"HELL" - IS THE GRAVE 
"HELL" - IS THE GRAVE Hell is the grave
a place where we sleep
in Hebrew - called "Sheol"
in the ground, very deep Job asked - could he rest there
when his troubles were sore
when life gave him problems
which he heavily bore
Christ also went there
for three silent days
while he waited for Jehovah
his memory to raise
The Greeks called it "Hades"
A place they could hide
when death overtook them
and buried inside All those forgotten
at deaths poignant door
will lie in repose there
for many years more Soon Christ will call out
and raise all the dead
from the slumber of hades
and the tears we all shed
~ ~ ~ ~ "Much confusion and misunderstanding has been caused
through the early translators of the Bible
persistently rendering the Hebrew 'Sheol'
and the Greek 'Hades' and 'Gehenna' by the word 'hell'.
The simple transliteration of these words
by the translators of the revised editions of the Bible
has not sufficed to appreciably clear up this confusion
and misconception."
-The Encyclopedia Americana (1942), Vol. XIV, p. 81. Surprisingly, fire is NOT mentioned in 78% of the
verses where the word Hell appears in the King James
Version (KJV) bible. In the few remaining verses
where fire and sinners are associated, it is clearly
NOT torture, but ANNIHILATION, which results.
The traditional concept of Hell does NOT come from
the inspired Hebrew or Greek manuscripts. It is a
pagan myth adopted as Christian doctrine in the third
century by church fathers. Yet, then as now, innocent
people are taught the traditional concept of Hell by
trusted authority figures. That trust deters questions,
so for hundreds of years the myth has perpetuated.
"The Western religious from Roman times through
the Middle Ages borrowed the doctrine of eternal
torture from the Pagan Philosophers. Certain writers
of the Middle Ages had such tremendous influence
on the Christian-professing world, that their writings
and teachings came to be generally accepted and
believed, until it became the doctrine of the
Christian-professing world. Among these influential
writers were Augustine and Dante Alighieri."
-The Encyclopedia Americana
"Hell - any place, or some place covered over.
The word was first applied to the grave by our
German and English ancestors, and as superstition
came to regard the grave as an entrance to a world
of torment, Hell at length became the word used
to denote an imaginary realm of fiery woe."
- THE BIBLE HELL; by J.W. Hanson, D.D.
Fourth Edition; Boston; 1888
"the word Hell comes from the
Anglo-Saxon helan, to cover..."
-Dr. Adam Clarke
"SHEOL AND HADEES- neither of these words is ever
used in the Bible to signify punishment after death."
- THE BIBLE HELL; by J.W. Hanson, D.D.
Fourth Edition; Boston; 1888
"the words Sheol, and Hadees primarily signify
only the place, or state of the dead."
- THE BIBLE HELL; by J.W. Hanson, D.D.
Fourth Edition; Boston; 1888
"In every instance in the Old Testament,
the word "grave" might be substituted for the
term hell, either in a literal or figurative sense."
- THE BIBLE HELL; by J.W. Hanson, D.D.
Fourth Edition; Boston; 1888
"Hell - all the materialism of the heathen mythology
is suggested to the mind, and when rendered Hell,
the medieval monstrosities of a Christianity corrupted
by heathen adulterations is suggested. Had the word
been permitted to travel untranslated, no one would
give to it the meaning now so often applied to it.
Sheol or hades, primarily, and literally, the grave,
or death, is the precise force of the term, wherever
found."
- THE BIBLE HELL; by J.W. Hanson, D.D.
Fourth Edition; Boston; 1888
"Hades and Sheol signifies the state of the dead
in general, without regard to the goodness or badness
of the persons, or their happiness or misery."
-Dr. George Campbell
"The punishment expressed in this passage
is cutting off from life, destroying from the earth
by some special judgment, and removing to the invisible
state of the dead."
-Dr. Allen, of Bowdoin College "It must not be forgotten that contact with the
heathen had corrupted the opinions of the Jews,
at the time of our Savior. By receiving the traditions
and fables of paganism, they had made void the
word of God. They had accepted Hadees as the best
Greek word to convey their idea of Sheol, but without
investing it at first with the heathen notions of
the classic Hadees, as they afterwards did."
- THE BIBLE HELL; by J.W. Hanson, D.D.
Fourth Edition; Boston; 1888
"[Christians] were in daily contact with Egyptians
and Greeks, and gradually began to adopt their
philosophical and religious opinions, or to modify
their own in harmony with them."
