A very old wise man once told me that "hell" was never in the bible, it was later added?

Question

to control others and put fear into them. This man was born in the late 1800. Has anyone else heard of this? I also think if we eliminated the idea of "hell" and that God only allowed certain individuals into "heaven" we would not be so controversial. Agree or disagree?

Answer 1

He was very wise indeed. In later books, (Conversations With God), it is said that there is no hell that so called bad people will go too. Hell is what you put yourself through on this earth. Man rewrote the bible and did exactly that, they put fear into people and thus, religion was born. God doesn't want you to be afraid.
God Bless

Answer 2

I'll answer the last question first. Sure, if you tell people what they want to hear, there will be a lot less controversy. Personally, I prefer the truth.

"Hell" is a Germanic word, and arises from the Germanic (Norse) religion. Certainly, it was never in the bible. Likewise Jesus, thou, shalt, not, kill, and just about every other German-derived word in the English language. The words most often translated as "hell" are Hades (Greek) and Sheol (Hebrew).

"Hell" has been in English bibles at least since 1611. I believe that it was in all previous English bibles, as well.

Here's what the bible *does* say:

Mat 13:10-43
40. "Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.
41. "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,
42. and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 25:41
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;

Rev 20:10
10. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

These say it all, I think. Although the eternal torment of the wicked is not spelled out in these verses, the wicked clearly *are* hurled into the same fire as the devil, and the devil *will* be tormented forever.

It doesn't really matter what word you call it by.

All verses from the New American Standard Bible, considered to be the most literal.

Jim, http://www.jimpettis.com/wheel/

Answer 3

The Christian Bible is a Catholic Book. The Catholic Church determined and compiled the books that would be included in it. All other additions by the LDS and others are not and will never be part of the Bible. The Protestants, by the way, even removed some books from the Bible.

Answer 4

What Has Happened to
Hellfire?

WHAT image does the word "hell" conjure up in your mind? Do you see hell as a literal place of fire and brimstone, of unending torment and anguish? Or is hell perhaps a symbolic description of a condition, a state?

For centuries, a fiery hell of excruciating torments has been envisioned by religious leaders of Christendom as the certain destiny for sinners. This idea is still popular among many other religious groups. "Christianity may have made hell a household word," says U.S.News & World Report, "but it doesn't hold a monopoly on the doctrine. The threat of painful retribution in the afterlife has counterparts in nearly every major world religion and in some minor ones as well." Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jains, and Taoists believe in a hell of one sort or another.

Answer 5

It wasn't added to control others - that is complete misunderstanding of the history of theology. It was added gradually, little by little, over the course of many centuries. And the shift took place from bottom to top, from laymen to churchmen.

The modern concept of hell is completely foreign to the theologians of the ancient Church, as well as most modern Orthodox theologians. Many of the most influential Christian theologians (like Origen and Gregory of Nyssa) rejected the concept altogether.

Answer 6

THIS OLD MAN WAS VERY WISE, he is absolutely right.

Webster’s Dictionary says that the English word “hell” is equal to the Hebrew word Sheol and the Greek word Hades.

English translators of the Authorized Version, or King James Version, translated Sheol 31 times as “hell,” 31 times as “grave,” and 3 times as “pit.” The Catholic Douay Version translated Sheol 64 times as “hell.” In the Christian Greek Scriptures “New Testament”, the King James Version translated Hades as “hell” each of the 10 times it occurs..

The question is: What kind of place is Sheol, or Hades? The fact that the King James Version translates the one Hebrew word Sheol three different ways shows that hell, grave and pit mean one and the same thing. And if hell means the common grave of mankind, it could not at the same time mean a place of fiery torture. Well, then, do Sheol and Hades mean the grave, or do they mean a place of torture?

Acts 2:31 uses Hades. Notice, too, that Jesus Christ was in Hades, or hell. Are we to believe that God tormented Christ in a hell of fire? Of course not! Jesus was simply in his grave.

Good people go to the Bible hell. For example, the good man Job, who was suffering a great deal, prayed to God: “O that in Sheol [grave, King James Version; hell, Douay Version] you would conceal me, that you would set a time limit for me and remember me!” (Job 14:13) Now think: If Sheol means a place of fire and torment, would Job wish to go and spend his time there until God remembered him? Clearly, Job wanted to die and go to the grave that his sufferings might end.

