Sabbath Day (Gen.2: 1 -3 & Ex.20: 8 – 11) By r. a. Saturday, May 16, 2020
In Messiah’s name: “The Lord (Creator-God, the great I AM) is near unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth”. (Ps.145: 18)
How often have you heard someone say, “go to hell”? I’ve heard it many times. In fact, I probably have said it myself at one time or another, including the use of a more profane expression.. In any case, a biblical response should be: “Which hell do you mean?”
For most people, the term “hell” means “eternal fire” where the wicked and ungodly suffer eternal torment. They believe the Creator-God, the great I AM of the bible, is a sadistic God, who delights in torturing people for all eternity. These individuals are sorely mistaken and have been misled and deceived by pastors, priests and other biblically ill-informed authority figures.
Here’s the truth regarding the English term “hell” as recorded in the bible
In the old testament, the English term “hell” is translated from the Hebrew term “sheol”, which means “grave” or “pit”. And, if we die before the Messiah returns, that is where we ALL will rest – in our graves.
In the new testament there are 3 Greek words that are translated as “Hell” and each has a different meaning. They are: Hades, Gehenna and Tartarus.
(A) Hades – this Greek term means the same as the Hebrew term “Sheol” – the grave or pit.
(B) Gehenna – this Greek term means the “valley of Hinnom.” During Messiah’s time, it was used as a place to dump Jerusalem’s trash and garbage where it was burned up or devoured by worms and maggots.
The term”Gehenna” is also a reference to the “lake of fire” as recorded in the Book of Revelation (Rev.20: 15). Those who are sealed with the “mark of the beast” and reject the Creator’s laws and his son and are unrepentant and whose names are not written in the “book of life” will be cast into “the lake of fire” (Gehenna)
(C) Tartarus — denotes a “condition of restraint” and is translated as “cast down to hell” (the verb tartaroo) which applies to the fallen angels, not to humans. These fallen angels are confined in “chains of darkness” and “reserved for judgment”.
As recorded in 2 Peter 2: 4 – ” … God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell (tartaroo) and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment…”
In sum, there are 3 different meanings of the English term “hell” — the grave/pit, a burning garbage dump (the lake of fire) and a place that signifies constraint and a condition for fallen angels, but not humans.
Finally, the question remains: “Which hell do you mean? If you’re wise, you don’t want to end up in “the lake of fire” — it’s eternal death for those who do!
All glory, praise and honor to the Creator-God, the great I AM, in Messiah’s name.
Peace, blessings and protection to all who seek and love the TRUTH! God’s word is the Truth. (Jn.17: 17 & Ps 119: 142)
