Is hell real? Is hell really forever?

from the old testament

• Since all of our sin is ultimately against God (Psalm 51:4), and since God is an infinite and eternal Being, then sin against an eternal being deserves eternal punishment.
• Daniel 12:2 describes hell as a place of "shame and everlasting contempt" for those who are resurrected to judgment. This verse contrasts the eternal destinies of the righteous and the wicked, emphasizing the unending disgrace awaiting those who reject God.
• Verses like Isaiah 66:24 describe the place for the unrighteous as where "their worm shall not die" and "the fire shall not be quenched." This imagery aligns with later New Testament descriptions of judgment in hell.

from the new testament

• Hell is a dreadful place. The conditions in hell are described throughout the Bible as "eternal fire" (Matthew 25:41), "unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:12), a place where "the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44-49), a place of "torment" and "fire" (Luke 16:23-24), "eternal destruction" (2 Thessalonians 1:9) where "the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever" (Revelation 14:10-11), and a "lake of burning sulfur" where the wicked are "tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10).
• Jesus Himself indicates that punishment in hell is just as everlasting as life in heaven (Matthew 25:46).
• All of us deserve hell because we have all sinned against God (Romans 3:23).
• God has declared that the just punishment for that sin is death (Romans 6:23).

implications for today

Everyone lives forever. The only question is where we will live after we die. The righteous, those whose sin has been exchanged on the cross for the righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21), experience neverending bliss in heaven. The wicked are forever subject to the fury and the wrath of God in hell, where they will acknowledge the perfect justice of God (Psalm 76:10). Those who are in hell will know that their punishment is just and that they alone are to blame.

Hell is a very real place of torment and punishment that lasts forever. The only escape from the reality of hell is to run to the cross to gain forgiveness for sin. Only an infinite sacrifice can pay the penalty for infinite sin against an infinite God. Either the infinite God in flesh, Jesus Christ, pays for our sin in the one-time sacrifice on the cross, or we pay for it infinitely in hell. There is no other option. Those who deny the reality of hell should carefully ponder this. Hell is real, it's a horrifying place, and eternity is a long, long time.