Dr Paul Allen

The translators of the King James Version caused much confusion by translating two different Greek words (hadēs and gehenna) with one-in-the-same English word, “hell”.  Hadēs almost always denotes the “grave” or the “place of the dead.” Only one New Testament passage definitely describes hadēs as a place of evil and punishment of the wicked and may appropriately be translated “hell” (Luke 16:23). In all other instances, hadēs indicates nothing more than the place of the dead. Gehenna, a much rarer expression in the New Testament, denotes the “eternal fires.” Thus, “hell,” as most people think about it, is really gehenna, not hadēs. The Greek word gehenna is used in a number of New Testament texts to designate the fiery place for punishment of sinners and is often translated “hell” or “the fires of hell” (Matt. 5:22, 29–30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Jas. 3:6). Gehenna is also usually used in connection with the final judgment and its use suggests that the puni...

The English word “hell,” as employed in the KJV, translates four words in the original biblical languages: Heb. še˒ôl, and Gk. hádēs, géenna (Gehenna) and tartaróō (a reference to Tartarus). The RSV transliterates as Sheol and Hades; these names generally signify the abode of all the dead, whether blessed or damned. On the other hand, the RSV associates both géenna and tartaróō with hell, signifying, as used in the New Testament, a special place of punishment for the wicked. The progressive biblical use of these terms provides a history of the development of the doctrine of hell as the eternal destiny of the damned. Although seeds of the later doctrine of hell exist in the Old Testament, particularly in the prophets, the doctrine did not approach its developed form until intertestamental and New Testament times. I. Sheol The KJV translates Heb. še˒ôl thirty-one times as “hell,” thirty-one times as “the grave,” and three times as “the pit.” Both the literal meaning of the wo...

Children are not too young to die, and therefore they are not too young to think about what will happen to them when they die. They need to hear about the Father's house with its many mansions and the place that Jesus is preparing there for all who love Him and put their trust in Him for salvation. But our children also need to hear about the wages of sin, the state of eternal death and eternal separation from the love of God that is called hell. We need to explain to them that God's perfect justice requires that sin "committed against the most high majesty of God be punished with everlasting punishment of body and soul" ( Heidelberg Catechism , Lord's Day 4, Q. 11). I am not saying that we should talk about hell every day. Rather, we should look for opportune moments. When we find them, we should speak about hell in simple but sober terms. When Andrew Bonar once told his friend Robert Murray M'Cheyne that he had preached about hell, M'Cheyne re...

Russian icon with 5 themes. Fragment: Adam, Eva and others follows Jesus from Hell to Heaven; Пятичастная икона, фрагмент. Шествие праведников в Рай (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And others save with fear; pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.” ( Jude 1:23 ) This exhortation refers both to attempting to “save” unbelievers by warning them of hell and to warning believers against the influence of apostates. The ultimate hell ( Greek gehenna) is not the same as the present hell (Greek hades), although eventually all those lost souls now in the latter will eventually be “cast into the lake of fire” ( Revelation 20:15 ). Both are fearsome places of real fire. The inhabitants of Sodom , for example, have been “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” ( Jude 1:7 ) for thousands of years, though not yet in that ultimate hell. Also, the rich man mentioned by Jesus was in Hades and yet was being “tormented in this flame” ( Luke 16:23-24 ). Both “hel...

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus' description of himself "I am the Good Shepherd" (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: "To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs." (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." ( Isaiah 61:1 ) The Lord Jesus appropriated this beautiful verse of the prophet Isaiah to Himself, preaching from it one day in the Nazareth synagogue and proclaiming: "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" ( Luke 4:21 ). No...

Image via Wikipedia "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?)" ( Ephesians 4:8-9 )   This verse has been controversial, but is nonetheless very important. The context is taken from  Psalm 68:17-20 : "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: . . . Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: . . . our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death ."   The psalmist is apparently describing the Lord among His heavenly hosts, riding home as a mighty king returning with the spoils of battle. Evidently this prize of battle consisted of His own people who had been held captive in an alien land, but who now in turn had been captured from the enemy by the returning King. To do this, the King (none other than the Lord Jesus Himself) "...