-Dr. Thayer in his "Origin and History"
"Pagans held Hadees to be a place of torment
after death, to endure forever."
- THE BIBLE HELL; by J.W. Hanson, D.D.
Fourth Edition; Boston; 1888 HELL IN THE OLD TESTAMENT SOME BIBLE TRANSLATIONS RENDER "SHEOL" AS - HELL OTHERS - RENDER 'SHEOL' AS 'THE GRAVE' 'Hell' is not a translation. It is a word that has been
inserted by translators into the Bible because of their
preconceived ideas about a place of eternal torment.
This idea is fast losing ground today as modern translators
realise that Hebrew words like 'sheol', simply meant -
the grave to the original inspired writers of the Scriptures
and "NOT" a place of torment. 'Hell' is an Anglo-Saxon word for grave
( a 'hell-grond' was a graveyard) and in the Old Testament
is usually translated from an original Hebrew word 'Sheol'
meaning pit or grave. The word 'hell' is "derived from the Saxon helan, to cover;
hence the covered or the invisible place."
-(Revised Easton's Bible Dictionary) The prevailing pagan idea, at the time of the translation
of the King James Version, about hell being a place
where the wicked are being tormented, had influenced
the translators' interpretation of the Hebrew word "Sheol". With the idea that hell is a place where the wicked
are being tormented, the translators could not use
the word 'hell' to translate 'Sheol' in every instance,
for to do so would have put some of the most faithful
servants of God in a place of torment. For example, the first time the Hebrew word 'Sheol' is used
is in Genesis 37:35 concerning Jacob - who was a faithful
servant of God. It reads :
"And all his [Jacob's] sons and all his daughters
rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted;
and he said, For I will go down into the grave [Sheol]
unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him."
- (Genesis 37:35) Jacob believed that his son Joseph had been killed
by a wild beast and said that he would go down
into Sheol unto his son. In this verse the translators used the word 'grave'
for "sheol" instead of hell. If they had used the word 'hell', it would have revealed
that Jacob believed his beloved son Joseph was in hell,
and that he expected to go to hell when he died too. Another example of the translators using the word 'grave'
for 'sheol' instead of 'hell' is found in Job 14:13. "O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave [Sheol],
that thou wouldest keep me secret,
until thy wrath be past,
that thou wouldest appoint me a set time,
and remember me!" Job was experiencing much suffering while he was alive,
which finally caused him to ask God to let him go to 'Sheol'
where he knew he would have rest. "There the wicked cease from troubling;
and there the weary be at rest."
-(Job 3:17) If the translators had used the word 'hell' in this case,
the readers would soon learn that the hell of the Old
Testament is not a place of torment, but a state of
unconsciousness, peace, and rest. Surely Job would not ask God to put him in a place
where his suffering would be increased, and would last
forever. Another place where 'Sheol' is defined for us is found
in Ecclesiastes chapter 9. "For the living know that they shall die:
but the dead know not any thing,
neither have they any more a reward;
for the memory of them is forgotten.
Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy,
is now perished; neither have they any more
a portion for ever in any thing
that is done under the sun..
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do,
do it with thy might;
for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge,
nor wisdom, in the grave [Sheol], whither thou goest."
- (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10) This text sheds wonderful light on the Old Testament hell.
We learn that there is no knowledge nor wisdom in hell,
but those who are there "know not any thing." Sheol is the only hell of the Old Testament,
it is the only hell that God's people were told about
for the first 4,000 years of history. Sheol is the only hell that the Jews were familiar with
when Christ came. The 'sheol' Hell of the Old Testament
was the place to which everyone went at death. It was a
place of rest from the woes of earthly life - It was the grave. "But exactly the same thing will finally
happen to all of us...We know that we will die,
but the dead don't know a thing."
(Ecclesiastes 9:2,5)(CEV)-BibleGateway
"Work hard at whatever you do.
You will soon go to [sheol],the world of the dead,
where no one works or thinks or reasons
or knows anything."
(Ecclesiastes 9:10)(CEV)-BibleGateway
"Man's fate is like that of the animals;
the same fate awaits them both:
As one dies, so dies the other.
All have the same breath;
man has no advantage over the animal...
All go to the same place;
all come from dust,
and to dust all return."
(Ecclesiastes 3:19,20)(NIV)-BibleGateway
The "belly of hell" signifies the grave.
-WebBible Encyclopedia
SHEOL : "or shol {sheh-ole'}; from 'sha'al' (7592);
Hades or the world of the dead,--grave, hell, pit."
