Today we begin our study on hell. Why talk about hell? Why not talk about heaven? Well, we will talk about heaven in a few weeks. Stay tuned the week of July 27^th. However, it is important to talk about hell because Jesus, during His ministry on earth talked about hell. In fact, Jesus taught almost twice as much on hell as he did on heaven. Therefore, it would seem to us that He wanted us to know about hell.

There are many thoughts on the reality of hell. Does hell really exist? Some think that hell is not a real place or that hell is here on earth. However, you will see this week that hell is a real place and that there is something that happens after this experience of life is over.

In the Old Testament this is the word generally and unfortunately used by our translators to render the Hebrew Sheol. It really means the place of the dead, the unseen world, without deciding whether it be the place of misery or of happiness. It is clear that in many passages of the Old Testament Sheol can only mean "the grave," and is so rendered in the Authorized Version; see, for example, Gen. 37:35; 42:38; 1 Sam. 2:6; Job 14:13.

Genesis 37:34-36

And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him. ³⁶And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.

Genesis 42:37-38

And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. ³⁸And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

 

1 Samuel 2:6

The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.

Job 14:13

13O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!

 

In the New Testament "hell" is the translation of two words, Hades and Gehenna. The word Hades, like Sheol, sometimes means merely "the grave," Acts 2:31; 1 Cor. 15:55; Rev. 20:13, or in general "the unseen world."

Acts 2:31

He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

1 Corinthians 15:55

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Revelation 20:13

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

It is in this sense that the creeds say of our Lord, "He went down into hell," meaning the state of the dead in general, without any restriction of happiness or misery.

Elsewhere in the New Testament Hades is used of a place of torment.

It is used eleven times in the New Testament, and only once translated "grave." 1 Cor. 15:55 (see above).

Hook: From the teachings of Jesus, hell is a real place. What are we teaching? Are we misleading people into thinking that there is no place of eternal torment for those that are not saved?

Hell also translates Gehenna, the Greek form of the Hebrew phrase that means "the vale of Hinnom"—a valley west and south of Jerusalem. In this valley the Canaanites worshiped Baal and the god Molech by sacrificing their children in a fire that burned continuously. Even Ahaz and Manasseh, kings of Judah, were guilty of this terrible, idolatrous practice (2 Chr. 28:3; 33:6).

2 Chr. 28:3

Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father: ²For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim. ³Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

2 Chronicles 33:2

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem: ²But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. ³For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. ⁴Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever. ⁵And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. ⁶And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

The prophet Jeremiah predicted that God would visit such destruction upon Jerusalem that this valley would be known as the "Valley of Slaughter" (Jer. 7:31–34; 19:2, 6). In his religious reforms, King Josiah put an end to this worship. He defiled the valley in order to make it unfit even for pagan worship (2 Kin. 23:10).

In the time of Jesus the Valley of Hinnom was used as the garbage dump of Jerusalem. Into it were thrown all the filth and garbage of the city, including the dead bodies of animals and executed criminals. To consume all this, fires burned constantly. Maggots worked in the filth. When the wind blew from that direction over the city, its awfulness was quite evident. At night wild dogs howled as they fought over the garbage.

Jesus used this awful scene as a symbol of hell. In effect he said, "Do you want to know what hell is like? Look at Gehenna." So hell may be described as God’s "cosmic garbage dump." All that is unfit for heaven will be thrown into hell.

The word Gehenna occurs 12 times in the New Testament. Each time it is translated as "hell."

With the exception of James 3:6, it is used only by Jesus (Matt. 5:22, 29–30; 10:28; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5). In Matthew 5:22; 18:9; and Mark 9:47, it is used with "fire" as "hell fire." So the word "hell" (Gehenna) as a place of punishment is used in the New Testament by Him who is the essence of infinite love.

Today we continue our study on hell. On Monday we looked at an overview of the Old Testament teachings on hell. As you may recall, the Hebrew word for hell is sheol. Sheol was used to either indicate the grave or a place of punishment. We saw that in the New Testament, the words for hell are Hades and Gehenna. Hades, like the word Sheol in the Hebrew was sometimes used to denote simply the grave. However, there were many instances in the teaching of Jesus where Hades meant a place of torment and punishment. We looked at this closely on yesterday as we looked at the idea of Gehenna.

Today we are going to look at a question that has puzzled the Theological world for sometime, Did Jesus go to hell during those three days between the crucifixion and the resurrection? There are many theologians that believe he did go to hell to free the Old Testament saints that were there in a place called Paradise. Then there are those that believe the scriptures do not support this idea.

You may ask, Why do I care about whether or not Jesus went to Hell? Does it affect my salvation? Not at all. However, for those of you that are part of the fivefold ministry bunch, it is important that we understand some of these concepts, especially if you are presenting them in your preaching and teaching. So, if you have said that Jesus went to hell to set the captives free, you need to listen to this study.

Let’s look at the scriptures and see what the arguments are about.

There are 2 major scriptures that give the idea of Jesus going to hell. Let’s first look at Ephesians 4:8-10 and then later we will look at 1 Peter 3:18.

Ephesians 4:8-10

8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

 

Now this scripture is a quote from the Old Testament,

Psalm 68:18

18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.

Paul explains that the quote from Ps. 68:18 (v. 8) applies to the ascended Christ. An ascent implies a prior descent. Christ’s descent into the lower parts of the earth has been variously interpreted as a descent into hell (associating it with 1 Pet. 3:19), a descent into Sheol/Hades (the realm of the dead (see Acts 2:25-35)), or as symbolically referring to His incarnation (whereby Christ descended to Earth from heaven), a descent carrying Him to the depths of humiliation (see Phil. 2:5-11). With reference to the view that He descended into hell, there is no biblical support for the notion that Jesus suffered in hell, only that He descended to Sheol to release the righteous dead into eternal glory, proclaiming the adequacy of the Atonement and validating the testimony of the prophets.

