Grounding Class Bible Study
Doctrine of Hell Answer Key
Directions: Fill in the blank by looking up the answers in your Bible.
People Ask, “Why Would God Send People to Hell?”
What if all those who broke the city’s laws were not arrested and allowed to walk around free on
the streets? Law-abiding citizens would not feel safe.
When people choose to break the laws, they can expect to go to court and be judged by a judge.
The judge passes judgment based upon a man’s own choices and decisions. This means there are
consequences for our actions. We all can expect that if we break the law, then we must be judged and
face consequences.
So it is true spiritually and eternally. When we break or reject God’s laws of receiving Christ for
payment of our sin, we are sentenced by God to the penalty for breaking that law, and that is
punishment in hell below. Man makes the choice to reject God’s plan. God, by His own law, is forced
to pass sentence on his sin (crime) and sentence him to hell’s prison. It would be unfair to all in
heaven who obeyed God’s plan of salvation to allow into heaven those who did not obey. The saved
would feel unsafe if unchanged robbers, thieves, gamblers, drug addicts, adulterers, murderers,
witches, homosexuals, lesbians, alcoholics, and every other wicked person were in heaven with them.
Heaven would not be the place of peace and comfort it was designed to be.
There must be an eternal prison for those who choose not to go to Heaven. In a sense, God sends
people to hell. In another sense, people send themselves to hell.
Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Beliefs About Hell
Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that the doctrine of burning hell where the wicked are tortured
eternally after death cannot be true for four main reasons: (1) it is unscriptural; (2) it is unreasonable;
(3) it is contrary to God’s love, and it is repugnant to justice; (4) Satan is the author of this doctrine.
They say that when the Bible talks about hell, it means the grave.
What Happens When We Die?
Understanding what happens when we die and where we go in the afterlife motivates us to come to
the Lord and walk upright before Him.
1. Man is a three-part being. Name the three parts that God wants to preserve for the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
Spirit, soul and body
2. Physical death means that the body is without what (James 2:26a)? The spirit
3. When the believer dies, where does his/her spirit go (2 Corinthians 5:8)? Heaven with the Lord
4. When the sinner (lost or unbeliever) dies, where does his/her spirit go (Luke 16:22c-23a)?
Hell/Hades
5. All Christians who die believing in Jesus Christ are promised what (John 6:40) Eternal life
6. When the rapture occurs, what will happen to believers who have died (or sleep in Jesus)
(1 Thessalonians 4:14)?
God will bring with Him those who died in Jesus.
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7. What will happen to the unbelievers at the rapture (Revelation 20:5)?
The dead will stay dead until 1,000 years has ended.
8. As a result of rejecting Christ, all unbelievers must demonstrate at the Great White Throne
judgment their works to save themselves. Since unbelievers rejected God’s plan of salvation
through Christ, they must now prove perfection, which they cannot. Because they did not repent,
what will happen to all who are dead and in hell waiting for their judgment (Revelation 20:14)?
Death and hell are cast in the lake of fire.
The Reality of Hell
God has reserved an eternal prison for Satan, all his demons, fallen angels, and all people who
reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. All who do not receive Christ remain as children of the devil
and will therefore live with him throughout all eternity. The Bible states that hell is real
(Matthew 10:28).
Hell is the place of eternal exile where the ungodly (wicked, unsaved, unrighteous) will experience
God’s righteous retribution against sin forever. Of all the suffering in hell, the worst is the fact that
the lost are banished from God’s presence forever. Jesus believed hell was a real place, and He taught
its reality throughout His ministry.
Jesus tells a true story about what happens when people die (whether saved or unsaved).
Read Jesus’ story about the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 and answer the following
questions:
9. What happened to the poor man Lazarus after he died? What happened to the rich man’s body
(Luke 16:22)?
Lazarus died and went to Abraham’s side. Rich man was buried.
When we die, the inward man, the spirit and soul, separate from the body. The body goes into the
ground, while the spirit and soul either go to heaven above or to hell below (James 2:26a).
Those who are saved, born again, or have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior immediately go to heaven
when they die. Their spirits separate from their bodies and go to be with the Lord. Being in Christ
secures us a place in heaven.
