Biblical Concept of Hell: The Ultimate Destination of Human Souls

By William Hyland

Had Jesus really “descended into hell” as the Apostles’ Creed asserts? Was physical death God’s only punishment for first man’s and his wife’s disobedience to Him? What will be the ultimate fate of those who have already died as well as that of all humans still alive? Answers to questions like these begin to take shape at the start of Genesis and fully materialize by the closing of the New Testament, all based on relevant Scriptural verses with detailed studies of the applicable original languages providentially preserved. The thread of the author’s argument, rooted in Genesis 2:17 and 3:4, spans through Matthew 10:28 and 2 Thessalonians 1:9 to Revelation 21:8. The conclusion will have a definite impact on the message of comfort and hope Jesus Christ’s emissaries (Matthew 16:15) seek to spread universally.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781648010132

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Biblical Concept of Hell

The Ultimate Destination of Human Souls

William S. Hyland

Copyright © 2020 William S. Hyland

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2020

ISBN 978-1-64801-012-5 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64801-013-2 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Man’s Evolving Understanding of Death

The Spiritual Realm After Life

Yahweh’s Grace of Redemption

The Death of Jesus

Resurrection for Judgment

The Second Death

Introduction

Jesus: Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you…Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

—John 14:27

When a believer ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ (in Christ Jesus) is asked, What led you to become a Christian?, the respondent to this simple question is apt to attribute his/her conversion to the internal work of the Holy Spirit. Even though this is biblically correct, it fails to inform the curious inquirer of the respondent’s physical, mental, and emotional states leading up to his/her epiphany’s occurrence. It often is helpful for the inquirer to learn what had allured the believer to commit the rest of his/her life to complying with, as well as conforming to, the statutes and commandments of an invisible deity. Personally speaking, this simple question is very penetrating for it goes to the core of my being; it addresses both my pre-conversion state of mind as well as my post-conversion internal new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17), my new self (Ephesians 4:24), my new heart of flesh(Ezekiel 11:19). All believers, in one way or another, should be prepared to offer honest personal responses that address the various reasons for answering this simple inquiry.

Having attended a few vacation Bible schools in my preteen years, and thereby gaining a humanistic understanding of the Bible, I began to yearn for the perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3) which Psalm 23, particularly verses 2 and 3, portrays in broad-stroked pastoral glimpses of the freedom from sin, trouble, and fear Jesus has graciously promised to all who believe and strive to obey Him:

Freedom from need.

Pure, peaceful rest.

Freedom from sin’s corrupting power.

Comfort of the Lord’s security.

Loved by the Lord.

Perfect peace.

This Psalm coupled with Paul’s assurance in Romans 8:38–39 for years has epitomized my ideal goal and inspired me to dedicate my life to believing, trusting, and serving the Triune God of the Bible.

The purpose of this book, however, is to challenge a widely held notion among Christians about the post-life fate of nonbelievers: everlasting fiery torment in hell. I want to let the Scriptures inform us concerning to what one who rejects the Lord looks forward after dying, i.e., what is the essence of their hope for their future. The unrepentant sinner’s reticence to accept Christ’s gracious offer of forgiveness for, as well as freedom from, his/her sinning is based on this universal truth:

Paul: "…Our gospel is veiled…to those who are perishing [ἀπόλλυμι], in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving…" (2 Corinthians 4:3–4)

My cultural heritage had deemed certain words to be taboo for public utterance, Damn! and Hell! being two of them. Venturing through my childhood, though never once daring to say out loud these words, I unfortunately never learned why they were forbidden. In my late teens, and still an unbeliever, I worked two summers as a merchant marine aboard oil tankers and started to reject Damn! and Hell! as being socially vulgar and coarse as I do today, even as an adopted child of God. This stance has slowly piqued my curiosity enough to compel me to search the Scriptures for assurance that I have been, and still am, in no way offending the Lord with rare discretionary usage of these two words.

