Hell

The mainstream teaching in Christendom is that hell is the place where all sinners go after death to be tormented forever and ever. This is the teaching that has been espoused to almost all Christians worldwide. The corollary of this doctrine is that all faithful and godly people will spend eternity with God in heaven after they have died. Some pastors and teachers say that entry into heaven or hell takes place at the time of death. Does the Bible really teach these things? Let us do some quick examination of what the Bible really teaches about hell.

What Is Hell According to the Bible?

The word “hell” in the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible is translated from the Hebrew “Sheol”  which means the state or abode of the dead or of departed spirits. It is defined in Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon #7585 as “underworld (place in which people descend at death).” “Sheol” is used 66 times in the Hebrew Bible (called Old Testament by Christians), but translated in 65 places in the KJV, leaving out Isaiah 7:11, as “grave” (31 times), “hell” (31 times), and “pit” (3 times). In the 31 places where “Sheol”  is translated as “hell,” it is used as the place where the dead go regardless of whether they were righteous or wicked before their death. For example, the wicked and all the nations who forget God will be turned to hell (meaning the grave) at death (Psa. 9:17). That same hell was where Jesus Christ, the Holy One, went at death (Psa. 16:10; cf. Acts 2:27,30,31). David said, “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.” (Psa. 139:8 NKJV). Here, by “hell” he simply meant the “grave” where the dead is buried until it is resurrected by God through Jesus Christ. We see, therefore, that the Hebrew Bible never had the concept of hell being the place of torment for the wicked dead.

In the New Testament, the Greek word “Hades” is used 10 times (Matt. 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27,31; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13,14). It means the same place as Sheol – the realm of dead souls. In Greek mythology, it is also the name of the ruler of the world of the dead. The name of the place is likely derived from this god of the underworld. Hades is also translated as “hell” in theKJV and some other English versions. Therefore, it simply means the grave where both the righteous and the unrighteous dead go to await their resurrection.

Another Greek word translated as “hell” is “ge-henna.” The word is used twelve times in the New Testament and translated as “hell” (Matt. 5:29,30; 10:28; 23:15 33; Mark 9:43,45; Luke 12:5; Jam. 3:6) and “hell fire” (Matt. 5:22; 18:9; Mark 9:47). The word “ge-henna” is derived from the Hebrew “Ge-Hinnom” which is a valley South of Jerusalem that was used as a garbage dump. Historically, the valley was always kept burning to control the stench of the refuse and the carcasses of dead animals and humans that were thrown into it. The idea of an ever burning fire was derived from this valley. This is the “hell” that has fire associated with it and is different from “Hades” or “Sheol” or “tartaroo.” (The valley is today used as an orchard.)

It is plausible that the “lake of fire” mentioned by John (Rev. 19:20; 20:10,14,15) is the same place referred to in the Gospels as  “hell” (“ge-henna”) or “hell fire” (“pyr ge-henna”).

Another Greek word which has been translated “hell” in the New Testament is “tartaroo” used only once in the New Testament by Apostle Peter: “For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but threw them into “hell” [Greek: “tartaroo”] and locked them up in chains in utter darkness, to be kept until the judgment,” (2 Pet. 2:4 NET). Here, hell is a place of restraint, a prison, where angels who sinned are kept in chains of utter darkness and kept until the day of judgment. This prison where only angels are incarcerated is likely to be the same place called the “bottomless pit” in Revelation (Rev. 9:1,2,11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1,3).

We have seen from the brief examination of the scriptures that the word “hell” means three different places or realms –

(i)  the world of the dead where the souls of both the righteous and the wicked will be until they are resurrected. There is no real biblical evidence that this place has two regions, one for the righteous dead and the other for the wicked dead;

(ii) the prison where angels who sinned are kept until the day of judgment;

(iii) the lake of fire where unholy humans and angels will be destroyed after the judgment. They will be put to an eternal death without the hope of resurrection.

