Hell - A Place Of Torment?
Definition: The word "hell" is found in many Bible translations. In the same verses other translations read "the grave," "the world of the dead," and so forth. Other Bibles simply transliter ate the original-language words that are sometimes rendered -hell"; that is, they express them with the letters of our alpha-bet but leave the words untranslated. What are those words? The Hebrew she'ohl' and its Greek equivalent hai'des, which refer, not to an individual burial place, but to the common grave of dead mankind; also the Greek ge'en-na, which is used as a symbol of eternal destruction. However, both in Christendom and in many non-Christian religions it is taught that hell is a place inhabited by demons and where the wicked, after death, are punished (and some believe that this is with torment).
Does the Bible indicate whether the dead experience pain?
Eccl. 9:5,10: "The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all... All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol,* the place to which you are going." (If they are conscious of nothing, they obviously feel no pain.) (*"Sheol," AS, RS, NE, JB; "the grave," KJ, Kx; "hell," Dy; "the world of the dead," TEV.)
Ps. 146:4: "His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts* do perish."
(*"Thoughts," KJ, 145:4 in Dy; "schemes," JB; "plans," RS, TEV.)
Does the Bible indicate that the soul survives the death of the body?
Ezek. 18:4: "The soul* that is sinning—it itself will die." (*"Soul," KJ, Dy, RS, NE, Kx; "the man," JB; "the person," TEV.)
"The concept of 'soul,' meaning a purely spiritual, imma terial reality, separate from the 'body,' . . . does not exist in the Bible."—La Parole de Dieu (Paris, 1960), Georges Auzou, professor of Sacred Scripture, Rouen Seminary, France, p. 128.
"Although the Hebrew word nefesh [in the Hebrew Scrip tures] is frequently translated as 'soul,' it would be inaccu rate to read into it a Greek meaning. Nefesh ... is never conceived of as operating separately from the body. In the New Testament the Greek word psyche is often translated as 'soul' but again should not be readily understood to have the meaning the word had for the Greek philosophers. It usually means life,' or Vitality,* or. at •roes, "the self.'* —The Encyclopedia Americana (1977 L 25. p. 236.
What sort of people go to the Bible hell?
Does the Bible say that the wicked go to hell?
Ps. 9:17, KJ: "The wicked shall be turned into hell,* and all the nations that forget God." (*"Hell," 9:18 in Dy; "death," TEV; "the place of death," Kx; "Sheol," AS, RS, NE, JB, NW.)
Does the Bible also say that upright people go to hell?
Job 14:13, Dy: "[Job prayed: ] Who will grant me this, that thou mayst protect me in hell,* and hide me till thy wrath pass, and appoint me a time when thou wilt remember me?" (God himself said that Job was "a man blameless and up right, fearing God and turning aside from bad."—Job 1:8. \ (*"The grave," KJ; "the world of the dead," TEV; "Sheol," AS, 38, NE, JB, NW.)
Acts 2:25-27, KJ: "David speaketh concerning him [Jesus I Christ], . . . Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,* neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." (The fact that God did not "leave" Jesus in hell implies that Jesus was in hell, or Hades, at least for a time, does it not?) (•"Hell," Dy; "death," NE; "the place of death," Kx; "the world of the dead," TEV; "Hades," AS, RS, JB, NW.)
Does anyone ever get out of the Bible hell?
Rev. 20:13,14, KJ: "The sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell* delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire." (So the dead will be delivered from hell. Notice also that hell is not the same as the lake of fire but will be cast into the lake of fire.) (*"Hell," Dy,Kx; "the world of the dead," TEV; "Hades," NE, AS, RS, JB, NW.)
Why is there confusion as to what the Bible says about hell?
"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 clearup this confusion and miscon ception."—The Encyclopedia Americana (1942), Vol. XIV, p. 81.
Translators have allowed their personal beliefs to color their work instead of being consistent in their rendering of [ the original-language words. For example: (1) rendered she'ohl' as "hell," "the grave," and the pit";The King James Version hai'des is therein rendered both "hell" and "grave"; ge'en-na is also translated "hell." (2) Today's English Version transliterates hai'des as "Hades" and also renders it as "hell" and "the world of the dead." But besides rendering "hell" from hai'des it uses that same translation for ge'en-na. (3) The Jerusalem Bible transliterates hai'des six times, but in other passages it translates it as "hell" and as "the underworld." It also translates ge'en-na as "hell," as it does hai'des in two instances. Thus the exact meanings of the original-language words have been obscured.
