This started out in a
discussion on Hell over at TORC.
Basically, I always thought that Christian theology stated fairly unambiguously that those who do not accept salvation through Christ are tormented forever in hell (Traditionalism). While reading around for information for use in that thread, I’m starting to think that that interpretation is quite possibly wrong.
Basically, I think that Annihilationism (the idea that the souls of the unsaved are destroyed in a total and final death) is closer to the mark. This view is held, I believe, by Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and a number of evangelical Anglicans. The Traditionalist view is either supported only by a minority of verses, or else is the result of sloppy translation.
Firstly, what is Hell? Several different words are translated into the English ‘hell’. Leaving aside the Old Testament Hebrew Sheol, we have the Greek Hades, Tartarus and Gehenna. To quote from
wikipedia, which in turn quotes from Jeff Priddy:
The religious and secular man's nightmarish ideas of HELL (that is, of a Christ-managed hothouse where sinners get burned forever) come to them compliments of ... careless translating ... the practice of ignoring separate Greek words.
In 2 Pet. 2:4, God chose the Greek word "Tartaros" (ταρταροω; English transliteration, "Tartarus") to identify the temporary abode of sinning angels. Tartarus holds spirit beings, not humans, and there is not a flame on the premises. The KJV and NIV translators (neither of whose versions have any influence in the expression of Eastern Orthodox doctrine) gave this specific Greek word the English equivalent, "hell".
In Matthew 5:22 (and in several other places), God chose a different Greek word, "Geenna," (English transliteration: "Gehenna") to name a valley on the southwest corner of Jerusalem where the corpses of criminals will be disposed of during the thousand-year kingdom. There are flames here, yes, but the flames cremate the dead (Is. 66:24), they don't torture the living. Most of humanity is not even alive to see Gehenna (Rev. 20:5), let alone be tormented there. The KJV and NIV translators gave this specific Greek word the English equivalent, "hell".
In Luke 16:23 (and in other places), God chose the Greek word, "hades", to describe the state of invisibility; in Greek, the word means "unseen". God uses this word often to describe a person's nonexistence in death: unless spoken of figuratively, a dead person doesn't see anything, hear anything, feel anything, know anything, do anything: hades. Flames, screams, pointy tails and pitchforks are conspicuously absent. All the dead "go" here, not just the wicked. The KJV and NIV translators gave this specific Greek word the English equivalent, "hell".
So, what does the New Testament say?
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in [or through] Christ Jesus our Lord.
In other words, according to this verse, the two outcomes for any soul are ‘eternal life’ or the opposite of eternal life, which the verse conveniently tells us is ‘death’. If you are being enternally tomented, then you are experiencing eternal life. This contradicts what Romans tells us here – eternal life is the gift of God. This is not the only verse which talks about this distinction.
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
According to these verses, being cast into ‘the lake of fire’ results in destruction, not enternal torment. So what is hell, in that case? Most likely, the place where rebellious angels are punished:
10And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The Devil and false prophet are tormented for ever and ever (or are they? There’s a possible mistranslation issue here – the verse could read ‘for aeons and aeons’ – see below). But here’s no mention of the sinners.
Now, what of the verses which say differently?
Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
[…]
Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.
The lake of fire cannot both be ‘death’ and ‘eternal punishment’. I’m kinda stuck here because I don’t know what the original phrase was. The author here may be using the term ‘eternal punishment’ to describe total death, as someone who dies totally does not get to live in the Kingdom of God. Read with the verses I posted above, it seems that being cast into the lake of fire results in destruction for people and torment for spiritual beings.
The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell [Hades], where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'
[…]
He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
This verse is odd because refers to ‘Hades’. It may also be a parable. This is the definate spanner in the works for my theory.
There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.
An odd one. I don’t know exactly what to make of it.
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."
This does refer specifically to those who go over to the antichrist, though, not sinners in general.
To add a few extra translation notes, I’ll save myself some effort and just quote wikipedia:
The Greek words "Hades" and "Gehenna" are sometimes translated into the word "hell", though the concepts are dissimilar. Martin Luther, for example, translated the word "Hades" five times as the German word for "hell" (Hölle) (for example Matthew 16:18), and twice as "the dead", twice as the "world of the dead", and once as "his kingdom" (all in German). "Gehenna" was translated by Martin Luther eight times as "hell" (for example: Matthew 5:22,29,30; 18:9; Mark 9:43,45; and so on) and four times as "hellish". In Norse mythology the underworld was a cold, monotonous place, which was commanded by the goddess Hel. The place was called Hel, too.
Newer translations of the Bible translate "Hades" or "Sheol" into the words "world of dead", "underworld", "grave", "crypt" or similar, but still translate the word "Gehenna" into the word "hell".
The word "Hades" of the New Testament is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word "Sheol" of the Old Testament (Acts 2:27, Psalms 16:10). What happens in Hades, or rather Sheol, Ecclesiastes tells us: "for in the Sheol, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." (Ecclesiastes 9,10) and "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. " (Ecclesiastes 9:5; see also Psalms 89:49; 139:8; Numbers 16:30). "The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the Sheol and raises up. " (1 Samuel 2:6). The souls of all human beings are going to Hades, whether they believe or not (John 5:28-29; Job 3:11-19, 14:13; Ez 32:18-32; Ps. 31:17; Dan. 12:2).
Geenna (or Gehenna) is the name of an earthly place. It comes from Hebrew and means "Gorge of Hinnom (Ge-Hinnom)". This gorge can still be visited today near Jerusalem. In the time of the Old Testament it was a place where children were sacrificed to the Ammonite god Molech (2 Kings 23:10). That cultic practice was, according to the Old Testament, imitated by King Solomon in the 10th Century B.C.E. and under the leadership of king Manasseh in the 7th Century B.C.E. and in times of crisis until the time of exile of the Jews in Babylon (6th Century B.C.E.). The prophet Jeremiah, who condemned that cult strictly, called the valley the "gorge of killing" (Jeremiah 7:31-32; 19:5-9). Gehenna became later a central garbage dump, to stop the practice of child sacrifice. At the turn of the 1st Century C.E. the gorge was used also to burn the dead bodies of criminals after their execution. The image of burning dead bodies probably inspired Jewish, and later Christian theologians to translate that place into the word "hell".
The sea of fire after the last tribunal in Revelation 20:14 isn't translated into the word "hell", but sometimes gets the connotations of "hell". In that sea of fire are thrown the beast, the devil, the false prophet, and Hell (Hades) itself, along with evil-doers, according to Revelation 20:12-15. "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for aeons of aeons." (Revelation 20:10) Many people mistakenly assume "Ages of Ages" to mean forever, but Aeon is definitely a fixed length.
So, in the end, this is what we get:
There is an actual place which may be described as hell –
Tartarus. It is for the devil and his angels. Normal people who die in their sins go to
Hades – death. When someone dies, they sleep in their grave until they are ressurected for the final judgement. When they rise, they are corporeal – they have their bodies. Those whose names are in the book of life are given eternal life, while those whose names are not are cast into the lake of fire and thus destroyed.
This also resolves the so-called problem of hell. It is difficult to comprehend an all-loving God inflicting eternal punishment on people, especially when they cannot avoid sin (Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of the Lord…â€), an all-powerful God letting such a situation continue or an all-knowing God creating mankind and creating souls knowing that they will experience a brief life and then most will be tormented forever. Annihilationism is arguably more sensible – you can either accept or reject God, and that’s exactly what you get – live with him forever or die eternally. They are not punished for rejecting God per se.
This isn’t anywhere near complete – I’ve put it together by reading wikipedia and hunting for bible verses after all, but I think that it has merit. Opinions?