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Hell, in Christian beliefs, is a place or a state in which the souls of the unsaved will suffer the consequences of sin. The Christian doctrine of Hell derives from the teaching of the New Testament, where Hell is typically described using the Greek words Gehenna or Tartarus. Unlike Hades, Sheol, or Purgatory it is eternal, and those damned to Hell are without hope. In the New Testament, it is described as the place or state of punishment after death or last judgment for those who have rejected Jesus.[1] In many classical and popular depictions it is also the abode of Satan and of Demons.[2]
Hell is generally defined as the eternal fate of unrepentant sinners after this life.[3] Hell's character is inferred from biblical teaching, which has often been understood literally.[3] Souls are said to pass into Hell by God's irrevocable judgment, either immediately after death (particular judgment) or in the general judgment.[3] Modern theologians generally describe Hell as the logical consequence of the soul using its free will to reject the will of God.[3] It is considered compatible with God's justice and mercy because God will not interfere with the soul's free choice.[3]
Only in the King James Version of the bible is the word "Hell" used to translate certain words, such as sheol (Hebrew) and both hades and Gehenna(Greek). All other translations reserve Hell only for use when Gehenna is mentioned. It is generally agreed that both sheol and hades do not typically refer to the place of eternal punishment, but to the underworld or temporary abode of the dead.[4]
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In ancient Jewish belief, the dead were consigned to the underworld, or Sheol, a shadowy existence to which all were sent indiscriminately (cf. Genesis 37:35; Numbers 16:30-33; Psalm 86:13; Ecclesiastes 9:10).[5] However, by the third to second century B.C.E. the idea had grown to encompass separate divisions in sheol for the righteous and wicked (cf. the Book of Enoch).[6]
The Hebrew word Sheol was translated in the Greek Septuagint as Hades, the name for the underworld and abode of the dead in Greek mythology. The realm of eternal punishment in Hellenistic mythology was in fact Tartarus; Hades was rather a form of limbo where the unjudged dead dwelled.
In later Jewish belief, the place of punishment was Gehenna, a place of unquenchable fire (cf. Assumption of Moses, 2 Esdras).[7] The term is derived from ge-hinnom, a valley near Jerusalem originally used as a location for human sacrifices to the idol Moloch, and where refuse and the bodies of executed criminals were later burnt.
The New Testament depicts "Hell", the place of eternal punishment, in a variety of ways. The most common term used for "Hell" in the original Greek is γεεννα (gehenna), a direct loan of Hebrew ge-hinnom. The term is, however, found almost exclusively in the synoptic gospels.[8][9][10] Gehenna is most frequently described as a place of fiery torment (e.g. Matthew 5:22, 18:8-9; Mark 9:43-49) although other passages mention darkness and "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (e.g. Matthew 8:12; 22:13).[9]
Besides this teaching in the synoptic gospels, the concept of Hell is found in other parts of the NT when the term gehenna (translated as Hell in all English translations of the bible) is not used. The Johannine writings refer to the destiny of the wicked in terms of "perishing", "death" and "condemnation" or "judgment". St. Paul speaks of "wrath" and "everlasting destruction" (cf. Romans 2:7-9; 2 Thessalonians 1:9), while the general epistles use a range of terms and images including "raging fire" (Hebrews 10:27), "destruction" (2 Peter 3:7), "eternal fire" (Jude 7) and "blackest darkness" (Jude 13). Most biblical scholars believe this to be a symbol of eternal separation from God and God's presence. The book of Revelation contains the image of a "lake of fire" and "burning sulphur" where "the devil, the beast, and false prophets" will be "tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Revelation 20:10) along with those who worship the beast or receive its mark (Revelation 14:11).[11]
The New Testament also uses the Greek word hades, usually to refer to the temporary abode of the dead (e.g. Acts 2:31; Revelation 20:13).[6] Only one passage describes hades as a place of torment, the parable of Lazarus and Dives (Luke 16:19-31). Jesus here depicts a wicked man suffering fiery torment in hades, which is contrasted with the bosom of Abraham, and explains that it is impossible to cross over from one location to the other. Some scholars believe that this parable reflects the intertestamental Jewish view of hades (or sheol) as containing separate divisions for the wicked and righteous.[6][11] In Revelation 20:13-14 hades is itself thrown into the "lake of fire" after being emptied of the dead.
The Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches teach that Heaven and Hell are within the same realm, which is in the presence of God.[12][13] Some theologians have compared the Eastern view of Hell with the Western view of Purgatory.[citation needed]
The Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches teach that both the elect and the lost enter into the presence of God after death, and that the elect experience this presence as light and rest, while the lost experience it as darkness and torment.[14] The Orthodox see this doctrine as supported by Scripture and by the patristic tradition.
The afterlife for the damned is dreadful anticipation of Judgment Day, while the elect happily await the resurrection of the dead. Orthodox Christians pray for the dead, and believe that such prayers are beneficial for the dead. Some have misunderstood the Orthodox Church to teach that sometimes a lost soul can be saved after death through the prayers of the living. Rather, the Orthodox teaching is that the souls of the living who were destined for Hell may be prayed out of Hell whilst they are still alive on earth. That is, the prayers of Christians may lead a sinner to repentance so that a soul which would have otherwise gone to Hell is spared such a fate.
Some Orthodox theologians see another example of distinction between East and West in the teaching of Hell as a created place[15][16][17][18]. For the Orthodox, Heaven is not a place in the sky, it is being with God.[19] Salvation in the East, is not salvation from the wrath of God,[20] as St Isaac teaches that the love of God is the Tree of Life.[21] According to Eastern Christianity people are not sent down to Hell by an angry God.[22] Hell as professed in the East is not the absence of God nor the separation of one from God but rather the opposite both are being with God in the presence of God.[23][24][25] Finally the theological concept of hell or eternal damnation also via theoria is expressed different in the West,[citation needed] than in the East.[26]
The Orthodox Church holds that both Heaven and Hell are a condition of relationship with God that is either theosis or perdition, both of which are often spoken of as the effect of being in the presence of God. The Orthodox Church teaches that eternal damnation in the lake of fire and heaven occur within the same realm, which is being with God; God is Heaven, God is the Kingdom of God and Heaven.[27] For one who hates God (as existence, as Life for example called Misotheism) such a place as in the presence of God, will be eternal suffering.[28][29]
The Orthodox Church teaches that Heaven and Hell are in the same realm, and that Hell is not separation from God symbolically or physically,[30][31]
Hell as taught in Orthodoxy is a place chosen.[32] The Western understanding of Hell (called inferno or infernus) can be understood from the works of Augustine as being a place possibly located under the earth.[33] Saint Gregory of Nyssa argued that Hades (the place "which serves as a receptacle for souls after death" not the place of Hell per se) is a subterranean locale.[34]
The West too teaches that God does not cut off anyone off from himself, and that the non-physical separation from God of those in Hell is only a self-exclusion on their own part.[35][36]
As the Church both Eastern and Western teaches, there is no place where God is not, and God's love is for all human beings, including sinners. Hell is described as self-exclusion from communion with that universal love,[37] as cutting oneself off from love,[38] or but as an enemy of God.[39] Only of a human heart that excludes God can it be said that, in a sense, God is not there, and so Eastern Orthodox Bishop Kallistos Ware wrote that Hell is "the place where God is not" (emphasis in the original).[40] In his review of the Bishop's book Hieromonk Patapios criticized this expression as unorthodox.[41]
Hell is defined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph 1033):
The Catechism of Saint Pius X, an earlier Catechism still used by Traditionalists, is much more literal :
Hell is a state to which the wicked are condemned, and in which they are deprived of the sight of God for all eternity, and are in dreadful torments. (Question 1379) [42] The Catholic Encyclopedia also states: that "theologians generally accept the opinion that Hell is really within the earth. The Church has decided nothing on [the location]; hence we may say Hell is a definite place; but where it is, we do not know."[43]
Presently the Roman Catholic Church teaches that neither Heaven nor Hell is, in the proper sense, a place, created or uncreated, and that each is a question of one's personal relationship with the Trinity.[44].
Pope John Paul II declared that, while Scripture uses the image of place in relation to eternal damnation, what is really involved is a state of self-exclusion from God.[45]
In the words of Pope John Paul II, "The images of Hell that Sacred Scripture presents to us must be correctly interpreted. They show the complete frustration and emptiness of life without God. Rather than a place, Hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy".[46] Pope Benedict XVI, a theologian, stated that "Hell really exists and is eternal".[47][48]
Catholic tradition and catechisms assert the existence of purgatory, a state of existence where the saved are purified after death before entering into the presence of God. In theological terminology, "purgatory" is a separate and distinct term from "Hell".
