Unveiling the Myth of Hell and Eternal Torment, Part 3

Part 3 – The Greek Word Hades

If you have not read Part 1, A Brief Backdrop of My Journey or Part 2, The Hebrew Word Sheol, please do so before reading this Part 3.

Once again, I’ll repeat myself and say that mankind’s present is enormously influenced by the past and by other cultures.  Christianity’s modern ideas of hell have mostly come from Greek and Roman mythology, the poetic (and fictional) writing of Dante Alighieri’s (1265-1321) Inferno, and from ancient church leaders of Roman Catholicism and so called “church fathers” who had the wrong perception of God’s character, held an unhealthy fear of God, and/or wanted to have power and control over people. 

In Part 2, I explained the Hebrew word Sheol which is used in the Old Testament.  In this Part 3, I will explain the Greek word Hades, which is the equivalent to Sheol.

What is Hades?  

The Greek word “Hades” ([h]ades) is constructed out of two root words: 

Unveiling the Myth of Hell and Eternal Torment, Part 2

Part 2 – The Hebrew Word Sheol

If you have not read Part 1, A Brief Backdrop of My Journey, please do so before reading this Part 2.

Now, let’s get on to our discussion about hell…

So…what the hell is hell, anyway?

Where does the idea of hell and it being promoted as a place of eternal conscious torment come from?  

Unveiling the Myth of Hell and Eternal Torment, Part 1

Part 1 – A Brief Backdrop of My Journey

I have appropriately used the word “unveiling” in the title to this series about hell because God is the One who must lift the veil or pull back the curtain for us to see any truth.  And that’s precisely what He has done for me and continues to do on a daily basis.  

“A man cannot get anything if it should not 
be given him out of heaven.”

(John 3:17, CLNT)

The Backdrop

Please bear with me for a moment while I set a very brief backdrop of my spiritual journey.

Daily Truth – Only God Knows

The last writing (or “book”) in our modern Bibles is commonly known as Revelation.  The New American Standard (NAS) translation titles it “The Revelation of John”.  

The Concordant Literal New Testament (CLNT) most appropriately titles it “The Unveiling of Jesus Christ”.

The Writ, Dabhar Translation Vol. 2, simply shortens it to “Unveiling”. 

My 45th Birthday Thanksgivings

My 45^th birthday came and went a couple of weeks ago.  I awoke that morning thanking God for my life and all His work in my life and journaled some thanksgivings.  I have wanted to type those up and post them because they are so important to me. 

Thanksgivings are so significant.  They remind us of how much we have, how much we’ve been given, and how blessed we truly are.  Sometimes, when life is hard, we tend to focus on the negatives and become negative ourselves and ungrateful.  Thanksgivings are a powerful force against negativity and ungratefulness.

On my 45^th birthday morning, I offered these initial thanksgivings to God…

A Response to Suffering and Sorrow – Finding Comfort through Job

“Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept evil?”

(Job 2:10)

It is never easy accepting painful circumstances in our lives.  Adversity is guaranteed to come and go while we usually find ourselves kicking and screaming against any of it.  The child in us prefers to only live out the happy ending of a fairy tale.  At this point of life and in my faith, I am confident that the life I have this very day is the life God has ordained for me.  No matter how difficult things may be, through whatever today brings, I know it holds an opportunity to learn, to grow, and to overcome.  In spite of knowing that, it’s still not easy to endure suffering and sorrow. 

Stand on Your Knees! The Sun WILL Rise after the Night

I have been observing that there seems to be a sudden surge of utter despair overcoming people.  This life is full of ups and downs.  Living this life carries with it the promise that not only will we face joys but that we will also face great sorrows.  It seems to me too many people are being tempted to give up in total hopelessness rather than endure and push through with perseverance.  It truly breaks my heart.  As all these things happen, I am reminded of something I wrote a long time ago and eventually posted on this site in the post God is Hope.

I am currently 44 years old.  I have faced my share of joys and sorrows.  I’ve had my share of trials and sufferings—as a child, as a youth, as a young adult, and as a full grown adult.  I have faced the death of loved ones.  I have faced the heartache of being forsaken and abandoned by those who had previously claimed to love me.  I have felt the bitter sting of hatred from those I love deeply.  Some of the trials have certainly felt like much more than I wanted to endure or felt like I could endure.  Some of the trials lasted a short time (days or months) while others went on for years, which felt to me like an eternity.  During some of those trials, I was tempted to give up all hope and despair completely.  My spiritual enemy and adversary of God, the devil, lied to me and tried to convince me to give up hope and to give up my faith in God.  There were times when the spiritual enemy even tried to convince me that death was better than life. 

Who brings utter despair knocking on the door of our soul?