You may have noticed that the word “Hell” is increasingly disappearing from contemporary English translations. The first Catholic English translation Douay Rheims (1610) had the word “Hell” in it 110 times. The 1611 King James Version only has it 54 times; NKJV (1982) – 32 times; CEV (1995) – 20 times; NLT & NCV – 17 times; NIV, ESV, Darby, & Catholic NJB – 14 times; NASB, AMP, ASV & TNIV – 13 times; HCSB – 12 times. And the Catholic NAB, Young’s Literal Translation, Rotherham’s translation, Fenton’s translation, and the WEB do not have the word “Hell” in them at all – 0 times!
You may have also noticed that though in years gone by “Hell” was a primary element of many sermons with some sermons being wholly devoted to its horrors; however, in contemporary churches “Hell” is rarely, if ever, mentioned, especially in mega-churches.
Some believe that contemporary churches have gone soft, preaching only to please people, afraid to preach the full counsel of God, afraid they’ll offend and loose their people. On the other hand, some believe that the message of Hell promotes little, if any, lasting positive change and thus elect to not teach from that perspective. Rather, they minister from a grace-based perspective, believing that it is the goodness of God that leads people to lasting positive change (repentance). And a few go so far as to believe and teach that Hell (i.e. conscious endless torment) is actually not a scriptural concept, but one that was mistranslated into the English text.
Is there some type of conspiracy to remove Hell from Scripture? Are mega-churches only offering Christianity-lite? Is there another explanation for this trend? What is the truth; what does Scripture actually teach concerning Hell?
The word "Hell" is an English word derived from the Old English Norse word "Hel" which was a concept of Old English pagan mythology and connotes a place of "conscious endless torture;" though the one they pictured was freezing. "Hell" is used to translate four words from the original Hebrew and Greek text of Scripture - Sheol, Hades, Tartaroo, and Gehenna. Let us review the actual meaning of these four words. As you know, "Hell" implies "Conscious Endless Torment", but:
Sheol - Hebrew, means the realm of the dead, often translated grave. It does Not imply "Torment".
Hades - Greek, means the realm of the dead, used to translate Sheol in the LXX. It too does Not imply "Torment". In Greek mythology, Hades had several sections – Elysium, Asphodel, and Tartarus. The Elysium fields were the final resting place of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous where they would enjoy immortal bliss. The Asphodel Meadows is where ordinary people went after death, a place of utter neutrality, a ghostly place where people are given over to an endless monotony. Tartarus is the torturous realm of Hades and is reserved for the especially wicked.
Tartaroo - Greek, the torturous realm of Hades, is used only once in scripture in 2 Peter 2:4 to reference the place where sinning angels are held "until judgment". The only scripture where Tartaroo is used does Not imply "Endless", nor are humans consigned there.
Gehenna – Greek, transliteration of the Hebrew "Ga Hinnom," literally means "Valley of Hinnom" – a valley just outside of Jerusalem that was used as a trash dump where there was a continuous (eternal) fire consuming the trash and never a shortage of maggots (worm dies not) consuming decaying flesh. "Gehenna" would best be translated as "the city (Jerusalem’s) trash dump".
Note that this metaphor does not specifically indicate that people will be tormented forever; if anything, without other information, it would indicate annihilation. Though the fire is continuous, the trash cast into the flame burns up. Gehenna was actually used as a metaphor by 1st century Rabbis, both the schools of Shammai and Hillel, to speak of punishment and purification in the afterlife.
Most 1st century Jews believed that when people died (except for the especially wicked) they went through a season of purification where they encountered the Truth about themselves and it, well, burnt the evil from them. Some of the Rabbis spoke of people being tormented by the demons of their own creation until they fully understood just how evil their attitudes and lifestyles were, and cried out for salvation. They believed that this season/event of purification was remedial and terrible, but not endless for most people. For most people, especially loved ones, Gehenna was a season of purification less than twelve months. In fact, to mourn the passing of a loved one more than eleven months was to imply that the person was especially wicked.
The Jews believed that Gehenna was for both Jews and Gentiles and that people were judged according to the revelation and covenant they received - the Old Covenant (Testament) being strictly for the Jew. During the eleven months of mourning, Jews would offer prayers, sacrificial gifts, and even be baptized for the dead (which Paul spoke of affirmatively in 1 Corinthians 15). Some believed that even the most wicked persons would be purified and go on to the Garden of Eden (Paradise). Others believed that those who were especially wicked, wholly given over to evil, would be either consumed (annihilated) or stuck indefinitely in Gehenna.
