--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You want to know what hell is? What…" description: "\"“You want to know what hell is? What brimstone and burining really is?\" Yes\" Hell is the perfect recollection of every evil thing you've done in your l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/richard-paul-evans-1002_hell_you-want-to-know-what-hell-is-what-brims_1430905.png" --- # You want to know what hell is? What brimstone and burining… ![“You want to know what hell is? What brimstone and burining really is?" Yes" Hell is the perfect recollection of every evil thing you've done in your life, every thoughtless word, every cruel, evil thought or action. It's knowing that you could have helped your brother and didn't. Hell is clarity…” quote by Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/richard-paul-evans-1002_hell_you-want-to-know-what-hell-is-what-brims_1430905.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/richard-paul-evans-1002_hell_you-want-to-know-what-hell-is-what-brims_1430905.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/richard-paul-evans-1002_hell_you-want-to-know-what-hell-is-what-brims_1430905.png) > ““You want to know what hell is? What brimstone and burining really is?" Yes" Hell is the perfect recollection of every evil thing you've done in your life, every thoughtless word, every cruel, evil thought or action. It's knowing that you could have helped your brother and didn't. Hell is clarity, Bob. It's nothing more than clarity." He leaned forward as if to confide in me, his gaze intense. "Do you want to know what heaven is?" I was locked into his gaze. "Yes." His voice was barely above a whisper, "It's the same thing.”” [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hell is portrayed as a stark, unflinching awareness of every wrongdoing, a painful clarity that forces confronting one's moral failures. **In simple terms:** Hell = total awareness of past sins. Key Takeaway Embrace accountability to avoid inner torment. Themes morality conscience redemption self‑awareness punishment Mood haunting intense Type philosophical dramatic When to use this quote - personal reflection - confessional writing - therapeutic dialogue - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts ethical introspection psychological torment spiritual judgment Questions to Reflect On - What would you change if you faced such clarity? - Can awareness alone heal past harms? A Different Perspective Clarity alone may not lead to redemption without action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) ## Related quotes > [“Do you know what Hell is? ...No fire, no brimstone. Man in his infinite folly invented that to rob from his brothers their will.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomm-quackenbush/do-you-know-what-hell-is-no-fire-no-brimstone-man-in-his-infinite/) [Thomm Quackenbush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomm-quackenbush/) > [“The best order of things, as I see it, is the one that includes me; to hell with the most perfect of worlds, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/the-best-order-of-things-as-i-see-it-is-the-one-that-includes-me-to/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Hell is not fire and brimstone, not a place where you are punished for lying or cheating or stealing. Hell is wanting to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/hell-is-not-fire-and-brimstone-not-a-place-where-you-are-punished-for/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [Even as in heaven there will be most perfect charity, so in hell there will be the most perfect hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/even-as-in-heaven-there-will-be-most-perfect-charity-so-in-hell-there/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [If you don't know what the hell the martial arts are, why are you a judge?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aljamain-sterling/if-you-don-t-know-what-the-hell-the-martial-arts-are-why-are-you-a/) [Aljamain Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aljamain-sterling/) > [Satan the envious said with a sigh: Christians know more about their hell than I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kreymborg/satan-the-envious-said-with-a-sigh-christians-know-more-about-their/) Alfred Kreymborg > [“Take down the walls. Otherwise you must live closely, in fear, building barricades against the unknown, saying prayers against the darkness, speaking verse of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/take-down-the-walls-otherwise-you-must-live-closely-in-fear-building/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [I dont know if hell exists, but there sure as hell are some people who dont belong in heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-harper/i-dont-know-if-hell-exists-but-there-sure-as-hell-are-some-people-who/) [Ben Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-harper/) > [When you know what an actor has, you can reach in and arouse it. If you don't know what he has, you don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-kazan/when-you-know-what-an-actor-has-you-can-reach-in-and-arouse-it-if-you/) [Elia Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-kazan/) > [“Take down the walls. That is, after all, the whole point. You do not know what will happen if you take down the walls;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/take-down-the-walls-that-is-after-all-the-whole-point-you-do-not-know-2/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [That's the nature of research you don't know what in hell you're doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-eugene-edgerton/that-s-the-nature-of-research-you-don-t-know-what-in-hell-you-re-doing/) [Harold Eugene Edgerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-eugene-edgerton/) > [“Hell,huh? Well,hopefully we'll be able to disprove that theory soon.Besides, if it were hell,would I be here with you?" "I don't know,if hell called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/hell-huh-well-hopefully-we-ll-be-able-to-disprove-that-theory-soon/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [I like Shakespeare, but I never know what the hell is going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-letts/i-like-shakespeare-but-i-never-know-what-the-hell-is-going-on/) [Tracy Letts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-letts/) > [“Do you know where hell is? It's up here, in your head.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-know-where-hell-is-it-s-up-here-in-your-head/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You do not know what will happen if you take down the walls; you cannot see through to the other side, don't know whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/you-do-not-know-what-will-happen-if-you-take-down-the-walls-you/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) ## More by Richard Paul Evans > [ The smells of Christmas are the smells of childhood \[p. 53\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/the-smells-of-christmas-are-the-smells-of-childhood-p-53/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [We are chained to that which we do not forgive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/we-are-chained-to-that-which-we-do-not-forgive/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [“I've found that when someone is beautiful on the outside, but spiritually dark inside, all that outer beauty is just lipstick on a pig.