Is there eternal punishment for the wicked?
Matt. 25:46, KJ: "These shall go away into everlasting punishment ["lopping off," Int; Greek, ko'la-sin]: but the righteous into life eternal." (The Emphatic Diaglott reads "cutting-off" instead of "punishment." A footnote states: "Kolasin ... is derived from kolazoo, which signifies, 1. To cut off; as lopping off branches of trees, to prune. 2. To restrain, to repress. ... 3. To chastise, to punish. To cut off an individual from life, or society, or even to restrain, is esteemed as punishment;—hence has arisen this third met aphorical use of the word. The primary signification has been adopted, because it agrees better with the second member of the sentence, thus preserving the force and beauty of the antithesis. The righteous go to life, the wicked to the cutting off from life, or death. See 2 Thess. 1.9.")
2 Thess. 1:9, RS: "They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction* and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might." (""Eternal ruin,"NAB, NE; “'lost eternally," JB; “condemn them to eternal punishment," Kx; "eternal punishment in destruction," Dy.) Jude 7, KJ: "Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." (The fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah ceased burning thousands of years ago. But the effect of that fire has been lasting; the cities have not been rebuilt. God's judgment, however, was against not merely those cities but also their wicked inhabitants. What happened to them is a warning example. At Jesus says that they were "destroyed"; Luke 17:29, Jude 7 shows that the destruction was eternal.)
What is the meaning of the 'eternal torment' referred to in Revelation?
Rev. 14:9-11; 20:10, KJ: "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment [Greek, basa-ni-smou'] ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
What is the 'torment' to which these texts refer?
It is noteworthy that at Revelation 11:10 (KJ) reference is made to 'prophets that torment those dwelling on the earth.' Such torment results from humiliating exposure by the messages that these prophets proclaim. At Revelation 14:9-11 (KJ) worshipers of the symbolic "beast and his image" are said to be "tormented with fire and brimstone." This cannot refer to conscious torment after death because "the dead know not any thing." (Eccl. 9:5, KJ) Then, what causes them to experience such torment while they are still alive? It is the proclamation by God's servants that worshipers of the “beast and his image" will experience second death, which is represented by "the lake which burneth with fire and brim stone." The smoke, associated with their fiery destruction, ascends forever because the destruction will be eternal and will never be forgotten. When Revelation 20:10 says that the Devil is to experience 'torment forever and ever' in "the : lake of fire and brimstone," what does that mean? Revela tion 21:8 (KJ) says clearly that "the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone" means "the second death." So the Devil's being "tormented" there forever means that there will be no relief for him; he will be held under restraint forever, actually in eternal death. This use of the word "torment" (from the Greek ba'sa-nos) reminds one of its use at Matthew 18:34, where the same basic Greek word is applied to a 'jailer.'—RS, AT, ED, NW.
What is the 'fiery Gehenna' to which Jesus referred?
Reference to Gehenna appears 12 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Five times it is directly associated with fire. Translators have rendered the Greek expression ge'en-nan tou py-ros' as "hell fire" (KJ, Dy), "fires of hell" (NE), "fiery pit" (AT), and "fires of Gehenna" (NAB).
Historical background: The Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) was outside the walls of Jerusalem. For a time it was the site of idolatrous worship, including child sacrifice. In the first century Gehenna was being used as the incinerator for the filth of Jerusalem. Bodies of dead animals were thrown into the valley to be consumed in the fires, to which sulfur, or brimstone, was added to assist the burning. Also bodies of executed criminals, who were considered undeserving of burial in a memorial tomb, were thrown into Gehenna. Thus, at Matthew 5:29,30, Jesus spoke of the casting of one's "whole body" into Gehenna. If the body fell into the constantly burning fire it was consumed, but if it landed on a ledge of the deep ravine its putrefying flesh became infested with the ever-present worms, or maggots. (Mark 9:47, 48) Living humans were not pitched into Gehenna; so it was not a place of conscious torment.
At Matthew 10:28, Jesus warned his hearers to "be in fear of him that can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." What does it mean? Notice that there is no mention here of torment in the fires of Gehenna; rather, he says to 'fear him that can destroy in Gehenna.' By referring to the "soul" separately, Jesus here emphasizes that God can destroy all of a person's life prospects; thus there is no hope of resurrection for him. So, the references to the 'fiery Gehenna' have the same meaning as 'the lake of fire' of Revelation 21: 8, namely, destruction, "second death."
