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| A number of words are translated as "hell" in the
Bible -- Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, and Tartarus.
Hades, the Greek word for Hell, means "place of departed spirits." Sheol is the Hebrew word for the same place. Unfortunately, it was impossible for the Bible translators to made a distinction between Hades, the place of torment, and Hades, the place of Abraham's Bosom, or Paradise. Looking at the chart at the end of this lesson, we can see how Hell at one time was separated into two parts, with one of those parts, Hell Fire, having a lower region called Tartarus. This word, Tartarus, is only used one time in the Bible, and it refers to a "lower region" of Hades, a place where some, but not all, of the fallen angels are chained until judgment. "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (tartarus), and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;..." 2 Peter 2:4 The place of torment, the place we call Hell or Hell Fire, is where all those go who are unsaved when they die. Here they are tormented in the flames as they await the resurrection of the unjust. At that time, they will be recompensed for the ungodly works they have performed. Paradise, or Abraham's Bosom, was where all deceased Old Testament saints awaited the future death and resurrection of Christ. Because Christ has now resurrected and ascended to Heaven, Paradise is now located in Heaven, and not at the center of the earth, as it was before. We know this is true because Paul was called UP to the third heaven, even "Paradise." (2 Cor. 12:1-4) It is important that you read Luke 16:19-31, Revelation 20. Monday Location of Hell There are a number of scriptures that tell us that Hell is down or beneath. (Prov. 15:24, Eze 31;16, 32:27, Mat.11:23, Luke 10:15). In Isaiah 14:9, the prophet describes Hell as "hell from beneath..." Then again in 14:16, he places the position of hell as down "...brought down to hell..." There is also a prophecy in Psalm 16:10 that says "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." Peter said in Acts 2:22-27 that this was a direct prediction of the work of Christ! Christ spent three days and nights in the heart of the earth in the place of departed spirits, or Hades! Jesus said that as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the HEART of the earth (Mat 12:40). We, therefore, know that at death Christ went to the heart of the earth. Further, he told the thief that "today" he would be with him in Paradise. Jesus took the repentant thief with him when he went to the heart of the earth. He told the thief this place was called Paradise, "Verily I say into thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." Luke 23:43 Hell's location has not changed; it is still beneath, in the "heart of the earth." Matthew 12:40 For as _________ was _______ days and _________ nights in the _________ belly; so shall the ________ of man be _______ days and _________ nights in the ________ of the _______. Ephesians 4:9 (Now that he __________, what is it but that he also _________ first into the ________ parts of the _________?) Questions:
Place Created for the Devil and His Angels Matthew recorded in Matthew 25:41: "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:" Presently, the devil is free and roaming the earth "seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8) At the beginning of the millennial reign, Christ will bind him for 1,000 years in the bottomless pit, which seems to be a region in Hell. (Rev.20:2-3) God will set a seal upon the pit, and no one or no thing will be able to open it from the inside or the outside until God sends the angel with the key to loose Satan. At the end of the 1,000 years, he will be freed for a short time to deceive the nations who have gone through the millennium in their physical bodies. At the end of the battle of Gog and Magog (Rev. 20:8), he will then be "...cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophets are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Rev. 20:10 Note: In the age called Pre-time, we found that the angels had been given a choice: follow God or follow Satan. Some chose to follow Satan. It is believed that angels from all the realms of God's creation fell. We are certain that some are free upon this earth, but we are equally sure that some are already bound in the bottomless pit. Jude 1:6 And the _________ which kept not their _______ estate, but left their own _____________, he hath reserved in everlasting ___________ under darkness unto the ________________ of the great ______. Revelation 20:2-3 And he laid hold on the ____________, that old ___________, which is the ___________, and ____________, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the ______________ _________, and shut him up, and set a __________ upon him, that he should ___________ the nations no more, till the _____________ years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be ____________ a little ___________. Questions:
What is Hell Like? We know that at death a lost man's spirit goes directly to Hell, while his body goes to the grave. This is provable by digging up any grave and examining the remains of the body. It is also provable because the scripture affirms the reality of Hell by describing it. Luke is very descriptive of this place of torment. (Luke 16:19-31) This is a place so horrible that even a vile, contemptible sinner like the rich man wanted no one to come to that place. People in Hell are in a recognizable form -- Abraham knew who the rich man was. He had fingers, tongues, eyes, and ears. Along with these characteristics, he had the ability to reason, think, and remember (he knew where he was and where he had been, what he had done, and he could remember he had brothers -- lost brothers). He could speak, hear, and feel. His emotions were intact for he had a desire for his brothers to be warned against that place of torments. He pleaded, reasoned, and begged for things to be different than they were. Hell is a place of separation from what is holy and good, with never a chance for reconciliation with God. It is a place of unquenchable fire and torment. To have just arrived in Hell would be as though one had been there for a thousand years. But what is NOT there is as important as what is there. There will be no fellowship with God, for lost man will be separated from holy God. There will be no comfort, mercy, water, or rest. All hopes and dreams will vanish in the knowledge that there will be no future -- no tomorrows and no second chances. But perhaps the worst part of all will be realizing that at one time one COULD have missed this place -- but now there is no escaping it! Luke 16:22-23 And it came to pass, that the _________ died, and was ___________ by the angels into ____________ bosom: the __________ man also died, and was _________; And in ___________ he lift up his eyes, being in ___________, and seeth ____________ afar off, and _____________ in his __________. Luke 16:27-28 Then he said, I __________ thee therefore, ___________, that thou wouldest send him to my _____________ house: For I have ___________ brethren; that he may ____________ unto them, lest they also __________ into this place of _____________. Questions:
Hell -- Not the Final Resting Place As fantastic as it may seem, there is a place worse than Hell, and there is a place better than Heaven! As we have already said, any person who does not have Christ as Savior will, upon death, go immediately to Hell (Luke 16). Here he will be tormented with indescribable torments until he is called forth to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Before this judgment seat, he will be judged according to things written in the "biblios" (books) and then be cast into the Lake of Fire. Here he receives punishment for the things done while in the body. This place is so horrible that John describes those thus confined as experiencing the "second death." Here, all lost will spend all eternity. Revelation 20:13-14 And the sea gave up the __________ which were in it; and __________ and _________ delivered up the ________ which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their _________. And _________ and __________ were cast into the _________ of ________. This is the _____________ death. Questions:
Problems Encounterd by Denying Hell as a Literal Place
And __________ was not found __________ in the _________ of _________ was cast into the __________ of ___________. Acts 2:27 Because thou wilt not ___________ my soul in __________, neither wilt thou _________ thine _________ ________ to see ________________. Acts 2:31 He seeing this ______________ spake of the _____________________ of Christ, that his soul was not left in ___________, neither his ___________ did see ______________. Questions:
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