Great Doctrines of the Bible
Special English Version
Lesson 16
HELL
INTRODUCTION
The doctrine of HELL should cause us to be very sober minded or sorrowful.
It can bring us to the point of weeping. Hell is the place where unbelievers
live. It is a place of suffering and torture. It is the most frightening
truth we can think about. No one should teach or preach this doctrine
with a happy heart. A person must teach this doctrine with great seriousness
and great love for sinners. It is the purpose of this study to present
what the Bible teaches concerning this truth in detail and clearly.
May God give us minds to grasp and hearts to understand the importance
of this doctrine.
IMPORTANCE OF THIS LESSON
- Today
most preaching is about the fact of God’s love. People
talk about love more than about punishment for sin.
- Man cannot escape
God’s anger and judgment. Preachers do not
talk about everlasting hell fire much these days. Even in fundamental
churches we do not hear much about it.
- The importance of this lesson
is to show that the Bible pays a great amount of attention to this
subject. Even the Lord Jesus talked about
the subject of hell twice as much as He did about HEAVEN. This subject
is even more important when we realize that all human beings who die
without Christ will suffer in The Lake of Fire forever. Deliverance
from HELL is part of “the great salvation” we have in Christ.
Woe to the preacher who fails to warn sinners to run from God’s
anger which is coming.
- May the study of this lesson cause your heart
to desire to see people come to know Christ as Savior.
THE LESSON
I. BIBLE WORDS WHICH USUALLY, THOUGH
NOT ALWAYS, ARE TRANSLATED “HELL”
•In the Authorized or King James Version of the Bible, four words
are usually translated “hell.”
- SHEOL – This word is
only found in the Old Testament. It is the same as the word HADES in
the New Testament.
Illustrations:
• Psalm 18:5 The sorrows of hell (Sheol) surrounded me.
• Psalm 116:3 The pains of hell (Sheol) have a hold on me.
A person can translate the word SHEOL as “death” or “the
grave” in many Old Testament references. In the Old Testament
people thought of SHEOL as the place where the souls of godly or wicked
people
went after they died.
- HADES – This is a Greek word. It is used
in the New Testament. This word is about the same as the Old Testament
word SHEOL.
Illustrations:
• Matthew 11:23, Jesus said that the city of Capernaum will be brought
down to HELL (Hades).
• Revelation 1:18, Jesus said that He has the keys of HELL (Hades).
HADES is the Greek word that means about the same as the Hebrew SHEOL.
Hades has “Abraham’s Bosom” and is “a place
of torture” in it. It was the place for the souls of those who
died before the resurrection of Christ.
- TARTAROS – This word
is found only once in the New Testament in 2 Peter 2:4, This verse
says that God did not save the angels that
sinned, but put them in HELL (TARTAROS). These were the angels
who rebelled against God. They were placed in TARTAROS. This is not Sheol
or Hades. It is a special place where it is dark. These angels are
chained and waiting for judgment.
- GEHENNA – This was a real place
in the Valley of Hinnom. Human sacrifices were offered in this valley
at one time (2 Chronicles 33:6).
It was the place where people burned their trash. The fire never went
out in that place, therefore it reminded the Jews of the endless judgment
of the wicked. Illustrations:
• Matthew 10:28__We should be afraid of the one who is able to destroy
the soul and body in HELL (Gehenna).
• Luke 12:5__We should fear the one, who is able to put us into HELL (Gehenna).
after he has killed us.
II. THE USE AND MEANING OF BOTH “SHEOL” AND “HADES” IN
THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS
- SHEOL – This is an Old Testament word.
- The Old Testament people
considered SHEOL as the place for ALL the dead. It was the end
which all human life moved. It is often called the grave (Genesis
42:38; Job 14:13).
- Many unbelievers see Sheol as simply the grave
or the end of life (Ecclesiastes
9:5,10). The Old
Testament makes very clear that Sheol was a real place where:
- God places
the wicked person (Psalm 9:17).
- A person sees sorrows (Psalm
18:5; 2 Samuel 22:6)\
- A person feels pain (Psalm 116:4).
- God will put Satan and the
wicked people. They will have complete knowledge of their past
life. (Isaiah 14:9-17).
• When Jonah was in the belly of the great fish he said that he cried out
of the belly of Sheol (Jonah 2:2). He was in Sheol, yet very
much alive.
• Remember, the Hebrew word Sheol is the same as the New Testament
Greek word Hades, therefore, like Hades, it was divided between
paradise (Abraham’s
bosom), and the place of torment. We will see this later.
- HADES –This word came from the word “hado”.
It meant “all-receiving.”
- Like Sheol, Hades is
a definite place to which ALL SOULS, saved and unsaved, went
before Christ went back up to heaven.
The believers
in
the Old Testament
time who lived before the resurrection of Christ did not
go to hell. They went to paradise (or Abraham’s bosom,
Luke 16:22). It was a part of Hades and/or Sheol.
- The word
Hades is found four times in the Gospels: (Matthew 11:23;
16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23).
