Is Hell A Fiery Furnace – Or Is It More Like A Locked Root Cellar?

From Dante’s Inferno, to the notion of having relatives pay and pray your way out of Purgatory in the Catholic tradition, we all develop images of what hell might be like. We have a macabre curiosity, but we certainly don’t want to go there for real.

Even among Christians, hell carries many different belief systems. The fire and brimstone preachers use thundering descriptions of eternal torment, claiming non believers will suffer in the flames of their iniquity for all eternity, with no relief in sight. This instills fear, which is not the message of the true gospel.

Others believe all people will be saved, or that there will be chances for repentance and redemption after death. Some believe in an immortal soul for all people, regardless of what their beliefs are. Some people believe Christians will be raptured before the going gets tough. There are those who believe you cannot lose your salvation, while others preach it is critical to guard it like a treasure that can be snatched away at any moment. In fact, there are so many belief systems among Christians – the world barely knows what Christianity means anymore.

Honestly, unless you read and interpret the Bible for yourself, you will not learn or discern the truth based on what man says about it. There are so many off-base interpretations, and so many false teachings, it’s enough to make your head spin.

Some of the signs of false teachers, or at least things that should trigger a warning flag for us: the profit motive. Beware of those who are pitching fifty books, and travel the world with an entourage spending millions, and requesting donations to support their lavish lifestyles.

Beware of those who use fear to control. Question all things. Look it up. For example the word “rapture” is something many Christians believe in, yet it does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Why would any Christian believe something that is not even in the Bible? The Bible tells us the dead will rise first when Christ returns, followed by those who are still alive.

The rapture theory is based on the false teaching of dispensationalism. Hollywood movies, novels, and countless churches support this fanciful doctrine. If the term rapture refers to an early rescue of Christians so they do not have to face the dreaded seven year tribulation, then why would the Bible tell us the dead in Christ rise first?

The dead do not need to be rescued. They are already dead. To me, this is making it very clear. We can look forward to Christ’s return at the end of the age, on the last day, with earth shattering certainty. It is not going to be a secret by any stretch of the imagination.

There is no secret rapture of the church, other than in the secret chambers of the John Darby and C.I. Scofield cult doctrines. In fact, the entire belief system of dispensationalism is based on false doctrine, and is designed to destroy our faith, not bolster it.

When I was indoctrinated with dispensationalism, not realizing it was false, I felt nothing but dread. Only after reading the Book of Revelation myself, did I realize how false and destructive dispensationalism is. It is most certainly not the only falsehood in the Darby version of the Bible. But it is the thing most sensationalized. The idea was presented to Darby after a young girl claimed to have levitated during a seance. So, should we even be using the term at all?

The most difficult to discern, is when there is a mixture of truth and falsehood, as tends to happen with cults. Be wary of those who lie, or try to force you to believe something. If they lie about one thing, they will lie about anything. If they try to force you into ANY relationship, they are coercive liars with an agenda.

God has gifted us with a sound mind. We ought to use it. He assures us of the right to free will, and freedom of choice. God does not force us into a relationship with Him, or into any belief system. He guides us and warns us – but people can choose to accept or reject God. If people can choose to accept or reject a relationship with God, then surely no man should be able to force us into a relationship against our will. Why would any person even think they can over rule our God-given rights?

Seriously, especially question any person who uses an altered version of the Bible. Anyone who claims some guru is correct for changing, adding to, or taking away, even one word of the Bible – is an arrogant deceiver. If anyone is going to suffer eternal torment, it is the false teachers and false prophets. They will be judged more harshly, because they deceive and lead many astray.

There are different terms for hell used throughout the Bible. In the apocalypse of the four horsemen, Hades follows on the back of the pale horse, behind the rider. The pale horse represents death, with Hades being quick to follow death. Hades is synonymous with Sheol, or the resting place of departed souls. It is described as being in a location underneath the earth.

Hades has a definition in relation to the gods of the Greek underworld, as well as a Biblical based definition translated from the word Sheol. From the Encyclopedia it is defined as such:

“Hades, in the Greek Old Testament, translation of the Hebrew Sheol, the dwelling place of the dead. ”

Therefore, we can interpret the meaning of Hades on the back of the pale horse. It indicates where people go after death. It also tells us that two of the words commonly used in describing hell – are synonyms, and do not describe a fiery place of eternal torment. Hades and hell are quite different in definition and meaning.

Years ago, I recall reading a description of Hades as being like a darkened root cellar. That was an eye-opener sort of thing to read, opposite of the typical vision of hell. But it might be more accurate than we tend to think. Imagine getting sentenced to a thousand years in prison. It is a long time to await a death sentence.

