Part5
What Is Hell?
But what is this "hell" where souls can be destroyed? In Matthew
10:28, the Greek word translated as "hell" is gehenna, derived from
the Hebrew expression ge hinnoma reference to the valley of Hinnom
to the south of Jerusalem. Anciently, the valley of Hinnom was used
as a place to dump Jerusalems trash. Fires burned continuously and
fed on the citys garbage, which included the dead bodies of
condemned criminals. As a result, "Gehenna" became a symbol of
judgment associated with fire. This same word was also used in
Matthew 5:22, when Jesus said: "But I say to you that whoever is
angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the
judgment. And whoever says to his brother, Raca! shall be in
danger of the council. But whoever says, You fool! shall be in
danger of hell fire"Gehenna fire.
Yes, unrepentant sinners will be cast into a lake of fire. Gehenna
fire is a reference to this final fate of the wicked.
Does this mean, then, that hell is a valley to the south of
Jerusalem? Yes, in one sense the valley of Hinnom is "hell" as
described in the Bible. But in another sense the word "hell" can be
misleading, because there are actually three Greek words, and one
Hebrew word, which your English-language Bible translates as
"hell." Gehenna is just one of the four. Many Bible students become
confused by the different references to "hell" and their different
meanings. There are four words for "hell" in your Bible, with three
different meanings. To properly understand the Bibles teaching
about hell, you must first ask, "Which hell are we talking
about?"
The Hebrew word that your King James Version often translates as
"hell" is sheolwhich simply means "grave" or "pit." It does not
denote a place of ever-burning fire. This word occurs 65 times in
the Old Testament, and is translated 31 times as "grave," another
31 times as "hell" and three times as "pit." The New International
Version of the Bible always translates sheol as "grave"never as
"hell." The word sheol simply means a "pit" or a "grave."
So, if we ask, "Who is burning in sheol (the pit, or the grave)?"
the answer is: No one!
In addition to gehenna, which we discussed above, two other Greek
words are translated as "hell" in your Bible. The Greek word hades,
like the Hebrew sheol, simply means "grave" or "pit." It does not
mean a place of ever-burning fire. If you have a copy of the New
King James Version, or the New International Version, you will see
that the translators often leave the word hades untranslated.
The fourth word translated as "hell" in your Bible is based on the
Greek word tartarus. This word denotes a condition of restraint,
and it applies not to human beings, but rather to fallen angels.
Notice: "God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them
down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be
reserved for judgment" (2 Peter 2:4).
As one scholarly source explains: "The verb tartaroo, translated
cast down to hell in 2 Pet. 2:4, signifies to consign to
Tartarus, which is neither Sheol nor hades nor hell, but the place
where those angels whose special sin is referred to in that passage
are confined to be reserved unto judgment; the region is
described as pits of darkness." (An Expository Dictionary of
Biblical Words, W.E. Vine, p. 300).
So, as we have seen, "hell" can describe three very different
places or conditions. It can describe a pit or grave (sheol or
hades). It can refer to a place of fiery judgment (gehenna). It can
indicate the confinement of fallen angels (tartaroo). As you can
see, using the one word "hell" to convey all three of these
meanings can cause confusion, and does not accurately communicate
the truth of the Bible.
