The belief of "Hellfire" is burned into the minds of many. Apparently this is something along the lines of a place that the "unsaved" go to burn...forever tormented with never a relief. Personally, I believe that this idea is one of the most reprehensible blemishes on God's name. Unfortunately, the teaching of this misunderstood, pagan doctrine stumbles and turns many searchers away from God.
Very sad, isn't it? But, of course, pretty crafty of Satan.
I'll apologize in advance, but I have to say that the subject disturbs me to no end. I most certainly never want to offend anyone that hold their religious teachings close to them, but that is only because I care about the feelings of another, and truly don't want to pain the heart. However, with this particular subject, it has touched upon me that I can no longer proceed too gently. As much as I want to protect sensitive feelings, I look forward to my loving Creator's name and reputation being cleared even more so, and I know that in due time he will definitely accomplish this. In the meantime, I am hoping more people will recognize truth, cease in spreading Satan's lies, and join in looking forward to the time when Jehovah's name will be fully sanctified.
That being said, I highly recommend that rather than idly listening to this doctrine of Hellfire being preached from the pulpit, that you do your own independent research concerning this subject. I personally feel very strongly about this. The internet, and if need be, your local library, is where you can find history on the origin of Hellfire. There are good and poor reference sites. Use your intelligent discretion and choose prayerfully. You'll find the information. (Luke 11:9, 10)
Next, please take your research to your preachers / spiritual leaders and allow them to explain why Hellfire is real. Surely, they will point to a few scriptures, which admittedly is good, because ultimately the Bible is the final word. However, keep in mind that the scriptures that they turn to (to justify a Hellfire) should not contradict the rest of God's Word. Therefore, YOU review the scriptures, and then, as God's word says, make sure of all things (Acts 17:11).
Please note: I am going to give some facts here, but I personally would not consider my page to be "research". This page is simply to introduce and summarize what I have learned through my study of the Bible, and to give a basis for contemplation. I would prefer to stay more along the scriptural area here. There is cited research readily available outside of this page that can help with historical data and cultural facts that may interest you. Again, its very important to look into this subject. Our Creator's reputation has been smeared, and many are lost because of it. God's word tells us to worship in Truth! (John 4:23,24)
I am well aware that some will say that I am not a Christian due to my belief that there is no Hellfire, and that I don't believe that our loving Creator will burn and torment sinners forever. With all due respect, God's word actually says, "For the wages sin pays is death" (Romans 6:23), not burning forever in a fire. Feel free to judge my spiritual journey, if you believe it to be justified, but regardless, I am here to share where"Hell" went wrong.
Please look up all referenced scriptures in your own copy of the Bible, as it is the ultimate authority.
Romans 6:23-For the wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord.
To begin with, let's look at three words that you may already be familiar with. Some English Bible translations translate each of these words as "Hell". So, where each of these words appear in the Hebrew and Greek, the writers will use the word spelled "Hell" for the English translation.
You will see that the first two words I list mean the same thing, just two different languages. The third word, however, means something completely different. Therefore, though it is not wrong to translate these words as "Hell", this may cause confusion to many Bible students.
1. Sheol (Hebrew): "The Grave of mankind" (this does not refer to an individual grave site, but rather the general grave that encompasses all mankind). It is never satisfied. -Proverbs 27:20
Proverbs 27:20-The Grave and the place of destruction are never satisfied, Nor are a man's eyes ever satisfied.
2. Hades (Greek): The Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Sheol (above). Again, this is not a literal place, but rather a figurative location in which most of mankind sleeps in death.
God's word shows that Sheol and Hades include both those who have served him and those who haven't. (Gen 37:35; Psalm 55:15).
Gen. 37:35-And all his sons and all his daughters kept trying to comfort him, but he kept refusing to take comfort, saying: "I will go down into the Grave (Sheol) mourning my son!" And his father continued weeping for him.
God's word also shows that both Sheol and Hades relate to a type of death in which there is a resurrection from them (Job 14:13; Acts 2:31; Rev. 20: 13).
