Hell / Hades: A Biblical Description
    By Mark E. Moore

I. Words for Hell:

  1. O.T. (Heb)

    1. Sheol: 65x.

      1. KJV = grave (31x) and hell (31x), pit (3x)

      2. Essentially it means the abode of the dead, whether good or evil without a clear description or distinction between the two "compartments." However, it is clear that the wicked will experience punishment and the righteous comfort in the afterlife.


  2. N.T. (Gk)

    1. Abyss "Bottomless" (9x's, only Lk 8:31 and Rom 10:7 not in Rev)

      1. Prison of demons (Lk 8:31; Rev 9:1-2).

      2. Ruled by Satan, "Abaddon," (Rev 9:11); but he will be bound in it for 1,000 years (Rev 20:1, 3).

      3. Weird creatures emerge from it, including the beast (Rev 11:7; 17:8).

    2. Hades (11x's, essentially equivalent to Sheol):

      1. In the Depths (Mt 11:23; Lk 10:15; 16:23). In Jewish cosmology it was pictured as being in the center of the earth.

      2. There are keys to it (Mt 16:18; Rev. 1:18).

      3. Translated as Hell (KJV), except 1 Cor 15:55, where it is grave.

      4. The Abode/Power of Death (Acts 2:27, 31; 1 Cor 15:55; Rev 6:8; 20:13-14).

      5. Not equivalent to the "Lake of Fire" (Rev 20:14)

    3. Gehenna (12x's)

      1. Literally the valley of Hinnom on the south side of Jerusalem when trash was burned. Earlier it had been the site of child sacrifice to the god Molech until the reforms of Josiah (2 Ki 23:10; cf. Jer 7:30-33). Its natural stench and fire made it a natural picture for hell.

      2. Clearest N.T. word for what we think of as hell--a place of torment and suffering (Mt 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mk 9:43, 45, 47; Lk 12:5; James 3:6).

      3. Every use of this word except James 3:6 is from Jesus.

    4. Tartaros--Only used in 2 Pet 2:4.

      1. Equivalent to gehenna or the deepest realms of hades.

      2. Used in Jewish Apocryphal literature for a place that was even lower than gehenna where the wicked are punished.

    5. Lake of Fire--Rev 20:13-14

      1. Will receive Satan, Beast, False prophets as well as the wicked of the earth.

      2. It will also receive Death and Hades. Once they are destroyed in the Lake of Fire, there will be no more death.

II. What Sheol/Hell is like:

  1. Characteristics of Sheol or Hades

    1. Darkness & Silence (Job 10:21-22; Psa 6:5; 94:17; 115:17; Eccl 9:4-6). But this pessimistic description may need to be read in light of the authors' present suffering and cynicism.

    2. Comfort and blessedness for the righteous (Gen 5:24; Num 23:10; Ps 73:24; Lk 16:19-31).

    3. Punishment for the wicked (Deut 32:22; Job 21:30-34; Psa 94:1-2, 23; Isa 14:9-10; 33:14-15; 66:24; Lk 16:19-31).

    4. Consciousness (Lk 16:19-31; 1 Pet 3:19; Rev 6:9-12).

    5. Apparently believers are immediately ushered into the presence of Christ (Lk 23:43; Phil 1:23; 2 Cor 5:8; Acts 7:55-59; Rev 6:9-12).


  2. Characteristics of Hell (Some are perhaps metaphorical)

    1. Burning (Mt 5:22; 13:29, 42, 50; 18:8-9; 25:41; Mk 9:43, 48; Lk 16:24; Heb 10:27; James 3:6; Jude 7; Rev 20:13-15), and sulfur (Rev 14:10-11)

    2. Worms and Moths that eat bodies (Isa 51:8; 66:24; Mk 9:48)

    3. Darkness (Mt 8:12; 22:13; 25:30; Jude 13)

    4. Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth (Mt 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Lk 13:28)

    5. Would be better to be drowned (Mt 18:6) or maimed (Mt 5:29-30; Mk 9:43, 45, 47), cf. Mt 10:28 & Lk 12:5.

    6. There will be degrees of punishment (Lk 12:47-48; 20:47; Mt 10:15; 11:24), hypocrites being punished more severely (Mk 12:40).

    7. It will involve separation from God (2 Thess 1:9).

    8. It will include punishment for angels (2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6) and Satan (Rev 20:10, along with the beast and the false prophet).

    9. Sea (Jude 7) or Lake (Rev 20:13-15)





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