Here’s the thought, before the death of Christ, both the lost and the saved went to Hades (Heb. She<oµl) although it was divided into the place of torments and the paradise of God (also called Abraham’s bosom, cf. Luke 16:19–31).

When Jesus hung on the cross, He consoled the penitent thief that he would be in paradise with Christ on that day. One of the accomplishments of the Resurrection was to lead "captivity captive," that is, to remove Old Testament saints from Abraham’s bosom (Hades) and lead them to heaven.

This was necessary because before Christ resurrection, one could no go to heaven. The price had not been paid. But once Jesus paid the cost, those would had died before the resurrection could go to heaven.

However, when a Christian dies today, he goes immediately into the presence of God.

Philippians 1:23

23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

2 Corinthians 5:8

8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord^.

Now let’s look at 1 Peter 3:18-20

1 Peter 3:18-20

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

In the New Living Translation it says

1 Peter 3:18-20

18 Christ also suffered when he died for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners that he might bring us safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.

19 So he went and preached to the spirits in prison—20 those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.

This passage is one of the most difficult to interpret in the Bible, there being more than 90 variations of interpretation attempted by Christian scholars since the second century. Generally, however, these may be reduced to four plausible understandings:

Jesus descended into Hades (the realm of the dead) between His crucifixion and resurrection to proclaim judgment upon those condemned in the O.T. period.

Jesus descended into Tartarus (the place of confinement for fallen angels) to proclaim judgment to the fallen angels. We will talk about Tartarus tomorrow.

Jesus descended into a realm of Hades known as Paradise, in which O.T. saints were held until the atonement could be actually (historically) accomplished. The preaching would be the message of the finished atonement at Golgotha.

The Spirit of Christ (cf. 1 Pet. 1:11) preached through Noah concerning impending judgment to the disobedient spirits of men in the antediluvian (pre-Flood) civilization.

The latter two views are the more popular among evangelicals and are also the more feasible. The third view offers explanation of Eph. 4:8, 9 to the effect that Christ descended to the lower parts of the earth and led captivity captive (a reference to the loosing of O.T. saints). The fourth view better explains the specific mention of the antediluvians and their disobedience. It is in accord with Peter’s assessment of Noah as "a preacher of righteousness" (cf. 2 Pet. 2:5). In this fourth view, also, fewer difficulties are involved in harmonizing the statements of Jesus from the cross, "Today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43) and "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit" (Luke 23:46).

Today we continue our study on hell. On Monday we looked at an overview of the Old Testament teachings on hell. As you may recall, the Hebrew word for hell is sheol. Sheol was used to either indicate the grave or a place of punishment. We saw that in the New Testament, the words for hell are Hades and Gehenna. There were many instances in the teaching of Jesus where Hades meant a place of torment and punishment. We looked at this closely on Tuesday as we looked at the idea of Gehenna. On yesterday we looked at the issue of Jesus going to hell to set the Old Testament saints free.

Today we are looking at three other sections of what can be called the "underworld" and how it all relates to hell. We are going to look at Tartaros, The Abyss, and the Lake of Fire.

Tartaros

Let’s look first at Tartaros. In 2 Peter 2:4 we find a different Greek word being translated hell.

2 Peter 2:4

4 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;

Peter uses the Greek verb tartaroµgsas (to hold captive in Tartarus) to indicate where the sinning angels were sent. The word translated "hell" (from tartaroµgsas) is used only here in the N.T. The reference is to the place in which some fallen angels "who did not keep their proper domain" (Jude 6) are kept awaiting judgment.

Jude 6

6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

The sin which the fallen angels committed probably occurred prior to the Fall of Adam and Eve (cf. Gen. 3). If this is correct, we have no information as to the nature of the sin or why only certain evil angels are confined while others remain free. An alternate view is that the sin described is a reference to Gen. 6:1–4, where the sons of God (i.e., fallen angels) are said to have intermarried with the daughters of men (human women). This latter view, however, is unlikely, since it does not appear that angels (spirit beings) can have sexual relations with women (cf. Luke 20:34–36).

The verb tartaroo, translated "cast down to hell" in 2 Pet. 2:4, signifies to consign to Tartarus, which is neither Sheol nor hades nor hell, but the place where those angels whose special sin is referred to in that passage are confined "to be reserved unto judgment"; the region is described as "pits of darkness."  

Tartaros comes from the name of the subterranean region, doleful and dark, regarded by the ancient Greeks as the abode of the wicked dead, where they suffer punishment for their evil deeds.

Luke 8:31

31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.

The word translated here as "deep" is abussos meaning "bottomless". It describes an immeasurable depth, the underworld, the lower regions, the abyss of Sheol.

The "abyss" is a region which the demons fear: the burning pit prepared especially for evil angels (Matt. 25:41) out of which they can be let loose, Rev. 11:7; 17:8, until final judgment.

Revelation 11:7

7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

Revelation 17:8

8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

It is found seven times in Revelation, 9:1-2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3.

Revelation 9:1-2

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

The "abyss" is never used as the equivalent of the O.T. word "hell" (she<ol, Heb.), meaning "the place of the dead" (cf. Rev. 9:1, 2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3).

Lake of Fire

The final place of torment for the wicked. There is no escape. This is it. Death, hell, Satan, demons, and the wicked are cast here for torment forever.

Revelation 19:20

20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Revelation 20:10

10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Revelation 20:11-15

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.