Would your perspective of God change if you knew that hell was the grave, rather than a burning pit of endless torment with the Devil and his company? Would you be relieved or find it blasphemous? Well, we think its time to offer some clarity on the matter. Let us use the one and only source given by God, His Holy Word. Since most would agree that the very idea of such a place comes from the Scriptures, there is indisputably no better place to find the answers we need.
To begin our research lets look at every use of the word hell in the Bible and break down each of its meanings. Using E-Sword or a concordance you can look up any Scripture reference to a word and get the Hebrew or Greek definition. Using the principle of right division, we look at the first use and then move on to find further confirming evidence. We will start in the Old Testament. There is but one word used in all of it referencing 'hell', the Hebrew word is “Sheol” (H7585) (Strong's definition) - Hades, the world of the dead, grave, pit; A subterranean retreat (in other words a hole beneath the Earth's surface) Many translations simply use the word 'grave'.
The first use of the word Sheol (translated 'grave') was by Jacob after he had heard his son Joseph was dead.
Gen. 37:35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave (sheol) unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
If we were to substitute the word 'grave' with 'hell' which is one in the same, we realize that Jacob, who loved the Lord and was loved by him, knows that one day he would go to hell (the grave). We all would agree that Jacob was a man of God and I doubt anyone would think of him as a person that would go to hell, but Scripture is clear about it. Let's continue digging....
The next use of Sheol is translated 'pit' located in
Num. 16:30 But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
This speaks of the Earth opening up where man or beast would go down to the pit, or as we've learned it to be, "hell", or simply, the grave.
Then Sheol is used in this verse where it is translated 'hell'
Deu. 32:22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
The lowest hell, hmm... this lets us see that there is more than one 'hell' or if we plug in the word grave, His anger would burn to the lowest grave. This is speaking of the Lord's wrath against sin, but never says anything about burning people.
The next scripture using "Sheol" (hell) is
Psa. 9:17The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
So the wicked and the nations who forget God will be going to the grave as well. This seems fitting, yet many still would choose to believe this hell is a place other than simply the grave.
I think this next verse will not only surprise you, but help to connect the dots . . .
Psa. 16:10For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
First we need to see who is speaking. This Psalm was written by King David. When we look at the life of David, we see that he is called the man after God's own heart. He had a close relationship with God. Yet here he says with confidence, God will not leave his soul in hell. In keeping true with the definition couldn't we read it as 'God will not leave my soul in the grave'? From both the Jacob and David account, I think we can agree that if these two well known followers of God knew that they would go to hell, then we are all headed for the same fate. If this is so, we stand scratching our heads, thinking how could our fate be the same as the wicked and those which forgot God? The simple answer is this:
We do have the same curse of sin that came through Adam, yet unlike the wicked and those that forgot God, we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, which frees us from the law of sin and death. Let us now look into the New Testament to see what Jesus and the other apostles said of hell or judgment day.
The New Testament is written in Greek and therefore has other words used for hell, than the Hebrews writings. Hades (G86) - (Strong's definition) grave, place of departed souls. And Gehenna (G1067)(Strong's definition) - Valley of the Son of Hinnom, a valley of Jerusalem, a place figuratively used for everlasting punishment or hell.
Due to the clarity of the definition for Hades a.k.a. 'grave', I won't break it down further. As we witnessed in the OT, this is virtually one in the same with the word 'Sheol'.
So lets take a moment to learn about Gehenna, this word was only ever used by Christ himself and his brother James. Historically this valley outside of Jerusalem was originally used in OT times as a place of offerings for the Canaanite god Moloch. It is mentioned in Deuteronomy, Leviticus,1 Kings, and Ezekiel. The practice of this religion was to offer their sons and daughters to the idol statue of Moloch which was set on fire. It was an abominable practice which infuriated the Lord. Eventually the worship of Moloch in this valley was no more, but the valley was a wasteland and therefore became the Jerusalem city dump. Here they had to keep fires burning to keep pestilence down. Anyone not granted burial, (IE. criminals) had their dead bodies tossed here to be burned in the sight of any who passed by and consumed by worms and rodents.
