Let's first find the Biblical reference to this place. It is located in a place called hell, and that place is divided into three (3) parts.  The first is "Hades". Hades is where the spirits of the dead wait for their call to go before God at the day known as "The Great White Throne of Judgment"...or "Judgment Day". I will demonstrate that after I get to the three parts of hell.

The second part of hell is where every single angel that helped Satan in his attempt to overthrow God himself, and take over the throne in heaven is chained.  Contrary to popular opinion, those are NOT the "demons" spoken of in the Bible who inhabit everything from animals to humans. Those spirits, under the control of Satan upon their demise, are the ones who reside in Hades.

The bottomless pit of hell is known as the Lake of Fire and it is the ultimate destiny, unfortunately, of all those in Hades and those in the second level of hell. The Lake of Fire is referred to in the Bible as the lowest part of hell, and we will demonstrate that shortly.

WHERE IS THE REFERENCE TO THE LAKE OF FIRE?

The Book of The Revelation has much to say about the Lake of Fire, but it is clearly the place YOU do not want to find yourself in.  "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." - Revelation 20:15.

Your name IS written in the Book of Life upon your birth. It is only removed when you die...and only IF you have rejected Jesus as your Lord and Savior...It is the "unpardonable sin", and I cover that elsewhere in this series of questions. A quick reference to that scenario is found in Revelation 3:5 - "He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angel."

SCIENCE AFFIRMS A "Lake of Fire"

4,000 feet below the surface of the earth, there is a "Lake of Fire". Scientists have uncovered it, and they cannot explain why it is there, or how it burns continually without oxygen!  They have three explanations for how and why it is there...none of which make any more sense than their statement of how the earth "just happened". 

Science tells us this story:  "The temperature at the center of the earth exceeds 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.  The high temperature results in part from the pressure (of rock and stone above it), in part from the heat released by decaying radioactive materials, and in part from the original kinetic energy of colliding meteorites that formed our planet in the first place."  They simply kiss "hell" off by hypothesizing that a lake of fire is there...burning without oxygen, due to extreme pressure of rock above (yet they say there is zero gravity there), and/or that it is a result of decaying radioactive materials (what?..and how did these materials get there?) and finally, they conclude, "Its some kind of kinetic energy of colliding meteorites that formed the planet!"  This is why it is called the "theory of evolution".  They preach their progressivism religion in our public schools...yet about 97.5% of the people on the planet believe in a Creator...a Supreme Being.

So, believe God or believe Satan.  God says there IS a Lake of Fire, and it has an intended purpose. It is where the spirits of those who reject His son, Jesus, and therefore, their punishment for that unpardonable sin is to be cast into the Lake of Fire to spend eternity there.  God is not willing that ANY should perish but that ALL should come to repentance and be forgiven by the only one who can forgive sins...Jesus. - 2 Peter 3:9.

 The FIRST LEVEL of HELL - Hades

When king Saul disobeyed God, he went to a witch to bring the dead prophet Samuel up to him. Samuel and all others who trusted God, are in a place called "Abraham's Bosom"..bosom means "hollowed out place" in the earth. These are what we refer to as the dead in Christ.  They were BEFORE Christ.  Those who died after Jesus died on the cross, and who ask Him to save their soul from hell....are "absent from the body - present with the Lord".  Their spirit is ushered directly into heaven.  All those before the cross, and who believed and trusted God, sleep in this place carved out in the earth. It is "Abraham's Bosom".

There is another place where the spirits of those who died...and did NOT ask Jesus to save them, are flourishing upon the earth. They come to and fro...from this first level of hell called Hades....to the earth. Their spirit can inhabit animals or humans...or just be "ghosts", which are spirits that belong to Satan until Hades and Satan (death and hell) are all cast into the bottomless pit known as the Lake of Fire - and that only happens after the Great White Throne Judgment.

We get that picture from the story found in 1 Samuel 28.  Here, king Saul has asked the witch at Endor to conjure him up Samuel.  She does, and David asks her what else did she see.  Verse 11 -"Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.  ¹²And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.  ¹³And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth."  She saw "spirits" ascending out of the earth (Hades - the first level).  These spirits or "ghosts" are real.  Some humans can see them.  They are waiting for their "sentence" from God. Meanwhile, they are here...free to roam the earth and, if influenced by Satan, can commit horrendous acts of violence...if God allows Satan to do so. Only God can take a life, so no worries about Satan claiming you without God's permission.  Best thing to do is to go HERE and read about how YOU can come to know Christ..and why.

The SECOND LEVEL of Hell - Where the ANGELS are chained

2 Peter 2:4 - "For  God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment."

The THIRD LEVEL of Hell - the LOWEST PART OF HELL - The Lake of Fire

Psalm 86:13 - David said to God, "For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell."  and Deuteronomy 32:22 - "For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains."  - God speaking of the last days after Judgment.

If YOU have any questions about hell, Hades, the lake of fire...or anything else, just shoot me an e-mail and I will try to answer it.