Gehenna, Hell, Tartaros, Sheol:
Four Parts of Hell:
The teaching of hell in our Bible studies and churches has rapidly declined; Someone wrote, “Hell disappeared, and no one noticed.”
We know when Lucifer fell, according to Revelation 12, one-third of the angelic host was taken with him. A third were swept away, and of them, many that fell are loose upon the earth today.
Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides (remains) on him.”
From this verse we can understand there are two paths; the first is Jesus, the second is, all other ways: there are two crowds; the few who find life and those who choose destruction: and there are two destinies, life and destruction.
I believe we have reached the last of the last days; for believers, that’s good; for unbelievers, that’s bad!
Joel 3:14, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.”
In a general sense hell may be referred to as the nether world, or the underworld where the lost go. But the scriptures reveal there are four parts of the underworld, Tartarus, the Abyss, Hades, and Gehenna.
Let’s begin with Tartarus and the Abyss. The only mention of the word is found in,
2 Peter 2:4, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (Tartarus), and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.”
From this verse we may glean that certain angels sinned against God and were cast down to Tartarus, Greek is, (tattaroo) which means to “cast down into Tartarus.”
Jude 6, “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he (God) has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.”
So, the Bible teaches that Tartarus is a place where certain fallen angels have been cast into; where they have been delivered “into the chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.”
Who are these angels? Depending upon your understanding of Genesis 6:1-4, it may be speaking of angels that came into the daughters of men and bare children to them. Or they may be a certain order of angels who were in heaven who sinned against God by following Lucifer down to this earth.
But anyway, we see that Tartarus is a permanent place of confinement for these particular fallen angels who are being held until the Great White Throne judgment.
The Abyss.
In Luke 8:26-33, we read about a man in the region of Gadarenes, possessed of many devils. Jesus sees this man, and from the man’s mouth, the devils cry out, “What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high?
The Lord commands them to come out of the man, then asks them by what name are they called. The reply, “Legion: because many devils were entered into him (the man.) And they besought him the he (Jesus) would not command them to go into the deep.”
So instead, the Lord sends these devils “out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were drowned.”
The phrase, Verse 31, “go out into the deep” is the word Abyss. The word is also found in Revelation 9:1-12. What they describe is the 5th trumpet judgment, and we have the Abyss referred to three times, and the word “pit” used five different times.
Abyss is the same word Luke 8:31 uses, it’s the place where these fallen demon spirits were cast. The word “pit” is a word that is also used for a well or a shaft. It has been translated literally, “the shaft of the Abyss.”
It’s also referred to in Revelation 11:7, “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit (shaft) shall make war against them (two witnesses), and shall overcome them, and kill them.” Also,
Revelation 18:8, “The beast that thou saw 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.”
So, the shaft of the Abyss is a place of temporary confinement for fallen angles, or demons, who will be released at the 5th trumpet judgment for a period of five months to torment those who dwell on the earth during the coming Tribulation.
See also Revelation 13:4-5; “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months (3 ½ Years).”
We can see how closely the Beast and Satan are identified one with another, because the Beast is said to have also ascended out of the bottomless pit (Hades).
The final mention is found in,
Revelation 20:1-3, “And I (John) saw and angel come down from heaven, having he key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.”
Hades:
Now let’s take a look at the third part of the underworld, Hades. In the King James Bible, the two different Greek words Hades and Gehenna are usually translated, “Hell.” Luke 16:23-24, gives to us a clear description of what Hades is like.
“And in hell he (the rich man) lift up his eyes, being in torments, and sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus (the poor man) in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.”
It’s obvious here, the rich man is in a conscious state of torment because he asked Lazarus to come and dip his finger in water and put it on his tongue.
Now Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon defines Hades as, ‘the invisible, or unseen.” Thyer’s says, “Thus it (Hades) refers to the common receptacle of disembodied spirits,” meaning a spirit having no body. So, the word itself reveals to us that upon death, the spirit of a man is separated from the body. The spirit will go either to be with the Lord or to Hades.