-Strong's Hebrew Bible (7585)
HELL IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
WHAT ABOUT HADES ? 'Hades' is a Greek word. It belongs to Greek mythology,
and comes to us surrounded with heathen traditions.
The meaning that the Pagan Greeks put upon it
has no place in Scripture.
When we come to the New Testament, which was written
in Greek, we find two Greek words that were translated "hell."
One of these Greek words is equivalent
to the Old Testament 'Sheol'. That word is "Hades". Any doctrine of eternal torment or suffering in the afterlife
depends on the doctrine of soul immortality.
According to Dr. Raphael, this doctrine did not develop
until "the apocryphal period," and was
"a radically new idea that did not exist in biblical times."
- "Jewish Views of the Afterlife,"
by Dr. Simcah Paull Raphael (1994). (p. 83) The 'Hades' of the New Testament was the "Grave"
just as "Sheol" in the Old Testament was.
This is clear by the fact that in Acts 2:27
Peter quoted from a verse in the Old Testament "Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell [Hades],
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."
- (Acts 2:27) Peter was quoting from Psalm 16:10. "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell [Sheol];
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."
- (Psalm 16:10) When Peter quoted this Psalm, he used the Greek word
adhV (Hades) to translate the Hebrew word lwav (Sheol). Peter was talking about the death of Jesus Christ. From this we can see that when Christ died, He went to
the Old Testament 'sheol' hell. If the translators had
given us the word 'grave', then it would have shown that
Christ slept in the tomb waiting for Jehovah God to
resurrect him from death. This of course would have been
correct. "In the past
God overlooked such ignorance,
but now he commands
all people everywhere to repent.
For he has set a day
when he will judge the world with justice
by the man he has appointed.
He has given proof of this to all men
by "raising him from the dead"."
(Acts 17:30,31)(NIV)-BibleGateway The fact is that many translators used the word 'hell'
in this instance instead of the grave; which would have
been a more accurate translation. If we can accept the words quoted from Psalm 16
which prophetically teach that Jesus went to 'sheol'
(ie. the grave) when He died, then to be consistent
with Bible teaching, we must accept that Peter meant
the grave as well when He said that Jesus went to hades
when he quotes Psalm 16 in Acts 2:27. The fact is that the Sheol hell of the Old Testament
and the Hades hell of the New Testament both mean "grave."
WHAT ABOUT "GEHENNA" - THE LAKE OF FIRE ?
The other Greek word that was translated "hell"
in the New Testament is geenna (Gehenna). 'Gehenna' or 'The valley of the son of Hinnom'
which is what the Greek word means, was the rubbish tip
outside of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus
which was also used to burn the bodies of criminals
who had suffered capital punishment. "Gehenna" -
"The final place of punishment, evidently, is Gehenna,
the Valley of Hinno[m]... in biblical times had already become
the city dump, a refuse heap on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
Here the stench and smoke and fire
were a constant reminder to the inhabitants
of what happened to things that had served their purpose-
they were destroyed."
- Catholic periodical Commonweal
"Gehenna 'should be carefully distinguished from Hades (|hâidês|)
which is never used for the place of punishment,
but for the place of departed spirits,
without reference to their moral condition' "
- (Vincent)." (Taken from Robertson's New Testament
Word Pictures on Matthew 5:22) Referring to the final judgment John wrote, "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."
-(Revelation 20:13, 14) Hell, or the grave,
delivered up the dead that was in it.
Hell was cast into the lake of fire.
It is generally supposed that "the lake of fire" is hell,
but here we see that hell was cast into
the lake of fire to be destroyed.
The Lord says that He will destroy death
and hell (the grave) in "the lake of fire,"
which is called the "second death."
The 'second death' is a permanent place -
of "non - existence" from which there is no return.
"The talk of everlasting perdition(torment) is crazy.
It is not Christianity.
It was only in times past - that there were hell preachers
who from the pulpit - thundered about the devil
and the inextinguishable fire. - But that time is over."
