I don’t know about you, but hell has always occupied a rather peculiar place in my theology. I haven’t always known what to do with it. I’m pretty sure we can’t get rid of it (a trend in some churches), and yet it cannot be the focus of the Christian message (also a trend in some churches). I find myself trying to navigate a confusing mixture of messages that come from the Church, the church tradition, and oddly enough popular culture. (It would seem that the only place that our culture is allowed to believe in the supernatural is in horror movies, and they offer a remarkably one-sided view; supernatural evil is rarely countered with supernatural good.)

So over the next few weeks, I want to dig into the concept of hell, and with it the concept of heaven. I want to look at what we can say for sure about the existence and nature of hell and what we can’t, and the different ways that Christians have filled in some of the gaps of our knowledge. Then we’ll take a look at heaven too. But before we begin, let me just say that you’ll learn more about heaven and hell by reading C.S. Lewis’ classic The Great Divorce than anywhere else I know of. (Or listen to it.) Read it slowly and multiple times. It is worth it.

Also, as we go along, I’d love to hear your questions or comments so please feel free to post them here or on Facebook or Instagram.

When it comes to hell, it would seem that there are some things that we can truthfully say, but many things that we cannot say within the bounds of the available evidence. Historically speaking, orthodox Christianity has rejected the idea of universalism - the idea that everyone will be saved. So if heaven is the fate of those who are saved, then there must be a different fate for those who are not saved. This fate we will call “hell”. But let’s not fill in that concept just yet. In my study of the language of hell, one of the most agreed upon statements is that our modern concept of “hell” is far richer than anything we find in the Bible. So it might be helpful to consider what kind of images and feeling arise in you when you hear the word “hell” and try and set those aside. I am of a tradition that values the biblical text as the primary authority in such matters, so I want to use it as the basis of my concept of hell.

To do that, let’s look at the language that the Bible uses to talk about the afterlife, except for heaven. There are four main words we find in the Bible that could be translated as “hell”: Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, Tartaros. Sheol is an Old Testament word, the other three are New Testament words. A look at these words will give us an idea of the concepts that the biblical writers were drawing upon when talking about “hell.” (For the more studious and curious of you, I’ve put references at the end to where these words show up in the Bible.)

Sheol (Hebrew)
In the Old Testament Sheol is simply the place of the dead. It is located somewhere under the earth as that is where the dead are buried. It is a place of decay and gloom. The word Sheol is often used as a synonym for “death” or “the grave” so that to die is to go to Sheol. One of the implications of this is that everyone goes to Sheol when they die, the righteous and the unrighteous. Sometimes Sheol is a place where the unrighteous are punished, but there is no alternative location for the righteous dead in the Old Testament. There is not a highly developed concept of the afterlife in the Old Testament, so we find again that our modern day idea of “hell” carries far more significance than Sheol does.

Hades (Greek)
When the Old Testament was translated into Greek (the language of the New Testament) the word Hades was used to translate Sheol. In many ways it carries a similar meaning. Hades was originally the name of the god of the underworld in the Greek pantheon, but later became the place where the dead went. Much like Sheol the place Hades was the destination for all the dead. But there were some differences or developments: 1) Hades was where everyone went after they died, but it was a temporary place where the dead awaited judgment day. 2) Hades was a place of reward or punishment. Since all the dead went there it was a place where the good and righteous found rewards there, while the wicked and godless found punishment. But again this was a temporary state.

One of the interesting implications of this understanding of Hades is found in Jesus’ parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus which is found in Luke 16:19-31. Go ahead and read it; I’ll wait. Jesus uses the word Hades in this parable and we would be wise not to read in our modern ideas of hell into it. Since Hades is the place where all the dead go, it makes sense that both the Rich Man and Lazarus are in Hades in the second half of the parable. The Rich Man is in an area of torment far from Lazarus who seems to be in an area of peace. But they are both in the same temporary realm awaiting judgment day. This parable does not depict a final state of heaven and/or hell.

Gehenna (Greek/Hebrew)
Gehenna is the Greek version of a Hebrew term that literally means “the valley of Hinnom.” Which was a real place not far from Jerusalem. It was a ravine on the southside of the city that in Old Testament times had been a place of child sacrifice and in New Testament times was a site where garbage was dumped and burned. You can see why Jesus uses fiery imagery when he talks about Gehenna. I find it interesting that only Jesus and his (half-)brother James use the term Gehenna. I imagine that they talked often of it as a place of evil or of horror as they grew up and traveled to Jerusalem. Beyond the historical significance there isn’t a lot we can say about Gehenna. It seems to be used in much the same way as Hades or Sheol are. Again we find that our word “hell” carries far more weight that the language the Bible uses.

Tartaros (Greek)
The final word that the Bible uses for the idea of hell is Tartaros (actually a verbal form of the word). It only shows up once, in 2 Peter 2:4, and it doesn’t seem to have any significance for a study of hell. Tartaros is another place that comes from Greek mythology. It was a place deeper in the earth than Hades and it was a place of punishment for the Titans. Even in 2 Peter it is a place of judgment for divine beings like fallen angels or demons. There doesn’t seem to be any connection between Tartaros and the fate of human beings.

Summary
These are the four concepts in the Bible that are closest to our concept of hell. As such they should be the foundation of our understanding of hell. But of course if we are going to really do justice to the Christian view of the afterlife other words/concepts are important too. We would be wise to pay attention to how the Bible defines concepts such as death and life, and even what concept lies behind language like “forever.”

We’ll keep exploring next week. If you have questions or comments, please post them.

Appendix: Bible References
Sheol: This word shows up dozens of times in the OT, so the following references are simply meant to be representative. Sheol as “the grave” - 1 Kings 2:6, 9; as a place of “decay” - Psalm 16:10; as a place underground, “depths” - Amos 9:2; as a place where God is present - Psalm 139:8. Isaiah 14:9-11 offer perhaps the fullest description, but it is still rather vague. And then what shall we do with the story in 1 Samuel 28 where Saul uses a medium to speak to Samuel who is dead?

Hades: This word only shows up ten times in four books. Here is where: Matthew 11:23; 16:18, Luke 10:15; 16:23, Acts 2:27, 31, Revelation 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14.
Note: The Acts references are quoting Psalm 16, where Hades is used to translate Sheol.

Gehenna: This word shows up twelve times in four books in the New Testament. Here is where: Matthew 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33, Mark 9:43, 45, 47', Luke 12:5, James 3:6. You can find examples of the Valley of Hinnom as a place of horror in the Old Testament at 2 Kings 23:10 and Jeremiah 7:32.