Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:
(conceal). Hebrew “sheol;” translated “grave” (1 Sam. 2:6); “pit” (Num. 16:30); “hell” (Job 11:8), in O. T. In N. T., Hades and Gehenna are translated hell (Acts 2:27; Matt. 5:29). Gehenna, or Valley of Hinnom, alone implies a place of burning or torture.
Concise Bible Dictionary:
In the AV this is the translation of
1. sheol, which is often translated “grave,” and three times it is “pit.” It refers to an invisible place or state, which may have several applications, according to the connection of each passage. Korah and his company and their houses went down into “sheol” (Num. 16:33). Jonah said, “Out of the belly of ‘sheol’ cried I” (Jonah 2:2). “The wicked shall be turned into sheol” (Psa. 9:17). “Let them go down quick into ‘sheol,’ for wickedness is in their dwellings” (Psa. 55:15; Prov. 7:27). But for the redemption which faith looked for “sheol” must have had to Old Testament saints the character of eternal punishment, and so finally “hades” will be cast into the lake of fire. The word also refers to the place of departed spirits. The Lord said, “Thou wilt not leave my soul in ‘sheol’” (Psa. 16:10). This signification corresponds with
2. ἄοης, hades, which occurs where this last passage is quoted in Acts 2:27,31; and has the same meaning in other passages: (Matt. 11:23; Matt. 16:18; Luke 16:23; Rev. 1:18; Rev. 6:8; Rev. 20:13-14).
3, γέεννα, Gehenna, the Greek equivalent for two Hebrew words, signifying “valley of Hinnom.” It was the place near Jerusalem where the Jews made their children pass through fire to heathen gods, and which was afterward defiled (2 Kings 23:10). A continual fire made it a fit emblem of the place of eternal punishment (Matt. 5:22, 29-30; Matt. 10:28; Matt. 18:9; Matt. 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5; James 3:6). The above named place of defilement and fire is also called in the Old Testament TOPHET or TOPHETH (2 Kings 23:10; Isa. 30:33; Jer. 19:13).
4. ταρταρόω, “to cast into Tartarus,” a term used by heathen writers for the “deepest abyss of the infernal regions,” a place of extreme darkness (2 Pet. 2:4: Compare 2 Pet. 2:17 and Jude 13).
Whatever figurative meaning there may be in the use of any of the above words, it is plain and certain from scripture that there is a place of everlasting punishment. It is awfully described as the LAKE OF FIRE, “the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone” (Rev. 19:20; Rev. 20:10, 15; Rev. 21:8). It was prepared for the devil and his angels, but into it the wicked also will be cast (Matt. 13:40, 42; Matt. 25:41; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6, and others).
See ETERNAL.
From Anstey’s Doctrinal Definitions:
“Hell” ("Ghenna" in the Greek) is the eternal abode of the damned (Matt. 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5; James 3:6). It is where the lost will be eternally punished for their sins. All persons who have their end in Hell will be consigned there alive, and thus will suffer in that place not only in their souls and spirits, but also in their bodies (Matt. 10:28; Mark 9:43-47). This is different from the “torments” of the lost in the intermediate state in Hades (Luke 16:23), where suffering is in the soul and spirit, but not in the body. (Luke 16:23-24 mentions the lost in Hades as having eyes and a tongue—which are parts of the human body—but the Lord was referring to them symbolically. He couldn’t have been speaking of their bodies literally, because their bodies were in the grave.) (See Hades.)
The “lake of fire” is symbolic of Hell, the eternal place of the damned (Rev. 19:20; 20:13-15). It is not a literal lake burning with fire. “Fire,” in Scripture, is a symbol of judgment. A “lake” is a place of confinement, into which water drains through various creeks and rivers and is confined there. Hence, the lake of fire is a place of confinement under the judgment of God. It is where the lost pay the price for their sins in “eternal punishment” (Matt. 25:46). The suffering in this horrific place will be just and “according to their works” (Rev. 20:13). The degree of light that men have had from God will have a part in determining their actual judgment, and thus the suffering of the lost in Hell will be graduated (Luke 12:47-48). God, being righteous and just, will not allow anyone there to suffer for something that he or she didn’t do. Since “the Judge of all the earth” will only do what is right (Gen. 18:25; Heb. 12:23), He will not allow children or mentally handicapped persons to end up in Hell—they are not accountable for their sins (Matt. 18:10).
Contrary to popular and conventional teaching, no man or devil is in Hell today. It has been “prepared for the devil and his angels,” but there is nobody there now (Matt. 25:41). While it has been prepared specifically for the devil, sad to say, all who follow the devil will have their end there. The devil will be one of the last creatures to be put there at the end of time (Rev. 20:10).
There are at least four different groups of persons who will be cast into Hell, on four different occasions:
Firstly, at the Appearing of Christ, which will occur after the Great Tribulation, the “angels” of God will go throughout “the kingdom of the heavens”—the realm on earth that has professed the rule of the heavens (Christendom) and will cast all unbelievers into Hell, the lake of fire (Matt. 13:41-42; 22:13; 24:36-41; 25:30). These persons will be merely professing believers who have abandoned their professed faith in God (apostates), atheists, etc. The work of the angels at that time will be to cleanse the kingdom of the heavens of the mixture of believers and unbelievers that has existed for centuries. Those who have believed the gospel of the kingdom that will be preached in the Tribulation period, and those who have not shown animosity against it, will be left on earth to enter the millennial kingdom of Christ. Those whom the angels cast into Hell at this time are the most responsible persons in the world for they have had the greatest degree of light from God—having known the gospel of His grace but have rejected it (Luke 12:47-48). They do not die, but are cast alive into Hell. The first persons in this group will be the Beast and the Antichrist (Rev. 19:20). This is a judgment of the living within the prophetic earth.
(The soldiers in the armies who attack the land of Israel after the Lord appears will be killed in the judgments of the Lord – Jeremiah 25:33; Ezekiel 39:11-12. They are not cast into the lake of fire at that time, but having been killed, their souls and spirits will suffer in Hades. They will be resurrected later at “the great white throne” and then cast into Hell. Also, those who are judged every morning during the millennial kingdom of Christ for evil-doing will also die and will be raised at “the great white throne” judgment (Psalm 101:8; Zechariah 5:1-4 – “cut off” refers to death).
Secondly, after the warrior judgments of the Lord are executed on the armies that will gather to battle at His Appearing, the Lord will establish “the throne of His glory” on earth and will carry out a sessional judgment of the nations that are outside the prophetic earth (Matt. 25:31-46). The Lord will have His “holy angels” with Him and they will act as His executors in this judgment on those nations that will show animosity to the messengers of the gospel of the kingdom. The individuals in these nations will be consigned straight to “everlasting fire” (Hell) without dying.
Thirdly, after the Millennium has run its course of 1000 years, Satan will be loosed from the bottomless pit and allowed to deceive the unbelieving. These are those who will have “feigned obedience” during the Millennium (Psa. 18:44, etc.). The devil will lead them in an all-out attack on the holy city, Jerusalem, but the Lord will intervene in judgment and will cast Satan and his angels, and those unbelieving men alive into Hell, the lake of fire (Rev. 20:7-10).
Fourthly, the second resurrection, which is a “resurrection of damnation” (John 5:29; Acts 24:15; Rev. 20:5), will take place at that same time (Rev. 20:11-15). Unbelievers who have died in their sins throughout the long range of time, who are presently in “torments” in Hades (Luke 16:23), will be resurrected to stand before “the great white throne” and to be judged according to their sins. These will also be cast alive into Hell, the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15).
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