Another word that is grossly misunderstood is in this lifetime will spend eternity in heaven, and those who do not believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour in this lifetime will spend eternity in hell, tormented forever by the flames as the just punishment for their disbelief.

These things, I was taught, are what the Bible say. Is this true?

In our English translations, three different Greek words are thrown together and translated with the single word

Translated

Translated

Translated

In the Old Testament we find the Hebrew,

Translated

As was the case with

THIS IS DAVID SPEAKING! Would David be in hell? Here is an example of an incorrect translation of

unseen

unseen nor was His flesh acquainted

with decay.

Note that the Concordant Literal translation for

With this inspired passage, we find that

of the knowledge of good and evil, you are not to be eating from it, for in the

day you eat from it, to die shall you be dying.

In Chapter 3 of Genesis we see the sin of Adam and Eve, and the penalty for sin is executed. They were expelled from the garden, expelled from the presence of God, and prohibited to eat any longer from the tree of life. The process of dying has begun, in accordance with the penalty for sin,

Is the penalty for sin death, or is it an eternity of tormenting in hell?

To be our Saviour, Jesus Christ suffered the penalty for sin on our behalf. Did he suffer death, or did he suffer an eternity in hell in order to pay our debt? The resurrection is proof that every claim of righteousness was fulfilled by Christ.

Our present day notion of

The well known

We have allowed these pagan ideas of

As used in the Word of God,

Many great preachers have proclaimed a message of a fiery, eternal hell. Jonathan Edwards and C. H. Spurgeon are two of the greatest preachers in history, but their eloquence does not make them right. Certainly they preached the truth in many areas, but when it comes to the subject of hell they were clearly basing their beliefs on the incorrect English translations and the incorrect

Let us look to God's Word to understand the destiny of mankind, and not to images created by pagan writers which taint God's character.

A close study of Scripture will show us that individuals do not go immediately to heaven (or to hell) immediately upon death. Some will use a few isolated passages of Scripture -- misinterpreted, used out of context, or mistranslated -- to justify the position that the saved go immediately to heaven. This is a study unto itself, and well worth your serious exploration into God's Word.

For now, though, let us look at how

And the spirit, it returns to the One, Elohim (God), Who gave it.

In short, death is a return to the original state of existence before God brought the elements (soil and spirit) together to form a living soul. The body, created from the elements of the earth (soil) return to the earth (soil). The spirit which was

The soul, in

As we can see, even our common KJV and NIV translations tell us that the dead are not in a conscious state. In some cases death is even equated to sleep (a state of unconsciousness):

them which are asleep.

Death, then, is simply a dissolution or dis-assembly of the body and the spirit, and the soul that was created at the union of the body and the spirit. The soul sleeps in the

Some may protest,

As I write these words I mourn the very recent loss of a dear cousin, barely 50 years old, who will be committed to the grave in the next few days. Knowing he is asleep at this moment instead of in heaven causes me no concern. Either way I will be mourning his loss in this lifetime, and I grieve with his family at the loss they have endured. But I do not mourn as those who have no hope. I praise God and marvel at His grace and His love, knowing that Chuck is now asleep, awaiting the miraculous day of resurrection which is foretold and assured in the Word of God!

hell, and all the nations that forget God

Others are more accurate, translating sheol as

grave, all the nations that forget God.

death, to the place appointed for all

the living.

death, and to the house appointed

for all the living.

The

The word construction would infer a meaning of

all will go.

Both

Later the place was used as a garbage dump. In Jesus' day, fires burned in Gehenna to destroy the refuse of Jerusalem.

