One
of the most misunderstood topics today is the idea of "hell."
Where do sinners go when they die? What does the Bible say about
it? We're told in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 to "Prove all things…"
This study guide is intended for those who wish to learn and prove
the truth about the topic of hell.
What are some of the common ideas concerning hell today?
Where did these different ideas come from? The Bible?
The State of the Dead
ECCLESIASTES 9:5-6,10 For the living know that they will die; but
the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward,x for the memory
of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy
have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything
done under the sun. (10) there is no work or device or knowledge
or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
PSALM 115:17 The dead do not praise the LORD, nor any who go down
into silence.
PSALM 6:5 For in death there is no remembrance of You; in the grave
- who will give You thanks?
1. Describe the state of the dead. Are the dead conscious? Do they
think? Of what are they aware?
2. What do the above scriptures reveal about the popular idea that
the wicked who have died are conscious in the midst of a fire?
JOHN 5:28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which
all who are in the graves will hear His voice
JOHN 11:43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud
voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"
3. What do these verses teach us about where the dead are?
4. How do these verses answer the question about whether the dead
live on somewhere after death?
5. Some believe the righteous are with Jesus immediately after
they die, and that they see Him and converse with Him. Explain how
these verses contradict such a belief.
COMMENT: Note that when Jesus resurrected Lazarus who had been
dead for 3 days that He did not say "Come down" or "Come
up," but speaking at where Lazarus was entombed, Jesus said
"Come forth!"
GENESIS 37:35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort
him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, "For I shall
go down into the grave to my son in mourning." Thus his father
wept for him.
6. Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary says this scripture is
proof that this is describing a place of conscious existence after
death. Do you agree? Why or why not?
When and How the Ungodly Are Punished
II PETER 2:9 the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations
and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment
MATTHEW 25:31-32,41,46 " When the Son of Man comes in His
glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the
throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him,
and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides
his sheep from the goats. (41) Then He will also say to those on
the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting
fire prepared for the devil and his angels…' " (46) "And
these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous
into eternal life."
1. When is the "day of judgment" (and the time of punishment)
for the unjust?
2. What is the opposite of eternal life? Compare Matthew 25:46
and Romans 6:23.
3. What is the difference between "everlasting punishMENT"
and "everlasting punishING"?
4. What is the punishment of the unjust? Read also Revelation 20:15
and comment.
Hell Fire
JUDE 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar
manner to these … are set forth as an example, suffering the
vengeance of eternal fire.
1. If Sodom and Gomorrah suffered "the vengeance of eternal
fire," why are they still not burning? If they are not still
burning, what is meant by "eternal fire"?
2. Some believe that the wicked sent to hell will burn forever.
How does this verse and Malachi 4:1 contradict this belief?
3. Popular belief is that a "soul" cannot perish in hell
fire, but that it will undergo punishing forever. What do Matthew
10:28 and Ezekiel 18:20 say about the validity of that belief?
Four Words Translated "hell" in the Bible.
A. Sheol (Hebrew) It's used 65 times in the Old Testament and means
"grave."
B. Hades (Greek) It's used 11 times in the New Testament, and like
sheol means "grave."
COMMENT: The word "hell" itself is an old English word,
and when the Authorized King James version of the Bible was being
translated, it was common for people of the time to speak of "putting
their potatoes in hell for the winter" to preserve them. At
that time the word meant merely a hole in the ground which was covered
up.
1. Explain what Jesus meant when He said in Matthew 16:18, "I
will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against
it."
C. Tartaros (Greek) It occurs just once (in II Peter 2:4). It is
defined thusly: darkness of the material universe, dark abyss, prison.
II PETER 2:4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but
cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness,
to be reserved for judgment
2. Who is in this "hell"? Does this verse say people
are there with them?
D. Gehenna (Greek) It is used 12 times. The word is derived from
the name of the narrow, rocky Valley of Hinnom located just outside
of Jerusalem. It was where garbage and refuse was totally burned
up.
COMMENT: Christ used this word in Matthew 10:28 to describe the
fate of unrepentant sinners.
Summary
Contrast what most people believe with what God, through the Bible,
tells us about:
1. Where the dead are
2. The state of the dead
3. The punishment of the unrepentant
4. When they are punished
5. Hell
One
of the most misunderstood topics today is the idea of "hell."
Where do sinners go when they die? What does the Bible say about
it? We're told in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 to "Prove all things…"
This study guide is intended for those who wish to learn and prove
the truth about the topic of hell.