What is hell?

[TonyChanYT]

There are three Greek words that were translated into "hell".

Matthew 10:

28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

hell
γεέννῃ (geennē)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1067: Of Hebrew origin; valley of Hinnom; ge-henna, a valley of Jerusalem, used as a name for the place of everlasting punishment.

At Biblehub, 41 versions translated G1068 as "hell"; 9 used "Gehenna".

Another word that is sometimes translated as "hell" is in (ESV) Matthew 16:

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

hell
ᾅδου (hadou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 86: Hades, the unseen world. Properly, unseen, i.e. 'Hades' or the place of departed souls.

2 Peter 2:

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;

cast [them] into hell,
ταρταρώσας (tartarōsas)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5020: To thrust down to Tartarus or Gehenna. From Tartaros; to incarcerate in eternal torment.

At Biblehub, 36 versions translated G5020 as "hell"; 12 used "Tartarus".

The modern concept of hell may be closer to the concept of lake of fire in Revelation 20:

14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

There is really no single word in the Bible that correspond exactly to our modern concept of hell.

See also

• From Sheol to hell
• Does the Bible teach conscious torment over an infinite period of time?
• Did Jesus descend into hell per the Apostles' Creed?

 

[Randy Kluth]

There is really no single word in the Bible that correspond exactly to our modern concept of hell.

Agree. The old Greek concept of Hades as an afterlife was used in the NT Scriptures to represent a place of the dead, where souls continue to exist. But the biblical sense of Gehenna had more to do with the prescription of separation between God and hardened sinners, who reject God for all time. They were, to God, purely trash to be disposed of and removed from God's pure dwelling with His people.

A change took place at the resurrection of Christ because he obtained a certificate on our behalf, guaranteeing our resurrection in the future. Now, when we die, our physical separation from God in this world is not allowed to be an eternal separation.

Regardless, the death of the saints was never a complete break from God. It was merely a temporary separation from our original calling to be physically in God's paradise with Him. Our spirits can never truly be separated from God if we have chosen Him as our God and have determined to follow Him for eternity.

The Lake of Fire is not a place of eternal torture. Rather, it is an eternal removal from physical participation in God's paradise. As such, it is an "eternal punishment," ie an eternal determination that one is to be eternally separated from God's paradise.

The "fire" does not "torture," but rather, "removes." (God is not a sadomasochist.) The "removal" is what causes the "torment." It is the "dryness" that causes the "thirstiness"--an opted for spiritual separation from God.

The Lake of Fire is not a literal "fire" burning the flesh of the Lost for all eternity! That is against anything God has ever expressed in the Scriptures!

"Hell," as a place of the dead, or physical separation from God's paradise, is to be completely destroyed. God never intended that spirits be severed from their bodies for all eternity.

Death is just a temporary state of affairs, along with Hades itself. Ultimately, all will receive final determination with respect to their physical existence. All will be raised from the dead and placed where they have chosen to be, whether with God or without Him.

And so, God will judge the fate of both Saved and Lost for all eternity, Ultimately we will find our physical existence either with God in paradise, or without Him in a place called "Outer Darkness." My views only....

 

[Lambano]

For a second I thought the title of this thread was "What the Hell?"

You might add to your list of NT terms ἀπώλεια ("Apoleia"), the LXX translation of the Hebrew אֲבַדּוֹן ("Abaddon"), the Place of Destruction. See Matthew 7:13, John 17:12, Acts 8:20 (Darby, GNT, Mounce), Proverbs 15:11, Psalms 88:11, et. al.

 

[dev553344]

There are three Greek words that were translated into "hell".

Matthew 10:


hell
γεέννῃ (geennē)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1067: Of Hebrew origin; valley of Hinnom; ge-henna, a valley of Jerusalem, used as a name for the place of everlasting punishment.

At Biblehub, 41 versions translated G1068 as "hell"; 9 used "Gehenna".

