1

IS
HELL
A
REAL PLACE?
- Ekow Ofori

*****

Unless otherwise stated, all scriptural quotations

are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Copyright © 2020 Ekow Ofori.
ekowoforibooks@gmail.com
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Introduction
Hell is a supernatural place. Stories of a place like hell were bad people go after

death to be punished abound in several cultures, religions and literature across the

world. These stories are often falsified versions, if not diluted. Hell is a real place

and Jesus, the son of God, gave us more knowledge about the operation and

location of hell. With reference to the bible, this work will attempt to ascertain

whether or not, hell is a real place. The bible is the sure source of all truth, it is

supra to any form of vision or spiritual experience, no matter how authentic the

source of these visions or supernatural experiences have proven to be. I am

confident, you will find useful this material. Be blessed as you read this!
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Table of Contents
WHAT IS HELL? ..................................................................................... 4

WHERE IS HELL? ................................................................................... 5

DESIGN SPECIFICS OF HELL. ............................................................. 6

WHAT HAPPENS IN HELL? ................................................................ 10

HOW TO ESCAPE HELL. ..................................................................... 18

BEYOND HELL ..................................................................................... 19

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HELL .................................................... 19

BE READY TO LEAVE SUDDENLY AND UNANNOUCED ........... 21

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WHAT IS HELL?
In general, hell is associated with, the world of the death, a place of pain, turmoil
and suffering. What are the instances in the Bible when the word hell is used?
What is hell according to the Bible? There are actually three Greek words
translated “hell” in the New Testament. These three words are: Hades,
Gehenna and tartaroo.

1. Hades: refers to “the grave,” “the pit” or “place of the dead.” The Holman Bible
Dictionary explains that “Hades is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew term ‘Sheol,’
which refers in general to the place of the dead”. Psalm 16:10, Acts 2:27 and Acts
2:31 use Sheol and Hades to describe the location of Christ’s body when He was
dead for three days and three nights (Matthew 12:40).

2. Gehenna: refers to the valley of Hinnom, “south of Jerusalem … where children

were sacrificed by fire in connection with pagan rites” (New Bible Dictionary, 1982,
“Hell”). Later, garbage and dead bodies were disposed-off and burned in this valley.
Gehenna represents the “lake of fire” described in Revelation 19:20, the
unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43) that will completely destroy the unrepentant
(Matthew 10:28). Also, in Mathew 23:33, Gehenna is translated into English as hell.

3. Tartaroo: appears once in the Bible in 2 Peter 2:4 and refers to a condition of
restraint for demons (fallen angels) until their later judgment.

In summary, more often than not, the Lord Jesus himself, used Gehenna to represent
hell (see, Mathew 5:22, Mathew 5:29, Mathew 5:30, Mathew 10:28, Mathew 18:19,
Mathew 23:15, Mathew 23:33, Mark 9:43, Mark 9:45, Mark 9:47, Luke 12:5).

Interestingly, Hades was not used many times by the Lord Jesus. The New
Testament records only a number of times when Hades was used by, the Lord to
represent hell. Let’s look at some of these! The Lord Jesus, used Hades when he
spoke of Capernaum (see, Mathew 11:28 and Luke 10:15), the gates of hell (see,
Mathew 16:18) and when the Lord spoke of having the keys to hell. (see, Revelation
1:18).
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WHERE IS HELL?
The bible specifically states the location of hell. However, it must be noted that,
hell is a supernatural place. You cannot find the location of hell on a GPS receiver,
neither can you prove the existence of hell in a test tube or in a controlled
laboratory experiment. Non can also prove scientifically that, hell doesn’t exist.
The bible is rife with verses which point to the location of hell. Let’s look at some
of these verses.

• ISAIAH 14: 9
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.

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

• AMOS 9:12
Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up
to heaven, thence will I bring them down:

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

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

• EZEKIEL 31:16-17
I made the nations to shake at the sound of his 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.
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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.

• MATHEW 11:23
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.

• 2 PETER 2:4
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;

It is not mere coincidence that, all these bible verses inform us, the location of hell
is beneath us. Hell is beneath the earth! Wherever you are now as you read this
material, hell is beneath you. This is what the bible says. Hell is beneath and it is a
supernatural place. Hell is beneath the earth and this is in tandem with scripture. If
you are to die without been saved, you would find yourself descending, going
beneath, down beneath the earth. That is where hell is, Beneath!

