Greetings, and as mentioned in an earlier post, the subject of ‘hell’ in the scriptures will now be covered. I certainly hope the next subject/post will be a little more spiritual and uplifting but ‘hell’, ‘death’ and ‘suffering’ all need to be properly understood and it is necessary that they have their share of attention.
In the Old Testament the Hebrew word “sheol” has been translated in our bibles ‘grave’ (31 times), ‘hell (31 times) and ‘the pit’ (3 times). It literally means “the unseen”, and as was pointed out under the post of “Death”, it is where the soul returns when a person dies…..that is, having no consciousness, just as it was before the person was born.
The Greek equivalent of sheol in the New Testament is ‘hades’ and it is translated ‘hell’ (10 times) and ‘grave’ (1 time). Likewise, it means ‘the unseen’, where the soul goes at death.
The Post on “Lazarus And The Rich Man” covers the “soul” and its relation to “hell” quite thoroughly.
In the New Testament the word ‘ghenna’ is also translated ‘hell’ (12 times). It is actually not a true Greek word and refers to a place of loathing and abhorrence southwest of Jerusalem. It is used in Matthew 5:28 and Matthew 10:28 and refers to a place where, in the millennium, the bodies of transgressors will be thrown AFTER they have been slain for sins worthy of death. The soul is never said to enter there nor is it said the soul suffers torment there.
Another Greek word translated as ‘hell’ in the New Testament is ‘tartarus’ (1 time). It is a place where the sinning, heavenly messengers are kept until the day of judgment. 2 Peter 2:4
Finally, we need to better understand ‘The Lake of Fire’ in its relation to death and suffering.
Twice it is used indicating a place where Satan, the Wild Beast and the False Prophet are placed……to be tormented day and night for the eons of the eons (Rev 20:10). These are superhuman beings, not ordinary humans, and are the only 3 who are said to suffer in this way.
And then in Rev. 20:14,15 and Rev. 21:8 after the White Throne Judgment, all those not found in the Book of Life are thrown into the Lake of Fire with the Second Death and the Unseen. We have already covered that ‘Death” is a cessation of conscious life and those designated to be here because of their sins with have no awareness of their surroundings as they are in the Second Death……they quite literally have died and this is a repetition of the first death.
The good news is that there will be a time , after the eon or age following the White Throne Judgment, when even Death itself will be abolished and it will NO LONGER hold ANY HUMAN in its state of being. This is covered under several Posts, mainly: “All Creation Will Be Saved” and “God’s Eonian Plan and The Present Secret Administration”.
Take care.
Fred
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