They told us that you go to hell you can't get out?

Question

Job 14;13 he asked to go to hell because he was hurting.
if hell is worse why did he want to go there. Did he think he could get out of there?
What about Jesus? He went to hell Acts 2:25 but God didn't leave him in hell, he got out. What is hell anyway?

Answer 1

The word in Job 14:13 translated 'hell' in a lot of bibles is the hebrew word 'sheol' which actually means the grave, not a fiery hell, Job - a righteous man - was asking god that he could go into the grave and wait there until god would 'remember' him by resurrecting him.

Similarly the word translated 'hell' in acts where it says Jesus' was in hell for a time is the greek word 'hades' which also means the grave, jesus would definitely not have gone to a fiery hell would he! also he returned from hades, he was resurrected.

So 'sheol' and 'hades' are just words to describe the grave.

Answer 2

Hell is not the place of burning torment that is represented by modern day christendom. Hell, or hades as it is properly translated represents mankinds common grave. In other words Job was praying for death, which is a common reaction when a person is extremely ill. Jesus in fact did go to Hell or Hades in that he died and was in a grave for three days. Another translation for the word Hell is Sheol. Look these words up and do the research. If you are really interested in finding out the next time Jehovah's Witnesses knock on your door, ask them that question. They will answer not based on man made doctrine, but bible based facts :)

Answer 3

All people who die go to hell because it is mankinds common grave. It is not a place of torment, but is the common grave. Here are a few places where hell (Greek "hades") or in (Hebrew "sheol") can be found:
Psalms 139:8: " If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there."
Proverbs 9:18: " But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell."
Proverbs 15:24: "The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath."
Amos 9:2: " Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down."
Jonah 2:2: " And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice." (The belly of the fish that swallowed Jonah would have been his grave, had God not rescued him)
When Adam and Eve sinned, they were told they would return to the ground from where they came. It is comforting to know that no one is being tortured for God is not sadistic but is a loving God. The Bible says the dead know nothing at all. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10)
Revelation 20:13,14 assures us that soon death and hell will be done away with.
Satan loves it when people make God out to be cruel, heartless and sadistic. We need to prove that Satan is a liar and that God is love.

Answer 4

Job asked to go to hell with the belief that God would forgive him and take him out of hell.

The story of Job is used to illustrate the ultimate defeat of pain and suffering through the person of Jesus Christ the Savior.

Answer 5

Yep =True.

Job was unaware as to how bad the REAL HELL is.
The word GEHENNA also means ==the garbage dump.
No--he felt ""down in the dumps""

Jesus VISITED HELL --HE was not condemned to go there.
Jesus, also being GOD is a somewhat different situation than You or I.

Answer 6

The prevalent concept of hell is a false doctrine perpetuated by the catholic and protestant churches. See the free booklet "Heaven & Hell: What Does The Bible Really Teach?" at http://www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/HL/

Answer 7

Hell is having to drive to work most every morning and it appears like most of us can't get out of it. I can't imagine anyone volunteering to do that if they don't have to. One would have to be insane!

Answer 8

A psychological state of mind one creates for themselves.

Answer 9

Hell is one of those subjects that makes people uncomfortable. We hear stories of hell being a place of fire, demons, and endless torment. Throughout history many authors have written about it, Dante's Inferno for example. Western culture is very familiar with the concept. Even Hollywood has made it the subject of many movies. Whatever the context, whatever the belief, hell is definitely taught in the Bible. But even the doctrine of hell is not without its controversy. Some say it is only the grave with no consciousness. Others say it is a place of correction and punishment that is not eternal. Others say it is an endless agonizing punishment in fire. Whichever it is, hell is the total absence of the favor of God.

The words associated with Hell

Gehenna
In the OT, the word for hell is 'ge-hinnom' meaning "Valley of Hinnom." It was a place to the southwest of Jerusalem. This place was once "called 'Topheth' and derived from an Aramaic word meaning 'fireplace.' It was here that some pagan kings practiced human sacrifice by fire (2 Chron. 28:3; 33:6; Jer. 7:31; 32:25)(1). This is probably why in the NT the word came to be associated with destruction by fire. The word 'gehenna' is found in the NT 12 times and every instance is spoken of by Jesus. In the NT, "gehenna" is used of a condition and never of a place.

