Q&A Home > H > Hell

• Are there levels of punishment in hell, e.g., Matthew 11:23, but I don't understand it. Could you explain?
• Could you please explain the verse "If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there"? How can God be in Hell, when that place by definition is the absence of God?
• Does the Coptic Church hold onto Origen's view about 'the eventual emptying of hell'?
• I notice it says to crush under one's feet ALL the prisoners the LORD does not approve. Perhaps some will be punished, but the passage shows God is a just and loving God. If God does not willingly afflict the children of men, why would there be a hell unless the doors of hell are locked from the inside? Please see these verses: "For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. To crush under one’s feet all the prisoners of the earth, to turn aside the justice due a man before the face of the Most High, or subvert a man in his cause—the Lord does not approve" (Lamentations 3:31-36).
• I was recently discussing with someone the concept of hell. They seemed convinced that hell is not a place. They mentioned that hell is being with God and not enjoying it (because one despises God) rather than an actual place of suffering. Is there any proof to suggest heaven and hell are both actual places that are distinct and separate rather than two different mindsets in one place?
• In the book, The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel he interviews Donald A. Carson, PH.D. In the passage of the chapter where he is interviewing him, Carson says, "There are many degrees of punishment." Is this true? If so, where—because I have read the New Testament and I do not remember anything about the levels of hell (which is related to the particular subject in the chapter)? Maybe the Lord mentioned it in one of the parables.
• Is hell a place of eternal fire and burning or is it just the absence of God's presence?
• It is believed that when Jesus descended to hell to save his saints, and that everyone who was in hell was saved with them. Do we the Coptic Orthodox Church believe that everyone who was in hell was saved? Also where Adam and Eve and the saints being tortured in hell?
• What are the specific verses in the Bible that indicate specifically that Hell is a place of eternal torment rather than eternal destruction? The two seem to be mutually exclusive, and many of the verses about Hell seem to indicate that the souls, which go to Hell, will be destroyed rather than eternally tormented (be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, according to 2 Thessalonians 1:9).
• Why does Psalm 22 say all the prosperous shall eat and worship? Why does psalm 66 or 65 say through the greatness of His power all His enemies will submit to Him and all the earth will worship Him. It seems that all go to heaven whether it is experienced as joy and torment. So, is hell not a real eternal place separated from God?