3 Burning Questions about the Words of Hell
As we have just considered in the previous three blog posts, there are a significant number of words that are either translated as hell in the English Bible or allude to hell by providing illustrative metaphors about what the underworld will be comparable to. After undertaking a considerable amount of analysis on this challenging issue, I would like to leave you with three critical thinking questions concerning all the words that are translated as hell in the Bible. As always, do your best not to jump to conclusions immediately. These questions are designed to make one reflect about the previous blog posts and use your critical thinking skills in a beneficial manner.
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If hell is the primary reason why mankind requires salvation, then why does virtually nobody in the Bible talk about it?
This is one issue that I repeatedly examine and one that I do not suppose there is a reliable answer for. Essentially, Jesus is the only one who uses Gehenna (except one from James), and if Gehenna does suggest hell, as most Christians presume, then why do so many authors fail to mention it? Why does Paul never discuss hell?Neither does Peter, nor John. Acts does not refer to hell either and neither does the author of Hebrews. Not to mention the OT is void of all things related to hell. Would not God have warned Moses about the reality of hell when he provided the Israelites with the law? Read the curses in Deuteronomy 28. Is this not the ideal occasion to mention hell if it exists? Why would God give Israel all those curses without revealing the nature of hell? Did God not think about it yet? Nobody can make an argument from silence, but the complete silence of the doctrine of hell from virtually all of Scripture should make anyone stop and at least ask questions as to why. Besides, when did the doctrine of hell come into Jewish thought? There is nothing in the OT and then, just like that, Gehenna is in the NT with no formal introduction.
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If Gehenna does, in fact, mean hell, then why would Jesus use a literal geographical location that all Jews were already incredibly familiar with to indicate hell for all who do not believe in Him?
Since Gehenna literally denotes “The Valley of Hinnom,” why would Jesus use this designation to mean hell? Would it not be more evident if he employed a different word? There is no evidence, in any other writings, that prior to the time of Jesus that Gehenna is used to denote the residence of the underworld (or the place of annihilation). The nearest piece of literature we can observe to a possible reference is in 1 Enoch where the author mentions “that accursed valley.” However, even then it refers to a literal valley, and it is not certain that this reference is the Hinnom Valley since there were a few other valleys around Jerusalem (Kidron and Tyropeon).
If Jesus desired all people to avoid this dreadful fate, why would he use the Valley of Hinnom as a warning to the Apostles and a threat to the Pharisees, while completely neglecting to tell the general Jewish populace about it? The only possible time the general populace heard about it was during the Sermon on the Mount. Even then, however, Scripture says at the beginning of the sermon, “Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, His disciples came to him. And he opened His mouth and taught them” (Matt. 5:1-2). The sermon was for the disciples but there was a crowd gathering to listen along (Matt7:28). It appears that if Jesus desired to caution everyone about the threat of hell and they need to believe in him, there should have been more clarity about it to all the people.
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If Gehenna does mean hell, why does the author of 2 Peter use Tartarus?
This may initially look like a simple question. However, it does have a few complications, I believe, if one is to conclude Gehenna and Tartarus are comparable. If Peter is the author of 2 Peter (which almost no scholar, outside conservative circles, believes), and if he sat and listened to Jesus for 3 years, why would he not have used Gehenna to indicate hell? Would it have not been easier to use the ordinary Jewish word for hell as to not generate confusion? Unless, of course, one believes that Gehenna and Tartarus are two distinct places? This one has constantly been a challenging question for me and though I have heard countless differing opinions, there has not been one yet that appears satisfactory for myself.
Conclusion
There are many, many more questions about the words of hell that are not listed here. These are just the ones that I deliberate about frequently.
If you are interested, here is a similar page devoted to questions about hell where the author gives some answers. These are interesting to say the least. It is from Charisma Magazine but provides “answers” from a conservative perspective. It is found HERE.
Previous blog post on Gehenna and Tartarus is HERE
Next blog post on Views of Hell is HERE