Hades
This word only occurs in the NT, ten times, and corresponds to the OT word "sheol." Jesus uses the word four times: Matt. 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23. The other six occur in Acts 2:27,31; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13,14.
It was probably the "subterranean abode of all the dead until the judgment. It was divided into two departments, paradise or Abraham's bosom for the good, and Gehenna or hell for the bad."(2) In particular, in the account of Lazarus and the Rich man of (Luke 16:19-31), it is the place of the conscious dead who are wicked.

Sheol
"The Hebrew word Sheol is probably derived from a root "to make hollow," and was seen as the common receptacle of the dead and in the great many places the word appears in the OT, it is referring to the grave.(3) It is a place and is mentioned in Gen. 37:35; Num. 16:30,33; Psalm 16:10, etc. Sheol has many meanings in scripture: the grave, the underworld, the state of the dead. It was supposed to be below the surface of the earth (Ezek. 31:15,17; Psalm 86:13).

Is Hell Eternal Conscious Torment?

There are some Christian groups and many cults that deny the idea that hell, in the general sense, means eternal, conscious punishment. Some maintain that God's eternal punishment is annihilation, or non-existence. Others say it is temporal and that eventually all will be saved out of hell. Perhaps the most common objection is that a loving God would never punish people in eternal torment. We agree that God is love (1 John 4:8), but He is also just (Neh. 9:32-33; 2 Thess. 1:6), and eternal (Psalm 90:2; 1 Tim. 1:17 ). God punishes the evil doer (Isaiah 11:13) and this punishment will be eternal. But the question remains. Is this eternal punishment conscious or not?
There are verses that can be interpreted to support the idea that the dead are not conscious after death: (Ecc. 9:5 - the dead know nothing(4) and Psalm 146:4 - their thoughts perish, are good examples.) Other verses compare the dead to sleep: Acts 13:36; 1 Cor. 15:1-6; 1 Thess. 4:13, etc. But these latter verses are merely comparing the similarity between the appearance of the dead and the appearance of someone sleeping.

The Dead are Conscious After Death

The wicked descend alive into Sheol
Num. 16:30, "But if the Lord brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the Lord . . . 33So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly."

Cast to outer darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth
Matt. 8:12, "but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Those cast into the fire suffer consciously
Matt. 13:41-42, "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” See also Matt. 13:50.

Cast into a tormenting fire
Rev. 14:9-11, "And another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, 10he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11"And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."” See also, Rev. 21:8.

Hell is a place of eternal fire and punishment

Unquenchable Fire
Matt. 3:12 "And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Fiery Hell
Matt. 5:22, "whoever shall say, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." See also, Matt. 5:29,30.

Fiery Hell
Matt. 18:8-9, "And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire. 9"And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into the fiery hell."

Eternal Fire
Matt. 25:41, "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.

Eternal Punishment
Matt. 25:46, "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
The word 'eternal' in both places is "aionios" which means 1)without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be; 2)without beginning; 3)without end, never to cease, everlasting. The word 'punishment' is the word kolasis and it means "to punish, with the implication of resulting severe suffering - 'to punish, punishment.'"(5)

Eternal Fire
Jude 7, "Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire."

Lake of Fire
Rev. 20:15, "And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

Luke 16:19-31, Lazarus and the Rich Man

In Luke 16:19-31 is the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Basically, Lazarus is a poor man who suffers during life. The rich man is, of course, rich. They both die. The rich man goes to Hades. Lazarus goes to Abraham's bosom, another term for paradise. In Hades, the rich man lifts up his eyes and sees Lazarus far off. He cries out to Abraham and asks for mercy because he is in agony in flame. Abraham says no. Then the rich man asks if someone from the dead were to rise and go tell his brothers not to come to this terrible place. Abraham teaches him that that will not be done either.
Some say that this is a parable. However, if it is, it is unique because no other parable actually names a person. It isn't a story. It is history. It really happened. But many who believe in no consciousness after death will say it is still a parable. The question then is, if it is? What is it teaching? If hell fire is false and if self-awareness after death is also false, then Jesus is using false doctrines to teach a truth. Parables illustrate truth. If it is a parable what does the consciousness after death symbolize? Also, what does the agony in flame symbolize? Are they not real? Of course they are.


