In relating the story of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus speaks of the rich man dying, finding himself in hell and in torment. The rich man sees Abraham far off and cries out, begging that his brothers be warned in order to escape the torment of hell.
“He said, ‘Then I pray you, father, to send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, to testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them hear them.’ (Luke 16:27-29)
Jesus quotes Abraham as saying, “they have Moses and the Prophets. Let them hear them.” In other words, there is sufficient warning in the Old Testament concerning hell. What does the Old Testament say about hell?
“Let death seize them; let them go down alive into hell, for wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.” (Psalm 55:15)
“The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” (Psalm 9:17)
“then I will bring you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited . . . ‘I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; though you are sought for, you will never be found again,’ says the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 26:20-21)
“But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive in to the pit, then you will understand that these men rejected the Lord. Then it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up … So they and all those with them went down alive in the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the congregation.” (Numbers 16:30-33)
“But those who seek my life, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.” (Psalm 63:9)
These are just a few of the many Old Testament warnings concerning hell. The warnings are clear. The lowest parts of the earth are a place of corruption, terror, darkness, a place of no truth, and a place which swallows people alive and they are remembered no more. This was Jesus’ understanding of hell as revealed in the Old Testament.
When a so called Bible teacher tells you there is no hell, you must choose if you will believe them, or if you will believe Jesus.
Lively Hope 