Hell [page under construction]

What is Hell? Is it a blazing hot place of eternal torment? Is it the state of death outside of any presence with God?...the place for souls of the rebellious who would not come to belief in the Savior, Jesus of Nazareth? Or is it a place for the eternal relegation of those of the spirit world who are/were opposed to God? The idea of such an eternal Hell might suggest a God who acts simply to satisfy His own need for justice & revenge...not further intending to cause change in the one punished.

Scripture uses 3 words which translators have used for the word Hell:

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Sheol: the place of the dead; depths of the earth; or the gloomy underworld of departed spirits (Psalm 139:8)...Old Testament & contains spirits of both righteous (Psalm 16:10 & 30:3; Isaiah 38:10) & wicked (Numbers 16:33; Job 24:19; Psalm 9:17).

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Hades: New Testament term referring to an intermediate place for the good & bad.

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Gehenna: the valley of Hinnom outside the wall at the southern end of old-city Jerusalem where, during a dark period in Jewish history, the human-baby-sacrificial rites of Molech were celebrated & the place later converted by King Josiah into a place of abomination where dead bodies were thrown & burned...being later considered symbolic of the place of lost spirits.

Could Hell be that state of being separated from God both on earth and in the afterlife? In the sense of the concept of Universal Reconciliation, might afterlife Hell be separation from God because those who were closer to God are in zones of Heaven...seats in Heaven...closer to God?

Here are some scriptures related to this topic:

  1. Matthew 5:22

  2. Matthew 5:29

  3. Matthew 7:19

  4. Matthew 10:28

  5. Matthew 11:23

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Links:

  1. an explanation of Hell website

(posted 11 March 2005; latest update 1 October 2006)