- Other uses:
- It is used when it talks about the soul
of Christ (Acts 2:27, 31).
- Christ said He had the key
to Hades (Revelation 1:18).
- John said Hades will give
up the people who are in it at the time of the final
judgment. He said that
Hades,
and the
sinners
in it, will
be thrown
into The Lake of Fire
(Revelation 20:13-14).
- Hades must not be thought of as
a place where lost souls live permanently. It is a
temporary, stage between
death
and Gehenna,
which is the Lake
of Fire. Sinners are “kept” in Hades until
the Day of Judgment (2 Peter 2:9).
- From the passage
in Luke 16:19-31, we learn that Hades, like Sheol:
- Had
two sections, Abraham’s bosom, and the place
of suffering (Luke 16:22-23).
- Is a place of fire and
torment (Luke 16:23-24).
- Is a place where sinners
in great sorrow could see the happiness of believers
(Luke16:23-24).
- Is a place where sinners have
full use of their senses. This rich man could
see, feel,
hear, speak,
and remember
while in
torment (Luke
16:23-31).
- Is a place from which there is no
escape (Luke 16:26).
- Hades, then, is a word that
is used to show the awful condition of the unsaved
between
death and
the final
judgment. It also
shows the happy
condition
of
believers between death and the time when
Jesus Christ returned to heaven after Pentecost.
III. THE MEANING OF GEHENNA AND HOW THE WORD IS USED
•
This is the word
that means the real HELL, It means the everlasting HELL. It is the HELL
of suffering and weeping, and sorrow. It is the HELL of
judgment and condemnation.
• The word is used twelve times in the New Testament. It was the Lord
Jesus who used the word “Gehenna” eleven times out of those
twelve. (The word is found in Matthew 5:22,29,30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33;
Mark
9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5 and James 3:6).
- The Greek word Gee’nna, pronounced “gehenna,” comes
from the Hebrew Ge-Hinnon, which means the valley of Tophet (W.E. Vine).
- Gehenna is the place in The Valley of Hinnon (Scofield’s notes),
where in ancient times, human sacrifices were offered (Jeremiah 7:31).
In that valley there was an endless burning of rubbish. For the Jewish
people this endless fire was a picture of the eternal judgment of God
upon the wicked.
- Gehenna, according to the Lord Jesus, is a real place:
- The soul
and body of sinners will be will be thrown there (Matthew 10:28;
Luke 12:5).
- It is a place of judgment and eternal condemnation
(Matthew 23:33).
- The fire will never go out there (Mark 9:44).
The phrase, “and
the fire is not put out” is identical in meaning to The Lake
of Fire (Revelation 19:20; 20:10, 14-15).
IV. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GEHENNA AND THE LAKE OF FIRE
- Jesus described
Gehenna as a place where the worm does not die, and where the fire
does not go out (Mark 9:43-47). This is the same as
The Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:14). Gehenna and The Lake of Fire
are the same place.
- Gehenna and The Lake of Fire
- The Lake of Fire is the place the unbelievers
will live forever. They will live in a condition of suffering forever.
- Hades and every one who is in it will be thrown into Gehenna
or The Lake of Fire. This will happen after the millennium
and after
the judgment
of The Great White Throne
(Revelation 20:11-15).
- The Lake of Fire will burn “for
ever and ever” (Revelation
14:11; 20:10). In the Greek language of the Bible it says “ unto
the ages of the ages”.
• The phrase “unto the ages of ages” is also
used when it tell us what the glory of God is like (Galatians 1:5). The same
words are
used in speaking about the dominion and reign of God (1 Peter
4:11; Revelation 1:6). The same phrase “unto the ages of ages” is
used of God himself (Revelation 1:18; 4:9-10). Therefore it
plainly
means ETERNAL
with the idea of never ending.
• 2 Thessalonians 1:9 says that sinners will receive punishment that will
last forever.
• 2 Peter 2:17 and Jude 13 state clearly that the judgment of false teachers
is FOREVER.
• There are some who teach that after death a person will go completely
out of existence. He will be no more in any condition. Others
teach that the soul will only sleep. Still others teach that there is a place
after
death where a person will suffer the punishment of his own
sin first and after that he goes to heaven. The verses above clearly show that
this is not so. It is false teaching.
- The Lake of Fire is also
called the SECOND DEATH (Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14; and 21:8).
- The Second
Death is different from the first or physical death. Sinners
go to Hades in the first or physical death.
In Hades they
wait for the
judgment of The Great White Throne (Revelation 20:13).
- The Second Death is the same as the death spoken about in
2 Corinthians 1:10.
- The Second Death is the ETERNAL separation
from God. Sinners who die in their sins will be separated from
God forever
(John 8:21, 24).
• If you compare Revelation 19:20 with Revelation 20:10 you will see more
proof that in HELL a person does not go out of existence,
his soul does not go to sleep. After 1000 years, The Lake of Fire is a place
where
the Beast and the False Prophet ARE, not WERE
V. WHAT
THE LORD JESUS TAUGHT US ABOUT HELL
- When God made Hell he planned it
for Satan and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Hell is a real place (Luke
16:28), It is a place where
people live. For example, the Pharisees (Matthew 23:33); and hypocrites
(Matthew
24:51).
