Understanding what Sheol, Hell, Hades mean.

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Hobie

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There are those who say that if you are acquainted with the Bible and deny the eternal punishment of the wicked, you are not honest. That if the judgment of the wicked is not forever, then salvation of the saints is not forever, because the term of forever is used of both.
So is the judgment of the wicked forever or can they escape it by doing a little time in the fires of hell as some teach. Can the Devil as a being created by God, also continue forever then in a abode under the ground, and sin continue, I would say not. So what is meant by the Hebrew Sheol and the Greek Hades/Hell and how did it get twisted into this idea of a fiery underworld with Satan in charge, lets begin with some of the pagan ideas that caused much of the confusion, lets start with Purgatory and the Greek ideas that came in.

Purgatory as a doctrine teaches that a Christian's soul must burn in purgatory after death until all of their sins have been purged. To speed up the purging process, money could be paid to a priest so he could pray and have special masses for an earlier release, and much money was made with this doctrine. Purgatory is given as a way that no matter how sinful or unbelieving, when you die, you go to Purgatory and get things sorted out and finally get to heaven, so no acceptance of Christ is needed, you can buy your way in. But is it in the Bible, if you look it doesnt show it anywhere, so where did it come from. It comes from apostasy, it is a corrupt pagan doctrine, which was allowed into the church.

This pagan idea began creeping into the church around the end of the sixth century, and it has no scriptural support. In fact, Jesus warned us about this pagan practice in Matthew 23:14 when He spoke of those who devoured widows houses and made long prayers for a pretense. Psalm 49:6-7 tells us that a person couldn't redeem a loved one, even if such a place did exist: "They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:"
Peter addresses this issue in Acts 8:20 when he says, "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money." God's word is clearly against the doctrine of purgatory.

The Greeks, as in some measure the Egyptians before them, created myths of the afterlife which spread throughout the Hellenistic world, and even into words which were used when the Hebrew text was translated into the Greek. Scripture clearly rejects the Greek notion of the immortality of the soul disembodied from the here and now as spirit beings, and early Christians affirmed the resurrection of the body just as Lazuras was resurrected by Christ. So there is no place for a underworld depicted in Greek myths or place of cleansing by fire such as purgotary where spirit beings are left till they are ready to be reunited with God, it comes from other origins which we shall see.

Purgatory as a transitional condition has from many sources, a origin from the pagan belief of caring for the dead and praying for them, and to the belief that prayer for the dead contributed to their afterlife purification. Pagan tradition created this place of purgatory which leaves hope after death for the wicked, who, at the time of their death, are unrepentant and cling to their love of sin.

In Egypt, substantially the same doctrine of purgatory was taught as in modern times and its priests created grand funerals and masses for the dead, along with celebration of prayer and other services for the soul of the dead. The priest who officiated at the burial service was selected from the grade of Pontiffs who wore the leopard skin; but various other rites were performed by one of the minor priests to the mummies, previous to their being lowered into the pit of the tomb after that ceremony. They practiced elaborate ceremonies to prepare the pharaohs for their next life, constructing massive pyramids and other elaborate tombs filled with luxuries the deceased were supposed to need in the hereafter. The famous Book of the Dead, a collection of ancient Egyptian funerary and ritual texts, describes in great detail how to meet the challenges of the afterlife. The pagan Egyptian belief was when the body died, parts of its soul known as ka (body double) and the ba (personality) would go to the Kingdom of the Dead. While the soul dwelt in the Fields of Aaru, Osiris demanded work as restitution for the protection he provided. Statues were placed in the tombs to serve as substitutes for the deceased.

The Egyptian belief in the immortality of the soul existed centuries before Judaism, Hellenism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. According to Herodotus, eventually the Greeks adopted from the Egyptians the belief in the immortality of the soul. He wrote: 'The Egyptians also were the first who asserted the doctrine that the soul of man is immortal . . . This opinion, some among the Greeks have at different periods of time adopted as their own.' The Greek philosopher Socrates (470-399 B. C.) traveled to Egypt to consult the Egyptians on their teachings on the immortality of the soul. Upon his return to Greece, he imparted this teaching to his most famous pupil, Plato.......

In Greece the doctrine of a purgatory was spread through the Greek mystery religions and even was spoken by one of its major philosophers. Plato, speaking of the future judgment of the dead, holds out the hope of final deliverance for all, but maintains that, of "those who are judged," some must first "proceed to a subterranean place of judgment, where they shall sustain the punishment they have deserved." The ancient Greeks sacrificed on the thirteenth day (after death) to Mercury as the conductor of the dead, they also had sacrifice which, according to Plato, "was offered for the living and the dead, and was supposed to free them from all the evils to which the wicked are liable when they have left this world.

In ancient Rome, the pagan priests also picked up and spread purgatory to the pagans, but as a belief in the early church it was not immediately picked up. From earliest times Greek religious beliefs were a strong influence in Italy, and the Graeco-Roman world was essentially one in its religious and philosophic views of the afterlife. There was no mention of the doctrine during the first two centuries of the church, it has no basis in scripture, the apostles did not teach it, nor did Christ.
 

Hobie

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In all pagan religions you will find a similar description of a place after death where everyone can be absolved of their sin, not in any way connected to what the Bible says. In the pagan purgatory, fire, water, wind, were represented as combining to purge away the stain of sin, and has its roots in the Babylonian belief of Tammuz or Zoroaster, the great God of the ancient fire-worshippers. The doctrine of purgatory is purely pagan, and in no way from scripture as those who die in Christ no purgatory is or can be needed as it teaches that Christs blood cleanseth true believers from all sin, not purgatory. Scripture does not tell us of at death being put through altered spiritual states of immortality till we are cleansed by purgatory fires and then go to eternal life or heaven, but clearly teaches that immortality is not an innate human possession, but a conditional gift of eternal life given to believers at the resurrection.

Now some people point to Jesus' enunciation of the unpardonable sin as proof for Purgatory. Let us quickly look at this Scripture:
Matthew 12:32
And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

This reference to two worlds is held to be proof of Purgatory in the Bible, but that has nothing about purgartory. We can see from the parallel verses in Luke and John that it has nothing to do with it. The expression "neither in this world, neither in the world to come" does not imply that some sins are forgiven after death; however, it is a strong way of stating the truth that the unrepentant sinner will never be forgiven, as we see from the parallel passages:

Luke 12:10
And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.

Mark 3:29
But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.

The doctrine of Purgatory is not only without Biblical proof, but it is against the clear and consistent teaching of Scripture. the Bible nowhere speaks of a temporary place of punishment after death for believers; however, it does clearly state that when the believer dies, he rests in the grave and becomes dust, a place that no living loved one can effect in any way:

Genesis 3:19
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Job 7:21
And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

Job 34:15
All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.

They basically lay in the grave as dust and await the resurrection.

Revelation 14:13
And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

In fact, neither the word nor the concept of sin-purifying fire is found in Scripture or worse paying to cleanse a dead person of sin as a way to heaven. Scripture leaves absolutely no possibility for sin to be purged away by anything other than the blood of Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

John did not say "some" sins or "most" sins, but all sin and he says even more:

Revelation 1:5
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

The Roman church was confronted with this in the 16th century when the Reformers protested its practice of buying and selling of God's grace through indulgences. Backed into a corner, the Council of Trent tried to tie it to the apocryphal books not part of the canon of Scripture. These were a collection of uninspired books by writers influenced by the Greek belief in the immortality of the soul, prayer for the dead, and denial of the resurrection, who put these teachings what in what was known as the Apocrypha. The council ignored the fact that the Jewish scribes never recognized the apocryphal books as inspired or part of the Hebrew Scriptures and it was rejected outright in 90 A.D. at the Council of Jamnia (Jabneh). Clearly they saw the danger as it was obviously pagan myths and beliefs mixed into these apocryphal books and they clearly saw that God did not inspire the writers of the Apocrypha. This is why the Apocrypha was never included in the original canon of 66 books.
 