Now the traditional word of mouth description of hell many of us had pictured in our youth is the visualization of it being a confined space of imprisonment accentuated by roaring fires, showering brimstone, almost unbearable heat and scarcity of water. Definitely not a desirable destination for anyone, especially forever! Today, there’s a different description of hell; for instance, like that portrayed in the TV program Highway Thru Hell—the Coquihalla Highway in the upper Rocky Mountains of British Columbia during winters of subzero temperatures, black ice, and life-threatening situations both commercial truckers as well as their rescuers experience. And then there’s the classic folksy concept which portrays Saint Peter in heaven guarding its pearly gate entrance, next to which is the staircase for ineligible entrants that leads to a location below. Is there really any truth to these scenarios? If not, what is true about hell? I believe that any Christian evangelistic messages about hell must always be biblically verifiable out of respect both for man and for God. Sadly, though, such has not always been the case, and that is why I had undertaken a study of the Bible with hell as its focus. The outcome of my research has established the foundational nucleus of this book, with the unifying thread being an objective search for the existence and function of hell revealed in God’s Word.

My research began with the Westminster Confession of Faith, where in Chapter XXXII, section I, the Fathers wrote: …And the souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where they remain in torments and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day. As supporting references offered by the editor, these two stood out:

Jesus’s parable about a rich man who "in hades lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame’" (Luke 16:23–24).

"And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire" (Jude 6-7).

While hades is described as a dark, tormenting and temporal place for the wicked, I think these two citations were not that supportive inasmuch as Luke 16 is a parable and Jude concerns angels, not humans.

According to the Nicene Creed, after dying, Jesus was buried, which is similar to saying fell asleep in sheol/hades.’ But both The Scots Confession, chapter 10 and the Apostles’ Creed assert that Jesus after His crucifixion, death, and burial descended into hell. As biblical support, 1 Peter 3:18–20 is provided:

…Christ…having been put to death in the flesh, ζῳοποιηθεὶς δὲ πνεύματι (but made alive by [dative case expressing instrumentality] the Spirit); in which also He went and made proclamation πνεύμασιν (to the spirits) in prison, who once were disobedient…

To Jesus, through Peter, hell apparently was a prison for spirits who had been disobedient in the days of Noah, who I assume are the bonded angels of Jude 6. Regardless of whether Jesus had preached to angels or spirits in sheol/hades, it is certain He had not proclaimed to dead humans.

So in order to learn what is the nonbeliever’s post-life status and destination, I immersed myself in God’s Word, focusing on post-life fiery torment. My findings are such that I will offer them from six different perspectives linked together in series by an evolving graphic scheme of a created human soul’s post-life sojourn that represents every believing or unbelieving human being.

Notes for Reader:

This work presupposes the Scriptures’ inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility:

Balaam: "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent" (Numbers 23:19).

Samuel: "…The Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind" (1 Samuel 15:29).

Jesus: "…The Scripturecannot be broken" (John 10:35).

AllScripture is inspired by God {cf. Romans 15:4} (2 Timothy 3:16)

…God…cannot lie… (Titus 1:2)

…It is impossible for God to lie… (Hebrews 6:18)

The hermeneutic tool called now-but-not-yet at times needs to be considered when interpreting a series of events:

Jesus: If you had known in thisday (the ‘not yet’), even you, the things which make for peace! But now (the ‘now but’) they have been hidden from your eyes (Luke 19:42).

Jesus: Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming (the not-yet) and now is (the now-but), when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live (John 5:25).

Peter to the people at the portico of Solomon: "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wipedaway, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence (the now-but) of the Lord; and that He may sendJesus, the Christappointed for you, whomheavenmustreceiveuntil (the not-yet) the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time." (Acts 3:19–21)

The human mind’s linear thought-process can be challenged in determining chronological order, particularly when there are no verb tenses—no past, no future, just the present:

…Yahweh "said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession…" (Psalm 2:7–8)

The Lordsays to my Lord: Sit at My righthanduntil I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet. The Lord will stretchforth Your strongscepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of Your enemies.’ (Psalm 110:1–2)

Daniel: "I keptlooking in the nightvisions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presentedbefore Him. And to Him was givendominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlastingdominionwhich will not passaway; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13–14)

Christians believe that Jesus Christ, having arisen, now sits at His Father’s right hand and enjoys His inheritance, but from the now-but-not-yet perspective, not all of His enemies are yet incorporated in His footstool nor have any of the heirs of his kingdom yet arisen. This hermeneutical tool affords great insight to 2 Corinthians 5:8: prefer to be absent from the body (the now-but) and to be home with the Lord (the not-yet.)

