The Lake of Fire, or Hades?
By Al Stoner
The majority of the times when the word "hell" is used in the King James Version (Matthew - Revelation) it is referring to the place of final torment for the wicked. In such instances the original world is geenna, or gehenna. But there are also some occasions when the word should be correctly rendered Hades (haides), or the temporary abode of the dead, that is, temporary until the resurrection and the day of judgment. In most instances, the context in which the word appears in the Authorized Version will make clear whether hell is referring to the lake of fire, or whether Hades is intended. For further clarification one may consult a translation such as the American Standard Version in which a clear distinction is more consistently made regarding this subject.
For the benefit of our readers we will here include nine instances where the word hell has reference to Hades. The following verses are taken from the ASV to demonstrate the clarity that is made in this translation on this matter, in particular.
"And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? thou shalt go down unto Hades: for if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in thee, it would have remained until this day" (Mt. 11:23; cf. Lk. 10:15). It appears that these rejectors of the Savior have presently gone into a place of torment (cf. Lk. 16:23), but they are not yet entered into the place of final torment, which is "outer darkness" (Mt. 8:12), or elsewhere called "the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:15).
"And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Mt. 16:18). Though death shall temporarily swallow up even those who have believed upon Him who is "alive for evermore" (Rev. 1:18), yet this "last enemy" (I Cor. 15:26) shall not prevail against the rock of Christ's divinity. "The earth shall cast out the dead" (Isa. 26:19) "at the last trump" (I Cor. 15:52). In that day the dead, and especially the righteous dead, shall be raised incorruptible.
"And in Hades he (the rich man) lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom" (Lk. 16:23). And as we have said, Hades, for the wicked, is place of torment, but not the final one.
"Because thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades, Neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption . . . . He (that is, David) foreseeing this spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left unto Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption" (Acts 2:27, 31).
"Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades" (Rev. 1:17-18). Christ is the Resurrection and the Life!
"And I saw, and behold, a pale horse: and he that sat upon him, his name was Death; and Hades followed with him. And there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of the earth, to kill . . . ." (Rev. 6:8).
"And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:13-14).
Here it can be readily seen that the word hell, as it is rendered in the King James Version, should be translated Hades. Death, the great separator of men from other men, and Hades, the place to which the separated ones are gathered, shall finally be done away with and cast into the lake of fire. The ungodly "shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal" (Mt. 25:46). --editor@banner.org
For the benefit of our readers we will here include nine instances where the word hell has reference to Hades. The following verses are taken from the ASV to demonstrate the clarity that is made in this translation on this matter, in particular.
"And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? thou shalt go down unto Hades: for if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in thee, it would have remained until this day" (Mt. 11:23; cf. Lk. 10:15). It appears that these rejectors of the Savior have presently gone into a place of torment (cf. Lk. 16:23), but they are not yet entered into the place of final torment, which is "outer darkness" (Mt. 8:12), or elsewhere called "the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:15).
"And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Mt. 16:18). Though death shall temporarily swallow up even those who have believed upon Him who is "alive for evermore" (Rev. 1:18), yet this "last enemy" (I Cor. 15:26) shall not prevail against the rock of Christ's divinity. "The earth shall cast out the dead" (Isa. 26:19) "at the last trump" (I Cor. 15:52). In that day the dead, and especially the righteous dead, shall be raised incorruptible.
"And in Hades he (the rich man) lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom" (Lk. 16:23). And as we have said, Hades, for the wicked, is place of torment, but not the final one.
"Because thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades, Neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption . . . . He (that is, David) foreseeing this spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left unto Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption" (Acts 2:27, 31).
"Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades" (Rev. 1:17-18). Christ is the Resurrection and the Life!
"And I saw, and behold, a pale horse: and he that sat upon him, his name was Death; and Hades followed with him. And there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of the earth, to kill . . . ." (Rev. 6:8).
"And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:13-14).
Here it can be readily seen that the word hell, as it is rendered in the King James Version, should be translated Hades. Death, the great separator of men from other men, and Hades, the place to which the separated ones are gathered, shall finally be done away with and cast into the lake of fire. The ungodly "shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal" (Mt. 25:46). --editor@banner.org
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.