If one was going to translate Gehenna using a Theological term (instead of metaphorical), the predominant meaning of Gehenna as understood by the 1st Century Jew would be "Purgatory", not "Hell". In fact, Jesus actually indicates that purification was the purpose of Gehenna’s fire in Mark 9.
Warning of the terribleness of Gehenna, Jesus say that “if your eye causes you to 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 (Gehenna), where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched’” (9:47-48). And Jesus goes on to say that “ Everyone will be salted with fire” (9:49). Jesus warns of the terribleness of Gehenna, but indicates that such is apparently for the purification of the soul, not the destruction of the soul, for everyone shall undergo such purification, salted, seasoned by fire.
This reminds me of what Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 3:13 “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.” What is burnt up is that which is worthless. Gehenna would be best theologically interpreted as “Purgatory,” and certainly should not be interpreted as “Hell.”
None of the four words commonly translated "Hell" in English translations implied "conscious unending torment" in their original context. The mistranslation of these four words began with St. Jerome's Latin Vulgate. St. Jerome was an advocate for the doctrine of "conscious endless torment" of all who were not part of the Church, which stood in opposition to others in the early church that believed in Universal Salvation like Origen and Gregory of Nyssa, and even others that believed in annihilation. He, St. Jerome, translated his beliefs “INTO” scripture, mistranslating Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, and Tartaroo as Infernum 110 times in his Latin Vulgate. The 1610 Catholic Douay Rheims translation is based solely upon the Latin Vulgate and thus uses the word “Hell” 110 times. And the Roman Catholic Church was strongly influenced, one could say even built upon, the Latin Vulgate.
Why is the word “Hell” disappearing from English translations? Because English translations are getting better and more accurately convey what the original text says! Hell, conscious unending torment, is not a scriptural concept.
sherm,
ReplyDeletecan you share some of your sources? sam and i talked about this a few weeks ago. is the concept of hell something that has been developed as a means of satisfying our need for "justice" or is it a biblical concept? i'm still muddling through it, but your post has been very helpful!
Hi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteThe info on Sheol, Hades, and Tartaroo is readily verifiable from many different sources, as you know. I assume then that you're asking specifically of the information on Gehenna. For info on this, the primary source is references in the Talmud concerning the teachings of Rabbis Hillel and Shammai, contemporaries of Jesus. These are referenced in various Jewish sites: http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/beliefs/afterlife.htm , http://near-death.com/experiences/judaism06.html, http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm.
As to why the Roman church developed the doctrine of Hell, I believe that such was felt necessary to "control" the masses of uneducated people coming into the church. As you know, the Gospel has always had it's highest percentage of success among the poor and uneducated of society.
I've read some material that indicates that some of the early Latin church fathers taught Hell, though they actually believed that the sacrifice of Christ saved all humanity. They did this because they believed that fear was needed to keep the masses from continuing in their sin.
Paul, after teaching extensively on Salvation by Grace as revealed in the Atonement in Rom.5 (look at vs.18 - wow), Paul deals with the question, "Well if we're saved by grace, apart from how we live our lives, then why not go ahead a give our lives over to sin?". In chapter 6, Paul explains why and it is significant to note that he does not change the perception of universal salvation established in chapter 5 by even implying that some will be lost, much less suffer conscious unending torment if they don't stop sinning. He points out that sin does lead to bondage, shame, and death, but does not threaten Hell. If we are freed from sin through faith in the grace of God, why then would we submit ourselves again to the bondage of sin!
Frankly, the message of God's grace towards and love for us scares people. Without the threat of terrible punishment, how can we control "others", keeping them from sinning.
continued below:
Another question that often comes up is, "If everyone is ultimately saved, well then what do we use to motivate people to accept Christ?" Wow, what little faith people have in the power of the Gospel (Good News) and in the love of God! It's the goodness of God that leads us to repentance, the promise of His love and forgiveness. I believe that few people come to the Lord because of the fear of Hell some day; rather, most people come to God because they recognize their need of God and their desire to be free from the bondage of sin.
ReplyDeleteAnother question that comes up is, "If all are saved in Christ, then why should we give our lives as missionaries and evangelists and even suffer persecution for our faith?" My answer - it's the love of God and our love for our fellow man that compels us to share our faith. The more in love with God we are, the more we cannot help but share our love for Him! And it's our love of God that compels us to live righteous lives and to even endure persecution. We naturally talk about what/who we love, what/who we're passionate about. The greater the revelation of the love of God that we have, the more we will talk about Him. And who loves God the most - those who have been forgiven the most! Hallelujah!
