Hell. It is often a sensitive subject.
What you’re about to read in this study about hell, you may have never heard before.
I want to encourage you however to study to the end with an open heart and an open mind and to study the Bible for yourself in prayer. I pray we all start seeing and experiencing the immeasurable love of God in our lives and and become more and more like Him so we pass His unending grace to others.
The common thought about hell is that it is a place where people will suffer forever.
It is, according to common thinking, a place where a fire burns forever and into which people are thrown who have not lived up to the standard of God.
However, the word hell does not appear in Hebrew, nor in Aramaic, nor in Greek!
The word translated hell in the Bible is the word gehenna (γεεννα) .
Gehenna means “Valley of Hinnom”.
It is the name of the valley south of the old city of Jerusalem.
It was actually called valley ‘Ben-Hinnom’ or ‘the valley of the son of Hinnom’.
old versus new
Before we proceed, I would like to explain something else to you.
There is a big difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament, so everything before Christ and everything after Christ.
Paul teaches us:
Colossians 2:16-17 (NLT)
Don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink,
or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.
For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come.
And Christ himself is that reality.
The old is only a shadow of the new.
So it only refers to the new, it is not the end in itself.
The new is the goal and the old is a reference to it.
In the text Paul mentions a number of things that were instituted in the old covenant.
But, as he says after it, these things are only a shadow of the reality that would come later.
These things have come with Jesus Christ, for Jesus Himself said:
Luke 24:44 (NAS)
These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you:
that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.
The Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms is the entire Old Testament.
The Old Testament thus refers in its entirety to Jesus and to what His death and resurrection mean to us.
So Paul mentions in the text in Colossians some of the things that were instituted in the old covenant.
But, as he says at the end, these things are only a reference to the death and resurrection of Jesus and to their meaning.
He mentions, for example, the Sabbath.
This day was set as a day of total rest.
God had said:
Exodus 20:8-11 (NAS)
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God.
In it you shall not do any work.
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth,
and rested on the seventh day.
Therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
The Sabbath was a day in the natural in the time before Christ on which nothing was to be done.
It was literally mandatory to rest.
This was fully visible and happened outside of us, in the external, the natural.
However, the Sabbath was fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Before Christ, the Sabbath was a shadow of the real thing, namely, the rest we find in Christ.
Hebrews 4:3a (NKJV)
For we who have believed do enter that rest!
Just as God rested on the seventh day when He finished creation.
When we come to faith, we may also enter His rest, because then the new creation is ready.
Because…
2 corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
So the Sabbath in the Old Testament is a shadow, a picture, of the rest we enter when we have believed.
Hebrews 4:9-10 (NAS)
So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.
Before Christ, in the Old Testament, everything can be seen in the natural, but it has a spiritual meaning.
The natural is visible and the spiritual is invisible.
In the Old Testament, for example, sacrifices had to be made.
This happened outside of us; so externally, in the natural, so the visible.
However, Christ is the sacrifice made once and for all so that we may come boldly to the mercy seat.
Christ in us is the hope of glory. So this is internal, within us.
We have just covered a good example of the old versus the new: the Sabbath.
Another example is the city of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem means “city of peace”. It is the city where God dwells.
Ezra 1:3b (NAS)
He is the God who is in Jerusalem.
The spiritual significance of this city is fulfilled within you. God dwells in you.
You are the New Jerusalem, the city of peace, the city where God dwells!
John tells us in the book of Revelation.
He writes:
Revelation 21:9-10 (NLT)
Then one of the seven angels came and said to me:
Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.
So he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain,
and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God.
The angel says he is going to show the bride of Christ. He shows the New Jerusalem however.
The new Jerusalem is the bride of Christ, the church of God, to which you belong.
The New Jerusalem is the spiritual fulfillment of the natural city of Jerusalem.
Thus everything before Christ is a shadow of the spiritual inheritance in Christ Jesus our Redeemer.
Everything old, everything before Christ, refers to the new, everything after Christ.
It’s finished! (John 19:30)
So God uses natural things visible to the eye to explain the spiritual to you.
This is why Jesus came; to show us the invisible God.
Jesus came in the natural, the visible, so that we might see God, who is Spirit (John 4:24).
This is why Jesus says:
John 14:9 (NAS)
He who has seen Me has seen the Father.
Colossians 1:15 (NAS)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
burning in hell
With this knowledge we go back to the valley of Hinnom, the gehenna, which is translated as hell in many Bible translations.
