About Jesus  -  Steve Sweetman

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The Prophetic Meaning Of Hell

The King James Bible has confused many of us when it comes to hell.  I say this because the KJV incorrectly translates the two Greek words "geenna" and "hades" as "hell" in the New Testament.  These two Greek words have two separate and distinct meanings.  They're not synonymous.  Therefore, the KJV is in error when it translates these two Greek words into one English word.  The NIV correctly differentiates between these two Greek words.  It translates the word "geenna" as "hell" and the word "hades" as "Hades".      

The Greek word "geenna" finds its roots in
a garbage dump just outside of Jerusalem.  
A raging fire continually burned the garbage that was dumped there.  Therefore, the Greek word "geenna" became to be known as a "place of fire", which clearly portrays what the book of Revelation calls the Lake of Fire.  Both the KJV and the NIV chose to translate geenna as hell.  Hell is thus the Lake Of Fire.

The Hebrew word "sheol" was considered to be the place of the departed dead throughout the Hebrew Old Testament.  The Greek word "hades" replaced the Hebrew word "sheol" in the Greek New Testament.  Therefore, Hades was understood to be the holding place of dead souls.  In two separate compartments Hades once housed both the righteous dead and the unrighteous dead. (Luke 16:19 - 31)  When Jesus died He descended into Hades and released the righteous dead into the presence of God. (Ephesians 4:4 - 10)  The wicked dead remain in Hades to this day, agonizing over the day they'll be thrown into the Lake Of Fire .  In Biblical terms, Hades is not the all consuming place of eternal fire known as hell or the Lake Of Fire.  Hades and hell are two different places.  

The NIV correctly translates "hades" as "Hades".  The KJV incorrectly and confusingly translates "hades" as "hell".  I use the word "confusingly" because the KJV translates the two different and distinct words "geenna" and "hades" into the one English word "hell".  It's confusing and misleading to suggest that two different and distinct places should be understood as one place.         

In Acts 2:27 and 31 the KJV states that

after Jesus died He was not abandoned in hell.  The NIV states that Jesus was not abandoned in the grave.  The Greek word translated here as "hell" in the KJV and "grave" in the NIV is "hades".  I'm not sure why the NIV translators translated hades as the grave here where elsewhere they translated hades as Hades.  Nevertheless, when Jesus died He did not go to hell as in the Lake Of Fire as the KJV states.  The Greek text states that He went to Hades.  It also states that He only stayed in Hades long enough to free the righteous dead.     

The distinction between these two Greek words becomes critical when investigating the prophetic book of Revelation.  If you don't make a clear distinction between the words "geenna" and "hades" you'll misunderstand some of the book's prophecies.   For example, in Revelation 1:18 the KJV incorrectly states that Jesus possesses the keys to hell.  The NIV correctly states that Jesus possesses the keys to Hades because it translates the Greek word "hades" into our English word "Hades" and not as "hell" as does the KJV.  I'm sure if there are keys to hell, or the Lake Of Fire, Jesus has them, but that's not what Revelation 1:18 is talking about.  

In Revelation 6:8 we see a rider on a pale horse whose name is Death.  The KJV incorrectly states that hell follows this rider.  The NIV correctly states that Hades follows the rider because it translates the Greek word "hades" as "Hades" and not as "hell" as does the KJV.  It only makes sense that Hades, and the wicked souls in Hades, would follow death.  Both death and Hades will eventually be thrown into the Lake Of Fire, otherwise known as hell.        

Revelation 20:13 and 14 makes the distinction between the Greek words "geenna" and "hades" perfectly clear.  The KJV incorrectly states that both death and hell were thrown into the Lake Of Fire.  The NIV correctly states that death and Hades were thrown into the Lake Of Fire because it translates the Greek word "hades" as "Hades" and not as "hell" as does the KJV.  The KJV makes no sense when it translates hades as hell in this verse.  Remember, hell is the Lake Of Fire.  So how can hell, or the Lake Of Fire, be thrown into itself.  You can't throw something into itself.  The NIV makes perfect sense when it says that Hades, now the place of the wicked dead, will be thrown into the Lake Of Fire. 

The Greek word "geenna" and our corresponding English word "hell" refers to the Lake Of Fire .  It's the place where satan, demons, and the wicked will spend eternity.  There's no problem with both the KJV and the NIV translating geenna as hell.  The Greek word "hades" and our corresponding English word "Hades" refers to the place where the wicked dead souls now reside.  Hades is not hell.  Hades is not the Lake Of Fire.  The KJV incorrectly translates hades as hell, meaning the Lake Of Fire .  The NIV correctly translates hades as Hades.  Hopefully my explanation is simple enough to clear up any misunderstanding you might have had.  This isn't just a matter of technicalities and semantics.  It's a matter of properly understanding what Jesus wants us to understand. 

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