In the Catholic translation of John 3:5, Jesus says "unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God". This statement is interpreted to mean that those who are not baptized (which in Roman Catholic tradition removes the stain of original sin) cannot go to Heaven. In Roman Catholic tradition, Limbo is the afterlife for those who die unbaptized but are not guilty of mortal sin. Those righteous souls who died before the Crucifixion were thought to have remained in the Limbo of the Fathers until "He [Jesus] descended into Hell" to take those souls to heaven (as stated in the Apostles Creed). This teaching is also known as the harrowing of Hell.
Both before and after the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church has claimed that it is possible for the non-baptized to go to heaven if the reason for their not having been baptizes is "invincible ignorance" (not their own fault) and if they follow the moral law written in their hearts. It is assumed that, had they understood the necessity of baptism, they would have chosen to be baptized. This notion has been called baptism of desire.[citation needed]
In most Protestant traditions, Hell is the place created by God for the punishment of the devil and fallen angels (cf. Matthew 25:41), and those whose names are not written in the book of life (cf. Revelation 20:15). It is the final destiny of every person who does not receive salvation, where they will be punished for their sins. People will be consigned to Hell after the last judgment.[49]
The historic Protestant view of Hell is expressed in the Westminster Confession (1646):
Traditionally, the majority of Protestants have held that Hell will be a place of unending conscious torment, both physical and spiritual,[11] although some recent writers (such as C. S. Lewis[50] and J.P. Moreland [51]) have cast Hell in terms of "eternal separation" from God. Certain biblical texts have led some theologians to the conclusion that punishment in Hell, though eternal and irrevocable, will be proportional to the deeds of each soul (e.g. Matthew 10:15, Luke 12:46-48).[52]
Another area of debate is the fate of the unevangelized (i.e. those who have never had an opportunity to hear the Christian gospel), those who die in infancy, and the mentally disabled. Some Protestants agree with Augustine that people in these categories will be damned to Hell for original sin, while others believe that God will make an exception in these cases.[11]
A "significant minority" of Protestants believe in the doctrine of conditional immortality,[53] which teaches that those sent to Hell will not experience eternal conscious punishment, but instead will be extinguished or annihilated after a period of "limited conscious punishment".[9] Prominent evangelical theologians who have adopted conditionalist beliefs include John Wenham, Edward Fudge, Clark Pinnock and John Stott (although the latter has described himself as an "agnostic" on the issue of annihilationism).[11] Conditionalists typically reject the traditional concept of the immortality of the soul.
Some Protestants (such as George MacDonald, Karl Randall, Keith DeRose and Thomas Talbott), also, however, in a minority, believe that after serving their sentence in Gehenna, all souls are reconciled to God and admitted to heaven, or ways are found at the time of death of drawing all souls to repentance so that no "hellish" suffering is experienced. This view is often called Christian universalism—its conservative branch is more specifically called 'Biblical or Trinitarian universalism'—and is not to be confused with Unitarian Universalism. See universal reconciliation, apocatastasis and the problem of Hell.
Seventh-day Adventists do not believe the wicked will suffer for eternity in Hell, but instead teach conditional immortality. Adventists believe that depictions in the Bible describing punishment for the wicked by fire describe the final fate of sinners after the second coming of Christ. In addition, they believe in the doctrine of soul sleep.
Seventh-day Adventists believe that at the second coming, Christ will resurrect the righteous who have died and take them to heaven with the living righteous. God will kill the unrighteous leaving only Satan and his fallen angels on earth. After a millennium, Christ will again return to earth together with the righteous and the "Holy City" (the New Jerusalem, Revelation 21:10). Christ will then resurrect the wicked, who will surround the New Jerusalem along with Satan. At this point God will permanently destroy Satan, his angels, and wicked humanity by fire. The Adventist view of Hell is often referred to as annihilationism.
Christian Science defines "Hell" as follows: "Mortal belief; error; lust; remorse; hatred; revenge; sin; sickness; death; suffering and self-destruction; self-imposed agony; effects of sin; that which 'worketh abomination or maketh a lie.'" (Science and Health with Key to the Scripture by Mary Baker Eddy, 588: 1-4.)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that the word Hell is used in scripture in at least two senses. To correctly understand these concepts the context of each is relevant.
Mormons believe in a concept of Hell as a state of punishment. Those who reject Christ and His Atonement ultimately will be accountable for their choices and the resulting sin(s). Righteous people, whether Latter-day Saint or not, will be resurrected and live with Christ on earth after His return.[54] In the interim period between death and resurrection those who rejected the Gospel message and those who had no opportunity to be taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ reside in a spirit prison (see sheol from Oral Torah) awaiting teaching and judgment[citation needed]. This concept aligns with second century Jewish Oral Torah tradition[citation needed]. It also describes a status separate from Hell as a permanent state of punishment[citation needed].
