Hell
Hell is one of those subjects that makes people uncomfortable.
We hear stories of hell being a place of fire, demons, and endless torment. Throughout
history many authors have written about it, Dante's Inferno for example. Western culture
is very familiar with the concept. Even Hollywood has made it the subject of many movies.
Whatever the context, whatever the belief, hell is definitely taught in the Bible. But
even the doctrine of hell is not without its controversy. Some say it is only the grave
with no consciousness. Others say it is a place of correction and punishment that is not
eternal. Others say it is an endless agonizing punishment in fire. Whichever it is, hell
is the total absence of the favor of God.
The words associated with Hell
Gehenna
In the OT, the word for hell is 'ge-hinnom' meaning
"Valley of Hinnom." It was a place to the southwest of Jerusalem. This place was
once "called 'Topheth' and derived from an Aramaic word meaning
'fireplace.' It was here that some pagan kings practiced human
sacrifice by fire (2 Chron.
28:3;
33:6;
Jer. 7:31;
32:25)(1). This is probably why in the NT the word came to be associated
with destruction by fire. The word 'gehenna' is found in the NT 12 times and every
instance is spoken of by Jesus. In the NT, "gehenna" is used of a condition and
never of a place.
Hades
This word only occurs in the NT, ten times, and
corresponds to the OT word "sheol." Jesus uses the word four times: Matt.
11:23;
16:18; Luke
10:15; 16:23. The other six occur in Acts 2:27,31; Rev. 1:18;
6:8; 20:13,14.
It was probably the "subterranean abode of all the dead
until the judgment. It was divided into two departments, paradise or Abraham's bosom for
the good, and Gehenna or hell for the bad."(2) In
particular, in the account of Lazarus and the Rich man of (Luke 16:19-31), it is the place
of the conscious dead who are wicked.
Sheol
"The Hebrew word Sheol is probably
derived from a root "to make hollow," and was seen as the common receptacle of
the dead and in the great many places the word appears in the OT, it is referring to the
grave.(3) It is a place and is mentioned in
Gen. 37:35;
Num.
16:30,33; Psalm
16:10, etc. Sheol has many meanings in scripture: the grave, the
underworld, the state of the dead. It was supposed to be below the surface of the earth
(Ezek. 31:15,17;
Psalm 86:13).
Is Hell Eternal Conscious Torment?
There are some Christian groups and many cults that deny the
idea that hell, in the general sense, means eternal, conscious punishment. Some maintain
that God's eternal punishment is annihilation, or non-existence. Others say it is temporal
and that eventually all will be saved out of hell. Perhaps the most common objection is
that a loving God would never punish people in eternal torment. We agree that God is love
(1
John 4:8), but He is also just (Neh.
9:32-33; 2 Thess. 1:6), and eternal (Psalm
90:2; 1
Tim. 1:17 ). God punishes the evil doer (Isaiah
11:13) and this punishment will be
eternal. But the question remains. Is this eternal punishment conscious or not?
There are verses that can be interpreted to support the idea that
the dead are not conscious after death: (Ecc.
9:5 - the dead know nothing(4)
and Psalm 146:4 - their thoughts perish, are good examples.) Other verses compare the dead
to sleep: Acts 13:36; 1 Cor. 15:1-6;
1 Thess. 4:13, etc. But these latter verses are merely
comparing the similarity between the appearance of the dead and the appearance of someone
sleeping.
The Dead are Conscious After Death
The wicked descend alive into Sheol
Num.
16:30, "But if the Lord brings about an entirely new
thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and
they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the
Lord . . . 33So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol;
and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly."
Cast to outer darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth
Matt. 8:12, "but the sons of the kingdom shall be
cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.”
Those cast into the fire suffer consciously
Matt.
13:41-42, "The Son of Man will send forth His
angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit
lawlessness, 42and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” See
also Matt. 13:50.
Cast into a tormenting fire
Rev.
14:9-11, "And another angel, a third one, followed
them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and
receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, 10he also will drink of the
wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he
will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the
presence of the Lamb. 11"And the smoke of their torment goes up
forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who
worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his
name."” See also, Rev.
21:8.
Hell is a place of eternal fire and punishment
Unquenchable Fire
Matt. 3:12 "And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and
He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn,
but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Fiery Hell
Matt. 5:22, "whoever shall say, 'You fool,' shall be
guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." See also, Matt.
5:29,30.
Fiery Hell
Matt. 18:8-9, "And if your hand or your foot causes you
to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled
or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire. 9"And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and throw it from you. It is
better for you to enter life with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into the fiery
hell."
Eternal Fire
Matt.
25:41, "Then He will also say to those on His
left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for
the devil and his angels.
Eternal Punishment
Matt. 25:46, "And these will go away into eternal
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
The word 'eternal' in both places is "aionios" which
means 1)without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be;
2)without beginning; 3)without end, never to cease, everlasting. The word 'punishment' is
the word kolasis and it means "to punish, with the implication of resulting severe
suffering - 'to punish, punishment.'"(5)
Eternal Fire
Jude
7, "Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities
around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went
after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal
fire."
Lake of Fire
Rev.
20:15, "And if anyone's name was not found
written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
Luke 16:19-31, Lazarus and the Rich Man
In Luke 16:19-31 is the story of Lazarus and the rich man.
Basically, Lazarus is a poor man who suffers during life. The rich man is, of course,
rich. They both die. The rich man goes to Hades. Lazarus goes to Abraham's bosom, another
term for paradise. In Hades, the rich man lifts up his eyes and sees Lazarus far off. He
cries out to Abraham and asks for mercy because he is in agony in flame. Abraham says no.
Then the rich man asks if someone from the dead were to rise and go tell his brothers not
to come to this terrible place. Abraham teaches him that that will not be done either.
Some say that this is a parable. However, if it is, it is unique
because no other parable actually names a person. It isn't a story. It is history. It
really happened. But many who believe in no consciousness after death will say it is still
a parable. The question then is, if it is? What is it teaching? If hell fire is false and
if self-awareness after death is also false, then Jesus is using false doctrines to teach
a truth. Parables illustrate truth. If it is a parable what does the consciousness after
death symbolize? Also, what does the agony in flame symbolize? Are they not real? Of
course they are.
Conclusion
Hell is a real place. It is not mere unconsciousness. It is
not temporal. It is eternal torment. Perhaps that is why Jesus spoke more of hell than
heaven and spent so much time warning people not to go there. After all, if people just
stopped existing, why warn them? If it was temporal, they'd get out in a while. But if it
were eternal and conscious, then the warning is strong.
Jesus said, "And if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it
from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for
your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30"And if your right hand makes you stumble,
cut it off, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your
body perish, than for your whole body to go into hell," (Matt.
5:29-30).
_________________
1. Achtemeier, Paul J., Th.D., Harper's Bible Dictionary, (San
Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc.) 1985.
2. Unger, Merrill F., Unger's Bible Dictionary, (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1966, p. 437.
3. Vine, W. E., Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and
New Testament Words, (Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell) 1981.
4. Ecclesiastes is a book that is addressed as things appear
"under the sun" (Ecc. 1:3,9,14, etc.). In fact, the phrase "under the
sun" occurs 29 times in Ecclesiastes, a book written from the human perspective and
boldly states that all is vanity.
5. Louw, Johannes P. and Nida, Eugene A., Greek-English Lexicon
of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains, (New York: United Bible Societies) 1988,
1989.
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