“DESIGN SPECIFICS” OF HELL.

The bible provides us with the nature of hell. The scriptures give a description of
hell, how it is designed, the features of hell and some of the things which
characterize hell. Please note, this material seeks to examine the reality of hell
from the bible. Let’s examine some of these specifics.

• Hell is built or made up of layers.

Deuteronomy 32:22
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.
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Psalm 86:13
For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest
hell.

From the above bible verses, it can be ascertained that, hell is made up of
layers. (That is, LOW-LOWER-LOWEST). Hell is a stratified place. There
are sections that are lower than others. Perhaps, the section you occupy is
determined by your judgement.

• Hell is a pit
Isaiah 14:15
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Ezekiel 31;16
I made the nations to shake at the sound of his 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.

Ezekiel 32:29
There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by
them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with
them that go down to the pit.

The word translated into English as “pit” also means: a well, cistern, dungeon or
prison. If you have ever gone down into a well, you find the place to be dark, hot,
scary and dangerous. I have gone down into a well before. I didn’t like the
experience at all as a result of the heat that characterized the place. Hell is a pit of
no return, once you are registered there, you maintain your membership for
eternity. You must avoid this pit at all cost. Do whatever it takes to avoid this pit.
In the subsequent chapters, I will share with you how to escape hell.
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• Hell is positioned beneath heaven

Luke 16:19-23
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.

Jesus revealed to us, hell was beneath heaven in this narration, you can see hell
beneath when you are in heaven. Only that, there can be no transactions between
the occupants of either side. Certainly, from this narration, the Lord gave us insight
on the happenings in hell, which will also be addressed in other sections of this
work.

• The contents of hell are visible to God

Job 26:6
Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.

Proverbs 15:11
Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then hearts of the
children of men?

The design of hell makes its contents visible to God. Many people have hated God
for diverse reasons, whatever the reason is, do not allow that reason to make you
renounce God. Do not be offended with God (see, Mathew 11:6). Troubles and
problems are part of this life and come to all men, do not let yours take you away
from the Lord. If you end up in hell, you will find out, you are still under the
Lord’s dominion, although you so wanted to be far away from him all your life.
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• Hell, by design is enlarged and can be enlarged.

Isaiah 5:14
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.

Habakkuk 2:5
Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at
home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied,
but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:

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

Hell has a large desire, as a result of this large appetite, it needs to undergo
constant expansion works to enable it feed its appetite. Hell is a real place. A place
which is constantly undergoing construction for enlargement. Many buildings
cannot be enlarged by nature of their design. You will need to break down parts of
the building before any form of enlargement can take place. Hell, by nature is not
so! Hell is never full and will never be full because of its desire, thus, it undergoes
enlargement and it is being enlarged as we speak.

• Hell has gates

Mathew 16:18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

I believe the most profound revelations about hell to the church, were made by the
Lord Jesus Christ himself. This, is a classic example! Here, the Lord reveals to us,
hell has gates. This helps to affirm the fact that, hell is real place. A place which is
secured by gates. Gates, signify the power and the source of strength of a thing.
The gates of hell represent, the ability of hell to hold and restrain its contents.
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• Hell is a deep place.

Hell is a deep place. A low lying place. It could be said to be synonymous to a
deep vale. This is why you read from the bible; people been cast/thrown into hell.
The depths of hell cannot be compared to any known deep in on earth. The deepest
location on earth is the Mariana’s trench. It is an estimated 11,034 meters (36,201
feet) deep, which is almost equivalent to seven (7) miles. In fact, if you placed
Mount Everest at the bottom of the Mariana’s trench, the peak would still be 2,133
meters (7,000 feet) below sea level. Yet, the depths of the trench cannot be
compared to the depths of hell.

Proverbs 9:18
But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of
hell.

The YLT translation of the bible puts it this way: “And he hath not known that
Rephaim are there, In deep places of Sheol her invited ones!”

WHAT HAPPENS IN HELL?

I am sure you would like to know what happens in hell. Many people do not really
know what goes on in hell. During his undergraduate studies in one of the best
universities in Ghana, a friend of mine, went to a popular student’s hostel in his
school to preach. When he got there, he saw this young lady (probably a student)
sitting in front of the hostel, smoking. He went to the young lady, greeted her and
asked if he could share the word of God with her, the lady gladly obliged.

