DOES HELL ACTUALLY EXIST IN THE PRESENT?

Being of an inquisitive mind that searches for difficult answers -- lately a preoccupation with matters of religious interpretations -- I subscribe to a Hebrew resources bible centre study program and was particularly taken recently by the question "does hell exist?"

Finally, I thought, someone has the fortitude to address a subject that many of us wonder about but have lacked the wherewithal, understanding and nerve to tackle.

The prospect of going to hell if we do something really bad has been drilled into us since childhood, but for me initially there was the threat of a spanking and the possibility that if I wasn't a good boy Santa Claus would not bring me anything at Christmas. We learn very early in life that there is a price to pay for not obeying rules.

Hell is the worst possible penalty for living a life of sin and, true enough, this eternal threat hanging over us does serve as an effective deterrent. It is an understatement to suggest that a place in Heaven is a much more attractive alternative for a life in the ever after.

But, where is this place called Hell -- and what unspeakable torture is administered to unfortunate souls ending up there?

Well, Dr. Nicholas J. Schaser who teaches courses in biblical and Jewish studies, has some interesting reasoning and theories to pass on. Here is a summary of his remarks to the aforementioned study group.

Schaser goes directly to the bible to point out that Jesus does not shy away from the topic of hell. For instance, he tells his disciples, “It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell (γέεννα; géhenna), ‘where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched’” (Mark 9:47-48). Indeed, explicit warnings about “hell” appear throughout the Gospels. "In light of this biblical truth, the following statement will seem counterintuitive—or even heretical—but it’s equally true: Hell does not exist," Schaser stated with emphasis.

He went on to explain that the Jewish notion of punishment after death originates from an actual geographical location. The Valley of the Son of Hinnom is listed among Canaan’s locales in Joshua, and it became a place of child sacrifice and foreign worship. The ancient Israelites “built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom (גאי בן הנם; gei ben hinnom), to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech”. This valley served as the earthly template for a post-mortem pit that ancient Jews called “Gehinnom” (גיהנום)—“Gehenna” in Greek and “Gehinnam” in Aramaic—the “Valley of Hinnom.” While Israel’s Valley of Hinnom certainly exists, its otherworldly counterpart is still awaiting existence.

From Scripture we get the impression that hell will be created after the resurrection of the dead; at present then, hell does not exist. When Jesus describes hell as a place “where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mk 9:48), he quotes from Isaiah’s eschatological vision of the righteous living in God’s kingdom and the rebellious dying in fire.

Through the prophet, God describes a grand future creation: “The new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me…. All flesh shall come to worship before me… and they shall go out and look at the corpses of the people who have rebelled against me. For their worm will not die, nor their fire be quenched, and they shall remain an abhorrence (דראון; deraon) to all flesh” (Isa 66:22-24). This “abhorrence” for the wicked is a post-resurrection reality. As Daniel notes, “Multitudes of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake [in resurrection], some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting abhorrence (דראון; deraon).” 

The scriptures describe everyone being raised from their graves and then receiving either eternal life or ongoing abhorrence. Hell is not a destination for the wicked after death, but after resurrection (for the destination after death, called Sheol or Hades, click here).

The ancient Aramaic translation of Isaiah -- or “Targum” (תרגום) -- replaces “abhorrence” (דראון; deraon) in the original Hebrew with an explicit reference to hell. In Aramaic, Isaiah 66:24 reads, “their breaths shall not die, and their fire shall not be extinguished, and the wicked shall be judged in hell (גיהנם; gehinnam).” The Targum parallels Jesus’ quotation of this same verse in Mk 9:47-48 alongside his own reference to “hell” (γέεννα; géhenna).

For both *Yeshua and the Jews who wrote the Targum, “hell” will be a place that exists in the “new heavens and new earth” that Isaiah prophesied. The wicked do not arrive in hell immediately after death; instead, they go there following their bodily resurrection. This post-resurrection scenario is what the Targum and Revelation call the “second death”—that is, a death that comes after resurrection. 

*Yeshua is a Hebrew name, and its English spelling is “Joshua.” Jesous is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name, and its English spelling is “Jesus.” Thus, the names “Joshua” and “Jesus” are essentially the same; both are English pronunciations of the Hebrew and Greek names for our Lord.

Scripture clarifies that a fiery place of judgment is reserved for the World to Come, rather than the present world. “We are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which the righteous will dwell” (2 Peter 3:13), and “hell” is a pending part of that future creation. In other words, hell does not (yet) exist.

I don't know about you, my reader friend, but I come away from this exercise with a slightly better comprehension of a place I'd really like to avoid at the time of bodily resurrection, or at any interval along the mystical way.

The good news is that while we wait, there will time for us to secure a Heavenly reservation in life hereafter, on the other side. It does not take me to suggest what you should do in the interim. 

NOTE FROM DICK: While we have been discussing bodily resurrection in this piece, it is only natural that a similarity to reincarnation enters the equation, but that is another matter and one that I purposely choose to avoid so as not to complicate the premise herein. One cannot really prove (or disprove) reincarnation — we aren't going to catch ourselves reincarnating any more than our waking consciousness can quite catch our sleeping consciousness. Whether the promise of eternal life (mentioned 28 times in the Bible) is literal or figurative, or whether one believes in reincarnation or resurrection (the latter mentioned 41 times), if we live as if our every thought and action lasted forever, we meet the challenge of all religions, ancient and modern.