To Hell and Back
This is a hard topic but seems to me comes down to translations of certain Hebrew- Greek words….eg The Hebrew word “Sheol,” seems to be incorrectly translated as “hell” in the King James Version of the Bible, and actually means “the grave,” not “hell” as we think of it today. Then the lake of fire which is the second death seems to imply total destruction not eternal punishment. It also implies that Death and Satan/fallen angels get thrown in their…but not people? A few verses that support this notion are:
All flesh shall see the salvation of God. (Luke3:6)
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces. (Isaiah. 25: 8)
When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself. (John 12:32)
I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God. (Romans 8:38-39)
For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. (1 Cor. 15:21-22).
Hence my pondering about hell. Did it arrive in the bible translations later due to Constantine or Greek notion of eternal hell. What did the first church believe about hell? Finally the Bible tells us human beings to love and forgive our enemies….I pose the question can God do any thing less? The Bible also tells us to not let the sun go down on our anger— so how can God hold wrath forever ? Is not Christ the essence of Love and wanted all to be reconciled to God because God is love. So where is their room for hell as it applies to humans? Im not a follower of universalism by the way but I do have a lot of questions and I do believe the mists of time have clouded and influenced some of the writings in the current translations of the bible.
An Investigation into the Biblical Concept of Hell – Justin Steckbauer
- To Hell and Back– Soulcare Ministries
- The HELL You Say! – Nathan Jennings
- Forbidden Fruit = Hell’s Flames– Michael Wilson
- How long does hell last?– K.W. Leslie
- The problem of those unable to Love, or the question of hell as a reality– Bram Cools
- Hell No!– Mike Edwards
- Five Misconceptions about Annihilationism– Wesley Rostoll
- Knowing Who You Trust– Tim Nichols
- Heretic (Belated) Fridays – Bradley Jersak – Her Gates Will Never Be Shut– Scott Sloan
- Hell – A Place of Passionate Desire – Alan Stevens
- Christians Should Go to Hell– Jeremy Myers
- Oh, Hell, NO! – Liz Dyer
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I am so glad you brought up this idea that “hell” might not be a good translation of any Greek or Hebrew word that sometimes gets translated as “hell.” You ask some great questions there at the end which are important for anyone to think about before they teach on hell.
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Lot of good questions here. I think you are right to say that our modern concept of hell was influenced by Greek philosophy. The concept of the immortal soul is irrefutably Platonic.
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