Is Hell Real? What Is Hell According to the Bible ?

Various Bible translations, such as the King James Version, use the word “hell” in some verses. (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27 )

Many people believe that hell is a place of eternal fire where the wicked are punished. But is that what the Bible teaches?

Is hell a place of eternal suffering?

No. The original words translated as “hell” in some older Bible translations (Hebrew, “Sheol”; Greek, “Hades”) basically refer to “the Grave,” that is, the common grave of mankind. The Bible shows that people in “the Grave” are in a state of nonexistence.

The dead are unconscious and so cannot feel pain. “Neither work, nor reason, nor wisdom, nor knowledge, shall be in hell.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10, Douay-Rheims Version)

Hell is not filled with sounds of pain. Instead, the Bible says: “Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave [hell, Douay-Rheims].”—Psalm 31:17; King James Version (30:18, Douay-Rheims); Psalm 115:17.

God has set death, not torment in a fiery hell, as the penalty for sin.

God told the first man, Adam, that the penalty for breaking God’s law would be death. (Genesis 2:17)
He said nothing about eternal torment in hell.

Later, after Adam sinned, God told him what his punishment would be: “Dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19)

He would pass out of existence. If God were actually sending Adam to a fiery hell, He surely would have mentioned it. God has not changed the punishment for defying his laws. Long after Adam sinned, God inspired a Bible writer to say: “The wages sin pays is death.” (Romans 6:23) No further penalty is justified, because “the one who has died has been acquitted from his sin.”—Romans 6:7.

The idea of eternal torment is repugnant to God. (Jeremiah 32:35) Such an idea is contrary to the Bible’s teaching that “God is love.” (1 John 4:8 ) He wants us to worship him out of love, not fear of eternal torment.—Matthew 22:36-38.

Good people went to hell. The Bibles that use the word “hell” indicate that faithful men, such as Jacob and Job, expected to go to hell. (Genesis 37:35; Job 14:13) Even Jesus Christ is spoken of as being in hell between the time of his death and his resurrection. (Acts 2:31, 32) Obviously, then, when “hell” is used in these Bibles, it simply refers to the Grave.

What about Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus?

This parable was used by Jesus and recorded at Luke 16:19-31. Parables are illustrations that teach moral or spiritual truths. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus was not a real-life account. (Matthew 13:34)

Does hell represent separation from God?

No. The doctrine that the dead can be aware of being separated from God contradicts the Bible, which clearly teaches that the dead are not conscious of anything.—Psalm 146:3, 4; Ecclesiastes 9:5.

Has anyone been released from hell?

Yes. The Bible provides detailed accounts of nine people who went to the Grave (translated as “hell” in some Bibles) and were brought back to life by resurrection.

If they had been aware of their surroundings in hell, they would have been able to speak about that from personal experience. Significantly, though, none mentioned being in torment or experiencing anything at all. The reason? As the Bible consistently teaches, they had been unconscious, as if in a deep “sleep.”—John 11:11-14; 1 Corinthians 15:3-6.

Most modern English translations do not use the word “hell” in Acts 2:27. Rather, some use expressions such as “the grave,” (New Century Version); “the realm of the dead,” (New International Version); “the dead” (The Passion Translation). Others simply transliterate the Greek word as “Hades.”​—Holman Christian Standard Bible, NET Bible, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version.

See 1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:32-37; 13:20, 21; Matthew 28:5, 6;
Luke 7:11-17; 8:40-56; John 11:38-44; Acts 9:36-42; Acts 20:7-12.

Bible verses about hell, or the Grave

1) Job 14:13: “O that in the Grave [“hell,” Douay-Rheims Version] you would conceal me, . . . that you would set a time limit for me and remember me!”

Meaning: The faithful man Job knew that hell (the Grave) would bring him relief from his pain and that God could restore him to life from there.

2) Psalm 145:20: “Jehovah guards all those who love him, but all the wicked he will annihilate.”

Meaning: God will annihilate, or permanently destroy, the wicked. He will not keep them alive in hell in order to torment them.

3) Ecclesiastes 9:10: “There is no work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the Grave [“hell,” Douay-Rheims Version], where you are going.”

Meaning: Those in the Grave, or hell, are unconscious and cannot suffer. Moreover, those to whom the Bible writer addressed his words of wisdom obviously included good people.

