A Sheol.

B. Hades.

C. Gehenna.

1. Unquenchable Fire.
2. Memory and Remorse.
3. Thirst.
4. Misery and Pain.
5. Frustration and Anger.
6. Separation.
7. Divine Wrath.
8. Prepared for Satan.
9. Eternal.

1. Satan.
2. The Antichrist.
3. The False Prophet.
4. Fallen Angels.
5. Judas Iscariot.
6. All Unsaved People.

Ex. 20:13; Num. 16:32,33; 2 Kings. 23:10; 2 Chron. 28:1-4; Prov. 6:16-19; 29:25; Dan. 12:2; Hab. 3:2; Matt. 3:12; 8:1,2; 13:41,42; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30,41,46; Mark 9:43; Luke 16:19-31; John 3:16; 8:44; 9:22,12:42,43; 14:2; Acts 1:25; Rom. 1:22,23; 16:20; Eph. 5:5; 2 Thes. 2:8; Heb. 13:4; 2 Pet. 2:4,17; 1 John 2:22; 3:15; Jude 6,7,13; Rev. 2:2,11; 9:21; 14:10; 18:23; 19:20; 20:6,10-15; 21:8.

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15).

Of all the many doctrines in the Bible, undoubtedly the very first that the unbeliever will deny and the weak believer will question is the doctrine of Hell. Satan has successfully accomplished this coveted goal through the following of three methods: (1) Rationalism, "There is no God, and therefore there can be no Hell;" (2) Ridicule, "There may be a God, but it is silly to speculate about multitudes of disembodied spirits flying in some literal lake of fire somewhere;" and (3) Religion, "There is a God, but He is a God of Love, and therefore would not and could not send anyone to Hell". Regardless of the doubts and denials of men, the Bible dogmatically declares the existence and realty of Hell.

Here three key words must be defined:

Sheol is a Hebrew word, found sixty-five times in the Hebrew Old Testament. It is translated "hell" thirty-one times, grave" thirty-one times, and "pit" three times.

Hades is a Greek word, found eleven times in the Greek New Testament. It is translated "hell" in the King James Version. Both Sheol and Hades refer to the same place, but neither should be rendered "Hell." Many Bible students’ hold that Sheol-Hades was simply a temporary abode for all departed human spirits. It may have been divided into two compartments with a great gulf between them (Luke 16:26). The compartment for the saved in Hades (known as Paradise) was de-populated after the Cross by the Savior Himself. The unsaved departed, however, continue to dwell in the fires of Hades awaiting their final judgment and destiny (Rev. 20:11-15).

Gehenna is a Greek word (with a Hebrew background), found twelve times in the Greek New Testament and always translated correctly "Hell." A history of the word Gehenna will be helpful here. In the Old Testament, a wicked Israelite king named Ahaz forsook the worship of Jehovah and followed the devil-god Molech. In his insane and immoral attempt to please Molech, the king actually sacrificed his own children in the fires as burnt offerings to his abominable idol (2 Chron. 28:1-4). This all took place in a deep and narrow valley to the south of Jerusalem called the Valley of Hinnom. This terrible practice was stopped under the reign of godly king Josiah (2 Kings. 23:10), but the Valley of Hinnom continued to be used as the dumping and burning ground for the garbage and filth of the city of Jerusalem. As one therefore combines both Old and New Testament meanings, he sees described a place of filth and sorrow, of smoke and pain, of fire and death! This, then, is the word the Holy Spirit chose to employ in describing the final destiny for the unsaved. With all these things in mind, one is forced to the sobering fact that Gehenna Hell is God's final dumping and burning place for the refuge of His universe-namely all unsaved men and apostate angels!

Where is Gehenna Hell located? While the Bible definitely indicates that Hades is down in the heart of the earth somewhere (Num. 16:32,33), it teaches otherwise about Gehenna. It is described as "outer darkness," a place to which the unsaved are "cast" (Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30). It is also described as a "mist of darkness" (2 Pet. 2:17) and as the "blackness of darkness" (Jude 13). From these verses it becomes immediately clear that Gehenna Hell may well be located away from this earth, a place of outer darkness, to be found perhaps in some remote spot near the edge of God's universe.

If one thus distinguishes between Hades Hell and Gehenna Hell, he will understand the words of John in describing the final resurrection of the wicked dead and their judgment. John writes: "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire . . . " (Rev. 20:14). By this John meant that both death (which claimed the bodies of all dead unbelievers) and hell (that is, Hades Hell, which had held the spirits of all unsaved men) gave up their possessions, thus resulting in the joined bodies and spirits of all the unsaved being cast into Gehenna Hell.