Let me make this one comment before I move on; do any of us have the right to preach on the subject of hell? If so, we cannot teach it in a harsh and judgmental way, but with sadness and tenderness to those who are lost. I realize it’s a very difficult subject because it concerns the loved ones who may have died lost in Christ.
Hates is used ten times in the New Testament, the first in,
Matthew 11:23, Jesus said of the people in Capernaum,
“And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell (Hades): for it the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it (Sodom) would have remained until this day.”
In 2 Peter 2:9, the word Hades is not used, but Peter clearly describes what’s going on there.
2 Peter 2:9, “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.”
Let’s examine to key words in this verse, the first is “reserved” meaning “kept.” “Reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment.” It’s a present tense verb, and means, “being held captive continuously.” To say it another way, those who have died without Jesus Christ, their souls are now in Hades, being kept, or held captive continuously.
This puts to bed the teaching of soul sleep. When a person dies the literal body does sleep; it goes into the grave, but the soul goes immediately into the presence of the Lord Jesus, or it goes immediately to Hades.
Revelation 1:18, “I (Jesus) am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell (Hades) and of death.”
Jesus is the sovereign ruler, and He alone has the keys of Hades and of death. In Revelation 6:8, we read about the 4th horseman of the Apocalypse:
“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell (Hades) followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”
When the rider on the pale horse is loosed, a 4th of the earths population will die, and Hades is there to swallow up their souls as they await judgment.
Revelation 20:13-15, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell (hades) delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Again, we see that Hades is but a temporary place of confinement for the souls of the lost. Revelation 20 reveals that, from Adam until the end of time, the bodies of the dead will be resurrected. And when the Great White throne judgment takes place, death will give up the bodies of the lost, and Hades will give up their souls. Both the body and souls of the lost will be judged, and both shall be cast permanently into the lake of fire, meaning Gehenna.
Hades can be compared to a local jail where criminals are held temporarily, and Gehenna is the final place for the judged, these lost shall forever be separated from the LORD.
1 Corinthians 15:55 which follows the great resurrection and rapture chapters reads, “O death, where is thy sting: O grave (Hades), where is thy victory?”
Grave in this verse is Hades, and for all believers in Christ Jesus, death no longer has a sting, and Hades no longer a victory for Satan.
I hope these articles can encourage those who believe in and love the Lord Jesus to go out into this fallen world and teach the gospel of grace. Our time and energy may be that one final push a lost person may need to become a part of the body of Christ.
Next, we can discuss the final part of the underworld, Gehenna, also called the “lake of fire.”
Gehenna:
The 4th part of the underworld is referred to as Gehenna, or “the valley of Hinnom or the valley of the sons of Hinnom; or, the “second death;” or, “lake of burning Sulphur,” or, “the place of everlasting punishment.”
The following words were directed to the children of Israel,
2 Kings 23:10, “Topheth (place of burning), which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.”
Molech or Moloch signifies “king,” or “their king.” Moses warned the people under the penalty of death, to not dedicated their children to Moloch, by making them pass through the fire in honor of this pagan god. Also, the LORD threatened to pour out his wrath against such offenders.
In allusion to this, or the fire kept up in the valley, was in honor of the false god Moloch. The Jews frequently offered their own children to be burned alive. Hinnom, coincided in character with hell and the perpetual fires that were kept burning there to consume the filth of the city, added another similarity to those evils attributed to the place of torment.
Gehenna is used twelve times in the New Testament, and eleven of them came from the Lord himself.
Matthew 23:33, Jesus is speaking to the scribes and Pharisees, “You serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell (Gehenna.)”
Gehenna is also the final place of punishment for the unsaved. Hades and death will give up their dead, and the dead will then be cast into the lake of fire. This is always placed at the end of the world after the resurrection of,
Revelation 20-:13-15, “And the sea gave up the dead—; and death and hell delivered up the dead —- and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Revelation 19:20 tells us the first two inhabitants of Gehenna will be the Antichrist and the False Prophet, this before the 1000 Year reign of Christ begins.