- Danish pastor Kai Jensen
Hvor gaar vi hen (Where Do We Go?), p. 119. FIRE COMING FROM HEAVEN
RATHER THAN FROM HELL It actually seems that the Bible more often uses
the term "FIRE" as coming from God and Heaven:
See Gen 19:24; Ex 9:23; Numbers 11:1; Deut 4:11, 36; 9:3; 18:16; 1 Kings 18:24; 2 Ki 1:10, 12, 14; 2:11; 1 Chron 21:26; 2 Chron 7:1; Job 1:16; Ps 18:13; Ps 50:3; 68:2; 78:21; Isaiah 30:27; 42:25; Jer 5:14; 17:4; Joel 2:30; Luke 9:54; Lu 17:29; 2 Thess 1:7;2 Pet 3:12; Rev 10:1; 13:13; 20:9; Song of Solomon 8:6 Here are just a few examples:
"For, behold, Jehovah will come with fire,
and his chariots shall be like the whirlwind;
to render his anger with fierceness,
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
-Isaiah 66:15, ASV "And I will make them to pass with thine enemies
into a land which thou knowest not;
for a fire is kindled in mine anger,
which shall burn upon you.
- JER 15:14. ASV
"Jehovah hath accomplished his wrath,
he hath poured out his fierce anger;
And he hath kindled a fire in Zion,
which hath devoured the foundations thereof.
- LAM 4:11. ASV "Therefore wait ye for me, saith Jehovah,
until the day that I rise up to the prey;
for my determination is to gather the nations,
that I may assemble the kingdoms,
to pour upon them mine indignation,
even all my fierce anger;
for all the earth shall be devoured
with the fire of my jealousy.
- ZEPH 3:8. ASV "For Jehovah thy God is a devouring fire,
a jealous God."
- DEUT 4:24. ASV "for our God is a consuming fire."
- Heb 12:29. God's fiery judgment is reserved for ONE day only,
"the day of Jehovah:" "For, behold, the day cometh,
it burneth as a furnace;
and all the proud, and all that work wickedness,
shall be stubble; and the day that cometh
shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts,
that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."
- Mal 4:1 ASV "Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh,
cruel, with wrath and fierce anger;
to make the land a desolation,
and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it."
- Isa. 13:9 ASV EVEN CHRIST SPEAKS OF "HIS RETURN" --
AS THE EXECUTIONER OF JEHOVAH'S WILL --
AS A TIME OF "FIRE" AND DESTRUCTION "...in the last days ...
the present heavens and earth
are reserved for fire,
being kept for the day of judgment
and destruction of ungodly men.
...the day of the Lord
will come like a thief..."
(2Peter 3:3,7,10)(NIV)-BibleGateway "If we deliberately keep on sinning
after we have received the knowledge of the truth,
no sacrifice for sins is left,
but only a fearful expectation of judgment
and of raging fire
that will consume the enemies of God."
(Hebrews 10:26,27)(NIV)-BibleGateway "...This will happen when the Lord Jesus
is revealed from heaven in blazing fire
with his powerful angels.
He will punish those who do not know God
and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
They will be punished with everlasting destruction
and shut out from the presence of the Lord
and from the majesty of his power
on the day he comes to be glorified."
(2Thessalonians 1:7-10)(NIV)-BibleGateway "A third of mankind was killed
by the three plagues
of fire, smoke and sulfur..."
(Revelation 9:18)(NIV)-BibleGateway "And he performed great and miraculous signs,
even causing fire to come down
from heaven to earth
in full view of men."
(Revelation 13:13)(NIV)-BibleGateway "The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun,
and the sun was given power
to scorch people with fire. "
(Revelation 16:8)(NIV)-BibleGateway "...fire came down from heaven and devoured them."
(Revelation 20:9)(NIV)-BibleGateway
As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire,
so it will be at the end of the age."
(Matthew 13:14)(NIV)-BibleGateway "I have come to bring fire on the earth,
and how I wish it were already kindled! "
(Luke 12:49)(NIV)-BibleGateway "...the day Lot left Sodom,
fire and sulfur rained down from heaven
and destroyed them all.
It will be just like this
on the day the Son of Man is revealed."
(Luke 17:29,30)(NIV)-BibleGateway WHAT ARE THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS SAYING
ABOUT HELL ? "There are in fact so many strong biblical, doctrinal,
and logical arguments against the existence
of a literal hell that this question naturally arises:
Why do the churches teach it and why do people often believe it?"
- U.S. Catholic magazine "It has become painfully apparent
that the 'Christian' doctrine which has yielded
the most poisonous fruits is the teaching
of a literal hell. "
- The minister, Robert Short, U.S. Catholic magazine "Only if the teaching of hell were true
would the churches be justified in retaining it.
And a growing number of theologians-both Catholic
and Protestant-are now saying it is not true.
If it is not true, then the churches have no time
to lose in loudly and clearly saying this to the world."
Jehovah's Witnesses had a hundred-year head start
in "clearly saying this to the world."
-U.S. Catholic, April 1980, pp. 37-40.
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