Do we assume to much about the bible? Hell part 1?

Question

1-'Gehenna' or 'The valley of the son of Hinnom' which is what the Greek word means, was the rubbish tip outside of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus which was also used to burn the bodies of criminals who had suffered capital punishment. Most of the occurrences of the word 'hell' in the New Testament refer to this 'place of burning' outside of Jerusalem.
2-If we can accept the words quoted from Psalm 16 which prophetically teach that Jesus went to 'sheol' (ie. the grave) when He died, then to be consistent with Bible teaching, we must accept that Peter meant the grave as well when He said that Jesus went to hades when he quotes Psalm 16 in Acts 2:27. Any other explanation would have Old Testament teaching contradicting the New Testament. The fact that the New Testament was written in Greek does not mean that we have to use Greek mythology to interpret Scripture. Today we use words like "lunatic", but this does not mean that we accept that somebody's mental health depends on the phases

Answer 1

This is my drfinition when I look up the word 'Gehenna' on dictionary.com:

Gehenna

(originally Ge bene Hinnom; i.e., "the valley of the sons of Hinnom"), a deep, narrow glen to the south of Jerusalem, where the idolatrous Jews offered their children in sacrifice to Molech (2 Chr. 28:3; 33:6; Jer. 7:31; 19:2-6). This valley afterwards became the common receptacle for all the refuse of the city. Here the dead bodies of animals and of criminals, and all kinds of filth, were cast and consumed by fire kept always burning. It thus in process of time became the image of the place of everlasting destruction. In this sense it is used by our Lord in Matt. 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5. In these passages, and also in James 3:6, the word is uniformly rendered "hell," the Revised Version placing "Gehenna" in the margin. (See HELL ?T0001731; HINNOM.)

I think that your definition was a simplified one- leaving out the idolatry that tool place there. So there is no problem with the thinking that there was not a reference to Hell as in the typical Christian veiw on it. I do think however, that Jesus was talking about Hell metaphorically, but you can hold your view without causing a big disagreement with me.

'Sheol' however is also more complex than your source reports! They are only giving you one explanation when the word has deeper meaning than that. I will demonstrate:

Sheol ( Strong's H7585 ) The 65 occurances of this word are distributed throughout every period of biblical Hebrew.

First, the word means the state of death: " For death there is no rememberance of Thee: in the grave who shall give Thee thanks? " ( Ps. 6 : 5 cf. 18 : 5 ) It is the final resting place of all men: " They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. ( Job 21 : 13 ) . Hannah confessed that it was the omnipotent God who brings men to sheol ( death ) or kills them ( 1 Samuel 2 : 6 ) . " Sheol " is parrallel to Hebrew words for " pit " or " hell " ( Job 26 : 6 ) , " corruption " or " decay " ( Ps. 16 : 10 ) , and " destruction " ( Prov. 15 : 11 ) .

Second, " Sheol " is used of a place of conscious existence after death. In the first biblical appearance of the word Jacob said that he would " go down into the grave unto my son mourning " ( Gen. 37 : 35 ) . All men go to " Sheol " - a place and state of consciousness after death ( Ps. 16 : 10 ) . The wicked recieve punishment there ( Num. 16 : 30 ; Deut. 32 : 22; Ps. 9 : 17 ) . They are put to shame and silence in " Sheol " ( Ps. 31 : 17 ) . Jesus alluded to Isaiah's use of Sheol ( Isaiah 14 : 13 - 15 ) in pronouncing judgement in Capernaum
( Matt. 11 : 23 ) , translating " Sheol " as " Hades " or " Hell " , meaning the place of conscious existence and judgement. It is an undesirable place for the wicked ( Job 24 : 19 ) and a refuge for the righteous ( Job 14 : 13 ) . Thus " Sheol " is also a place of reward for the righteous ( Hosea 13 : 14; cf. 1 Cor. 15 : 55 ) . Jesus teaching in Luke 16 : 19 - 31 seems to reflect accurately the Old Testament concept of Sheol; it is a place of conscious existence after death, one side of which is occupied by the suffering, unrighteous dead separated by a great chasm from the other side peopled by the righteous dead enjoying their reward. Vine's Expository Dictionary pg. 227

Answer 2

Your research is right on. There is no burning hell. The truth will set you free. A paradise is waiting for all those in their memorial tombs. Everyone good or bad will have a chance on the paradise earth. Satan and all his doctrinal lies will be forever gone!