Conclusion

Hell is a real place. It is not mere unconsciousness. It is not temporal. It is eternal torment. Perhaps that is why Jesus spoke more of hell than heaven and spent so much time warning people not to go there. After all, if people just stopped existing, why warn them? If it was temporal, they'd get out in a while. But if it were eternal and conscious, then the warning is strong.


Jesus said, "And if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30"And if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to go into hell," (Matt. 5:29-30).

Answer 10

Jesus was the greatest hell fire preacher ever. He taught more about it than any other person in the Word of God. It's mentioned 24 times in the New Testament as the word hell. But there are 162 references in totality. Now, are there degrees of punishment? Yes. Romans 2, verse 5: “…after your hardness and impenitent heart, you treasure up wrath against the day of wrath at the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” You can actually store up wrath against that day of wrath when The judgment is meted out by the way you live. And for further information on this subject, please, look at Matthew chapter 11, verses 20 to 24. You'll be shocked

False religionists have hatched the "no-hell" plot to gain adherence to their movements. Because multitudes--even 70 percent of the preachers-no longer believe or like to even consider that such a place exists, a new group can grow quickly if they, discount the claims of the Holy Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ by preaching pleasing platitudes which cater to rebellious minds. But Romans 3:4 says, Let God be true, but every man a liar. I don't care if every human being or preacher says, "I do not believe it." When I can find it 162 times in my New Testament, I will believe it! It is the Word-we must believe it!
A popular trend today is to take the Hebrew words sheol and the Greek words hades and gehenna and state that they all mean the grave, though they are translated "hell" in the Word of God in the majority of instances. Let's take the Old Testament Hebrew word sheol. Why would God have to use this word to picture a grave when the Hebrew word queber logically depicts and portrays it? Consider the following five points in the Old Testament:

1. The body never goes to sheol but goes to queber 37 times. Why? Because queber is the grave for bodies and sheol is the place for departed spirits.
2. Sheol is never on the face of the earth but queber is located there 32 times. Why? Because graves are on the earth. Sheol, the place for departed spirits, is in some other realm of God's creation.
3. Man never puts another man into sheol but he does put a man into a queber 33 times. Why? Because man has the power to put other men into graves but does not have the power to put souls into sheol.
4. Man never digs or makes a sheol but he makes and digs a queber six times. Why? Because man has the power to make a grave but he does not have the power to make a sheol for departed spirits.
5. Man never speaks of a man as touching sheol, but he touches a queber five times. Why? Because, again, it is a grave on the earth and he has the power to touch it. But he has no power to do anything about sheol, the place for departed spirits.
To look at all the Old Testament instances involving sheol would take months of study. Besides, Christ has brought to light, life, and immortality-that which has to do with a never-dying soul-through the gospel or the New Testament (see 2 Timothy 1:10). Therefore, let's study hades and gehenna and see if they mean the grave or the place of eternal suffering.

You may ask, "Why did the Lord Jesus use two words-hades and gehenna? Are there two places?" Yes. Do you wish to know why?

Let me illustrate it this way: All of us know the difference between a local jail and a penitentiary. If a man is taken in a crime, he is not put into the penitentiary until he has had a trial. When he has had his trial and is found guilty, he is transferred to the penitentiary. Get this next statement, for it is so important to a direct understanding of the Bible subject of hell. When Jesus uses the word hades, He is referring to the local jail, the place where the sinner is held until the judgment morning. Then, at Judgment Day, all sinners come out of the local jail (hades), appear before the Judge, are found guilty, and then transferred to gehenna, the final penitentiary for souls.

