The Bible records the creation of the world in the Book of Genesis. If one carefully reads the Creation account, the reader will quickly realize there is no mention of the creation of hell. Since there is no mention of the creation of hell, it can puzzle the reader as to when God created hell. Moreover, the reader would grow curious as to why God created hell. Did the Lord create hell because of Satan’s rebellion and fall?
The Fall of Satan
The fall of Satan is recorded in Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:12-18. Both of these passages of Scripture have dual meanings as they both refer to the kings of Tyre and Babylon; however, they also refer to Satan.
Isaiah 14:12 states, “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!” This passage of Scripture refers to Satan being cast down to the earth, out of heaven.
The reason Satan was cast out of heaven was due to his disobedience and pride. Isaiah 42:13-14 also refers to the fall of Satan,
“You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’”
Satan fell because of his pride and disobedience to the Lord. The devil wanted to make himself “like the Most High” (Isaiah 42:14b). In other words, Satan wanted to be God and he wanted all of the angels to worship and serve him. The angels were created as servants of God, and they were supposed to serve God in obedience.
Similar to human beings, God gave angels free will. This meant that the angels could make their own decision as to whether or not they would obey God. Since angels have free will, Satan chose to disobey God. The Bible tells us that Satan was originally a guardian cherub (Ezekiel 28:12-18).
It is believed that the angel order of cherubs was one of the highest ranks of angels, therefore, Satan would have been a very powerful and mighty angel. After Satan’s rebellion against God, he was thrown out of heaven. All of the angels that chose to follow Satan in his rebellion were also cast out of heaven.
The angels that chose to follow Satan rather than God are now known as demons. Satan nor his demons will ever receive their place in heaven again. Due to the fall of Satan, many scholars believe God created hell because of Satan’s fall. This is plausible because Jesus tells us hell is the place prepared for Satan and his demons.
In Matthew 25:41 Jesus says, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”
From Jesus’ words, we can ascertain that hell and the lake of fire were prepared in advance by God for Satan and his demons. Hell was not created specifically as a place of punishment for humanity.
Rather, hell was created as a place of judgment. Hell was created in mind for the purpose of judgment and punishment to the devil and his demons (Ibid.). Human beings who do not accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord will also go to hell because of their rejection of Christ.
God does not send people to hell, rather, people send themselves to hell because of their decision to reject Christ (Romans 6:23). All people have the option of accepting Christ as their Savior. Salvation is not only restricted to a particular group of people as salvation is for all.
Jesus came to die for the sins of the entire world (John 3:16-17). God loves all people and wants all people to be saved. He does not want anyone to go to hell, yet we can freely send ourselves to hell if we do not accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord.
The Creation of Hell
The Bible does not specifically tell us when God created hell. We are told about the creation of the world, the animals, and mankind, but the Bible does not tell us when God created hell.
We know the fall of Satan happened sometime after the creation of the world but before the fall of mankind. This is known because Satan had already fallen when He tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (3:1-24).
It cannot be known for certain if hell was created because of Satan’s fall. At the time of the creation account, there is not a single mention of hell; however, we do know hell is the final place for Satan, his demons, the antichrist, the false prophets, and unbelievers (Revelation 20:10).
Therefore, we cannot be dogmatic when coming to conclusions. It is plausible hell was created because of Satan’s disobedience; however, it is also plausible that God created hell beforehand as He already knew Satan would disobey Him.
We cannot be 100% sure because the Bible simply does not tell us directly. God is outside of time as He is not restricted by time as mankind is. It may be that God created hell as a cause-and-effect scenario due to Satan’s disobedience; however, we cannot know with certainty.
It is a fact that hell was created, and it is the ending place for Satan; however, we do not know if hell was created because of Satan’s fall. In our present earthly lives, we may never fully understand or know the time and circumstances of the creation of hell, yet in heaven, it is possible God will tell us.
We do not know when hell was created; however, all people should know what to do in order to not have to spend eternity in this dark, wretched place. Hell is not a pleasant place to be, and it is not a place where the “cool kids” go. Eternal darkness, pain, and separation from God are what is waiting for the person who does not accept Jesus as their Savior.
It is not a place that is just a little bit “warm” or “humid.” Hell is a literal place that all people need to know and understand. Once a person dies, there are no second chances. The only way to obtain salvation and spend eternity with God is by accepting Jesus as your Savior (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Jesus is the only way to salvation (John 14:6). Apart from Christ, there is no salvation. Satan and his demons were permanently cast out of God’s presence after their rebellion. In the same way, if a person fails to accept Christ during their life, they will be eternally cast out from God’s presence in hell.
What Does This Mean?
Despite the cultural and media influence claiming Satan to be the “king of hell,” it is not true. God is in control of everything — including hell. Thus, we cannot know with 100% accuracy if God created hell when Satan fell or if by God’s foreknowledge, he created it ahead of time because He already knew Satan was going to disobey and rebel.
For further reading:
Did Evil Exist Before Adam and Eve Sinned?
Why Was Lucifer, Satan, Cast Out of Heaven and Banished to Hell?
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