In Gehenna, the body, as well as the soul is tormented. In a previous article I had mentioned in Hades only the soul is tormented for the body of the unjust will not have been raised while in Hades. But, their final resting place Gehenna, is a place of conscious torment for both the body and the soul.
Matthew 10:28, “And fear not them (men) which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him (Jesus Christ) which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna).”
Sad to say, Gehenna is a place of conscious torment. Read,
Mark 9:45-46, “And if thy foot offend thee (makes you sin) cut it off: it is better for you to enter halt (lame) into life, than having two feet to cast into Hell (Gehenna) into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm (sin) dieth not, and the fire in not quenched (put out).” Again, it’s called,
Revelation 20:14, “the second death.”
Jude 13, “The blackness of darkness forever.”
2 Thessalonians 1:9, “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.”
Matthew 8:12, “The children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Luke 12:47-48, “That servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever mush is given (in this life), of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”
Unfortunately, in today’s world of science and technology the fear of the LORD, the fear of the second death has faded for the most part from most church teaching. The current trend in our churches is to omit any teaching of Hell because it’s now seen as some kind of medieval myth.
Let me close with a quote from Robert Murray McCheyne:
“Life is like a stream made up of human beings pouring on and rushing over the brink into eternity. There is no blessing on the Christless dead. They rush into an undone eternity, unpardoned, unholy. You may put their body in a splendid coffin; you may print their name in silver on the lid; you may bring the well-attired company of mourners to the funeral in suits of solemn black; you may lay the coffin slowly in the grave; you may spread the greenest sod above it; you may train the sweetest flowers to grow over it; you may cut a white stone and engrave a gentle epitaph to their memory; BUT, it is still the funeral of a damned soul. You cannot write blessed where God has written “cursed.” He that believeth shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned.”
All a man or woman has to do is put faith and trust in the Lord Jesus. Scriptures tell us that the Lord himself is the propitiation, the satisfaction for our sins, and that the Father in heaven is satisfied.
Phillip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.com
The existence of hell is irrefutably taught in the Bible as a place for the wicked who have died in an unredeemed condition. The O.T. constantly alludes to the “cutting off” of evil from God. Except for James 3:6, the word is always used by Jesus and refers to the place of retributive suffering.
There are four distinct words in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures that are translated for the word Hell. They are as follows:
Sheol; pointedly refers to a shadowy existence beyond the grave, giving the reader the understanding of a future and continued existence.
Both Sheol, and Hades, signify the world of the departed. Neither distinguishes between the saved or the unsaved.
Neither point to the place of eternal punishment in its strictest sense. What they do point to are the regions of the dead in general. This including both Paradise, and Gehenna; Gehenna being the world of the damned.
Tartaros: Gehenna: These are more specific in their character, and strictly signify in the language of theology, the place of God’s punishment after death.
“Gehenna” or “hell.” To be in hell reflect three conditions, the absence of righteousness, the separation from God, and judgment.
New Testament writers make use of the Greek word Gehenna which is compounded of two Hebrew words, Ge- Hinnom that is “The Valley of Hinnom.” This was the literal valley of Hinnom that was outside the walls of Jerusalem. Here young babies lost their lives in sacrifices by fire to the god Moloch, the god of the Ammonites.
Gehenna is used in the N.T. 12 times; always in addressing Jews, to whom the analogical sense was easily understood.
Matthew 5:22, Jesus said, “Whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” The word fool is sometimes rendered wicked, or having contempt for God.
Matthew 10:28, Jesus said, “Fear not them (men) which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him (God) which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Matthew 23:15, Jesus said, “Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte (new convert,) and when he is made, ye make him twofold (twice) more the child of hell than yourselves.”
Manasseh at the age of 12 was the fifteenth king of Judea to rule in Jerusalem. It is said of him, “he did evil in the eyes of the LORD,” worshipping the idols of the Canaanites.