We are...absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8).
(See also John 14:2-3).
This is why receiving Christ is so important. We are secure that whenever we die, our sins have
been removed from the mind of God, and we immediately go to heaven where He has prepared a
place for us. However, those who do not accept Christ will face the same fate as the rich man in this
story.
10. Heaven was referred to as “Abraham’s bosom” before Jesus died on the cross, where all Old
Testament righteous saved people went. How do we know that the rich man was conscious?
Where did his spirit go? What was he experiencing (Luke 16:23)?
Rich man was conscious because he looked up and saw Abraham and Lazarus.
His spirit went to hell. He was in torment.
11. What else did the rich man say that lets us know he was conscious in hell (Luke 16:24)?
Rich man called to Abraham to send Lazarus to get him some water. He was
tormented in the flame.
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12. What was Lazarus experiencing in Abraham’s bosom (heaven)? What did the rich man experience
(Luke 16:25)?
Lazarus experienced comfort. The rich man experienced agony and torment.
13. How do we know that there is a separation in the location from heaven and hell (Luke 16:26)?
There is a great gulf fixed – people can’t cross from heaven to hell or vice versa.
14. What did the rich man say that indicates that he still had his memory in hell (Luke 16:27)?
Rich man asks for Lazarus to go to his father’s house (family).
15. What did Abraham say would be the way for his family to not come to hell (Luke 16:29)?
Listen to Moses and the prophets (the Word of God)
Hearing Moses and the prophets is equivalent to hearing the Word.
16. What did the rich man want to tell his family to do (Luke 16:30)? Repent
17. What did Abraham say was the key to the rich man’s family being persuaded (Luke 16:31)?
Listen to the Word of God
Bible Facts About Hell
Jesus uses this story to demonstrate to us that hell is real and that all who do not repent will
perish. Here are some other characteristics of hell.
18. Where is hell located (Isaiah 14:9; Ephesians 4:9)? Lower parts of the earth
19. Hell was originally prepared for whom (Matthew 25:41)? Devil and his angels
20. What surrounds those in hell (2 Samuel 22:6)? Cords of the grave, snares of death
21. How did Jesus describe hell (Matthew 25:41, 46)? Eternal fire and punishment
22. How does the Lord feel about people going to hell (perishing) (2 Peter 3:9)?
The Lord doesn’t want anyone to perish.
23. What kind of fire is in hell (Luke 3:17)? Unquenchable
24. What insect never dies in hell (Mark 9:43-48)? Worm
25. What is in hell (Psalm 116:3)? Cords of death; anguish of the grave, distress and sorrow
26. What is the end result of the wicked in hell (Isaiah 48:22)? No peace for the wicked
27. What happens when a wicked person dies (Proverbs 11:7)? He has no hope or expectation.
Who Goes to Hell?
28. Who shall be turned into hell (Psalm 9:17)? Wicked and all nations who forget God
29. The word “abominable” means detestable, the worst of all sins; a sin that God absolutely abhors.
From the following scriptures, what kind of sins does God call an abomination?
Leviticus 18:22 - Homosexuality
Deuteronomy 18:9-12 - Sacrificing children in the fire; practicing divination or
sorcery; interpreting omens; engaging in witchcraft; casting spells;
medium/spirits; consulting with the dead
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In one scripture, homosexuality and lesbianism are called an abomination. Witches, warlocks,
psychics, fortunetellers, palm readers, horoscope readers, those who try to communicate with
the dead, those who use black magic, mind control, spells, and voodoo are all abominations
unto the Lord as well. If people continue to practice such things, they are flirting with Hell.
30. Who will have their part in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8)?
Fearful, unbelieving, the abominable, murderers, whoremongers, and sorcerers,
and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire
and brimstone
31. Name the two categories of those who have died according to how they will be resurrected
(Daniel 12:2).
Some will awake to everlasting life. Others will awake to shame and everlasting
contempt.
