it, specifically how the Word of God defines it. The Lord Jesus Christ taught us that hell is a place of great heat and fire, and that is it a place where "the worm dieth not."

And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
-Mark 9:43-48

We will cover the worm in a moment, but first, hell contains eternal fire, which can never be put out. The Lord Jesus Christ told us of a certain beggar named Lazarus and a wicked rich man who went to hell, and was tormented by the unending heat:

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
-Luke 16:19-24

There are a variety of preachers that believe this was just a parable, which is a story that was created to teach a moral lesson, but that is not the case because Christ told us about a real event that took place in this instance, which is why he used specific names. The reason they would rather consider this a metaphorical story is because they do not want to believe that hell is a fiery dungeon, in which those who are not of Christ will suffer immensely for all eternity.

Please do not misunderstand because I am not thrilled with the idea of hell either, and I have gotten cold chills across my skin many times just thinking about the concept. However, it does not matter how I feel about it because the facts are the facts; meaning that the truth is that hell exists, as God has declared it, and I will accept that truth, no matter how disturbing it might be to me because my feelings are irrelevant when faced against the truth of God's Word.

When I was a teenager, I used to attend a church building in which they had a Halloween event, with one portion of it being a room set up to experience their interpretation of "hell," and it was a room that was pitch black, with air conditioners in it to make it really cold. That entire setup was a lie from churchgoers that do not heed the Word of God because the fact is that hell is a VERY hot place with fires that cannot be put out, and that those who go there will be tormented with great heat forever.
(Read "Halloween: Are Christians Lovers of Death?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

The reason that churchgoers adopt these false versions of hell is because the actual concept of the REAL hell bothers them to such a degree that they will condemn anyone who preaches it to them. For example, while I was preparing this teaching, I had a brief discussion with a woman in an online chatroom about the verses we just read in Mark chapter nine.

The woman called herself the "Armored Lady," as if she was wearing the full armor of God, and when she saw my website, she complained that I taught that people were going to end up in hell fire for eternity. She said, "It is terribly foolish to preach a 'You're going to burn in hell'."

In response, I quoted Mark 9, where Jesus taught the same thing, and explained to her that it was NOT me she was rejecting, but rather, she was rejecting Jesus Christ and the doctrines He taught. It is important to note that, during the conversation, she called herself, "a daughter of the King," which is most often said by cultist in new-age church-ianity who are prideful of heart (i.e. who were never given the gift of repentance), and so it should not take readers long to figure out that she was not going to be happy that I pointed out her hypocrisy.

Here was her response:
"Again, you are wrong. Your pride and ego do not allow for humility, but feed your hypocrisy. I won't defend myself; there is no need. Your self-righteousness is foul. You are the Pharisee. You are one of the religious zealots referred to as brood of vipers, snakes, unholy whitewashed tombs. YOU, and people of your ilk, are the reason why people run away from Christianity."

This is EXACTLY the way that Christ and His apostles were treated for teaching the doctrines they taught, and as you can see, this is exactly how we Christians are treated (especially by churchgoers) for simply repeating what Christ taught. As a response, I pointed out to her that she was right about me on all counts, that all my righteousness hangs on the pillar of the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, but I also agreed with her that people run from Christianity for this reason, and that is why we have so many churchgoers that run from Christianity (and Christ), preferring to adopt the false gospel of "church-ianity," because it teaches them a happy-go-lucky message that scratches their itching ears, and they would rather turn away from the truth to be taught feel-good anecdotes from leavened preachers.

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season [i.e. when it is expected, and when it is unexpected]; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
-2 Timothy 4:2-5

Instead of abhorring God's eternal prison for sinners, and trying to run from it, I use hell as motivation, considering others as myself. It makes me want to work harder, not because I am trying to escape hell; I have been born again in Jesus Christ, so I have no reason to fear going to hell, but the thought of hell itself, and others going there, motivates me to continue working and teaching for the sake of Christ and my neighbors.

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
-Matthew 7:12

Concerning the worm, this is where it gets really interesting because, sadly, many preachers, in their ignorance of Scripture, have taken this to mean a literal insect, but Jesus was repeating what was prophesied by Isaiah:

And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
-Isaiah 66:24

The Bible was not saying that insects will never die because we know that all heaven and earth shall pass away (Mark 13:31), but rather, as Jesus already told us, this is meant in the figurative sense. The word 'worm' actually has quite a few different meanings that many people are not aware of, as we can see from Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary in the context of Mark 9:

worm (n): remorse; that which incessantly gnaws the conscience, that which torments
(See 'worm', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Aug 1, 2018, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

A similar definition can still be found in modern dictionaries too:

worm (n): something that penetrates, injures, or consumes slowly or insidiously, like a gnawing worm
(See 'worm', Random House Dictionary, 2018, [dictionary.com]; See also Collins English Dictionary, 10th Edition, William Collins Sons & Co, 2012)

For example, in the book of Job, the word 'worm' is used in the manner of describing a loss of all hope:

I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister. And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it? They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.
-Job 17:14-16

The hell 'worm' that Jesus talked about is the torment of the mind, meaning that the remorse and guilt of their sin will plague them for all eternity. Everything they had ever done wrong, every opportunity they had to repent and acknowledge the truth, every born again Christian they rejected and cursed for preaching the truth of Christ to them, every person they sinned against—all these things will play over and over again in their minds forever, as a worm that bores into their skull, and never dies.

torment (n): extreme pain, anguish, the utmost degree of misery, either of body or mind
(See 'torment', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Aug 1, 2018, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

However, the torment of hell is not just the pain of the mind, but also, there will be some sort of pain that is in relation to the physical pain we experience in life. The souls of the dead in hell will be able to feel this pain. For example, the wicked men who take the mark and worshiped the beast (in Revelation 14) will end up in hell, having the effect of smoke rising from their burning, and they will never know the ease of rest again.

The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
-Revelation 14:10-11

When the wicked stand before the Judgment Seat of God, they give an account for everything they have ever said, thought, or done, and when they are found guilty without the blood of Christ as payment for their sin, they will be cast into hell. This casting of the wicked to burn in hell for eternity will glorify God and His Word because the truth of the hearts of all men will be revealed in that day, but even so, the Bible also says that God takes no pleasure in doing this:

Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
-Ezekiel 33:11

We need to remember that the Lord God is not just a judge, He is THE judge over all mankind, and as the judge, He will see that justice is done. Mankind typically wants to believe they are not wretched, and have good hearts within them automatically, but all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
-Romans 5:12

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
-Romans 3:10-12

However, God is merciful, which is why He sent Jesus Christ in the first place. Those who come to Him in the humility of repentance (i.e. godly sorrow for sin), and believe on the blood payment of the Lord Jesus Christ, will have their sins remitted and be saved from hellfire.