Much of our problem is that when we hear Jesus talk about the kingdom in the gospels, we think He is talking about heaven. This is what I was always taught. The kingdom and heaven have been confused, just as the translations of

The Old Testament prophets talked about a return of the physical kingdom, like the one in David's day, except with the Lord Himself upon the throne. This is often referred to as the

When Jesus mentions

A complete study of

So

Sanhedrin. Yet whoever may be saying, 'Stupid!' shall be liable to the

for it is expedient for you that one of your members should perish and not

Speaking of the futuristic kingdom, the prophet Isaiah fortells:

before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it

shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one

sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the

Lord. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that

have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall

their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

Note that

Those hearing Jesus' words as He spoke would have been quite disturbed about the possibility of being cast into Gehenna. For a Jew to be denied a proper burial would be shameful. To have one's body cast into Gehenna, this refuse dump outside Jerusalem, would be a disgrace.

caverns of Tartarus, gives them up to be kept for chastening judging...

This place

Part of the problem, then, is that one Hebrew word and three different Greek words (with three very distinct meanings) have been carelessly combined into a single word

It is interesting to look at our English word

Some common English words, like

Besides the various Hebrew and Greek words translated

does the signs in its sight, by which he deceives those getting the emblem of the

wild beast, and those worshiping its image. Living, the two were cast into the

lake of fire burning with sulphur.

of fire and sulphur, where the wild beast and where the false prophet are also.

And they shall be tormented day and night for the eons of the eons.

In these instances only the wild beast (Adversary/Satan) and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire, and as we learned in the previous chapter they will be tormented not forever and ever, but for the eons (at least two) of the eons.

(hades) give up the dead in them. And they were condemned, each in accord with their

acts. And death and the unseen were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second

death-the lake of fire. And if anyone was not found written in the scroll of

life, he was cast into the lake of fire.

water of life gratuitously. He who is conquering shall be enjoying this allotment,

and I shall be a God to him and he shall be a son to Me. Yet the timid, and

unbelievers, and the abominable, and murderers, and paramours, and enchanters,

and idolaters, and all the false-their part is in the lake of burning with fire and

sulphur, which is the second death.

In these cases referring to humans being cast into the lake of fire,

1. No duration is mentioned, and

2. In both cases the lake of fire is further described as

Based on this description I would say two possibilities exist. We have already seen that tormented for the eons of the eons. No similar mention is made of humans cast into the lake of fire. It may be as simple as their being put to death once again, forfeiting the allotment of

Some may object and say that these creatures being cast into the lake of fire are unworthy and unfit to spend eternity with God in the heavens, even at the end of the ages after having experienced the second death. I would contend that none of us who have confessed Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour are ready either. It is only because of the work of Jesus Christ that we are

The other possibility relative to the lake of fire is a conscious period of

1.

2. God's use of fire to purify, instead of to torment, is much more consistent with His character of love.

3. God appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush (Exodus 3), from which

Moses hid his face.

Could it be that the lake of fire is the very presence of God (as when God appeared to Moses), purifying and refining instead of tormenting?

Consider the following passages:

to acknowledge me, declares the Lord. Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty

says: See I will refine and test them, for what else can I do because of the sin of

my people?

he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit

as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like

gold and silver.

I could never understand how God, who is a God of love, could torment in fire forever those who did not accept Jesus Christ as Saviour in this short lifetime. I can fully understand the lake of fire if its purpose (refinement and purification) is consistent with the love of God, with the ultimate goal of saving all creation at the end of the ages.

I do not question that there is a judgment; surely there is! I do not question that there is a lake of fire! But the Bible tells us that the lake of fire is the second death, and it is not eternal but will one day be abolished. (1 Corinthians 15) If we teach that God will punish men eternally for what they have done during this brief lifetime, it is to charge God with injustice.

Dr. David Hartley, a proponent of Universalism who was born in 1705, reasoned:

teaches that the evils of another life will have a like good effect ... The

infinite goodness of God is manifestly an argument in favor of Universal

Salvation.

The Greek

Judgment, damnation, condemnation, accusation, avenge

everlasting punishment: but the righteous

into life eternal.

ethical word at all. It originally meant the pruning of trees to make them grow

better. I think it is true to say that in all Greek secular literature kolasis is

never used of anything but remedial punishment.

