HELL
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8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Definition of Hell in the Bible
The two most common words for hell are hades and gehēnna. Hades was the Greek word for the realm of the dead, but Jesus uses it more specifically to refer to a place of torment (Luke 16:23), a place that is the opposite of heaven (Matt 11:23). Originally gehēnna referred to Hinnom Valley south of Jerusalem, where centuries earlier child sacrifice was practiced (2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 7:32). By the time of Jesus, gehēnna was a picture of hell, such that Jesus warns "fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell [gehēnna]" (Matthew 10:28).
What Did Jesus Actually Teach about Hell?
We can summarize it like this: hell is the place of conscious, eternal torment where people experience God's punishment for their sin. Yes, hell is "the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt 25:41), but also for those who join them in their rebellion against God (Matt 11:20–24). The horror of hell is such that Jesus says, "if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire" (Mark 9:43). For those who do not enter the narrow door of faith and repentance in Jesus (Luke 13:24) a place of weeping and gnashing teeth awaits them (Luke 13:28).
At the end of human history, everyone will appear before Jesus Christ, where he will divide humanity into "sheep" (those who demonstrate their faith in Jesus through their good works) and the "goats" (those who did not trust in Jesus Christ). The sheep will receive eternal life, while the goats "will go away into eternal punishment" (Matt 25:46).
Jesus uses strong language about hell because it is real and unspeakably horrible. But he not only warned of the dangers of hell; he offered the way out. He lived a life of perfect obedience, died a sacrificial death on the cross for our sins, and rose from the dead to defeat sin, death, and the devil. He invites everyone to trust in him to receive eternal life rather than the eternal punishment that everyone deserves for their sin (John 3:16-17).
Aramaic Translation to English
Book of Life vs Book of the Dead
Levels of Hell
While all three literary works are excellent, the Inferno captured the world’s imagination in an enduring way. Here, the circles of hell are laid out as nine circles, each punishing greater wickedness, until Dante and his guide, the poet Virgil, reach the center of the earth:
- Limbo: The unbaptized and the virtuous pagans; similar to earth, but sufferers live in sorrow for being forever separated from God.
- Lust: People who committed lust-driven sins like adultery and fornication; the souls are blown about in a terrible storm without rest.
- Gluttony: The overindulgent sinners; forced to lie in freezing slush.
- Avarice and Prodigality: The place for the greedy and the ungenerous; they must smash heavy weights together again and again.
- Wrath and Sullenness: Those who were always angry or gloomy; the wrathful must engage in eternal fights while the sullen are always sunk beneath the river Styx.
- Heresy: These souls spoke or acted against God or the church; trapped in flaming tombs.
- Violence: Those who committed violence against others, property, themselves, as well as con artists; immersed in boiling blood.
- Fraud: All types of fraud are punished here including seducers, false prophets, and sorcerers; they run back and forth while being whipped by demons.
- Treason: Here, Judas, Brutus, and Cassius are in the jaws of Satan, frozen in a lake of ice.
Dante’s version of hell punishes the unrepentant sinner in a manner that is fitting their sins. For those who confessed and repented before they died, their souls labor in purgatory to be freed of their sins – eventually.
This version of hell is more influenced by Aristotle than by the Bible, with the punishment fitting the specific crime, as well as by implying that people are only guilty of one specific sin over all others. In fact, Dante’s entire trilogy is not meant to be taken literally. It is an allegory for the Christian journey towards God.
The inferno is where the soul recognizes its own sin, rejecting it and turning away from it and towards God. Dante emphasized this by having the journey through hell being the only journey downwards; after the ninth circle, the other two climb upwards. Purgatory represents the penitent Christian life, striving to repent of sin and be more holy. Paradise is the achievement of going to God, and finally ascending to be with Him.
While it is a powerful image, the inferno of Dante is not an actual depiction of hell, and should not be taken that way.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead
The Hebrew Book of Life
SYNONYMS FOR HELL
How Many Times does it Appear
Aramaic Bible
Verse Comparison
LUKE 16:23
Lukas 16:23
Orthodox Jewish Bible
23 And lifting up his eynayim in Sheol, where he was in the torments of agony, he sees Avraham Avinu off in the distance and Elazar at tish at his kheyk (bosom).
Luke 16:23
Wycliffe Bible
23 And he raised up his eyes, when he was in torments, and saw Abraham afar, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luke 16:23
1599 Geneva Bible
23 And being in hell in torments, [a]he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luke 16:23
Holman Christian Standard Bible
23 And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side.
Luke 16:23
King James Version
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luke 16:23
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition
23 In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.[a]