by Elder Aurelius Raines

HELL? FURNACE OR ICEBOX?

There are some that would have us to believe that hell, in the scriptures, is simply the grave! They are quick to bring out that when translated from the Greek word Gehenna, hell simply refers to a valley southwest of Jerusalem. The Bible does not support this. The Bible gives the understanding that hell is a fiery furnace of judgment for the wicked. Hell is a place that will last throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. My purpose is to explain why I can't accept the teachings of those that believe hell is the grave and why I believe that the Bible teaches hell as the eternal fiery home of the wicked.

HELL? A FIERY JUDGMENT?

And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Mark 9:42-49

The scriptures quoted above contain undeniable facts. In verse forty-two, Jesus teaches that it is better to die a certain death, than to offend one of God's little ones. The sane human mind associates death with the worse fate that can happen to a healthy man. Yet, Jesus hints at a fate worse than death for those who offend God's little ones. If man's existence ended at physical death, one must ask himself two questions. What would he have to fear after death? What could be worse than death? A honest answer would cause one to believe in a judgment for evil mankind after physical death.

In our text Jesus speaks of a hell that has a fire that is unquenchable. He also talks of a worm that will not die. The hell mentioned here is not the grave. It is a place of judgment for the sinner. This includes people who refuse to separate themselves from ungodly works. These are facts that refuse denial.

Hell, when translated from the Greek word Gehenna, refers to a valley southwest of Jerusalem. The Old Testament refers to this valley as Hinnom or Topheth (these are Hebrew names; Gehenna is Greek). In the Old Testament, Gehenna was a place where the Jewish kings Ahaz and Manassah caused their children to pass through the fire. Solomon, in his reign, set it up as a place where idolatrous sacrifices took place. In later times unclean objects from Jerusalem were burned there. Could Jesus have been referring to the geographical location called Gehenna and translated hell in our passage of scripture as a place to execute capital punishment against sinners? The answer is no. Jewish leaders used stoning to carry out capital punishment. The Romans used crucifixion.

The only thing burned in the valley of Gehenna in Jesus' day was garbage. Yet, the Gehenna Jesus spoke about was a place of punishment. He couldn't have been talking about the valley located outside of Jerusalem. The literal valley does not contain worms that will not die. We understand Jesus used the worm that feeds on carcasses to describe metaphorically the effects of one's conscience when he has made hell his home. The unquenchable fire reveals the nature of the everlasting torment. Some have argued that fire consumes all that it burns. In creation God used nothing to make the universe (Heb. 11:3). Couldn't he also fashion an inconsumable human soul? Moses certainly could testify that God could set a bush on fire without consuming the bush (Exo. 3:2,3). The three Hebrew boys could testify to Gods' ability to change combustible objects into something that cannot burn. The fire in the furnace destroyed the executioners, but couldn’t burn the cords that had the Hebrews bound. This same fire refused to singe the hair on their head. Jesus, in our text, teaches us not to love any thing more than eternal life. If there is something in life that displeases God, we should remove it out of our lives. This is the only way that we can escape hell's fire.

Proverbs 23:14

Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

If one is to accept the definition of Hell as being only the grave or a pit, this scripture should change their mind. Can one keep his child from dying by beating him? Can this verse be teaching that a well-whipped child will never go to the grave or fall into a pit? We know the answer to these questions is no! Then why does the scripture assure us that if we beat our child, we can deliver him from hell? Let us consider this point. A godly parent will teach his child the law of his God. When the child violates this law without respect to his training, the godly parent will employ some form of punishment. This punishment prepares the child for life in this world and the world to come. It teaches the child that disobedience has a price. If the child has a fear of punishment, the child will regard the law of his God and learn perfect obedience. This obedience to God will keep the child from falling under the wrath of God. It will also keep the child from the same hell that Christ referred to in the ninth chapter of Mark. We know the Proverb writer wasn’t teaching obedient children would not die. Heb. 9:27 says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."

In Matthew 16:18, when Jesus referred to " the gates of hell." He was letting us know that the powers of evil will not prevail against the church. From this we can conclude that hell (Gehenna) is a place that contains the powers of evil. In Jesus' day only unclean things were burned there.

If hell in the scriptures refer exclusively to the grave, no righteous people would be there. However, there are ample examples of the burial of righteous men in the scriptures.

Hell in this scripture shows that it is a place that contains the powers of evil. Our study can go further to reveal usage of the word hell in the scripture. David spoke of the sorrows of Hell (2Sam. 22:6). Jonah declared he was in hell while in the whale's belly (Jonah 2:2). In Rev. 20:13 we find that hell will be thrown into the lake of fire. Hell is translated from the Greek word Hades, in this scripture. Hades refers to the place of the dead. Hell is personified as the realm of the dead. This scripture teaches the destruction of Hades seeing as how in eternity it will serve no purpose.

There are other examples of the uses of the word hell. None weakened the truth that hell describes the eternal home of the wicked. In our opening text, we saw according to the scriptures that hell is a place of torment. Therefore, we can only conclude that hell, when used as the eternal abode of the wicked, is a furnace.

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