The first use of Gehenna in the NT was by Jesus who was speaking to a company of Jewish people.
Mat. 5:22But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
The translation of Gehenna here is 'hell fire'. He also uses the term in;
Mat 5:29And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Again the word hell is Gehenna. In those days, the people where very familiar with the governing system by which things were ran. All who lived in, had traveled to Jerusalem, or heard stories of old, were familiar with the Valley of the Son of Hinnom. When a person committed a crime, they were sent to one of 3 sentences:
The Judgment: An inferior court consisting of seven presidents. This court could condemn to death by sword.
The Council: This was know as the Sanhedrin. This council had the additional power of condemning to death by stoning, which was a great public disgrace.
Gehenna: The Sanhedrin, moreover, could also condemn a man to be denied burial, and to be cast after death into the valley of Hinnom, there to be abhorred by all flesh.
From this understanding, we can rightly see that Christ was expressing the vitality of the heart's condition. Showing people that it wasn't just a sin to commit great crimes, but it was even a sin to commit those crimes in your heart/head. He wanted them to realize that it was so utterly important to have your heart right, and forsake your flesh, that it would be better to lose one part of your body than to be sent to Gehenna, a place of filth, shame, and complete abhorrence in the sight of all. This was not to be confused with final judgment. If you continue to look up each passage in which Gehenna is used, you will see it was always addressing Jewish and/or Israelite people who lived in that time frame and understood it's context.
We are not living in that time period, so I'd like to take a step forward into ours, the one given to the Apostle, appointed by God for us Gentiles, the Apostle Paul. He wrote 14 epistles in the New Testament. If we look at the whole of his writings, he mentions hell but once.
1 Cor. 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The word grave here is 'Hades'. What is this verse telling us? First we must consider the context. I highly recommend a full reading of 1 Cor. 15. It gives a beautiful display of Christ's resurrection and our hope to come. What we see is that the grave will not have the victory for those who are in Christ. Though we go there once we die, because of the Resurrection of our Lord, we shall not remain there.
I'd like to look at another passage to tie this all together.
Acts 2:25For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
Acts 2:26Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Acts 2:27Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Acts 2:28Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Acts 2:29Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Acts 2:30Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; Acts 2:31He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
Again we have confirmation of David thanking God for not 'leaving his soul in hell'. We also see that it confirms what we learned in 1 Cor.15, that because of Christ, we too have the future hope of resurrection.
Hopefully by this point you are beginning to realize that hell is really not at all what you once believed it to be. Some of you still may say, but what about the “Lake of Fire” maybe we've just been confused on wording, and the eternal destruction of the wicked dead is not hell, but rather the Lake of Fire. For clarity sake, I'll indulge in this idea. Where do we see reference to the Lake of Fire? It is only in 4 verses in the entire Bible; all of these are in the book of Revelation. What we know of the Book of Revelation is that it is the final book revealing Jesus Christ and the things to come. This Book is a conclusion for what becomes of God's chosen nation, Israel. So having said that, unless you are an Israelite, we can safely say, this Book is not written to or about you. We still are blessed by reading it, however because every word of God is valuable and can give us wisdom and understanding of the things to come. Here are each of the verses and explanations:
Rev.19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
This verse seems pretty straight forward, the Beast, the False Prophet, and those that received the mark of the beast and worshipped his image. This is not referring to non-believers today or of time before, but those who are alive on the Earth while the Beast and the Anti-christ are in power, and have aligned themselves with them, again rejecting Christ as their true Savior.
Rev. 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Here we see that the Devil too will be cast into this lake of fire.
Rev. 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Now had we not previously discussed the definition of hell, we might be confused as to how hell could be thrown into hell. It is apparent that our definition holds true, and both death and the grave (hell) are thrown into this lake of fire.
