The Reality of Hell

Why Hell Must Be Eternal

by John K. McKee
editor@tnnonline.net

Why do fundamentalist Bible Believers believe that “Hell” is eternal fiery torment? Why can’t the condemned be consigned to eternal non-existence or extinction?
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Introduction

Tied directly to an appropriate understanding of salvation is an understanding of retribution, or what happens to the condemned person who rejects the gospel message. One of the reasons that Yeshua the Messiah came to redeem humanity was to save us from the phenomenon that most call “Hell.” However, there are multiple views for “Hell,” some ranging from eternal conscious punishment to complete never-ending non-existence.

The Scriptures are clear that whoever rejects salvation in Messiah Yeshua will be consigned to eternal punishment and separation from Him. What this punishment is remains a debate, but the written Word is clear that it will be eternal and entirely unpleasant: “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there when you see Avraham and Yitzchak and Ya'akov and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you yourselves expelled” (Loukas/Luke 13:28).

“And I say to you, that many shall come from the east and west, and will recline with Avraham and Yitzchak and Ya'akov in the Kingdom of Heaven; but the sons of the Kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mattityahu/Matthew 8:11-12).

“And the Devil who deceived them was thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).

What does Scripture tell us about eternal punishment for the condemned? What is Hell? Why must this be a place of everlasting torment and not mere “destruction”? These questions are all a vital part of the doctrine of salvation. Why? Because if you reject the salvation God has provided in the Messiah, then you will be forced to face retribution.

Words For “Hell”
Three words are directly related to eternal retribution for sin in Holy Scripture. These words are Sheol (lwaX), Hades (adhß), and Gehenna (geena).[1] Some advocate that the words Sheol and Hades are only descriptive of the grave, or where a human being’s bodily remains are interred. They also believe and that Gehenna is only a place where the condemned person is cast to be destroyed. It is imperative that we keep these words in context. In our analysis of retribution, we will provide a correct Biblical definition for each word.

Sheol
Translated directly from Hebrew, Sheol has a variety of meanings, including, as given by the Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament, “the world of the dead, Sheol, the grave, death, the depths.”[2] The proper usage of Sheol is always determined by context. It does not just mean “the grave,” as some assert. The word “grave” is best represented by the word qeber (rbq), meaning “a grave, a sepulcher.”[3] Sheol is often used in the Hebrew Scriptures to represent a place that is more than just where one’s physical remains are placed upon time of death. Sheol can mean a place of internment, but it is mostly used in direct reference to the afterlife, as it is employed in most Rabbinical Jewish literature. There are English Bible translations that simply leave the word as Sheol rather than translate it as “Hell” or “grave,” such as the New American Standard. Here are a few examples:

“For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay” (Tehellim/Psalms 16:10).

“O Yahweh, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit” (Tehllim/Psalms 30:3).

“Your pomp and the music of your harps have been brought down to Sheol; Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you and worms are your covering” (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 14:11).

“Because you have said, ‘We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, for we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception’” (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 28:15).

Does Sheol always mean “the grave”? Does it always mean “Hell”? It is always determined by context, and in many cases, when Sheol and death are used together, they are speaking of two distinct powers that work together. For in order for the condemned to go to a place of condemnation, they must first physically die.

Tehellim/Psalms 30:3 tells us, “O Yahweh, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit,” indeed telling us that Sheol is indeed a place where disembodied souls of the dead go. Yeshayahu/Isaiah 14:11 describes the power of Sheol working together with the power of death. The condemned person’s body is described thus as: “maggots are spread out under you, and worms are your covers.” Yeshayahu/Isaiah 28:15 is a likely reference to the agreement that will be signed orconfirmed by the future antimessiah/antichrist with Israel. This agreement will be more than one with just “the grave,” but one with Sheol, Hell, representative of Satan and his forces as he is trying to take as many as possible with him to the Lake of Fire. Sheol is clearly a word that can mean both “the grave” and Hell, sometimes even rendered as “the underworld.”

Modern Hebrew translations of the Greek New Testament use the word Sheol in representation of the Greek Hades and the Jewish New Testament, although translated from the Greek text, uses the Hebrew Sheol in its translation of Revelation 20:13: “The sea gave up the dead in it; and Death and Sh’ol were hurled into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire” (JNT).

The Messianic Renewed Covenant also uses Sheol: “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Sheol gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one according to their works” (Revelation 20:13, MRC).

Hades
As we have already mentioned, Hades is the Greek word whose Hebrew equivalent is Sheol, and where Sheol appears in the Tanakh, it is likewise translated as Hades in the Septuagint. Like Sheol, Hades is defined by the Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament as, “the general concept of the invisible world or abode into which the spirits of men are ushered immediately after death. The prevalent idea connected with it in its association with death are those of privation, detention, and just recompense.”[4] Just as the proper usage of Sheol is always determined by context, the same is true of Hades. In the New American Standard translation, Hades is simply transliterated rather than translated as either “Hell” or “grave”:

“…[H]e looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay” (Acts 2:31, NASU).