In the end, there is a fiery lake of hell, or second death, according to my own interpretation of the Bible. In my opinion, Hades and Sheol are the holding place for those awaiting judgement. It is a type of root cellar for the souls of the dead.

Personally, I don’t believe people get tortured for all eternity in a lake of fire. Considering all the warnings about the second death, I don’t know why it would be called a second death, if it was eternal torment. It is a complete contradiction.

Whether or not people can be saved after death, when the judgment day arrives, is not clear to me. Some adamantly say no way, but the Bible does say the books will be opened, and anyone who is not written in the Lamb’s book of life will be thrown in the fire. It does not say whether or not all of those who were in Hades for a thousand years, will be thrown into the lake of fire. In fact there are verses that support the concept of salvation for souls in Hades. Maybe a thousand years will change some minds, and give people another chance. The Bible does say we are appointed to die, and then comes judgment. But the full outcome of the judgement is not clear, because each will be judged according to their deeds.

Some people believe that those who accept Christ, will go straight to heaven when they die. Others believe we go to a place of rest that is more comfortable than the Sheol beneath the earth. Some believe the spirit and soul are separate, and others believe they are joined. Our soul is our mind, will, and emotions. The spirit of life comes from God, and the Holy Spirit is within us, to help us, and to comfort us in times of trouble.

I believe our spirit and soul remain joined together when we die, and leaves our physical body to go to a destination somewhere in the cosmos. I don’t believe Christians go to a place beneath the earth. Some Christians say there is not enough space in Abraham’s bosom. But I think the description of Abraham’s bosom is metaphorical, and means a place of comfort.

Therefore, if we know Christ, we will be taken to a temporary place of rest. Some people believe the soul sleeps, while others call soul sleep false doctrine. Some say Hades is where all dead people resided until the New Testament time. I do believe many were led out of Hades by Christ himself, and after his death, Christians no longer go to Hades.

It is an intriguing subject for sure. We live by faith, so we cannot give any proof, other than what is in the Bible. It seems to me, there is a waiting place for both believers and unbelievers, but they are in different locations. Although it is a place of rest, there are many indicators that people can and do wake up. Other verses say there will be little knowledge of the amount of time that has passed.

There is a time of waiting for the return of Christ after we die, at which time there is a resurrection of believers. It says the dead in Christ rise first, followed by the believers who are still alive when Christ returns. The Bible says the rest of the dead do not live again for a thousand years.

After a thousand years comes Judgement day, and those in Hades or Sheol are brought to life again to face judgment.

The second death is after the final judgement, when the condemned are thrown into the lake of fire to perish. I know there are verses about eternal torment, and an unquenchable fire. However, I do not believe those descriptions are referring to the fate of people.

Regardless, the punishment for the unrepentant is monumental. If we are honest with ourselves about how much we have done wrong in our lives, how foolish we have been – it is truly humbling. I count myself as one of the worst, in many ways.

We can only keep seeking the truth, knowing we have often been deceived throughout our lives. Truth is very important. If we do not seek truth with all sincerity, our hearts will be hardened. We cannot know truth, nor can we have the knowledge of God, if we do not seek truth with all our mind and heart.

If we are honest, we know we are here by the grace of God. We live by faith. Love cannot exist without truth. Yet we are steeped in deception, to the boggling of our minds. We most certainly cannot figure it all out on our own. We need God more than ever before, and we can only hope and pray the false teaching, and all worldly deception – will become as chaff in the wind.

Lies are very destructive. They are clearly among the things God hates the most, and they tend to get worse as time goes on. A lie repeated over and over again, will likely grow, and damage far more people than it did to begin with.

Lies about other people, also tops the list of things God hates the most. So many pious Christians believe in eternal hellfire for a host of other sins, without realizing that pride and lying top the list of the damned.

A refusal to let go of lies is downright dangerous. We may get punished for telling the truth while here on earth, by those who do not want their misdeeds exposed, but it is nothing compared to what will happen if we embrace lies instead of the truth when Judgement day arrives. It means we must apply ourselves fully to the sanctity of truth before we die.

Meanwhile if we can reject lies, we can also hope to have God’s love written on the tablets of our hearts, sealed in our mind, and governing our actions from here on in. We are supposed to repent, to love one another, and do good.

Therefore the good will never be stamped out completely. And as promised, death and Hades shall be overcome at last – when Christ returns. Then all the chaos and deception will be removed, and things will be restored to order. Best of all – there will be no more lies or violence on this earth.