Hobie

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Now lets look at happens for both the good and the bad after death, and where the saints will go and also the ultimate destruction of the wicked in the Lake of Fire in a consuming fire, but which because of the Greek words used in translating from the Hebrew text has become confused with Greek myths. Christians picked up these false ideas and pagan beliefs of immortality of the soul, that a part of, or essence of, or spirit being of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means. This is at odds and in contrast to the scriptural teaching that the dead go to the grave and know nothing and at the end, a eternal oblivion of the wicked and a eternal life for the saints.

The Greeks had come up with myths that all the dead dwell below the earth in the realm of Hades and Persephon, good and bad alike, leading a shadowy and cheerless existence. The Greek god Hades was the king of the underworld, a place where souls live after death. The Greek god Hermes, the messenger of the gods, would take the dead soul of a person to the underworld (sometimes called Hades or the House of Hades). Hermes would leave the soul on the banks of the River Styx, the river between life and death. Charon, also known as the ferry-man, would take the soul across the river to Hades, if the soul had gold: Upon burial, the family of the dead soul would put coins under the deceased's tongue. Once crossed, the soul would be judged by Aeacus, Rhadamanthus and King Minos. The soul would be sent to Elysium, Tartarus, Asphodel Fields, or the Fields of Punishment.

From the sixth century BC onwards the Greeks developed pagan ideas for the dead, and of reincarnation and even transmigration of souls. These ideas are particularly associated with the pagan Greek Religious Mysteries or Eleusinian mysteries , where initiation in this life into its 'mysteries' are the prerequisites for getting to paradise in the next life. So you see where the Greek words used came loaded with ideas not in line with the original Hebrew, but since at the time, Greek was used as basically English is used today to communicate between people across the world, it was translated into these Greek words, and we have to go back to what the original Hebrew scribes words they wrote to understand their meaning.

So lets first look at the translation of the words closely to see their original meaning:

· Hades was the Greek work used in some places for the Hebrew term, Sheol or grave as "the place of the dead". Thus, it is used in reference to both the righteous and the wicked, since both wind up there eventually.
· Gehenna refers to the "Valley of Hinnon", which was a garbage dump outside of Jerusalem. It was a place where people burned their garbage and thus there was always a fire burning there. Bodies of those deemed to have died in sin without hope of salvation were thrown there to be destroyed. Gehenna is used in the New Testament as a metaphor for the final place of punishment for the wicked after the resurrection.
· Tartaro (the verb "throw to Tartarus") occurs only once in the New Testament in 2 Peter 2:4, and basically means the abyss or oblivion.
· The Hebrew word Abaddon, meaning to perish or "destruction", is sometimes used and basically means the same as the abyss or oblivion.

In most translations they often translate Gehenna as "Hell" which was the Greek closest to the meaning. Young's Literal Translation is a notable exception, simply using "Gehenna".

As you can see, Hades is the Greek word used for the Hebrew word Sheol in Greek translations of the Hebrew Bible. While earlier translations most often translated Hades as "hell", as does the King James Version, modern translations use the transliteration "Hades", or render the word as allusions "to the grave", "among the dead", "place of the dead" and many other like statements in other verses. In Latin, Hades began to incorrectly be translated as Purgatorium (Purgatory in English use) after about 1200 A.D., but no modern English translations put Hades as Purgatory. In the King James Bible, the Old Testament term Sheol is translated as "Hell" 31 times. However, Sheol was translated as "the grave" 31 other times.[54] Sheol is also translated as "the pit" three times. Modern translations, however, no longer translate Sheol as "Hell" at all, instead rendering it "the grave," "the pit," or "death."

In the Hebrew text it teaches that when people die they go to Sheol, the grave, we also have the word Gehenna which is the consuming by fire of the wicked. Which when the grave or the eternal oblivion of the wicked was translated into Greek, the word Hades was sometimes used, which is a term for the realm of the dead. Nevertheless the meaning depending on context was the grave, death, or the end of the wicked in which they are ultimately destroyed in the specific way in which scripture shows at the end, which is a consuming fire which destroys them for eternity at the lake of fire.

So we see where the grave or death or eventual destruction of the wicked, was translated using Greek words that since they had no exact ones to use, became a mix of mistranslation, pagan influence, and Greek myth associated with the word, but its original meaning was simple death or the destruction of the wicked at the end. 'Hades' was simply the word closest in meaning to the Hebrew 'Sheol'. The new versions now leave the word 'Sheol' untranslated, which is better than the Greek words used which cause confusion if the necessary basic Hebrew to Greek word translation used at the time is not understood.
 
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Behold

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Reader...


I heard a famous preacher once say...>"The people who dont believe in hell and who teach that there is no hell, are trying to Air Condition it before they move in".....

Here are some facts about Hell.

1.) It was created before Adam was created, and it was designed to house, = "created for the DEVIL, and His Angels".

Now, the DEVIL, is the Term for SATAN, after He was cast down here, ........as in Heaven, He was Lucifer.

2.) Where is HELL found?

Its found at the end of A Christ Rejecting LIFE< and a lot of people died and went to hell, before you will finish reading my post.

Believe it.

3.) Hell is not a "trash bin" or a " burning garbage dump" located near Jerusalem. How do you know? Its because Hell was created before Adam was created and Adam was created a long time before Jerusalem was built.

4.) Another fact about Hell.

Everyone who went there today, now believes it exists, and they all now also Believe in Jesus, and this does not SAVE THEM, because you can't be born again in Hell.
Why?
Because once you are there, you now SEE that Hell is real, and now you have proof you can SEE that leads you to believe that JESUS is Real.
And that is not FAITH.
FAITH, is TRUST, and in the case of Christianity, its TRUST IN WHAT YOU CAN'T see, so your belief is from the HEART, and not from your EYES..
Understand?
So, once in Hell, you SEE that Hell exists, and that PROOF, shows you that JESUS is REAL, and that is not FAITH..

God requires FAITH, in, what you can't SEE....to save YOU.

5.) How long does Hell last?

It lasts until its cast into the Lake of Fire.

6.) How long does Eternal Damnation last....?

This.. JOHN 3:36

It lasts for as long as you are held accountable for dying as a Christ Rejector, never born again.

So, God will hold you accountable for as long as Christ lives.

7.) "but behold, my church believes that God is going to let everyone out of Hell".

And put you where? ????

Heaven?
Really?
God is going to put the CHRIST REJECTORS, who are in their SIN, next to the BORN AGAIN who Trusted in Christ, and are FORGIVEN THEIR Sin?

That will never happen. (There is no sin found in Heaven.. no sin found in the Kingdom of God). = No sinners found there...ever.

8.) Reader, there are 2 Types of Eternal Life.

One is found "in Christ" who Himself is Eternal Life, and ALL the born again are "IN Christ"..."one with GOD"..

The other type of Eternal life is the ""2nd Death"".. and what is that? That is the 1st Death continued for Eternity.