“And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades’” (Revelation 1:17-18, NASU).

“And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15, NASU).

More times than naught, Hades, the unseen world, is used in Scripture as being a place where the souls of the condemned dead go. In Acts 2:31, Messiah is spoken of as “neither abandoned to Hades” (NASU) or “left in hell” (KJV). Revelation 1:18 tells us that Yeshua the Messiah has the keys to both death and Hades. This again speaks of two distinct forces that work together hand-in-hand regarding the condemnation of the unrighteous. In almost all instances it is used in the Apostolic Scriptures, Hades is a reference to the abode of a dead, and among them it is most often described as a place of torments for the condemned. For why would both “death and the grave” be thrown into the Lake of Fire if we translated Revelation 20:14 this way? It does not make sense unless it is the power of Death and the occupants of Hades.

It is also very important to note that two additional Greek words, mneima (mnhma), “a sepulcher or tomb,”[5] and mneimeion (mnhmeion), a “a sepulchral monument,”[6] are used directly in the Apostolic Scriptures to refer to a place of burial or internment:

“And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately a man from out of the tombs [meneimeion] with an unclean spirit met Him, who had been living in the tombs [mneima]. And no one had the power to bind him any more, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the shackles broken to pieces, and no one was strong enough to tame him. And on account of all this, night and day, in the tombs [meneima] and in the mountains, he was screaming out and cutting himself up with stones. And seeing Yeshua from afar, he ran up and bowed down before Him” (Markos/Mark 5:1-6).

Hades is obviously much broader than just “the grave.”

Gehenna
Gehenna is the Greek word commonly translated as “Hell” or “fiery Hell” in modern English Bibles. It is understood to be the “Lake of Fire,” somewhat representative of Gey-hinnom (~nhyg), a garbage depository outside of the Ancient City of Jerusalem metaphorically indicative of the eternal fires that await the condemned. In Biblical theology, it is understood that the condemned who reject Messiah are ultimately deposited in this location. It is comparable to the limnein tou puros (limnhn tou puroß) or “the Lake of Fire.” Revelation 20:15 tells us that “if anyone was not found written in the scroll of life, he was thrown into the Lake of Fire.”

Yeshua further tells us that the condemned will receive similar punishment to that of the “devil and his angels”:

“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, cursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels’” (Mattityahu/Matthew 25:41).

And what is the fate that awaits Satan and his minions?

“And the Devil who deceived them was thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).

Satan, the beast or antimessiah, and the false prophet will be tormented in the Lake of Fire for eternity. The Scripture is clear that they will not be destroyed. Yeshua further explains the eternal destiny of those who will be condemned.

“And cast out the useless slave into the outer darkness; where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mattityahu/Matthew 25:30).

“And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than having your two feet, to be cast into Gey-Hinnom, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not extinguished” (Markos/Mark 9:45-46).

Mattityahu/Matthew 25:30 and Markos/Mark 9:45-46 are only two examples of Yeshua’s explaining eternal punishment for the damned. Gehenna, represenative of the Lake of Fire, is very clearly an eternal and everlasting punishment.

Nothing to Fear for the Believer
The true regenerated born-again Believer in Messiah has nothing to fear from Sheol, Hades, or Gehenna. The dead in Messiah are currently with Him in Heaven, for “to be absent from the body [is to] to be at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). We know this to be a fact because when Stephen was stoned “he said, ‘Behold, I see Heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’…And as they were stoning Stephanos, he called upon the Lord and said, ‘Lord Yeshua, receive my spirit!’” (Acts 7:56, 59).

Stephen, considered by many to be the first martyr of the Messianic faith, was not expecting to go down to Sheol or Hades. Notice how he cries to Yeshua “receive my spirit!” after attesting to seeing both the Messiah and God the Father. Stephen was expecting to be with Yeshua after His death. The true Believer upon death will enter into eternity with Messiah Yeshua.[7]

What Did Yeshua Tell Us Happens to the Condemned?
Paramount to understanding the doctrine of Hell is what our Lord Yeshua Himself told us about it. One of the best examples comes from Loukas/Luke 16:19-31 in the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Yeshua very clearly tells us that Sheol or Hades is a place where the souls of the dead, or more specifically those of the condemned currently go.

“Now there was a certain rich man, and he dressed in purple and fine linen, making merry splendidly every day. And a certain poor man named El'azar was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and desiring to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table; otherwise, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores” (Loukas/Luke 16:19-21).

