In the vision God gave to me about hell, I saw prison cells in a place that was like a dungeon. There were rough-hewn stone walls with gates and bars. The Bible indicates that there are actual gates at the entrance of hell. In addition, Scripture states that there are bars in hell. Gates and bars would be indicative of a prison, and hell is just that. Why is this important? Because hell is an eternal prison with no escape. People need to understand that. The gates reflect its permanency.
Isaiah 38:10a (NKJV) says, “In the prime of my life I shall go to the gates of Sheol.”
And Job 17:16a asks, “Will they go down to the gates of Sheol?”
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“Sheol” refers to the place of departed spirits or hell. “Hades” is the Greek word for hell, and Sheol is the Hebrew word for the current hell. Jonah is someone in the Bible who was at the gates of hell. The Scriptures indicate that he actually died and went to hell (Sheol). Jonah said in Jonah 2:2b, “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried.” In Jonah 2:6b he said, “the earth with its bars closed behind me forever; yet You have brought up my life from the pit.”
There are credible commentaries that state he was either just inside the gates of hell, or just outside the gates. One such commentary is the Tyndale Old Testament Commentary (pages 114, 116) which reads, “Although Jonah is on the verge of entering Sheol, the Lord hears his cry and delivers him … like a Palestinian city, Jonah views the underworld as having a gate which was locked secure by bolts and bars: there could be no escaping from it. Once in Sheol, Jonah would be imprisoned there forever.”
God asks Job, “Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?” (Job 38:17). These gates exist in a spiritual world or dimension, but nevertheless, they are actual gates.
In Matthew 16:18b Jesus says, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades [hell] shall not prevail against it.” Jesus told us that all the forces of hell cannot stop the church. And again, this is the truth. If there were no gates, then Jesus could have said, ‘All the forces of hell shall not prevail against the Church.’ Why did He use the word “gates”? Why would we allegorize the gates, when most of the Bible should be taken literally? Hell is an eternal prison with eternal agony.
Will you repent of your sins and trust in the risen Savior Jesus Christ for your salvation, or will you experience firsthand the bars and gates of hell?
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Bill Wieseis the author of the New York Times best-selling book “23 Minutes in Hell,” the story of his life-changing visit to hell in 1998. Bill has since authored six additional book titles and continues to share his experience around the world. He and his wife, Annette, founded Soul Choice Ministries in late 2006 and have dedicated their lives to reaching the unsaved. For more information about Bill Wiese and Soul Choice Ministries, please visit us at: https://soulchoiceministries.org/.
You can find more of Bill’s teachings at: https://www.youtube.com/user/BillWieseTV.
