Why does Revelation use the word Hades. Isn't Hades a piece of Greek Mythology?

Question

13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.[a] 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:13-15 (New King James Version)

And If I'm reading this correctly, this is saying that Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. So does this mean in this vision of the future that all the dead souls in "Hades" and "Hades" itself are destroyed in "the lake of fire".

Answer 1

Yes, Hades is a peice of Greek Mythology. Since the New Testiment was written in Greek the word 'Hades' was used for "the grave" or "underworld." Much similar 'Sheol' was used in the Old Testament. Both were usually translated as "Hell," which means "to cover". Both Sheol and Hades are the universal resting spot where all souls would go, good or bad.

When the Bible talks about the Lake of Fire, everyone thinks pain and suffering or being destroyed. But the in Semetic Middle East, fire is a symbol of GOD. Jesus said "He came to send fire on the earth and He yearned for it to be kindled." (Luke 12:49)
Obviously he is talking about fire in the sense of God, not suffering. Moreover, when the Bible talks about the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, the word "Brimstone" is translated from the word "Theion" which means "Divine." So in other words the "Lake of fire and Brimstone" should really translate into "Lake of Divine Purification"

So really what the passages is talking about is purification of the ALL souls from sin, thus the Second Death.

Answer 2

The book of revelation was written in greek, so the greek word for hell was used. In this sense, greeks did not understand the heareafter the same way hebrews did, but the closest term for death/ next life was used. Then this was explained further by the text, that hell was not just death, like the greeks understood it, but something worse, since it was cast into the lake of fire. It meant that those wicked that had died, but had not been judged yet, were then judged. Hades is not being destroyed in the literal sense, but it is being combined with and transformed into the lake of fire.

Answer 3

'Hades' is Greek for 'unseen.' There is a Greek mythology about hades, but there is no connection between the two.

All the dead in Hades (the unseen realm the dead) will be cast into the lake of fire. There they will be punished for eternity. This is not to say that they will cease to exist - the bush on Mt. Sinai burned without being consumed.

Answer 4

I thought it said the dead were delivered up for judgement, does that not mean the graves and the sea does not have any dead in them, death and the place the dead were is cast into the lake of fire, there is no more need for such. Heb.2:9.14.16;

That is the whole purpose of Jesus 1Cor.15:22; As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Heb.9:27; It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgement. At the end of the judgement day, Satan is let loose, any one influenced by him does not go into the kingdom ofGod. They are consumed by fire, and Satan is cast into the lake of fire.

The soul id the whole person, created, born in sin to death, or resurrected by the only part that comes from God to be the life of that soul, the spirit Eccl.12:7; Psm.104:29,30;

Answer 5

Revelation speaks of Hades because Revelation was written in Greek. Hades (Greek) and Sheol (Hebrew) are both translated Hell, but both mean the GRAVE. So it says that death and the grave will be cast into the lake of fire.

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Answer 6

The Death are the non-believers and the Hades are believers who have inactive faith.

Greek: ‘hades’ the realm of the ‘dead,’ which Jesus here uses to represent the ‘spiritually dead’.

This is saying an inactive faith is a dead faith, it will not lead to salvation.

Hades, also known as Pluto, is the King of the Underworld. One day Cupid and Venus were playing around with one of Cupids arrows and hit Hades straight in the heart in which he fell in love with the first person he saw which was Persepne. Persephone became the Greek goddess of the underworld and wife of Hades. Persephones mother Demeter wonder the Earth crying for Persephone, and begging for Zeus to get her back. Persephone though was not able to come back because she had ate something from the underworld and was trapped there, but an agreement was reached and so every spring when the flowers bloom and the fruit grow Persephone comes back to Earth and in autumn when the world gets cold Persephone goes back to Hades in the underworld.

If you are wondering how the dead got to Hades, well they were escorted by Mercury to the River Styx and shipped across to Hades kingdom.

Greek and Roman mythology may seem the same but they are quite different

Greeks were the earlier of the two. They loved life and had little interest with afterlife, which to them was unpleasant even for the greatest of men. The Greeks believed in individualism and had the most personalized gods. Their gods had individual strength and flaws. Even though the Greek gods had contact with other cultures their gods are thoroughly Greek, but the Greeks also had mortal heroes who played important roles. We, today, don't only know the Greeks for their myths but also for the alphabet that we use for college sororities.

The Romans were more disciplined and less imaginative. The Romans were more into engineer than poetry. They valued war and the warrior more than the greeks did. Roman region was tightly woven into everyday life. Normal activities were connected to "worship". There were gods of important tasks, such as plowing fields and cutting woods. Romans adopted Greek myths pretty much, but they did change some names. Sometimes they did this by merging existing Roman gods with Greek god names. The importance of gods also change a little, example is Ares(Greek). Ares in Greek mythology was not of much importance. Unlike the Greeks the Romans saw Ares as a prestige figure.

Answer 7

Revelation, like most of the New Testament was written in Greek. I suspect that since Hades is the Greek rough equivalent of Hell, that the author had no problem substituting the word.

Answer 8

Revelation uses the word Hades because St. John was a converted pagan writing to other pagans. Hades was a familiar term that they could all identify.

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Answer 9

HELL IN KJV
One Hebrew word “sheol” is rendered hell. Definition; hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranian retreat), grave, hell, pit. Three Greek words are rendered hell; geenna, hades, and tartaroo. Definition of geenna; a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment: - hell. Definition of hades; properly unseen, that is, “Hades” or the place (state) of departed souls: - grave, hell. Definition of tartaroo; (the deepest abyss of Hades); to incarcerate in eternal torment: - cast down to hell. Tartaroo is used only one place II Pet.2:4.
Christ teaching the Pharisees in Luke 16:19-31 shows us a separation from God is truly what hell is. The “water” is symbolic for God’s Spirit and love. The word “tormented” means distressed in the Greek, not torture. The “fire” is symbolic for the shame and desire not to be separated from God.
So all who die the first death of the flesh return to God Ecc.12:6-7, but on which side of the gulf do they end up?
Hell is not eternal but is done away with in Rev.20:14-15, called both the second death and lake of fire. This second death is non-existence, for death and hell and those not written in the book of life. This second death or lake of fire is like fat drippings that fall into the fire. Just a poof of smoke into non-existence.
Psa.37:20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
In my mind what’s worse yet is no memory of you, no tears will be shed for you like you never existed.
Rev.21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
So hell is a separation from God and is not eternal torture or burning. Eventually hell will be done away with or passed away and also some souls. Like fat drippings in the fire, a poof of smoke into non-existence, the second death.

Answer 10

Hades was actually the name of the Greek god of the underworld. in Greek mythology people went either to the Elision fields, which was their idea of paradise, or the went to Torturous, which was their version of a hell.