Rev. 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Here is the verse that you or perhaps someone you know have used as their claim for eternal conscious punishment. So how do we get past this verse? Well we must do a little homework. What is the book of life? Let us look at the scriptures that discuss it:
Php. 4:3 And I intreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
Rev. 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Rev. 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev. 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Rev. 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev. 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Rev. 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Rev. 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
When we study this out, we come to the realization that the Book of Life is a book which contains the names of all the martyrs. (those who were killed because of their religious beliefs) In the end times, the Beast issues the proclamation that all must worship him and receive his mark in order to buy and sell. Any who do not do this, will be murdered. Therefore, their name shall go into the Book of Life. So what we can gather from this, is that those that have received the mark of the beast, and have aligned with him, giving him the worship due only to God Almighty, they will go alike with the Devil, Beast, and False Prophet into the lake of fire.
You, like myself, may wonder why has there been so many false claims and teachings on hell, judgment, and eternal punishment? Simply put, traditions. God warns us to not follow after the traditions of man. God makes it clear in two scriptures what the dead know or can comprehend.
Ecc. 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Ecc. 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
Humans are sinful and easily deceived. We conceive murder in our hearts, covet, and hate. When wronged we aren't satisfied with equal punishment, we want the other party to be hurt worse than we are. We want to repay evil for evil, but this is not what we were taught by the Lord. In the Bible, concerning our enemies, we are told by our Lord Jesus:
Mat. 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Luke 6:27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Luke 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
If we are instructed to treat our enemies in this manor, why would we think that God, the loving creator of all persons, would ever subject any of His children to an unending conscious punishment? Furthermore, the Scriptures do not line up with this theology. We read at the end of verse 35, “for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. The Bible says in multiple places that God is love. Look at the verses below:
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
His love is perfect and perfect love casts out all fear. One verse that really clears up the entire matter we're discussing is:
Rom. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Who has sinned?
Rom. 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
It is clear that all have sinned; but what were we told in 6:23? “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” This shows us what the end fate is for those that accept this wondrous gift. But what about those that do not? Well, the verse says, the wages of sin is death. Death, without the redemptive power of Jesus Christ's resurrection, leaves the wicked dead eternally separated from God. We can confirm this conclusion with this verse:
2 Th. 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Th. 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
Fire is often used when describing God's wrath or glorious brightness, it is like an all consuming fire. Yet, when it speaks of the punishment, we see that it is everlasting destruction. Where? From the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power.
I think we would all agree that the Devil himself ought to inherit a greater punishment than mere men. In Ezekiel 28 we can read about him and the position he once held, what he did that got him banished from God's presence, and his final fate.
Eze. 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
Eze. 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Eze. 28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
Eze. 28:16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
Eze. 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
Eze. 28:18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
Eze. 28:19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
So we see in this passage, that once Satan receives his final punishment he will become ashes and “never shalt thou be any more.” If God will finally rid this world permanently of the adversary, and create a new heavens and new earth, why would we hold onto the tradition that non-believers will be forever tormented? It comes from a lack of understanding and right division of the Word. I realize your doctrine may have been called to question today, and pray that you would obey the Lord in following what He has asked of us:
2 Tim. 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
If this letter has not cleared up this matter for you, or if you are interested in further study of the topic, I recommend reading “Hell, or Pure from the Blood of All Men.” This can be downloaded or purchased in the believer book store. It has a full comprehensive breakdown of every scripture pertaining to Sheol, hell, judgment, Hades, Gehenna, and the lake of fire. For those of you wondering how the example of Lazarus and the rich man fits in with any of this, please see the attached teaching (The Rich man and Lazarus) to gain clarity on the passage. It has been one which raises many an argument, but we believe it unnecessary to include in this portion, because it wasn't speaking of final judgment or the state of the dead, but rather Christ's way of exposing the Pharisees wicked beliefs.
As believers of The One and Only True God, we mustn't think taking the time to nail down our doctrine is of little matter. We should be ready in season and out of season to give an account for the hope which we have been given, and to give an answer for anything asked of us.
May God bless you and fill you will the knowledge of Him,
In Christ, Kacy