I have not read any articles, commentaries, books or other publications dealing with any biblical concept of hell and thus am not qualified to critique any of them. This writing is solely based on my own reading, researching, and study of the Old and New Testaments.

רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים/ πνεῦμα θεοῦ / ἅγιος πνεῦμα

Jesus Christ, the begotten Son of God (Psalm 2:7) and is referred to as the Son of Man (Daniel 7:13; Matthew 8:20) as well as the second man. (1 Corinthians 15:47) The words begotten and Son have been divinely appointed to facilitate man’s ability to comprehend the mysterious, eternal relationship and function between the First and Second Persons of the Triune God. They are figurative in that they are the Father’s way of explaining His Son’s origin in order to bridge the gap between infinity and absoluteness and man’s inability to comprehend and visualize spiritual reality.

The grasswithers, the flowerfades, when the רוּחַ (breath) of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grasswithers, the flowerfades, but the word of our Godstandsforever (Isaiah 40:7–8).

Both רוּחַ and πνεῦμα, its counterpart in the Septuagint (LXX) as well as the New Testament, are varied and diverse in meaning: spirit, breath, and wind. God’s רוּחַ is the Third Person of the Godhead, Who proceeds from either the Father (Matthew 10:20; Romans 8:10-11; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22; Ephesians 3:14–16) or His Son (Romans 8:9; Galatians 4:6; Philippians 1:19; 1 Peter 1:11.) The function of His Breath is to source {cf. Romans 15:19; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Galatians 5:22; Colossians 3:16}, convey {cf. Matthew 4:4,10:20; John 16:7–8; 1 Corinthians 2:10,13; 1 John 5:7} and execute {cf. Zechariah 4:6; Romans 8:11} all that God desires.

Then the LordGod formed man…and breathed into his nostrils the breath [נְשָׁמָה] of life; and manbecame a livingbeing. (Genesis 2:7)

Job: "In (the Lord’s) hand is the life of everylivingthing, and the breath [ רוּחַ ] of allmankind." (Job 12:10)

Job: "For as long as…the breath [ רוּחַ ] of God is in my nostrils" (Job 27:3).

Elihu: "If (God) should determine to do so, if He should gather to Himself His breath [רוּחַ] and His anger [נְשָׁמָה], allflesh would perishtogether and man would return to dust." (Job 34:14–15)

Now 2 Timothy 3:16 affirms that allScripture is inspired by God… with ‘inspiration’ being a God-breathed activity: His breath fills a person with the motivation and ability to do something creative for His glory. Anthropomorphically speaking, whenever God speaks or says, His speech is caused, borne, sourced, and delivered by His breath:

…Yahweh’s wordcame to me saying… (Jeremiah 1:5)

The early English translations for God’s רוּח and πνεῦμα had been Ghost, but it then evolved to Spirit. But God is spirit (John 4:24) in effect identifies His רוּחַ / πνεῦμα as a spirit as well, which to me masks the appropriate understanding of the Godhead’s Third Person. The use of רוּחַ in the Old Testament conveys wind, animating force, feeling or breath. Jesus’s words to His disciples as they set out to minister to the lost sheep of Israel gives a special insight into the Third Person’s functional identity: For it is not you who speak but the πνεῦμα of your Father who speaks in you (Matthew 10:20). πνεῦμα is the Koine Greek equivalent of רוּחַ and both convey breath 2.4 percent in the New Testament and 9.4 percent in the Old Testament [my published statistics]. An interesting example of this particular employment is Luke 8:55:

καὶ ἐπέστρεψεν τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτῆς, καὶ ἀνέστη παραχρῆμα. (And her πνεῦμα returned and she rose up immediately.)

Jesus, with Peter, John, and James {cf. Mark 5:37} entered the house with the dead (vv. 49 and 53) daughter’s parents, and verse 51 infers that these six people were alone in the presence of the dead girl. The parents (and others; v. 49) already knew/understood/perceived (οἶδα, v. 53) she was dead, but Jesus declared the girl has not died, but is asleep. Now from the practical perspective, when declaring a person to be dead, what enables the declarer, particularly a physician like Luke, to assert that fact? Since she was declared