It is important to note that both Death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire after “the great white throne judgment” which will take place at the end of the age (Rev  20:14). This suggests that there is no fire in Hades to torment anyone. Moreover, all sinners will also be thrown into the lake of fire after the end-time judgment called “the great white throne judgment” (Rev. 20:15; 21:8). This evidently implies that until the final judgment takes place, no dead person is thrown into any lake or pit of fiery torment. All the dead are lying unconscious in their graves until the day of resurrection when they’ll be made to regain consciousness. See Eccl. 9:5-6, 10; Psa. 6:5. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31) does not teach the erroneous doctrine of immediate entry into a hell of torment at the time of death. The parable simply teaches what will be the ultimate fate of all those who live ungodly, unloving, unrighteous, and hypocritical lives. They will go through a terrible torment in the lake of fire. This torment in the pit of fire will cause their second death. The second death extinguishes their life again, this time without the hope of resurrection.

Will The Torment Be Forever?

The traditional teaching which has been given to Christendom is that the true believer, at death, goes to heaven to be with God throughout eternity while the unrepentant sinner goes to hell to be tormented all through eternity. But is this what the Bible truly teaches? No. It is lack of proper scriptural insight that has made people come to this conclusion. The following points should be noted:

• The human soul is not immortal. It can die (Ezek. 18:4,20). No human can kill the soul. Neither can Satan. But God can destroy the soul (Matt. 10:28). “The Lord preserve all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.” (Psa. 145:20 NKJV). He will destroy the souls of all the wicked in the lake of fire at the end of the age (Rev. 20:15; 21:8). Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “destroy” as (1) to ruin the structure, organic existence, or condition of; (2)(a) to put out of existence: KILL; (b) NEUTRALISE; (c) ANNIHILATE, VANQUISH. In the Bible, the word “destroy” is translated from the Greek “apollumi” which is defined in Strong’s Greek Lexicon #622 as “to destroy fully, literally or figuratively.”
• Because no one has an immortal soul, the souls of all the people of God will be given immortality on the day of the first resurrection at Christ’s second coming (1 Cor. 15:50-54). Nowhere is it written in the Bible that sinners who’ll be resurrected 1000 years later, to be condemned (John 5:29), will be gifted with immortality. If we examine John 3:16 and Rom. 6:23, we will see that “eternal life” is God’s gift to the believers in God, but  “death” or “perish” is what the sinner gets at the end. While it is necessary to give immortality to those who’ll enjoy God’s gift of eternal life, the wicked who’ll be raised from death to be condemned or destroyed do not need that immortality. There is, therefore, every good reason to say that all sinners who’ll take part in the second death will not be given immortality at the time of their resurrection. And if they don’t possess immortality, how can they go into eternity in hell fire? The sinner is not promised eternal life to be spent in the lake of fire.
• Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines death as (1) a permanent cessation of all vital functions; the end of life; (2) the cause or occasion of loss of life; (3) the state of being no longer alive : the state of being dead. Another dictionary says death is “the total cessation of life processes that eventually occurs in all living organisms.” Another one says it is “the action or fact of dying or being killed; the end of the life of a person or organism; the state of being dead.” The Cambridge Dictionary succinctly defines it as “the end of life.”  From these definitions, we can rightly conclude that life permanently ceases at death. When John says all the sinners who’ll be thrown into the lake of fire will undergo the “second death,” it simply means their lives or existence will be terminated a second time. This death is the second one following the first one from which they were resurrected to be judged. It is hard to understand how theologians come to interpret this as a continuation of life of torment in the lake of fire. The second death simply means death taking place the second time for all resurrected sinners. It means the permanent end of their lives. It cannot be the twisted teaching of continuation of life in torment all through eternity.
• The doctrine of eternal conscious torment in the lake of fire is based on many passages of the Bible which have been misunderstood by men. Key phrases which have led to the erroneous conclusions are “eternal punishment” (Matt. 25:46), “the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, they have no rest day and night” (Rev. 14:11)and “they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). The biblical truth is that sinners will be thrown alive into the lake burning with fire and sulphur, and this means they’ll surely go through excruciating torment. But their torment is meant to burn them to ashes (Mal. 4:3) thereby obliterating them. It is therefore reasonable to view these phrases as hyperboles. (A hyperbole is an exaggerated statement or claim not meant to be taken literally.)  The fact that the torment of sinners is meant to burn them to death simply means that the torment cannot be forever and ever. Compare Isa. 34:9,10 where a similar hyperbolic expression is used by Isaiah for the destruction of Edom. We know from history that the smoke of its destruction is no more going up.
• There is no book of the Bible where figurative and symbolic language is so much used more than the Book of Revelation. Therefore, until our Bible teachers are able to distinguish the literal from the figurative expressions used in Revelation, and in other places in the Bible, they’ll not be able to rightly divide the word of truth. It is wrong to make a doctrine out of a passage in the Bible and ignore what other passages say on the subject. The problem is that most people cherry-pick proof texts and eisegetically use them to support their previously held beliefs or opinions. But if we truly desire to get the truth out of the Bible, we must allow scriptures interpret scriptures.

