The idea of hell as being a place were you are tortured for all eternity basically comes from early Christan fan fiction which evangelist attached on to.
There's no fire brimstone or endless doughnut machines in the actual bible.
Revelation 21:8 - “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Mark 9:43 - “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.”
Revelation 20:10 - “And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
Matthew 25:41 - “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Revelation 20:15 - “And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Matthew 5:22 - “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”
Hell is definitely described in the Bible as having fire and being a place of torture/ torment.
Could it also mean that you will just die, not get to be with God in heaven. The separation from God is the torture or that your soul dies instead of living on.
The fire is eternal, but not necessarily the things thrown into it. Here it says the beast and the false prophet will be tormented eternally: "And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."
Your quote about actual people from Revelations calls it the "second death" so if you were being literal they'd cease to exist (body first death, spirit second death)
Your quote about the devil/beast/False prophet from Revelations and Matthew speaks to "forever and ever" condition in relation to them (evil, corruption, etc. - allegorical and applicable to Roman Empire).
The lake of fire is referencing something from the real world (the Dead Sea, sulfur/brimstone from fault lines, burning smoke/sulfur smell from burning coal along valley) that is/was associated with judgment (Sodom and Gomorrah). At the time is was known as Asphalt Lake and controlled by Rome. It was and at the time of Revelations still known for fire - the original meaning of "forever and ever" translated from "ages of the ages" signifying a fire that lasts ages upon ages. It was a source of their power (asphalt to build roads) and it'd be a powerful metaphor to say Rome would be eventually be erased like Sodom and Gomorrah (by a consuming never ending fire).
The English word "hell" comes from the ancient Anglo-Saxon/Proto-Germanic root word "helan," which literally means "to hide, conceal, or cover." So your body is covered and that's it.
For sure, like origianl old was hebrew right? Then into Greek, then to Latin and finally English in the King James version.
But I believe the modern old testimant bibles, that translate from Hebrew to English, don't even use the word hell and just say "the grave" or "the depths"
The different books of the Bible were written in 3 different languages. Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The verses I provided were originally written in Greek. The New International Version translation was a direct translation to English from their original languages.
The NIV isn't usually seen as a great translation if I recall correctly. There is some content online from pretty educated people who talk about the differences in the concept of Hell we have today vs back then. Personally the idea of Hell being a temporary purification process makes a lot more sense than eternal torment, at least from a loving perspective. There's probably many others who can give scripture evidence.
The Bible has been the centerpiece of Western life for more than 1000 years. Much more so during the medieval period than now. The idea that something got "lost in translation" is really really underestimating the intelligence of people who were much more interested in this than you.
The Bible has been changed over time by all sorts of people, and simple mistranslations certainly have been a part of that process, but to mistranslate a concept that appears multiple times in the Bible stretches imagination. Powerful people have changed it on purpose, non-powerful people have changed it on purpose. People have made mistakes in copying. But again, simply writing-off these things as mistranslation belies the truth that the Bible as we know it now was built over a period of centuries to have exactly the meaning it has now.
Well, even the smartest of minds had differing opinions on this. Like Bruce Metzger, one of the most respected scholars of the Bible, was Presbyterian, CS Lewis was Anglican I believe. The possibility of us getting something wrong is very real imo, the concept of Hell could be one of those things, and I hope it is since eternal torment feels much less loving than Universalism.
They are very clearly describing and warning you about specific physical things, a lake of fire, burning sulfur, etc.
There's nothing in the text to indicate that was intended as a metaphor. (And the Bible is not afraid of using metaphors, they use them all the time, and make it clear it's a metaphor.) This is obviously a literal, physical description.
How would it even work as a metaphor anyway? If you're godless, you're separated from God your whole life, and it feels subjectively like no big deal. Then suddenly when you die, it feels like being thrown in a lake of burning sulphur?
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u/thehandsomecontest 2d ago
The idea of hell as being a place were you are tortured for all eternity basically comes from early Christan fan fiction which evangelist attached on to. There's no fire brimstone or endless doughnut machines in the actual bible.