Further it is believed that during the millennial reign of Christ both mortal and immortal peoples will coexist. The mortal will continue to minister and teach those who have not received the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The work of teaching and ministering to those in the spirit realm continues.[55]
After the 1000 years, the individuals in spirit prison will also be resurrected and receive an immortal physical body.[56] The LDS Church explains biblical descriptions of Hell being "eternal" or "endless" punishment as being descriptive of their infliction by God rather than an unending temporal period; Latter-day Saint scripture quotes God as telling church founder Joseph Smith, Jr.: "I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore—Eternal punishment is God's punishment. Endless punishment is God's punishment."[57] It is in this sense of the word "Hell" that David prayed to the Lord, "thou wilt not leave my soul in Hell".[58]
Latter-day Saints also believe in a more permanent concept of Hell, commonly referred to as outer darkness. It is said that very few people who have lived on the earth will be consigned to this Hell, but Latter-day Saint scripture suggests that at least Cain will be present.[59] Other mortals who during their lifetime become sons of perdition—those who commit the unpardonable sin—will be consigned to outer darkness.[54] It is taught that the unpardonable sin is committed by those who "den[y] the Son after the Father has revealed him".[60] However, the vast majority of residents of outer darkness will be the "devil and his angels ... the third part of the hosts of heaven" who in the pre-existence followed Lucifer and never received a mortal body.[61] The residents of outer darkness are the only children of God that will not receive one of three kingdoms of glory at the Last Judgment.
It is unclear whether those in outer darkness will ultimately be redeemed; of outer darkness and the sons of perdition, Latter-day Saint scripture states that "the end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows; Neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof".[62] The scripture asserts that those who are consigned to this state will be aware of its duration and limitations.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe the Bible presents "Hell", as translated from "Sheol" and "Hades", to be mankind's common grave for both the good and the bad (Ecclesiastes 9:10), whereas "Gehenna" signifies eternal destruction or annihilation (Matthew 10:28), and that the idea of a place of eternal torment is something detestable to God, inconsistent with his love. (1 John 4:8; Jeremiah 32:35) [63]
Jehovah's Witnesses reject the traditional concept of "hellfire". They consider doctrines like particular judgment, the doctrine that one is judged and either punished or rewarded immediately after death, to be an innovation of the early Church.[64] They understand Revelation 20:13 -"And death and Hell gave up the dead in them." - to mean that those in Hell do not remain there indefinitely. Hades is emptied during the judgment of Revelation.[65]
A particular difference that affects their belief regarding Hell is their belief regarding the soul. Unlike religions that believe the soul is something immortal that lives on after death, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the soul is the body itself, referring to the literal translation of the verse that states that God made Adam a living soul, therefore the soul is the body. (Ezekiel 18:4; compare Genesis 2:7, 3:19) To Jehovah's Witnesses, obedience to God is a matter of eternal life or death rather than that of heaven or Hell. (Genesis 3:3; compare Romans 6:23)
The Unity Church considers the concept of everlasting physical Hell to be false doctrine and contradictory to that reported by John the Evangelist.
| “ | The word Hell is not translated with clearness sufficient to represent the various meanings of the word in the original language. There are three words from which "Hell" is derived: Sheol, "the unseen state"; Hades, "the unseen world"; and Gehenna, "Valley of Hinnom." These are used in various relations, nearly all of them allegorical. In a sermon Archdeacon Farrar said: "There would be the proper teaching about Hell if we calmly and deliberately erased from our English Bibles the three words, 'damnation,' 'Hell,' and 'everlasting.' I say - unhesitatingly I say, claiming the fullest right to speak with the authority of knowledge - that not one of those words ought to stand any longer in our English Bible, for, in our present acceptation of them, they are simply mistranslations." This corroborates the metaphysical interpretation of Scripture, and sustains the truth that Hell is a figure of speech that represents a corrective state of mind. When error has reached its limit, the retroactive law asserts itself, and judgment, being part of that law, brings the penalty upon the transgressor. This penalty is not punishment, but discipline, and if the transgressor is truly repentant and obedient, he is forgiven in Truth. - Charles Fillmore, Christian Healing, Lesson 11, item eleven. | ” |
See: Swedenborgianism
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