Hell: It follows also, of necessity, that the popular theory of hell and "eternal torments" is a fiction. The word "hell" occurs in the English Bible, but a comparison of the texts quoted below will show that its significance is totally different from that which ignorance and superstition have come to attach to it; that, in fact, it, almost without exception, means the grave.

O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave (sheol), that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! (Job 14:13).

And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell (sheol, grave), with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. (Ezekiel 32:27, compare with Ezekiel 31:14-17).

The wicked shall be turned into hell (sheol, grave), and all the nations that forget God. (Psalm 9:17).

Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave (sheol). (Psalm 31:17).

For Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (sheol, grave: See Peter's application of this to the resurrection of Christ - Acts 2:27; 2:30-32) neither wilt Thou suffer (allow) Thine Holy One to see corruption (Psalm 16:10).

The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell (sheol, grave) gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. (Psalm 116:3).

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 (margin, the grave), cried I, and thou heardest my voice. (Jonah 2:1-3).

And in hell (hades)2 he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:23).

For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell (sheol - see margin - grave) (Psalm 86:13).

But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth (grave). (Psalm 63:9).

Thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell3 (hades, grave): for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.( Matthew 11:23).

I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell1 (hades, grave) shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18).

He (David) seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell (hades, grave), neither his flesh did see corruption. (Acts 2:31).

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell (hades, grave) and of death. (Revelation 1:18).

O death, where is thy sting? O grave (hades), where is thy victory? (1 Corinthians 15:55; see Hosea 13:14).

And death and hell (hades, grave) delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell (hades, grave) were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (Revelation 20:13-14).

1 The original word for hell in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word sheol. The following remarks from "The Bible Verses Tradition," p. 188, will throw light on the subject:

"The Hebrew word for sheol is translated hell, properly, as a general thing, if intended to mean the same as the old Saxon word hell, the covered receptacle of all the dead, where the good and bad repose together in a state of unconsciousness: but very improperly and very shamefully, if intended to be a symbol of 'orthodox' and traditionary hell, as a place of conscious torment for the wicked only. But we, without the slightest reservation, condemn the translators: for they have evidently endeavoured to obscure the true sense of the word sheol, and to uphold the traditionary meaning of hell at the expense of truth and uniformity. Had sheol been uniformly translated pit, or grave, or the state of the dead, or even the mansions of the dead, no such absurd idea as that of a place of conscious torment could ever have been associated with it."

As to the word "hell" in the New Testament, we quote the following remarks on the original term "hades," by Dr. Campbell, a Presbyterian commentator (see On the Gospel, Diss, 6): "As to the word hades, in my judgement it ought never to be rendered hell, at least in the sense wherein that word is now universally understood by Christians. In the Old Testament, the corresponding word is sheol, which signifies the state of the dead in general, without regard to goodness or badness of the persons."

Dr Kitto, in his Cyclopaedia of the Bible, says, "Hades means literally that which is in darkness." Job in describing the state of man in death, calls it "a land of darkness, as darkness itself" (Job 10:18-22). A careful examination will lead to the conclusion that no sanction to an intermediate state is afforded by these passages where hades correctly rendered hell, occurs eleven times: see Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27, 31: 1 Corinthians 15:55 (in the margin, hell); Revelation 2:18; 6:8; 20:13-14. Gehenna, also incorrectly rendered hell, occurs twelve times: see Matthew 5:22, 29-30; 18:9; 23:15,33: Mark 9:43, 45, 47: Luke 12:5; James 3:6.

2 This passage, occurring in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, is invariably brought forward as proof of the existence of the hell of popular theory. It can only afford such proof on the supposition that it is a literal description and not a parable. But even then it involves the orthodox believer in endless inconsistencies, for it represents heaven and hell ad divided by a gulf over which the wicked and good can exchange thoughts and hold conversations. It is generally admitted that the account is a parable because Christ spoke to the rulers in parables: "That seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand." (Luke 8:10). Josephus mentions a tradition current among the superstitious Jews, which seems to correspond with the narrative given by Christ; in fact, Christ appears to have founded his narrative on the tradition in question. Be that as it may, it is evident that he intended to convey some important truth, as seen in verses 29-31. "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." In addressing the Pharisees on another occasion the Lord said, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me... for had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me." (John 5:39-46). All rewards and punishments are reserved until Jesus Christ shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom (2 Timothy 4:1). Christ plainly taught that the righteous will be "recompensed at the resurrection of the just" (Luke 14:14). At the same time the wicked will likewise receive the fruits of their folly (Romans 2:7-9, 16).

3 Adam Clark, commenting on this passage, has the following remarks; "Perhaps not meaning here the place of torment, but rather of desolation. The original word is hades, from a, not and idein, to see - the invisible receptacle, or mansion of the dead, answering to sheol in Hebrew. The word hell, used in the common translation, conveys now an improper meaning of the original word, because hell is only used to signify the place of the damned. But, as the word hell comes from the Anglo-Saxon helan, to cover of hide, hence the tilling or slating of a house in some parts of England (particularly Cornwall) heling, to this day; and the covers of books (in Lancashire) by the same name; so the literal import of the original word hades was formerly well expressed by it. Here it means a state of the utmost woe, and ruin, and desolation, to which those impenitent cities should be reduced. This prediction of our Lord was literally fulfilled: for in the wars between the Romans and the Jews these cities were totally destroyed so that no traces are now found of Bethsaida, Chorazin, or Capernaum." - Commentary