Does a loving God really want His creation to suffer ‘eternal torment’? We always wonder about this as a believer and a non-believer. In Revelation 20:12 it is written ‘I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God and the dead were judged…according to their works’. These are the ‘dead’ who are no longer in their earthly physical bodies but as ‘spirits’ with no flesh and bones. The lake of Fire was meant for the devil and his angels (the devil …was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur’ Revelation 20:10).

But what about the ‘faithless’ and those who rejected the Love of God through Christ? (the cowardly, faithless, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolators and all lairs …shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death’) What did Jesus say? ‘and these (unbelievers) will go away into eternal punishment’ Matthew 25:46; ‘depart from me you cursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels (demons)’. God is Love and He created man to have fellowship and an eternal relationship with Him. The suffering and punishment in Hell exists not because God really wants to punish us but because He loves us.

He gives us a choice – eternal LIFE through the Salvation through Christ Jesus through a relationship of love or eternal DEATH by separation and divorce from Him. Jesus paid the price through His suffering, shedding His precious blood and death for us sinners. There was no other way that sinful man could enter into an eternal life with God without this payment of the ransom. God loves mankind so much that He made a way for us sinners who were otherwise condemned to Hell. He wants us to be eternally with Him. He is so patient with us as He doesn’t want anyone of us to perish (2 Peter 3:9). Life here on earth is just a ‘prelude’ to our real life -that is in eternity in the marvelous wonderful Kingdom of Heaven. That’s the real deal. Who wouldn’t want to go to this amazingly beautiful and wonderful eternal life where there is no pain or sorrow or torment or sickness and disease but eternal peace and joy filled with God’s LIGHT and LOVE.

Hell is a real place – its darkness that we can’t even think or imagine because there is not even a tiny dot of light there. It’s a place of torment just like Jesus told us about the ‘rich man’ craving for some water to touch his tongue and wanted Lazarus from Heaven to give him that– because Hell is devoid of water – its dry in there, it’s a burning fire that is not like a physical fire we see here on earth but a fire that burns in the spiritual torment, far more horrible and un-imaginable than the physical. It’s a fire combined with great ‘thirst’ – a thirst for God since it’s just too late then when there is no Hope of ‘salvation’. Hell is so excruciatingly painful but heaven is so marvelously Joyful. Why would we reject this eternal Life and reject God’s love. It’s never too late even if we have lived a wicked and sinful life.

Separation from God is eternal darkness and torment. Just like the thief on the cross next to Jesus who went into ‘paradise’ with Jesus because He accepted salvation while hanging on that cross – in the last moment. You may be in a hospital bed and looking hopeless right now but there is Hope through Christ Jesus right now to make it into eternal LIFE. Just call on His name – “Lord Jesus I need you, I need to be saved from eternal torment and the Lake of fire. I want this marvelous wonderful joyful eternal Life’. That’s it – you are IN.