Revelation 20:13-And the sea gave up the dead in it, and death and the Grave (Hades) gave up the dead in them, and they were judged individually according to their deeds.
Keep in mind: "Resurrect" means "raising up; standing up". Some definitions straight up read "to bring back to life; raise from the dead."
3. Gehenna: Greek for the "Valley of Hinnom". A ravine to the south of ancient Jerusalem. In Jesus's day, it was a literal location for the burning of refuge into ashes, making it a perfect symbol to mean "complete destruction". Related to divine judgement, Gehenna is used figuratively in scripture, and those deemed wicked go to Gehenna. It could also be relevant to note here that unlike "Sheol" or "Hades", there is no escape from "Gehenna".
If you looked up the previous given scriptures, you'll see what I mean when I say that the Bible tells us that there is a release from the first two figurative "places" (really, the same "place"; just two different languages: Sheol / Hades (mankind's common Grave). But, the third, Gehenna, there is no escape.
Already you can see how confusion can creep in. Anywhere a Bible reader sees the word "Hell", they will interpret it as what they already believe "Hell" to mean. Yet, if this English word (Hell) can mean two different things, then how are they getting a clear idea of what is really happening? Many people think that when they read the word "Hell" in the scriptures, that it automatically means "Hellfire".
If a translation uses the word "Hell" in the places where Sheol / Hades were in the Hebrew / Greek manuscripts, and that person is already predisposed to believing in a "Hellfire", then in their minds they will already be reading and interpreting an "eternal place of torment where ones go to consciously burn forever" when the scriptures really meant the "Grave".
Study Tip: Having a Bible translation that uses the words "Sheol", "Hades", and "Gehenna" in their original places, or a translation that translates the words Sheol and Hades as "Grave" can be a helpful study tool to have on hand.
Now that the Hebrew / Greek words have been defined, let's take a moment and think about "the origin of Hellfire" and why it doesn't actually apply to ANY of those places:
Think about this: To consider an "origin" of Hellfire as being viable, the origin should originate with Adam and Eve, unless it changed somewhere. Don't you agree? Shouldn't it have been introduced when God was telling Adam what would happen if they disobeyed? However, God did not tell Adam that they would burn forever in a fiery hell. He told him that if they disobeyed, they would die. In other words, their lives would be taken away from them.
One may attempt to reason and say, "Well, we do die physically, but spiritually we go on to live somewhere else." Besides the most important fact that this is not what God said, it is easier to understand what happens after death, when we understand what God's word tells us is the actual "condition of the dead".
The Bible is clear on what happens to us when we die. It says that our spirit (literally, our life-force), leaves our bodies, and we are "asleep" in the Grave (Sheol, Hades) until the resurrection. We are conscious of nothing. (Eccl. 9:5, 10; Psalms 146:4) Literally, at the time of death, we cease to exist.
(Please see Spirit and Soul- What is the difference?)
Next, Acts 24:15 tells us that there will be a resurrection for both the "righteous" and the "unrighteous" (some Bible Translations use the words "just" and "unjust")*. There is a set time-frame for this resurrection to occur, which is after Armageddon, and during Christ's 1000 year reign.
I mentioned previously, that Biblically, those who have died who had faithfully served our Creator (righteous), and also those who never had the chance to serve him (unrighteous), are in Sheol (Gr. Hades); and that for both groups there is a resurrection. So, in other words, both the righteous and the unrighteous, residing in "mankind's common Grave" ("asleep" in death; not conscious), will have a resurrection.
Acts 24:15-"And I have hope toward God, which hope these men also look forward to that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous."
(Please see the extra notation at the end of the post concerning Acts 24:15.)