My friend said a prayer and started preaching while the lady went on smoking. He
preached about the rich man and Lazarus! In the middle of the preaching, this
young lady cut-in as my friend spoke and said, “I have heard that, so, so and so
persons are in hell, she mentioned the name of about four well-known musicians
that she had heard are in hell, she continued and said, “if all these people are in
hell, I think hell will be a really nice place to be, because there will be singing,
jamming, dancing and enjoyment in hell”.

Upon hearing these words, my friend became worried because he realized the lady
was deceived, she had the wrong impressions about hell. Perhaps, nobody had told
her what goes on in hell and she may not have read the bible to find out for herself.
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Maybe you are like this young lady, who thought “hell would be a nice place to
be”. I am happy to let you know, hell is not a place you would love to be, I tell
you, you would not love any of your loved ones to be there. In this section, I will
share with you ten (10) things that go on in hell.

1) Hell is undergoing expansion has we speak!

If you were to visit hell today, you will be surprised to see major expansion works
going on there! Imagine a big construction site where cranes and different types of
metals and equipment are deployed to build things. This is what is going on in hell
as we speak, Enlargement!

Isaiah 5:14
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.

The desire of hell has no bounds, it is without limit. It will constantly seek more
souls because, its’ desire is boundless.

Proverbs 27:20
Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Hell is never full because of its desire. As a result of an enlarged desire, it will
need an enlarged place. Always remember, hell is a real place.

Habakkuk 2:5
Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at
home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied,
but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:
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2) People do not die.

I read many books when I was in senior high school. I particularly remember the
words of a British poet, who said, “death ends all human misery”! When I started
reading the bible, I found out, this was not true.
Death, doesn’t end all human misery! Rather, it ushers some into the greatest
misery of their life’s, because they end up in hell. My father in the Lord, Bishop
Dag Heward-Mills, preached a very powerful message entitled “all death people
are still alive”, how can this be? How can you die and yet live? Friend, this is true!
All dead people are still alive and kicking. How do people live on even when their
bodies are buried or burnt? The bible has something to say about this.
1 Thessalonians 5:23
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit
and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ.

Here, Paul the Apostle, reveals to us, the human being is made up of three main
compartments - the spirit, the soul and the body.
The spirit is the breath of God in you, the spirit does not and will never die. John
Gill argues that, “The "spirit" may intend the understanding, (see, Job 32:8) which
is the principal, leading, and governing faculty of the soul; and which being
enlightened by the Spirit of God, a man knows himself, Christ Jesus, and the things
of the Spirit, the truths of the Gospel, and receives and values them”.
The soul is the seat of the senses, passions, desires, affections, appetites. The soul
is your intellect. As a matter of fact, the Greek word translated as soul also means,
mind. Your soul does not and will never die. This is why you will remember the
things you did and recognize people you knew on earth when you meet them in
heaven or hell.
The body is our earthly tabernacle, it enables us to partake of the earthly realm. It
is instrument for performing spiritual exercises. Without the body, we cannot live
on the earth.
As you read this material, there are people who are finding out in hell, people do
not die.
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Luke 16:22-23
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.
The rich man didn’t really die. Although his family may have organized a lavish
funeral for him. He found himself in another place, where his eyes where
functioning because he could lift them, that means, his head was also functioning
and he could also sense the pain. This means that, his brain, cells and nervous
system were all fully functioning. The spirit and soul are immortal, the spirit is also
known as the inner man (see, Ephesians 3:16). The inner man is an exact copy of
you. The inner man is the part of man that lives on, when the body stops
functioning.

3) There is weeping and the gnashing of teeth in hell

Luke 13:28
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and
Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves
thrust out.

Psalm 18:5
The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.

The inhabitants and new arrivals in hell are weeping and grinding their teeth as you
read this work. Hell is a place filled with sorrow, regrets and tears!

4) There are unquenchable flames of fire in hell

Mark 9:43-44
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.
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Luke 16:22-24
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.

There is fire blazing in hell. There are flames of fire in hell. These flames render
constant and continual torment to the inhabitants of hell.

5) There are torments in hell.

Luke 16:22-24
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.

Isaiah 14:11
Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is
spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

Psalm 116:3
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found
trouble and sorrow.