2 Chronicles 33:6, “And he = (Manasseh) caused his children (Jewish children) to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hin’-nom:”
This place was also called To’-phet. (the word toph meaning a drum) This is clarified in,
2 Kings 23:10, “To’-pheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hin’-nom,”
The name To’-phet alludes to the noise of drums, drums that would drown out the cries of the helpless children who were placed onto the red hot arms of an image of Moloch.
In this corrupt period of Jewish history, an idol, or statue of Moloch was erected in the valley south of Jerusalem. Ancient Rabbi’s inform us that the image of Moloch was made of brass. The image was half man and half beast: the head of a calf, and the body of a man. He was displayed as one sitting on a throne. On its head sat a royal crown.
The image had Its arms extended out as if to embrace some-one, or something. Its victims were the very young that would be offered in sacrifice. With fire, the brass image was heated from within. When the brass became red hot, priests would place the child on its arms where they would be consumed by the violence of the heat. In the background the drums would beat loudly, so that the cries of the young victims would be drowned out.
As time passed, this place came to be considered by the Jew’s as an emblem, or a symbol of Hell. Like Hennon with all its sorrows and pain, hell is that place of torment, a place that God has reserved for the punishment of the wicked.
As for the nature or type of punishment expected in this place called hell, we can gain some idea from the expressions and descriptions revealed in Scriptures.
1. Matthew 8:12, Jesus calls it a place of, “outer darkness,” where there shall be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The idea of both loss and pain still exists for those who are in hell. Gnashing of teeth means, pain, envy and rage. If we say there is no hell, then how do we account for the weeping, pain, and rage? So we can gather from this verse, that when a person is sent to hell, both their physical and spiritual body will feel the agony of God’s punishment.
2. Matthew 13:42-50, Jesus is speaking, “And (God’s angels) shall cast them = (sinners) into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
3. Mark 9:44-48, Sinners are spoken of figuratively as worms. Jesus said, “Where their worm = (sinners) dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” This verse supports the teaching that sinners shall never die, and the fire of hell is not quenched.
4. Luke 16:28, Hell is called, “This place of torment.” Only if one remains alive, can they be tormented.
5. Romans 2:5, “The day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”
6. 1 Peter 3:19, speaks of spirits, “In prison.” The Greek idea of prison is a placed to be watched and guarded.
7. Jude 13, Speaks of those, “To whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.” The word forever means, eternal, everlasting.
8. Jude 23. For sinners, there reward will be, “Fire.”
9. Revelation 20:3-7, Hell is called both a, “Bottomless pit, and a “prison.”
10. Revelation 21:8, “The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
It has long been debated whether the fire in Hell is symbolic or real. If the facts of Hell with its fire and brimstone are true, then Scripture should support it. If not, it will support the flip side of that teaching. So is fire and brimstone Biblical?
Revelation 14:10-11, For those who worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark, Scripture states, “The same (false worshippers) shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God (suffer God’s punishments,) which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His = (God’s) indignation (anger) and he (the wicked) shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb (Jesus Christ) And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they (the sinner) have no rest day nor night (forever, eternal,) who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”
Revelation 20:10, “And the devil that deceived them = (all those who denied and disobeyed God) was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever = (everlasting.)”
Revelation 20:12-13, these are, in total, “The dead, small and great,” shall stand “before God.” And from the book of life = (their life) shall they be judged, according to their works = (the way they lived.)” All those who have their resting place on either land or sea, shall be raised from the dead. They will be made to stand before their Maker and Judge on this day of judgment.
Revelation 20:14-15, after the book of life has been opened and read judgment is now passed by the Judge of all mankind, Jesus Christ. He said, “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.” Death and hell are represented as personified representatives of the enemies of Christ and His Church. These are to be cast into the lake of fire.
This expresses the truth of what Jesus said about His children, they shall not suffer the second death. The lake of fire is that place of the eternal second death. Our first death is a natural death that all men must suffer.
“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” This is that judgment of the whole man, his body, soul and spirit, these are those who have sinned against the Almighty.
There are those who deny the idea of hell with its eternal fire and brimstone. Scripture is very clear in its teaching and as to its reality. According to several Biblical passages, there also appears to be various degrees of punishment in Hell. Examples follow.
