On last Saturday’s (1/3/09) show we asked the question: Is the fire of Hell a literal fire? We began by asserting that Hell is a real place. According to Barna’s research, most people (71%) believe in Hell but there is great confusion as to what Hell is. According to the Scriptures, Hell is a “furnace of fire” (Matt. 13:50), an “eternal fire prepared for the devil” (Matt. 25:41), a “lake of burning sulfur” (Rev. 20:10), and a “lake of fire” (Rev. 20:14), where the fire is not quenched (Mk 9:48). Is that fire a literal, actual fire? Don believes that it is, using as support the story of Lazarus and the rich man in which the rich man states, “I am in agony in this fire” (Luke 16:19-31). Don takes this story, not as a parable, but as an actual event. Steven, however, believes that the fire of Hell may be a metaphor. He believes that the story of Luke 16 is a parable and that the “fire” of Hell represents both the wrath of God and the actual, physical suffering of the unsaved. Both Don and Steven believe that Hell is a real, literal place of physical and spiritual suffering. Whether the fire is literal or not, the more important point is that Hell is a reality of suffering. The fire, even if it is literal, is more than just physical, it represents God’s wrath and human torment, physical and spiritual, as a result of that justice. The fire may not be literal, but Hell is. And our conversation about Hell leads us to some good news – God has released Hell’s hold on man through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.