Evechot is exposing a doctrine that the churches have taught for centuries but which the Bible does not. At Jeremiah 19:4,5, God told the nation of Israel, that "they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, ...they have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind."(King James Bible) Then later, at Jeremiah 32:35, God told the nation of Israel that "they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin."(King James Bible) How can God be spoken of tormenting individuals in "hell" when he himself said that this never "came into his mind" and called this despicable act an "abomination" or "outrage" ? (Encarta Dictionary)
To torment anyone is not loving, for any parent or person who does such a thing would be met with justice even by many of the world's judicial systems. God would be a hypocrite if he condemned the nation of Israel for their actions but punished people in a "hellfire". The apostle John wrote that "God is love".(1 John 4:8) The apostle Paul, while giving his defense before governor Felix, said that "there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous."(Acts 24:15) Hence, even those considered as "unrighteous"(Young's Bible, Weymouth's New Testament), "unjust"(King James Bible, Webster's Bible), "wicked"(International Standard Version, William's New Testament) will receive a resurrection from the dead, to be given an opportunity to please their Creator. The churches have distorted the meaning of "hell", thus causing many to believe in a religious teaching that defames God.
The word "hell" is used in the King James Version (as well as in the Catholic Douay Version and most older translations) to translate the Hebrew word she’ohl´ and the Greek word hai´des. In the King James Version the word “hell†is rendered from she’ohl´ 31 times and from hai´des 10 times. This version is not consistent, however, since she’ohl´ is also translated 31 times “grave†and 3 times “pit.†In the Douay Version she’ohl´ is rendered “hell†63 times, “pit†once, and “death†once.
It is, in fact, because of the way that the word “hell†is understood today that it is such an unsatisfactory translation of these original Bible words. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, unabridged, under “Hell†says: “fr[om] . . . helan to conceal.†(This is also shown in MicroSoft Encarta Dictionary) The word “hell†thus originally conveyed no thought of heat or torment but simply of a ‘covered over or concealed place.’ In the old English dialect the expression “helling potatoes†meant, not to roast them, but simply to place the potatoes in the ground or in a cellar. Hence, as rendered in the King James Bible, Jonah, while in the belly of the fish, said: "Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly, 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."(Jonah 2:1,2) Jonah was "concealed" from everyone except God, but was not in a fiery place of torment.
The King James Bible, along with several others, have also rendered the Greek word Gehenna as "hell". At Matthew 10:28, Jesus shows that people are not tormented there, but rather destroyed, saying: " 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 (Greek, ge´en·na)."(King James Bible) Though Jesus spoke of "fire", the Greek word he used, was not hai´des (Greek) but ge´en·na (Greek form of the Hebrew Geh Hin·nom´ ) or eternal destruction. This Greek word literally means "Valley of Hinnom", and was a deep, narrow valley, that lay to the S and SW of ancient Jerusalem and is the modern-day Wadi er-Rababi (Ge Ben Hinnom). No living persons were ever thrown there. The Bible "hell"(Greek, hai´des ) is the common grave of mankind, to be emptied of those imprisoned by it. However,the "everlasting fire" or Gehenna, means total destruction.(Matt 18:8,9; 25:41) This is divine justice.
Revelation 20:13, as rendered by the King James Bible, says that "the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell (Greek, hai´des )delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." Thus, the Bible "hell", mankind's common grave, does not keep it's captives prisoner for all eternity, but releases them by means of a resurrection from the dead, whereas those "sent" to Gehenna never live again, but are dead forever.