Jesus uses this natural place to explain spiritual things to us.
The valley of Hinnom was the place where the god Moloch was worshipped. The way this idol was worshiped was by sacrificing children to him by burning them.
Around the year 730 BC, there was Ahaz, who was king over Judah who worshiped this idol.
2 Chronicles 28:3 (NAS)
Ahaz burned incense in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.
God is disgusted by all of this!
He says to Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 7:31 (NAS)
They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, and it did not come into My mind.
It never occurred to God to burn people in the fire.
Yet for centuries we have believed that God casts us into the fire forever, if we don’t live up to His standard.
This is how we see God, and this is the God we worship.
So although we do not sacrifice our children ourselves, we believe that God throws His own children into the fire to suffer eternal pain.
With this we worship Moloch and we call him Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Why do we see God as a God who brings destruction and cursing?
It is man who curses and destroys, God only gives life!
John 3:16 (NAS)
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son!
grace
One day Peter asks Jesus:
Matthew 18:21-22 (NKJV)
Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?
Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
70 times 7 is 490.
So if someone sets your house on fire 490 times, you should forgive them over and over, all 490 times.
Meanwhile, someone else kicks off the mirrors of your car and punctures your tires, 490 times….
It is impossible for us to remain calm and to forgive those people every time.
Yet God asks this of us.
Would not God Himself then forgive those who sin against Him?
He says Himself that He does, look:
Luke 6:35 (NAS)
Love your enemies, and do good,
and lend, expecting nothing in return
for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
We are strongly inclined to make God in our image.
We project our own evil thoughts onto Him and make Him a man in our likeness.
But God wants to mold you into His image and His likeness.
Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The Bible is overflowing with words of the goodness of God, but we think they refer only to a handful of people.
But…
1 John 2:2 (NAS)
Jesus Himself is the propitiation for our sins.
And not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world!
Romans 5:12,15,16,18,19 (NAS)
Through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin,
and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.
But grace is not like the transgression!
For if by the transgression of the one all died,
much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to all!
Grace is not like that which came through the one who sinned.
For on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation,
but on the other hand grace arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.
So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to ALL men,
even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to ALL men.
For as through the one man’s disobedience ALL were made sinners,
even so through the obedience of the One ALL will be made righteous!
Fire
What then is the meaning of the fire?
Because it clearly says:
Revelation 20:15 (NAS)
If anyone’s name is not found written in the book of life, he is thrown into the lake of fire.
We often read the Bible with our natural eyes, so we literally expect what it says.
But God is Spirit! (John 4:24)
1 Corinthians 2:11 (NAS)
For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?
Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
So to understand what God tells us in the Bible, we must listen carefully to the Holy Spirit.
Revelation 2:7 (NLT)
Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
So we must use our spiritual ears and eyes to understand what God is saying to us.
As mentioned, God uses natural things to explain to us the spiritual and invisible.
Thus fire in the Bible also has a spiritual meaning.
And because the Bible always explains itself, we can find the meaning of fire in the Bible itself.
The fire of what we call hell is the very love of God!
This sounds absurd, but I’ll explain it to you.
Hebrews 12:29 (NLT)
Our God is a consuming fire!
This fire is not there to destroy or torment us forever.
This fire is the Word of God that burns the old man.
It burns away everything that is not of Him.
Psalms 29:7 (NLT)
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
So every person who hears His voice goes through this fire.
And not when we have died, but now, when we live in this body.
Mark 9:49 (NAS)
For everyone will be salted (flavored) with fire!
We are purified by what God says.
We are purified by the fire of the Word of God.
Through the Word of God our minds are renewed so…
Ephesians 4:17-23 (NKJV)
… that you should no longer walk as the rest of the gentiles walk,
in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened,
being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them,
because of the blindness of their heart;
who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness,
to work all uncleanness with greediness.
the old man
But you have not so learned Christ,
if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:
that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man
which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
The Word of God teaches us and works like a fire that purifies us, just as gold and silver are purified in the fire.
Proverbs 25:4 (NKJV)
Take away the dross from silver, and it will go to the silversmith for jewelry.
God is like a smith who purifies the gold and silver and then turns it into something wonderfully beautiful.
Malachi 3:2-3 (NAS)
For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.
He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver,
and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver.
Remember when the devil tried to tempt Jesus in the desert?
Matthew 3:17 to 4:4 (NKJV)
Suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying:
this is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
Now when the tempter came to Him, he said:
if You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.