What does the Bible say the penalty for sin is?
Rom. 6:23: "The wages sin pays is death."
After one's death, is he still subject to further punishment for his sins?
Rom. 6:7: "He who has died has been acquitted from his sin."
Is eternal torment of the wicked compatible with Cod's personality?
Jer. 7:31: "They [apostate Judeans] have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart." (If it never came into God's heart, surely he does not have and use such a thing on a larger scale.)
Illustration: What would you think of a parent who held his child's hand over a fire to punish the child for wrong doing? "God is love." (1 John 4:8) Would he do what no right-minded human parent would do? Certainly not!
By what Jesus said about the rich man and Lazarus, did Jesus teach torment of the wicked after death?
Is the account, at Luke 16:19-81, literal or merely an illustration of something else? The Jerusalem Bible, in a footnote, acknowledges that it is a "parable in story form without reference to any historical personage." If taken literally, it would mean that those enjoying divine favor could all fit at the bosom of one man, Abraham; that the water on one's fingertip would not be evaporated by the fire of Hades; that a mere drop of water would bring relief to one suffering there. Does that sound reasonable to you? If it were literal, it would conflict with other parts of the Bible. If the Bible were thus contradictory, would a lover of truth use it as a basis for his faith? But the Bible does not contradict itself.
What does the parable mean?
The "rich man" represented the Pharisees. (See verse 14.) The beggar Lazarus repre sented the common Jewish people who were despised by the Pharisees but who repented and became followers of Jesus. (See Luke 18:11; John 7:49; Matthew 21:31, 32.) Their deaths were also symbolic, representing a change in circum stances. Thus, the formerly despised ones came into a posi tion of divine favor, and the formerly seemingly favored ones were rejected by God, while being tormented by the judgment messages delivered by the ones whom they had despised.—Acts 5:33; 7:54.
What is the origin of the teaching of hellfire?
In ancient Babylonian and Assyrian beliefs the "nether world ... is pictured as a place full of horrors, and is pre sided over by gods and demons of great strength and fierce ness." (The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, Boston, 1898, Morris Jastrow, Jr., p. 581) Early evidence of the fiery aspect of Christendom's hell is found in the religion of ancient Egypt. (The Book of the Dead, New Hyde Park, N.Y., 1960, with introduction by E. A. Wallis Budge, pp. 144, 149, 151, 153, 161)
Buddhism, which dates back to the 6th century B.C.E., in time came to feature both hot and cold hells. (The Encyclopedia Americana, 1977, Vol. 14, p. 68) Depictions of hell portrayed in Catholic churches in Italy have been traced to Etruscan roots.—La civilta etrusca (Milan, 1979), Werner Keller, p. 389.
But the real roots of this God-dishonoring doctrine go much deeper. The fiendish concepts associated with a hell of torment slander God and originate with the chief slanderer of God (the Devil, which name means "Slanderer"), the one whom Jesus Christ called "the father of the lie."—John 8:44.
Definition: The word "hell" is found in many Bible translations. In the same verses other translations read "the grave," "the world of the dead," and so forth. Other Bibles simply transliter ate the original-language words that are sometimes rendered -hell"; that is, they express them with the letters of our alpha-bet but leave the words untranslated. What are those words? The Hebrew she'ohl' and its Greek equivalent hai'des, which refer, not to an individual burial place, but to the common grave of dead mankind; also the Greek ge'en-na, which is used as a symbol of eternal destruction. However, both in Christendom and in many non-Christian religions it is taught that hell is a place inhabited by demons and where the wicked, after death, are punished (and some believe that this is with torment).
Does the Bible indicate whether the dead experience pain?
Eccl. 9:5,10: "The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all... All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol,* the place to which you are going." (If they are conscious of nothing, they obviously feel no pain.) (*"Sheol," AS, RS, NE, JB; "the grave," KJ, Kx; "hell," Dy; "the world of the dead," TEV.)
Ps. 146:4: "His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts* do perish."
(*"Thoughts," KJ, 145:4 in Dy; "schemes," JB; "plans," RS, TEV.)
Does the Bible indicate that the soul survives the death of the body?
Ezek. 18:4: "The soul* that is sinning—it itself will die." (*"Soul," KJ, Dy, RS, NE, Kx; "the man," JB; "the person," TEV.)
