Written by H. H. JAMES

Brethren Of Christ Articles - Biblical Standpoints

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Hell, a place of rest
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“Prove all things.”— 1 Thessalonians 5:21.

In considering the question whether “hell” is a place of torment of a place of rest, it is necessary to take Bible ground.

First of all, if sinners are to be tormented eternally they must live eternally. Can they do so? Is the immortality of sinners taught in the Bible? One passage of scripture answers that question. Psalm 145.20, states, “the Lord preserveth all them that love Him: but all the wicked will He destroy.”

Here are two opposites, preservation — destruction. The one cannot be the other. That which is destroyed no longer exists. That which is preserved is in existence as long as the preservation lasts, which in the case of those who love the Lord, or the righteous, will be always, because God will confer upon them the ability to live eternally. That will be their preservation.

The destruction of the wicked is therefore, the necessary opposite to the preservation of the righteous, consequently, the immortality of sinners is impossible, and the age old belief, the “immortality of the soul,” must be “written off” as a continuation of the serpent lie, “ye shall not surely die,” Genesis 3:4, for the destruction of the wicked, is proof that they are not “immortal souls”, which could not be destroyed. The Bible does not teach the immortality of the soul. This means that the foundation is gone upon which the belief in eternal torment is built, taking with it the deathless devil doctrine and an endless “hell”, for such a devil would not be needed, and an immortal rebel like an “immortal soul,” will be found to be a baseless superstition.

Soul. The word “soul” is found many times in Scripture and with different meanings, except the one commonly assigned to it. The phrase “immortal soul” is not found. Its most frequent use is to denote “life” as in Matthew 16:25-26, where “life” is given for “soul” in both verses in the R.V. and shown to be interchangeable in the A.V. The word “immortal” is found only once in Scripture and applied to God, not to man, 1 Timothy 1:17.

The word immortality is found five times with no application to man in his present state. The references are Romans 2:7, 1 Corinthians 15:53-54, 1 Timothy 6:16, 2 Timothy 1:10. A careful reading of these passages will show how far removed man is from immortality. The word “hell” is also found in Scripture, but it cannot be associated with the preservation and torment of the wicked for the reasons given when considering Psalm 145:20. It must therefore have another meaning and use.

Hell. The word itself is of old Saxon origin, “helan,” to conceal or cover up, hence the expression, “to hell a stack” or “hell a row of potatoes” was to cover the former with thatch concealing the corn therein and the latter by drawing the earth up over the growing tubers. The “hell” of the Bible is a place of concealment.

There are three words which have been translated “hell.” They are “sheol” in the O.T., “hades” and “gehenna” in the N.T. Each is used to denote a place. Taking each word in turn what kind of place is “sheol”? The following passages will supply the answer. “I will go down into the grave (sheol) unto my son mourning,” Genesis 37:35. “Bring down my grey hairs in sorrow to the grave” (sheol), Genesis 42:38. “O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave” (sheol), Job 14:13. “The grave (sheol) is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness,” Job 17:13. “There is no work, nor device, no knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, (sheol), whither thou goest,” Ecclesiasstes 9:10. “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; O grave I will be thy destruction,” Hosea 13:14, “sheol” twice in one verse. “Which have gone down to hell (sheol) with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads,” Ezekiel 32:27. “The wicked shall be turned into hell (sheol), and all the nations that forget God,” Psalm 9:17. (Return to sheol. R.V.) From the foregoing, “sheol” equals the grave as one vast compartment of the dead, where nothing is done and nothing is known, a lifeless place of darkness. Those who have gone there, the one place where “all go,” “know not anything” and “turn to dust again,” Ecclesiastes 3:20, 9:5 & 10.

Hades. The N.T. “Hades” is the Greek equal of the Hebrew “Sheol” and has the same meaning. The following passages show this. “Thou shalt be brought down to hell,” (hades), R.V. Matthew 11:23. This was spoken by Jesus against Capernaum, a city since destroyed, leaving only ruins. “The gates of hell,” (hades), R.V., “shall not prevail against it” (my Ecclesia), Matthew 16:18. The members that make up the Ecclesia of Christ have either gone to “Hades” at death and are buried there, or if alive now, are waiting to go there when death overtakes them. But they are not to remain in “Hades”, because Jesus has the keys to the place where they have gone. “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore; and have the keys of hell and of death,” (R.V. hades) Rev. 1:18. One who has a key has the means of unlocking a door or a gate thereby releasing those detained within. In this case, Jesus has the power to bring his ecclesia out of “hades” in resurrection at his second coming, out of the place where he had been himself when he was dead, Revelation 1:18. “God raised him from the dead,” or brought him out of “hades” never to return there, Acts 13:30-37.