But He answered and said: it is written,
man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
God said to Jesus: You are my beloved son!
Immediately after that the devil comes who and he wants to make Jesus doubt what God had said.
This is why he says: If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.
The exact same thing happens to you too!
God made you in His image and His likeness.
You are His child and He loves you immeasurably!
With the fire of His Word, He purifies our thoughts about who God is and who we ourselves are.
Through His Word, He shows us how much He loves us and that He would never forever let us suffer in a fire.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord,
thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Sometimes, like Jesus in the desert,
we are tempted and thoughts come into our mind that are contrary to what God says.
This is a test.
And if we answer, like Jesus, with the Word of God,
so everything God says in His love,
then those thoughts are purified as by fire.
The writer of Psalm 66 puts it this way:
Psalms 66:10 (NKJV)
For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
Peter also says it exacly like that:
1 Peter 1:6-7 (NAS)
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while,
if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
so that the proof of your faith,
being more precious than gold which is perishable,
even though tested by fire,
may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
So everyone must be purified by the fire of the Word of God!
Mark 9:49 (NAS)
For everyone will be salted with fire!
Revelation 20:15 (NAS)
If anyone’s name is not found written in the book of life, he is thrown into the lake of fire.
In that fire all that is not of God burns away; the old man.
Thus in the end the pure truth remains; the new man.
The foundation of our faith is Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:11-13, 15 (NKJV)
For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
each one’s work will become clear; for the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire.
And the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.
If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
understanding bible stories
With this knowledge we can come to understand the deep meaning of the story of Daniel in the fiery furnace.
Daniël 3:19-27 (NLT)
Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage.
He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.
Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.
So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments.
And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in.
So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.
But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace? |
Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did, they replied.
Look! Nebuchadnezzar shouted. I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!
Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!
So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire.
Then they crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them.
Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched.
They didn’t even smell of smoke!
This story, which happened in the natural, the visible, is in the Bible so that we can learn spiritual lessons from it.
Through the Word of God our minds are renewed so…
Ephesians 4:17-23 (NKJV)
… that you should no longer walk as the rest of the gentiles walk,
in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened,
being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them,
because of the blindness of their heart;
who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness,
to work all uncleanness with greediness.
But you have not so learned Christ,
if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:
that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man
which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
Nebuchadnezzar was the king of the Babylonian Empire.
Babylon in the Bible is a picture of the old man, just as the New Jerusalem is a picture of the new man who has come to full perfection.
To learn more about Babylon and the new Jerusalem
watch my video on YouTube or read the study ‘Babylon vs New Jerusalem‘.
The furnace was heated seven times hotter than usual.
This speaks of the perfection of the Word of God.
For…
Psalms 12:6 (NAS)
…the words of the LORD are pure words.
As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
These pure words of God burn everything that derives from the old man.
The men who brought up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were servants of the king of Babylon in the natural.
In the spiritual they are servants of the old man who himself wants to sit on the throne.
So they drop dead when they come close to the blazing fire of the Word of God.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are thrown into the fire, for Everyone must be purified by the fire of the Word of God.
Mark 9:49 (NAS)
For everyone will be salted with fire!
They come out unharmed however, because…
Daniël 1:17 (NLT)
God gave these young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were pure in the teaching of God. The fire of the Word of God didn’t burn off anything, for they were already completely purified.
They were already renewed in the spirit of their minds and were clothed with the new man, whom is created in the likeness of God, in true righteousness and holiness.
There was nothing left for God’s Word to burn off of them.
The fire of the Word of God did not even leave a smell of smoke.
Hell, as we call it, is not a place where God makes His children suffer eternal pain in a fire.
God Himself is that fire!
Hebrews 12:29 (NLT)
Our God is a consuming fire!
The fire of God is the love of God that leads us to the place where there is no pain and no sorrow.
Revelation 21:4-8 (NKJV)
God will wipe away every tear from their eyes;
there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.
There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.
Then He who sat on the throne said, behold, I make all things new.
And He said to me, write, for these words are true and faithful.
And He said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars
shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.
This lake of fire and brimstone is the Word of God
burning the old man away from you and bringing you to perfection.
This Word of God is an everlasting fire, for…
Isaiah 40:8 (NAS)
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever!
Matthew 24:35 (NAS)
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away!
Psalms 139:23-24 (NAS)
Search me, O God, and know my heart.
Try me and know my anxious thoughts.
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
and lead me in the everlasting way.
