THE DOCTRINE OF HELL
I do not feel right about starting off this subject without first explaining a little about the nature of God. The Bible tells us that God
is love 1Jn.4:8. In fact he loves us so much he made the ultimate sacrifice for us by spilling his own blood on our behalf.
Jn.3:16, Acts 20:28.
God is also a God of Justice and his very nature demands judgment upon all sin.Rom.6:23. We are also told that without the
shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin Heb.9:22. That's how serious sin is!
So the Lord himself paid for our sins, all we have to do is accept him and his payment as a free gift.Jn.3:16, Eph.2:8-9. He will
indeed judge the world. It is also true that people will condemn themselves to hell by rejecting Christ as Savior and ignoring
God's plan of salvation. It is important to recognize that to demand justice is part of God's nature, however he does not take
pleasure in it.
Ezek 33:11 "Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the
wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?
This is one of my favorite verses that shows the heart of God. Twice he pleads with them turn back, turn back from your evil
ways. The Lord ask them, why would they choose to die? You see by his nature he has to judge sin. Yet as we can see he
would rather forgive, but he can't unless they repent, because he is a God of justice.
Deut 10:17-18 "For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God
who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe. "He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the
alien by giving him food and clothing.
Ps 9:7-8 But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment, And He will judge the world in
righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity. (As we can see he is a fair judge.)
We are ALL sinners and those who do not accept his payment for their sins will receive his wrath. As we will see Hell
is a very real and unpleasant place. Hell was made for the devil and his angels Mt.25:41. We can avoid it by turning to Jesus.
There are 3 Greek words referring to the abode of the unrighteous in the New Testament. These 3 Greek words are translated
in English as Hell in the King James Version of the Bible. The word Hell is also defined as 3 different places as will be shown in
numbers 1-3
1.There is the present hell as we see in Lk.16:23 "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar
off, and Lazarus in his bosom". (KJV)
Rev 20:14 "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." (KJV)
Both of these verses use the Greek word number 86 in the Strong's Greek / Hebrew Dictionary: haides (hah'-dace);
from 1 (as negative particle) and 1492; properly, unseen, i.e. "Hades" or the place(state) of departed souls: KJV-- grave, hell.
Notice that in the book of Luke, Jesus referred to (hell) as a place where the unrighteous went then. We find in the book of
Revelation, that this same (hell) is cast into the lake of fire in the final Judgment.
2. There is the future hell. Jesus refers to this future hell in the following passage:
Mark 9:43-44 "And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than having your two
hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.]
This future hell Jesus spoke of in MK. 9 :43-44 is the lake of fire. Here he describes this hell as unquenchable fire. This future
"hell" in Mk.9:43 is from the Strong's Greek / Hebrew Dictionary word # 1067 geena (gheh'-en-nah); of Hebrew origin [1516
and 2011]; valley of (the son of) Hinnom; ge-henna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the
place (or state) of everlasting punishment: KJV-- hell.
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary has the following to say regarding "Gehenna"HELL : As a place of punishment
translates Gehenna, the Greek form of the Hebrew word that means "the vale of Hinnom"-- a valley just south of Jerusalem. In
this valley the Canaanites worshiped Baal and the fire-god Molech by sacrificing their children in a fire that burned continuously
Even Ahaz and Manasseh, kings of Judah, were guilty of this terrible, idolatrous practice <2 Chr. 28:3; 33 6>......
............In the time of Jesus, the Valley of Hinnom was used as the garbage dump of Jerusalem. Into it were thrown all the filth
and garbage of the city, including the dead bodies of animals and executed criminals. To consume all this, fires burned
constantly. Maggots worked in the filth. When the wind blew from that direction over the city, its awfulness was quite evident. At
night wild dogs howled and gnashed their teeth as they fought over the garbage.
Jesus used this awful scene as a symbol of hell. In effect he said, "Do you want to know what hell is like? Look at the valley of
Gehenna." So hell may be described as God's "cosmic garbage dump." All that is unfit for heaven will be thrown into hell....
Because of the symbolic nature of the language, some people question whether hell consists of actual fire. Such reasoning
should bring no comfort to the lost. The reality is greater than the symbol. The Bible exhausts human language in describing
heaven and hell. The former is more glorious, and the latter more terrible, than language can express.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)(Copyright 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
There is no one in this future hell (the lake of fire) now. The first ones mentioned in the Bible to be cast into the lake of fire are
"(the Beast") and ("the False Prophet")
Rev 19:20 "And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he
deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into
the lake of fire which burns with brimstone."
It is after this that the devil and "hell" (as seen in Lk.16:23) as well as whosoever was not found written in the book of life are
cast into the lake of fire as shown in the text below.
Rev 20:10-15 (KJV) "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the
false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead
were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which
were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their
works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the
book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
Notice those that were not written in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire here. That means the deceased are not there
now but rather they are in the "Hell" that I mentioned in #1 found in Luke 16:23. At this time they that are in "hell"
( Lk.16:23) are cast into the lake of fire.
