What the Hell is Hell? Book Summary – Part Five
We have now covered all the times we see the word hell—a mistranslation of the word Gehenna—in scripture. But there are other times that, while Jesus doesn’t say Gehenna, he does mention a fiery damnation, or refers metaphorically to one, which has often been interpreted to refer to our ideal of hell. We will see again that the reasons Jesus gave for you possibly ending up there are based on who you were—not what you believed.
For example, in Matthew 9:48 he refers to a place where “the fire is never quenched.” Or in Matthew 18:8, you might be “thrown into the eternal fire,” rather than hell. In both these instances it is being a sinner that could cause you to land there.
Another famous verse usually taken to be referring to hell is Matthew 25:41. “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” This comes from the famous Sheep and Goats parable.
Jesus tells us explicitly in the parable what would cause one to be blessed or accursed. He says, ‘I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, naked and you gave me clothes, sick and you took care of me.’ He says that when you took care of others you were doing it for him, and that earns you the kingdom of heaven. But the ones who didn’t take care of their fellow human beings are the accursed. In their not caring for others, they didn’t care for him, and they will be sent to the place prepared for the devil and his angels.
Again, in the first three Gospels, Jesus shows that judgment is based on who you were and how you treated others.
One of the most frightening (and popular) images of hell comes from the Book of Revelation:
And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)
Here you are presented with another eternal fire, this time in the image of a lake of fire. All of these fiery depictions have fueled our darkest imaginings for the many centuries following their being written, right up and into the present day. While the verse speaks of what will happen to the devil, Revelation then goes on to say what could cause you to go there as well:
…and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)
The “book of life” is a term from the Old Testament. It refers to the book in which God lists the names of the righteous. The basis for his judgment is clarified in a previous verse from Revelation:
…Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books. (Revelation 20:12)
According to what it says here, you will be judged according to your actions—what you have done (your works), not by whether or not you believe in Jesus.
It is important to note here, nothing said above or in the prior blogs is intended to make a case for how God determines if you will be saved on the day of judgment. This is about hell—showing case-by-case how specific verses have been improperly annexed to threaten you with hell.
Stay tuned for Part Six tomorrow, where we will discuss the time Jesus gave for when judgment would happen.
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