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Christian Biblical Studies |
HELL
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Anglicised text of the New International Version (NIV-UK) unless noted
otherwise. If the text is not quoted, click on it to see it
displayed.
Question: What is hell?
Answer: The traditional view is that of a region of unending punishment (usually
torture) for the wicked and unbelievers after
death.
There are actually two types of hell.
Hell No. 1
The first is identified in the
Hebrew text of the Old Testament by the word, sheol, and the corresponding Greek word
in the New Testament, hades. Each is
translated ‘hell’ in the King James Version (KJV). For example,
Psalms
16: 10 (sheol) and Acts
2: 31 (hades). The NIV-UK renders
the words, ‘grave’.
The fallen human race, descended from
Adam, are on the road to the first hell, the ‘grave’ state, because they are
under condemnation on account of Adam’s sin of disobedience. Recovery from this
hell is possible only because of the resurrection in the coming Millennium,
guaranteed by Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Hell No.
2
The second hell is denoted by the Greek word, gehenna. For example, Matthew 10: 28 (KJV): ‘And
fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather
fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell’ (emphasis
ours). The NIV-UK also uses the translation,
‘hell’.
However, the real gehenna was the Hinnom Valley, an area
south of Jerusalem. In Jesus’ day this was like the municipal tip, where the
carcasses of beasts, and the bodies of executed criminals were dumped. Fires
were kept burning in order to consume everything. Sulphur (the Biblical
‘brimstone’) was added to the flames to intensify them. The graphic picture is
one of obliteration, and Jesus so employs it.
We may reasonably conclude that gehenna stands for the destiny of all
(fully) wilful sinners. Those liable to this severe penalty, however, are those
only who have first been resurrected, released from Adamic condemnation, and put
under a test for eternal life. They fail because they are incorrigibly committed
to sin. They die on their own account — hence, a second (not an
Adamic, first) death. From this death there is no resurrection. (For
additional context, see the article on the Parable of the Sheep and Goats,
covered elsewhere on this site.)
Copyright June 2009
ukbiblestudents.co.uk
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