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Hell in Christian beliefs
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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.
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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. In many classical and popular depictions it is also the abode of the devil and of evil spirits.
Hell is generally defined as the eternal fate of unrepentant sinners after this life. Hell's character is inferred from biblical teaching, which has often been understood literally. Souls are said to pass into hell by God's irrevocable judgment, either immediately after death (particular judgment) or in the general judgment. Modern theologians generally describe hell as the logical consequence of the soul using its free will to reject the will of God. It is considered compatible with God's justice and mercy because God will not interfere with the soul's free choice.
In some older English translations of the Bible (such as the KJV), the word "hell" is used to translate certain words such as sheol (Hebrew) and hades (Greek). These words do not typically refer to the place of eternal punishment, but to the underworld or temporary abode of the dead.
Jewish background
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). However, by the third to second century B.C. the idea had grown to encompass separate divisions in sheol for the righteous and wicked (cf. the Book of Enoch).
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 dead went to be judged.
In later Jewish belief, the place of temporary (no longer than a year) punishment was Gehenna, a place of unquenchable fire (cf. Assumption of Moses, 2 Esdras). 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.
- And he defiled the Tophet, which is in the valley of Ben-hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech.
- And they built the high places of the Ba‘al, which are in the valley of Ben-hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech; which I did not command them, nor did it come into my mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
Hell in the New Testament
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 (gehenna), a direct loan of Hebrew ge-hinnom. The term is however found almost exclusively in the synoptic gospels. Gehenna is most frequently described as a place of fiery torment (eg. Matthew 5:22, 18:8-9; Mark 9:43-49) although other passages mention darkness and "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (eg. Matthew 8:12; 22:13).
Besides this teaching in the synoptic gospels, the concept of hell is found in other parts of the NT although the term gehenna 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). 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).
The New Testament also uses the Greek word hades, usually to refer to the temporary abode of the dead (eg. Acts 2:31; Revelation 20:13). Only one passage describes hades as a place of torment, the parable of Lazarus and Dives . 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. In hades is itself thrown into the "lake of fire" after being emptied of the dead.
Mainline church teachings
Eastern Orthodoxy
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