*Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this series are not intended as an official statement of CBTS or a uniform position of its faculty. This material is offered in the spirit of faith seeking understanding and to encourage further theological reflection. As more installments of this series are released, they will be linked here.
Introduction
When we read our English Bibles, we must remember that the word hell is one English word used to translate various Hebrew and Greek words. The next few posts will focus on the Greek words hades and gehenna, both of which have often been translated in the New Testament as hell. In the process, much of the New Testament’s teaching on the intermediate and eternal states of the wicked will come to light. The intermediate state is the condition of deceased humanity before the resurrection and final judgment, whereas the eternal state is humanity’s condition following the resurrection of the body.
The word hades is sometimes used in the New Testament of a place to which the spirits of the unregenerate descend at death. It is also used in references to Old Testament texts to translate the Hebrew word sheol into Greek; particularly in these instances, the word could conceivably refer either to death and the grave in general (prior to the resurrection of the body) or more specifically to the intermediate state of wicked spirits.
The word gehenna (transliterated into Greek from the Aramaic gehinnam) is used in the New Testament of eternal hellfire, and thus appears to refer to the second death in the lake of fire (as described in the Book of the Revelation). Jesus also identifies Gehenna with the eternal punishment and shame described in Isaiah 66.
Together, Hades and Gehenna are two places of punishment which are both commonly called Hell. In the New Testament development of the doctrine, Hades is the present Hell for the disembodied dead, and Gehenna is the eternal Hell after the resurrection to damnation.
References to Hades as Death and the Grave Rather Than Hell
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus famously declares, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell [hades] shall not prevail against it.” The phrase here which can be translated “gates of Hades” reflects a Hebrew expression for the power or hold of death. There may also be an allusion here to Satan as the evil one who brought death on the human race and who has murderous designs on God’s people (cf. Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 12:3–4, 13–17). However, death’s power is the basic connotation of the Greek phrase. We might compare this to an expression like “the jaws of death.” Phrases like the gates of death or the gates of Hades appeared in ancient Greek translations (the Septuagint) of the Old Testament. Notice the following examples.
In Job 38:17, the Lord asks a rhetorical question of Job: ““Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?” The Lexham English Septuagint translates the Greek, “And have the gates of death been opened to you out of fear, and the gatekeepers of Hades, seeing you, cower?” David, in fear for his life, exclaims, “Be gracious to me, O Lord! See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death.” (Psalm 9:13) The psalmist describes those afflicted almost unto death:
17 Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
18 they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.(Psalm 107:17–19)
The exact expression, the gates of Hades, appears in King Hezekiah’s reflection upon his deliverance from death:
9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
10 I said, In the middle of my days
I must depart;
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol [lxx: the gates of Hades]
for the rest of my years.
11 I said, I shall not see the Lord,
the Lord in the land of the living;
I shall look on man no more
among the inhabitants of the world.17 Behold, it was for my welfare
that I had great bitterness;
but in love you have delivered my life
from the pit of destruction,
for you have cast all my sins
behind your back.
18 For Sheol does not thank you;
death does not praise you;
those who go down to the pit do not hope
for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living, he thanks you,
as I do this day;
the father makes known to the children
your faithfulness.(Isaiah 38:9–11, 17–19)
In an earlier post, we have already noted the use of Hades in Acts 2, where Peter quotes Psalm 16 to demonstrate the necessity of the Christ’s resurrection. Again, this is a use of Hades to translate Sheol, and the prophecy is that the messianic Son of David would not find himself abandoned to death or his body to decay in the grave.
25 For David says concerning him,
“‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
(Acts 2:25–31)
References to Hades as Hell
We should also acknowledge the use of Hades in other New Testament texts in reference to the intermediate state of wicked spirits, which is a place and condition of confined punishment. Both Matthew and Luke record the Lord Jesus contrasting a self-righteous expectation of heaven with the actual doom of descent into Hades. Given the context (which indicates degrees of condemnation and punishment on the day of judgment), the most natural understanding of Hades in such texts seems to be that of the present Hell for departed spirits, a place of punishment awaiting the day of judgment.
23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”
(Matthew 11:23–24)
10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. 13 Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.
(Luke 10:10–15)
We have already encountered what Jesus said in Luke 16 about an unnamed rich man who died and found himself in fiery torment in Hades (in contrast to the righteous beggar Lazarus, who died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom).
19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
(Luke 16:19–31)
Remember what we have already said regarding this text. Jesus is telling a story describing the realities of death to make a point about the unbelieving Pharisees (lovers of money according to verse 14 of Luke 16), about whether earthly comforts demonstrate God’s favor, and about the sign of his own coming resurrection; but Jesus is accommodating his description to images we can somewhat comprehend. Earthly eating and drinking, feast or famine, may be reversed in the realm of the departed. Temporal blessings in this life do not guarantee lasting blessings in the next. On earth, the rich man lived in comfort and daily feasting while Lazarus lived in hunger and pain. After death, Lazarus was ushered into lasting comfort in Abraham’s bosom (the place of honor reclining at table; cf. Matthew 8:11–12; John 13:23–25) while the rich man could not even get a drop of water in his fiery torment. That said, unless the dead are given temporary forms of some sort, the imagery of Abraham’s bosom and the rich man’s eyes and tongue and Lazarus’s finger do not seem to be literal descriptions of disembodied spirits. We can simply say that Jesus is telling a story about heaven (where Abraham the father of the faithful is) and hell (where the departed spirits of the wicked are currently tormented). Nevertheless, while being careful not to read too much into this description of heavenly bliss and hellish torment, we must not water down the realities of existence beyond the grave, realities which Jesus clearly means for us to take seriously. The solemn realities described here align well with the rest of the scriptural witness.
Within John’s symbolic visions in the Book of the Revelation, a distinction is apparently made between death and Hades (while maintaining a close connection between the two). That being the case, Hades here fits best with something beyond death or the grave itself. Such texts seem to speak of both death and hell:
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and [of] Hades.
(Revelation 1:17–18)
7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
(Revelation 6:7–8)
13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
(Revelation 20:13–14)
Such is the New Testament data regarding the term hades. While it can be as broad in its reference as the Hebrew term sheol, it also has a narrower reference at times to what we would call the present Hell. Just as New Testament revelation gives us much increased light regarding Heaven as the present abode of the blessed, so the New Testament also provides clearer revelation concerning Hell as the present abode of the damned. Next we must examine the term gehenna and its connection with the resurrection to damnation.
