Where do the lost go when they die?
According to Scripture, the lost from all ages, including today, go down into hell, or Hades, into the torment side. Abraham defines it as a place with a great gulf fixed, separated from paradise. There they remain in torment, as Christ described.
Les explains that the lost from all ages, including today, are still going down into hell, as we understand it, but into the torment side. This is the place Abraham defines as having a great gulf fixed, with torment on one side and paradise on the other. Before the cross, even Old Testament believers could not go to heaven; they went down to paradise because the atoning blood of Christ had not yet removed the stain of sin. Animals' blood couldn't take it away. They were saved for eternity but not ready for God's presence. The lost, however, go to the torment side. Christ spoke of this when He said He would be three days and three nights in the center of the earth, and Paul confirms this teaching.