Have you ever questioned the traditional view of Hell?
Well…you wouldn’t be alone.
For the first 400 years of the Church, the understanding of God’s end-time/final judgment remained open and was not dogmatically defined, leaving broad room for variation and interpretation. Throughout Church history, numerous respected scholars, theologians, and church leaders have proposed alternative, biblical views on the matter. For example, the Eastern Orthodox Church still holds a much more open view of hell than most Evangelical churches in the West.
Growing up in the Worldwide Church of God, I was taught annihilationism (conditional immortality). We didn’t just believe in the end-times—we lived it, evangelizing passionately that God’s final judgment would soon come. We believed that everyone who had not heard the gospel and had not been “called” in this life would be given an opportunity at the resurrection, and that those who still resisted God would ultimately be non-violently destroyed.
In my late teens and early twenties as an everyday Evangelical, it was ingrained into the deepest parts of my soul that hell was a place of eternal conscious punishment (torment by all definitions), with that destiny sealed at the moment of one’s physical death. It wasn’t until my late thirties and early forties that I began digging into this topic on my own and reevaluating the traditional view of hell through a Jesus-looking, healing and restorative hermeneutic.
What I found was a treasure trove of biblical resources, along with an A-list of critical thinkers, Spirit-filled disciples, and devoted followers of Jesus who had arrived at alternative, Jesus-centered views of hell—views that have often been met with harsh criticism and accusations of betraying the very faith they profess.
Maybe you’ve struggled with some of these same questions—Is hell merely a divine torture chamber for those who resist God? Are the references to fire in the Gospels a literal description of hell, or are they metaphors? Is there truly no hope for those who die unrepentant?
If you come from a conservative Christian background like I do, you’ve probably been warned that any alternative view on this issue amounts to heresy. You’ve probably been told that true, biblical Christians can hold no position other than eternal conscious punishment.
I would like to challenge those opinions and invite you to explore the subject more deeply with me.
This six-part video series hosted in an interactive classroom setting explores these questions and offers an alternative, biblical, Jesus-centered view of hell.
NOTE: The course presentation was done in partnership with Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, MN, so at times a name and/or reference may not be familiar to you, but the overall content is broad and comprehensive.
The Flowage 
Hi Vinnie,
I noticed on YouTube that you have some teachings on “What is Hell?”. Does this class cover the same thing that you taught on YouTube? I have not listen to your YouTube videos (yet), but I’m excited to listen to them. I have written on this topic in one of the chapters from the book I’m writing. The chapter deals with the topic of “what happens to the soul when you die?”. This is what I wrote so far. It is draft form. I imagine that you are covering this in your teachings. It’s a great topic as HELL is greatly misunderstood.
We can see that the soul goes to “hell”. What is hell? There are multiple meanings of hell.
The Old Testament has 2 Hebrew words “שְׁאוֹל” and “שְׁאֹל”, both having the same Strong’s number 7585, transliteration “sheʾôl”. This is used 65 times, translated in English as “grave” 31 times, “hell” 31 times, and “pit” 3 times. Strongs defines this Hebrew word as hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranean retreat), including its accessories and inmates: – grave, hell, pit.
The New Testament has 2 Greek words “ᾅδης” (hades) is translated as “hell” 10 times and “grave” once. The second Greek word is “γέεννα” (geenna) is translated as “hell” 9 times and “hell fire” 3 times. Strongs defines hades as the place (state) of departed souls: – grave, hell. Strongs defines geenna as valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment.
The Greek word geenna, or Ge Hinnom, referred to the Valley of Hinnom, a real place outside the hilly and mountainous area of Jerusalem. During the Old Testament, the Valley of Hinnom became associated with idolatry and the abomination of child sacrifice.
Bible Gateway says the following about this valley.
The valley had an evil reputation in later Old Testament times because it was the site of Tophet, where parents made their children pass through the fire to Baal and Molech. Ahaz and Manasseh were guilty of this horrible abomination.
2 Chronicles 28:3 (KJV)
3 Moreover he (Ahaz) burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
2 Chronicles 33:6 (KJV)
6 And he (Manasseh) caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
Isaiah refers to it, although not by name, as a place where the dead bodies of the unbelieving people shall lie, and where their worm shall not die and the fire is not quenched.
Isaiah 66:24 (KJV)
24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
Jeremiah predicted that God would visit the place with such awful destruction because of its wickedness that it would become known as the “valley of Slaughter”.
Jeremiah 7:31-34 (KJV)
31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
32 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
33 And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.
34 Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.
Josiah defiled the high place to make it unfit for its idolatrous rites. It became a type of sin, punishment, and misery because the bodies of dead animals and criminals were burned at its ever-burning fires.
2 Kings 23:10 (KJV)
10 And he (Josiah) defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
According to Adam Clarke’s Commentary, the word Tophet means drum. It is a reference to the drums used to drown out screaming children as they were placed, alive, on the red-hot arms of a pagan god as a sacrifice!
The Hebrew name Ge-ben-Hinnom (Ge-Hinnom) became corrupted into Gehenna, which in the New Testament is used to designate the place of eternal punishment.
According to Albert Barnes’ Notes, the location was commonly used as a city dump, a place where the trash of the city and dead carcasses were thrown away, and where even public executions took place. Fires were constantly burning in the area (Gehenna fire) so that they could completely consume the continuous stream of garbage thrown into it.