- It is a place with FIRE that never goes out (Mark 9:43;
Matthew 5:22; 13:42).
- It is a place where sinners will weep and wail
and grind their teeth with pain (Matthew 13:42; 8:12; 22:13; 24:51
and 25:30).
- It is a place of complete darkness (Matthew 25:30; 8:12).
• Sinners are already living in the darkness of sin (Ephesians 5:8;
Acts 26:18). Sinners are a part of the rule of darkness, (Colossians
1:13). Complete darkness, a characteristic of “the second death”,
is that eternal separation of the sinner from the light of
TRUTH. The light of TRUTH is the light of Christ and His
Gospel. It
is the light
of God. THERE WILL BE NO DAY THERE!!!
- Hell is a place of
judgment and condemnation (Matthew 23:33; 25:46). Hell will be a
proper sentence for those who
reject
the Gospel of Christ
and fail to repent.
- Hell is a place that will never change
(Luke 16:26). Hell is a place that will continue forever
(Matthew 25:41, 46). Nobody will ever escape from hell. (Luke
16:26; Matthew 23:33).
- Hell is a place where “the worm
does not die” (Mark 9:44).
This may be talking about a person’s ability to remember
(Luke 16:25). Hell is a place where sinners will be able
to use all of
their senses while they are tormented without end (Luke 16:19-31).
- Hell is a place where there will be no fellowship, no family
ties, no freedom, no forgetting about the things on
earth,
no pleasure, no
faith, and no forgiveness. (My personal thoughts taken from
Luke 16:19-31).
• If the words used seem sharp or more like an illustration, keep in mind
that the reality is usually sharper than what it illustrates.
VI. ARGUMENTS THAT SAY THAT HELL IS NOT A REAL PLACE
- Fire always
comes to an end. Remember, HELL is a special place with special fire.
Moses viewed a burning bush that did not burn up (Exodus
3:2). The three Hebrew boys were thrown into a fire and they were
not even scorched (Daniel 3:19-27).
- Hell does not fit with the love
of God. It is true that God loves
the sinner, he hates sin. Unbelievers seem to forget all the time that
God is righteous and holy, therefore He demands repentance and faith.
Sinners must choose. God considers every person the same way. (Romans
11:32; 2:11). In the Bible Jesus and John talked about love more than
anyone else. They also talked about hell more than anyone else. Also,
bear in mind that God could not show grace and mercy toward the sinner,
until someone satisfied His justice.
- Some people believe in a place
called purgatory. The Bible does not speak about any place between
heaven and hell where a soul may
go for
a short time after death. Everyone who is in Hades will be cast into
The Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:13-14).
- Some people believe that the
soul will go to sleep. Others say that the soul will go out of existence.
We have already answered the question.
Remember that hell is a punishment (Matthew 25:46). You cannot punish
a person who does not exist or one who is sleeping. Furthermore, there
would be no reason for God to resurrect the unbeliever if his soul
did not exist (John 5:29).
• There are people who died without ever hearing the Gospel. Some people
say that those people do not go to Hell. Remember that God is a RIGHTEOUS
God. He will hold such people responsible for obeying the light they
have (Romans 1:19-20).
VII. THE REASONS FOR HELL AS A REAL PLACE COMES OUT OF SOUND REASONING
- Dr.
William Evans, a famous preacher and writer, said that it is beyond
question that there must be payment for sin and reward for those who
are right with God. This is recognized as an unchangeable law.
- If there is no HELL, then Christ must be a liar. If He is a liar
he is not God and He has no power.
- If there is no HELL, then God
was so foolish that He sent Jesus to die to save us from a place
that does not exist.
- If there is no HELL, the Bible is incorrect. If
the Bible is incorrect, there is no absolute authority about right
and wrong and about salvation.
- If sin is a fact, there must be a
HELL. Only the willfully blind can deny it. Sin results in death
(Romans 6:23). Hell is the second
death
(Revelation 20:14). Sin and sinners are to be in hell forever (Revelation
20:13-15 and 21:8).
- If man lives forever, There must be a HELL.
Man is a living soul (Genesis 2:7). Everyone lives forever, somewhere
(Matthew
25:46;
John 5:28-29).
There must be a hell for those who reject heaven.
- If God is righteous,
there must be a HELL. (Revelation 15:3). Since God is righteous He
judges all sinners (Romans 14:12; Hebrews
9:27;
Acts 17:30-31; Psalm 9:17; 2 Peter 2:9; Matthew 13:40-42).
VIII. CONCLUSION
The truth in this lesson should cause us to get on our knees to thank
God for His great salvation. Not one of us deserves heaven. We are
sinners who are saved through God’s love and kindness. I have
prepared and written these lessons with much serious prayer. I pray
that God will use them to give you a burning love for lost souls. Whether
we understand it completely or not, hell is a fearful fact. As we preach
the Gospel, let us be faithful to warn sinners of God’s anger
that is coming. |
