Did God create hell?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

God created everything. This means that everything that exists—including hell—was created by God. It is a place where the wicked will go in their created, physical bodies to be eternally tormented for all their sinful deeds Revelation (20:11-15). God created hell because He is holy and cannot allow sin to go unpunished (Habakkuk 1:13a). He is eternal (Psalm 90:2), so He needed a place of eternal punishment for those who reject Him—a place hot enough to punish even Satan. Hell is evidence of how much God hates sin!

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• “Hell” is not mentioned in the Old Testament; rather, it mentions Sheol, which is a generic place where both the righteous and the unrighteous go (Psalm 6:5; Ecclesiastes 9:10).
• In Genesis 1:1, we read, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” “In the beginning” refers to the beginning of creation, and “heavens and earth” refers to all of creation. Everything was created at this point in time. Since hell is a created place , then hell must also have been created at this time.
• Note that Genesis focuses on the creation of the earth because this is where men and women were created (Genesis 1:26–26) and where they were to rule (Genesis 1:28). Everything else outside of earth is referenced as “the heavens” (Genesis 1:1, 2:1). The word “heavens” does not mean what we think of as heaven. Instead, it is a generic word that can mean sky (Genesis 1:25), universe (Genesis 1:15), and so forth. As we don’t know where hell is found, we must lump it into the undescriptive “heavens” part of creation.
• There is at least one Old Testament passage that some scholars believe comes close to saying that hell is created by God. In that passage, a place known as Topheth is metaphorically referred to as a place resembling hell: “And the LORD will cause his majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst and storm and hailstones. The Assyrians will be terror-stricken at the voice of the LORD, when he strikes with his rod. And every stroke of the appointed staff that the LORD lays on them will be to the sound of tambourines and lyres. Battling with brandished arm, he will fight with them. For a burning place has long been prepared; indeed, for the king it is made ready, its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it” (Isaiah 30:30-33).Though this is metaphoric language and does not refer to hell by name, the reference to brimstone and fire is reminiscent of what hell will be like.
• Topheth is a fitting reference for such a place as that was where the Israelites acted like pagans and burnt their children to death. Of that place, God said, “‘Therefore, behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when it will no longer be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of the Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place.’” If “the valley of Slaughter,” the place for the wicked, alludes to hell, then the Isaiah passage says that it was prepared long ago by God (Jeremiah 7:30-33).

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• Hell is more clearly defined in the New Testament as a lake of fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8). It is described as a place of eternal torment (Revelation 14:9–10).
• While the New Testament does not explicitly talk about hell’s creation, it strongly implies it. In Matthew 25, Jesus is talking about a future judgment (Matthew 25:31–46). In Matthew 25:41, Jesus said, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.” The “eternal fire” is a clear reference to hell. The place is said to be “prepared,” which means “created.”
• Through Jesus, “all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16). Because hell is a created place, and because all things were created by God, therefore we must conclude that hell was created by God.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

Why would God create a horrific place like hell? It is because He is a holy God (Habakkuk 1:13) and cannot allow any sin to go unpunished. Because every sin is directly against God (Psalm 51:3) and because He is eternal, then sinners must be punished somewhere where the “worm never dies” (Mark 9:48). Therefore, God created hell because He knew He would need a place to punish sin eternally (Matthew 25:41). This should cause us to greatly fear God (Luke 12:5). He created hell for sin, and He promises to one day pour out His wrath. When He does, books of all our deeds will be opened and those not found in the book of life will be cast into hell for all eternity (Revelation 20:11–15). Our response to Jesus and our sin matters.

Because we have all sinned, we have every right to fear the day of judgment. However, God, in His mercy, gave us a way to escape the coming wrath, namely Jesus (Romans 5:9). While Jesus was fully God, He also added on humanity to become exactly like us, but without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Because only sinners die (Romans 6:23a), Jesus did not have to die. However, He did so willingly to be a sacrifice for sinners to take their punishment. If you repent of your sin and trust in Jesus, then He has already taken God’s eternal wrath on Himself. That means that, despite sin, those who trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins are counted as perfect and will escape the wrath to come.

Because God’s offer of salvation through Jesus is the only way to be made right with Him, our response matters eternally; choosing to trust in Christ means we receive forgiveness and escape the judgment of hell, but rejecting Him means facing the just consequences of sin forever—so now is the time to respond to God’s mercy before it is too late.

UNDERSTAND

• God created hell as a real place of eternal punishment for the wicked.
• Hell exists because God is holy and must punish sin eternally.
• Salvation through Jesus offers escape from hell for those who repent and believe.

REFLECT

• How does knowing that God created hell as a place of eternal punishment affect your view of His holiness and justice?
• How does the reality of hell challenge you to examine your own response to sin and salvation?
• How might the truth that hell is a created place prepared for sin influence your urgency in sharing the gospel?

ENGAGE

• What does the Bible’s teaching that God created hell tell us about His character, especially His holiness and justice?
• How can we reconcile the idea of a loving God with the existence of an eternal hell?
• How should the reality of hell shape how we live and share our faith with others today?