Many who claim to follow Christianity may be surprised to know that the Bible does not teach there is a supernatural devil or satan who opposes God and tempts men and women to sin. This idea is of pagan origin and was introduced into the early church.
For hundreds of years, professing Christians have believed that the souls of the wicked will suffer for eternity in the fires of hell somewhere below the earth.
This idea is not found in the Bible, but has its origins in pagan teaching.
In the religious world today, there is less emphasis on this cruel doctrine of eternal suffering, because the concept of sin and punishment by God for wrong-doing is made light of.
While the Bible clearly shows that God punishes sin, it also shows that this punishment is not in the hands of a supernatural agent of evil, but is meted out by God in justice and in accordance with His purpose and character.
The hell of the Bible
To understand Bible teaching on hell, we must examine the words used in the original languages in which the Bible was written. The Old Testament was written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, while the New Testament was written in Greek.
“Sheol” (Hebrew) translated as hell/the grave
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated as “hell” in the English translation of the Bible is “sheol”. It means a concealed or covered place. “Sheol” is also translated as “grave”. Here are some examples of its use:
“O that Thou wouldest hide me in the grave (sheol – concealed or covered place), that Thou wouldest keep me in secret …..” (Job 14:13).
“Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave (sheol)” (Psalm 31:17).
“For Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (sheol – concealed place i.e. the grave); neither wilt thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption” (Psalm 16:10).
“The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell (sheol) gat hold upon me …” (Psalm 116:3).
“Hades” (Greek) translated as hell/the grave
In the New Testament, the Greek word “hades” is the equivalent of the Hebrew “sheol”. “Hades” has a similar meaning of not being seen, and is often translated as “hell” or “the grave” in the English translation of the Bible. Here are some examples of its use:
“And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell (hades- unseen place i.e. the grave) …” (Matthew 11:23).
“I am he that liveth and was dead; and behold I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell (hades) and of death” (Revelation 1:18).
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave (hades), where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).
We can confirm that the Greek word “hades” means the same as the Hebrew word “sheol”: It is used to translate the Hebrew “sheol” where the Old Testament has been quoted in the New Testament in cases where death or the tomb are meant (Acts 2:27, 31 quotes Psalm 16:10; 1 Corinthians 15:54, 55 quotes Hosea 13:14).
“Gehenna” (Greek) translated as hell
Another Greek word translated as “hell” in the English translation of the Bible is “Gehenna”. Its origin is the name of a valley just outside Jerusalem where rubbish and the bodies of men and beasts were thrown to be destroyed in the fires which continually burned there.
Jesus used the continually burning fires of Gehenna to represent the ultimate destruction which awaited the wicked. We note that Jesus was not referring to the wicked suffering fiery eternal torment. Instead, he was teaching that the effect of the punishment would be everlasting destruction.
This is what he said:
“And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell (Gehenna – burning rubbish fires outside Jerusalem), into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched …..” (Mark 9:43 – 48).
Resurrection the only hope of escape from hell (or the grave)
The Bible teaches that those who go to the grave are unconscious – really dead – and that they remain so until the resurrection day.
Instead of reward for immortal souls in heaven, or punishment in hell, the Bible clearly holds out resurrection at Christ’s return to the earth as the only deliverance from the grave:
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2).
Who will be raised from the dead?
If men are ignorant of God’s purpose, the Bible teaches that they pass away in death as though they never existed and will never see the light of resurrection:
“Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish” (Psalm 49:20).
“…..They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast Thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish” (Isaiah 26:14).
Judgment and reward at the return of Christ to earth
The Bible says that, at his return, Christ will judge the living and dead who have known God’s purpose (whether they have obeyed it or not) and reward them with eternal life or punish them with eternal death:
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick (the living) and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:1).
“ ….. There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust” (Acts 24:15); see also Daniel 12:2 (above).
Belief and baptism a pre-requisite for eternal life
“Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15, 16).