"The concept of 'soul,' meaning a purely spiritual, imma terial reality, separate from the 'body,' . . . does not exist in the Bible."—La Parole de Dieu (Paris, 1960), Georges Auzou, professor of Sacred Scripture, Rouen Seminary, France, p. 128.
"Although the Hebrew word nefesh [in the Hebrew Scrip tures] is frequently translated as 'soul,' it would be inaccu rate to read into it a Greek meaning. Nefesh ... is never conceived of as operating separately from the body. In the New Testament the Greek word psyche is often translated as 'soul' but again should not be readily understood to have the meaning the word had for the Greek philosophers. It usually means life,' or Vitality,* or. at •roes, "the self.'* —The Encyclopedia Americana (1977 L 25. p. 236.
What sort of people go to the Bible hell?
Does the Bible say that the wicked go to hell?
Ps. 9:17, KJ: "The wicked shall be turned into hell,* and all the nations that forget God." (*"Hell," 9:18 in Dy; "death," TEV; "the place of death," Kx; "Sheol," AS, RS, NE, JB, NW.)
Does the Bible also say that upright people go to hell?
Job 14:13, Dy: "[Job prayed: ] Who will grant me this, that thou mayst protect me in hell,* and hide me till thy wrath pass, and appoint me a time when thou wilt remember me?" (God himself said that Job was "a man blameless and up right, fearing God and turning aside from bad."—Job 1:8. \ (*"The grave," KJ; "the world of the dead," TEV; "Sheol," AS, 38, NE, JB, NW.)
Acts 2:25-27, KJ: "David speaketh concerning him [Jesus I Christ], . . . Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,* neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." (The fact that God did not "leave" Jesus in hell implies that Jesus was in hell, or Hades, at least for a time, does it not?) (•"Hell," Dy; "death," NE; "the place of death," Kx; "the world of the dead," TEV; "Hades," AS, RS, JB, NW.)
Does anyone ever get out of the Bible hell?
Rev. 20:13,14, KJ: "The sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell* delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire." (So the dead will be delivered from hell. Notice also that hell is not the same as the lake of fire but will be cast into the lake of fire.) (*"Hell," Dy,Kx; "the world of the dead," TEV; "Hades," NE, AS, RS, JB, NW.)
Why is there confusion as to what the Bible says about hell?
"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 clearup this confusion and miscon ception."—The Encyclopedia Americana (1942), Vol. XIV, p. 81.
Translators have allowed their personal beliefs to color their work instead of being consistent in their rendering of [ the original-language words. For example: (1) rendered she'ohl' as "hell," "the grave," and the pit";The King James Version hai'des is therein rendered both "hell" and "grave"; ge'en-na is also translated "hell." (2) Today's English Version transliterates hai'des as "Hades" and also renders it as "hell" and "the world of the dead." But besides rendering "hell" from hai'des it uses that same translation for ge'en-na. (3) The Jerusalem Bible transliterates hai'des six times, but in other passages it translates it as "hell" and as "the underworld." It also translates ge'en-na as "hell," as it does hai'des in two instances. Thus the exact meanings of the original-language words have been obscured.
Is there eternal punishment for the wicked?
Matt. 25:46, KJ: "These shall go away into everlasting punishment ["lopping off," Int; Greek, ko'la-sin]: but the righteous into life eternal." (The Emphatic Diaglott reads "cutting-off" instead of "punishment." A footnote states: "Kolasin ... is derived from kolazoo, which signifies, 1. To cut off; as lopping off branches of trees, to prune. 2. To restrain, to repress. ... 3. To chastise, to punish. To cut off an individual from life, or society, or even to restrain, is esteemed as punishment;—hence has arisen this third met aphorical use of the word. The primary signification has been adopted, because it agrees better with the second member of the sentence, thus preserving the force and beauty of the antithesis. The righteous go to life, the wicked to the cutting off from life, or death. See 2 Thess. 1.9.")
2 Thess. 1:9, RS: "They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction* and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might." (""Eternal ruin,"NAB, NE; “'lost eternally," JB; “condemn them to eternal punishment," Kx; "eternal punishment in destruction," Dy.) Jude 7, KJ: "Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." (The fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah ceased burning thousands of years ago. But the effect of that fire has been lasting; the cities have not been rebuilt. God's judgment, however, was against not merely those cities but also their wicked inhabitants. What happened to them is a warning example. At Jesus says that they were "destroyed"; Luke 17:29, Jude 7 shows that the destruction was eternal.)
