Hell – Not just the “grave”
There are two words that are sometimes translated as the word “Hell”:
Sheol – Usually translated as “grave”
Geenna – Also known as Ben Hinnom. An infamous valley near Jerusalem used as a garbage dump in the time of Jesus. What can be directly substantiated from the Bible was that it was the valley where child sacrifices were conducted on a number of occasions1 and also where the righteous King Josiah burned the accursed idols2. As such it was an “accursed” but literal place
Common Misconceptions
Some have proposed that these words that this references to “hell” are a reference to another “plane” or existence which popularly is often ruled by Satan and demons. Aside from there being next to nothing to support this idea (see the few exceptions below that might be used to support some eternal place of suffering ) there are a number of problem with this interpretation.
Peter the Apostle, explained at his first major preaching event after the death and resurrection of Jesus that although Jesus had risen from the dead and gone to heaven, David had not:
“Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul wasn’t left in Hades, and his flesh didn’t see decay. This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear. For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
(Act 2:29-35)
King David, while he did commit a number of heinous sins, was also a man after God’s own heart3. Very few would accept that David was still in “hell” at the time Peter was speaking which was hundreds of years later. Peter instead makes it clear that David was in fact “dead and buried” and his tomb was with them still. It would not make sense to talk of David this way if his spirit or essence was somewhere else such as heaven or potentially even hell.
When the Bible talks of death elsewhere it also makes the point that when humans and animals die, their end state is the same:
But man, despite his riches, doesn’t endure. He is like the animals that perish. This is the destiny of those who are foolish, and of those who approve their sayings. Selah. They are appointed as a flock for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. Their beauty shall decay in Sheol, far from their mansion.
(Psa 49:12-14)
This verse suggests that all men end up in sheol (hell) rather than some going to heaven or hell depending on their outcome
Is there any evidence for the stereotypical “Hell”?
There are a number of verses that mention “eternal” punishment or destruction as the final outcome. It is important to note that these only refer to their experience after the judgement.
These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
(Mat 25:46)
and to give relief to you who are afflicted with us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, punishing those who don’t know God, and to those who don’t obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus, who will pay the penalty: eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
(2Thessalonians 1:7-9)
The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
(Rev 20:10)
If your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out. It is better for you to enter into God’s Kingdom with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire, ‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’
(Mar 9:47-48)