Strange as it may seem, Hellians are exactly where they want to be. It is wrong to picture them in Hell against their wishes. As a matter of fact, God gives everyone what he wants. He never forces people against their will. Everybody freely chooses what he desires.
This freedom of choice is evident while man lives. The unbeliever detests God and loves himself. Even when he knows there is a God and trembles for fear of him, like the Devil (James 2:19), he refuses to serve him. He is a slave of his own rotten, corrupt heart. Passionately desiring to rebel against God, he does so. He does exactly as he pleases, and God does not force him to do otherwise.
The same freedom of choice applies to the believer. Although natural man has no desire to seek God, God has desired from eternity to seek some men. And he has determined that they will love and serve him. But he never forces man against his will.
Instead, he turns his heart of stone into a heart of flesh, his dead soul into a living one. Once born again, man leaps to embrace the God whom he once hated. Freely, without compulsion, he chooses what he wants; God and his will.
As in life, so in death. Both the saved and unsaved have precisely what they want. The saved love God, want to be in his presence, and are. They are in Heaven.
The lost, however, contrary to popular opinion, are exactly where they want to be—in Hell. They are as well aware—as was the rich man in Jesus’ parable—that there are only two places to be in after death, namely, Heaven and Hell. Like the rich man, they are not happy where they are. It is Hell! They crave for at least a drop of water on the tip of their tongue. There is only a gnashing of teeth, weeping, wailing, the never-dying worm and the unquenchable fire.
Yet, believe it or not, the lost are so wicked they would rather experience the torment of Hell than the presence of God. Undoubtedly, if they could have pleasures without God, they would choose to have them. Or even annihilation. But they know that these are not live options. Their only choice. now, is Heaven or Hell. They do not want Hell with all of its agony and pain. But neither do they want Heaven. They would like the pleasures of Heaven, but not its Lord. Neither do they want to be in a place where they cannot sin; rather, they want to keep right on rebelling against their Maker. So instead of wanting to spend eternity in Heaven, the dweller in Hell is exactly where he wants to be; forsaken by God. After all, it is the lesser of two evils.