What is the meaning of the 'eternal torment' referred to in Revelation?
Rev. 14:9-11; 20:10, KJ: "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment [Greek, basa-ni-smou'] ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
What is the 'torment' to which these texts refer?
It is noteworthy that at Revelation 11:10 (KJ) reference is made to 'prophets that torment those dwelling on the earth.' Such torment results from humiliating exposure by the messages that these prophets proclaim. At Revelation 14:9-11 (KJ) worshipers of the symbolic "beast and his image" are said to be "tormented with fire and brimstone." This cannot refer to conscious torment after death because "the dead know not any thing." (Eccl. 9:5, KJ) Then, what causes them to experience such torment while they are still alive? It is the proclamation by God's servants that worshipers of the “beast and his image" will experience second death, which is represented by "the lake which burneth with fire and brim stone." The smoke, associated with their fiery destruction, ascends forever because the destruction will be eternal and will never be forgotten. When Revelation 20:10 says that the Devil is to experience 'torment forever and ever' in "the : lake of fire and brimstone," what does that mean? Revela tion 21:8 (KJ) says clearly that "the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone" means "the second death." So the Devil's being "tormented" there forever means that there will be no relief for him; he will be held under restraint forever, actually in eternal death. This use of the word "torment" (from the Greek ba'sa-nos) reminds one of its use at Matthew 18:34, where the same basic Greek word is applied to a 'jailer.'—RS, AT, ED, NW.
What is the 'fiery Gehenna' to which Jesus referred?
Reference to Gehenna appears 12 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Five times it is directly associated with fire. Translators have rendered the Greek expression ge'en-nan tou py-ros' as "hell fire" (KJ, Dy), "fires of hell" (NE), "fiery pit" (AT), and "fires of Gehenna" (NAB).
Historical background: The Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) was outside the walls of Jerusalem. For a time it was the site of idolatrous worship, including child sacrifice. In the first century Gehenna was being used as the incinerator for the filth of Jerusalem. Bodies of dead animals were thrown into the valley to be consumed in the fires, to which sulfur, or brimstone, was added to assist the burning. Also bodies of executed criminals, who were considered undeserving of burial in a memorial tomb, were thrown into Gehenna. Thus, at Matthew 5:29,30, Jesus spoke of the casting of one's "whole body" into Gehenna. If the body fell into the constantly burning fire it was consumed, but if it landed on a ledge of the deep ravine its putrefying flesh became infested with the ever-present worms, or maggots. (Mark 9:47, 48) Living humans were not pitched into Gehenna; so it was not a place of conscious torment.
At Matthew 10:28, Jesus warned his hearers to "be in fear of him that can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." What does it mean? Notice that there is no mention here of torment in the fires of Gehenna; rather, he says to 'fear him that can destroy in Gehenna.' By referring to the "soul" separately, Jesus here emphasizes that God can destroy all of a person's life prospects; thus there is no hope of resurrection for him. So, the references to the 'fiery Gehenna' have the same meaning as 'the lake of fire' of Revelation 21: 8, namely, destruction, "second death."
What does the Bible say the penalty for sin is?
Rom. 6:23: "The wages sin pays is death."
After one's death, is he still subject to further punishment for his sins?
Rom. 6:7: "He who has died has been acquitted from his sin."
Is eternal torment of the wicked compatible with Cod's personality?
Jer. 7:31: "They [apostate Judeans] have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart." (If it never came into God's heart, surely he does not have and use such a thing on a larger scale.)
Illustration: What would you think of a parent who held his child's hand over a fire to punish the child for wrong doing? "God is love." (1 John 4:8) Would he do what no right-minded human parent would do? Certainly not!
By what Jesus said about the rich man and Lazarus, did Jesus teach torment of the wicked after death?
Is the account, at Luke 16:19-81, literal or merely an illustration of something else? The Jerusalem Bible, in a footnote, acknowledges that it is a "parable in story form without reference to any historical personage." If taken literally, it would mean that those enjoying divine favor could all fit at the bosom of one man, Abraham; that the water on one's fingertip would not be evaporated by the fire of Hades; that a mere drop of water would bring relief to one suffering there. Does that sound reasonable to you? If it were literal, it would conflict with other parts of the Bible. If the Bible were thus contradictory, would a lover of truth use it as a basis for his faith? But the Bible does not contradict itself.
What does the parable mean?
