The Great Salvation/22

PROPOSITION 22.

Hell, as Employed in the Bible, Does Not Mean a Place of Eternal Torture, But the Grave and Gehenna

The use the inspired writers make of the Hebrew and Greek words rendered in our translation '`hell" must be allowed to determine what they mean by these words. You must remember that in the Greek there are two words in the original Scriptures--hades and Gehenna that are translated by the one word hell. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word answering to hades is sheol. Now this word is often rendered grave; and it’s use in such cases shows that the prophets never understood it to mean a place of torment for "disembodied spirits".

Sheol-Grave or State of the Dead

Gen. 37:35 He (Jacob) refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave (sheol) unto my son mourning.

Gen. 42:38 If mischief befall him in the way by which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave ( sheol).

I Sam. 2:6 The LORD killeth and maketh alive; he bringeth down to the grave (sheol) and bringeth up,

I Kings 2:6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoary head go down to the grave (sheol) in peace.

Job 14:13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave (sheol), that wouldest keep me secret until thy wrath be past.

Job 17:13 If I wait the grave (sheol) is mine house; I have made my bed in the darkness.

Psa. 30:3 0 LORD, thou has brought up my soul from the grave (sheol); thou has kept me alive that I should not go down to the pit.

Psa. 49:14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave (sheol), death shall feed on them.

Hos. 13:14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave (sheol); 0 grave I will be thy destruction. (Compare with I Cor. 15:55).

Ecc. 9:10 There is no work nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave (sheol), whither thou goest.

Psa. 31:17 Let them be silent in the grave (sheol).

Ezek. 32:27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell (sheol) with their weapons of war; and they have laid their swords under their heads. (Hell here is shown to be the grave, by the fact that the mighty lie there with their swords under their heads, it being a custom to bury warriors with their swords under their heads).

Psa. 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (sheol), neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Peter uses this to prove that Christ was raised from the grave.--Acts 2:27, 30-32).

From these testimonies it is clear that the inspired writers had no idea of a place of eternal torment being represented by the word sheol. Just substitute "the place of eternal torment" for the word sheol in these texts and you will see how absurd is the theory of modern theology. It would make Jacob say, "I refuse to be comforted; and I will go down to the place of eternal torment to my son mourning." It would make David say, :Let not his hoary head go down to the place of eternal torment in peace." as though it were possible to go to such a place in peace. It would make Job say, "O that thou wouldest hide me in the place of eternal torment until thy wrath be past, which would be praying to be taken from bad to worse. It would make David and Peter say that Christ went to the place of torment but was not left there. Now if you keep in view that the final end of the wicked is to be punished with eternal death--to be cast into the darkness of death and the grave--then you will easily understand the use of the word sheol when the translators have rendered it "hell"; such, for instance, as "The wicked shall be turned into hell (sheol), ,and all nations that forget God (Psa. 9:17).

The word that the writers of the New Testament used as meaning the same as sheol is hades.

Hades---Grave or State of the Dead

The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) uses the word hades as the equivalent of sheol. Therefore the texts quoted above apply to the use of the word hades in the Greek in the same way as they do to sheol in the Hebrew. The word hades only occurs eleven times in the New Testament. As to it’s meaning and whether or not it is properly translated by the word hell we submit the following:

"The Hebrew word sheol is translated HELL, properly as a general thing, if intended to mean the same as the old Saxon word hell, the covered receptacle of all the dead, where the good and bad repose together in a state of UNCONSCIOUSNESS; but very improperly and SHAMEFULLY IF intended to be a symbol of the ‘orthodox' and traditionary hell as a place of conscious torment for the wicked only. But we, without the slightest reservation, condemn the translators; for they have evidently endeavored to observe the true sense of the word Sheol, and to uphold the traditional meaning of hell at the expense of truth and uniformity. Had sheol been uniformly translated pit or grave or the state of the dead, or even the mansions of the dead, no such absurd idea as that of a place of conscious torment could ever have been associated with it." Bible versus Tradition, page 188.

"Hades means literally that which is darkness. A careful examination will lead to the conclusion that no sanction to the intermediate state is afforded by these passages where hades occurs; but they denote the grave, both of the righteous and wicked. Dr. Kitto, Cyclopedia.

"The original word hades, from a, not, and idien, to see-the invisible receptacle or mansion of the dead, answering to sheol in Hebrew. The word hell, used in the common translations conveys now an improper meaning of the original word, because hell is only used to signify the place of the damned. But as the word hell comes from the Anglo-Saxon helan, to cover or hide, hence the tiling or slating of a house in some parts of England (particularly Cornwall): heIing to this day, and the covers of books (in Lancashire), by the same name; so the literal import of the original word hades: was formerly well expressed by it.-Dr. Adam Clarke, Commentary.

"The gates of hades may always allusive to the form of the Jewish sepulchres, which were large caves with a narrow mouth or entrance, many of which are found in Judea." - Parkhurst, Lexicon.

Following are the passages where the word hades occurs in · the New Testament:

Matt. 11:23 And thou Capernaum which art exalted unto heaven, shaIt be brought down to hell (hades).

Upon this Dr. Adam Clarke says:

This prediction of our Lord was literally fulfilled; for in the wars with the Romans and the Jews these cities were totally destroyed, so that no traces are now found of Bethsaida, Chorazin or Capernaum -Commentary.

