Hell
Hell (Greek: γέεννα)[1] is a location or state in the afterlife, in which the souls of sinners are subjected to punitive suffering. The Bible teaches that after a person dies physically, their soul will go to either heaven or hell according to their deeds.[2] In general, people regard hell as a place of torment for sinners who have committed evil on this earth. However, the Bible explains that hell is the place of final punishment where the devil who has opposed God in both the spiritual world and this earth and those who have followed him by committing lawlessness will have to go in return for their sins. The souls of those who are not saved are punished according to the severity of their sins, and eventually they are destroyed.
In the Greek Bible, written by the original language of the New Testament, Gehenna (γέεννα) is often mentioned as a term related to hell, and Hades (ᾅδης)[3] and Tartaroō (ταρταρόω)[4] are also used. Hades is a Greek word for “Sheol” used in the Old Testament, and Tartaroō,[5] mentioned only once in the New Testament, is a verb meaning “to confine in Tartarus.” Jesus used the word Gehenna to detailedly explain hell as the place of punishment for the souls who sinned.
Etymology
Hell is regarded in various religions as a realm of suffering where humans go for their wickedness. In the New Testament, Gehenna (γέεννα), which Jesus taught as a place for sinful souls, was translated as hell in English.
Hell and Gehenna
Gehenna (Gehinnom)
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Gehenna, the Greek word for the Hebrew word Gehinnom (Valley of Hinnom), is the name of a narrow valley located southwest of Jerusalem. It is notorious for a place where idol worshipers sacrificed to the pagan god Molech[6] in the age of Kingdom of Israel. Molech is an idol with a head of a cow and a human body with open arms and palms facing up. It is also known as Moloch,[7] Milcom,[8] and Malcam.[9] The Molech worshipers offered a human sacrifice by burning their young children as sacrifices; idols made of iron were heated with fire, and young children were sacrificed on their heated ar ms. This sacrifice was made in the high places of Topheth (Hebrew: תֹּפֶת)[10] built in the Valley of Hinnom.[11] Ahaz and Manasseh, kings of the southern Kingdom of Judah, too, burned their sons there and sacrificed them to Molech.[12][13]
God abhorred the worship of Molech and commanded Josiah, the sixteenth king of the southern Kingdom of Judah, to destroy it. When King Josiah heard the law of God, he carried out the reformation to remove all idols and detestable things in Judah and Jerusalem. At this time, he not only removed idols such as Baal and Asherah, but also made the high places of Topheth, where sacrifices were made to Molech, unclean places so that the worship of Molech could no longer be carried out.[14]
The place where fires kept burning to burn children who were dedicated to Molech, became a smoldering garbage dump after the reformation of King Josiah. Here, not only the garbage but also the bodies of dead animals and the corpses of criminals who were not buried after being executed, were burned. As a result, the fire in Geenna continued to rise. Around Gehenna, there was a severe odor of garbage and of the corpses of animals and humans.
Spiritual Gehenna
When Jesus taught about hell 2,000 years ago, the Jews knew Gehenna well, which was used as a smoldering garbage dump. So Jesus used the word Gehenna to let the Jews understand the place of punishment where unsaved souls would go.[15][16][17]
The spiritual Gehenna is described in the book of Revelation as the “lake of fire” outside the heavenly Jerusalem.[18] Apostle John wrote that false prophets would enter the “lake of fire,”[19] and Jesus said that the Pharisees, who were false prophets, would not escape being condemned to the Gehenna.[20] Comparing these two, we can see that the lake of fire in the book of Revelation is the spiritual Gehenna mentioned by Jesus.
Characteristics of Hell
Punishment According to Deeds
The souls of those who are not saved are judged according to their deeds.[21] In other words, not all sinners receive the same punishment, but the punishment varies, depending on the seriousness of the sin.
“That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.”
Jesus said that everyone would be judged and punished according to their sins. On Judgment Day, each person will be punished according to their deeds—according to the degree of their sin—whether for an hour, a day, or a generation. After receiving all the punishment for their sin, they will die forever, which is the second death.[22]
Excruciating Pain
Hell (Gehenna), which Jesus mentioned, is a place where there is excruciating suffering.
“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.”
Living with our hands and feet cut off or our eyes plucked out would be very painful. However, Jesus said it was better to go through this pain than go to hell. In this way, God lets us know how painful the suffering is in hell. Jesus told us about the suffering of hell through the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Being in great pain in hell, the rich man begged God to dip the tip of His finger in water and cool his tongue.[23] That is why Jesus eagerly said that we must never go to hell. Some insist, “Hell is merely a symbolic word for eternal destruction, and there is not an actual place of suffering.” However, this is contrary to the Bible.