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/i-ve-found-that-when-someone-is-beautiful-on-the-outside-but/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [There are none so impoverished as those who do not acknowledge the abundance of their lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/there-are-none-so-impoverished-as-those-who-do-not-acknowledge-the/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [It's our memories that make us who we are. Without them, we're nothing. If that means we have to hurt sometimes, it's worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/it-s-our-memories-that-make-us-who-we-are-without-them-we-re-nothing/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [At one time in my career, Barnes and Noble bookstores categorized my books as religious fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/at-one-time-in-my-career-barnes-and-noble-bookstores-categorized-my/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [“I'm no one important or famous, no matter. It is better to be loved by one person who knows your soul than millions who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/i-m-no-one-important-or-famous-no-matter-it-is-better-to-be-loved-by/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [The first step of a journey is always the longest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/the-first-step-of-a-journey-is-always-the-longest/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [“Simply stated, earth is a school-a divine educational process custom-fit to each of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/simply-stated-earth-is-a-school-a-divine-educational-process-custom/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [So much of young adult literature has turned dark, almost pathological. It's almost as if there is a race to see who can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/so-much-of-young-adult-literature-has-turned-dark-almost-pathological/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [If the errors of my life have profited me one great truth it is this: believe. Believe in your destiny and the star from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/if-the-errors-of-my-life-have-profited-me-one-great-truth-it-is-this/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [Some people in this world have stopped looking for beauty, then wonder why their lives are so ugly. Don't be like them. The ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/some-people-in-this-world-have-stopped-looking-for-beauty-then-wonder/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [“There's a big difference between us. I write non-fiction, you write fiction. I write truths that tell lies. You write lies that tell truths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/there-s-a-big-difference-between-us-i-write-non-fiction-you-write/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [As a boy I heard this story in church. A man was patching a pitched roof of a tall building when he began sliding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/as-a-boy-i-heard-this-story-in-church-a-man-was-patching-a-pitched/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [I am facing the most difficult thing of my life, my own greatest failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/i-am-facing-the-most-difficult-thing-of-my-life-my-own-greatest/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) [Explore all 311 Richard Paul Evans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) ## More Hell quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“Hell is only loneliness, a place without play for the soul, a place without God. How could there be God in loneliness when God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/hell-is-only-loneliness-a-place-without-play-for-the-soul-a-place/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [Just when I thought that I was gtting better, boy was I wrong.. Things just turned to hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cupecake/just-when-i-thought-that-i-was-gtting-better-boy-was-i-wrong-things/) Cupecake > [I believe that on any trip to heaven, there are always detours through hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-finney/i-believe-that-on-any-trip-to-heaven-there-are-always-detours-through/) [Richard Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-finney/) > [Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/every-saved-person-this-side-of-heaven-owes-the-gospel-to-every-lost/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [I'm what is known as gradually disintegrating. I don't fear the next world, or anything. I don't fear hell, and I don't look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/i-m-what-is-known-as-gradually-disintegrating-i-don-t-fear-the-next/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [Hey...Hey...What's up?. Nothing much, you? Nothing. K!..What the hell was the point of this communication?...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hey-hey-what-s-up-nothing-much-you-nothing-k-what-the-hell-was-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Except in these latter-day songs, \[Bob\] Dylan is a grizzled old prophet who's already been to hell and back. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/except-in-these-latter-day-songs-bob-dylan-is-a-grizzled-old-prophet/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“ALAS, IF ALL HUMANS WERE WISE AND HAD MORE GOOD WILL THE WORLD WOULD BE A PARADISE NOW IT IS MOSTLY A HELL”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/alas-if-all-humans-were-wise-and-had-more-good-will-the-world-would/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [It is through suppression that hells are formed in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-glaspell/it-is-through-suppression-that-hells-are-formed-in-us/) [Susan Glaspell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-glaspell/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) [Browse all 8,212 Hell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You want to know what hell is? What brimstone and burining really is?\" Yes\" Hell is the perfect recollection of every evil thing you've done in your life, every thoughtless word, every cruel, evil thought or action. It's knowing that you could have helped your brother and didn't. Hell is clarity, Bob. It's nothing more than clarity.\" He leaned forward as if to confide in me, his gaze intense. \"Do you want to know what heaven is?\" I was locked into his gaze. \"Yes.\" His voice was barely above a whisper, \"It's the same thing.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Paul Evans" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/you-want-to-know-what-hell-is-what-brimstone-and-burining-really-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hell" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/you-want-to-know-what-hell-is-what-brimstone-and-burining-really-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/richard-paul-evans-1002_hell_you-want-to-know-what-hell-is-what-brims_1430905.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/richard-paul-evans-1002_hell_you-want-to-know-what-hell-is-what-brims_1430905.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/richard-paul-evans-1002_hell_you-want-to-know-what-hell-is-what-brims_1430905.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You want to know what hell is? What brimstone and burining really is?\" Yes\" Hell is the perfect recollection…” — Richard Paul Evans", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Richard Paul Evans", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You want to know what hell...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/you-want-to-know-what-hell-is-what-brimstone-and-burining-really-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/you-want-to-know-what-hell-is-what-brimstone-and-burining-really-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```