Luke 12:47, Jesus said, “And that servant (the sinner,) which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself = (received not the sacrifice of Jesus,) neither did according to his will = (repented and was baptized,) shall be beaten with many stripes (suffer the pains of hell.)”
Romans 2:12, “For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;”
Those who transgress against the natural laws of nature itself are compared to those who have transgressed against Christ Himself. The first shall not come under the same rule of judgment as the second. The second shall be judged under a higher standard, this for rejecting the works of Jesus finished work of salvation, and for not having received the teaching of His Holy Spirit.
Matthew 12:25-32, Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation: and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand … whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” So my question for those who say there is no hell, “If NOT the world of the damned, then what world would that be?
Hebrews 10:28-29, “He that despised = (rejected) Moses law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer = (worse) punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden = (trampled) under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing = (common thing,) and hath done despite = (insults) unto the Spirit of Grace = (Holy Spirit?)” God will regard the measure of men’s evil works.
It is the curse of evil eternally that propagates evil: Therefore for those who defile, or rail against Christ with their mouths, with their deeds, and blaspheme Him from their hearts, there is subjectively no renewal for that person. Therefore no further sacrifice for sins can be made. These shall suffer the second death.Why is hell eternal? Because of the disproportion between temporary crimes here on earth, and the eternal punishments of hell. They claim that the word, “everlasting,” is not to be taken in its utmost sense. It can only mean a long time having a limited time placed on it. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about this. Do they proven these claims or reject them?
First the word everlasting: It is the Hebrew, “owlam,” or, “olam.” The Greek is, “alonios.” It means perpetual, eternal. It is spoken chiefly of time future, and sometimes of time past, forever.
The answer lies in the observation that the word eternal is used, sometimes in the very same place to express,
The “Eternal happiness of the righteous,” as opposed to,
The “Eternal misery of the wicked.”
So I ask the question, Is there any reason to believe that the words express two different ideas, as standing in the same connection?” If happiness is eternal, why then would misery not be eternal.
It’s not true that temporary crimes do not deserve eternal punishment?
Why, because the length of punishment is never measured by the time it takes to commit the crime. It only takes a moment to kill a person in cold blood. When that person is caught, convicted, and judged guilty, that person must forfeit their life. If the convicted person refuses to repent of that sin, then the justice of an offended God will and must vindicate His injured majesty, this glorifying His eternal justice. It is God’s justice, not ours that has been offended.
The prophet Job also believed in a future resurrection of the dead. His book is thought to be the oldest book of the Bible. Many scholars believe that Job lived soon after Noah’s flood. We read the following in,
Job 14:14-15, “If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come (given an incorruptible body.) Thou = (God) shalt call, and I will answer thee (be raised from death”
Job speaks of the future coming of Messiah, and the resurrection of the dead.
Job 19:25-29, “I know that my redeemer (Jesus) lives, (the resurrected Savior,) and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh (resurrected new body) shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. Verse 29: Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.”
Question; How did Job come by this doctrine of a resurrection, and of a future judgment? My reply would be;
Jude 14-15, “Enoch also the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold the LORD cometh with ten thousand of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince = (convict) all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed.”
Enoch was a prophet of God before the flood, therefore before Job. He understood the raising of the dead.
He goes on to say, there remains transgressions and errors; moral error and dangerous tendencies in confining rewards for the just, and punishments to the wicked, in the present life only.
The rich and the poor, the strong and the weak, king’s and beggar’s alike will all be brought down by the first death, their place will be either paradise or hell! We have a merciful God. Where our final place will be, will be determined by our choices here while we are still alive. If unsuccessful here, no blame will be allowed, no excuses, no pity, no appeals allowed. Judgment will be just, swift, and final. Will you be found Innocent? or will you be found guilt.
To conclude; those who enter into hell will never again enter into the presence of God. Therefore this idea of judgment, this note of finality to all mankind is a warning against sin and mans sinful nature.
Phillip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.com