What is the first death ? = ITs to be spiritually separated from GOD, = never born again......So "2nd Death" is to never be able to be born again,.. You died never born again..... and you are that way now and for eternity, .. separated from GOD, separated from Heaven, separated from Christ.

= That is "Eternal Damnation". = That is the "2nd Death".

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dont want to go to Hell?

You don't want to go to Hell ????????.... You are concerned about this right now?

Then turn to Christ by Faith... right now, Reader.

= BELIEVE that you need to be forgiven, because you do, and turn to Christ by FAITH... and Let God forgive you.
He will do it for "all who call on the Name of Jesus, shall be saved"
"All that Believe in JESUS< shall be forgiven, shall be saved".

"but behold, im a terrible person.. if you only knew what ive done, im so ashamed...."..

Reader, .. Listen to me..... "all have sinned",....... and God knows what you've done........all of it, and He says..>"COME HOME>.. You are welcome here"..."Come HOME"...... "Trust in my Son, and i will make you MINE.. forever and ever".

= That is God's promise, and He will do it for you Today, now.... right now.

"NOW is the day, now is the time... for your Salvation"....


- God bless you to believe it.
 
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Grailhunter

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Hell and Hades….are not mentioned in the Old Testament for a very good reason. If you have a Bible with these words in the Old Testament….buy another Bible or make corrections

The word Hell does not appear in the Old or New Testament, because the word did not exist in the any of the biblical periods. The word Hell is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word hellia, which in time moved into the Old English, Old Norse, Old High German, hel, helle, circa. 725 AD.

Nothing like Hell is described in the Old Testament and then of course God never threatened the Hebrews/ Israelites / Jews with a spiritual destination of punishment. So the Jews in the Old Testament did not know of or believe in a Hell….and as it is, modern Jews do not believe in a Hell or a devil today. Knowledge of a place of punishment does not come about until the knowledge of the devil comes about…that is the New Testament. Satan is mentioned in the Old Testament but his role in the storyline is not defined. So that is why the Jews do not believe in a devil.

Hades --- translated from a Greek word --- cannot appear in the Old Testament because the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, long before the Greek language existed, so a Greek word is not going to appear in a Hebrew text. So what is Hades? It is a little complex and I am sorry about that. The Apostles were tasked with writing the New Testament in Greek (mostly) and it was a Pagan language, from a Pagan culture and society. So it is no surprise that the language did not include Christian terms and meanings. So the Apostles had to take Greek words of close definitions and adjust them by the context of how they were used in the Scriptures. Definitions on the fly! LOL But as it was the Jewish language nor the Greek language had a word for a spiritual place of eternal fiery torment. So Christ and the Apostles had to improvise.

Christ used the illustration of Gehenna in the Valley of Hinnom…the burning trash dump….to describe Hell and He also referenced the fire and eternal torment at different times. The Apostles used the Greek word ᾅδης translated Hades in English…and I am bypassing the Latin because it does not matter…that was translated into more modern (725 AD) languages as Hell. But actually in the Greek language ᾅδης or Hades in the English… is the name of a Greco-Roman god….that presided over a realm called Hades that was not as much a place of torture but more of an underworld prison. It was the closest Greek word the Apostles could come up with to represent a place of eternal punishment.

Gehenna, the Aramaic name for a section of the Valley of Hinnom was a Roman trash dump that the Romans kept on fire intentionally for sanitation purposes….and they would dump dead bodies there and so as it was it was used as an analogy for Hell.

Shoal is an entirely different topic. In the beliefs of the Hebrew/ Israelite / Jewish people Shoal is not well defined or even consistent. For the most part they believe everyone goes there. For the Old Testament Jews Shoal was the final destination for everybody, good or bad. Since Yahweh did not promise them Heaven or threaten them with “Hell” Christians more or less just dropped the belief in Shoal….but there is no biblical reason to believe it no longer exists or is not a possible destination. I will address the whole conscience thing later.

But back to the question, Why was Gehenna changed to Hell? Gehenna was never actually a place of eternal punishment, it was an analogy or an illustration of an eternal fiery place of punishment. So a more correct understanding was probably needed when the languages could support it.

As I have said, the word Hell is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word hellia, derived from the Old English, Old Norse, Old High German, hel, helle, circa. 725 AD.

So the word Hell and its description becomes available in various languages.
725 AD….before Bibles like the Tyndale Bible, or the Geneva Bible, or the King James Bible are translated….in the 16th and 17th centuries.

In between this time you have the era of Shakespeare and the poets that impacted the Bibles as well as general Christian concepts of Hell.

Most Christian imagery of Hell as in the details comes from….The Divine Comedy an Italian narrative poem by Dante Aligieri, begun circa 1308 and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature.
and
Paradise Lost an epic poem by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verses. A second edition followed in 1674, arranged into twelve books It is considered to be Milton's master piece, and it helped solidify his reputation as one of the greatest English poets of all time.

Although they took some literary privileges, the word Hell and the biblical descriptions filled the need for more information about Hell. So when the Bibles were translated the words Hell or Hades were inserted into the Old and New testament scriptures. The concept was always there….Christ and the Apostles were referring to an eternal fiery place of punishment….they just did not have a good word for it in the languages they had available in the biblical era.

Heaven, as far as the Old Testament Jews, they believed that was where God was and they definitely did not believe it was a destination for people…. (with few exceptions) and they were not even sure if Angels were there.

It’s about a 400 year period between the Testaments and suddenly we have a devil and Heaven and Hell and a Lake of Fire that where possible destinations for people. Now for anyone that is paying attention, they should be asking themselves….What happened!!! Well a lot happened, but Fundamentalism does not cover that. Generally what they do is try to Christianize the Old Testament to compensate for lack of the concepts of Hell and a Devil figure. As far as the Lake of Fire….it occurs late in the biblical era and exactly what it is, is a matter of debate. My opinion? The term Lake of Fire describes what it look like, but it is actually a portal straight to Hell.

But still since the Jews were looking for a human warlord messiah king… the advent of Satan may have made that impractical and it would take a God to straighten things out.

The Jewish Messiah foretold of a savior in that he would free them from their oppressors…by force! They did not believe that the Jewish Messiah was there to forgive them of sins or save them from Hell or discontinue sacrifices or the Law or provide a path to Heaven. If you look at the Jewish prophets they foretold that the Messianic kingdom would last forever and the Temple, Mosaic Law, and sacrifices would continue forever.
 
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Hobie

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So now that we clarify some the translation issues, we can more clearly see what scripture teaches. If we read the Hebrew text, we see the prophets who wrote the Bible did not know the word "Hell"; they used the Hebrew Sheol, which meant the grave, and also descriptions which with the translation to Greek, three different Greek words are used that are translated as Hell. As shown, there is a meaning for each of them, and its important to know this, for they each mean something different. They are "Tartarus," "Gehenna," and "Hades", and lets look at them.

The Scripture says,
God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell [Tartarus], and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment (2 Peter 2:4).

This verse says that "the angels that sinned"(which would include Lucifer, too) have already been cast down "to hell" by God Himself. Yet they arent burning right now, obviously, and they certainly arent suffering somewhere far beneath the earth. Tartarus means "dark abyss" or "place of restraint." It isnt a place of punishment either. Look carefully. 2 Peter 2:4 says Satans angels are "reserved unto judgment," which means their punishment is yet future. For Satan and his evil angels, the fire hasnt started yet.

