Hell

"Is hell real and eternal?"

3 Scripture passages2 objections answered2 Church Father quotes

The Short Answer

Hell is eternal separation from God, chosen by those who die in mortal sin without repentance. It is real, eternal, and a consequence of free will rejecting God's love.

Quick Overview

Hell is getting what you want—forever. If you spend your life saying 'my will, not God's,' eventually God says 'okay.' Hell is existence without God—without love, beauty, truth, or joy. It's the terrible freedom to reject the only source of happiness.

Biblical Evidence

What the Scriptures say

Matthew 25:41

"Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels."

Why This Matters

Jesus describes hell as 'everlasting fire'—eternal and real.

Mark 9:43-48

"It is better for thee to enter into life, maimed, than having two hands to go into hell... where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished."

Why This Matters

Jesus warns repeatedly about hell where 'the fire is not extinguished'—unending punishment.

Revelation 20:10

"They shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

Why This Matters

Punishment lasts 'forever and ever'—not annihilation, but eternal torment.

What the Church Teaches

Official Catholic doctrine

Hell is the state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God. The chief punishment is eternal separation from God, in whom alone we find happiness (CCC 1033-1037).

Common Objections

Questions answered

Early Church Fathers

What the first Christians believed

St. John Chrysostom

c. 390 AD

"The fire of hell is not like our fire; our fire when it has no fuel dies, but that fire is self-subsisting and needs no fuel."

— Homilies on Matthew, 43:3

St. Augustine

c. 420 AD

"The death of the wicked shall have no end, even as their life will have no happiness."

— City of God, 21:3

Heaven

Particular Judgment

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