Hell: The Grave or Place of Punishment?
I want to stress from the start that the most important thing when deciding what we believe about Hell, is not human reasoning or comprehension, but what the Bible says. I say this because many deny the existence of Hell for the reason that they feel it is incompatible with the love of God. In a discussion like this, we must not allow human opinions or reasonings to cause us to ignore plain statements of Scripture. The Jehovah's Witness belief about Hell, is that it is simply the common grave of mankind, and not a place of everlasting punishment. But does the Bible agree with this view, or is Hell indeed a place of conscious punishment after death? The best thing is to let the Scriptures answer.
In our English Bible, the Hebrew word commonly translated "Hell" is "Sheol". In the Greek, the words most commonly translated "Hell" are the words "Hades" (the equivalent of Sheol), and "Gehenna", which is derived from a garbage dump in the Valley of Hinnom just outside of Jerusalem. Since this garbage dump was a place where bodies were burned, this would explain why Jesus would use this word to help the people understand what eternal punishment would be like. When people in Jesus' day heard the word "Gehenna", they immediately thought of a place of fire. Interestingly, Strong's Concordance defines the Hebrew word "Sheol" this way:
"...the world of the dead (as if a subterranean retreat), includ. its accessories and inmates:- grave, hell, pit."
The word "Sheol" is found 65 times in the Old Testament. It means "grave" exactly 31 times. It also means "Hell" 31 times, and "pit" 3 times. The reason JWs appear to have a valid point about Hell is because they generally concentrate only on the 31 times where the word means "grave", and completely ignore the 34 other times the word is used. The meaning of the word should be determined BY THE CONTEXT IN WHICH IT APPEARS. When one considers the many places in the Old Testament where the word "Sheol" CANNOT be the grave, it becomes obvious that the Jehovah's Witness belief about Hell is a serious error. JWs claim that "Sheol" always means "grave". This is NOT true, and it can be easily demonstrated. Please consider the following Old Testament passages where "Sheol" is used, and try inserting the word "grave" where the word "Hell" appears. It will become obvious that "grave" is NOT THE INTENDED MEANING OF THESE PASSAGES.
Deut. 32:22- "For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest HELL, and shall consume the Earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains."
Job 11:8- "It is as high as Heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than HELL; what canst thou know?"
Psalm 9:17- "The wicked shall be turned into HELL, and all the nations that forget God."
Do only the wicked go to the grave?
Psalm 18:5- "The sorrows of HELL compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me."
Does one feel sorrow in the grave?
Psalm 55:15- "Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into HELL: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them."
How do we go down "quick" into a grave?
Psalm 86:13- "For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest HELL."
Does "grave" fit this verse at all? Where is the "lowest grave"?
Psalm 116:3- "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of HELL gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow."
Is there pain in the grave?
Proverbs 9:18- "But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of HELL."
"Depths" of the "grave"? How deep is a grave?
Isaiah 5:14- "Therefore HELL 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."
Do graves enlarge?
Isaiah 14:9-10- HELL 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. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us?"
There is conversation in Sheol. Is their conversation in the grave?
Ezek. 32:18-21, 31- "Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the Earth, with them that go down into the pit. Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of HELL with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword....Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD".
Again, do people speak in the grave? Notice especially verses 21 & 31.
These are but a few examples of passages where Hell is clearly a place of conscious existence. What about the New Testament? As stated before, the Greek (N.T.) equivalent to "Sheol" is the word "Hades". This word means "Hell" 10 times, and "grave" only 1 time, in 1 Cor. 15:55. Another Greek word translated "Hell" is "Gehenna", and this word NEVER means "grave". In 2 Peter 2:4, we find that the word "Tartaros" is translated "Hell", and this word is used only in this passage. This word literally means "to incarcerate in eternal torment:- to cast down to Hell". In context, THERE IS NO POSSIBLE WAY that this word can mean "the grave". There is, in fact, much evidence in the New Testament that Hell is a literal place, where those who reject Jesus Christ as Saviour will go. Let's consider a few of these passages.
Matt. 5:22- "But I say unto you, That whosoevr 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 fire."
Is there fire in the grave?
Matt. 5:29-30- "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. 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."
Notice that we can prevent ourselves from going to Hell. On the other hand, we cannot prevent ourselves from going to the grave.
Matthew 10:28-(please compare with Luke 12:4-5)- "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."
According to these passages, man can ONLY kill the body, but CANNOT put us in Hell. If Hell were merely the grave, couldn't man put us there? It happens every day. There is NO WAY to make a grave out of this verse!
Matt. 11:23- 24- "And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto Heaven, shalt be brought down to HELL: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee."
This passage clearly illustrates that there are varying degrees in punishment in Hell. Is this true of the grave?
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 EVERLASTING FIRE." Same principle as Matt. 5:29-30. Why would Jesus describe the "grave" as "everlasting fire"?
Matt. 23:33- Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of HELL?"