Concerning our "need for 'justice'", is it "justice" to torment someone for a billion years for sins committed in a mere 40-60 year period? Of course not! Even Hitler doesn't deserve to suffer a billion years. Instead of "justice", it's man's "vengeance" that seeks conscious unending torment for one's enemies.
Not only that, but the traditional doctrine of Hell would burn the Jews that Hitler burnt in the ovens, right along beside Hitler for ever. Where is the "justice" in this? There is no "justice" in the traditional doctrine of Hell - only vengeance and fear!
Well, I'll get off my soap-box for now. Thanks for asking.
Sherman
sherm-
ReplyDeletethanks so much for your response! there's a lot to think about here. i agree that it's not "justice" we look for, but vengeance. i also agree that it would absolutely revolutionize our preaching if we did away with the notion of hell. how else would we SCARE people into salvation? part of me really believes the powers that be needed something to manipulate people into "right" behavior, but am really struggling with whether or not it's a biblical concept. i recognize the necessity of church tradition when developing our theology, but think sometimes we lean too hard on rather than seeking out the truth of scripture. thanks so much for engaging!
melissa
From experience, I've found that most people who come to the Lord do so 1) because they've come to realize their need of the Lord and 2)because they've had a revalation of God's love for them and respond to it. And in reality, salvation is completely dependant upon the Holy Spirit convicting us of sin and revealing to us the love of God. Rarely have I even spoken with anyone who had a lasting change of heart due to the threat of hell, if ever; I can't recall one.
ReplyDeleteConcerning tradition, I find that few people ever challenge the traditions of the branch of the church that they come to faith in Christ even though the Protestant cry "Sola Scriptura"!
Hell - whether called Sheol, Hades or Gehenna is not the real issue here. It is the Lake of Fire (which Sherman conveniently feels is metaphorical) which is reserved for Satan and his angels (Rev 20: 10) to be tormented - FOREVER. Those whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of life (yes, there are humans whose names are not written there) will be cast or thrown INTO the Lake of Fire (vss. 1-15), Revelation 21:8 states, "But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, and all liars, their portion (inheritance) will be in the Lake of Fire with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." This torment is forever. It's easy to dismiss this as metaphorical, but it has much significance. It doesn't say that these people get plucked out later, but the devil and his angels get left there.
ReplyDeleteWhile there is much that is metaphorical in Revelation, much is fact as stated. You cannot just state that you "believe" that this or that passage is metaphorical to support an overall view.
Fire's purpose is not just purification as in when metals are purified. Yes, that is a process use for fire. In nature, fire is meant to consume - to destroy old growth so that new growth can result later. The overall forest is renewed as a system, but the individual trees themselves are destroyed - gone.
Hi Kevin (Fitcoach7), thanks for reading my blog and your comment. To me it is very significant that there is not a Greek or Hebrew word in scripture that is correctly interpreted as "Hell". It's not that "Hell" is "called Sheol, Hades, or Gehenna", but that Sheol, Hades, and Gehenna are "Mistranslated" as "Hell" in English translations. In other words, "Hell" is not a scriptural concept.
ReplyDeleteConcerning Revelation's Lake of Fire, you're correct that I do understand much of John's Revelation to be metaphorical. In fact, there is much debate in the church as to how best to interpret Revelation - historically, metaphoricly, furturisticly, or preteristicly. Due to the vast differences in the church concerning the interpretation of Revelation, I tend to not rely upon it as a foundation for doctrine, especially any doctrine that is significantly different from what is expressed in the rest of scripture.
So to me the fact that "Hell" is not warned of in the rest of scripture, hinders me from reading "Hell" into Revelation's Lake of Fire.
And btw, the reason I say "I believe" in my posts is because I recognize that my understanding of scripture could be wrong; I hope you recognize that your beliefs could be in error also.
Of course, I am diligent to present the evidence that has led me to believe as I do. It's easy and usually useless to just denounce another person's belief or understanding of scripture; it takes much more effort to present why you interpret scripture as you do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksjbgFjgK4Y
ReplyDeleteI too love Keith Green's music. Thanks for sharing the link. No matter what we face, who are we going to call on? God Alone! Even on judgment day, our only plea is the blood of Christ!
ReplyDelete