And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.
-Nehemiah 9:17

The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
-Psalm 34:18

contrite (adj): broken-hearted for sin; deeply affected with grief and sorrow for having offended God; humble; penitent
(See 'contrite', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Jan 21, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

If any readers find themselves fearful in your hearts and minds when reading some of these verses on hell, please do not run from those thoughts. That is a good thing, even if you are born again in Christ. The fearfulness of hell is the fear of the judgment of God, and to fear Him is the foundation of wisdom and understanding.

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
-Matthew 10:28

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
-Proverbs 1:7

For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
-Proverbs 1:29

And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
-Luke 12:4-5

The Bible also indicates that hell is downward, beneath us, somewhere deep in the center of the earth, meaning that it has somewhat of a physical location. We have already read some of these verses, like from Ezekiel 31, in which the wicked are "cast down to hell" to "descend into the pit," but I want to go over them again in the context of location, to consider that hell has "lowest" parts in terms of height, that hell is "deep," that people "go down" into it, that hell is in the "depths," that it is "beneath" us, that people "descend" into it, and that people are "brought down," "thrust down," and "cast down" into it.

For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
-Deuteronomy 32:22

It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
-Job 11:8

Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
-Psalm 55:15

For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
-Psalm 86:13

If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
-Psalm 139:8
(i.e. This indicates hell is descending, moving down; the opposite of ascending.)

Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
-Proverbs 5:5

Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.
-Proverbs 7:27

But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
-Proverbs 9:18
(i.e. Depth means deepness, or that which is measured beneath.)

The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.
-Proverbs 15:24

Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
-Isaiah 5:14

Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
-Isaiah 14:9

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
-Isaiah 14:15

And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.
-Isaiah 57:9
(i.e. Debase means to move from that which is higher to that which is lower.)

And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
-Matthew 11:23

And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.
-Luke 10:15

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
-2 Peter 2:4

These verses make it clear that hell is downward in terms of the position of the earth (relative to the surface where mankind lives), and there should be no argument against that fact, but as I have already stated, some preachers still argue against it. To further indicate the location of hell being in the earth itself, let's look at some other Scripture from Matthew 12, in which the wicked men of Israel are demanding signs from Christ to prove His status as the Messiah:

But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
-Matthew 12:39-40

heart (n): the inner part of any thing; the middle part or interior; as the heart of a country, kingdom or empire; the heart of a town; the heart of a tree
(See 'heart', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Aug 2, 2018, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

So what Christ is telling them is that, when He died, He would go into the center (i.e. heart) of the earth for three days before He would raise Himself from the dead (John 2:19). Some readers may wonder why Jesus descended into hell, especially since He was sinless, and the Bible answers that too:

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
-1 Peter 3:18-20

Christ did not go to hell because He was forced to do so, nor did He suffer in hell like the wicked souls, but rather, He went to preach to those disobedient men and women who died during the days of Noah. In the days of Noah, those who died in the worldwide flood were so evil that "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Gen 6:5), which means Jesus preached to those in the prison of hell. As we can see, hell is a place beneath us in the center of the earth, and that is where the souls of the wicked (who die without Christ's blood on their account) spend eternity in everlasting torment.

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth [those who are dead and buried] shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
-Daniel 12:2

The Lord Jesus Christ also said that many enter the wide gate of destruction that leads to hell:

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
-Matthew 7:13-14

Please note that Jesus did NOT say few would go to hell and many would go to heaven, even though that is the general philosophy of the world. You might have noticed that whenever there is a funeral, the person who died never seems to go to hell (i.e. according to those who are attending the funeral), but rather, they always assume that the dead person went to heaven because that is a fluffy, feel-good message that helps appease the grief of attendees.

For example, I was chided and railed heavily against on social media back in 2014 when actor and comedian Robin Williams died. I was sick of seeing all the posts saying "RIP Robin Williams," which means "rest in peace" because they all think that Robin Williams is "at peace" in death, but the truth is that Williams had a foul mouth that mocked God and rejected Jesus Christ, and so the reality is that Williams is in the tormenting fires of hell right now, despite the fact that the world (including many churchgoers) want to believe otherwise so they do not have to think about the Judgment of God.

The Lord Jesus Christ told us that FEW would go to heaven, and MANY would end up in hell, which is why I titled this teaching, "Hell is Real And Many People Are Going There." Furthermore, Jesus also said that MANY would call Him "Lord," because they were churchgoers who thought they were good Christians that loved God, but they will be rejected away from Christ to be cast into hell.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
-Matthew 7:21-23

If there are any readers that are unfamiliar with these verses, that is understandable because such things are not preached on very often in modern-day church buildings. If you want to understand the fullness of why Jesus said this, and what the difference is between a born again Christian and a churchgoer, I would highly recommend reading my book called Why Millions of Believers on Jesus Are Going to Hell. (It is free to read here at creationliberty.com, and you can download a free PDF to print it out and share it with others.)

CLICK THE IMAGE TO READ

There are many churchgoers in this world who think they are on their way to heaven because they have "accepted Jesus," which is not a Biblical phrase. They give lip service to Jesus Christ, but in their hearts, they only care about His doctrines and commandments enough to be in agreement with the country club they call a "church" so they will be accepted in the eyes of other churchgoers.

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
-Matthew 15:8

Now that we have proven the existence of hell by the Word of God, and gained a Biblical understanding of the details of it, let's look at what new-age heretics are teaching, starting with false preacher Rick Warren. The following is from a reporter's interview with Warren:
"'I believe in a literal hell. Jesus believed in a literal hell,' he stated. And once you're in, you can't get out, he affirmed. While expressing belief in the flames and fire that Jesus talked about when describing hell, Warren added, 'To me, hell is an eternal separation from God. It's ultimate loneliness.'"
-Rick Warren, quoted by Audrey Barrick, "What Rick Warren Believes About Salvation, Eternal Life," The Christian Post, May 28, 2011, retrieved Aug 2, 2018, [https://bit.ly/2AGsElc]

Before analyzing this quote, I wanted to make sure readers understand that Rick Warren teaches a wide variety of dangerous heresies. He is upheld all over the world as some sort of great Christian author and leader, but in reality, he is working for his father, the Devil, and if you want to learn more about that, read "Wolves in Costume: Rick Warren" here at creationliberty.com.