Next lets look at the word "Gehenna." All authorities admit this word is derived from the name of the narrow, rocky valley of Hinnom just south of Jerusalem where trash, filth, and the bodies of dead animals were burned up in Bible days. Here is a quote from Bible Facts" by Jenny Roberts "..Gehenna meant "the valley of Hinnom", and was originally a particular valley outside Jerusalem, where children were sacrificed to the god Moloch (2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chron. 28:3;Jer. 32:35). In later Jewish literature Gehenna came to be associated with a place of torment and unquenchable fire that was to be the punishment for sinners. It was thought by many that lesser sinners might eventually be delivered from the fires of Gehenna, but by New Testament times punishment for sinners was deemed to be eternal...."

Jesus Christ spoke about Gehenna many times such as in Matthew 5:22, 29,30 where He warned about "the danger of hell [Gehenna] fire"(Matthew 5:22). Gehenna definitely suggests real flames. The key question is when will this fire burn, Christ shows us when the fire will burn:
"As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 13:40-42)

Peter taught the same thing when he wrote:
But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 2 Peter 3:7

Peter also adds even more, as to what will come to pass after the wicked are destroyed and the earth is cleansed of all sin and its affects.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 2 Peter 3:10

Now lets look at what will happen to the being created by God who brought sin into the world..

Ezekiel 28 King James Version (KJV)

"11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
unto me, saying,
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more."


So its clear even the devil will meet his end, so there is no way he will be somewhere under the ground with his minions, overseeing any fiery burning place in the underworld.
 

Hobie

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Reader,

I heard a famous preacher once say...>"The people who dont believe in hell and who teach that there is no hell, are trying to Air Condition it before they move in".....

Here are some facts about Hell.

1.) It was created before Adam was created, and it was designed to house, = "created for the DEVIL, and His Angels".

Now, the DEVIL, is the Term for SATAN, after He was cast down here, ........as in Heaven, He was Lucifer.

2.) Where is HELL found?

Its found at the end of A Christ Rejecting LIFE< and a lot of people died and went to hell, before you will finish reading my post.

Believe it.

3.) Hell is not a "trash bin" or a " burning garbage dump" located near Jerusalem. How do you know? Its because Hell was created before Adam was created and Adam was created a long time before Jerusalem was built.

4.) Another fact about Hell.

Everyone who went there today, now believes it exists, and they all now also Believe in Jesus, and this does not SAVE THEM, because you can't be born again in Hell.
Why?
Because once you are there, you now SEE that Hell is real, and now you have proof you can SEE that leads you to believe that JESUS is Real.
And that is not FAITH.
FAITH, is TRUST, and in the case of Christianity, its TRUST IN WHAT YOU CAN'T see, so your belief is from the HEART, and not from your EYES..
Understand?
So, once in Hell, you SEE that Hell exists, and that PROOF, shows you that JESUS is REAL, and that is not FAITH..

God requires FAITH, in, what you can't SEE....to save YOU.

5.) How long does Hell last?

It lasts until its cast into the Lake of Fire.

6.) How long does Eternal Damnation last....?

This.. John 3:36

It lasts for as long as you are held accountable for dying as a Christ Rejector, never born again.

So, God will hold you accountable for as long as Christ lives.

7.) "but behold, my church believes that God is going to let everyone out of Hell".

And put you where? ????

Heaven?
Really?
God is going to put the CHRIST REJECTORS, who are in their SIN, next to the BORN AGAIN who Trusted in Christ, and are FORGIVEN THEIR Sin?

That will never happen. (There is no sin found in Heaven.. no sin found in the Kingdom of God". = No sinners found there...ever.

8.) Reader, there are 2 Types of Eternal Life.

One is found "in Christ" who Himself is Eternal Life, and the born again are "IN Christ".

The other type of Eternal life is the "2nd Death.. and what is that? That is the 1st Death continued for Eternity.

What is the first death ? = ITs to be spiritually separated from GOD, = never born again......So "2nd Death" is to never be able to be born again,.. You died never born again..... and you are that way now and for eternity, .. separated from GOD, separated from Heaven.

That is "Eternal Damnation". That is the "2nd Death".

Dont want to go to hell?

Then turn to Christ by Faith... right now.

= BELIEVE that you need to be forgiven, because you do, and turn to Christ by FAITH... and Let God forgive you.
He will do it for "all who call on the Name of Jesus, shall be saved"
"All that Believe in JESUS< shall be forgiven, shall be saved".

"but behold, im a terrible person.. if you only knew what ive done"..

Reader, .. "all have sinned", and God knows what you've done........all of it, and He says..>"COME HOME>.. You are welcome here"... "Trust in my Son, and i will make you MINE.. forever and ever".

That is God's promise, and He will do it for you Today, now.... right now.


- God bless you to believe it.
Well, lets take a closer look at the word Sheol", which is a Hebrew word used for the abode of the dead. It is thought of as a place situated below the ground, a place of darkness, silence and forgetfulness. Although the dead in sheol are apparently cut off from God, He is not absent, and is able to deliver souls from Sheol.

Sheol (pronounced "Sheh-ole"), in Hebrew &#1513;&#1488;&#1493;&#1500; (Sh'ol), is the "abode of the dead", the "underworld", or "pit". Sheol is the common destination of both the righteous and the unrighteous dead, as recounted in Ecclesiastes and Job, and also is shown by the many scriptures showing man returning to dust.

Genesis 3:19
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?"

Psalm 104:29
Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

Ecclesiastes 12:7
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
They are dead, in the grave, sleeping the unconscious state of the dead, knowing nothing.

Ecclesiastes 9:5
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

Similarly we find the same in Psalms:
Psalm 146:4
His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

We find the following showing he knew of the resurrection in the book of Job:
10 But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
11 As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14 If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.

Now Christ himself tells us that dead will be raised, but it will be at the judgment at the end of the world, and there is the resurrection of the just, but the wicked will also be brought up after that to face their judgment at the lake of fire.

Luke 14:14
And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

John 5:29
And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.


By the time of Jesus, some Jews had come to believe that those in Sheol awaited the resurrection either in comfort (in the bosom of Abraham) or in torment. This belief is reflected in Jesus' story of the rich man and Lazarus which was being brought in by Hellenistic influences and had begun to make inroads. At that time most Jews believed that Sheol meant simply the grave. Although many use this account to support that the wicked go to Hades when they die, most readers forget the story is actually a parable, not an account of real events.

So over time as the Greek pagan traditions and ideas were picked up by Hellenistic Jews and mixed in with the beliefs from the Hebrew Canon, you can see where even for the Jews, Sheol began to be compared to Hades of Greek mythology to refer to the abode of the dead, when they spoke of death, the grave, or the judgement. So when the ultimate translation of the text to Greek from Hebrew came about, the Greek words were not seen as an issue, and thus the confusion we see today.
 

Behold

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Well, lets take a closer look at the word Sheol",

Im not going to take a closer look at a false teaching that Denies the first step, regarding God's final Judgment for Christ Rejectors, never born again.

Listen up.. Reader.

JESUS< the JEW, the HEBREW.. the SON OF GOD< Virgin born.. YESHUA.... He taught more on Hell then He taught about HEAVEN.

And when a person tries to disavow and deny the eternal DAMNATION situation that is facing a Christ Rejector, (never born again).... then they are misleading people who are going to hell, as well as CHRISTians......and that is to "blaspheme".

Never ever do that....

Reader, if you are full of Theology, and some of it tries to deny HELL by teaching '"" purgatory""" or by teaching "there is no hell", then keep it to yourself, and do not present this in public. Do not teach this to people, especially those who might be THE very unbeliever that JUDE...= describes.... = who is "pulled out of Hell" because they came to fear it., when someone LIKE ME, tells them about it.