4) Acts 2:31: “He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell.”—King James Version.

Meaning: Jesus Christ went to hell (the Grave) when he died.

5) Romans 6:23: “The wages sin pays is death.”

Meaning: Death, not torment in hell, is the full penalty for sin.

6) Revelation 20:13: “Death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them.”—King James Version.

Meaning: Those in hell are dead. They will come back to life by means of the resurrection.

7) Revelation 20:14: “Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.”—King James Version.

Meaning: After being emptied by means of the resurrection, hell (the Grave) will be destroyed forever, as if by fire. Thereafter, death resulting from Adam’s sin will be no more.​—Romans 5:12.

Original-language Bible words
As the following list shows, Bible translators have created confusion by using the word “hell” for original-language words with different meanings. In some cases, it seems that they wanted to promote the idea that the wicked will be eternally tormented, not destroyed.

1) Sheol (Hebrew שְׁאוֹל), Hades (Greek ᾅδης)

Meaning: Common grave of mankind.—Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:31

Renderings: Grave, hell, pit (King James Version); realm of the dead (New International Version)

2) Gehenna (Greek γέεννα)

Meaning: Eternal destruction.—Matthew 5:30

Renderings: Gehenna; hell (King James Version, New International Version)

3) Tartarus (Greek ταρταρόω)

Meaning: Abased condition of the demons, who are wicked spirit creatures.—2 Peter 2:4

Renderings: Tartarus; hell (King James Version, New International Version); lower hell (Douay-Rheims Version)

4) Apoleia (Greek ἀπώλεια)

Meaning: Destruction.—Matthew 7:13

Renderings: Destruction; hell (Good News Bible)

5) Pyr (Greek πῦρ)

Meaning: Fire, literally or figuratively.—Luke 17:29; Jude 23

Renderings: Fire; fire of hell (God’s Word Translation)

The history of hellfire

1) Pagan origin: The ancient Egyptians believed in a fiery hell. The funerary text Book Ȧm-Ṭuat (Amduat), which historians date back to the 16th century B.C.E., describes those who “shall be cast down headlong into the pits of fire; and . . . shall not be able to flee from the flames.”—The Egyptian Heaven and Hell.

Not taught by the earliest Christians: “It is noteworthy that in the N[ew] T[estament] we do not find hell fire to be a part of the [early Christian] preaching.”—A Dictionary of Christian Theology.

2) Greek philosophy crept in: “From the middle of the 2nd century [C.E.] Christians who had some training in Greek philosophy began to feel the need to express their faith in its terms . . . The philosophy that suited them best was Platonism [the teachings of Plato].” (Encyclopædia Britannica) That philosophy included belief in fiery torment after death. “Of all classical Greek philosophers, the one who has had the greatest influence on traditional views of Hell is Plato.”—Histoire des enfers (The History of Hell).

3) Hellfire was used to justify torture: During the time period commonly referred to as the Spanish Inquisition, those convicted of heresy and burned at the stake were said to be given “a taste of what perpetual hellfire would be like,” supposedly in hopes that they would repent before dying. (The Spanish Inquisition, by Jean Plaidy) Similarly, Queen Mary I of England burned some 300 Protestants at the stake, reportedly believing that “as the souls of heretics are afterwards to be eternally burning in hell, there could be nothing more proper than to imitate the divine vengeance, by burning them on earth.”—Universal History, by Alexander Tytler.

Modern changes: Some denominations have softened their teaching about hell, apparently based more on a desire to please their members than to reject a false teaching. (2 Timothy 4:3) “People want a God who’s warm and fuzzy . . . It’s counter to the culture of today to talk about sin and guilt.”—Professor Jackson W. Carroll.

hell fire is not for human

Jones4190:
■ hell fire is not for human

Interesting point you make there!

Guess what? The moment you become born-again, you cease to be just human and become like the angels/demons —eternal. That is why, you have to first be born-again before you can enter into the Kingdom of God where the options of Eternal reward or Eternal damnation open up as possible ends to you. And since Hell is a place for the devil and His demons, it means all those in the Kingdom of God who continue in sin — their father is the devil— will have their end in, you guessed it, the place that is for the devil and his demons.

Kobojunkie:
Interesting point you make there!

