The Multitudes in Hell

It came to pass also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying: "Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, And cast them down to the depths of the earth, Her and the daughters of the famous nations, With those who go down to the Pit: 'Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down, be placed with the uncircumcised.' "They shall fall in the midst of those slain by the sword; she is delivered to the sword, drawing her and all her multitudes. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with those who help him: 'They have gone down, they lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.' "Assyria is there, and all her company, with their graves all around her, all of them slain, fallen by the sword. Her graves are set in the recesses of the Pit, And her company is all around her grave, All of them slain, fallen by the sword, Who caused terror in the land of the living. "There is Elam and all her multitude, All around her grave, All of them slain, fallen by the sword, Who have gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, Who caused their terror in the land of the living; Now they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit. They have set her bed in the midst of the slain, With all her multitude, With her graves all around it, All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; Though their terror was caused In the land of the living, Yet they bear their shame With those who go down to the Pit; It was put in the midst of the slain.

(Ezekiel 32:17-25)

The passage above offers further insight into the nature of Hell. Its context is the Lord’s pronouncement of judgment on Egypt through the destruction of its army. Here, the Lord describes what awaits the Egyptian army as they descend into the depths of the pit.

In doing so, He mentions the armies of Assyria and Elam, who were already in Hell. A fuller reading reveals that the Lord names the armies of several nations in this passage. Though these armies once brought terror during their time on earth, they have since been brought down to the lower parts of the earth, where they now bear their shame.

It is also striking to observe that each nation appears to have its own assigned place within the recesses of the Pit. Assyria is described as being there, surrounded by all her company, with their graves all around her.

This mention of graves deserves particular attention. It seems that the spirits of unbelievers experience a fate resembling that of their physical bodies. Just as their bodies are buried in graves on the earth, so their spirits lie in open graves beneath the earth. These graves are open, as suggested by the account of the rich man who could see Lazarus above him in Abraham’s bosom.

This also sheds light on why “the worm does not die” in that place. All who are cast into Hades lie in open graves infested with maggots that consume them. And beyond this, they are also engulfed in flames.

It is common to say of the departed, “May they rest in peace.” Yet for those consigned to Hell, there is no peace and no rest—only unending torment.

"Hell from beneath is excited about you, To meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations. They all shall speak and say to you: 'Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your stringed instruments; the maggot is spread under you, and worms cover you.' "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!

(Isaiah 14:9-12)

The passage describes Satan’s descent into Hell during the Lord’s millennial reign. Just like all who are cast into Hell, he is covered with maggots. The context reveals that the leaders of the nations are gathered to “welcome” him, mocking him as he is brought to his place of torment, deriding him for becoming as powerless as they are.

From this passage, it is clear that the leaders of the nations do not lie in graves as their subjects do. Instead, they are mockingly seated on thrones, while the people under their rule lie in graves around them. Yet, despite their apparent position, these leaders also share the same fate: they are covered with maggots and consumed by the unquenchable flames of Hell.

The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the Day of Judgment,

(2 Peter 2:9)

Hell is not the unbeliever’s final destination. As this passage explains, unbelievers are reserved there under punishment until the Day of Judgment. This can be compared to a human court system: once declared guilty, a criminal may be placed in a holding cell until sentencing. Only afterward is the final sentence carried out.

In the same way, Hell functions as a temporary holding place where unbelievers await final judgment. Though they have not yet received their eternal sentence, they are nonetheless already under punishment and suffering torment. On the Day of Judgment, they will be brought out, judged, and then cast into the Lake of Fire, which is their eternal destiny.

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  (14) Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Finally, we must face the sobering reality of numbers. In the above passage Jesus Himself declared that many will enter through the gate of destruction, while only a few find the way of life. Tragically, this means that far more people will end up in hell than in heaven.

To give us perspective, Scripture provides an example from Elijah’s day. Elijah lamented that he was the last faithful servant in Israel, but the Lord revealed that He had preserved 7,000 who had not bowed to Baal (1 Kings 19:14–18). At that time, Israel’s adult population was about three million. Of these, only 7,000 were faithful—meaning roughly 2,993,000 perished in unbelief.

Applying this proportion to world history provides a sobering estimate. From Adam until today, it is believed that around 100 billion people have lived and died. Using Elijah’s ratio, approximately 300 million would be in heaven, while nearly 100 billion are in hell.

Michael E.B. Maher

Resurrection of the Dead

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