Loukas/Luke 16:19-21 describes how Lazarus, presumably a leper, would go to the gates the rich man’s house and ask for food. Yeshua tells us that he longed “to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table,” implying he was in dire need of help and care.

“Now it came to pass that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Avraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried” (Loukas/Luke 16:22).

Loukas/Luke 16:22 records how both men died and how Lazarus’ soul was taken to Abraham’s bosom (Sheol/Hades).

“And in Sheol he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Avraham from afar, and El'azar in his bosom” (Loukas/Luke 16:23).

In Loukas/Luke 16:23, Yeshua clearly describes the torment or torture that the rich man had to experience in Sheol/Hades. Although his body was buried, or in the grave (qeber/mneima), the rich man’s soul was fully aware of his surroundings. However, one Bible translation we have run across actually translated this as the rich man “suffering tortures in the grave” (ISR),[8] which makes absolutely no sense. Notice his following cry:

“And he called out and said, ‘Father Avraham, have mercy upon me, and send El'azar that he may dip his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am suffering pain in this flame’” (Loukas/Luke 16:24).

The rich man cries out to Abraham and asks him to send Lazarus from the paradise side of Sheol/Hades to the torment side. He is clearly in a state of torture.

“But Avraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and El'azar likewise bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are suffering pain. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm is fixed, in order that those who wish to step across from here to you do not have the power, and none may cross over from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may solemnly warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ But Avraham said, ‘They have Moshe and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, father Avraham! But if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moshe and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone rises from the dead’” (Loukas/Luke 16:25-31).

Yeshua’s story ends with Abraham refusing to give the rich man what he requests as Lazarus is now “comforted here [in Paradise], and you are suffering pain.” The rich man’s soul is not in his qeber/mnema or grave unaware of his surroundings. Hades or Sheol is very clearly described by our Messiah to be a place where the souls of the dead go. Later, following His ascension, the souls in the paradise side of Sheol/Hades were led by our Lord to Heaven to be with the Father:

“Therefore, it says, ‘When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.’ Now in saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the Earth? He Who ascended is Himself also He Who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fulfill all things” (Ephesians 4:8-10).

Is the Story of the Rich Man and Lazarus an Allegory?
Probably the most significant dissertation in Holy Scripture as it relates to the state of the dead after time of death is Yeshua’s story about the rich man and Lazarus. We have specifically called it a story here because we do not believe that the text indicates it to be a “parable” with fictional characters. We believe that what Messiah spoke of was a literal story with real people who at one point in time lived on Planet Earth. Our primary reason for believing that this account is literal comes from the Greek particle word (tiß) meaning “anyone, anything; someone, something; any, some, a certain, several,”[9] and it appears many times in the Greek New Testament to represent real things—not things that have been made up. We believe that the anthropos de tis hen plousios (anqrwpoß de tiß hn plousioß) is indeed “a certain rich man” (KJV).

According to some, what Yeshua tells us here is only a parable, and we should not accept the story or the setting for what it literally means. There was never a place called Sheol or Hades where the souls of the dead were separated by a gulf. According to these, the Messiah was only using an allegory in order to use this setting to describe something deeper as opposed to just someone being in pain. In some ways, we can agree that there is an important meaning to the story—which is to have compassion on others in need, lest one suffer the consequences. At the same time, however, why would Yeshua use a deceptive story in a “fictional” setting? If we cannot accept the setting of His account as being a real place, why should we accept the story as being legitimate at all? It would be no different if Believers were to use Science fiction genres such as Star Trek or Star Wars to explain Biblical concepts. Why deceive people in such a way?

Why “Hell” Cannot Be Eternal Non-Existence
We have just discussed what we believe the Holy Scriptures tell us about eternal judgment and torment for the damned. However, there are alternative views for “Hell,” mostly propagated by aberrant groups. The most common of these beliefs is that “Hell” is eternal non-existence. Advocates of this may claim that since death is the “cessation of all life,” that eternal condemnation is being dead for eternity, not realizing that Biblical death is properly defined as eternal separation from God, not its modern “medical” definition.

In an effort to clarify some of our doctrinal views, we produced a rather lengthy Statement of Faith in which we very clearly state our position that “Hell is eternal fiery judgment and torture for the damned, not non-existence.” Since posting this to the Internet in early 2000, we have received some rather critical comments from readers. Notice these excerpts from some of our correspondence:

“…I do not agree with a popular concept that salvation means going to heaven as to avoid burning in hell.”

This first quote comes from a person who disagrees with the fundamental Biblical doctrine of “you either go to Heaven or Hell.” Why? Because he believes that eternal retribution for the damned is being dead for eternity. Is this Scriptural? We do not believe it because of what Revelation 20:10 tells us, previously quoted. Those claiming that when people are thrown into the Lake of Fire are “burned up” or “destroyed” have not viewed this verse in proper context. The Bible tells us that when Satan is thrown into the Lake of Fire, these individuals are tortured “forever and ever.” When you begin to say that something eternal is less than eternal, then you run into some serious theological problems. All of a sudden, does eternal life become something less than eternal? Do eternal ordinances in the Scriptures relating to our morality and conduct become less than eternal?

