Rev 20 - Eternal Life is based upon the Resurrection of the Dead and the Coming Day of Judgment.                               

             And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Hebrews 9.27

 

“The Power of tradition is such that scripture and historical facts rarely sway those who are guided by it”

 

Strong’s Concordance Study

 

HELL = O.T. Strong’s 7585 = “ol” = grave, by extension, realm of death, deepest depths; transliterate “Sheol”

          = N.T. Strong’s     86 = Hades, the grave, the place of the dead (10 times)

          = N.T. Strong’s 1067 = Gehenna, hell, Valley of Hinnom

     = N.T. Strong’s 5020= Tartaroo =send to hell, hold captive = a place of torment lower than hades (the grave) in Greek and Jewish literature but not found in the N.T. (1 time; 2 Peter 2.4) Final judgement in Lake of Fire

 

Grave = O.T. Strong’s 7585 = “ol” = grave, by extension, realm of death, deepest depths; transliterate “Sheol”

            = 6919 = burial site, tomb, grave

            = 6605 = “patah” = open, to be opened, to loosen, release, take off

            = 6900 = Tomb, grave, burial, sepulcher (2 times)

            = 3419 Strong’s N.T. = tomb, grave, sepulcher (4 times)

Pit = hell - Gehenna - the grave, realm of the dead.

 

Hell= gehenna=hell=Valley of Hinnom Strong’s 1067= Matthew 5.22; 29-30; 10.28; 18.9; 23.15; 23.23. Mark 9.43-47. Luke 12.5. James 3.6.

Hell=Hades= the grave, the place of the dead (Strong’s 86). = Matthew 11.23; 16.18. Luke 10.15; 16.23. Acts 2.27; 31, Rev 1.18; 6.8; 20.13; 20.14

 

Pit = hell - Gehenna - the grave, realm of the dead.

 

What is Hell?

 

Even if you are a Christian, you may go to hell. Some of your loved ones are already in hell. But don’t be alarmed. “Hell” is not what most people have imagined!

 

Most people assume one of two extremes concerning “hell.” One group totally denies that it exists. It is passed off as an ancient superstition with no bearing on modern life. The other group pictures hell as a terrible place of never-ending torment where the devil rules and his demons gleefully “roast” sinners like meat on a bonfire. There is bitter weeping and wailing, agonized cursing, shrieks and screams from those in eternal torment—according to this concept.

 

Before we examine the Bible to see whether the common ideas about hell could possibly be true, let us consider where this concept of hell, if true, would lead us.

 

There are over 7 billion people on this earth. The most populous lands are China, India and other parts of Asia. In spite of the efforts of Western missionaries, literally billions of people on the Earth have never so much as heard the only name by which, the Bible tells us, men may be saved: “Jesus Christ”! (Acts 4:12).

 

If all the “unsaved” go immediately to a fiery hell at death, then multiple billions of people who have ever lived have been consigned to this terrible punishment without ever having had a chance to be redeemed by Yeshua‘s salvation! What is the meaning of the second death or resurrection? Can you really believe this is the method an all-wise, all-merciful, loving God is using to work out His purpose here below?

 

What is the truth? Christ Spoke of “Hell Fire”

 

1. What punishment did Christ warn would ultimately befall those who refuse to quit sinning? Mark 9:43...If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—

 

Comment: Hell is an English word. When Mark recorded Christ’s words, he wrote them in the Greek language. The Greek word translated “hell,” which Mark was inspired to write down, is gehenna. In this verse Christ says the sinner is “to go into hell, into the fire,” it follows then, that those who go to gehenna will receive punishment by fire.

Keep in mind, that Christ associated the Greek word gehenna with fire.

 

2. How did Christ reemphasize what He said about “hell fire”? Verse 47...And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire—

 

Comment: Again, the Greek word Mark used in this verse is gehenna. This word is derived from the name of the narrow, rocky Valley of Hinnom, which lies just outside Jerusalem. It was the place where refuse from the city was burned up. Trash, filth and the dead bodies of animals and despised criminals were thrown into the fires of gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnom. Ordinarily, everything thrown into this valley was destroyed by fire—burned up. Christ used gehenna to picture the fate of unrepentant sinners!

Two Different “Hells”

 

In many passages in the New Testament where we see the word hell, the original Greek word is gehenna—but not always. Often, the Greek word translated “hell” is hades, which does not refer to fire at all, but to a grave—a hole in the ground. Yet the translators have confused and obscured the two entirely separate meanings of these words by indiscriminately rendering them both as hell. Let’s study the proof. Let the Bible interpret itself….

 

1. What one thing befalls both men and beasts? Ecclesiastes 3:19-20... For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.

 

Gen 3.19...In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

 

2. What place does God say man goes to when he dies? Ecclesiastes 9:10... Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

Did Job realize he would go to the grave after death? Job 17:13...If I wait for the grave as my house, If I make my bed in the darkness….Ref: Grave=Strong’s 7585=Sheol.

3. Jesus Christ was “made flesh.” John 1:14. Did Christ take upon Himself the same mortal flesh of which we are composed? Hebrews 2:14. Didn’t He also have to go to the grave as other mortal men do? Acts 2:31...he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades (the grave), nor did His flesh see corruption.

 

Comment: The original Greek word translated into the English hell in this verse is hades. Hades simply means the grave, as its usage in this verse clearly shows! Jesus’ “flesh” (body) did not see corruption (in other words, it did not decompose in the grave) because He was resurrected after three days.

 

We can plainly see that the English word hell can have different meanings! Hades (which can also be translated as “grave,” as in 1 Corinthians 15:55) has a completely different meaning than gehenna. Whenever you’re in doubt about the intended meaning of the word hell in the New Testament, look it up in a concordance, such as Strong’s or Young’s, to see which Greek word it was translated from, and hence its true meaning. SEE ABOVE AND LAST PAGE.

 

4. When a person dies and is buried in his grave, does he know anything? Ecclesiastes 9:5...For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.

 

When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Ps 146.4

 

…the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Eccl 12.7

 

So man lies down, and rises not till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. Job 14.12

Comment: When people die, they go to hades, or the grave, where they are aware of nothing! But, when do people go to gehenna fire for punishment? Let’s see when and how the dead will be judged by God.

Next: The Resurrection to Judgment