First of all, Jesus did not "believe" in a literal hell. It is unnecessary to believe in something that you already know about, and it is absurd to claim that Jesus somehow had to "believe" in the very hell that He created.

Secondly, when Warren was answering about the fires of hell, which false preachers want to avoid because they are more focused on making money than telling the truth, he begins his answer with "to me." Notice that he did not begin with "the Bible says," which is what you have been reading in this teaching; rather, Warren only gave his personal opinions and feelings, which contradict God's Word.

Thirdly, hell is not a separation from God because God is omnipresent, meaning that He is at all places at all times at the same time. To claim that an omnipresent God has no presence in hell makes no sense. The very existence of our souls, and that of angels (including fallen ones) persists by the will of God and His Word, and therefore, so does hell (and the lake of fire), which means that God will maintain the lake of fire (into which hell will be thrown) for all eternity.

We read this verse earlier in the context of hell's location, but let's read it again to prove the point that God has a presence in hell:

If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
-Psalm 139:8

And finally, Warren claims that hell is the "ultimate loneliness," which is also nonsensical. In Ezekiel 32, God had Ezekiel address Pharaoh, and all those men who were allied with Pharaoh and his wicked deeds, or in other words, his governors and soldiers, would speak to him while they were all suffering in hell together.

The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
-Ezekiel 32:21

Warren does not need to worry about being lonely when he enters hell because his buddies will be right there with him as they all suffer inescapeable torment:

This brings us back to the sheol/hades concept from the new-age corrupt bible versions I mentioned at the beginning because, through their efforts to change the Word of God (to get a copyright and make more money) many preachers have embraced false doctrine about hell. For example, false preacher David Guzik of Enduring Word said:
"Sheol has the idea of the 'place of the dead'; it has no direct reference to either torment or eternal happiness. The idea of Sheol is often accurately expressed as 'the grave.' ... Hades was a term used to describe the 'world beyond' by ancient Greek speaking people. In the Bible, it has generally the same idea as Sheol."
-David Guzik, "What's the Difference Between Hell and Hades?" Enduring Word, retrieved Jan 26, 2022, [https://enduringword.com/whats-the-difference-between-hell-and-hades-live-qa-for-july-1-2021]

As we saw at the beginning, the corrupt new-age versions chose to use sheol/hades to REPLACE the word hell, and because false teachers like Guzik redefine these terms, it means he is redefining the contextual meanings of the verses of Scripture. It is important to note that they do not simply say that sheol/hades are different words for 'hell', but rather, they are redefining hell in a different way.

To put it another way, let's suppose a restaurant advertised that they were serving a deluxe burger with an 100% organic patty, and upon visiting and ordering this sandwich, you received a crab cake between two cheap pieces of bread, and they charged you a lot of money for it. Of course, you would be outraged that it was a scam because that was not what was advertised, but they simply implied different definitions of the words that were used in the advert, namely, the word 'patty' can simply mean a "cake," the word 'burger' can simply mean "sandwich," and the word 'deluxe' can simply mean "expensive."

patty (n): a small flat cake of chopped food
burger (n): a sandwich similar to a hamburger
deluxe (n): notably luxurious, elegant, or expensive
(See 'patty', 'burger', and 'deluxe', Random House Dictionary, 2022, [dictionary.com]; See also Collins English Dictionary, 10th Edition, William Collins Sons & Co, 2012)

This is how easy it is for someone to deceive you by simply swapping out definitions, and it gets worse when they swap out the words, claim the swapped words both mean the same thing, and then imply different definitions for them to trick you into believing false doctrines. It is an elaborate deception to get you to believe that hell is not what Jesus Christ told us it is.

The Bible does mention "the grave," which is most often in reference to the burial of a dead man while still having an implied context of hell, but this is not rocket science because when the Bible speaks of "the grave," it says, "the grave."

For in death there is no remembrance of thee:
in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
-Psalm 6:5

Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.
-Psalm 31:17

However, depending on the context, "the grave" is also sometimes used in Scripture to refer to hell:

Drought and heat consume the snow waters:
so doth the grave those which have sinned
.
-Job 24:19

But God will redeem my soul from the power
of the grave: for he shall receive me
. Selah.
-Psalm 49:15

We can see that "the grave" is describing the hot fires of hell, in which sinners will be imprisoned, and God will redeem the souls of those sinners who come to repentance and faith in Christ. Guzik's idea of "sheol" does not fit into any of this because he said that "it has no direct reference to either torment or eternal happiness," which means it is not a Biblical concept because such a place does not exist.

The closest concept relative to such a neutral location would be the Catholic's false concept of "purgatory." Purgatory does not exist in Scripture, and it is a money-making scheme of the Catholic Church in which they teach the heresy that no one really goes to hell after judgment, instead, they skip judgment altogether and go to a "limbo" place where they are tortured for their sins until they are allegedly able to pay off the penalties of all their wrongdoing (which is impossible according to Scripture - Eph 2:8-9 - because you cannot pay an eternal penalty), and afterwards, everyone goes to heaven. If any readers want to learn more about the heresy of purgatory, and how the Catholic Church has made near-unbelievable amounts of money from it, I recommend reading Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism, which is a free-to-read book here at creationliberty.com.

False preacher Billy Graham also taught that hell was not a literal fire, but before I begin, it should be noted that later in his life, he did teach that hell was literal fire and torment. That being said, before that time, for most of his life, Graham taught that hell was only "a thirst for God:"
"The only thing I could say for sure [i.e. Graham is certain of the following statement] is that hell means separation from God. We are separated from his light, from his fellowship. That is going to be hell. When it comes to a literal fire, I don't preach it because I'm not sure about it. When the scripture uses fire concerning hell, that is possibly an illustration of how terrible it's going to be—not fire but something worse, a thirst for God that cannot be quenched."
-TIME, "Of Angels, Devils and Messages From God," Vol. 142, No. 20, Nov 15, 1993, p. 97, [content.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601931115,00.html]

Graham confirmed this belief in his book two years later:
"Jesus used this symbol [fire] over and over. I believe that it means a thirst for God that is never quenched."
-Billy Graham, Storm Warning, Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 1995, p. 275, ISBN: 9780849936814

Earlier, we read that the 'worm' that is mentioned in Scripture is metaphorical, or at least, a representation of the remorse and mental anguish of those in hell, but the problem is that preachers with corrupt hearts and mind want to use the fire as symbol too. However, when it comes to the context of hell, the Bible uses the words 'fire', 'flame', and 'heat' in the literal sense.

