The term “Hell” does no appear in the Bible. The
expressions used in both, the Old and New Testaments in regards to the place of
the death, are Sheol (שְׁאוֹל) in Hebrew
(Psalm 16:10), its Greek equivalent Hades or Ades (ᾌδης)(Luke
16:23), or in an indirect way, Tartarus (Tάρταρος)(2Peter 2:4), and its
equivalent Gehinnom (גֵיהִנוֹם) in Hebrew or Geenna (Γέεννα)(Matthew 5:29) in Greek.
However the
concept behind our modern Christian idea of Hell or Infernus in Latin, a place
of punishment for the wicked after earthly life, it is present in the New
Testament.
Apart from
the literal meaning of Sheol and Hades, as “Grave”, or “Place of the Dead”, in
the common language of Jewish and Christians and other Semite and Hellenic
cultures, Lord Jesus gave Hades a different meaning from the dark and silent grave
it was supposed to be.
AN
INTERIM PLACE OF PUNISHMENT
Lord Jesus
referred to Hades as to a place a soul goes after death, where people are
confronted with their sins and suffer punishment if it necessary:
“
… and in Hades, being in torment, … “
(Luke 16:23)
And in other
places refers to the punishment given to the wicked after the Last Judgement as
to Geena:
“And if your eye causes you to fall into
sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one
eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell (Geena), where ‘their worm
never dies, and the fire is never quenched.’”
(Mark 9:47-48)
Even though the use of the word Geena made reference
to a rubbish dump in the outskirts of Jerusalem where human sacrifices were
practiced in the past (Jeremiah 7:31) and represented a place of abomination;
Lord Jesus used this expression familiar to all to transmit the same idea of
rejection in the mind of his hearers about the place of punishment of the
wicked after the Last Judgement:
“Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the
devil and his angels”
(Matthew 25:41)
From certain teachings of our Lord we gather that
there is a state of sorrow and another state of bliss for the spirits of those
departed, according to a personal immediate judgement.
Lord Jesus promised the repentant crucified that he
will be with Him that day in Paradise (Luke 23:42-43); and Apostle Paul wished
his time had come to die to be in the presence of Jesus forever (Philippians
1:23) immediately after physical death; and the dead saints are said to be in
God’s presence, praying (Revelation 6:9-11).
On the other hand, the parable of Lazarus and the
Rich Man in Luke 16 (Luke 16:19-31), and the very cases of the blessed above
mentioned, clearly states the antithesis of their Bliss. A place of punishment immediately
after physical death for all those found to be reprobate, where, as in the case
of the Rich Man, his suffering is experienced only in spirit.
The doctrine of “Personal Judgement” even though it
is not explicitly mentioned in the Gospels, it is understood to exists in order
that this assignation of the deceased souls may take place. To divide good from
bad implies a selection, and selection implies Judgement, so therefore, there
must be a personal judgement immediately after death for this selection to take
place.
At this point, in the theological opinions of
Christians vary due to lack of further data in the Scriptures.
Some of them totally ignore the passages mentioned
above regarding conscious life after death, taking them as allegorical or
symbolic, and deny all conscious existence after physical death until the Day
of Judgement, where everyone will receive their just reward or punishment
accordingly. However, the minority groups that profess this, also deny the
permanency of the punishment, doctrine which is clearly expressed in Scripture
beyond any doubt.
Other groups of Christians, mostly from Apostolic
churches, believe either that the interim condemned status is permanent for
some with grave sins and who died unrepentant, but that those who died in last
minute repentance or with lesser sins, suffer for a time a punitive period,
after which they will be freed, according to their personal sentence, and that
will finally enter Glory afterwards. This doctrine is professed mainly by Roman
Catholicism called “Purgatory Interim State”.