3. There is a hell for certain angels. The third Greek word translated as "hell" is from the Strong's Greek / Hebrew Dictionary
word # 5020 tartaroo (tar-tar-o'-o); from Tartaros (the deepest abyss of Hades); to incarcerate in eternal torment: KJV-- cast
down to hell. This Greek word is only used in 2 Pet.2:4 "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into
hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;"
These angels are also mentioned in Jude 1:6. Since we know that nobody is as of yet in Gehenna (the lake of fire) and this is
an entirely different Greek word here in 2 Peter 2:4.It is logical to believe that this is perhaps a different location or a different
part of the "hell" mentioned in Lk.16:23 concerning the story of Lazarus in Abraham's bosom; and the rich man in hell. Since we
know that the demons are fallen angels and many of them are here upon the earth. Some people have speculated who these
angels were and why they were held captive, but scripture does not say enough about them to reach a definite conclusion.
In the Old Testament, all of the words translated as hell in the King James Version of the Bible come from the Hebrew word
found in Strong's # 7585 she'owl (sheh-ole'); or sheol (sheh-ole'); from 7592; Hades or the world of the dead (as if a
subterranean retreat), including its accessories and inmates: KJV-- grave, hell, pit.
This Hebrew word has also been translated in the King James as "grave" (Gen.44:29,31, Job 7:9, Ps.30:3, Is.14:11) and it has
also been translated as "pit" ( Numb.16:30,33, Job 17:16) Although the body is usually put into a grave or pit after it dies it is a
mistake to interpret this as its whole meaning.
In the following text the words in bold and underlined in verses 9,11 & 15 are from this same Hebrew word # 7585 in the
Strong's Greek / Hebrew Dictionary. However the word in bold and underlined in verse 19 in Strong's is from the Hebrew
word # 6913 qeber, (keh'-ber); or (feminine) qibrah (kib-raw'); from 6912; a sepulchre: KJV-- burying place, grave sepulchre.
Isaiah 14:9-19 (KJV)
9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the
earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover
thee.
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the
nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the
mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble,
that did shake kingdoms;
17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a
sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet.
This passage was addressed to the King of Babylon verse 4. In this text in verse 9 those in ("hell" # 7585 she'owl ) are eager
for him to come so that they may mock him verse 10. The King of Babylon is cast out of his ( "grave" verse 19 # 6913 qeber)
to be thrown into hell. Since he is cast out of his grave and thrown into hell it is easy to see they are not same thing. Here #
7585 she'owl and # 6913 qeber are opposites not synonyms.
(This passage refers to the King of Babylon back then as well as to Satan himself.)
I do not feel right about starting off this subject without first explaining a little about the nature of God. The Bible tells us that God
is love 1Jn.4:8. In fact he loves us so much he made the ultimate sacrifice for us by spilling his own blood on our behalf.
Jn.3:16, Acts 20:28.
God is also a God of Justice and his very nature demands judgment upon all sin.Rom.6:23. We are also told that without the
shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin Heb.9:22. That's how serious sin is!
So the Lord himself paid for our sins, all we have to do is accept him and his payment as a free gift.Jn.3:16, Eph.2:8-9. He will
indeed judge the world. It is also true that people will condemn themselves to hell by rejecting Christ as Savior and ignoring
God's plan of salvation. It is important to recognize that to demand justice is part of God's nature, however he does not take
pleasure in it.
Ezek 33:11 "Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the
wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?
This is one of my favorite verses that shows the heart of God. Twice he pleads with them turn back, turn back from your evil
ways. The Lord ask them, why would they choose to die? You see by his nature he has to judge sin. Yet as we can see he
would rather forgive, but he can't unless they repent, because he is a God of justice.
Deut 10:17-18 "For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God
who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe. "He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the
alien by giving him food and clothing.
Ps 9:7-8 But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment, And He will judge the world in
righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity. (As we can see he is a fair judge.)
We are ALL sinners and those who do not accept his payment for their sins will receive his wrath. As we will see Hell
is a very real and unpleasant place. Hell was made for the devil and his angels Mt.25:41. We can avoid it by turning to Jesus.
There are 3 Greek words referring to the abode of the unrighteous in the New Testament. These 3 Greek words are translated
in English as Hell in the King James Version of the Bible. The word Hell is also defined as 3 different places as will be shown in
numbers 1-3
1.There is the present hell as we see in Lk.16:23 "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar
off, and Lazarus in his bosom". (KJV)
Rev 20:14 "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." (KJV)
Both of these verses use the Greek word number 86 in the Strong's Greek / Hebrew Dictionary: haides (hah'-dace);
from 1 (as negative particle) and 1492; properly, unseen, i.e. "Hades" or the place(state) of departed souls: KJV-- grave, hell.
Notice that in the book of Luke, Jesus referred to (hell) as a place where the unrighteous went then. We find in the book of
Revelation, that this same (hell) is cast into the lake of fire in the final Judgment.
2. There is the future hell. Jesus refers to this future hell in the following passage:
Mark 9:43-44 "And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than having your two
hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.]