Jude Chapter 1.

JUDE Believes in Hell, and He wrote an Epistle.. that is in your NT.

NEVER believe it when some mind blinded false "teacher"... tool of evil, fool.... tries to prove that JUDE is a liar, and the NT Lies...as if Jesus was just "kidding" when He said its "better to tear our your eye, then to go to Hell".

AMAZING what you find on "christian" Forums....and what they Teach.
And it the same regarding a lot of Denominations.. that created them.

"doctrines of DEVILS"... Hebrews 13:9

"The ministers of Satan"... says YOUR NEW TESTAMENT.

Believe it.
 

Hobie

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Hell and Hades….are not mentioned in the Old Testament for a very good reason. If you have a Bible with these words in the Old Testament….buy another Bible or make corrections

The word Hell does not appear in the Old or New Testament, because the word did not exist in the any of the biblical periods. The word Hell is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word hellia, which in time moved into the Old English, Old Norse, Old High German, hel, helle, circa. 725 AD.

Nothing like Hell is described in the Old Testament and then of course God never threatened the Hebrews/ Israelites / Jews with a spiritual destination of punishment. So the Jews in the Old Testament did not know of or believe in a Hell….and as it is, modern Jews do not believe in a Hell or a devil today. Knowledge of a place of punishment does not come about until the knowledge of the devil comes about…that is the New Testament. Satan is mentioned in the Old Testament but his role in the storyline is not defined. So that is why the Jews do not believe in a devil.

Hades --- translated from a Greek word --- cannot appear in the Old Testament because the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, long before the Greek language existed, so a Greek word is not going to appear in a Hebrew text. So what is Hades? It is a little complex and I am sorry about that. The Apostles were tasked with writing the New Testament in Greek (mostly) and it was a Pagan language, from a Pagan culture and society. So it is no surprise that the language did not include Christian terms and meanings. So the Apostles had to take Greek words of close definitions and adjust them by the context of how they were used in the Scriptures. Definitions on the fly! LOL But as it was the Jewish language nor the Greek language had a word for a spiritual place of eternal fiery torment. So Christ and the Apostles had to improvise.

Christ used the illustration of Gehenna in the Valley of Hinnom…the burning trash dump….to describe Hell and He also referenced the fire and eternal torment at different times. The Apostles used the Greek word ᾅδης translated Hades in English…and I am bypassing the Latin because it does not matter…that was translated into more modern (725 AD) languages as Hell. But actually in the Greek language ᾅδης or Hades in the English… is the name of a Greco-Roman god….that presided over a realm called Hades that was not as much a place of torture but more of an underworld prison. It was the closest Greek word the Apostles could come up with to represent a place of eternal punishment.

Gehenna, the Aramaic name for a section of the Valley of Hinnom was a Roman trash dump that the Romans kept on fire intentionally for sanitation purposes….and they would dump dead bodies there and so as it was it was used as an analogy for Hell.

Shoal is an entirely different topic. In the beliefs of the Hebrew/ Israelite / Jewish people Shoal is not well defined or even consistent. For the most part they believe everyone goes there. For the Old Testament Jews Shoal was the final destination for everybody, good or bad. Since Yahweh did not promise them Heaven or threaten them with “Hell” Christians more or less just dropped the belief in Shoal….but there is no biblical reason to believe it no longer exists or is not a possible destination. I will address the whole conscience thing later.

But back to the question, Why was Gehenna changed to Hell? Gehenna was never actually a place of eternal punishment, it was an analogy or an illustration of an eternal fiery place of punishment. So a more correct understanding was probably needed when the languages could support it.

As I have said, the word Hell is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word hellia, derived from the Old English, Old Norse, Old High German, hel, helle, circa. 725 AD.

So the word Hell and its description becomes available in various languages.
725 AD….before Bibles like the Tyndale Bible, or the Geneva Bible, or the King James Bible are translated….in the 16th and 17th centuries.

In between this time you have the era of Shakespeare and the poets that impacted the Bibles as well as general Christian concepts of Hell.
Well you can see what caused the confusion with all the pagan Greek ideas being associated with the Greek words being used. Now as for heaven being the destination of the saints, there is no question as Christ declared it and scripture confirms it..

John 14:1-3
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Compare..
Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 5:45
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Matthew 5:48
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Matthew 6:9
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Matthew 7:21
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Then look at these text..

Matthew 3:2
And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 4:17
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 5:3
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:10
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:12
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Matthew 5:20
For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 8:11
And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 6:20
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

And this is just Matthew...
 
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Grailhunter

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Well you can see what caused the confusion with all the pagan Greek ideas being associated with the Greek words being used. Now as for heaven being the destination of the saints, there is no question as Christ declared it and scripture confirms it..

Ya “Christian Greek” was covered extensively in college.
Oh there is no confusion about Heaven in the New Testament. Heavenly reward.
The issue is in the Old Testament.
Some scholars call Judaism a “this world” religion, I think mainly because the rewards and punishments for the Jews were mostly in this world.
Vague understandings of the spirit world. They had developing and differing beliefs regarding Shoal but nothing defined.

God never threatened them with Hell or offered Heaven as a reward. And of course Satan was not seen as a demon or devil that is why Jews today still do not believe in a devil. Or something that tempts them.
The debate between scholars is why the Jews that Yeshua talked seemed to be knowledgeable about all that.
 

Aunty Jane

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I heard a famous preacher once say...>"The people who dont believe in hell and who teach that there is no hell, are trying to Air Condition it before they move in".....

Here are some facts about Hell.

1.) It was created before Adam was created, and it was designed to house, = "created for the DEVIL, and His Angels".
I have news for you….The devil did not become “the devil and satan” until he slandered and resisted God in the garden of Eden…..which is what his designations mean….these are not his names but his characteristics. God has never allowed his real name to be known.
Now, the DEVIL, is the Term for SATAN, after He was cast down here, ........as in Heaven, He was Lucifer.
Nowhere in the Bible is the devil called Lucifer.
The expression “shining one,” or “Lucifer,” is found in what Isaiah prophetically commanded the Israelites to pronounce as a “proverbial saying against the king of Babylon.” Thus, it is part of a saying primarily directed at the Babylonian dynasty. That the description “shining one” is given to a man and not to a spirit creature is further seen by the statement: “Down to Sheol you will be brought.” Sheol is the common grave of mankind—not a place occupied by Satan the Devil. Moreover, those seeing Lucifer brought into this condition ask: “Is this the man that was agitating the earth?” Clearly, “Lucifer” refers to a human, not to a spirit creature. (Isa 14:4, 15-16)
2.) Where is HELL found?

Its found at the end of A Christ Rejecting LIFE< and a lot of people died and went to hell, before you will finish reading my post.

Believe it.
No thanks….I’ll give that nonsense a miss. God has no reason or desire to torture souls in a burning hell forever…..why would he? Is there pleasure in their eternal screaming that he will somehow enjoy?
That is so far outside of what his perfect justice demands.
You describe a sadistic fiend, which is more like satan that Jehovah.
3.) Hell is not a "trash bin" or a " burning garbage dump" located near Jerusalem. How do you know? Its because Hell was created before Adam was created and Adam was created a long time before Jerusalem was built.
Since you have no way to distinguish “hades” from “Gehenna”, it is apparent that you have never done original Bible word studies….what you spout is ignorant rubbish. Do your own homework before you recommend that the readers just believe what you say...as if you can’t be wrong. Let them read the Bible for themselves….that is what God does.
4.) Another fact about Hell.

