For those who believe in Hell- a question about the order...?

Question

My question relates to Revelation 20:12,13 (the following from the KJV)

"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and HELL delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. "

Why are people being judged AFTER they have been in hell? If hell is a place of punishment, shouldn't these people be going to hell after judgement?

Please support your answer with chapter and verse~
Thanx!

Answer 1

An excellent question. Hell/Hades/Sheol refers to the Grave. The Bible tells us at (Rom. 6:7 "he that has died has been aquitted of his sin") What does aquitted mean? Forgiven.
So this is referring to individuals who have died before being tested or died without knowledge of God. These will will be resurrected (back to the earth) after Armageddon during the 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ and will be "judged according to their works". (Acts 24:15 "and I have hope toward God, which hope these men themselves also entertain, that there is going to be a resurrection of BOTH the righteous and the unrighteous.") To be "standing before God" does not always mean to be in his presence in heaven. We are all before God now and he hears us when we pray.

Answer 2

The KJV misuses the word Hell. It should be the word "Hades". Hades is the place of the dead or the grave. It is not a place of judgment. The Lake of fire is what we might call Hell. It was called the second death by John in Revalation ( 20:14 and 21:8) John also saw Death and Hades thrown into the Second death. (20:14) This proves that Hades and the Second death are 2 diferent things. It also shows that the purpose of the second death is to destroy death and the place of the dead.
The fire which is not real, but symbolic, is for the purpose of purging and cleansing those thrown into it so that all that is evil and "dead" in them will be gone and then they will be ready to enter into God's presence.

Many Christians are not aware of this but the docrine of eternal punishment is a false teaching that the Church aquired during the time leading up to the dark ages. The Bible translations which say Hell is eternal have mistranslations. For example, in Revelation 14:11 it should read "the smoke of their torment rises for ages of ages" not the redundant silly phrase "forever and ever" which is there instead. Ages of ages indicates a long time but is not eternity.

So to answer your question, when people die, they rest in Hades, the place of the dead. Then at Christs judgment, IF they need to be thrown into the lake of fire , then their judgment begins. And it lasts until they are clean... however long that will take.

Answer 3

Guess this is the difference in translations of the bible-
I use the New International Version and the same sentence uses HADES in place of hell.
Hades is the lord of the dead and ruler of the nether world. And to better understand why Hades would be used- he is found in Greek mythology and the bible was influenced by a kind of hebrew-greek influence.

Answer 4

The Biblical word for hell literally means "grave." So, those folks come up from the grave to be judged.

The hell we usually think of is correctly called the Lake of Fire.

Answer 5

The proper translation is Hades. When an evil person dies he goes to Hades. When Christ comes again Death and Hades will give up their dead and they will be judged. The evil will be cast into hell.

Answer 6

They go to hell first because they are not "saved" from it, those that are "saved" from hell are also given a pardon from judgement in the great judgement. They go to hell and are destroyed after judgement, not just simply sent back to hell.

Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

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

Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Luk 16:23 And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Answer 7

Ok, I will try to explain it. Firstly, you need to realize that Hell (which currently exists) is not eternal. Hell will be replaced by the "lake of fire" (Notice Revelation 20:15). Hell is only temporary, but the lake of fire will be eternal. I would hope that you refer to your Bible, and not just on what I say. Also, visit www.gotquestions.org. They will be extremely helpful. Hope you are saved, and are not going to Hell.

Answer 8

They can't find a bail bondsman to cover their bail...

So they stay until their court date...

Answer 9

ooooh, now there is a good question, and someone has been doing their homework!

Answer 10

Hell has several meanings that have not been exactly translated correctly into English.

The King James Bible translated four separate words as "Hell". These words are sheol, hades, gehenna, and tartarus. The word tartarus is used only once in the whole Bible (2 Pet 2:4) and is more properly translated as ‘the abyss’ rather than as ‘hell’. Sheol is the Hebrew word for grave. Hades is the New Testamant Greek equivalent of sheol and also means grave. Gehenna is a word that Jesus used to describe the fiery destruction of the wicked. It is the Valley of Hinnom located outside Jerusalem where garbage and some dead bodies were burned. The New Testament also uses the phrase "Lake of Fire" to describe the destruction of the wicked. Gehenna and the lake of fire represent the same idea.

So actually, due to the translation error of explanation, many times hell = grave. There are others that refer to the abyss which is at the final judgement. The final judgement is when punishment for eternity will be handed out and those receiving them will indeed be sent to an eternal pit of fire.

Below are all the occurances of hell in the Bible with the hell translation it should go with (the numbers next to the original text translated into hell is for Strong's Concordance):


Deut 32:22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell (sheol - 7585), and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundationsof the mountains.

2 Sam 22:6 The sorrows of hell (sheol - 7585) compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;

Job 11:8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell (sheol - 7585); what canst thou know?

Job 26:6 Hell (sheol - 7585) is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.

Ps 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell (sheol - 7585), and all the nations that forget God.

Ps 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (sheol - 7585); neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Ps 18:5 The sorrows of hell (sheol - 7585) compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.

Ps 55:15 Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell (sheol - 7585): for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.

Ps 86:13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell (sheol - 7585).

Ps 116:3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell (sheol - 7585) gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.

Ps 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell (sheol - 7585), behold, thou art there.

Prov 5:5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell (sheol - 7585).

Prov 7:27 Her house is the way to hell (sheol - 7585), going down to the chambers of death.

Prov 9:18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell (sheol - 7585).

Prov 15:11 Hell (sheol - 7585) and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?

Prov 15:24 The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell (sheol - 7585) beneath.

Prov 23:14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell (sheol - 7585).

Prov 27:20 Hell (sheol - 7585) and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

Isa 5:14 Therefore hell (sheol - 7585) hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

Isa 14:9 Hell (sheol - 7585) from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

Isa 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell (sheol - 7585), to the sides of the pit.

Isa 28:15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell (sheol - 7585) are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

Isa 28:18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell (sheol - 7585) shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

Isa 57:9 And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell (sheol - 7585).

Ezek 31:16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell (sheol - 7585) with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.

Ezek 31:17 They also went down into hell (sheol - 7585) with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.

Ezek 32:21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell (sheol - 7585) with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

Ezek 32:27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell (sheol - 7585) with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

Amos 9:2 Though they dig into hell (sheol - 7585), 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 (sheol - 7585) cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

Hab 2:5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell (sheol - 7585), and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:

Matt 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell (geenna - 1067) fire.

Matt 5:29 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 (geenna - 1067).

Matt 5:30 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 (geenna - 1067).

Matt 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 (geenna - 1067).

Matt 11:23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell (hades - 86): for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

Matt 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell (hades - 86) shall not prevail against it.

Matt 18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, 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 (geenna - 1067) fire.

Matt 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell (geenna - 1067) than yourselves.

Matt 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell (geenna - 1067)?

Mark 9:43 And 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 (geenna - 1067), into the fire that never shall be quenched:

Mark 9:45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell (geenna - 1067), into the fire that never shall be quenched:

Mark 9:47 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 eyes to be cast into hell (geenna - 1067) fire:

Luke 10:15 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell (hades - 86).

Luke 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell (geenna - 1067); yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Luke 16:23 And in hell (hades - 86) he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Acts 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (hades - 86), neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Acts 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell (hades - 86), neither his flesh did see corruption.

James 3:6 And 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 (geenna - 1067).

2 Pet 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (tartaroo - 5020), and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell (hades - 86) and of death.

Rev 6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell (hades - 86) followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell (hades - 86) delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

Rev 20:14 And death and hell (hades - 86) were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.