Jesus used the constantly burning fires of Hinnom to symbolize the complete and eternal punishment (not punishing) awaiting those who refuse to repent of hatred and anger. Those who willingly and willfully refuse to obey God will receive the ultimate death penalty (known as the second death) where their existence is erased and from which there is no resurrection. https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Valley-Hinnom
I certainly believe hell (sheʾôl and Hades) exists. I suspect that Jesus spoke geenna figuratively. For this chapter, I’m using Strong’s definition of hell (sheʾôl and Hades), as the world of the dead (as if a subterranean retreat), including its accessories and inmates: – grave, hell, pit. This is where the soul goes when a person dies. Jesus descended into hell after His death on the cross, but God raised Him from the dead, and His body did not see corruption.
Revelation 20:13-14 (KJV)
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
The word “hell” in this verse is “hades”, the world of the dead. This place will be cast into the lake of fire.
As you may have noticed, there are verses in the Old Testament that show a lower part of hell (sheʾôl). Let’s look at an interesting verse in 2 Peter.
2 Peter 2:4 (KJV)
4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
The words “cast them down to hell” is the Greek word “ταρταρόω” (tartaroō). Per Strongs, this Greek word means from Tartaros (the deepest abyss of Hades); to incarcerate in eternal torment. It appears to me that there are 2 parts of hell (hades), in which the angles that sinned were cast in the lower hell.
Luke 23:43 (KJV)
43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Jesus told this to one of the two malefactors. Note that there were also 2 thieves. Some say that the malefactors and thieves were the same people, others say they were different people. In looking at all four gospels, I tend to believe they were different people.
I know of 3 different ways this verse in Luke is interpreted. There may be other interpretations.
Let’s look at the fact that there were no commas, no punctuations in the original texts. All punctuation was added by the translators, and when versions were revised over the years. Example, the King James Version was first published in 1611 and revised many times over the years. The revisions were primarily done by scholars from Cambridge and Oxford universities. That is why King James Version is also known as the Authorized Version, as Cambridge and Oxford universities were authorized by the king to make changes.
Where the comma is placed changes the meaning of this verse. Placing the comma before or after the word “today” is based on what the translators believe. When I study, I ignore the commas. This results with asking the question of what is “paradise”? Note that the verse says paradise, not heaven.
Paradise is only used two more times in scripture.
2 Corinthians 12:4 (KJV)
4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Revelation 2:7 (KJV)
7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Strongs defines paradise as a park, i.e. (special) an Eden (place of future happiness, “paradise”). I tend to believe that the better interpretation for Luke 23:43 is the malefactor will be with Jesus, in the future, in paradise.
LikeLike
Hey John! Yes, it’s the same content but slimmed down into (6)-1.5 hours session and in a live classroom/presentation setting with some friends of mine. The podcast series is 25 episodes(!) and goes WAY deep on the topic of Hell (starts here: https://youtu.be/MRjXxxje57Q?si=I-vFlm6VIVCKkQ1y.
I think you’ll love the Old Testament episode (episode 38). As you know, Hades is the Greek word and Greek concept of what happens after you die. It has all kinds of non-Yahweh, non-Hebrew mythology to it that is completely foreign to the Old Testament—no resurrection in Greek thought either. It was a pagan concept of the afterlife and came into Jewish culture through/after the Hellenization of the East starting in the 6th century. Therefore, I am hesitant to believe that the Jews completely rejected their own tradition of sheol, and traded it out for Hades outright. But since the Greek language had become common in the centuries leading up to Jesus (e.g., the Septuagint), they had to find some word to translate Sheol into Greek. Thus, Hades was the best solution.
That my take, which means I don’t believe that when Hades is used New Testament that we should be bring in any of the Greek associations with it to say that Christians experience a “Hades-like” after life when we die—including when Jesus used it in Luke 16 in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Rather, i think Jesus was taking the contemporary pop-culture concept of Hades and teaching through it about prudence and about very real consequences for not acting on the truth NOW.
Also, the KJV might have used Hades in the Old Testament, but modern translations don’t use that anymore—like the NIV—because modern translators know that the afterlife mythology associated with Hades would have been a completely foreign concept to the ancient Israelites, thus we should not bring those connotations into the text.
You’ll like the episode I did on Gehenna too. Pretty much all scholars have debunked that the Valley of Hinnom was an ever-burning fire/garbage pit during Jesus’s day. That myth has been exposed, but of course it is in some of the 18th-early 20th century commentaries.
But I totally agree with you that the idea of fire did not represent eternal conscious torment (traditional view of Hell), but the completeness and fullness of the judgement. I think the conditional mortality or annihilation is view is more in line with both Old Testament and New Testament uses of “fire”, including the lake of fire in Revelation 19/20. However, I go a little more hopeful in my opinion on Hell than annihilationism…with that, I may have coined a new term, Unihopefulism, to describe my view. You’ll find me talking about that on the 6th video in this post, or toward the end of that podcast series on an episode I call, “Unihopefulism”, where I lean into: I Cor. 15, Phil 2, Col. 1, Eph. 1 and Rom 11. Who knows? Maybe God has something grander up His sleeve than eternal torment or eternal annihilation…I sure do hope so 🙂
LikeLike