Hell is a word that didn’t even exist before the 8th century (as far as we can tell), and Hades does not describe a place of torture, demons ruling over miserable victims, etc..
In ancient Jewish thought, SHEOL was merely the abode of the dead…a place, without thought, feelings, devices, plans, senses, etc…literally “the grave”, the same word in the NT is HADES (proven by this NT passage quoting the IT passage here, if there is any doubt (
Act 2:27 →
Psa 16:10
NKJV
Dead bodies are buried.
Souls are invisible to human Eyes.
Living Souls depart Dead Body's and continue Living, until Judgement Day.
Hades- is a Greek Term, meaning Underworld, and also the name of a Greek Mythological god of the underworld.
Sheol- is a Hebrew Term, meaning a place of Darkness where the Dead go.
Gehenna- (Gehinnom) is a Term from a historical valley near Jerusalem, called Hinnom, where some Israelite king's sacrificed their living children by burning them to death...
Gehenna Became a Thought as Similar to a Place where the Wicked would go and BE burned Alive.
( it is a real Visual (association) that Jews saw and AND heard screams AND smelled the flesh of little children being burned alive )
PLAINLY HELL- in English, has nothing to do with Greek mythology or the Hinnom Valley.
Hell is a place in the center of the Earth.
Before Jesus arrived on Earth...
Living soles of the Saved AND Unsaved Went TO Hell.
Jesus Taught:
Of a Division IN Hell. (A GREAT Fixed Gulf)
One side was Comfort.
One side was Torments.
Souls could not cross from one side to the other.
However:
They Could:
See each other.
Speak to each other.
Hear each other.
They also could Smell, Taste, Touch.
(The same Senses of a Living Soul IN the body, remain in a Living Soul outside of a dead Body).
After Jesus' Bodily Death, His Body was buried in a Cave. His soul departed His Body and went to the Comfort side of Hell for 3 days. There He preached to Saved Souls.
(Those souls were like imprisoned...Because they could not Leave....Until Jesus' Soul Was there and then Left)
Because ...
Col 1:
[
17] And he is before all things...
Jesus' soul after 3 days Returned to His Body and his Body Revived back to Living.
BY the Spirit (POWER) of God, (who IS Christ), His Body was Raised UP.
Thereafter ...
Dead bodies are still buried.
Saved Living souls depart the dead body and go to Heaven, IN Comfort.
Unsaved Living souls depart the dead body and go to Hell, IN Torments.
Both await the Resurrection of their Body's and Judgement.
And BTW...who said anything about Torture?
I didn't. Torments and Torture are not the same thing.
Unsaved souls in hell are Experiencing existence VOID of God and His Light AND Beauty AND Pleasantries.
Hell for the Unsaved Souls is dark, is hot and smells like the putrid smell of sulfur.
Glory to God,
Taken