What is Hell?
This article supports this video: What is Hell?
In the article, we will dive into an often-misunderstood topic and review how God defines Hell. Last night, God impressed it upon me to white and publish this, so I am dutifully complying. I will cover the points he showed me that were important to him and flesh out a few more as given guidance by the Spirit.
It surprises me how frequently I am asked about heaven and Hell by Christians. One would think that if there were one thing we would know well it would be this. Therefore, I will do a 3-part series to cover the matter somewhat deeply:
What is Hell
What is heaven
What happens to us when we die
The real Hell
So, what is Hell? Is it some inferno where people are on fire, ruled over by some horned, pitchfork wielding red daemon? Nothing instills fear more than the idea of Hell. And candidly, rightfully so, but maybe not because of the fear of pain. Let’s review what God has to say about it.
From reading the bible, we can describe Hell as having the following characteristics. See the definitions section below for support and evidence.
Hell is:
A literal place described as subterranean, deep, bottomless, or underworld
A place in the spirit realm and unseen
A place for unclean spirits, Satan and his false prophet to stay until final judgement
A place dead people go to stay until final judgement
The bible tells us that Hell is for dead people. Remember that if you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, you have eternal life; therefore, you will never be dead. Subsequently, Hell is for those who have rejected God, as can be seen in these verses:
The wicked shall return to Sheol [Hell], all the nations that forget God. – Psalm 9:17
…let them go down to Sheol [Hell] alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart. – Psalm 55:15
The bible also describes Hell in these ways:
A land of darkness and deep shadow – Job 10:21
A prison that has bars – Job 17:16, 1 Peter 3:19
A place where one is in anguish and torment in flames – Luke 16:23-24
A place where there is much gnashing of teeth – Luke 13:28, Matthew 24:51, Matthew 8:12
Bad stuff!
When I am talking to people on the street about it, I offer them this explanation based on the above. I say Hell is an abyss, a deep, dark, bottomless pit where there is no light and much suffering where people who rejected Jesus go to await the final judgement.
If they allow me to go further, I will explain to them that it is separation from God. God brings light, joy, peace and rest. So, Hell is the absence of God once they leave this carnal realm.
Lake of Fire
But what about the fire? Isn’t everyone burning? I believe people confuse Hell, the place where the condemned go to await the final judgement, with the Lake of Fire which is the final destination of the same after the final judgement. Yes, they are two different locations for two different purposes. Hell is a temporary holding place until final judgement is complete. Being thrown into the Lake of Fire is that completion of condemnation.
So what do we know about the great Lake of Fire?
Being thrown in is called the second death – Revelation 20:14
The fire burns with sulfur – Revelation 19:20
The fire is unquenchable – Mark 9:44
It was prepared for the devil and his angels – Matthew 25:41
Satan, his beast and his false prophet will all be thrown in – Revelation 20:10
The cowardly, faithless, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will be thrown in – Revelation 21:8
Those in Hell will be thrown in – Revelation 20:14
Those whose name is not in the book of life will be thrown in – Revelation 20:15
Death itself will be thrown in – Revelation 20:14
It should be obvious that these are two different places – Hell and the Lake of Fire. But, is there fire in Hell? Yes, Jesus said as much in Mark 9:47-48 – And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
Conclusion
There you have it. That is Hell. I will cover how you end up in Hell in the post on what happens when you die, but now you know what you need to know about what Hell is and isn’t. And please take my advice and avoid it. It is all in your hands.
Definitions
Let us now look at the four words used for Hell in the bible plus one more.
Gehenna
Strong’s G1067, translated as Hell 11 times in the gospels and once in James. This is a literal geographical place, a valley south and east of Jerusalem abhorred by then Jews for its idolatrous and dark past. They would toss into it waste, dead animals and the bodies of executed criminals; in other words, it is where they threw what they considered unclean. Notable also is that they would constantly have fires burning the refuse for sanitation reasons.
The word is used primarily in the context of being “cast into Gehenna” or “going into Gehenna”, but it also is in negative context of being a “son of Gehenna” or suffering from the “damnation of Gehenna”. The primary description of Gehenna is that of a “fiery” place.
Example: If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. – Matthew 5:29
As you begin to learn from of the Jews in the bible, you realize that they would speak in practical and tangible ways, and no where is this more evident than with this word. They conceptualized Hell into a real place everyone knew about. By calling “Hell” Gehenna, locals could easily relate to what “Hell” would be like.
Hades
Strong’s G86, translated as Hell 10 times in the New Testament. This word is of Greek origin and refers to the unseen realm where the dead reside after they “die”. It is also translated as “grave” and often just left as Hades without translation. In Greek thought, when you died, your soul went to Hades.
It might seem odd to have a word like this in the bible, but once you understand the context, it will make more sense. The word is used to reference a location in the spirit world such as “going down to Hades” and of being “in Hades”, but mostly it is referenced in connection with “death”.
Example: And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. – Matthew 11:23
If you remember that those of us who are in Christ Jesus have everlasting life, you can see then that those in Hades have eternal death. Hades is where the “dead” are. It is the place of those who are not alive in Jesus which is why it is translated as “Hell”. Note that many translations recognize that calling Hades as Hell causes some confusion and have begun leaving the name in its original Hades, which is what I prefer as well.
Tartaroó
Strong’s G5020, used once by Peter, is a verb of Greek origin that means to cast down to Tartarus which is the Greek word for the under-world, or abyss, where the damned (both people and daemons) are sent. With only one usage, let’s just look at it:
Example: For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to Hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; - 2 Peter 2:4.
Tartaroó = cast them down to Hell. I don’t know about you, but this certainly sounds like what I would expect the bible to say of Hell. In this context, it is a place where someone is kept until final judgement.
Sheol
Strong’s H7585, the only word in the Old Testament translated as Hell, used 66 times is often directly translated to Hades when going from Hebrew to Greek and the two are very close in their meaning. Sheol is the word for the underworld where people descend when they “die” and is also often translated as grave or pit.
Like Hades, it is a place where one “goes to” and can “be in”. It is described in the bible as having depths or layers. It is often associated with sin and death, though not always.
Abyss
Strong’s H8415 (tehom) and G12 (abussos), not actually translated as Hell in the bible, but as you will see, it is another name for it. It refers to a bottomless depth, often times in a maritime context, and was used by Jews to describe the home of the dead and daemons. Sounds a lot like Sheol and Hades doesn’t it?
Just like with the other words, it is a place where one “goes”, “stays” and can “come from”. It is associated with the dead and unclean spirits. In the Old Testament, it is somewhat neutral, but in the New Testament, it has a definitive connection with evil as it is where the devil, his false prophet, his angels are kept until final judgement.
Example: 20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. – Revelation 20:1-3