When Jesus spoke about Lazarus in paradise versus the rich man who went to hell, He said:

And in hell he [the rich man] lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
-Luke 16:23-24

Do people normally ask for water when they are lonely, or do they ask for water when they are overheated? Did Jesus Christ add in this detail to trick us? Did He want to fool us into thinking that hell is hot just for shock value in scaring people? There is no reason to think that God would lie to us.

In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
-Titus 1:2

Again, from Mark 9, the Bible says they are cast into hell FIRE that is not quenched:

And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
-Mark 9:47-48

The word 'extinguish' is most often used when describing the putting out of a literal fire. That is why we have "fire extinguishers."

quenched (v): extinguished
extinguish (v): to put out; to quench; to suffocate
(See 'quenched' & 'extinguish', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Jan 21, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

However, Billy Graham was most likely making a reference to the new-age church-ianity phrase of being "on fire for Jesus," which implies that the churchgoers are really passionate about Jesus Christ, despite the fact that the majority could NOT care less about what He says in His Word. However, this is one phrase I have to agree with for different reasons because if churchgoers continue on in willful ignorance, lackadaisically attending church buildings week after week, and do not come to repentance (i.e. godly sorrow) of their sins, then they will definitely be "on fire for Jesus" for all eternity in hell.

Sadly, Graham believed and taught the doctrine that all men are going to heaven, and that everyone really "believes in Jesus" even if they do not realize it, and if any readers are unfamiliar with the fact that he taught these things, I highly recommend reading "Wolves in Costume: Billy Graham" here at creationliberty.com for more details. When Graham died in 2018, he went to the Judgment of God with his hopes in false doctrine, and today, he has learned the hard way that the fires of hell are quite literal.

If that was not bad enough, let's listen to what the militant, feminist false preacher Joyce Meyer has to say about hell:
MEYER: "The devil thought he had him. The devil thought he'd won. Aww--they were having the biggest party that's ever been had. They had my Jesus on the floor, and they were standing on his back jumping up and down laughing. And he had become sin. Don't you think that God was pacing, wanting to put a stop to what was going on?! All the host of hell were up on him! Up on him. Up! On! Him! The angels are in agony, all the creation is groaning. All the host of hell was upon him. Up on him! They got on him! They got him down in the floor and got on him! And they were laughing! And mocking! AH HA HA HA! You trusted god and look where you ended up! You thought he'd save you and get you off that cross! He didn't! HA HA HA!"

If any readers are unfamiliar with the heresies of Joyce Meyer, and you want to learn more, I recommend the teaching, "Wolves in Costume: Joyce Meyer" here at creationliberty.com. That corrupt woman takes advantage of her viewing audience for the sole purpose of increasing her wealth, and her office furniture alone is worth more than some people's life savings.

One of the first things that needs to be addressed is that Joyce Meyer has no Biblical justification to be a pastor. Please do not misunderstand, it is not that women cannot teach at all, but women do NOT have leadership authority over Christ's church. Meyer ignores God's instructions to women because, in her heart, she hates the Christian God of the Bible, and rebels against His authority with her feminist philosophy.
(Read "Can Women Be Pastors?" & Feminism: Castrating America here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach [i.e. in the context of religious teaching authority over the church], nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
-1 Timothy 2:11-12

Meyer reaffirms her insane beliefs in a book she wrote called The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make. In her 2008 edition, she removes many of these statements because she started losing followers after she got called out on her heresy, but if you go back to her 1991 and 1996 editions, you can find her original doctrine:
"Whatever it took to get God's people back, free again, is what they would do. Jesus paid for our sins on the cross and went to hell in our place."
-Joyce Meyer, The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make, Harrison House Inc, 1996, p. 41, ISBN: 9780892749409

As far as I am aware, Joyce Meyer is like every other corrupt preacher, namely, that she ignores and covers up her false doctrines, never giving any public corrections, nor does she show any remorse for teaching error/heresy. She makes a lot of effort to cover up her many flaws, which is obvious when you consider the Botox.

Here is a quote from the 1991 edition of her book, which (as far as I am aware) she has never publicly corrected:
"There is no hope of anyone going to heaven unless they believe this truth I am presenting. You cannot go to heaven unless you believe with all your heart that Jesus took your place in hell."
-Joyce Meyer, The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make, Harrison House Inc, 1991, p. 37, ISBN: 9780892749409

As we learned earlier in this teaching, Jesus visited hell after he was crucified, and he did so for the express purpose of preaching to spirits in prison there (1Pe 3:18-19), so where exactly did she get the idea that Jesus went to hell to be tortured by devils? Where did she find the details that devils were jumping up and down on Christ's back and laughing? Furthermore, where did she get the idea that, in order to go to heaven, you have to believe those things?

We will likely never learn where she got that information from (assuming she did not create it from her own imagination), and it does not matter where she got it from because the only thing that matters is that she did not get it from Scripture. Joyce Meyer is a highly-paid storyteller, just like every other typical church-ianity preacher out there, who gives charismatic speeches to impress a listening audience so they can make merchandise out of them to turn a large profit.

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
-Romans 16:17-18

And many shall follow their pernicious [destructive] ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
-2 Peter 2:2-3

Meyer also believes a common misconception that the Devil/Satan is locked away in hell, but that is not what the Bible teaches us. If that were the case, how was Satan able to tempt Jesus in the wilderness?

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
-Luke 4:1-2

Some may argue that Satan left hell to go do this, but that is based on the assumption that hell is owned and operated by Satan. As we learned earlier, hell was created by God, and He oversees its operations:

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
-Matthew 10:28

Jesus did not tell us to fear Satan, but to fear God. Though Christ did become sin for our sakes (2Co 5:21), He committed no sin, and therefore, there is no Scriptural reasoning that Christ, being the glorified Son of God, would have suffered in hell at the hands of these feeble fallen angels in prison because God the Father would never have allowed that.

For now, Satan roams the earth, seeking who he might devour:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
-1 Peter 5:8

The Seventh-Day Adventists (SDAs) also believe in heresy concerning hell because they think that hell is just a place where people go to be burned out of existence. Just to be clear on this matter, the SDA church is not of Christ because they follow the doctrines of Ellen G. White, who was a heretic that taught the blood of Jesus Christ does NOT pay for the sins of man, and if readers want to learn more about that, I recommend reading my book, Corruptions of Christianity: Seventh-day Adventism, which is a free-to-read book here at creationliberty.com.

