Introduction

• 1 Pet 3:15 – reasons for the faith

• Hell – sometimes used to promote fear, and frighten people into the Kingdom

• Separate tradition from Biblical evidence

   

  What does the Bible actually say?

• Jesus is the person who speaks about hell the most (but other authors do as well to a lesser degree)

• Two most frequent words that our Bibles often translate as ‘hell’ – Hades & Gehenna

   Hades (See Matthew 11:23, 16:18, Luke 10:15; 16:23, Acts 2:27, 31; 1 Corinthians 15:55, Revelation 1:18, 6:8; 20:13,14)

• ‘world of death, realm of the dead’

• Had a sense of ‘place’ about it – it was a definite destination

• permanent

• torment within Hades is painful and conscious

   Gehenna (See Matthew 5:22,29,30; 10:28, 18:9, 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5, James 3:6)

• Physical place– rubbish dump just outside the city which was permanently ablaze

• Jeremiah 7:29-34 – Valley of Slaughter due to many Jews who were killed and thrown there

• Permanent (Matt 25:41-46)

• Hot – like fire

• Only spoken of to disciples

• Punishment

• Destruction (Matt 5:22), Judge of both body and soul takes place in Gehenna (Matt 10:28, Mark 9:43-47)

  Metaphors & Symbolism

• ‘Wailing and gnashing of teeth’ – great regret at what was missed

• Total darkness (Matt 8:12) but also fire (Rev 20:14-15)

• Fire = judgement in Scripture

  Conclusion

• Hell = real, permanent, estrangement from God, conscious (experience regret)

• Whether there is fire etc is open to question – but don’t think that lessens the horror – permanent estrangement from the presence of God and all the good things of God is the most horrific thing imaginable

• We shouldn’t discount the reality of hell because we don’t like it – because something is unpalatable or hard doesn’t make it false

• Jesus speaks most frequently about hell – He didn’t shy away from it

• Whatever the nature of hell – Jesus consistently warns us to avoid it

• John 3:16 – God has stepped into humanity so that none should ‘perish’