Note: This isn’t nessisarraly super Biblically accurate, but more of a fun “Bible fan-theory”! In the future I will do an actual wrteup about hell and the typical misgivings of hell and what it is and isn’t.

If we were to look at the common hell “experiences”1 we see some common threads:

  1. Hell is hot, really hot
  2. Hell has no water
  3. Hell is dark

These points are built from common stories that circulate the Christian American church, these are stories that I’ve had told to me or heard as just parts of casual conversation. However, it is interesting to note “these stories” also lines up with the parable of Lazarus:

[English NASB] Luke 16:24:

"And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me,
and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in
water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.'

This verse reinforces points 1 & 2. We see that hell is hot, and that there is no water to be found. Point 3 comes from more of a Jude 1:6 understanding.

It could be that these (not literal) depictions of hell are similar to where unclean spirits go when cast out, as seen here:

[English NASB] Matthew 12:43:

"Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through
waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.

Now, we know that unclean spirits won’t be cast into hell until Judgment day2. This could mean that unclean spirits are not cast into hell when they get cast out, but chances are they aren’t in Heaven either. This then means that the unclean spirits, who are in a waterless places, are on earth. All of this seems to make the point; “There are hell-like places on earth” (Hell-like in the common perception of hell, not the literal conditions of a literal place).

So where are these places at?

*Insert joke about my least favorite location*

*Bonding moment over cut-and-paste jokes that no one likes.*

My take? They are everywhere. They literally ARE everywhere, you are in one right now. So why don’t you feel like the Rich Man in the parable of Lazarus? Well, if we look at what Jesus calls himself:3

[English NASB] John 4:10:

Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who
says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have
given you living water."

The firey “hell” is being quenched! You are feeling God right now in your current “waterless place”. So now anytime you don’t feel:

You must be in the presence of God (One of the Trinity, multiple of the Trinity? IDK), because otherwise you would feel like you are burning and could use just a drop of water.

NOTE: Whether or not this is a Biblically accurate take or not aside; it can be a useful model to have in your head. It leads you towards a posture of gratitude and thanksgiving to God!

Footnotes

  1. I put this in quotes not because I think they didn’t happen, but because I’m not sure it wasn’t just a vision of “hell” - not literal hell ↩

  2. This is partialy true, I will need to do a whole write up on demons but Matthew 25:41 says that in the future demons will be thrown in into the eternal fire. However we also know that some demons are chained up right now (Jude 1:6). However we do know that while they are chained up they haven’t been judged yet. ↩

  3. This is mosty likely a misinterpretation and I would assume that Jesus referring to Himself has the living water here would imply that the living water is salvation or a “man does not live on bread and water alone” type vibe. However my interpretation doesn’t apply these constraints. ↩

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