The doctrine that SDAs believe in is typically called "annihilation," meaning that they want to believe the people in hell cease to exist once they are tossed into the fire, as stated by SDAnet, which is owned and operated by members of the SDA Church:
"So the Bible makes it very clear that the punishment, not the punishing, is everlasting—is the second death. From this punishment there is no resurrection; its effects are eternal. Archbishop William Temple was right when he asserted, 'One thing we can say with confidence: Everlasting torment is to be ruled out.'"
-SDAnet, "The Millenium and the End of Sin," retrieved Aug 3, 2018, [sdanet.org/atissue/books/27/27-26.htm]

As we have learned in this teaching, this SDA statement clearly contradicts the Word of God. For example, when Jesus told us of Lazarus and Abraham, why was the rich man in hell still suffering? Why did he not burn up and just cease to exist? Of course, if SDAs want to argue that such burning up of men takes time, then they have stepped outside the Bible into the realm of speculation, because there is no Scripture that gives us any indication of such a thing, let alone how much time it would allegedly take to burn a soul from existence.

Earlier in Daniel, we read that the wicked awake from death to everlasting CONTEMPT, which is shame and disgrace:

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth [those who are dead and buried] shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
-Daniel 12:2

However, if they cease to exist, then they cannot be under everlasting shame and disgrace. This is not rocket science, meaning that it is not hard to read and understand, but what is difficult for SDAs is to hear anything that opposes the brainwashed ideals they hold in their minds from an organization who has baited them in with works-based heresies.

So in summary, SDAs claim that the fire is everlasting, but the punishment is not everlasting, which is a fluffy, reassuring message to those who do evil, leading them to believe that they might have to suffer a little pain, but then it would all be over, and by losing consciousness, they would not suffer much. Such new-age false doctrines seek to take away the real punishment, those things which cause men to fear God.

However, the Bible teaches us the punishment is everlasting, meaning that it never ends:

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment:
but the righteous into life eternal
.
-Matthew 25:46

Before I get to the end of this teaching, I want to address one more corruption, and that is from those false prophets (of which, there are many) who teach "visions from hell." I want readers to understand that we do not need to go through many doctrines from these "hell prophets" to discredit them (although there are MANY who teach a wide assortment of heresies); we can do this just by thinking about it.

If a man tells you that he was given a dream from God, and went on a tour of hell, so that he could come here and tell us all about what hell is like, how do you prove that his alleged "prophet dream" is real? Take a moment and consider: By what method do we use to verify or falsify prophets?

Under most circumstances, time would prove or disprove a prophet because the truth would come out about whether or not the prophesy had come to pass (e.g. God's prophet predicts a drought next year, and the drought comes to pass), but in this circumstance (i.e. concerning hell), the "prophet" is prophesying about something that no one will be able to verify or falsify until we are dead, or until the end of the world comes. This creates a problem because such men are preaching things which cannot be proven or disproven by any physical means, nor through world events by the natural course of time, and so because he is prophesying of a spiritual matter, the only place we can go to verify his prophecies is the Word of God.

Some readers who are sharp might be thinking that we also have prophets in the Bible who prophesied things we cannot verify in this world throught the natural course of time, and you absolutely correct. However, the difference between the prophets of God in Scripture and today's YouTube "prophets" is that God performed miracles around the prophets in Scripture (or gave them the power of the Holy Ghost to perform miracles), so that we could verify conclusively that prophets in Scripture preached the truth of God, and therefore, we must have faith to rely on those accounts.

Today, the only way to verify "hell prophecies" is by going to the Word of God, and the very fact that we must turn to the Word of God to prove or disprove those prophecies is like an oxymoron, which is a rhetorical figure of speech that uses contradictory terms. (e.g. "cruel kindness" or "let's slowly make haste") Because the prophet claims that his vision was from God, he is claiming that what was told to him in the dream was the Word of God, and therefore, we are being forced to go to the Word of God to verify the Word of God, which leaves us to wonder why we needed the dream in the first place.

If we have to go to Scripture to verify the alleged "vision," then why did we need the vision? Why not just go to the Word of God and read it? If I may be so bold to ask, how there something about burning in unquenchable fire for all eternity that is NOT terrifying enough that we need more specific details?

If everlasting fire is not frightening enough to bring someone to fear of God so they can come to repentance (i.e. godly sorrow) of their sins, why is it that we should believe that adding in other devil torture devices (which the Bible never says) is going to convince anyone? If people think that devils are going around hell torturing people, then they have the wrong idea of hell because they do not realize that Satan and his fallen angels are going to be imprisoned in hell along with the wicked men of this world who did not come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

If Satan is trapped in hell, then how did he tempt Jesus in the wilderness? How did he afflict Job? If all devils are imprisoned in hell right now, then how have been able to possess men?

Furthermore, I would ask readers, what exactly are you going to learn from these alleged "hell visions" that is going to be helpful to gain wisdom and understanding about Christ and His Word? Let's suppose that a "hell vision" gives people a particular type of torture that is given in the lowest level of hell—how exactly does that help our understanding of doctrines of salvation in Jesus Christ?

The obvious answer is that it (i.e. not the doctrine of hell, but specific details about its geography and functionality) does NOT help our understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and in truth, what these people are trying to do is use sensationalism to scam you, so they can increase their viewership, and thereby, make more money. I started this ministry because I read the Word of God, saw His instruction to Christians, and so I choose to do as He commanded us, but that is not very sensational (i.e. no one gets excited and intrigued about that), and therefore, most people do not want to hear about it. By having a sensational "prophetic" word, they are creating for themselves a position in which you must come to them to get the full understanding of spiritual matters because they claim to have received understanding that goes beyond the capability of mankind, as well as beyond the written Word of God.

sensationalism (n): subject matter, language, or style producing or designed to produce startling or thrilling impressions or to excite and please vulgar taste
(See 'sensationalism', Random House Dictionary, 2022, [dictionary.com]; See also Collins English Dictionary, 10th Edition, William Collins Sons & Co, 2012)

For example, Troy Black is a scam prophet who claims to have visions from Jesus and the Holy Spirit. On his YouTube channel, he does what many so-called "prophets" today are doing, which is claiming they have "prophetic visions" about certain political situations, and they are simply repeating things that have come from mainstream or alternative media, or even things like Q drops, which are allegedly intelligence drops from military command insiders; thereby, these fake prophets are taking advantage of simple-minded people for money, video views, likes, etc.
(See Troy Black YouTube Channel, retrieved Jan 25, 2022, [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ZSIfsqXEUuDZ9cZ6_HEVA]; See also QAGG for Q drops, [https://qagg.news])

