YOU NEED TO KNOW HELL, The place of eternal punishmentfor the unrighteousness, The NKJV and KJV use this word to translate Shoel and Hades, the Old and New Testament words. respectively, for the abode of the dead. Hell as a place of punishment translates Gehenna, the Greek form of the Hebrew word that means the vale od Hinnom--a valley just south of Jerusalem. In the valley the Canaanites worshiped Baal and the Fire-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). 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, fire 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 and gnashed their teeth 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 the valley of Gehenna. So Hell may be described as Gods 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. In Mark 9:46 and 48; hell is described as a place where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. Repeatedly Jesus spoke of outer darkness and a furnace of fire, where there will be wailing, weeping, and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28). Obviously this picture is drawn from the valley of Gehenna. The Book of revelation describes hell as a lake of fire burning with brimestone ( Rev. 19:20; 20:10, 14-15; 21:8). Into Hell wi;l be thrown the beast and the False prophet (Rev. 19;20). At the end of the age the Devil Himself will be thrown into it. along with death and hades and all whose names are not in the Book mof life. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Rev. 20:10). Because of the symbolic nature of the language, Some people question whether hell consists of actual fire. Such reasoning should bring no comfort to the lost. The reality is greater than the symbol. The Bible exhausts human language in describing heaven and hell. The former is more glorious, and the latter more terrible, than language can express.
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 23:00:29 +0000
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