Let me also add that the term gehenna is synonymous with the Lake of Fire. Revelation 20:13, 14: The sea gave up the dead which were in it: and death and [hades-that is the Greek word for hell] delivered up the dead ...And death and hell [hades] were cast into the lake of fire [gehenna]. This is the second death. l repeat that hades is the local jail and, gehenna, the final penitentiary. Any sinner who dies, even at this hour, does not go to gehenna, but to hades, where the rich man is located (see Luke 16:23). At Judgment Day, he comes out of hades, meets Christ at the trial, and then is transferred to the final penitentiary of lost souls--gehenna.

Let's consider eleven instances Christ uses in the New Testament to depict and describe hades--the temporary local jail.

Matthew 11:23: And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell. That is the Greek word hades, where the rich man of Luke 16:23 is located.

Matthew 16:18: Thou art Peter, and upon this rock l will build my church; and the gates of hell [hades] shall not prevail against it.

Luke 10:15: And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell [hades].

Luke 16:22, 23: The rich man also died, and was buried: And in hell [hades] he lifted his eyes, being in torments.

Acts 2:27: Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell [hades].

Acts 2:31: His soul was not left in hell [hades].

1 Corinthians 15:55: O death [hades], where is thy victory. Revelation 1:18: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell [hades] and of death.

Revelation 6:8: Death and Hell [hades] followed with him.

Revelation 20:13, 14, Death and hell [hades] delivered up the dead which were in them ...And death and hell [hades] were cast into the lake of fire.

Plain isn't it? After sinners were judged, death and hades were cast into the final penitentiary-gehenna--synonymous with the Lake of Fire.

Gehenna differs from hades in that gehenna is a place where there are degrees of suffering. After one is judged, after he has been examined as to how much light he experienced, how often he heard the gospel, and rejected it, he is assigned to degrees of punishment in the final penitentiary. Romans 2:5 proves this statement, After thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up [stores up, saves up] unto thyself wrath... [administered in gehenna, the penitentiary].

Gehenna is used by Christ 12 times:

Matthew 5:22: Whosoever shall say Thou, fool, shall be in danger of hell [gehenna] fire. Let us put the cultists substitute there--grave--for they say hell is the grave. Jesus would then be saying, "Sinners shall be in danger of grave fire." That must be strange fire in the grave-I have never heard of it, have you! So Jesus must not be talking about a grave.

Matthew 5:29, 30: And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell [gehenna]. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it, from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell [gehenna].

Matthew 10:28: And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather, fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell [gehenna].

Matthew 18:9: And if thine eye offend then, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better, for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire [gehenna].

Matthew 23:15: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte [convert], and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell [gehenna] than yourselves.

Matthew 23:33: Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell [gehenna]?

In Mark 9:43-47, Jesus says, 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 [gehenna], 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 of: it is better for thee to enter half into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell [gehenna], 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 eves to be cast into hell [gehenna] fire.

Every time Jesus mentions this place, gehenna, He always says it is the place where the worm dieth not and the fire is never quenched (see Mark 9:44, 40, 48). Do not let some cultist tell you this is the grave when the Word of God makes it explicitly clear that this is a place where there is agony, suffering, burning, where the memory dies not, and where the fires never cease.

Luke 12:5: I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell [gehenna]; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Then in James 3:6, He says, The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell [gehenna].

We discover there are eleven passages concerning hades, and twelve passages concerning gehenna. Hades is the local jail where the sinner awaits the judgment morning. At that time he comes out, is judged, and then is transferred to gehenna. Do not let any false religionist, any cultist, tell you that is merely a grave. Hear me, my friend. When Jesus stood on this earth, He pointed to the Valley of Hinnom. In the Old Testament it was a place of sacrifice to pagan gods. In the New Testament it became the garbage dump. The fire burned 24 hours a day to get rid of all the refuse, and Jesus said that hell was going to be like the fires at the Valley of Hinnom.

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