Black's "hell visions" are somewhat comical because, if you listen to him carefully, his so-called "visions" include scenes from movies. So for example, he describes a lion having chains all over him, and then he said:
"Immediately after that, I saw the scene from the Lion King film, that Disney film where the lion is up on the rock, and all the, you know—he's supposed to be the king of the jungle—and all the other beasts, all the other animals, are bowing to the lion. Then I heard the Holy Spirit say: Lion. King."
-Troy Black, "A Disturbing Vision of Hell God Showed Me - Prophecy," Troy Black Official YouTube Channel, Nov 1, 2021, retrieved Jan 25, 2022, [https://youtu.be/YxVE0Ios_MI?t=213]

I understand that it is only by the grace of God that I can see these things clearly, but it still shocks me when I see how many people (based on his comment section) are praising him for his message. There seems to be no discernment at all among these people because if they believe that the Holy Spirit would use something as corrupt as Disney productions to preach His Word, then I have no choice but to believe that these people are willingly blind churchgoers.

And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
-Luke 6:39

When I was listening to him describe a "lion in chains," I had a suspicion that he was simply describing a scene from the corrupt Chronicles of Narnia movie, which came from the mind of occultist C.S. Lewis. (i.e. Lewis was NOT a Christian in any sense — for information on C.S. Lewis' occultism, see "Fantasy Novels: Invitations to Hell" here at creationliberty.com.) A minute later, Troy confirmed my suspicion:
"I also get that picture from the Chronicles of Narnia, you know, where Jesus is represented by this lion called Aslan."
-Troy Black, "A Disturbing Vision of Hell God Showed Me - Prophecy," Troy Black Official YouTube Channel, Nov 1, 2021, retrieved Jan 25, 2022, [https://youtu.be/YxVE0Ios_MI?t=256]

How did I know that he was referring to that movie before he said anything about it? It is not because I am some sort of prophet who received a "vision from God" about what Troy would do, but rather, it is because I understand the scam. I know that if he refers to movies that are allegedly "Christian," it will connect with his audience because it helps them justify their entertainment, connecting the movies with their preconceived beliefs, which also leads them to believe that by watching these movies, they are somehow worshiping and honoring God, even though it has nothing to do with Biblical doctrine.

As I listened to Troy scam his viewers, it was interesting to note that in some places he switched from "I saw," to "I got the impression," which, in this context, is meant that he "felt like" something was being said about what he allegedly "saw." If you look at any prophet in Scripture, they never claim they got an "impression" of something, but rather, they described what they saw and experienced.

After hearing all of his church-ianity phrases and quotations from new-age corrupt bible versions, I fully expected that, somewhere in the course of this video, I was going to hear a false gospel message on salvation, and Troy did not disappoint me. Troy repeated the same, tired lines that all church-ianity preachers use, for example, "If you've never accepted Jesus into your heart, you may know you've done some bad things in your life, but the Holy Spirit may be tugging on your heart right now. Come now, won't you? Come and make a decision to accept Jesus into your life. Repeat this prayer after me..." and even though leavened preachers say these things all the time, a "repeat-after-me" sinner's prayer to "accept Jesus" is NEVER taught in Scripture.

He talked about how Jesus had done all the works and paid the penalties of death for sin, which is true, but then he says, "What God asks of us, is to simply believe. To simply say, 'Yes, Lord Jesus.'" He is wrong on at least three counts. The first error is that God did not "ask" us to do anything, meaning that He is not saying, "Oh won't you please believe in me?"

The second error is that Jesus explained to us that many people who claimed to believe on Him would not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and He preached on this multiple times. For example, in the book of John, Jesus was preaching to a whole crowd of people who believed on Him, but He told them they were of the Devil:

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed... Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not... He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
-John 8:31-47

And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
-John 10:4-5

The third, and most vital problem, is that Troy's message is completely void of repentance, meaning that Troy (just like most church-ianity preachers) has left out the grief and godly sorrow for sins, which the Bible teaches us is a gift from God:

In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
-2 Timothy 2:25

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
-2 Corinthians 7:9-10

This is why Jesus Christ told His disciples to go forward and preach repentance and remission of sins:

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
-Luke 24:44-47

Because Troy teaches these things, and because his listeners buy into this unbiblical garbage, he is actually leading them into the hell which he claims he is trying to save them from. I wish I could do more to help these people understand, but the sad truth is that there is not much more I can do besides teach the truth (as I am doing in this article), and pray that God would have mercy on them to open their eyes because it is the Holy Spirit which must unlock a man's undertanding:

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
-1 Corinthians 2:14

Some readers may be wondering when I am going to address the vision from hell that Troy allegedly had. I am sorry to inform you, but that was it. He said he saw a scene from The Lion King movie, and a scene from The Chronicles of Narnia movie (in which the lion was crowned and had hellfire behind him), and that is all he said; after that, he spent the next 10 minutes sharing his false salvation message.

Justin Steckbauer, a pastor who owns a blog called "A Lifestyle of Peace," also proposes a "hell vision," and though I will provide a reference to his site at the end of this paragraph, I do not recommend readers visit for the sole reason that it will probably hurt your eyes to look at since it looks like it was designed in 1995. From this site, Justin links to many corrupt so-called "Christian" websites and false preachers, he uses new-age corrupt bible versions, he teaches a false works-based doctrine on salvation (i.e. he teaches the unbiblical principle that 'repent' means "to turn" from sin), he preaches the false doctrine of storehouse tithing (which makes sense because he is a pastor who wants a bigger paycheck), he preaches repeatitious vain prayers (which Jesus told us not to do - Mat 6:7), he preaches against the Biblical doctrine of eternal security, and he teaches something called a "five-fold" ministry, which is essentially a denial of the foundation of the church laid by the first apostles of Christ (i.e. Peter, Paul, John, James, etc), and he believes in a reformation of a new foundation with new apostles in the modern day.
(See A Lifestyle of Peace, retrieved Jan 25, 2022, [https://lifestyleofpeace.blogspot.com]; See also "Why I Use The King James Bible," "Tithe is Not a Christian Requirement," There is No Saving Grace Without Repentance, "The Biblical Understanding of Prayer," and "Jesus Said There Are Many False Converts," here at creationliberty.com for more details on those subjects.)

Keeping in mind all the corrupt, false doctrines that he teaches, Justin claims that he was "called" to the "five-fold" ministry because he had a "hell vision." Before I address that vision, I want readers to keep in mind that I am not denying that these people saw something because some actually see things, while others make things up, so we should look at the context and listen carefully to discern the truth.