Everyone who went there today, now believes it exists, and they all now also Believe in Jesus, and this does not SAVE THEM, because you can't be born again in Hell.
Why?
Because once you are there, you now SEE that Hell is real, and now you have proof you can SEE that leads you to believe that JESUS is Real.
And that is not FAITH.
FAITH, is TRUST, and in the case of Christianity, its TRUST IN WHAT YOU CAN'T see, so your belief is from the HEART, and not from your EYES..
Understand?
So, once in Hell, you SEE that Hell exists, and that PROOF, shows you that JESUS is REAL, and that is not FAITH..

God requires FAITH, in, what you can't SEE....to save YOU.
He does require faith in what we cannot see….but hell is not one of them.
There is no “hellfire” in the Bible…that idea is borrowed from the pagan Greeks.
What Jesus spoke about was “Gehenna” which was the valley of Hinnom just outside the walls of Jerusalem and used to dispose of garbage…..even human garbage. Those not considered worthy of an honorable burial, (like executed criminals) their dead bodies were thrown into the fire for disposal. The second death is the lake of fire…but it is not a literal place as fire is used in the Bible to symbolize utter destruction.
Anyone who has experienced a wildfire knows that it leaves nothing but ashes.
Nothing alive was ever cast into Gehenna.
5.) How long does Hell last?

It lasts until its cast into the Lake of Fire.
Good grief…where will I find that written?
6.) How long does Eternal Damnation last....?

This.. JOHN 3:36

It lasts for as long as you are held accountable for dying as a Christ Rejector, never born again.

So, God will hold you accountable for as long as Christ lives.
There is no such thing as “damnation”…The word means “judgment”.
Jesus has promised to resurrect both the righteous and the unrighteous (John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15) The period of judgment for those unrighteous resurrected ones, is for their education and repentance.….so your scenario does not hold water.
7.) "but behold, my church believes that God is going to let everyone out of Hell".

And put you where? ????

Heaven?
Really?
God is going to put the CHRIST REJECTORS, who are in their SIN, next to the BORN AGAIN who Trusted in Christ, and are FORGIVEN THEIR Sin?

That will never happen. (There is no sin found in Heaven.. no sin found in the Kingdom of God). = No sinners found there...ever.
Since there is no immortal soul that survives death, no one has gone anywhere but into Sheol/ hades…..the common grave of mankind.…..a massive holding tank if you will, from which Jesus will call the dead in order. Those who will rule with him in his Kingdom are resurrected “first”. (Rev 20:6; 1 Thess 4:13-17)
All the dead go to this place which has no conscious souls in it. (Eccl 9:5-6, 10) “The dead know nothing” and can do nothing. They are dead.
8.) Reader, there are 2 Types of Eternal Life.

One is found "in Christ" who Himself is Eternal Life, and ALL the born again are "IN Christ"..."one with GOD"..

The other type of Eternal life is the ""2nd Death"".. and what is that? That is the 1st Death continued for Eternity.

What is the first death ? = ITs to be spiritually separated from GOD, = never born again......So "2nd Death" is to never be able to be born again,.. You died never born again..... and you are that way now and for eternity, .. separated from GOD, separated from Heaven, separated from Christ.

= That is "Eternal Damnation". = That is the "2nd Death".
Eternal life is offered only to the righteous…..eternal death is its opposite…..forever dead is what the second death is…it’s not living and suffering eternally somewhere else.
That’s the only choices people have, as it has been from the beginning…..obey and live…disobey and die. Not a difficult concept unless you want to muddy the waters with a bunch of unbiblical nonsense.
 

Hobie

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Ya “Christian Greek” was covered extensively in college.
Oh there is no confusion about Heaven in the New Testament. Heavenly reward.
The issue is in the Old Testament.
Some scholars call Judaism a “this world” religion, I think mainly because the rewards and punishments for the Jews were mostly in this world.
Vague understandings of the spirit world. They had developing and differing beliefs regarding Shoal but nothing defined.

God never threatened them with Hell or offered Heaven as a reward. And of course Satan was not seen as a demon or devil that is why Jews today still do not believe in a devil. Or something that tempts them.
The debate between scholars is why the Jews that Yeshua talked seemed to be knowledgeable about all that.
You need to read your Bible as its there and Christ declared it..

Luke 6:22-23
22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
 

Hobie

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So lets look at what seems to come nearest to the idea of it which is 'Hades.' This Greek word is 'Hell' in many English Bibles, such as the King James Version. In Revelation 6:8, the King James Version refers to 'Death, and Hell [Hades].' It does this same in Revelation 20:14. Yet some English Bibles leave the word 'Hades' itself, such as the New International Version, which translates Revelation 6:8 and 20:14 as 'Death, and Hades.' Now here's a key point: in Revelation 20:14 'Hades/Hell' is eventually 'cast into the lake of fire.' Thus 'Hades' itself is not a fiery place, but is cast into 'the lake of fire', so we see it basically refers to death or the grave.

Here is Revelation 20:14 in both the KJV and NIV:
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire(King James Version)

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire (New International Version)

In King James Version, there is a marginal reference beside the word 'Hell'(Hades) listed in Revelation 20:13 and 14. It says 'Hell' literally means 'the grave.' Thus Revelation 20:14 could properly be translated, 'death and the grave were cast into the lake of fire.' This makes sense.

To make it simple, 'Hades' also is also death and literally means 'the grave.' This is easy to prove from 1 Corinthians 15:55, which states,
'O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?'(King James Version)

If you look in any Strong's Concordance, you'll discover that the original Greek word here translated 'grave' is 'Hades.' By looking at the context, it's obvious that 'Hades' means 'the grave' because it is Gods saints who rise out of 'Hades' when Jesus Christ returns as we see..

Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up on victory. O death, where is your sting? O grave [Hades] where is your victory? 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 (King James Version,)

Thus 'Hades' here cannot mean a place of burning, for who can imagine God's people writhing in flames as they await the resurrection?

So the meaning of the three Greek words translated 'Hell' in our English Bibles:
'Tartarus' means 'a place of darkness or restraint'(2 Peter 2:4). Satan abides there now.

'Hades' means 'the grave', Jesus Christ's body rested there, and His saints rest there now awaiting the resurrection.

'Gehenna' means a place of fire, brimstone, and punishment.. These flames are yet future, at the end of the world at the lake of fire.

So Greek mythology and myths along with the translation caused many issues but at the end when Christ comes and sin is destroyed in the final fire, as the wicked perish, the Bible declares it
Revelation 20:15
Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire .
 

Hobie

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Im not going to take a closer look at a false teaching that Denies the first step, regarding God's final Judgment for Christ Rejectors, never born again.

Listen up.. Reader.

JESUS< the JEW, the HEBREW.. the SON OF GOD< Virgin born.. YESHUA.... He taught more on Hell then He taught about HEAVEN.

And when a person tries to disavow and deny the eternal DAMNATION situation that is facing a Christ Rejector, (never born again).... then they are misleading people who are going to hell, as well as CHRISTians......and that is to "blaspheme".

Never ever do that....

Reader, if you are full of Theology, and some of it tries to deny HELL by teaching '"" purgatory""" or by teaching "there is no hell", then keep it to yourself, and do not present this in public. Do not teach this to people, especially those who might be THE very unbeliever that JUDE...= describes.... = who is "pulled out of Hell" because they came to fear it., when someone LIKE ME, tells them about it.

