WHAT IS HELL?

Bible prophecy is wonderful to know, but it saves no one. Fulfilled Bible prophecy can build faith. Faith can lead to repentance and obedience to God. After proving God exists, you must move on to the remaining teachings of the Bible to get an overall perspective of the purpose for human existence. One such understanding must be about the term HELL in the Bible!

I heard one of the most frightening sermons of my life as a freshman in college delivered by a professor of Theology - religion. He went into graphic detail of an "unsaved" person dying in an automobile accident. This person had not accepted Jesus as his personal Saviour, neither been baptized for the remission of sins. According to this minister, the DEAD man went to hell. He graphically described him being roasted on one side, then turned to the other side, jumping from one hot rock to another. In constant pain and suffering for millions and millions of years, and this was only like a second in eternity to suffer. Many people were terrified for a week or two, then proceeded to live the same way they always had. This is the teaching of nearly EVERY church in the world. Is this teaching true? Where did this teaching originate? Was it from the Bible or another source?

The Bible states that God IS love! The word "is" is like an equal mark in a sentence. What is on one side must balance what is on the other side. Example: 2 + 2 = 4. In the Biblical sentence: God = love. Not one person had a choice whether to be born or not. God made all of us from "the dust of the ground." He made us with nerve endings that allow us to feel good sensations as well as pain. WHY WOULD GOD CREATE THE HUMAN RACE, LEAVE SATAN HERE TO DECEIVE THE WHOLE WORLD (Rev. 12:9), THEN PROCEED TO SEND PEOPLE INTO A FIRE THAT TORTURES FOREVER? This is a legitimate question! Would God create the human race with this background to draw upon, then say I'm torturing you because I am love. This does not even make sense.

God Is Love!

To find out what the Bible REALLY says about "hell," we need to discover a central character trait of God. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world TO CONDEMN the world; but that the world through him might be SAVED" (John 3:16-17). These verses relate that God loves the WORLD - meaning every inhabitant. It does not say that He loves ten in Mexico, thirteen in Canada, and forty in China. It says He loves the WHOLE world. His intent is that no one will perish. If a literal Satan has DECEIVED the whole world (Rev. 12:9), then it is God's responsibility to remove him and make known the truth to the world (Rev. 20:1-6; Ezek. 37:1-14). This is known as judgement. God's Spirit will be poured out upon ALL flesh, then a decision will be made as to who is obeying and believes or who is not.

Jesus Spoke of a Hell Fire

Jesus did indeed speak of a "hell" fire! Does it have any meaning for us in the 20^th Century? Did it have meaning in His day; and if so, WHAT DID IT MEAN? Jesus said: "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off [spiritually speaking, not literally]: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the FIRE that never shall be quenched:" (Mark 9:43). If you listen to ministers explanation of this verse without dissecting it, you could believe God will send people to a fire that never goes out with the accompanying pain forever. Jesus even repeated the thought using the foot as the analogy in verse 45: "…than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:" This verse seems to enforce the world's concept of a hell fire that burns forever, but does it really say that? One FACT is for sure - there will be a fire that men CANNOT quench, put out! But there is a third verse with a different example. Verse 47: "…it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:"

The English Word Hell

Unfortunately, the King James translators translate three different Greek words as the one English word "hell." The actual Greek word translated "hell" in the above three verses is Gehenna.

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