Did you know that the word “Hell” never once appears in the
original Greek and Hebrew Manuscripts of the scripture?
Let me say it another way just to be clear, the Bible NEVER
once mentions the word Hell!
Shocked? So was I …and a little angry too.
I attended Bible School and was a Pastor for 8 years. The
notion of Hell as the final fate of the unbeliever was so ingrained in my
understanding of the Gospel and it was taught with such conviction from the
Pulpit that I never once thought to question it.
The original manuscripts of the Bible were written mostly in
Greek and Hebrew. They had to be translated into English in order for us to be
able to read them. Most of us read from one of the following English translations;
The King James Version (KJV), The New International Version (NIV) or the New
American Standard Bible. (NASB)
Let’s look at the facts regarding the use of “Hell” in the very
popular, New International Version (NIV).
The word “Hell” never occurs in the Old Testament but it
appears 14 times in the New Testament. The original manuscripts of the New
Testament are in Greek. If you look in up Hell in a good concordance you will
discover that there are 3 different Greek words that are translated into English
as “Hell”
Gehenna
Gehenna
appears 12 times in the original Greek manuscripts. On all 12 occasions the NIV
translates it into English as “Hell”. Gehenna is the name of a Valley outside
of Jerusalem. A number of significant historical events took place in this
Valley so the Jews were very familiar with it.
If Gehenna was a well known historical landmark, why wasn’t it translated
as such? The Mount of Olives is called
the Mount of Olives. Bethlehem is called Bethlehem. Mt Sinai is called Mt
Sinai. Why did the translators change Gehenna to “Hell”?
If you do
your research, you will discover that our translators believed that Gehenna was
a figure of speech intended to represent “Hell”. So instead of translating for
us, they took the liberty of interpreting it’s meaning for us. Follow me
closely here. The word Hell got its
meaning from the doctrine of Eternal Torment. But the doctrine of Eternal
Torment get’s it scriptural support from these passages that talk about “Hell”.
Do you see the problem? This is circular
logic…a slippery slope if there ever was one. Bottom line…Hell is a misleading
and inaccurate translation of “Gehenna”.
Hades
The Greek word Hades occurs 10 times in the New Testament. On
9 occasions it is translated “Grave” or
“Hades” or “Depths”. Only once, in Luke 16:23, is it ever translated “Hell”.
Again, our translators depart from the literal meaning here and use a word that
derives its meaning from outside of the language of scripture.
Tartarus
Tartarus is used only one time in scripture. It is a word
the Greeks used to refer to their pagan nether world. It is used in 2 Pet 2:4 to
describe the gloomy caverns where imprisoned spirits are kept in waiting for
judgment. There is absolutely no basis to assume Tartarus has any connection with
the “Hell” associated with the doctrine of Eternal Torment. It is another
example of a very misleading translation.
In conclusion, if you read your NIV Bible cover to cover you
will encounter the word ‘Hell” 14 times. On 12 occasions it is connected to an
actual valley called Gehenna. On 1 occasion it is a reference to Hades which in
every other use of the word refers simply to the grave. And in one final occurrence,
it is referring to a gloomy prison for non human spirits awaiting judgment. Make
these 14 corrections to our modern English translations and you can see that the
Bible never, not even once, speaks of Hell as we understand it today!
The Bible is clear. Judgment is real and the wicked will be
punished. I am not denying that. But it sounds to me like we need to take a much
closer look at what the Bible does and does not say about it before we make God
responsible for a thing as horrific as eternal torment in a place called Hell.
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