The "rich man" represented the Pharisees. (See verse 14.) The beggar Lazarus repre sented the common Jewish people who were despised by the Pharisees but who repented and became followers of Jesus. (See Luke 18:11; John 7:49; Matthew 21:31, 32.) Their deaths were also symbolic, representing a change in circum stances. Thus, the formerly despised ones came into a posi tion of divine favor, and the formerly seemingly favored ones were rejected by God, while being tormented by the judgment messages delivered by the ones whom they had despised.—Acts 5:33; 7:54.
What is the origin of the teaching of hellfire?
In ancient Babylonian and Assyrian beliefs the "nether world ... is pictured as a place full of horrors, and is pre sided over by gods and demons of great strength and fierce ness." (The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, Boston, 1898, Morris Jastrow, Jr., p. 581) Early evidence of the fiery aspect of Christendom's hell is found in the religion of ancient Egypt. (The Book of the Dead, New Hyde Park, N.Y., 1960, with introduction by E. A. Wallis Budge, pp. 144, 149, 151, 153, 161)
Buddhism, which dates back to the 6th century B.C.E., in time came to feature both hot and cold hells. (The Encyclopedia Americana, 1977, Vol. 14, p. 68) Depictions of hell portrayed in Catholic churches in Italy have been traced to Etruscan roots.—La civilta etrusca (Milan, 1979), Werner Keller, p. 389.
But the real roots of this God-dishonoring doctrine go much deeper. The fiendish concepts associated with a hell of torment slander God and originate with the chief slanderer of God (the Devil, which name means "Slanderer"), the one whom Jesus Christ called "the father of the lie."—John 8:44.
2 comments:
Do you have any evidence for any of the above?
Hello dear Robert! Thank you for your commentary? Short n' sweet? LOL! If you believe in the validity of The Holy Scriptures as works of Divine Inspiration, than indeed it would be easier for you to accept and perhaps come to understand what my articles are pointing out. If you don't believe in anything per se' than admittedly, it is going to be a little bit harder to offer 'evidence' regarding the state of 'Hell'. But as an objective curious reader, the Bible tells us that Hell is merely known to us as the 'common grave'. Hellfire and brimstone is and has always been symbolic of what hell stands for, as you can probably ascertain from what you've read sofar. The scriptures herein are quoted for a reason. In that it's advisable that you check them out for yourself. In order to get a 'balanced' understanding of what "Hell" is - you also need to know what is meant by the definition of "SOUL" "DEATH" "SPIRIT" and "HEAVEN". As they are all interconnected. You can't take one portion of the Bible without coming to an understanding of what all these other topics are about? Hope you will bear with me as I deal with each topic in time. These are merely condensed versions on which I will expand as time permits. :)
I invite you to continue reading the disclosiers in this Blog with a objective mind. Rather than allow your outlook to be clouded by what you may have already learned from the days of your childhood in your respective church. Appraising the articles in this blog may suffer negative criticism otherwise, if read with the mind of a person, who may have been exposed to Conventional mainstream Church Dogma over a lifetime. We have all been there, and been programmed to accept and believe the version, we were taught by our churches of Christendom, without question! But as is more often than not the case, as we mature into well-informed adult educationally, we may begin to question the validity of the manifold religious dogmas we've been taught to embrace.
There is also this whole controversy hovering over the matter of mistranslation of the the original Bible tongues by biased translators of the time. Following the period when the Scriptures were penned down by the original authors and prophets alike of ancient days and, who were known as God's servants. I am referring to Bible records that were written during the pre-christian era as well as during the time of Christ's presence on earth. When the gospels came to its christian recipients in the form of a 'Sacred' legacy in their pristine state! The Apostate period as you may know, has also done its almost irreversible damage and greatly influenced the Christian belief systems as we know them. Especially in regards to topics such as God's Name, Trinity Dogma (the most central belief of Christianity) what is meant by Heaven, Hell, Soul, and many more issues, which I hope to be dealing with in this Blog and always with Scriptural backup. Sothat we can let God's Word speak for itself.
http://alivethruspiritualinsights.blogspot.com
http://spiritualinsightstoponder.blogspot.com
The information I am transcribing into this Blog, is for those that are seeking genuine answers and explanations. It is for those individuals who were unable to derive at satisfactory answers in relation to all these topics through the assistance of their own church teachings. So I am not here to debate, but rather, to pass on important information that may hopefully be beneficial to some and might invoke 'food for thought!' That will encourage people to investigate further.
Best wishes
Emerantia
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