Barclay, A Spiritual Autobiography

Michael Phillips quotes from a letter he received from William Barclay as a part of his compiling

punishment. This would enable us to argue that God's punishment is always

for man's cure ... It is the simple fact that in Greek kolasis always means a

remedial punishment.

On the same page, Phillips also quotes A. R. Symonds:

derived from a verb which means to prune. I say its distinctive meaning is this,

in relation to another word, timoria, which signifies vindictive punishment.

In

and the distinctive meanings of these two words are defined by Aristotle

himself. The one word, that used by Christ, denotes, he says, that kind

of punishment which is intended for the improvement of the offender;

while the other denotes that kind of punishment which is intended for

the vindication of law and justice. And even the advocates of endless

torment admit that the word selected by Christ means, according to the

Greek usage, remedial discipline, punishment designed to reform and

improve men, to prune away their defects and sins.

The distinction between

to be punished.

the believers.

one who

John Wesley Hanson writes in

the improvement of his children.

the chastening of the Almighty. For he maketh sore, and bindeth up; he

woundeth, and his hands make whole.

The argument was introduced by Augustine that if ^th century A.D. that theologians began for the first time to introduce the sense of endlessness, rather than eonian (or age-abiding) which had been the interpretation prior to that time.

It seems, then, that the new meanings for the words

eternal.

This verse is translated in the CLNT:

life eonian.

Rotherham's Emphasized Bible translates this passage:

age-abiding life.

God has always stressed the importance of forgiveness:

indeed repent, forgive him. And if he should ever be sinning against you

seven times a day, and if he should ever be turning about seven times a

day to you, saying, 'I am repenting,' you shall be forgiving him.

brother be sinning against me and I shall be pardoning him? Till seven

times?' Jesus is saying to him, 'I am not saying to you Till seven times,

Of the lost ones, Jesus said:

leaving the ninety-nine in the wilderness and is going after the lost one,

How can one be chastised and corrected if the punishment lasts forever? How can God, who places such emphasis on forgiveness, come to the point where He refuses to forgive? How can God, who places importance on the one lost sheep, be satisfied if all the sheep are not securely in the fold when all is said and done?

Does it not make better sense that the purpose of judgment is for correction, in preparation for a future day when every knee shall bow before Him? Is this not more consistent with God's character of love and forgiveness?

Could God really be filled with love and power and wisdom, and yet be unable or unwilling to find a way to bring the necessary correction to every one of His creation, in order that every knee bows before Him?

Consider the facts.

But if man does not respond by accepting Jesus Christ as his Saviour in this short

lifetime, he is consigned to an eternal torment in hell.

Is this logical? Does it not place a great emphasis on the ability of man to see through his depravity, and to overcome the temptation all around him, to make a

If an earthly ruler condemned even the vilest criminal to be kept alive just to be tortured forever, we would shudder at his cruelty. But we have inherited the current orthodox teachings about God that calmly attribute such activities to Him, while also teaching that He is a God of love.

I have come to see that the Bible does not teach this at all. Man has intervened and has placed his philosophies and pagan ideas within the Word of God. The modern English translations now perpetuate these man-made ideas, primarily because of a few words mis-translated and misinterpreted. We see a God of love, but a God who is also very harsh. Some say this is necessary because of God's holiness and justice, but is God not able to use His love and power to bring about justice without losing a single sheep from the fold?

I am not asking you to believe these things based on my opinions. I have presented some Biblical references in support of my arguments, but encourage you to study for yourself. In light of what I have told you, look at all of the occurrences of these key Hebrew and Greek words. Don't trust the modern English translators who have built their own biases into the translation. Throw off your previously biased images of

SHEOL (65 occurrences) - KJV translation precedes each group of references

HADES (11 occurrences)

GEHENNA (12 occurrences)

TARTARUS (1 occurrence)

LAKE OF FIRE (5 occurrences)