8. Just What Is Hell?

1. Is hell really taught in the Bible? Yes, it IS! So let us see what the Bible tells us about it.

2. Some translations such as the King James translation say in Acts 2:31 that our Savior, Jesus Christ, died and that his soul was not left in hell. Aren't the churches teaching that hell is a place where all sinners go? Our Savior was holy, harmless, and untouched by sin (see 1 Peter 2:22 and 2 Cor. 5:21). This does not make sense.

3. Did Jesus go to a burning, fiery condition of hell, which is what many say it is? NO! Yet the fact still remains that he DID go to hell. It was the Bible hell! So, what then IS hell? It is the grave, the condition of death! (Read Acts 2:31 NIV)

4. Matthew 12:40 calls the “hell” Jesus went to "the heart of the earth," NOT a place of fiery torment. In Jeremiah 19:5, God is angry with his people because they sacrificed their sons alive in the fire to the heathen god, Baal. God said that such a terrible thing had never entered His mind!

5. So why do some Bible translations, such as the King James Bible, say that Jesus went to "hell"? It is because they used the original meaning of the word hell as it was used in England, which meant to "bury or cover". An example was "helling potatoes in the winter". But some of the translators of the Bible changed its meaning so as to give the thought that hell is a place of everlasting fiery torment, where all sinners finally go.

6. In the Old Testament, hell is a translation of the Hebrew word sheol, meaning the grave. So when Job was suffering from boils that Satan had struck him with, he cried to God, “If only you would hide me in the grave....” (Job 14:13 NIV) Why? Because in the grave, he knew that he then would be free of pain. you would hide me in the grave ..." (Job 14:13 NIV) Why? Because in the grave, he knew that he then would be free from pain!

7. You can see how we're told in Ecclesiastes 9:10 that there is no activity, or knowledge, or planning in the grave. Why? Because one is not alive when he is dead! For death is like being asleep. So, Job knew that he would not be suffering in the grave (hell).

8. Do you think that Job wanted to stay in that death condition forever? NO! For he knew he would one day be raised from the dead to live again, for "As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Cor. 15:22)

9. What then is the true meaning of hell (translated from the Greek word "hades") in the New Testament? It is the same hell ("sheol") as in the Old Testament. It is the grave, the condition of death.

10. The "hell" mentioned in Acts 2:31, where we learned Jesus went to, is the same place ALL of us go to when we die, the grave--which is the penalty that was placed on Adam, and on us too, being his children.

11. But the good news, or glad tidings or Gospel of the Bible, is that Jesus took Adam's place by dying on the cross, which ransomed Adam and all of mankind from the death penalty. So all shall one day be raised or resurrected from the grave. (1 Tim. 2:5-6)

12. Romans 5:18 tells us, "So then through one man's transgression (sin), there came condemnation (a penalty) to ALL men; through one act of righteousness (the sacrifice of Jesus), there resulted justification of life to all men."

1. In Mark 9:43-45, hell IS mentioned as the "unquenchable fire", meaning a fire that never goes out. Does this mean, then, that hell really is a place of everlasting torment? No, for the Greek word there is "gehenna". Since it doesn't mean hell, it should have been left untranslated.

2. "Gehenna" is the Greek name of the Valley of Hinnom, which was just south of Jerusalem at the time of our Lord's first advent. It was where trash, carcasses of dead animals, and even dead bodies of criminals were thrown to be destroyed by the fires that were kept burning day and night. But only DEAD things were thrown into it.

3. Yet some say that the body is destroyed but not the soul. However, in Genesis 2:7 we read that God breathed into man the breath of life, and he became a living soul. That word "soul", from the Hebrew, means "a living being".

4. How do we know this? Ezekiel 18:4 tells us, "the soul who sins is the one who will die." So man IS a soul. When he dies, the breath goes back to God from where it came, and he is nothing without it; he is just a dead body or carcass.

5. Why is the word "gehenna" the proper one to use in Mark 9:43? Because it pictures complete destruction, whereas the Greek word "hades" and the Hebrew word "sheol" picture the temporary condition of the dead, or simply the death condition.

6. In Revelation 20:14, "hell" is called the Lake of Fire. But notice there how it's explained to be the "Second Death". Why? Because when we die it is the first, or Adamic death. But we shall all be raised from it because of Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. But, if one goes into the Second Death, there is no hope of a resurrection.

7. When does Second Death take place? Well, first of all, Satan has to be bound at the start of Christ's reign on earth at His second coming. At the end of that 1,000 year period, he will be loosed again for a little season. At that time, those who have been taught righteousness in an upright land by Christ and His Bride will be tested. If they follow Satan and still choose to do evil again, the Word of God teaches how they, with Satan, will go into the Second Death. (Rev. 20:6-10 and 21:8).

8. Why does Revelation 20:10 speak of the beast and the false prophet as being "tormented day and night"? This is strictly symbolic (picture) language, and, of course, they are not people. The Greek word for torment means "going to the very bottom". In other words, they and Satan will have no hope of existing again.

9. Now, we know that hell isn't the same place as gehenna, for Revelation 20:14 states that hell and death will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, explained as Second Death.

10. The Second Death will be such a sad ending for anyone who refuses to obey God's righteous rules, for Revelation 21:1-7 explains how wonderful it will be then. It tells us there will be no more crying or pain -- not even death as we know it. For the curse that was originally put on Adam will then have been lifted from all mankind.

11. We have the privilege of gaining the prize of the High Calling in Christ Jesus, that Heavenly prize of reigning with Christ as his Bride upon his soon return to earth. (Phil. 3:14 & Rev. 19:7)

12. How can we do this? By answering God's call. If you are taking this course it really means God is calling you. We pray you'll answer God’s call now that you understand His plan for you and keep learning of HIM and His Son, Jesus Christ!

END OF BASIC COURSE

1 Corinthians 2:9-10

However, as it is written: "No eye has seen,
no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God
has prepared for those who love him"
but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things,
even the deep things of God.