I don't believe hell is at the center of the earth. Nor do I believe that heaven is in the sky, sitting out there somwhere in some distant galaxy, hidden behind some star. The Scriptures tell us that God is omni-present, meaning He is quite literally everywhere, as close to us as our own breath. In one of his beautiful psalms David asked the question, "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou are there." Psalm 139:7-8 So it's really not true that being in hell means being separated from the presence of God because God is everywhere.
I believe that when the Scriptures speak of heaven being "above," it doesn't mean that heaven is physically over our heads, but rather heaven is above in the sense that it is a higher state of existence than this physical world in which we live, another whole realm or state or kingdom, or another whole dimension, another good word.
And furthermore, heaven is infinite, and eternal, unlike this creation, and everything in it, which is finite and temporal.
And the same goes for hell. Hell is not beneath us in the sense that it is literally under our feet, in the earth's core. It is beneath us in the sense that it is a much lower state of existence, where darkness is absolute, and lonliness is bitterly cold, and the stinch of rot and death reigns with no rest from it's pangs.
Heaven and hell are spiritual realms that are not located somewhere in this physical realm. Nor can they be perceived or detected with our physical senses, which are only capable of perceiving physical things. That's why a person who is in an unregerate state, whether in this world or in hell, is not cut off from the presence of God because God is not present, they are cut off from God because they have not spiritual eyes or ears or hands to see and hear and feel God because God is spirit, and they are spiritually dead.
When we are born, we are born in this state of spiritual death. And think about it. A dead body can't see or hear or feel or in any way sense the world around it, the table their cold, lifeless body lies on, the people who stand around them, not even those who love and mourn them. They are "dead to the world," totally cut off with absolutely no conscious awareness of this world or anything in it. Now that body still exists, but it's dead. And that's the way it is with our spirit when we are born. Our spirit exists, but it's dead, dead to God, who is Spirit, and His kingdom, which is spiritual. It requires that God reach down and touch our cold, dead, lifeless spirit and raise us up to life, sweet, eternal, blessed, spiritual life. Then, and only then, can we open our eyes and see God, and hear His voice, and feel His presence, and walk in His kingdom: "except ye be born again, ye cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven." Jesus
So for all these reasons, and more, I don't believe hell is in the core of the earth, or that the Devil, that old serpent, is chained up there. Where that Ancient Foe is, lost souls go, not their bodies. The body goes to the grave, until the day of judgment ...
In Christ,
Pilgrimer
P.S. I'm from Alabama. Sixth generation born and raised here. And I have traveled over most of this state in the course of my life and no, hell is not here.