Those Who Will Enter Hell
The Devil and False Prophets
In the New Testament, the book of Revelation records that the devil and false prophets will enter hell.
And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The devil and false prophets are already judged to suffer in hell forever. They will suffer such great punishments because they prevent souls from coming to God no matter what it takes, and spread falsehood and lawlessness to lead God's chosen people to hell.
Those Who Practice Lawlessness (Evildoers)
In the Gospel of Matthew, it is written that those who practice lawlessness will also enter hell.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ”
Practicing lawlessness, while claiming to believe in Jesus with their lips, is to forsake the law of the new covenant that Jesus established for the salvation of our souls, and to follow false doctrines made by men. Representative false doctrines include Sunday worship, Christmas, and cross reverence, which are not based on the Bible.
God also said that those who practice lawlessness would be thrown into a furnace.[24] Here, a furnace refers to the spiritual Gehenna, that is, hell. Hell is also reserved for evildoers. The Bible defines evildoers as those who do not keep the commandments of God, such as “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy”[25] and “Love one another.”[26][27][28] Those who obey God’s will and keep God’s commands are the ones who will enter the kingdom of heaven.[29]
Those Whose Names Are Not Found in the Book of Life
The Bible warns that the judgment of heaven and hell depends on whether or not a name is written in the “book of life.” The names of the righteous who devoted themselves to the gospel are written in the book of life in heaven,[30][31] and they will go to the kingdom of heaven.[32] On the other hand, those whose names are not written in the book of life are judged on Judgment Day and enter the lake of fire in hell.[21] It is because they are worshipers of the beast, the devil.[33]
If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
"Grave" in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, the place where the dead go is sometimes called “grave” (Hebrew: שְׁאוֹל,[34] Greek: ᾅδης [Hades]). The primary meaning of grave is subterranean, that is, underground. When Korah and his followers rebelled against Moses and Aaron in the desert, God opened the earth to swallow them. It is written in the Bible that they went down into the grave.[35]
When a person dies, he is usually buried in the ground, so the grave symbolizes death and the tomb. For this reason, the words hell and death are normally used together.[36][37][38][39][40] The writer of Psalms also referred to grave as the “land of oblivion” because people are forgotten by the living once they die.[41]
Likewise, in the Old Testament, the world of the dead is vaguely expressed with words such as the grave, but in the New Testament the world after death is expressed clearly. Therefore, in order to clearly understand the matter of the soul, we need to study it, focusing on the words of Christ the Owner of the souls.
Related videos
- Sermon: Judgment, Heaven or Hell
See also
References
- ↑ "1067. geenna". Bible Hub.
- ↑ "Matthew 25:31–46".
- ↑ "86. hadés". Bible Hub.
- ↑ "5020. tartaroó". Bible Hub.
- ↑ "2 Peter 2:4".
- ↑ "Strong's #4432 - מֹלֶךְ". Study Light.
- ↑ "2 Kings 23:10".
- ↑ "1 Kings 11:5".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 49:1".
- ↑ "Strong's #8612 - תֹּפֶת". Study Light.
- ↑ "Jeremiah 7:30–31".
- ↑ "2 Chronicles 28:1–3".
- ↑ "2 Chronicles 33:1–6".
- ↑ "2 Kings 23:10".
- ↑ "Mark 9:43".
- ↑ "Luke 12:5".
- ↑ "Matthew 23:33".
- ↑ "Revelation 22:15".
- ↑ "Revelation 20:10".
- ↑ "Matthew 23:13, 33".
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Revelation 20:12".
- ↑ "Revelation 20:14".
- ↑ "Luke 16:19–28".
- ↑ "Matthew 13:41–42".
- ↑ "Exodus 20:1–8".
- ↑ "John 13:34".
- ↑ "Nehemiah 13:17".
- ↑ "Matthew 25:41–46".
- ↑ "Revelation 14:12".
- ↑ "Philippians 4:3".
- ↑ "Revelation 3:5".
- ↑ "Revelation 21:1, 26-27".
- ↑ "Revelation 13:8".
- ↑ "Strong's #7585 - שְׁאֹל". Study Light.
- ↑ "Numbers 16:32–33".
- ↑ "2 Samuel 22:6".
- ↑ "Psalms 116:3".
- ↑ "Hosea 13:14".
- ↑ "Psalms 49:14".
- ↑ "Isaiah 14:11".
- ↑ "Psalms 88:10–12".