Random Popular Beliefs About Hell That Aren't Actually In The Bible (13 items)

(#12) Hell Is Massive Land Of Torment

No serious theologian would argue that hell is a pleasant experience. However, there are those who push back on the idea that hell is simply one massive experience of physical pain, with men and women burning and writhing in agony.

Regardless of their position on physical pain, most Christian thinkers believe that the true torment of hell is a separation from God. The result of this separation is a spiritual pain far worse than the physical torments many associate with hell.
(#2) People Are Sent To Hell On The Basis Of Their Actions

One of the most contentious debates throughout Christian history has been on the value of good works versus God's grace. The gospel of works says that we must perform good deeds in order to be admitted to heaven. The gospel of grace says that God decides where to place us based on criteria beyond our understanding or control.

Surprising as it may seem, the gospel of grace is more supported by the Bible. Take Ephesians 2:8-9, which says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."
(#3) Hell Is Eternal

This is perhaps the most pervasive misconception about hell. Members of the fire-and-brimstone branches of Christianity will be familiar with the phrase "everlasting torment." However, there is a large contingent of theologians who believe the Bible supports a doctrine of annihilationism.

Annihilationism is the belief that, after a period of torment, God simply wipes out the consciousness of those who cannot be redeemed. Annihilationists point to passages like Isaiah 5:24 to support this position:

Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw

and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,

so their roots will decay

and their flowers blow away like dust;

for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty

and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
(#4) Satan Rules Hell

Lucifer was originally known as ha-Satan, a term that simply means "the Adversary." In the Bible itself, Satan's powers and provenance are not well defined. It is only much later, through Dante and especially Milton, that we get our image of Satan as a powerful, winged demon - AKA the King of Hell.

In the Bible, and in all mainstream post-Biblical theology, it is understood that hell is Satan's prison, not his kingdom. God rules over hell just as he rules over heaven. However, this is hard to square with events like Satan's temptation of Jesus during his 40 days in the wilderness. There are also moments in Genesis that seem to imply God allows Satan to be a kind of co-ruler of Earth for his own mysterious purposes.

Ultimately, there is no resolution for these contradictions. Some theologians have posited that Satan is used by God as a test or temptation to see who is worthy of entering heaven.
(#9) God Enjoys The Suffering Of Sinners

God shows many faces in the Bible. At times, he is full of wrath, eager to damn everyone in sight, and utterly unwilling to consider reconciliation or forgiveness. At other times, he is a benevolent father wanting the best for his children. So which are we to believe?

There is no easy answer to that question. However, there is significant evidence that God takes no joy in the condemnation of sinners, and is eager for their return to his arms. Consider this passage from Ezekiel 18:

"But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live... Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?" declares the Sovereign Lord. "Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"
(#8) Purgatory Is An Alternative To Hell

The doctrine of purgatory states that there is an intermediate, hell-like zone in the afterlife in which one's sins are burnt, or "purged," in order to prepare one for heaven. While some Biblical issues are ambiguous and open to interpretation, purgatory is not. There is simply zero evidence for it in the Bible.

The concept was originally proposed by the early theologian Clement of Alexandria, but it was Pope Gregory the Great who, in the 5th century, made purgatory an official part of church doctrine. Many denominations still believe in purgatory, but this is ultimately a theological doctrine, not a scriptural one.