To be tormented also means, to have an intense feelings of suffering; acute mental

or physical pain, harass persistently in cruel or annoying way and it also means, to
be in anguish. The inhabitants of hell are being tormented as you read this work.
They are in pain incongruous to any pain known to man on the earth. The torments
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in hell are far beyond those that exist on this earth, because these torments do not
end in death. The highest form of torments on the earth will ultimately result in
death but the torments in hell do not. Imagine a place, were worms make up the
floor and your clothes are worms.

6) There are reunions in hell.

Luke 16:22-24
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.
There are reunions going on in hell as we speak. The human soul does not die, as a
result of this, you will recognize things, places and people you knew on earth
either in heaven or hell. The rich man recognized Lazarus and father Abraham, he
knew Lazarus as a beggar when he was on earth, so he thought he could still
command him, he thought he could still send him to ran errands for him. You will
also recognize the fellow dead people you knew on earth, whether they are in
heaven or hell. You will reunite with them.

7) There are conversations in hell

Luke 16:23-31
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and
Lazarus in his bosom.
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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.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good
things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art
tormented.
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they
which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would
come from thence.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my
father's house:
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this
place of torment.
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they
will repent.
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be
persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

My spiritual father, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, a man I deeply admire and respect
calls this, “the famous conversation”. Indeed, this is a famous conversation. The
rich man was having a conversation with Father Abraham, a resident of heaven
although he was in hell. There are across “gulfal” interactions going on in hell as
you read this work.

8) There are pleas for mercy in hell.

Luke 16:24
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.

If you were to put your ear closely to the earth, you will hear people crying and
pleading for mercy! Hell is a place full of cries and pleas for mercy! You don’t
want to be at such a place and you shouldn’t be at such a place. Do whatever it
takes to avoid hell!
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9) The inhabitants of hell want to organize missionaries to the earth.

Luke 16:27-31
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my
father's house:
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this
place of torment.
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they
will repent.
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be
persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Hell is a place to be avoided at all cost. Do whatever it takes to avoid hell. The rich
man wanted to organize a mission trip from heaven to earth only to find out this
wasn’t possible. All dead people are still alive, some are alive in hell and others in
heaven with the Lord Jesus. Those who end up in hell wish they could get others to
hear and know about the existence of a place like hell. The Prophet’s of this
present time have been tasked to spread the gospel and inform the peoples of this
world about hell. Tell them! Tell them…hell is a real place.

10) The inhabitants of hell don’t want their brethren to come there.
Luke 16:27-31
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my
father's house:
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come
into this place of torment.
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they
will repent.
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be
persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

In simple terms, the inhabitants of hell, don’t want others to come there. You must
avoid hell at all cost because the inhabitants of hell do not want you to go to hell.
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HOW TO ESCAPE HELL.

You can escape hell! The Lord Jesus Christ is our exit from hell. Until we accept
Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, all human beings are automatic candidates for
hell.

Romans 5:12 WNT

So here is the comparison: As through one man sin came into the world, and death
as the consequence of sin, and death spread to all men; because all men sinned.

In his book, They Went to Hell, the prolific author and mega church pastor -
Bishop Dag Heward-Mills had this to say, “Adam’s sin turned men into natural
born sinners, which resulted in a death sentence being passed on all men. This
makes us all automatic candidates for Hell. In other words, every unsaved soul is
bound to end up in Hell, from the President to the poorest man in the village”

There is good news! You can escape hell by submitting your life to Jesus Christ.
Cease to live on your own wisdom. Believe in Jesus Christ! Hear what Jesus said:

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

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

John 11:25
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Believing in and confessing Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior will make you
escape hell, why is this so? See what the bible has to say:
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Romans 10:9-10
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.

A prayer for salvation

Dear Lord Jesus,

I do not want to go to Hell. I realize I am a sinner. Please forgive me all my
sins. Please come into my heart and be my savior. I accept and receive you
now as my master. I will obey your word from today. Help me Lord to serve
you from now on. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me today!

Amen!

BEYOND HELL
Hell is not the final destination. There is a place beyond hell, the bible calls it the
lake of fire, it is the last judgement.