Some other eastern Christians hold that the interim
state is only a waiting status where souls are placed either in temporal
spiritual punishment, or temporal bliss, until the Day of the Last Judgement,
where with resurrected bodies, all humans will be sentenced to their final and
eternal residence, either in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15), or in the
Heavenly New Jerusalem or God’s Kingdom (Revelation 21). Those who hold this
view, believe that even when a soul has been sentenced momentarily to a place
of punishment in Hades or of bliss in Paradise (Luke 16:23; 23:42-43), this
situation is not final, and they offer prayers and supplications to God for
their forgiveness and salvation. They believe, following certain expressions of
Lord Jesus, that some sins can be forgiven after death but before the Last
Judgement (Matthew 5:26; 12:32; 18:34; Luke 12:59).
The third majority position, professed mainly by Reformed Christians, is that the interim state is definite, and that souls await in dreadful or glorious expectation, their Last Judgement to eternal damnation or Glory. Still, some minority within Reformed Christians, especially Anglicans, Lutheran and Methodists offer prayers for the dead, asking God to have mercy on the departed before, during and after their Personal Judgement, trusting in God’s mercy and omnipotence.
The third majority position, professed mainly by Reformed Christians, is that the interim state is definite, and that souls await in dreadful or glorious expectation, their Last Judgement to eternal damnation or Glory. Still, some minority within Reformed Christians, especially Anglicans, Lutheran and Methodists offer prayers for the dead, asking God to have mercy on the departed before, during and after their Personal Judgement, trusting in God’s mercy and omnipotence.
FINAL STATE – THE LAKE OF FIRE
Most of the declarations about Judgement, reward and
punishment in the teachings of Lord Jesus, are referred to the Last Judgement
and not to an immediate event after physical death. At this point, which occurs
after the Resurrection of all the departed and the Second Coming of Jesus in
Glory, most Christians unite again in their beliefs.
Whether Christians believe in a First and Second
Resurrection and a Millennial Messianic kingdom, or in a General Resurrection
at the Second Coming, they all profess there will be a Last Judgement before
the Holy Trinity, where Jesus Christ will be the Judge of all humans (Matthew
16:27; 25:32; Acts 10:42; 2Corinthians 5:10), when the condemned will be send
to the Lake of Fire, body and spirit, for all eternity, to be in suffering
together with Satan, the Antichrist, the False Prophet and the fallen angels
(Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43; Revelation 20:10-15); and the saved to eternal
Glory, in body and spirit to the New Jerusalem or God’s Kingdom.
WHERE IS HELL
The immediate Hades is a condition or status. That
is clear in Scripture. Given the spiritual nature of the place, the mode of
descriptions of Hades as being “a place” (Luke 16:26; Judas 1:6), either in the
centre of the Earth as it is believed by some or in any other place in the
universe, its unlikely, but not impossible. Whether these are only expressions
or literal statements, is of no major consequence. Condemned souls are in a
status of suffering, and they cannot scape from it by their own efforts. They
are literally confined to that spiritual reality.
The Lake of Fire, which is now empty, is a physical
place, from a different form as we understand the material world and physical
reality now, designed for spiritual and physical punishment and a place from
where nobody can escape, and made to be eternal. Again, in this case, as in
Hades, where it is located, we don’t know. But we know, it will be in plain
view of God and His angels (Revelation 14:9-11).
LAST NOTES
God did not create Hell (Lake of Fire), out of
vindictive volition, but it was born because of his Perfect Justice. As Supreme
Judge of all Creation, He rewards automatically by nature the good and the bad.
Goodness is rewarded with honour and glory, but evil and the evil doers are
severed from Creation and become receptors of automatic punishment according to
their guilt.
The suffering of the Lake of Fire is eternal, as the
prophetic Scriptures teach, meaning, there is no possibility of change. The
beings that end up in Hell, go there in body and soul, devoid of all
Sanctifying Grace. Spiritually, they suffer lament for their lives and past
actions, and the desperation of knowing their eternal, final condition. They
also suffer due to lack of Divine Communion, which is necessary for all created
beings to exists normally.
Physically, they suffer the material effects of the
fire and torments proper of the place.
“… he also will drink the wine of God’s
wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented
with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of
the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they
have no rest, day or night…”
(Revelation 14:10-11)
Omar Flores
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