It may seem obvious to you that the concept of hell as a place of eternal fiery torment is a Biblical concept, and that the Bible teaches that this is where ‘bad’ people go after death for eternal, fiery punishment! If you look online or to encyclopaedias for information about Biblical hell you will only find mainstream Christianity’s teaching about it. And if you research that more carefully, you will find that it was an idea which was developed in the centuries after the Bible was written.
However, our English bibles are translated from the original languages of Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) so the English words we read are not the original written words in their native tongue. The main words which have been translated ‘hell’ in English are the words ‘Sheol’ (Hebrew), ‘Hades’ (Greek) and ‘Gehenna’; some modern Bible translations leave the original words in place sometimes and this can help when we understand what was originally meant by these words. Both Sheol and Hades simply mean the grave, or a pit, a covered place – this is what was understood by people when they read the Bible originally.
The third word, ‘Gehenna’, was the name of a valley to the south of Jerusalem in Bible times where people would take rubbish. There was always a fire and anything could be burnt, even the bodies of criminals. It was a place where things were destroyed (not tormented) by fire.
Consequently it is used in the New Testament as a metaphor for destruction, and is sometimes translated as ‘hellfire’.
If you read the Bible for yourself with an enquiring mind and open-minded research you can find out real truth. It isn’t as scary as you may have been told.
We are starting new “Learn to read the Bible Effectively” seminars in October 2024, God willing – please come along!
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