There is a third "group" mentioned in the Bible that do not receive a resurrection. Meaning, they will not "stand back up" from death. Their "life-force" (spirit / breath: Hebrew "ru'ach" / Greek "pneu'ma") will not be given back to them. These are the ones that the Bible calls "wicked", and they are the ones who are said to be thrown into Gehenna (ie: everlasting destruction). They will be destroyed forever. They are not conscious and they are not being tortured; but rather, they are without the prospect of ever living again. They no longer remain in Jehovah's "Book of Remembrance". They are "cut-off" forever. Those deemed wicked, who have died during this system of things, simply will not be resurrected. They simply cease to exist.
Think about it: The Bible teaches us that the Heavens were cleansed (when Satan and his angels were cast to the earth Rev. 12:7-9). Next, very shortly, the earth will be cleansed as well (during "the war of the great day of God the Almighty", when all wickedness is wiped from the earth Rev. 16:14; Joel 2:11). Ask yourself: If God is cleansing the Heavens and the earth, then why would he keep undesirable, even harmful, scruff around? Would you? When you sweep your floors of dirt and dust-bunnies, do you keep the pile around as a reminder of what it did to your floors, and the blemish it made upon your home and health? No, you do not. Logically, you throw it away. You dispose of it. Gone Forever.
What about those scriptures that directly mention the "lake of fire"?
To understand "the lake of fire", let's talk a little more about the "Gehenna" mentioned above.
Gehenna is mentioned 12 times in scripture. As I mentioned previously, many modern translations translate this word as "Hell". Since the words Sheol and Hades also get transliterated as "Hell", and yet they actually mean something completely different, I'll say it again, you can see how this could cause confusion.
Brief history: A deep, narrow valley of Hinnom. This was later known as Gehenna (Greek: ge'en·na). Idolatrous worship activities took place there during the reign of Judean Kings Ahaz and Manasseh. These activities included the human sacrifices by fire to Baal, and which earned it a deplorable connotation (2Ch 28:1, 3; 33: 1,6; Jer 7:31, 32; 32:35). However, faithful king Josiah put an end to this, making the area unfit for worship (specifically Topeth), and it became a garbage dump where refuse ("unclean things") and dead carcasses were thrown away and burnt into ashes.
Some people attempt to connect the idolatrous human sacrifices to Jesus's words pertaining to the fiery characteristics of Gehenna to symbolize eternal torment. However, this viewpoint is not favorable. Why? Because Jehovah intensely opposed the act of human sacrifice. He called it repugnant. It would be unlikely for Jesus to use something that Jehovah detested so much as the basis for warning about a future divine judgement.
Jer. 7:31- "They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, something that I had not commanded and that had never even come into my heart."
As prophetically proclaimed by Jehovah, the Valley of Hinnom would actually serve as a mass disposal ground for dead carcasses, not a place to torment conscious victims.
Jeremiah 7:32, 33-"Therefore look! the days are coming,' declares Jehovah, 'when it will no longer be called To'peth or the Valley of the Son of Hin'nom but the Valley of the Slaughter. They will bury in To'peth until there is no place left. And the dead bodies of this people will become food for the birds of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth, with no one to frighten them away."
(See also Jeremiah 19:6,7)
There is no evidence lending that there were ever live bodies of either animal or human thrown into this "rubbish heap" to be tormented or burned alive. In fact, even historical information tells us that Gehenna was an area outside of Jerusalem where they threw dead carcasses and trash. It was described as "loathsome" and had "a continual fire there that would burn the unclean things and bones of the carcasses."
That being noted, there is no reason to expect that this situation symbolizes a place where human souls are forever tormented in a literal burning fire. Rather, it more correctly symbolizes "the second death", which is everlasting destruction.
What does a fire do? It turns the rubbish into ashes. The object in the fire is gone forever, never to exist again. This is what Jesus and his apostles were referring to when speaking of being "thrown into Gehenna"; specifically, complete and permanent destruction forever. This meant that unlike the dead souls who are in Sheol / Hades, who have an opportunity for resurrection, those deemed "wicked" and thrown into Gehenna don't.
Rev. 20:14- And death and the grave were hurled into the lake of fire. This means the second death, the lake of fire (See also Rev. 21:8 for reference to the lake of fire and "second death").
