MEMORY VERSE: ‘For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.’ Psalm 37:10.
LESSON AIM: To study what God will do with the wicked and to study the various Bible words translated “hell” and what they mean.
‘Where do the dead go? To sheol or hades, the one of these names being the Hebrew, and the other the Greek, term to designate the place of the dead. How do you know that the dead go to sheol or hades? The psalmist asks what man there is that can deliver his soul from death and sheol. Psalm 89:48. Jacob, at death, entered sheol. Genesis 38:35; 43:38; 44:29,31. Korah and his company went down into sheol. Numbers 16:30,33. Job was to be hid in sheol, and wait there till the resurrection. Job 14:13; 17:13. All the wicked go into sheol. Psalm 9:17; Psalm 31:17; Psalm 49:14. All mankind go there. Psalm 89:48; Ecclesiastes 9:10. (N.B. These words in our English version are sometimes translated grave, and sometimes hell.)’ J. N. Andrews: Departing and Being with Christ, page 1.
Compiler’s note: In the Bible, the English word “hell” translates different Hebrew and Greek words, Sheol, Hades and Gehenna. (In a single case, the Greek word “tartarus” is translated as “hell”. 2 Peter 2:4. Tartarus is the place into which the evil angels were cast after their rebellion.) Sheol is the Hebrew term used in the Old Testament, appearing 65 times. It is often translated as “grave,” “pit,” or occasionally “hell” and refers broadly to the realm of the dead, where both the righteous and the wicked go after death. Sheol is depicted as a shadowy, silent place without activity or consciousness, not inherently a place of punishment. Hades is the Greek equivalent of Sheol, used in the New Testament. It generally denotes the abode of the dead and is a neutral term, not associated with fire or punishment. Hades is sometimes translated as “hell” in English Bibles, but its primary meaning is the grave. Gehenna is a Greek term and refers to the Valley of Hinnom, a location outside Jerusalem historically associated with idolatry and child sacrifice (2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 7:31). By the time of Jesus, it was used as a rubbish dump where fires were kept perpetually burning to consume the refuse. It became a metaphor for destruction, judgement, and fire. Gehenna is used almost exclusively in the Gospels to warn of divine judgement and the consequences of sin (Matthew 5:22; Mark 9:43). Unlike Sheol or Hades, Gehenna carries a connotation of final punishment for the wicked. In Revelation the final destruction of the wicked takes place in the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20; 20:10, 14-15). Confusion arises because for many Christians the word “hell” refers to a place of eternal torture where the “immortal souls” of the wicked suffer after death. In the Old Testament, whenever the Hebrew word “Sheol” is translated as “hell”, the Bible student should realise that what is meant is “the grave”. In the New Testament where both the Greek words “Hades” and Gehenna” are translated as “hell”, the Bible student should realise that “Hades” means “the grave”, while “Gehenna” means the lake of fire. (Strong’s Concordance may be needed to confirm which of the two Greek words is being translated as “hell”.)
1. What does the Bible say is reserved for those who reject God’s offer of salvation? Romans 2:5.
NOTE: ‘The Lord declares by the prophet Isaiah: “Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him.” “Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.” Isaiah 3:10, 11. “Though a sinner do evil an hundred times,” says the wise man, “and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before Him: but it shall not be well with the wicked.” Ecclesiastes 8:12, 13. And Paul testifies that the sinner is treasuring up unto himself “wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds;” “tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil.” Romans 2:5, 6, 9.” Great Controversy, page 540.
2. What does the Bible say about the fate of sinners who do not repent? Proverbs 2:22; Psalm 37:9, first part.
NOTE: ‘Those who have not, through repentance and faith, secured pardon, must receive the penalty of transgression, “the wages of sin.” They suffer punishment varying in duration and intensity, “according to their works,” but finally ending in the second death. Since it is impossible for God, consistently with His justice and mercy, to save the sinner in his sins, He deprives him of the existence which his transgressions have forfeited and of which he has proved himself unworthy. Says an inspired writer: “Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.” And another declares: “They shall be as though they had not been.” Psalm 37:10; Obadiah 16. Covered with infamy, they sink into hopeless, eternal oblivion.’ Great Controversy, page 544.