Another critique reads, “The [organization name withheld] did very much believe in a literal hell fire. One that is so hot that it burns people to ashes as Malachi 4 clearly states. But it did not teach the lie that people burn forever in a fire that never burns them up. That would be eternal life in hell fire.”

The person who wrote us this believes that the Lake of Fire will incinerate or “burn people up” destroying them on the basis of Malachi 3:19-23[chapter 4].

“‘For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,’ says Yahweh of hosts, ‘so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,’ says Yahweh of hosts. ‘Remember the Torah of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of Yahweh. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse’” (Malachi 3:19-23[4:1-5]).

Will the wicked be burnt to ashes? Yes. Malachi 3:19-23 does imply this. However, Malachi 3:19-23 does not speak of Sheol/Hades or the Lake of Fire. The Lord tells us that on this day the wicked will “be ashes under the soles of your feet.” This admonition ends with, “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of Yahweh.”

The day that these wicked will be burnt up is the Day of the Lord, the time period when God’s wrath (Revelation 16:16-19; 19:15) is poured out upon Planet Earth. Yeshayahu/Isaiah 13:12 tells us that on the Day of the Lord, He “will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir” (KJV). It is notable that the golden wedge of Ophir was a Jewish legend, so God is telling us that at the Day of the Lord, the wicked will be made more rare than a fable.

Will the wicked be destroyed? Yes. The bodies destroyed in Malachi 3:19-23 are burned up on the Day of the Lord. This is not the Lake of Fire judgment. In Mattityahu/Matthew 25:41 Yeshua tells us that those who treat His brethren (the Jewish people) with malice will be sent “into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (KJV). As we have already discussed, Satan, the antimessiah, and the false prophet, “will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10) in the Lake of Fire, which is the same fate that awaits the condemned (Revelation 14:9-10). The judgment of the damned is not eternal non-existence, and is not implied by Malachi chapter 4.

So why do people continually have problems with eternal punishment in Hell?

Messianic Jewish theologian David Stern states in his Jewish New Testament Commentary, “Since the idea of eternal punishment is at the very least offputting, some seek to soften it by proposing that the final judgment is eternal annihilation, in which nothing is experienced, good or bad. Nevertheless, what the Bible teaches about both sh’ol (ades) and Gey-Hinnom is that there is a state of eternal sorrowful existence to be consciously experienced by those who come under God’s ultimate condemnation… Changing the Biblical concept of hell to non-existence is, unfortunately, wishful-thinking theology.”[10]

We strongly agree with Stern’s words here.

Others may argue, albeit improperly, that eternal torment is “inhumane.” But our Creator is obviously not a human being, for He says “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 55:8). We must let God be the Judge and let Him decide what an appropriate punishment for the wicked is.

We emphasize that the ideology of those who specifically reject the idea of an eternal torment of the condemned is quite liberal and more consistent with those who make up the Jesus Seminar and other apostate councils seeking to allegorize the whole of Scripture and do not believe that the canon is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. Liberal theologians today like to appeal to people’s emotions saying things like, “A loving God would never put people into an eternal state of pain.” And likewise, annhilationists say the same thing.

Certainly, one should not want to go to the Lake of Fire as the Father desires that none should be separate from Him. At the same time, however, His punishment to those who have rejected and cursed and blasphemed Him must be just—and we simply do not believe that being destroyed fits that requirement.

But why do we believe that Hell and the Lake of Fire are eternal states of torment? Because Yeshua tells us so. Put simply, if “Hell” is eternal non-existence, one has no need of being redeemed and we do not need a Savior. If all a wicked person receives is a huge “embarrassment” at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11) and then eternal annihilation, then why does one really need to be saved? There are secular atheists who want nothing to do with God and adamantly embrace the idea of non-existence after death and who live perverse ungodly lifestyles. If they found out that God existed, but yet they are due for eternal non-existence and not torment because of rejecting Him, they would likely accept such a fate and continue living in sin. The problems with this are obvious.

Conclusion

Why must Hell be eternal torment? Because you need to be saved. If eternal judgment for the damned is non-existence, then do you really need to be redeemed? All you have decided is that you do not want to spend eternity in God’s Kingdom, in which case we would advise you continue to live in sin. For secular atheists who reject God agree with the annihilationist position of “when you’re dead you’re dead.”

If you reject the salvation God has provided in His Son Yeshua, than you will be forced to face retribution, whether you like it or not! Hell is real and it is eternal!

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