Another word that is sometimes translated as "hell" is in (ESV) Matthew 16:


hell
ᾅδου (hadou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 86: Hades, the unseen world. Properly, unseen, i.e. 'Hades' or the place of departed souls.

2 Peter 2:


cast [them] into hell,
ταρταρώσας (tartarōsas)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5020: To thrust down to Tartarus or Gehenna. From Tartaros; to incarcerate in eternal torment.

At Biblehub, 36 versions translated G5020 as "hell"; 12 used "Tartarus".

The modern concept of hell may be closer to the concept of lake of fire in Revelation 20:


There is really no single word in the Bible that correspond exactly to our modern concept of hell.

See also

• From Sheol to hell
• Does the Bible teach conscious torment over an infinite period of time?
• Did Jesus descend into hell per the Apostles' Creed?

Hell is a prison to put perpetrators so they can't harm people. It's no different really than the jail systems we have today other than it is really hot so that no one can open their mouths and speak.

 

[Webers_Home]

~
It's one thing to discuss Hell from the perspective of an armchair expert with
no emotional attachment, while quite another when one of your own might
be down there.

My kid brother decided early to live life on his own terms and not allow
religion to get in his way. As a result, he was secular his entire life before
passing away back in March of 2016 at 71 of pancreatic cancer. Well; if
there's a Hell, it's pretty certain my brother is down there; and that
suspicion has a very strong effect on my thoughts and feelings about eternal
suffering.

The thing is; my brother isn't just another nondescript skull in the gene
pool: he's my kin, my very next of kin actually, We were born the same
year: me in January and him in December. We grew up in the same home,
were nurtured by the same parents, ate the same foods, attended the same
church, and slept in the same bed for a while till dad got us some bunks. We
had mostly the same friends, and kept each other company and were
playmates together for quite a few years throughout childhood. Our life
together as juniors joined us at the hip, so to speak: forging a lifelong bond
that no amount of disagreement had ever broken.

My brother is a pretty tough guy, but Hell is designed to break people down,
and I fear that today my once-fearless adventuresome brother is now a
squeaky little whimpering gerbil wishing he'd taken an interest in religion
when it mattered the most.

There's an incident depicted in the 16th chapter of Luke wherein folks on
both sides of the afterlife are able to communicate. Well; I hope that's still
possible because I'd really like to visit my brother as often as I can before
he's transferred to the lake of fire depicted by Rev 20:11-15 because after
that, it's very likely I'll never get to see him ever again. And it appears from
Rev 21:3-5 that we're in for a memory wipe so I'll not even remember his
name and it'll be like he never existed; which is actually a blessing because
it would be very unpleasant to have thoughts of my kid brother haunting me
forever.
_

 

[Bob Estey]

There are three Greek words that were translated into "hell".

Matthew 10:


hell
γεέννῃ (geennē)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1067: Of Hebrew origin; valley of Hinnom; ge-henna, a valley of Jerusalem, used as a name for the place of everlasting punishment.

At Biblehub, 41 versions translated G1068 as "hell"; 9 used "Gehenna".

Another word that is sometimes translated as "hell" is in (ESV) Matthew 16:


hell
ᾅδου (hadou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 86: Hades, the unseen world. Properly, unseen, i.e. 'Hades' or the place of departed souls.

2 Peter 2:


cast [them] into hell,
ταρταρώσας (tartarōsas)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5020: To thrust down to Tartarus or Gehenna. From Tartaros; to incarcerate in eternal torment.

At Biblehub, 36 versions translated G5020 as "hell"; 12 used "Tartarus".

The modern concept of hell may be closer to the concept of lake of fire in Revelation 20:


There is really no single word in the Bible that correspond exactly to our modern concept of hell.

See also

• From Sheol to hell
• Does the Bible teach conscious torment over an infinite period of time?
• Did Jesus descend into hell per the Apostles' Creed?

I believe hell is the consequence of our sin. For example, if I rob a bank, I go to prison. There are places I'd rather be.