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NO LIFE IN HELL
Before examining the scriptures relating to hell, the Scriptural proof is here submitted in support of what may be called “the layman’s answer” to the question as to where and in what state are the dead, and which answer is that the dead are actually dead, unconscious, in the tomb, and know not anything until God’s due time to awaken them.
No creature could be enjoying bliss in heaven, or be undergoing suffering in purgatory or torture in hell, unless that creature were conscious at the time. Some clergymen try to qualify the statement of bodily torment in hell by saying that the wicked are merely undergoing ‘mental torment’ because of the memory of their wickedness. Neither could this be true, unless the creature were conscious at the time and able to remember what had taken place. If the Scriptural proof then establishes the fact that when one dies he has no knowledge nor wisdom, that he has no memory, that he cannot work and cannot think, and that he is in a condition of silence, such proof absolutely disproves the clergymen’s answer that the dead are undergoing any kind of suffering or any kind of joy.
God is true, and his Word is true. Men are not true, nor is their word true, except when in harmony with God’s Word. (Rom. 3:4) Upon the question at issue the following quotations from the Word of God are submitted, with absolute confidence of establishing the truth of the layman’s answer, to wit:
Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10: “For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not any thing. . . . Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, or device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”
Psalm 6:5: “For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?”
Psalm 49:14: “Like sheep they are laid in the grave [(Hebrew) sheol]; death shall feed on them.”
Psalm 115:17: “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” Man was made of the elements of the earth, and when he dies he returns to the dust, even as it is stated in Genesis 3:19.
Ecclesiastes 3:19, 20: “For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them; as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place: all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.”
The breath of life animated man and made his organs function. No longer do they function when he ceases to breathe. Psalm 146:4 rightly says: “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.”
The clergy have attempted to apply these texts to the body only, and not to the soul. In this they are wrong; for it is the soul or animal or creature that ceases to exist. Ezekiel 18: 4 reads: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
There is no place for the eternal torture of men or souls. God is not a fiend, as the clergy would make him appear. God is love. What good could result from torturing one of Jehovah’s creatures? How could love be expressed in such a manner? Furthermore, how could torment in any wise comply with the law which God gave to Adam, and which provided death as the penalty, God saying to Adam: “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2: 17) Again the answer of the clergymen is both unreasonable and inconsistent with God.
The doctrine of eternal torment was never heard of for more than four thousand years after Adam was sentenced to death. It is an invention of the Devil promulgated for the purpose of supporting his original lie, namely, that there is no death. He contradicted God, saying deceitfully to the woman Eve: “Ye shall not surely die.” (Gen. 3:4) The Devil saw that if man should believe the doctrine of the inherent immortality of the soul he likewise must believe that the wicked are somewhere in torment. If he could induce man to believe that God had provided a place for the eternal torture of that soul, then he would succeed in turning man away from God and causing him to hate Jehovah God. The doctrines of eternal torture and inherent immortality of man are intended to support each other; and both being false, both must fall.
The Bible was translated from other languages. The old part thereof, before Christ, was translated from the Hebrew, and the new part, after Christ, from the Greek. The English word “hell” is translated from the Hebrew word sheol; and the Greek words hades, gehenna and tartaroo are also translated “hell” in the Scriptures. As to the significance of the word “hell”, consider this: As winter time approaches a farmer gathers his carrots and turnips, digs a hole in the ground, and then covers these vegetables over so that they mill not freeze. According to the old English way of describing it he is putting his vegetables into hell, that is to say, a dark [unseen ; hidden] place. In the Bible the Hebrew word sheol is translated “grave” and “pit” more times than it is translated “hell”. The grave is a dark place. If sheol means torment in one place, it must mean this in all. A few scriptures on the point will illuminate the mind on the question.
Jacob was one of the men whom God approved. Jacob’s son Joseph had been taken away and sold into Egypt, and representation had been made to Jacob that his son was killed. His sons and daughters came about him to comfort him; but he said: “I will go down into the grave [(Hebrew) sheol] unto my son mourning.” (Gen. 37:35) Years afterward there was a famine in the land where Jacob lived, and he sent his sons into Egypt for corn. They found Joseph there. They returned with the request that the father send Benjamin, the youngest son. Jacob responded to their request with these words: “My son shall not go down with you; for his brother [Joseph] is dead, and he [Benjamin] is left alone; if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave [(Hebrew) sheol].“ - Gen. 42:38.
Here the word sheol is translated “grave”. It is easy to be seen that Jacob expected to go to the tomb. The translators saw that they could not make this scripture read “hell” ; if they did, it would be rather inconsistent to argue that Jacob’s gray hairs would last long in fire and brimstone. The American modern revision committee of the English Bible left this word sheol untranslated, evidently expecting thereby to deceive the uneducated.