Second Death: A Continuation of Existence?

What the Bible clearly teaches is that all sinners who ever lived from the beginning of creation to the end of the age will take part in the second resurrection to be judged. They’ll be condemned and thrown alive into a fiery furnace where they’ll be burnt up with fire and sulphur (or brimstone). The Bible calls the lake of fire the second death (Rev. 20:14; 21:8). But the true sense of the sentence is that the lake of fire is where the second death will take place. Death, whether the first from which they were resurrected, or the second in the lake of fire, means a complete cessation of existence. The words “second death” is used because the ones who’ll suffer it have once died. There is no tenable ground for anyone to believe or teach that the second death is not a termination of existence – for the beast (Antichrist), the false prophet, Satan the Devil (and of course his angels also known as demons), Death, Hades, and all sinners. It is in the lake of fire that all of them will be destroyed, put out of existence forever.

There is no strong biblical support for the traditional belief in eternal conscious torment in the lake of fire. The beast, that is the Antichrist, for example, is said to be thrown into the lake of fire alongside the false prophet (Rev. 19:20). In Rev. 20:10 John wrote, “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Rev. 20:10 NIVUK, emphasis added). But in another place it is written, “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming” (II Thes. 2:8 NKJV, emphases added). The words “consume” and “destroy” mean to ruin the organic existence of any living thing. In Rev. 17:8,11, it is written of Satan and a symbolic “eighth king” that they will go into destruction. If they will be destroyed, which means being burnt into nonexistence, how then can we be right to say they will undergo torment all through eternity? Does the Bible contradict itself? It does not! The problem is that many Bible teachers lack scriptural insight. This make them teach things which the Bible doesn’t. See 2 Pet. 3:15-16. It is very tenable to conclude that the torment in the lake of fire will last for a time. But it will not last for all eternity. We can also rightly conclude that John, like Isaiah in Isa. 34:9-11, used a hyperbolic expression in the phrase “forever and ever.”

Conclusion

Death simply means the complete cessation of life or existence. It is surprising that some people have twisted the second death to be a continuation of existence in a lake of torment. But as far as the Bible has shown, it is the second death of all unrepentant sinners who will be brought back to life after they have died the first time. Moreover, inasmuch as there is no promise of the gift of immortality for the sinner, it is illogical to talk of sinners going into an “eternal life” in the lake of fire. Death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire where they will be brought into nonexistence. Satan and his agents will be annihilated in the lake of fire (Rev. 17:8). All unrepentant sinners will also be put to a second death by God in that fiery lake without the hope of another resurrection. All that gets thrown into the lake of fire will be thrown there so that they will be obliterated.