How do we view satan (intentionally spelled with a lower-case “s”)? I mean really picture him in our minds? Don’t we typically visualize satan as being in charge of some hellish kingdom with his minions, cracking the whip on the poor souls doomed there for eternity? He’s basically the king of hell, right? Is that a biblical concept of satan and of hell?

What we need to understand about hell is that it is real, it is a place of torment, and it is a place of punishment and everlasting destruction. See Luke 16:23, Revelation 20:14 (both of which use the Greek word hades — Ἅιδης — sometimes translated “hell”), Mark 9:43-48 (where the Greek word is gehenna — γεεννα), Revelation 20:10, and 2 Thessalonians 1:9.

Not many people argue with that. There are some who will argue the very existence of hell, but the Bible makes it clear that hell is very real. Where another source of confusion lies though, is in regard to satan’s role in hell.

After the Day of Judgment, satan will not be the king of hell, he won’t be in charge of hell, and he will no longer be the “prince of this world” (John 12:31, John 14:30). In fact, he will be in more torment than anybody else in hell! As a roaring lion on earth, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8), he will be beaten with “many stripes” for eternity (Luke 12:47-48) in the place that was never created for humans anyway — it was created for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).