Revelation 20:14
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Hell is not the final place. Hell and its contents will be cast into the lake of fire.
You can escape the lake of fire by escaping hell.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HELL

Interestingly, many have expressed scores of ideas about hell. People have
believed things that are not true, you can know how and what they feel and think
about hell when they speak. Unfortunately, many are deceived about the very
nature of hell. In this section, I will look at some of the misconceptions about hell.
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1. People believe hell doesn’t exist. They believe hell is not a real place.
Many people don’t believe a supposedly-loving God will create a place like hell.
“Admittedly, no living human today can prove scientifically that hell exists.
Neither can one prove scientifically that hell does not exist”. From the afore-
mentioned scriptures, it is clear that, hell exists and it’s a real place.

2. People believe they can buy their way out of hell.

Isaiah 28:15,18
Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we
at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not
come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid
ourselves:
And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell
shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall
be trodden down by it.

This misconception is the very reason why, in many cultures across the world, the
dead is buried with money and other valuable earthly possessions. It is believed
that, these possessions should be able to stand them in good stead in the afterlife.
Some believe that, they can escape hell or buy their way out of hell or be at a better
place by presenting money or valuables at the entry points of hell or the afterlife.
James 3:15 reveals to us, such wisdom is from God, but is earthly, sensual and
devilish. The only way to escape hell is to believe in and accept Jesus Christ as
your Lord and Savior. Jesus is the way. (John 14:6)

3. People believe it as an avenue to escape the difficulties or problems of this

present life.

Amos 9:1-2
I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door,
that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the
last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he
that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.
Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb
up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
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Death is synonymous to hell for an unsaved soul! Don’t forget, all men, until they
are saved are automatic candidates for hell. Some people believe that, death will
bring an end to their problems in this life and thus, may opt to kill themselves or
embrace other avenues of death. Although an unsaved soul may want to die to
escape the troubles of this world, the torments or sorrows of hell cannot be
compared to any known sorrow in this world. Death, (herein, going to hell) is not a
way to escape the troubles of this life. Jesus is the solution! Jesus wants to help you
more than you know and think. This is what he said:
Mathew 11:28
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

4. People believe religious people cannot go to hell.

Mathew 23:15
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to
make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child
of hell than yourselves.

Religion is man’s search for God! Religious people can still go to hell. The
Pharisees and scribes were among the most religious groups in the days of Jesus.
The practice of religion does not erase the possibility of going to hell. A proselyte
is a convert and to be a child of hell is to deserve hell. Religiosity is not a substitute
for hell!

BE READY TO LEAVE SUDDENLY AND UNANNOUCED.

How often do you think about death? You must always think about death. You
must always rehearse what would happen to you when you die, when suddenly
news of your death is passed on to your loved ones. You must also be ready to
leave suddenly and unannounced. Afterall, most people die, without knowing they
are about to die. If they knew, they would have made arrangements to stay longer
on the earth and to settle important things before they die.
As a shepherd in the first love church, during my undergraduate studies at the
University of Ghana, I went to outreach one day at Commonwealth hall in the
University of Ghana. I had a friend there on the L-block, this friend of mine was
also my course mate. We took linguistics together. I remember telling him about
preparing himself for eternity one evening. “He said, as for me, I know when I will
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die.” I was shocked to hear this, so I asked him, when will you die? He retorted, “I
know I will die on a Tuesday, but I don’t know which year and which month, but I
know when I die, it will be on a Tuesday”.
In amazement I said, this means, every Tuesday can be the day of your death and
he said “yes.” This story may sound mirthful, but you have to appreciate the fact
that, at least he goes about with the mind that, every Tuesday could be his last day
on the death. This is what the bible says:
Amos 4:12
Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee,
prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. (O Ekow or your name …….)

You must prepare to meet your God, prepare to go suddenly and unannounced. We
live our lives differently when we become death-conscious, our priorities change.
You will find yourself thinking more about life-after-death more and more when
you think about, what will happen to you when you die! You become eternity
conscious. Always think about what will happen to you when you die.

References
Hagin, K. (2005), I went to hell.
Haris, Tim (2012), Top Ten: Myths About Hell. Taken from
https://chasingalion.com/a/794-top-10-myths-about-hell on 05-04-2020.
Heward-Mills, D. (1997), They Went To Hell. Smashwords Edition.
Jones, E. (2020) What is hell? Taken from: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/life-
after-death/what-is-hell/ on 05-04-2020.