[Paleopsych] Hell Part 2: The Differences between Hades and the Lake of Fire

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Hell Part 2:  The Differences between Hades and the Lake of Fire 
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    (One of many Bible articles on the "Wielding the Sword of the Spirit"
    web site at www.matthewmcgee.org)

       Hell Part 2: The Differences between Hades and the Lake of Fire

                                Matthew McGee

    Now let's get into a little more detail by becoming familiar with some
    Hebrew and Greek words that are key to understanding this topic.

    Sheol (Hebrew) - It is the non-permanent place or temporary address of
    the disembodied souls of dead. It is not the grave or sepulcher, nor
    is it the eternal location of the souls of the dead. It is the same as
    the Greek word "Hades", which we will look at in a moment. Prior to
    Jesus Christ's resurrection, both the souls of the evil and the
    righteous went there after death. It is translated "grave" 31 times,
    "hell" 31 times, and "pit" 3 times in King James Version (KJV) of the
    Bible.

    Sheol (or Hades) has two separate halves. One side was and is reserved
    for the torment of the evil, while the other side, called "Abraham's
    Bosom" in Luke 16:22, was for the comfort of the righteous. There is
    and impassable canyon, or gulf, between the two halves. When Christ
    was resurrected, he led the righteous out of Sheol to Heaven. Many
    (probably not all) of the Old Testament saints were resurrected into
    their immortal bodies at that time (Matthew 27:51-53). Since then, the
    souls of all of the saved people go directly to Heaven when their
    bodies die. The lost people still go to Sheol and join the lost people
    of the Old Testament in torment on one side of the canyon when they
    die. The other side of Sheol formerly known as Abraham's Bosom has
    been vacant since Jesus Christ led the saints within it to heaven
    after His resurrection.

    The English word "Hell" refers to a place of eternal punishment for
    the wicked. Its meaning does not distinguish between the two separate
    places for the wicked to be punished, one temporary for the soul, and
    the other, the Lake of Fire, permanent for the soul and body. Nor does
    its meaning include the place of comfort for saints prior to Christ's
    resurrection. In normal English conversation, "Hell" is used only in
    the negative sense, with no saved people ever going there.

    This caused some inadequate translations of "Sheol" and "Hades". Often
    these words are translated "Hell", which, as just explained, is rather
    ambiguous and non-descriptive. In many other places "Sheol" and
    "Hades" are translated as "grave", but the grave is only the place for
    the body after death, not the place for the soul. This confusion often
    occurs when the verse refers to a righteous man going to "Sheol", such
    as men like Jacob, Joseph, (Genesis 37:35) and Job (Job 14:13). Of
    course, these men did not go to a place of torment, but to the comfort
    side of Sheol (Hades), called Abraham's Bosom.

    Hades (Greek) - It is identical to Sheol (Hebrew). It is the
    non-permanent place or temporary address of the disembodied souls of
    dead. It is not the grave or sepulcher, nor is it the eternal location
    of the souls of the dead. Hades is translated "Hell" 10 times and
    "grave" once by KJV. It is the place for the soul, not the body.

    Gehenna (Greek, but originally from a Hebrew name) - translated "Hell"
    all 12 times in KJV It is the permanent place for destruction of the
    "... soul and body ..." (Matthew 10:28). It is a place of "... fire
    that never shall be quenched" (Mark 9:45). In most of the references,
    it is clear from the context that those who enter Gehenna, do so in
    their bodies, not merely as bodiless souls. For this to happen, it
    must occur after the resurrection of the damned at the great white
    throne of judgment. Therefore, Gehenna is the Lake of Fire described
    in Revelation 19 and 20. It is presently uninhabited, but the Beast
    and the False Prophet will be cast into it at the end of the
    tribulation (Revelation 19:20). One thousand years later, Satan will
    be cast into it (Rev 20:10) and will be followed shortly by the lost
    people of all previous time periods (Revelation 20:15). They will all
    enter Gehenna together, in there resurrected bodies, where they will
    remain in torment for all eternity.

    The future destruction of the wicked is symbolized by the Valley of
    Hinnom to which Gehenna refers. It is a place south of Jerusalem where
    the bodies of dead animals and rubbish were taken to be burned. The
    Valley of Hinnom was also the site of much human sacrifice to the
    pagan god Molech (2 Kings 23:10, 2 Chronicles 28:3, 33:6, Jeremiah
    32:35). The fire burned constantly in the valley since additional fuel
    was frequently being cast into it.

    "And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley
    of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the
    fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
    Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no
    more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the
    valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no
    place" (Jeremiah 7:31-32). Here we see that in the Valley of Hinnom is
    a place called "Tophet" whose name means "place of fire".

    "For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he
    hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood;
    the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it"
    (Isaiah 30:33).

    limne pur (Greek) - "lake of fire" occurs 4 times, all in Revelation
    19 and 20. This is Gehenna, into which the resurrected damned are
    cast. Limne means "lake" and is translated as such all 10 times it
    occurs by the KJV. Pur means "fire" and is translated so 73 times by
    the KJV while being translated "fiery" once.

    Other key terms

    tartaroo (Greek) - Refers to "Tartarus" and only occurs once in 2
    Peter 2:4 where it is translated "hell" "For if God spared not the
    angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them
    into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment ...." This is
    probably a separate place from Hades, and may be a place only for
    fallen angels. There are no Biblical references to people going there.

    grave (English) - The place for the fleshly body after death,
    sepulcher. It is not the abode of the soul or spirit.

    abussos (Greek) - Abyss. It is translated "bottomless pit" 5 times,
    "deep" twice, and "bottomless" twice by KJV. It is where Satan will be
    locked up for the 1000 years of Christ's reign on earth. This is
    thought by many to be the same as the impassable gulf described in
    Luke 16:26.

    chasma (Greek) - a gaping opening, chasm, or gulf. It is translated
    "gulf" in its only occurrence in Luke 16:26, where it is the canyon
    separating the torment and comfort sides of Hades.

    Abraam kolpos (Greek) - Abraham's Bosom (Luke 16:22). Abraam is
    translated "Abraham" all 73 times. Kolpos is translated bosom 5 times
    and creek once (Acts 27:39).

    paradeisos - Paradise. It is translated "paradise" all 3 times by the
    KJV. "Paradise" is not the English translation of any other Greek word
    in scripture. First we hear the words of the thief and Jesus Christ on
    their crosses in Luke 23:42-43, "And he said unto Jesus, Lord,
    remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto
    him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in
    paradise." In 2 Corinthians 12:4, Paul tells how he was "... caught up
    into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for
    a man to utter." In Revelation 2:7, Jesus told the church of Ephesus
    "... To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life
    which is in the midst of the paradise of God." The tree of life is
    also mentioned in Revelation 22:2, in the new heaven and new earth,
    where it appears to be not just one tree, but a type of tree of which
    there are more than one. Since the three references show paradise to
    be in different places, then either paradise has been relocated once
    and will yet be relocated again, or it is a general term.

    Summary

    Sheol (Hebrew) and Hades (Greek) are the temporary place of torment
    for the souls of the wicked dead. Prior to Christ's resurrection,
    saints were kept and comforted in the now vacant half of Hades, known
    as Abraham's Bosom. Gehenna (Greek, but from a Hebrew name) is the
    Lake of Fire for the permanent place of torment of the souls of the
    wicked dead in their resurrected bodies. Hell is a rather general and
    inadequate term that is often used to refer to either Gehenna or the
    torment side of Hades, both by those who know the basic difference
    between these two specific places and by those who do not.

    [4]Roman Road to Salvation How to be saved.

References

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