Guess what? The moment you become born-again, you cease to be just human and become like the angels/demons —eternal. That is why, you have to first be born-again before you can enter into the Kingdom of God where the options of Eternal reward or Eternal damnation open up as possible ends to you. And since Hell is a place for the devil and His demons, it means all those in the Kingdom of God who continue in sin — their father is the devil— will have their end in, you guessed it, the place that is for the devil and his demons.

you are wrong, stop twisting the bible, hell was created for a specific purpose and for a specific group. The Lord God created hell to quarantine the devil and his angels. Hell was never intended for humans.

Jones4190:
■ you are wrong, stop twisting the bible, hell was created for a specific purpose and for a specific group.
■ The Lord God created hell to quarantine the devil and his angels. Hell was never intended for humans.

1. Show exactly what part of scripture has been twisted abeg!
2. Is it me or are you simply trying to argue blindly here? What did Jesus Christ say in Mark 12 vs 25 & Matthew 22:30 of those who will be raised from the dead at the time of the resurrection?

Kobojunkie:
1. Show exactly what part of scripture has been twisted abeg!
2. Is it me or are you simply trying to argue blindly here? What did Jesus Christ say in Mark 12 vs 25 & Matthew 22:30 of those who will be raised from the dead at the time of the resurrection?

you first explain to me what Jesus mean in (Matthew 25:41)

Jones4190:
■ you first explain to me what Jesus mean in (Matthew 25:41)

1. The events described by Jesus Christ in Matthew 25 vs 31 - 46 take place after the resurrection, not before. And as Jesus Christ took care to explain to you, at that time, people who are raised will be as the angels

24 Jesus answered, “How could you be so wrong? It’s because you don’t know what the Scriptures say. And you don’t know anything about God’s power.
25 When people rise from death, there will be no marriage. People will not be married to each other. All people will be like angels in heaven.
26 Surely you have read what God said about people rising from death. In the book where Moses wrote about the burning bush, it says that God told Moses this: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
27 So they were not still dead, because he is the God only of living people. You Sadducees are so wrong!” - Mark 12 vs 24 - 27

In keeping with the passage above, those who will end up in Heaven will be as the angels, similar to what you are told in Matthew 25 vs 41 of those who will end up in eternal damnation.

Hell simply means Grave but misinterpretation led churchgoers into adding Fire to it that's why it is called HellFire but in the original text which is Hebrew the word is "Gehenna" while the Grave is called in Hebrew "Sheoul"

Sheoul simply means the condition of dead {Ecclesiastes 9:5} God promised His loyal ones that they will be raise back to life {Job 14:13-15} but Gehenna means death without hope of a resurrection. Revelations 20:14

So if you're talking about what misinformed religionists are saying about HellFire there's nothing like that!

Kobojunkie:
1. The events described by Jesus Christ in Matthew 25 vs 31 - 46 take place after the resurrection, not before. And as Jesus Christ took care to explain to you, at that time, people who are raised will be as the angels
In keeping with the passage above, those who will end up in Heaven will be as the angels, similar to what you are told in Matthew 25 vs 41 of those who will end up in eternal damnation.

if everyone is going to heaven what then will happen to this planet earth? what did Jesus mean in Matthew 5:1&10?

Jones4190:
■if everyone is going to heaven what then will happen to this planet earth?
■ what did Jesus mean in Matthew 5:1&10?

1. Where did you get that everyone is going to heaven abeg? Did you even bother reading what is written in any of the passages, or again, you just want to argue blindly in this?

2. Just as Jesus Christ laid down blessings for some, Ue also laid down curses on others. Ever read Matthew 23 vs 1 - the end? Matthew 25 begins with a parable explaining that not all those raise will enter into the banquet hall. It then finishes with Jesus Christ telling of how the sheep and the goats in His Kingdom will be judged.

Please tell me I am not here speaking to another person who rejects the Truth of Jesus Christ while preferring the narratives of men in other to fit well into their group abeg!

When u die, you'll know if it's real or not

Blissful45:
When u die, you'll know if it's real or not

This isn't necessarily true. if there's no "afterlife" it means when you're dead you're dead and there's no knowing

Tell people you have transferred money to their account and they won't trust you until they see an alert.

Tell them an imaginary Israelite deity is going to roast them forever in a lake of fire, because a rib-woman was deceived into eating a magic fruit by a talking snake, and they start to live in fear.