I was watching a series on Netflix where the main character said, “See you in Hell!” as her catchphrase when she left a room.

In the last season, she came to the realization what she said was no longer a joke but rather a statement she knew to be true. It lost its humor once she realized the truth of it.

I believe in Hell. But I know a lot of people who think it’s a made-up place. They believe it’s a place fabricated to scare people into doing good.

But as a Bible-believing Christian, I’ve learned that Hell is a real literal place.

Fire and brimstone

In Scripture, Hell is described as an unquenchable fire, punishment, and outer darkness.

And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. (Matthew 18:9 NIV)

Where the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:48 NIV)

So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ (Luke 16:24 NIV)

It’s debated whether this imagery is literal or metaphorical. Regardless, Hell is a place of intense suffering.

The Absence of God

Jesus talked a lot about Heaven and Hell. He said Hell is alienation from God for eternity.

They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might. (2 Thessalonians 1:9, NIV)

This terrifies me.

In 2001, I placed my hope and trust in Jesus Christ and received forgiveness for my sins and the promise to be with God forever in Heaven. Since then, I’ve had a relationship with God that is akin to friendship. I talk with Him as I drive to work, ride my bike, and on my walks. I call out to Him in desperation and I thank Him in jubilation. He is my constant Companion. I can’t imagine life without Him.

The Wrath of God

Others interpret Scripture to mean that Hell isn’t the absence of God, but rather it is the presence of God in wrath. In Hell, we’ll experience the judgment of God, and we’ll be haunted by our sins.

This horrifies me.

God has been so good to me. I’ve only ever known Him as a loving, good, forgiving, merciful God. To be under His judgment for eternity, experiencing His wrath would be petrifying.

Scripture is clear that Hell is a real, dreadful place of eternal torment. I do not want to experience Hell for eternity.

Avoid going to Hell

I have confidence when I die I will be in Heaven with Jesus.

Not because I’m a good person.

Not because I’ve done good things.

But rather because I recognized that I am a sinner in need of salvation. I recognized that my sins separate me from God. Simply put, I admitted my sin, I believed Jesus died on the cross in my place, and I confessed this truth to the world.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NIV)

The Bible is clear that we are eternal beings. When life ends here, it continues somewhere else. Where we spend eternity is up to each of us.

My prayer is that if I use the catchphrase, “See you in Heaven!” it’ll be true for everyone I say it to.