Image via Wikipedia "And he said unto Jesus , Lord , remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." ( Luke 23:42-43 )   One of the two thieves on the cross continued in unbelief right up until the time he died ( Luke 23:39 ), but the second repented and believed unto salvation.  The one assures us that no one need despair, since it is always possible to accept Christ at any time before death. The other warns us, on the other hand, that no one should presume. Long-continued rebellion against God is likely to become so fixed in one's character that sincere repentance may become impossible.   The repentant thief, beholding Christ and hearing the first of the seven so-called "words from the cross" ( Luke 23:34 ), came to believe that Jesus truly was Lord and that He could, indeed, grant forgiveness and salvation.   The penitent thief had no opportunity to be baptized, to...

Image via Wikipedia "And he said unto Jesus , Lord , remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." ( Luke 23:42-43 )   One of the two thieves on the cross continued in unbelief right up until the time he died ( Luke 23:39 ), but the second repented and believed unto salvation.  The one assures us that no one need despair, since it is always possible to accept Christ at any time before death. The other warns us, on the other hand, that no one should presume.  Long-continued rebellion against God is likely to become so fixed in one's character that sincere repentance may become impossible.   The repentant thief, beholding Christ and hearing the first of the seven so-called "words from the cross" ( Luke 23:34 ), came to believe that Jesus truly was Lord and that He could, indeed, grant forgiveness and salvation.   The penitent thief had no opportunity to be baptized, ...

Image via Wikipedia "And others save with fear; pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." (Jude 23) This exhortation refers both to attempting to "save" unbelievers by warning them of hell and to warning believers against the influence of apostates. The ultimate hell ( Greek gehenna) is not the same as the present hell (Greek hades), although eventually all those lost souls now in the latter will eventually be "cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15).  Both are fearsome places of real fire. The inhabitants of Sodom, for example, have been "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" (Jude 7) for thousands of years, though not yet in that ultimate hell. Also the rich man mentioned by Jesus was in Hades and yet was being "tormented in this flame" (Luke 16:23-24). Both "hells" have literal fires , but it is hard to understand how material fires could torment non-material soul...

Image via Wikipedia “I thought Jesus didn't descend into hell! Just that he suffered the death we deserved.” The answer is: yes and no! The question raises complex issues that cannot be easily answered in a short space. So let me take a long space. (And if you are interested, read on, read slowly, and re-read if you need!) There are a couple of complicating factors. The first is how we use the English word, ‘hell’ to translate various Hebrew and Greek words . The second is the history and meaning of the phrase in the Apostles' Creed , “he descended into hell”. Let me now try and unpack these issues in turn. The various uses of ‘hell’ in translating the Bible into English The English word ‘hell’ often does double duty in translating words from the original biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek. The Hebrew word ‘ Sheol ’ is pretty much a close equivalent of the Greek word, ‘ Hades ’. These words (especially ‘Sheol’) can refer simply to the grave, where bodies decay. But mor...

Image via Wikipedia ‘The story of [ the Holocaust ] survivors,’ wrote sociologist William Helmreich, ‘is not a story of remarkable people. It is a story of just how remarkable people can be.’ The same might be said, albeit in a very different context, of the 33 hardy Chilean miners who emerged from Hades this week. It may not quite match the sheer hold-your-breath daring of, say, the Apollo 11 lunar landing , but the rescue of these Chileans – and one Bolivian – will live long in our collective memory as one of humanity’s most daring feats. Their rescue, of course, would not have been possible without their own extraordinary demonstrations of resilience and courage. Above all else this is a story about the resilience of the human spirit. In an age where we’re prone to react with a passive ‘ho-hum’ to things that would have seemed awe-inspiring a generation ago – our technology, for example – this story reminds us that our greatest resource is to be found within us and in those...