Does "grave" fit this Scripture? According to JW doctrine, even righteous people go to the grave, yet, Jesus says Hell is a place of "damnation". This would certainly not be a description of the grave of a righteous man!
Mark 9:43-44- "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is btr for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into HELL, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
Same as Matt. 5:29-30 and 18:9. Is the grave a place where fire is never quenched?
Luke 12:4-5- "And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you Whom ye shall fear: Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into HELL; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him." Compare with Matthew 10:28. It would take some incredibally twisted logic to claim that Jesus is speaking of a "grave" in this passage. If, as Jehovah's Witnesses say, you do not exist after you die, then exactly what would be left for Jehovah God to cast into Hell?
Luke 16:19-31- This is such a clear illustration of Hell being a place of torment, that JWs
erroneously claim that this is a parable. Ask the JWs to give you their
fascinating explanation of this "parable". It is so far-fetched, that you
would NEVER arrive at their meaning in a million years, simply by
just reading the passage in the Bible! Personal names are NEVER
used in parables. Even if this WERE a parable, it would STILL be an
illustration depicting conscious existence after death, with the righteous
being rewarded, and the wicked being punished. The JWs interpretation
of this passage is absolutely erroneous!
Consider Acts 24:25, where Paul is standing before Felix:
"And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, AND JUDGMENT TO COME FELIX TREMBLED, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee."
One should ask himself the question... "What was it about future judgment that caused Felix to tremble with fear?"
If as JWs claim, the wicked will only go to the grave in annhilation, what was there to fear? If Felix would not consciously stand before God after death, but would remain in non-existence, there should be nothing to fear. Felix certainly knew that he would one day die and go to the grave. This wouldn't have caused Felix to fear. What he DID fear, was the judgment and punishment he would undergo AFTER death. What other reason did he have to be fearful?
One should also remember that Jesus spoke of the wicked as going to a place where there would be "outer darkness" and "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 8:12, 13:42 & 50, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30, Luke 13:28). Actually, it is a fact that Jesus talked of Hell more than He did of Heaven. In John 15:1-6, Jesus tells us that those who do not abide in Him will be "cast into the fire and burned". I wonder why JWs simply ignore these plain statements of Scripture?
Perhaps the plainest statements in Scripture about Hell are found in the book of Revelation. Concerning those who follow Antichrist, we are told in Rev. 14: 10-11....
"...and he shall be TORMENTED WITH FIRE AND BRIMSTONE in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. And the SMOKE OF THEIR TORMENT ascendeth up for ever and ever: AND THEY HAVE NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT..."
Is there any possible way the grave could be referred to here? Is there torment in the grave? Do people not rest in the grave? We musn't reject a plain statement of Scripture, simply because it goes beyond our human reasoning. In Rev. 19:20, we find that the Beast and False Prophet were "cast ALIVE into a lake of fire, BURNING with brimstone".
Why would someone be cast ALIVE into a grave? Then, 1000 years later, we find in Rev. 20:10, that Satan himself is cast into this same lake of fire and brimstone, "where the Beast and the False Prophet ARE, and shall be TORMENTED day and night for ever and ever".
Notice that, even after 1000 years, the Beast and False Prophet ARE still there! Surely this cannot possibly be the grave! Again, is there torment in the grave? I think these passages plainly illustrate that the Watchtower has misled countless numbers of people by denying the existence of Hell.
Is the doctrine of Hell incompatible with the love of God? Absolutely not! It must be remembered that God created Hell for Satan, and his demons (Matt. 25:41). He has lovingly provided man a way of escape. Jesus Christ took upon Himself the punishment for our sin, and through faith in His atoning sacrifice, we can have everlasting life (John 3:16). When one considers the terrible sufferings that Jesus endured on our behalf, there is no question that God is certainly a God of love! By simply accepting Christ's payment for our sins, and living our lives for Him, we never have to fear going to Hell. On the other hand, it is a serious thing to reject the blood of Jesus Christ as our sacrifice for sin. If we do reject the invitation to be "born again" by faith in Him, then we will have no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22), and will incur God's wrath. This is clearly stated in Hebrews 10:29-31....
"Of how MUCH SORER PUNISHMENT, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath TRODDEN UNDER FOOT THE SON OF GOD, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath DONE DESPITE unto the Spirit of grace? For we know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I WILL RECOMPENSE, SAITH THE LORD. And again, The Lord shall judge His people. IT IS A FEARFUL THING TO FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD". Dear friend, by being born again through the blood of Jesus Christ, you can KNOW that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13). But by rejecting the wonderful gift of salvation, God in His justice, will have no choice but to punish us for our sin. It is no accident that the JWs not only deny the existence of Hell, but also teach the majority of their members that they do NOT need to be born again. According to John 3:3-7, no one will ever see God's kingdom, unless they have been born again through faith in Jesus Christ. Friend, if you do not know Jesus Christ in the free pardon of sin, I pray you will come to Him today. If I can help you in this, please feel free to let me know. Jesus Christ loves you, and it is His will to save you.
