Imagine that you are having a pleasant dream. You are peacefully resting on the beach, enjoying yourself in the beautiful sunshine and a gentle breeze. Then suddenly the sky darkens and lightning flashes. Immediately after that a loud crack strikes and a huge wave rises up. A monster wave of about 100 feet (30 meters) tall comes crashing upon you. You’re knocked back and hurled through the air and then finally you crash into the water. The force of the wave knocks the wind out of you and you are gasping for breath, but can’t get your head above the water. You struggle, splashing, but then everything goes black as your lungs fill with water.

You wake up screaming, frantically trying to pull yourself out of your bed. You’re exhausted, but you also feel relieved and peaceful because you know you are safe. You were having a nightmare.

Well, did you notice what was similar between this nightmare and our lives? Our lives are like a nice dream. Everything is great. We’re having fun, doing what we want, getting what we want, and enjoying everything. But then life’s problems arise. Pain, tragedy, suffering, and death strike us and we can hardly believe what is happening. Life becomes a nightmare.

Evangelical Focus on Hell and the Lake of Fire

There are different ways to make people aware that the good life they are having is really a bad dream. There are many different ways to tell them that there is something very bad coming. One way is to show them pictures of tornados, typhoons, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and other such horrific natural disasters. Another way is to take them to a war zone with artillery barrages and bombs dropping all around them. These are really unpleasant, and indeed downright terrifying, methods to get a point across. But none of them compare to Hell and the lake of fire as a way to get people to finally understand what is wrong with their lives and what the horrible consequences will be if they don’t change.

While the church has never lost its focus on Hell, in some parts of the world the focus on Hell is beginning to increase. In particular, evangelism in some parts of the world is once again emphasizing that Hell is real. For example, in the USA the increase in emphasis on Hell is due to the fact that most Americans simply don’t fear it any more. As a result of the rapid growth of the charismatic movement (which began in 1960) and the tremendous increase in wealth, materialism, and self-importance (which began around 1970), most American Christians haven’t been told Hell is real in many years.

Increasingly, though, Americans who aren’t religious or who have a small religious faith are being made aware that Hell really does exist. In fact, more and more they are being reminded how frightening it really is and how horrible the suffering really is. This is also being done in several other countries, including Australia. And in other countries this teaching has always been a part of the basic Christian message. This focus on Hell can be seen today in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Chile, South Korea, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, and the Philippines.

Why Focus on Hell?

So, why focus on Hell? Why not emphasize being with God in heaven? Why not just emphasize being with the Lord Jesus Christ?

Let me address these questions one at a time. First, why not focus on being with God in heaven? Well, one reason is that most people simply don’t understand what it means to be with God in heaven. Most people think that when you go to heaven God lets you hang out with Him for a little while until you get so tired of Him that you go live with your other friends and go on doing whatever you want to. Why go through the trouble of emphasizing heaven when so few people understand what heaven is like or what it means to be there?

Second, why not just emphasize being with the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, there are various reasons. One is that people who have the kind of faith that doesn’t last just want to be with Jesus so that when they get tired of being with Him He will let them go be with their friends again. Also, there are those who don’t really want to be with Jesus in the first place, yet want to go to heaven so they can do everything else without having to worry about the rules.

Third, what about emphasizing living a holy life without God? That doesn’t work either because people very often say they can live a holy life, but they never do. Even if they do live a holy life, they still often end up feeling so bad about themselves that they end up hating themselves and wishing they weren’t human. Moreover, they aren’t usually able to live with anyone else who actually lives a holy life. So they end up either living with those who don’t live holy lives or who don’t live holy lives all the time. So they end up in trouble anyway.

Fourth, why not emphasize being with God in heaven or being with the Lord Jesus Christ on earth? Both options suffer from the same fundamental problem: people don’t understand what it really means. To most people being with God in heaven means freedom to go wherever they like and do whatever they please; while being with the Lord Jesus Christ on earth is a kind of “prison” where they can’t do what they want, but only have to do what He requires them to do.

Fifth, why not emphasize what the Bible says and the doctrine that many professing Christians believe? Well, in the case of the doctrine of everlasting punishment, most Christian do not really believe that there is eternal punishment, even if they say they do. On the other hand, Christians who do believe in Hell but aren’t afraid of it because they are strong Christians don’t see the need for a big focus on Hell.

Sixth, why not just emphasize heaven and not hell? First of all, most people don’t understand what it means to be with God in heaven. They think it just means living a fun life where they’re free to do whatever they want. Second, the New Testament really does focus on Hell, not heaven, as the main “incentive.” The first Gospel, that of Jesus Christ (Matthew), has eleven times more references to Hell than it has to heaven. There are a total of 79 verses in the Gospels (out of 409) which speak of hell (as translated in the NIV), while there are only 17 verses which speak of heaven (as translated in the NIV). Hence, for almost every four verses in which the New Testament speaks of heaven it also speaks eleven times (on average) about Hell.

What Jesus Said about Hell

Jesus said very plainly the consequences of rejecting Him as Lord and Savior is spending eternity in Hell. For example, He said,

And if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)

What did He mean? He was speaking literally, but figuratively. He meant that if a person believed in Him and lived as a Christian (a true follower of Christ) they would be able to bear witness to the good news about Jesus Christ. But if a person who claimed to be a Christian rejected the truth about Jesus Christ then they were more or less useless, like salt that had lost its saltiness. They became worthless, as useful as dirt. If they failed to live as a Christian then they didn’t belong to Christ and couldn’t be saved. They were going to hell.

Jesus said,

“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:41)

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)

“And I tell you that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I Myself will raise Him up at the last day.” (John 6:40)

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