What Does the Bible Say About Hell?
A clear look at what Scripture teaches about hell: the words used, what Jesus said, and how to respond with hope in Christ.
The Bible speaks about hell plainly, and it does so because it speaks about God’s justice and about rescue. Scripture uses several words that English Bibles translate as “hell.” In the Old Testament, sheol means the realm of the dead, the unseen place where both the righteous and the wicked go (Psalm 9:17; 16:10). In the New Testament, hades carries much the same sense, while gehenna names the place of final punishment for the lost (Matthew 10:28). Jesus spoke of hell more than anyone else in Scripture. He described it as a real place of ruin, warned people to flee from it, and offered Himself as the way of escape. The Bible’s teaching on hell is not meant to satisfy curiosity. It is meant to turn us to Christ, who alone saves.
What words does the Bible use for hell?
Three original-language words stand behind the English word “hell,” and each carries a slightly different emphasis.
Sheol appears about sixty-five times in the Old Testament. It is often rendered “grave” and sometimes “hell.” It describes the unseen state of the dead, a place of darkness and silence (Job 10:21-22). Scripture speaks of the wicked going down to Sheol (Psalm 9:17), and elsewhere of the righteous being kept from it (Psalm 16:10).
Hades is the Greek equivalent used in the New Testament. Jesus said the gates of Hades would not overcome His church (Matthew 16:18), and He told of the rich man and Lazarus, where the rich man is in torment in Hades while Lazarus rests in Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16:23-26).
Gehenna is the word Jesus used most often for the final place of the lost. Jesus said:
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. — Matthew 10:28 (BSB)
That is a sober warning, and Jesus gave it out of love.
What did Jesus actually teach about hell?
Jesus treated hell as real, and He described it with images of loss, darkness, and fire. He spoke of being “cast into outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12), of a fire that is not quenched, and of a worm that does not die (Mark 9:43-48). He also said plainly that the wicked “will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).
The same Greek word for “eternal” stands behind both halves of that sentence. If the life of the righteous is unending, so is the punishment of the lost. That is why the historic Christian reading of these passages has been eternal conscious punishment. Some evangelicals hold instead to annihilationism, the view that the lost are finally destroyed and cease to exist. That view is a minority position, and it is held by people who love Scripture, but the church’s main reading across the centuries has been that the punishment is as lasting as the life.
Jesus also told of the rich man and Lazarus, where a great chasm is fixed between the two men after death (Luke 16:26). Christians have read this passage in different ways, and the Bible does not settle every question about the afterlife. The point that stands either way is that this life is the time to repent.
Is hell forever, and what happens at the end of days?
The Bible ties the final state of the lost to the last judgment. Revelation describes books being opened and the dead judged according to what they had done, and then death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:12-15). Paul writes that those who do not know God “will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
Christians have differed on the details of the end times. Some expect a literal thousand-year reign of Christ on earth before the final judgment; others read that period as symbolic. Some place the church through the great tribulation, others before it. These are real disagreements among faithful believers, and this site follows the historic Protestant habit of reading the plain sense of the text while holding the timeline loosely. What is not disputed across the church’s main traditions is that Christ will return bodily, the dead will be raised, and every person will stand before Him.
Where do Christians differ on hell and the life to come?
Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians agree that hell is real and that it is the final destiny of the impenitent. They differ on several related matters.
On the intermediate state, Protestants generally hold that believers who die are at once with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23), while the wicked await judgment. Catholic teaching adds the doctrine of purgatory, a purification for those destined for heaven, and Orthodox Christians pray for the departed while describing the state after death differently again. This site follows the Protestant reading, while respecting the convictions of Catholic and Orthodox believers.
On the nature of hell, the historic majority view is eternal conscious punishment. Annihilationism is a minority view held by some evangelicals. On the destiny of those who never hear the gospel, Christians have offered different answers, and Scripture does not spell out every case. What Scripture does say is that salvation is found in Christ alone (John 14:6) and that God’s judgment is perfectly just (Genesis 18:25).
How should this change the way I live?
The Bible never answers questions about hell to satisfy curiosity. It answers them to move us. Jesus told His followers to fear the One who can destroy both soul and body (Matthew 10:28), not to frighten them but to wake them. The same Lord who warned about hell also said:
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. — John 3:16 (BSB)
Those two truths belong together. Hell is real, and so is the rescue. If you are reading this and wondering where you stand, the answer is not found in guessing about your own case. It is found in turning to Christ in repentance and trust. He receives everyone who comes to Him (John 6:37).
If you are carrying fear or grief about death, do not carry it alone. Speak with a pastor or a trusted believer in person. Read the passages above slowly, in context, and pray over them. If the weight of these questions is pressing on your mind in a way that feels unmanageable, please also speak with a doctor or a licensed counselor.
If you are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please reach out right now. In the United States and Canada, call or text 988. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, call Samaritans on 116 123. In Australia, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Anywhere else, visit findahelpline.com or call your local emergency number.
Hell is a hard doctrine, and the Bible does not soften it. But the Bible also does not leave us there. It points us to a Savior who took the judgment we deserved and offers life to all who trust Him. Read these passages in a Bible-believing church, among people who will pray with you, and let the warning do its work: it is meant to lead you to Christ.
Common questions
Does the Bible say hell is forever?
The strongest statement is Jesus’ own words in Matthew 25:46, where the same word describes both eternal punishment and eternal life. Revelation also speaks of torment rising forever (Revelation 14:11). The historic Christian reading has been that hell is unending, though some evangelicals hold the minority view that the lost are finally annihilated.
Did Jesus talk about hell?
Yes, more than any other person in Scripture. He used the word gehenna and described hell as a place of fire, darkness, and loss (Matthew 10:28; Mark 9:43-48). He spoke of it to warn people and to point them to Himself as the way of rescue.
What is the difference between sheol, hades, and gehenna?
Sheol is the Hebrew word for the realm of the dead, and hades is its Greek equivalent. Both describe the unseen state where the dead await judgment. Gehenna is the word Jesus used for the final place of punishment for the lost.
Can a person who has died still be saved?
Scripture presents this life as the time of decision. Jesus’ account of the rich man and Lazarus shows a fixed chasm after death (Luke 16:26), and Hebrews says it is appointed for people to die once and then face judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The Bible’s urgency is always to turn to Christ now.