What will Gehenna really be like? Consider these characteristics:

Hell is a place of unquenchable fire (Matt. 3:12; 13:41,42; Mark 9:43).

Hell is a place of memory and remorse. In Luke 16:19-31 the unsaved rich man experienced memory and remorse over his lost condition in Hades. Surely these experiences will not be lessened in Gehenna.

Hell is a place of thirst. Again in the Luke 16 account we read of the rich man's plea for a drop of water to cool his tongue (Luke 16:24).

Hell is a place of misery and pain (Rev. 14:10,11).

Hell is a place of frustration and anger (Matt. 13:42, 24:51).

Hell is a place of separation. Often the unsaved man jokes about Hell in the following manner: "Well, if I do go to Hell, I won't be lonely, for all my friends will be there too." But quite the opposite is true. In at least four separate passages (Rev. 2:11; 20:6,14; 21:8) Gehenna Hell is called "the second death." Death in the Bible refers to separation. Thus Hell is literally the second death, for the sinner will be forever separated from God. And, inasmuch as Gehenna is a place of darkness, this separation will doubtless isolate him from the companionship of unsaved friends as well.

Hell is a place of undiluted divine wrath. Man has already experienced some of God's wrath on this earth, though not in its pure state. After the flood there has been the rainbow, for up to this point God has always heard and answered the prophet Habakkuk's prayer, "0 Lord . . . in wrath remember mercy" (Hab. 3:2). But no more! All living unsaved men should carefully ponder over the following frightful words: "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation . . ." (Rev. 14:10). God's final wrath will not be mixed with mercy.

Hell is a place originally prepared for Satan and his hosts. Perhaps the saddest fact about Hell is that unsaved man goes there as an uninvited guest: "Then shall he say . . . Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:41). How tragic therefore when the sinner will refuse Heaven, that place prepared for all repenting men (John 14:2), only to eventually descend into Hell, a place originally not created for him!

Hell is a place created for all eternity. The Greek word for everlasting is aionios (eye-o'-nee-as), and is found seventy-one times in the New Testament. Sixty-four of these instances are in reference to God, such as His eternal power, spirit, kingdom, covenant, etc. The remaining seven instances are directly related to the duration of Hell. In other words, Hell will continue as long as God's works continue, which is forever (Dan. 12:2; Matt. 25:46; Jude 7).

Who shall be someday confined to Gehenna forever?

"And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly" (Rom. 16:20). "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone . . ." (Rev. 20:10).

"And then shall that Wicked [one] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming" (2 Thes. 2:8).

"And the beast [Antichrist] was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him . . . These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone" (Rev. 19:20). As this judgment takes place prior to the millennium, these two foul criminals thus become the first and second unsaved creatures to enter the lake of fire!

"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" (2 Pet. 2:4). The word translated Hell is "Tartaros" in the Greek New Testament and is found only here. It is possible that Tartaros is a special place in Gehenna. "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" (Jude 6)

The betrayer of Jesus Christ is singled out here in particular because there are those (notably the late Kenneth S. Wuest of the Moody Bible Institute faculty) who believe Judas will be consigned to a special place in Gehenna on the basis of Peter's words concerning Judas in the upper room just prior to Pentecost: "Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place" (Acts 1:25).

In Rev. 21:8 John classifies all sinners into eight general categories. These are: the fearful (Prov. 29:25; John 9:22; John 12:42,43); the unbelieving (John 3:16); the abominable (Prov. 6:16-19); murderers (Ex. 20:13; 1 John 3:15); whoremongers (Eph. 5:5; Heb. 13:4); sorcerers (Rev. 9:21; 18:23); idolaters (Rom. 1:22,23); and liars (John 8:44; 1 John 2:22, Rev. 2:2).

Hell is a reality. It is a place of unspeakable torment. It is eternal. There is no escape from it except through Christ. The teacher should use this lesson to reach any unsaved students and to challenge saved students to actively win souls to Christ.

THREE NAMES OF HELL ARE:_____________________, ______________________, ___________________________ .

Hell is a place of __________________________________ (Matthew 8:12).

1. The fire of Hell is ___________________________ (Matthew 3:12).

2. The unsaved rich man experienced ___________________ and ___________________________in Hell (Luke 16:19-31).

3. The rich man wanted a drop of ______________________ to cool his tongue (Luke 16:24).

4. Death in the Bible refers to ____________________________________ .

5. Other characteristics of Hell are: ___________________, _________________, __________________, __________________ .

OCCUPANTS OF HELL.

1. Hell was prepared for _______________________ and his________________________(Matthew 25:41).

2. Other occupants of Hell will be _________________________, ______________________, _______________________, and

all the __________________________. (Revelation 21:8).

Memory Verse: And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15).

Brief Studies