To be brought down to hell, the grave, was therefore to be destroyed.

Matt. 16:18 And I say unto thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church; and the gates of hell (hades, the grave) shall not prevail against it.

"The gates of hades," says Parkhurst, may always be allusive to the form of Jewish sepulchres."

The gates of the grave will not prevail, because the church will be delivered, and exclaim: "O grave (hades), where is thy victory?" (I Cor. 15:55).

Luke 10:15 Same as already referred to in Matt. 11:23.

Luke 16:23 And in hell (hades) he lifted up his eyes.

Acts 2:27, 31 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (hades), neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

I Cor. 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave (hades), where is thy victory?

Rev. 1:18 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.

Rev. 6:8 And I looked and behold, a pale horse; and his name that sat upon him was Death. and Hell (hades) followed with him.

Rev. 20:13, 14 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell (hades) delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell (hades) were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

These passages will all be clear to you as applying to the grave, except, perhaps, one -- that in which the rich man is said to lift up his eyes in hell (hades). We purpose devoting a chapter to this further along, but will say here, that the parable of the rich man and Lazarus was addressed to the Pharisees (Luke 16:14), who, having received traditions which made the Word of God of none effect, had become believers in the heathen dogma of the conscious existence of disembodied souls. To find a receptacle for these after death they invented a place where good and bad souls were preserved awaiting the judgment day; and to that place they gave the name of hades. In this parable our Lord used their theory to represent the national calamity shortly to come upon them in the destruction of Jerusalem and their torment at the hands of the Roman and other nations among whom they would suffer. The fact that the Saviour used their theory in parable no more commits Him to that theory than His use of the word Beelzebub (Matt. 19.:9.7) committed Him to the pagan fiction of the god of the fly. It must be remembered that our Lord made no attempt to instruct the Pharisees and show them the fallacy of the heathen dogmas they had espoused. He knew they were self-righteous, and ironically said to them, I am not come to call the righteous" (Matt. 9:13). It is said that, "without a, parable spake he not unto them" (Matt. 13:34); and the reason He gave for this was, "because it is given to you" (the disciples) "to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not" (Matt. 13:11).

Gehenna -- What and Where Is It?

Gehenna, the other word translated hell in the New Testament, has an entirely different meaning from hades, and never ought to have been translated by the word hell. The following from the Emphatic Diaglott is a good explanation:

"Gehenna, the Greek word translated hell in the common version occurs 19. times. It is the Grecian mode of spelling the Hebrew words which are translated "The Valley of Hinnom" This valley was also called Tophet, a detestation, an abomination. Into this place were cast all kinds of filth, with the carcasses of beasts and the unburied bodies of criminals who had been executed. Continual fires were kept to consume these. Sennacherib’s army of 185,000 were slain here in one night. Here children were burnt to death in sacrifice to Moloch. Gehenna, then, as occurring in the New Testament, symbolizes death and utter destruction, but in no place symbolizes a place of eternal torment."

The Jews having come to look upon Gehenna as a place of horror, it was associated by our Lord with the destiny which awaited those who shall be the victims of the wrath of God in the day of just retribution. The testimonies in which the word is used indicate that, not only was Gehenna a place of judicial punishment in the past, but in that same place will the righteous judgments of God be poured upon the transgressors. The worms that preyed upon the carcasses in the past have long since devoured them; the unquenchable fire that burned has devoured it’s victims. So when the worms shall again prey upon the bodies of the wicked and the fire burn, destruction will be the inevitable result. You will see, dear reader, that the meaning of the words "The worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched" is not that the bodies upon which the worms prey are preserved alive--not that they will burn and yet never burn. The fact that worms are represented as preying is proof that their victims have been put to death and that to be totally devoured is the certain end; and the fact that the fire is not quenched is proof, not that it’s victims will be preserved, but that they will be devoured.

Following are the passages where the word hell in the common version is from Gehenna:

Matt. 5:22 But I say, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the Judgment; and whosoever shah say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, Thou fool. shall be in danger of hell (Gehenna) fire.

Matt. 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be east into hell (Gehenna).

Matt. 10:28 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 body and soul in hell (Gehenna).

Matt. 18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell ( Gehenna ) fire.

Matt. 23:15 Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell (Gehenna) than yourselves.

Matt. 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell (Gehenna)?

Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5. These are the same as given from Matthew.

Jas. 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell (Gehenna).

Now you will see from these testimonies that no support is given by them to the theory of eternal preservation in hell fire as popularly believed. The Jews knew that to be "in danger of Gehenna" was to be in danger of an ignoble death, a devouring of worms or a consuming of fire in the detested valley of Gehenna, instead of even after death being allowed a burial. They were assured that God would destroy the wicked, both soul and body in Gehenna; and that it was better for them to enter into life maimed than to suffer death and the destruction of Gehenna. If you notice the use of the word life in some of the quotations you will see that it is not a question of their going to live in a place of happiness on the one hand and to live in a place of misery on the other. It is a question of "entering into life" or of being destroyed.

Dr. Parkhurst remarks on Mark 9:43: "Our Lord seems to allude to the worms which continually preyed on dead carcasses that were cast into the valley of Hinnom (Gehenna), and to the perpetual fire kept up to consume them; a place of abominable filthiness and pollution. Greek Lexicon.