Jude Chapter 1.

JUDE Believes in Hell, and He wrote an Epistle.. that is in your NT.

NEVER believe it when some mind blinded false "teacher"... tool of evil, fool.... tries to prove that JUDE is a liar, and the NT Lies...as if Jesus was just "kidding" when He said its "better to tear our your eye, then to go to Hell".

AMAZING what you find on "christian" Forums....and what they Teach.
And it the same regarding a lot of Denominations.. that created them.

"doctrines of DEVILS"... Hebrews 13:9

"The ministers of Satan"... says YOUR NEW TESTAMENT.

Believe it.
Well read your Bible as it has Gods truth and clearly it shows the idea of 'Hell' was not there and you will find that the Jews had little actual teachings on the concept of 'Hell' as a place where Satan was in charge with demons running around with pitchforks. It however with the pagan Greek ideas, became seen as a place of eternal torment with demons in charger where sinners were punished forever, so you can see how todays wrong idea of 'Hell' evolved.
 

Hobie

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Now the Bible clearly shows where the punishment and destruction of the wicked happen and lays it out:
Revelation 2:11
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Revelation 20:6
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Revelation 20:14
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Revelation 21:8
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Now this is punishment and destruction as they will be no more is not just for Satan but clearly is also for the wicked...

Psalm 37:20 King James Version (KJV)

20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

Isaiah 41:11 King James Version (KJV)

11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.

Malachi 4 King James Version (KJV)

1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts."

They will perish and be separated from God for eternity...

Luke 13:3
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

John 3:15
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
 

MatthewG

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Idk man.

After revelation 20, is done and over. Starting from chapter 21 forward is all brand new.

Revelation 20 pertains the defeating of Satan and the final judgment upon that age which Yeshua, told his disciples would come to an end which he would be with them until then (by the spirit of Christ) and he would come to rescue the bride of that day. Many people really discredit them more so for themselves.

As though they are the bride and are part of the 7 churches only unsure how this all could really apply to them by the manner of Yahweh and his judgment concerning the covenant he had made with his people; Israel - of course before being obliterated into fire and flames.

Even so, it never stops from the new scene of people who live outside the city gates of Heaven, it’s made apparent as John, wraps up the words of his letter, in which was a reminder to go back to the start; etc… 666 name of man in that day in age, not someone today.

The whole narrative of the Bible always seems to be misconstrued when they decide to add all of us here in 2024, that while the we as humans can destroy one another (hate out neighbor.) Must truly consider the narrative as a whole, and not as though this information from the Bible is talking to you today.

Sure Yahweh can commune with someone by the spirit, however that is about as far as it goes, in faith and walking in the spirit, abiding in Christ, dying to self, being buried with Christ and being raised in faith by the Holy Spirit of Yahweh raising up Yeshua from the dead. Putting Yahweh first loving him; and loving your neighbor as yourself.

Have a good morning, Hobie.
 

Hobie

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Idk man.

After revelation 20, is done and over. Starting from chapter 21 forward is all brand new.

Revelation 20 pertains the defeating of Satan and the final judgment upon that age which Yeshua, told his disciples would come to an end which he would be with them until then (by the spirit of Christ) and he would come to rescue the bride of that day. Many people really discredit them more so for themselves.

As though they are the bride and are part of the 7 churches only unsure how this all could really apply to them by the manner of Yahweh and his judgment concerning the covenant he had made with his people; Israel - of course before being obliterated into fire and flames.

Even so, it never stops from the new scene of people who live outside the city gates of Heaven, it’s made apparent as John, wraps up the words of his letter, in which was a reminder to go back to the start; etc… 666 name of man in that day in age, not someone today.

The whole narrative of the Bible always seems to be misconstrued when they decide to add all of us here in 2024, that while the we as humans can destroy one another (hate out neighbor.) Must truly consider the narrative as a whole, and not as though this information from the Bible is talking to you today.

Sure Yahweh can commune with someone by the spirit, however that is about as far as it goes, in faith and walking in the spirit, abiding in Christ, dying to self, being buried with Christ and being raised in faith by the Holy Spirit of Yahweh raising up Yeshua from the dead. Putting Yahweh first loving him; and loving your neighbor as yourself.

Have a good morning, Hobie.
Well lets look at more verses on what happens to the wicked at the lake of fire..

Psalm 37:20
But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

Psalm 68:2
"1 Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God."

Psalm 73:27
"27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee."

2 Thessalonians 2:10
"10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved."

2 Peter 2:12
"12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;"

2 Peter 3:9-12
"9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?"
 

Grailhunter

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Charles “Taze” Russell was something between an idiot and a scammer. The one thing that he wasn’t, was a biblical scholar.

I spent sometime in the kingdom hall because of my aunt and it was hilarious….They try to convince people that they understand the biblical languages but if you have an opportunity to witness the witnesses LOL they use a placebo word study to twist the words to fit their false religion and deceive others. Just like they practice in the kingdom halls how to deceive people to let them into their homes. It is real thing, they practice this.

The funny thing is that if they understood the biblical languages they would know the basics. God the Father’s name is not Jehovah. All the persons, places, and things that start with the letter J in English Bibles actually start with a Y in the scriptures. Yahweh, Yeshua, Yob, Yoshua, Yames Yericho,….etc. The letter J came out in the 1400’s and was not popular until the 1600’s. That is just from basic knowledge and they named their religion wrong. It is not Jehovah it is Yahweh.

In a lot of ways the Jehovah’s Witnesses are like a cult, but not in there method of study. It is different but it is still mind control or mental conditioning. If you talk to Professional Interventionists they will tell you it is like talking to a programmed robot when they try to rescue the women and children from this group. They practice their rebuttals to the truth.

Koiné Greek vs Christian Greek. Koiné Greek actually does not have Christian terms and theological words and Christian concepts for a very good reason…it is a Pagan language. Christian Greek is a modification of that language. The people that wrote the New Testament had to use similar words and modify their meanings. A simple example is the word sin, in the Greek it means miss the target, no religious significance, like your arrow missed the target. The writers of the New Testament took that word and made it a Christian theological word meaning transgression.

This was the issue with the concept of a fiery place of eternal punishment. This was a new concept that did not exist in the Old Testament. It was a drastic concept that did not exist in the Pagan world either. They could not use the word Hell because that word is an Anglo-Saxon word that did not come out until 725 AD. They had the word Hades but that was a Greek god that reigned over a spirit prison named Hades which did not include the concept of fire. So they modified the meaning to include fire. And sometimes they used the word Gehenna translated Hell in English Bible.

They did the best they could, they modified the word Hades to include the meaning of a place of eternal fiery torment and Christ used the illustration of the fires of Gehenna for this place of eternal fiery torment, and they referenced fire in general for this place and then you have the Lake of Fire. Sometimes they would say things like eternal fire or eternal punishment or eternal damnation. It is all about eternal fire and the torment of eternal fire. So they explained this topic in as many ways as they could to get the truth acrossed.

And one of the big questions here is….Who do you think would want Christians ….even the world to believe that there was not a place of eternal fiery torment for the immoral….that would be Satan and the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
 

Grailhunter

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You need to read your Bible as its there and Christ declared it..

Luke 6:22-23
22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

LOL
 

Hobie

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Charles “Taze” Russell was something between an idiot and a scammer. The one thing that he wasn’t, was a biblical scholar.