Matt. 10:28- And do not become fearful of those, who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
(See also Luke 12;4,5).
There are several scriptures referring to the "fires of Gehenna" (See: Matt 18:9; Mark 9:43-47; Matt 5:27-30 For examples).
What about Revelation 20:10?
Rev. 20:10- And the Devil who was misleading them was hurled into the lake of fire and sulfer, where both the wild beast and the false prophet already were; and they will be tormented both day and nightly forever and ever.
First of all, we can see that this "lake of fire" is symbolic and not literal. Why? Scripture tells us that "Death" was hurled into that same lake of fire (Rev 20:14). Can "Death" literally burn? Of course not. Rev. 20:10 tells us that the Devil, who is spirit, was thrown into the fire. Can a spirit be hurt by a literal burning fire? Of course not. Therefore, it is quite obvious that this fire is symbolic.
But, what about the words used in Rev. 20:10 that say "tormented both day and nightly forever and ever"?
Some may wonder, "How can one be tormented forever unless the fire were real?" That is actually a great question. The word "tormented" can also be translated as "restrained", or "imprisoned". Let's try these and see what happens: Can one be "restrained" in death? Can one be "imprisoned" in death? Yes, of course. When we realize that the lake of fire (the "second death") is symbolic, and means eternal destruction, then we can understand clearly that the Devil is to be restrained, or imprisoned, in death. Literally, he will never live again. Ever.
Photo by: Olivier Miche / Unsplash.comWho lied?
Many people are led to believe that a part of them immediately lives on in another place (Heaven, Hell, or somewhere in-between). With all due respect, this is simply another version of that lie still being perpetuated today ("You certainly will not die." Gen. 3:4). This makes it possible for Satan to convince people that an idea like a burning Hellfire exists. The truth is, is that we will all end up in "Hell", because as stated earlier, "Hell" is simply "mankind's Grave" (Sheol, Hades). We will all have our life-force leave our bodies. We will die. We will cease to exist.
When we "live again", we will live because of the free gift of life that has been offered to us by our loving creator, enabling us to experience an everlasting existence in a perfect paradise (under his loving guidance), exactly as he had originally intended for mankind. This gift that is offered to us will not cause any to have the prospect of facing a fiery inferno. That is not the reason for the resurrection. The point of the resurrection is that it lovingly releases us from the bonds of death and provides us the hope for everlasting life. (There is no better gift!)
Remember, the wage sin pays is death, not everlasting torment. When we accept this perfect, yet undeserved, gift, made possible through God's Son, Jesus Christ, we are released from the imprisonment of death! (I know I repeated that again, but it is just so awe-inspiring!)
I hope this gives you some things to think about. It is too bad that Satan has blinded so many into believing that a torturous Hellfire is real, much less a good or even loving idea. Please give this prayerful thought. Ask our loving God to allow his holy spirit to open your heart up to the truth in this matter. A great concern besides "worship in truth" is the concern that others get led astray by this horrific Hellfire doctrine. I'd love to see that come to an end, and for the truth about our loving God to be realized by as many people as possible.
A thought that had never come up into his heart:
Jer. 7:31- "They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, something that I had not commanded and that had never even come into my heart."
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*Please Note: Concerning Acts 24:15- Some translations use the word "wicked" instead of "unrighteous" or "unjust" here. This is unfortunate as it causes confusion towards the Truth. The Bible speaks of God's Book of Remembrance (his memory), and the names of the wicked are not in it. Therefore, they receive no resurrection. Are they resurrected just to be punished or put back to death? No. The Bible tells us at Romans 6:7: "For the one who has died has been acquitted from his sin."
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Psalms 37:10,11- Just a little while longer, and the wicked will be no more;
You will look at where they were,
And they will not be there.
But the meek will possess the earth,
And they will find exquisite delight in the abundance of
peace.
Please look for my upcoming post, "Where Will You Live? In Heaven or On Earth?"
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