The souls of the wicked dead or the lost at physical death go into Hell or the torment part of the
underworld of departed spirits, and are in a conscious state of torment until the end of the
millennium when their bodies will be resurrected and they will come out of Hell to enter their
bodies, be judged and be cast into the lake of fire forever.
32. What keeps people from perishing or going to hell (Luke 13:3)? Repentance
The Five Departments in the Underworld of Departed Spirits
There are five distinct prisons in the underworld of departed spirits. Not one of these places is the
same as the grave. When we see the word “hell” in the Bible, it will mean one of the following terms:
33. TARTARUS
A. This department of hell is reserved for whom? (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6-7)
Devil and fallen angels
We have no record of any humans ever going into this department of hell. These spirits are
confined in chains until the judgment.
34. PARADISE (Luke 23:43; Luke 16:19-31)
Paradise was the abode of the righteous souls and spirits after leaving their bodies at physical
death. The devil held captive all the righteous in this prison against their wills. It was located in
the heart and lower parts of the earth. It was also called “Abraham’s bosom.”
A. Who had the power of death? (Hebrews 2:14) The devil
He had the power of death and the underworld before Christ conquered him
(Colossians 2:14-17).
B. Christ conquered death, hell and the grave. What keys does Christ have now as a result?
(Revelation 1:18)
Keys of death and Hades
He took all the righteous souls in Paradise and carried them to Heaven to be with Him.
Now Paradise has been transported to the third Heaven where the throne of God is located
(2 Corinthians 12:2, 4).
35. HELL (Matthew 16:18; Luke 16:19-31)
This is the opposite compartment from Paradise; the torment compartment in the unseen world.
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All wicked souls and spirits of men from the beginning of time until the end of the millennium will
go to this place. If we were to die unsaved today, this is where our spirits would go.
At the end of the millennium (1000 years of Christ’s rule on the earth) the wicked will be liberated
from the prison, given immortal bodies and judged before being cast into the lake of fire forever
(Revelation 20:11-15).
A. Who stands before God at the Great White Throne judgment (Revelation 20:12)?
The dead, great and small
B. The dead are judged according to what (Revelation 20:13)?
Their works
C. What happens in the second death (Revelation 20:14)?
Death and Hades are cast into the lake of fire.
D. What happens to those whose names are not found in the book of life (Revelation 20:15)?
They are cast into the lake of fire.
The Greek word is pronounced Hades, equivalent to the Hebrew word Sheoul. It is never used in
relation to an earthly grave. This temporary place of torment before the judgment and eternal hell
might be compared to the city or county jail where prisoners are kept until their trial.
36. THE BOTTOMLESS PIT OR ABYSS (Luke 8:29-31; Revelation 9:1-3;
Revelation 17:9; 20: 1-10)
This is the abode or prison of demons and certain angelic beings. No human beings ever go into
the abyss. It is a very deep chasm in the lower parts of the earth (translated “deep.”)
A. Tell the name of the King of the bottomless pit. What is he? (Revelation 9:11)
Apollyon, king and angel of the abyss
B. What else is in the bottomless pit? (Revelation 11:7)
The beast
37. THE LAKE OF FIRE
This is the eternal hell and place of men, demons, fallen angels and all rebellious creatures that
have ever rebelled against God. It is also called “the second death.” This is the final hell prepared
for the devil, his angels and all other rebels.
We have no scriptural record of anyone being in the lake of fire at present. (See the following
scriptures: Matthew 5:22,29; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43-45,47;
Luke 12:5; Revelation 14:9-14; 20:10-15; Isaiah 66:22-24.)
A. Are there degrees of punishment in Hell? Explain. (Matthew 10:15; Matthew 11:22)
Yes. The Bible says Sodom and Gomorrah’s and Tyre and Sidon’s punishment
will be more tolerable in the day of judgment than for that city.
B. What did Jesus say the Pharisees would receive for being hypocrites? (Matthew 23:14)
Greater condemnation
(See also Matthew 12:41; Mark 6:11; Mark 12:40; Luke 10:14; Luke 11:31; Luke 20:47)
These degrees of punishment are based on the kind of sins committed by each person on earth.
In Heaven, there are different rewards for the righteous based on their works on earth.
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