This future hell Jesus spoke of in MK. 9 :43-44 is the lake of fire. Here he describes this hell as unquenchable fire. This future
"hell" in Mk.9:43 is from the Strong's Greek / Hebrew Dictionary word # 1067 geena (gheh'-en-nah); of Hebrew origin [1516
and 2011]; valley of (the son of) Hinnom; ge-henna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the
place (or state) of everlasting punishment: KJV-- hell.
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary has the following to say regarding "Gehenna"HELL : As a place of punishment
translates Gehenna, the Greek form of the Hebrew word that means "the vale of Hinnom"-- a valley just south of Jerusalem. In
this valley the Canaanites worshiped Baal and the fire-god Molech by sacrificing their children in a fire that burned continuously
Even Ahaz and Manasseh, kings of Judah, were guilty of this terrible, idolatrous practice <2 Chr. 28:3; 33 6>......
............In the time of Jesus, the Valley of Hinnom was used as the garbage dump of Jerusalem. Into it were thrown all the filth
and garbage of the city, including the dead bodies of animals and executed criminals. To consume all this, fires burned
constantly. Maggots worked in the filth. When the wind blew from that direction over the city, its awfulness was quite evident. At
night wild dogs howled and gnashed their teeth as they fought over the garbage.
Jesus used this awful scene as a symbol of hell. In effect he said, "Do you want to know what hell is like? Look at the valley of
Gehenna." So hell may be described as God's "cosmic garbage dump." All that is unfit for heaven will be thrown into hell....
Because of the symbolic nature of the language, some people question whether hell consists of actual fire. Such reasoning
should bring no comfort to the lost. The reality is greater than the symbol. The Bible exhausts human language in describing
heaven and hell. The former is more glorious, and the latter more terrible, than language can express.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)(Copyright 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
There is no one in this future hell (the lake of fire) now. The first ones mentioned in the Bible to be cast into the lake of fire are
"(the Beast") and ("the False Prophet")
Rev 19:20 "And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he
deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into
the lake of fire which burns with brimstone."
It is after this that the devil and "hell" (as seen in Lk.16:23) as well as whosoever was not found written in the book of life are
cast into the lake of fire as shown in the text below.
Rev 20:10-15 (KJV) "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the
false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead
were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which
were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their
works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the
book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
Notice those that were not written in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire here. That means the deceased are not there
now but rather they are in the "Hell" that I mentioned in #1 found in Luke 16:23. At this time they that are in "hell"
( Lk.16:23) are cast into the lake of fire.
3. There is a hell for certain angels. The third Greek word translated as "hell" is from the Strong's Greek / Hebrew Dictionary
word # 5020 tartaroo (tar-tar-o'-o); from Tartaros (the deepest abyss of Hades); to incarcerate in eternal torment: KJV-- cast
down to hell. This Greek word is only used in 2 Pet.2:4 "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into
hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;"
These angels are also mentioned in Jude 1:6. Since we know that nobody is as of yet in Gehenna (the lake of fire) and this is
an entirely different Greek word here in 2 Peter 2:4.It is logical to believe that this is perhaps a different location or a different
part of the "hell" mentioned in Lk.16:23 concerning the story of Lazarus in Abraham's bosom; and the rich man in hell. Since we
know that the demons are fallen angels and many of them are here upon the earth. Some people have speculated who these
angels were and why they were held captive, but scripture does not say enough about them to reach a definite conclusion.
In the Old Testament, all of the words translated as hell in the King James Version of the Bible come from the Hebrew word
found in Strong's # 7585 she'owl (sheh-ole'); or sheol (sheh-ole'); from 7592; Hades or the world of the dead (as if a
subterranean retreat), including its accessories and inmates: KJV-- grave, hell, pit.
This Hebrew word has also been translated in the King James as "grave" (Gen.44:29,31, Job 7:9, Ps.30:3, Is.14:11) and it has
also been translated as "pit" ( Numb.16:30,33, Job 17:16) Although the body is usually put into a grave or pit after it dies it is a
mistake to interpret this as its whole meaning.
In the following text the words in bold and underlined in verses 9,11 & 15 are from this same Hebrew word # 7585 in the
Strong's Greek / Hebrew Dictionary. However the word in bold and underlined in verse 19 in Strong's is from the Hebrew
word # 6913 qeber, (keh'-ber); or (feminine) qibrah (kib-raw'); from 6912; a sepulchre: KJV-- burying place, grave sepulchre.
Isaiah 14:9-19 (KJV)
9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the
earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover
thee.
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the
nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the
mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble,
that did shake kingdoms;
17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a
sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet.
This passage was addressed to the King of Babylon verse 4. In this text in verse 9 those in ("hell" # 7585 she'owl ) are eager
for him to come so that they may mock him verse 10. The King of Babylon is cast out of his ( "grave" verse 19 # 6913 qeber)
to be thrown into hell. Since he is cast out of his grave and thrown into hell it is easy to see they are not same thing. Here #
7585 she'owl and # 6913 qeber are opposites not synonyms.
(This passage refers to the King of Babylon back then as well as to Satan himself.)
Major Christian Doctrines
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