The truth about Hell

I have done much research on this topic. I found out that many Christians believe in this too. This topic could change how many many Christians view Hell and the afterlife. I wanted to type this blog for a while now, but I was not sure if I was right. I am still willing to accept that I am wrong and I want someone to try to disprove me. I guess I pray that God shows everyone the truth, even if I am wrong, to show me the truth.


The true name of Hell (grave, pit), is the Hebrew word "Sheol". This word means grave or pit, as I said. When people died, righteous or un-righteous, they went into the grave. They await there in an unconscious sleep until the resurrection and the return of Christ.


These are verses describing Sheol:

Jacob, son of Isaac said "I will go down into the grave (Sheol) unto my son mourning." - Genesis 37:35.

He said this when he found out his son was killed by wild animals (He was really sold into slavery). Jacob not only expected to go into Sheol, but he was sure his son was in there too, because he thought he was dead.

Lets look at another example:

Job, a prophet of God was so miserable that he prayed to go to Sheol.

"O, that thou wouldest hide me in the grave (Sheol),.... all the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come, .... Thou wilt call and I will answer thee. - Job 14:13-15

Was Job praying to go to a Hell of torment? Certainly not. He was praying he would die and he knew he would be out of his pain until God would call him back to life in the kingdom.

Another example in the Old Testament:

"I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues, O Sheol, I will be thy destruction." - Hosea - 13:14

This condition of death itself will be destroyed.



We go to sleep, in the grave when we die:


"But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up. So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." -Job 14:10-12

"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." - Daniel 12:2

"The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence." - Psalm 115:17


Did Jesus go to Hell?

The apostles creed and other sources say so, but once again, what is hell? Did Jesus, a sinless man, God in the flesh go to a place of fire and torment? Certainly not. He simply went into the grave and died until He was resurrected.

Lets look at the New testament now. The New Testament contains two different words that are not used so often. They are "Gehenna" & "Tartarus".

Tartarus:

"God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (Tartarus in Greek), and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment. - 2 Peter 2:4

This is tell us that the fallen angels, that have rebelled are chained up until Judgment day.

Tartarus can be described as the deepest place in Hell (Sheol); a giant pit.

When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;

The other word, Gehenna does speak of fire and brimstone. Lets look at a verse.

"If thy hand offend thee. cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell (Gehenna), into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not and the fire is quenched. Mark 9:43-44

Jesus' audience recognized that this wasn't suppose to be taken literally, but was a figure of speech. Jesus' audience knew that this was a real place.

The Greek word Gehenna is a transliteration of the Hebrew word Ge-Hinnom = Vally of Hinnom. In Jesus' day, the Vally of Hinnom was a place outside of Jerusalem. It was a garbage dump that burned. Whatever was not burned the worms would eat. When the people in Jesus audience heard the word Gehenna, they knew it meant complete destruction, and this is what that verse is clarifying.


Conclusion: When we die our breath of life returns to God. We are no longer a living being. We "sleep" in our graves until the last day, when we are resurrected. Judgment will then be upon us. Either we will go to the lake of fire, or Heaven.


God bless.