Assuming that, at the time, Justin was not taking any kind of pharmaceutical medications (which are well-known to cause such hallucinations - see the free-to-read book Psychology: Hoodwinked by the Devil here at creationliberty.com for more details), it is possible he saw a vision of something. What we need to keep in mind, however, is that these visions are not necessarily from God.

But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
-2 Corinthians 11:12-15

Whether it was a hallucination, a real vision from a devil, or just something Justin made up, what we can determine is that it is unbiblical and stupid (i.e. foolish), and I do not say that lightly. To get an idea of how ridiculous this is, consider the following from his testimony:
"As I'm panning down and seeing these various levels of this horrible place, and the screams and the cries, and the suffering sounds, I'm realizing I'm in a bad place, and I'm starting to think—it's just coming to me that I'm in hell. It just—it must be something when you're in hell, you know you're in hell. It's just like a knowledge that you have."
-Justin Steckbauer, "My Hell Testimony: Two Horrible Visions I Experienced," Friend of Jesus, Sept 8, 2021, retrieved Jan 26, 2022, [https://youtu.be/NQf-ckTx3UU?t=253]

The first thing I want readers to ask yourselves: Is this the kind of testimony we read from the prophets in Scripture? None of God's chosen prophets in Scripture spoke in such a vague and indecisive manner.

One strange thing I want to point out is that he differentiates "the screams and the cries," from "the suffering sounds," which is very curious. If a person has his voice box removed, and he cannot make sound, meaning that he cannot scream or cry out, how exactly does he make "suffering sounds?"

As he claims to be going down into levels of hellfire, hearing screams and cries of suffering, he then says to himself, "Hmm, I think I'm in a bad place." Putting aside the fact that this is childishly obvious, notice that he says "it's just coming to me that I'm in hell," meaning that no one gave him any indication of where exactly he was in his alleged "vision."

This is a very important point because if no one informed him of where he was being taken, namely, God or His angels being with him to give him proper instruction, then how does he know he was in hell? I understand that he claims he just "knew," but please do not pass by that question too quickly, and think about that for a moment. How did he know he was in hell if no one told him? How did he know that the "vision" he had was not from a devil, and that devil tricked him into thinking that was hell? What if he was somewhere else, and only thought he was in a place called "hell?"

It is much more reasonable that he had a preconceived idea of what hell is, which likely came from someone he grew up with, or something learned from some media outlet. Justin probably already knew about a general description of what hell is supposed to be, which is somewhat based on what the Bible says (i.e. as most people know that hell is a fiery torment), and so he ASSUMED he was in hell, but he did not know that (which is why he repeated it so many times to try and convince his audience), and even if Justin wanted to argue that he did know it, he cannot explain to us HOW he knew that, despite the fact that the prophets in Scripture could tell us those details.

The problem for these false prophets is that the descriptions of hell in the Bible are limited, and no one has any provable details about it, but deceivers like Justin are attempting to add more details onto that limited information. The point I am making is that he is first attempting to influence his audience that his vision was of "hell" BEFORE giving the description, which impresses upon the audience a biased opinion about his vision before they have had a chance to make up their own minds about what he is saying.

The reason this is so significant is because it brings me right back to my original point. In order to verify any "hell vision," you must use the Word of God because only He can interpret spiritual matters for us, so my question is: Why not ignore all the so-called "hell visions" and just go to the Word of God in study to understand it?

The more Justin talked about his "experience," the more I started to believe he was on some sort of drugs, whether recreational or pharmaceutical. This is the only reason I can think of why he would make the statement that, "it must be something when you're in hell, you know you're in hell," which is not only unverifiable, it is not an interpretation that matches the Bible because a man must face the judgment of God before he ends up in hell, which means that man will know exactly where he is going BEFORE he gets there.

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
-Hebrews 9:27

Furthermore, the fact that Justin said that this "hell vision" led him to his corrupt "five-fold ministry" tells us a number of things. Knowing that the "five-fold" concept attempts to replace the foundation laid by Christ's apostles 2,000 years ago, and knowing that Justin preaches MANY other false doctrines, we can know his "hell vision" was not from God (because he claims this is what got him started in his so-called "ministry"), and therefore, it is almost certain that the true purpose of this "hell vision" testimony is simply to promote Justin's corrupt ministry.

Keeping all this in mind, here is another sample from Justin's testimony:
"But in hell, you can't lie to yourself. You can't like—I remember, just like—cut right through all the lies, to the realization that, no, you're in hell. You are in hell. And it just was clear to me, I was in hell. And, as I realized that, and I'm hearing these screams, I'm realizing there's demons around me, and they are laughing at me. They're mocking me. They're kind of saying, 'We got you' kind of things. They're—they're—they're laughing. They're making fun of me. I don't remember exactly what they said, but they're mocking me."
-Justin Steckbauer, "My Hell Testimony: Two Horrible Visions I Experienced," Friend of Jesus, Sept 8, 2021, retrieved Jan 26, 2022, [https://youtu.be/NQf-ckTx3UU?t=313]

Please note the specific language Justin uses because this tells us that, at the very least, he is being disingenuous. When someone has to repeat the same line over and over again, in many cases, what they are trying to do is convince you of something, not convey information.

Let's look at a couple of definitions to make sure we understand the difference:

convey (v): to carry, bring, or take from one place to another; to communicate; impart; make known
convince (v): to persuade; cajole [i.e. a form of influential persuasion]
(See 'convey' & 'convince', Random House Dictionary, 2022, [dictionary.com]; See also Collins English Dictionary, 10th Edition, William Collins Sons & Co, 2012)

Persuasion is not necessarily a bad thing because it often comes with the use of evidence (2Co 5:11), but Justin is not using evidence, or in other words, he is not conveying the information. For example, this article is using the process of conveying information because I am taking information and delivering it to you, and then I am using persuasion by offering a process of reasoning based on the evidence. Justin, during his testimony, felt the need to say "You're in hell," or "I'm in hell," over and over again, many times, because he is trying to convince his audience that what he is saying is real, even though (after watching his video) I am not convinced that he believes it himself, but he knows that it can be profitable to him to earn respect (i.e. as a "legitimate" prophet) and donations, so he uses that because he thinks it makes him unique.

Notice that Justin would not simply say, "Here is what happened," and then give a clear testimony like someone who was recalling from memory. Instead of saying, "they said this," or "they did this," he says, "I realized that," and "they're kind of saying."

