Difference between revisions of "Hell"

<p> '''Hell.''' In the Old Testament, this is the word generally, and unfortunately, used by our translators to render the Hebrew, '''Sheol''' . It really means ''the place of the dead, the unseen world'' , without deciding whether it be the place of misery or of happiness. </p> <p> It is clear that in many passages of the Old Testament, '''Sheol''' can only mean ''"the grave",'' and is rendered thus in the Authorized Version; see, for example, &nbsp;Genesis 37:35; &nbsp;Genesis 42:38; &nbsp;1 Samuel 2:6; &nbsp;Job 14:13. </p> <p> In other passages, however, it seems to involve a notion of ''punishment'' , and is therefore rendered in the Authorized Version by the word ''"hell"'' . But in many cases, this translation misleads the reader. </p> <p> In the New Testament, ''"hell"'' is the translation of two words, '''Hades''' and '''Gehenna''' . </p> <p> The word '''Hades''' , like '''Sheol''' sometimes means merely ''"the grave",'' &nbsp;Acts 2:31; &nbsp;1 Corinthians 15:55; &nbsp;Revelation 20:13, or in general, ''"the unseen world".'' It is in this sense that the creeds say of our Lord, "He went down into hell," meaning ''the state of the dead in general,'' without any restriction of happiness or misery. </p> <p> [[Elsewhere]] in the New Testament, '''Hades''' is used of a place of torment, &nbsp;Matthew 11:23; &nbsp;Luke 16:23; &nbsp;2 Peter 2:4, etc.; consequently, it has been the prevalent, almost the universal, notion that '''Hades''' is an ''intermediate state'' between death and resurrection, divided into two parts; one the abode of the blest and the other of the lost. </p> <p> It is used eleven times in the New Testament, and only once translated ''"grave".'' &nbsp;1 Corinthians 15:55. </p> <p> The word most frequently used, (occurring twelve times), in the New Testament for ''the place of future punishment'' is '''Gehenna''' or ''Gehenna of fire'' . This was originally ''the valley of Hinnom'' , south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned; a fit symbol of the wicked and their destruction. ''See '' '''Hinnom''' ''.'' </p>