HELL, HADES, GEHENNA, AND THE DESTINY OF THE SOUL

A lot of confusion. The word "hell" comes from Sheol (Hebrew ‫ )ׁשאל ׁשאול‬and Hades (greek ᾅδης), which
mean the realm of the dead, where the souls of the dead are, in darkness, with the wicked being in
torment and the righteous resting and being comforted (Job 10:21-22, Luke 16:23-25). But the word
"Gehenna" (greek) is the everlasting lake of fire, where the unsaved dead, Satan and his demons, and
death and hell (sheol/hades) itself will be cast into, after the great white throne judgment (Revelation
20:11-15).

Jesus taught that the soul of man does continue to exist after the death of the body:

- "And fear not them which kill the body, but are NOT ABLE TO KILL THE SOUL: but rather fear him which
is able to DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY in *Gehenna* (greek γέεννα -- some translations say "hell"
here, which is wrongly translated and confuses many people)." (Matthew 10:28).

- "I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they
can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into
*gehenna* (again, greek γέεννα, wrongly translated by hell in many translations). Yes, I tell you, fear
him!" (Luke 12:4-5)

Even in the Old Testament, we see in 1 Samuel 28:11-20 through the example of dead Samuel who was
summoned up from the dead by king Saul, that the soul of the dead remains in existence! "Then Samuel
said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?...tomorrow you and your sons shall be
with me...Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of
Samuel." That was a dead person talking! That's why Jesus rebuked the Sadducees, telling them that
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were living and would be raised, and that God "is not God of the dead, but of
the living, for ALL LIVE TO HIM." (Luke 20:38).

And Jesus gave a powerful story in Luke 16:19-31 about a rich man and a poor man Lazarus, who died
and were carried into Hades (hell, properly translated), and the poor being with Abraham, and Abraham
talking! Here we learned that there was a separation between the wicked and the righteous in Hades,
and that the wicked were already suffering while the righteous were comforted, while awaiting their
resurrection and final judgment! The rich man wanted father Abraham to send the poor Lazarus back to
the living to warn them! So you see that the soul does live after physical death! And Jesus said, "For
what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). Repent
before it is too late!
Another revelation is that "death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned
after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come." (Romans 5:14).
This means that even the righteous were subject to death and were captive of Hades, "prisoners of the
waterless pit" (Zechariah 9:11). That is why Michael the archangel had to contend with Satan to dispute
and take from him the body of Moses, for God wanted to keep Moses as a witness, along with Elijah, to
later come witness to Jesus as the Christ on the mount of transfiguration (Jude 1:9, Matthew 17:3).

Now the most wonderful thing happened when Jesus died: "The tombs also were opened. And many
bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his
resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many." (Matthew 27:50-53). They were
resurrected! They were saved by faith, for they were looking forward to the coming of Christ and had
drunk from that spiritual Rock by their faith, which God commends (cf. 11 Pet 1:10-12, Hebrews 11).
They are:

- the cloud that ascended with him when He went into heaven: "And when he had spoken these things,
while they beheld, he was taken up; and A CLOUD received him out of their sight." (Acts 1:9)

- the CLOUD of witnesses now surrounding us: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud
of witnesses..." (Hebrews 12:1)

- the host of captives that Jesus freed and led to heaven: "Therefore it says, "When he ascended up on
high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." (Ephesians 4:8).

"As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the
waterless pit." (Zechariah 9:11) Jesus went by the Spirit into the prison of Hades, preached to the spirits
in prison, saved them, and took the keys of death and of Hades, rising victoriously and taking them to
heaven! (cf. 1 Peter 3:18-20, Revelation 1:18). Now today, when the righteous die, they do not go into
Hades anymore like in the Old Testament, but they go to heaven to be with the Lord Jesus and rest from
their works (2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:23), waiting for the final resurrection and their glorified
body, what 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 is talking about!

So the so-called Jehovah's witnesses are very wrong and deceived. Jesus is coming! To those who have
rejected his grace, He will say: "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...And these will go away into eternal punishment,
but the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew 25:41,46). "But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the
detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be
in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8) This is the death
of the soul that Jesus talked about in Matthew 10:28 and Luke 12:4-5! "And the smoke of their
TORMENT goes up forever and ever, and THEY HAVE NO REST, DAY OR NIGHT, these worshipers of the
beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name." (Revelation 14:11). Sodom and
Gomorrah was only a shadow of a greater reality to come. But the good news is: "the free gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23). God bless you.