Job was a good man and approved by Jehovah. The Devil boasted that he could make Job curse God. God let him try it. But he never succeeded in causing Job to curse Jehovah. Job was afflicted with boils from the top of his head to the soles of his feet; his flesh was putrid; and all his neighbors and friends turned against him and came to mock him; even his wife repudiated him and said: “Curse God, and die.” Poor Job was left with no one to comfort him. According to the preachers’ description of hell Job was having about as much of it as any man could have on this earth. If he believed that hell means eternal torment, it would seem rather strange that he should have uttered this prayer, to wit:
“O that thou wouldest hide me in [hell, sheol] the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!” (Job 14:13) Then he adds: “If 1 wait, [hell, sheol] the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.” (Job 17: 13) Job wrote these words under inspiration from Jehovah. They are quoted here to prove that the word sheol, translated hell, means the grave, the tomb, the condition of silence.
In Psalm 16: 10 it is written: “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell.” This is quoted by the apostle Peter in the book of The Acts, chapter two, verses thirty to thirty-two, and is specifically applied to the Lord Jesus, proving that Jesus went to the hell of the Bible, which means the tomb. If hell were a place of eternal torture Jesus would still be there. But he came out in three days. He was resurrected from the dead. The preachers may answer: ‘He went down to investigate and to inform others how hot it is there.’ If they are correct he must have been supplied with an asbestos body for the trip. Besides, Jesus spoke of hell and never indicated that it was a place of torment, as we shall see as we progress with this argument.
One of the best illustrations of what is meant by hell is that with reference to Jonah. A great whale swallowed him. Jonah says: “I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me: out of the belly of hell cried I.” (Jonah 2: 2) Evidently it was quite dark in that whale’s belly. If hell had been eternal torment Jonah would not have gotten out.
The same Hebrew word sheol is often translated “pit” in the Bible. Describing the wicked that die, it is written concerning them: “They go down quick [or alive] into the pit.” (Num. 16: 30) Here the word “pit” is translated from the word sheol. Again it is written concerning those who die: “They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.” (Job 17: 16) The word here translated “pit” is from the same. Hebrew word sheol, and plainly expresses that it means the condition of death.
In the scriptures since Christ the Greek word hades is translated into the English word “hell”, and has the same meaning, identically, as sheol in the Hebrew. It refers always to the condition of death, spoken of as the grave, the tomb, or the pit. A few proof texts concerning this : Acts, chapter two, verse twenty-seven, is a quotation from Psalm sixteen, verse ten, quoted above, the former text using the Greek word hades and the latter text using the Hebrew word sheol, thus showing the two words to be equivalent. Then in Matthew 16: 18 Jesus uses the word hades, which is translated “hell”, saying: “The gates of hell shall not prevail” against the church of God. Without doubt the thought is that the condition of death shall be destroyed in due time, and that therefore it cannot prevail against those who serve God.
In harmony with this, in Revelation 1: 18 it is declared that Jesus has the keys of hell, that is to say, the means of unlocking the condition of death. It is written: “Death and hell delivered up the dead.” (Rev. 20: 13) Hades is the word here used; it has the same meaning as sheol, and evidently means the grave, or tomb, which shall give up the dead at the resurrection. - It manifestly does not mean eternal torment; because if people are there eternally, they could not be brought out. This scripture does not say that hell gives up the living, but says that it gives up the dead.
The Greek word gehenna is also rendered “hell” in English. It means the condition of death, or complete destruction, from which there is no awakening or resurrection. Gehenna is a Greek expression, referring to the valley of Hinnom. Just on the south side of Jerusalem is a valley called the valley of Hinnom, or the valley of Gehenna. Therein was a fire kept constantly burning. The offal from the city and the bodies of dead animals and the like were thrown into the fire and destroyed. Under the Jewish law no living creature was permitted to be cast into that fire. The practice was to bring the offal out of the gate of the wall of Jerusalem and cast it over the high embankment into the valley. The bodies of some of these animals lodged on the rocks, and the worms consumed them. The valley of Hinnom therefore was a place of destruction. It pictured the destruction of the wicked.
Speaking to the Jews, who would understand ‘his meaning, Jesus said: “If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire [(Greek) gehenna]: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9: 47, 48) The ‘unquenchable fire’ and the “worm” represent destruction, and Jesus was telling the Jews that that was what would come upon their nation.
Jesus in plain phrase was telling the Jew that he, Jesus, was the One appointed as King by Jehovah God, and that in due time God would set up his kingdom; that a place in that kingdom was the greatest privilege one could have; but that no one could enter it unless he willingly put away everything that would be contrary to God’s will. If therefore anyone had something that was dear to him, even as dear as an eye or as a hand, if it was offensive and would keep him out of the kingdom he would better cut it off then be destroyed.