I spent sometime in the kingdom hall because of my aunt and it was hilarious….They try to convince people that they understand the biblical languages but if you have an opportunity to witness the witnesses LOL they use a placebo word study to twist the words to fit their false religion and deceive others. Just like they practice in the kingdom halls how to deceive people to let them into their homes. It is real thing, they practice this.

The funny thing is that if they understood the biblical languages they would know the basics. God the Father’s name is not Jehovah. All the persons, places, and things that start with the letter J in English Bibles actually start with a Y in the scriptures. Yahweh, Yeshua, Yob, Yoshua, Yames Yericho,….etc. The letter J came out in the 1400’s and was not popular until the 1600’s. That is just from basic knowledge and they named their religion wrong. It is not Jehovah it is Yahweh.

In a lot of ways the Jehovah’s Witnesses are like a cult, but not in there method of study. It is different but it is still mind control or mental conditioning. If you talk to Professional Interventionists they will tell you it is like talking to a programmed robot when they try to rescue the women and children from this group. They practice their rebuttals to the truth.

Koiné Greek vs Christian Greek. Koiné Greek actually does not have Christian terms and theological words and Christian concepts for a very good reason…it is a Pagan language. Christian Greek is a modification of that language. The people that wrote the New Testament had to use similar words and modify their meanings. A simple example is the word sin, in the Greek it means miss the target, no religious significance, like your arrow missed the target. The writers of the New Testament took that word and made it a Christian theological word meaning transgression.

This was the issue with the concept of a fiery place of eternal punishment. This was a new concept that did not exist in the Old Testament. It was a drastic concept that did not exist in the Pagan world either. They could not use the word Hell because that word is an Anglo-Saxon word that did not come out until 725 AD. They had the word Hades but that was a Greek god that reigned over a spirit prison named Hades which did not include the concept of fire. So they modified the meaning to include fire. And sometimes they used the word Gehenna translated Hell in English Bible.

They did the best they could, they modified the word Hades to include the meaning of a place of eternal fiery torment and Christ used the illustration of the fires of Gehenna for this place of eternal fiery torment, and they referenced fire in general for this place and then you have the Lake of Fire. Sometimes they would say things like eternal fire or eternal punishment or eternal damnation. It is all about eternal fire and the torment of eternal fire. So they explained this topic in as many ways as they could to get the truth acrossed.

And one of the big questions here is….Who do you think would want Christians ….even the world to believe that there was not a place of eternal fiery torment for the immoral….that would be Satan and the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Well, need to study it and see what is there. Here is a good study for you on the history of hell that I came across:

"...The word Hell, in the Old Testament, is always a translation of the Hebrew word Sheol, which occurs sixty-four times, and is rendered "hell" thirty-two times, "grave" twenty-nine times, and "pit" three times.

1. By examination of the Hebrew Scriptures it will be found that its radical or primary meaning is, The place or state of the dead.

The following are examples: "Ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave." Gen. xvii 38. "I will go down to the grave to my son mourning." xxxviii 35. "O that thou wouldst hide me in the grave!" Job xiV 13. "My life draweth nigh to the grave." Ps. lxxxviiI 3. "In the grave who shall give thee thanks?" lxxxvi 5. "Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth." cxlI 7. "There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." Ecc. ix. 10. "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there." Ps. cxxxix. 8. "Hell from beneath is moved to meet thee, at thy coming. It stirreth up the dead for thee," &c. Isaiah xiV 9-15.

These passages show the Hebrew usage of the word sheol, which is the original of the word "grave" and "hell" in all the examples cited. It is plain that it has here no reference to a place of endless torment after death. The patriarch would scarcely say, "I will go down to an endless hell to my son mourning." He did not believe his son was in any such place. Job would not very likely pray to God to hide him in a place of endless torment, in order to be delivered from his troubles.

If the reader will substitute the word "hell" in the place of "grave" in all these passages, he will be in the way of understanding the Scripture doctrine on this subject.

2. But there is also a figurative sense to the word sheol, which is frequently met with in the later Scriptures of the Old Testament. Used in this sense, it represents a state of degradation or calamity, arising from any cause, whether misfortune, sin, or the judgment of God.

This is an easy and natural transition. The state or the place of the dead was regarded as solemn and gloomy, and thence the word sheol, the name of this place, came to be applied to any gloomy, or miserable state or condition. The following passages are examples: "The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me." Psalm xvii 4-6. This was a past event, and therefore the hell must have been this side of death. Solomon, speaking of a child, says, "Thou shalt beat him, and deliver his soul from hell;" that is, from the ruin and woe of disobedience. ProV xxiiI 14. The Lord says to Israel, in reference to their idolatries, "Thou didst debase thyself even unto hell." Isaiah lvii 9. This, of course, signifies a state of utter moral degradation and wickedness, since the Jewish nation as such certainly never went down into a hell of ceaseless woe. Jonah says, "Out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardst me." ii 2. Here we see the absurdity of supposing sheol or hell to mean a place of punishment after death. The hell in this case was the belly of the whale; or rather the wretched and suffering condition in which the disobedient prophet found himself. "The pains of hell got hold on me: I found trouble and sorrow." Ps. cxvi 3. Yet David was a living man, all this while, here on the earth. So he exclaims again, "Great is thy mercy towards me. Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell." Ps. lxxxvi 13. Now here the Psalmist was in the lowest hell, and was delivered from it, while he was yet in the body, before death. Of course the hell here cannot be a place of endless punishment after death.

These passages sufficiently illustrate the figurative usage of the word sheol, "hell." They show plainly that it was employed by the Jews as a symbol or figure of extreme degradation or suffering, without reference to the cause. And it is to this condition the Psalmist refers when he says, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." Ps. ix. 17. Though Dr. Allen, President of Bowdoin College, thinks "the punishment expressed here is cutting off from life, destroying from earth by some special judgment, and removing to the invisible place of the dead" (sheol).

It is plain, then, from these citations, that the word sheol, "hell," makes nothing for the doctrine of future unending punishment as a part of the Law penalties. It is never used by Moses or the Prophets in the sense of a place of torment after death; and in no way conflicts with the statement already proved, that the Law of Moses deals wholly in temporal rewards and punishments.

This position, also, I wish to fortify by the testimony of Orthodox critics, men of learning and candor. They know, and therefore they speak.

1. CHAPMAN. "Sheol, in itself considered, has no connection with future punishment." Cited by Balfour, First Inquiry.

2. DR. ALLEN, quoted above, says: "The term sheol does not seem to mean, with certainty, anything more than the state of the dead in their deep abode."

3. DR. CAMPBELL. "Sheol signifies the state of the dead without regard to their happiness or misery."

4. DR. WHITBY. "Sheol throughout the Old Testament signifies not the place of punishment, or of the souls of bad men only, but the grave only, or the place of death."

5. DR. MUENSCHER. This distinguished author of a Dogmatic History in German, says: "The souls or shades of the dead wander in sheol, the realm or kingdom of death, an abode deep under the earth. Thither go all men, without distinction, and hope for no return. There ceases all pain and anguish; there reigns an unbroken silence; there all is powerless and still; and even the praise of God is heard no more."

6. VON COELLN. "Sheol itself is described as the house appointed for all living, which receives into its bosom all mankind, without distinction of rank, wealth, or moral character. It is only in the mode of death, and not in the condition after death, that the good are distinguished above the evil. The just, for instance, die in peace, and are gently borne away before the evil comes; while a bitter death breaks the wicked like as a tree." 2"....