In all the places where Sheol occurs in the Bible it is never associated with life, activity or torment. Rather, it is often linked with death and inactivity. For example, think about Ecclesiastes 9:10, which reads: “All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol [grave, King James Version; hell, Douay Version], the place to which you are going.” So the answer becomes very clear. Sheol and Hades refer not to a place of torment but to the common grave of mankind. Good people as well as bad people go to the Bible hell.

Can people get out of hell? What did Jonah mean by “out of the belly of hell”? Well, that fish’s belly was surely not a place of fiery torment. But it could have become Jonah’s grave.

Jesus Christ spoke about the condition of the dead. He did so with regard to Lazarus, a man whom he knew well and who had died. Jesus told his disciples: “Lazarus our friend has gone to rest.” The disciples thought that Jesus meant that Lazarus was resting in sleep, recovering from an illness. They were wrong. Jesus explained: “Lazarus has died.” (John 11:11-14) Notice that Jesus compared death to rest and sleep. Lazarus was neither in heaven nor in a burning hell. He was not meeting angels or ancestors. Lazarus was not being reborn as another human. He was at rest in death, as though in a deep sleep without dreams. Other scriptures also compare death to sleep. For example, when the disciple Stephen was stoned to death, the Bible says that he “fell asleep.” (Acts 7:60) Similarly, the apostle Paul wrote about some in his day who had “fallen asleep” in death.

Answer 7

I don't believe the word "hell" was added to the bible later...most references in fact appear in the Old Testament. However, what I do think is that the concept of hell has been perverted by people over the centuries. At the most basic level, hell is separation from God. Sin (disobedience) separates us from God on earth. Because the concept of "eternal life" is consistent throughout the bible, it seems reasonable to suggest that this separation will continue into this next life...this is the essence of hell.

Now take a bunch of men (humans) who find it "impossible" to obey God 100% of the time...even one sin separates them from him (in their own minds perhaps) so they naturally fear that sin will have the same eternal consequence. Enter Jesus with a message of eternal life and salvation...essentially a promise to relieve this fear of eternal consequences freeing us to focus on the earthly consequences (the earthly separation from God and the negative consequences of disobeying his instructions). Accepting this forgiveness has a dramatic effect on many people and they become motivated to help others receive the same gift. Here's where the real problem starts...

They recall their own fear of eternal separation from God and recognize that the removal of that fear was a powerful motivator for them. ...but what do they do with people who aren't conscious of their own fear (or don't label it fear of separation from God...perhaps they just fear death or perhaps they have managed to bury all their fears)? They start "cherry picking" the bible in order to provide a vivid description of hell...take "wailing and knashing of teeth" from one place, "suffering" from another, "lake of fire" from another and paint a vivid "word picture" of what hell will be like. Then they use that picture to motivate others to accept the grace of God through Jesus by beating them non-believers with it. Anyone not see the inconsistency of the message?

I'm a Christian and I choose to accept Jesus' word that my human mind can't possibly comprehend the vastness of God's plan. Am I saying that "hell" isn't an eternal existence of fire and brimstone and torture...no, I don't know...but that isn't consistent with my perception of God's nature.

Perhaps hell isn't eternal, it is just a waiting room. People who don't recognize Jesus and get on his bus to God's place, have to wait there until God is ready to bring about the end of the world as we know it. While waiting, they could be watching a cheesy black and white TV with two channels...one shows them every mistake they ever made and the other shows them what's happening in heaven. They have to suffer with the realization that they could have gone on to heaven and now they have to wait until God's plan is fulfilled to find out about their fate. At that time, everyone (including the ones in the waiting room) may be given another chance to come to God before God throws "death and Hades into the lake of fire" (in my mind, a lake of fire would consume not preserve...eternal death not eternal suffering). I think most the people I know would choose life over death...perhaps that is what was meant by "every knee shall bow, every tongue confess".

...but again, I don't know and I don't believe anyone CAN know what heaven or hell will be like...everything is a guess and God knows that those guesses are most likely wrong (mine included). I just wish people would get off the fear and start recognizing the power of a positive witness (like Jesus did)...living a life that makes you stand out among men in a positive way is a far better witness than threatening people with eternal damnation if they don't accept the love of God! The only times Jesus spoke of heaven or hell was when he was speaking to his disciples, people that already followed him. When he spoke to non-believers, he focused on the blessings of God...the rewards for obedience (earthly and heavenly).

Answer 8

Never heard that
God is the final Judge of all that

Answer 9

WISE MAN??...........you've been lied to.
i can show you in the bible,that hell is mentioned 1000 years before jesus was born.
wise man.....please.

Answer 10

That's a lie. Jesus spoke of hell very frequently.