For example, let's suppose you were walking down the street, a man jumped in front of you, punched you in the face, broke your nose, and stole your wallet, and though the police caught the man, they need your testimony to charge him. The officer asks you if you would give your testimony of the incident, and I want readers (if you are able) to read the following sentence outloud: "Well, I sort of realized that someone was kind of attacking me. I don't know how I knew, but I just knew it was bad, and at that point, I'm starting to think he took my wallet kind of things. It's just a knowledge I have."

If you said that, you may have noticed that you were not really conveying information in the definite sense we normally do, but rather, you were only implying an idea. In serious situations, especially those we experience under duress, people do not give testimonies in terms of vague probabilities. It is not hard to see that, for most of his testimony, Justin was just implying ideas, he was not recalling an actual experience.

I played the video of Justin's testimony twice, and the second time around, I watched his body language, and though it was somewhat difficult for me to read because he spent a lot of his time reading a script off of his computer screen (and because I could not see his feet and hands - Pro 6:12-14), he went off-script a few times, and I caught him constructing some lies. For readers who do not understand, in most cases, when you are recalling a memory, you will look up and to your left because that is the section of the brain that has memory, but when you look up and to the right, that is typically when you are constructing visual images, and though it does not apply in all cases, most often, looking up and right is not a recollection of memory.

Here are some screenshots so you can judge for yourself:



There is section of Justin's testimony in which he describes the devils ripping him apart, and here is what he said:
"They started ripping me apart. What I mean by 'ripping me apart' is like, I could almost see it in my vision, all my flesh being ripped apart, almost like a flower. Like in all directions all at the same time, just ripped apart."
-Justin Steckbauer, "My Hell Testimony: Two Horrible Visions I Experienced," Friend of Jesus, Sept 8, 2021, retrieved Jan 26, 2022, [https://youtu.be/NQf-ckTx3UU?t=350]

I have a hard time taking him seriously at this point. Either you see something, or you did not see something; you do not "almost see it." I am thankful to God that we do not operate the same way when it comes to evidence in courts of law, otherwise, innocent men would be thrown in prison because someone "almost" saw him commit the crime.

Notice how he keeps repeating the "ripped apart" line over and over again, which shows us convincing, not conveying. Justin did not often go to his memory for recollection of the "events" in his "vision," but rather, he most often went to the script on his computer, or to his visual construction.

Most likely, Justin's original (and I suspect, drug-induced) hallucination was very emotional for him, but it was not a thrilling story or something that would normally make sense in a Biblical context. If I am convinced of anything he is saying, I am fully convinced that he is taking great liberty in his use of imaginary descriptions, and what he actually saw in his "vision" was much more mundaine (i.e. commonplace, ordinary, boring), or even nonsensical (like what we experience in the typical dream sequence), and would not get the sensationalism that he needed to get tens of thousands of views for his YouTube video.

I could write volumes of books exposing many "hell vision" false prophets out there, but these couple of examples should be plenty to help Christians be on guard against these things. Throughout my many years in ministry, I have yet to see one "hell vision" preacher teach solid Biblical doctrine, meaning that, in my experience, they have always taught numerous false doctrines right alongside their so-called "visions." There are MANY false prophets out there, and even if they say they are not about the money, they are definitely all about getting the attention because the bigger the audience, the higher the prestige, and the money flows naturally with that.

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
-1 Timothy 6:7-10

There is only one way for mankind to avoid the everlasting punishment of hell, and that is to repent (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing) and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, to have His blood paid on their account.

It is the corrupt religious institutions of this world (e.g. Catholics, Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, etc) who believe that if someone does good deeds, then they go to heaven. They believe if someone does bad deeds, then they go to hell. However, this is completely wrong because justification (which is the remission of sin and absolution from guilt) in the eyes of God CANNOT be achieved by doing works.

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
-Romans 3:20

This is because all men have fallen short of righteousness:

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
-Romans 3:10-12

There is only one way to gain the righteousness required for eternal life, and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
-John 14:6

There are many who teach and believe that because God is love (1Jo 4:8), that a loving God would never throw anyone in hell. That is like saying that a good judge would never throw a criminal in prison.

The word 'god' means "judge," and the duty of a judge is to see that justice is done, to separate the criminal from the law-abiding society. Not only will God not allow the wicked to enter His Kingdom to defile it, but also because God is a loving Father who cares for His children, He does a thorough job in punishing those who do evil against Him and His children.

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
-Psalm 9:17

The problem with new-age churchgoers is not their view of a loving God, but rather, it is the twisted imagination they have of themselves, thinking they are all good people who really love God. They deny the fact that, spiritually, they are naked, weak, blind, and wretched, so therefore, like many criminals, they deny that they have done any wrong, and they reject the fact that Jesus rebukes, corrects, and instructs those who He loves.

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked... As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
-Revelation 3:17-19

And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
-Hebrews 12:5

Since all men are wicked, all men deserve hell. Only those few who come to repentance (i.e. godly sorrow of their sins) and faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ will be saved from hell.

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
-2 Corinthians 7:9-10
(Read "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
-Romans 10:10

In conclusion, here are five points, which are basic Biblical facts, that young Christians need to learn:

  1. Hell is real.

  2. Hell is terrifying.

  3. God hates sin.

  4. Hell is reserved for sinners.

  5. Most of mankind does not want to believe the first four points.

The Lord God created hell not only to imprison fallen angels, but also men who will not be humbled to repentance. The majority of mankind does not want to believe this, and Satan does not want them to believe it either, which is why there are so many false doctrines about hell circulating through church buildings and other media sources today.

The goal of world is to make excuses for themselves, and preach false doctrines, because in their minds, they believe in a false god who will overlook their transgressions and automatically send them to heaven. Therefore, they will make every excuse they can to justify themselves instead of coming in humility before the foot of the cross:

And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
-Luke 16:15

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:
who can know it?
-Jeremiah 17:9

No man can avoid judgment, but they can be saved from their sins through Jesus Christ, so they would become children of God and would not suffer hell. Many times over the years, I have been scoffed at for my work in ministry, in which opponents claiming that I am a "bad" preacher who teaches people about hellfire, but if they want to scoff at me for doing it, then they need to scoff at Jesus for doing it too:

The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing [tears of grief] and gnashing of teeth [furious anger]. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
-Matthew 13:41-43

As a final note, hell, and all those therein, both men and fallen angels (i.e. devils/demons), as well as death itself, will be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity. If you think hell is hot now, it will get much hotter when the final events of Revelation come to pass:

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
-Revelation 20:10-15

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
-Revelation 21:8