What Is Hell? The Biblical Meaning of Hell, Hades, and the Lake of Fire

Typically, when we think about hell, we think of it as the final abode of the dead. But there are actually different meanings of the word in the Bible. So what does the Bible say about hell?

While you don’t need to understand Hebrew and Greek to grasp the concept of hell, it can still be helpful.

Often, languages have multiple words to signify different things that are translated into a single word in another language. The word “love,” for example: in English, there are several kinds of love that are all expressed by the same word. Meanwhile, in Hebrew, different kinds of love can be expressed with different words.

Likewise, the word “hell” in the Bible is translated from several different terms that each have different meanings:

• Sheol (Hebrew): Refers to “the pit,” “the grave,” or “the place of the dead.”
• Hades (Greek): The equivalent of Sheol, meaning “the place of the dead.”

These words can describe a physical grave where the body turns to dust, or a place that contains the souls of the dead. Because, if you remember from the last two studies, the body and soul both have their own kinds of deaths.

It’s important to know this because many passages in the Bible can be confusing if you don’t understand which meaning the context points to. You don’t need to know the original languages. You should be able to understand the meaning through context. But for some people, it can be helpful to know the original languages as well. That’s why I am explaining them.

There are many verses that speak of the dead in the grave as being unaware, yet there are also passages where the dead are very much aware. That’s because there is a difference between the grave of the physical body, which knows nothing and turns to dust, and the place of the soul, which is aware.

Hell isn’t always talking about a place of dead souls. It also isn’t always talking about the physical grave. It can be speaking of either one. But there are also other words that can sometimes be translated as hell.

• Gehenna (Greek): A term used to describe a place associated with fiery punishment.
• Limnē tou pyros (Greek): Meaning “lake of fire.” In Revelation, it is used to describe the final place of punishment.

So, when the Bible speaks of hell, it is important that we know which meaning is being used. Again, context is all you need for this. The description of a physical grave where the dead know nothing and do nothing is much different from the description of a place where there is fire, pain, and suffering.

So, when we ask, “What is hell?” there are three possible answers depending on the context:

• The grave where the body decays.
• The temporary spiritual place of torment.
• The Lake of Fire, an eternal place of punishment.

Since the body simply decomposes and feels nothing in the grave, we typically focus on hell as being a place that contains the souls of the dead. We focus on what we can be aware of, not what isn’t going to matter to us. If our body knows nothing, we aren’t going to care, but if our soul knows something, we do.

So, more often than not, when we speak of hell, we are not speaking of the grave. We are speaking of a place of torment.

There Is No Delay in Judgment

Another thing that is important to know is that not all souls go to this place called hell.

For the Christian who has had their sins forgiven and all charges against them dropped, a place called paradise and heaven awaits their souls. But the place called hell that awaits the soul of the unsaved is much different.

These passages, among many others, don’t present us with a picture of people waiting in limbo to be judged as righteous or unrighteous after death. The Bible clearly indicates that immediately after death, the souls of the righteous are taken to a place called paradise, while the souls of the unrighteous are taken to this place called hell.

What the Bible shows us are two people whose souls were taken to two different places, with their eternal destinations already determined. Lazarus died having his sins forgiven and entered paradise. The rich man was judged guilty and entered hell. Their bodies both went to the grave, but only the rich man’s soul went to what we mean when we say “hell” from this point forward.

Also, take note that they didn’t go through a trial after death. They were immediately taken to their appointed locations. There was no point at which they were both in the same place trying to get their affairs in order. There was no point at which they were allowed one more chance. There was no purgatory. Judgment was immediate.

The Day of Judgment

Yet the Bible does speak of another coming day of judgment.

You may be asking, “Why are they judged twice?” If they were already judged at death, what sense does another day of judgment make? The answer is that the judgment in Revelation is not a trial to determine innocence or guilt. The judgment in Revelation is to determine the final sentence.

On that day, the souls in hell will be cast into an eternal lake of fire. Hell is not where the Bible tells us the final place of the condemned will be. It is actually a place where wicked souls are held, awaiting their final sentencing.

The Difference Between Hell and the Lake of Fire

In our legal system, there is a process for criminal judgment. First, a suspect is placed under arrest. After that comes the hearing. This is when the suspect is brought before the court and the charges against them are addressed. The judge may then let them out on bail until their court date or keep them in custody.

If they are kept in custody, they are placed in jail and held there until it is time for them to be put on trial. Then they are brought before the judge and found either innocent or guilty. The innocent are set free, while the guilty are again placed in custody and await their sentencing.

This is actually very similar to the process the Bible tells us about when we die without Jesus. The difference is that we don’t need a hearing. God already knows whether we are innocent or guilty. So we can skip that part.

There are two words we often confuse as meaning the same thing: jail and prison. They are so similar that we have a hard time telling them apart. But the difference is that jail is generally a temporary holding place before or during the legal process, while prison is where criminals serve out their actual sentences.

Just as jail and prison often get confused as being the same thing, hell and the lake of fire are often confused in the same way. But hell, while having some similarities to the lake of fire in its description, has a different purpose.

The Bible tells us that the angels who sinned were cast down to hell and reserved in darkness until the day of judgment. This same place of temporary punishment and confinement is also associated with the souls of the wicked, who are held awaiting the day of judgment (Matthew 25:41).

Hell, like jail, is a temporary place of holding, while the lake of fire, like prison, is the final place where these souls will spend eternity.

This means the final judgment in Revelation 20 isn’t God determining who was righteous or wicked. That determination has already been made. What the souls in hell are waiting for is not a trial; it is their sentencing.

What Is Hell Like?

So now we know that one meaning of hell is a temporary holding place. We know that not everyone goes there. And we know that the final judgment against the wicked is to be cast into a burning lake of fire, which is also sometimes what we mean when we talk about hell.

The next obvious question is, what is hell like? And the answer depends on which version you are talking about.

Hell, as in the grave, is very straightforward. It is the physical grave where the body decomposes and there is no life in it. The soul does not remain in the grave.

Hell, as in the temporary holding place, is also described clearly in Luke 16. It is the place where the soul of the sinner awaits the final judgment in flame and torment.

Hell, as in the eternal lake of fire, is the permanent abode of sinners and also includes burning torment.

These verses speak about specific places and conditions, all wrapped up into the word “hell.” If we wanted to simplify it, it would be completely accurate to say that hell is a place of profound darkness, unrelenting pain, and suffering. And since the soul does not turn to dust, it will continue to experience these torments forever.

This is the description of death for the soul: conscious and eternal torment.

With such a horrible punishment for sin, we naturally ask ourselves another question. Can this place even be real, or is it a metaphor for something else? Does this torment really last forever? These are questions I will address in the next study.

Continue To Unit 2:14 – Is Hell Real? What It Is, What It Is Like, and What the Bible Really Says OR

Return To Christianity 101 Unit 2 – Sin and Eternal Judgment