Where sinners go after death

 

 

 

The Word of God teaches that there is a place of torment in the unseen world, a horrible and dreadful place where fire burns continually and where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, and where the souls of those who have not repented of their sins and believed in the Gospel of the grace of God go after death.

This place is called ‘‘soggiorno dei morti’ (that is, ‘abode of the dead’) – in Greek: Hades, while in Hebrew: Sheol – and it is mentioned many times in the Scriptures. Before proving you from the Scripture the existence of this place, I want to tell you the following things.

First of all, both the Hebrew word Sheol and the Greek word Hades, which is equivalent to Sheol, mean also ‘sepolcro’, that is, ‘sepulchre, grave, tomb’. That’s why in the Bible sometimes the word Sheol (in Greek Hades) is translated ‘sepolcro’.

For instance, Diodati [1] translated Sheol ‘sepolcro’ in the following passages:

“Non lasciare scendere la sua canutezza in pace nel sepolcro” that is, “Do not let his gray hair go down to the grave [Sheol] in peace” (1 Kings 2:6);

“Così chi scende nel sepolcro non ne salirà più fuori” that is, “So he who goes down to the grave [Sheol] does not come up” (Job 7:9);

“Perciocchè il sepolcro non ti celebrerà” that is, “For the grave [Sheol] will not praise you” (Isaiah 38:18). [2]

I have said ‘sometimes’ and not ‘always’, because this Hebrew word refers also to the abode of the souls between death and the resurrection [3], that’s why some other times it is translated ‘inferno’ (that is, ‘hell,’) or ‘soggiorno dei morti’ (that is, ‘the abode of the dead’).

For instance, Diodati translated Sheol ‘inferno’ in the following passages of the Old Testament: Psalm 9:17, Job 26:6, and Proverbs 7:27; and he translated Hades as ‘inferno’ in the following passages of the New Testament: Matthew 11:23, 16:18, Luke 16:23, Revelation 1:18 (while in Acts 2:27 and Acts 2:31 he translated Hades as ‘luoghi sotterra’ [that is, ‘underground places’]) [4]. Luzzi [5], in the Old Testament of the Italian Bible Riveduta Version (the Revised Version) put ‘soggiorno dei morti’ (‘abode of the dead’) instead of ‘inferno’ (‘hell’); while in the New Testament he left the word Hades in its untranslated Greek form. (See the above mentioned passages in the Riveduta Version). However, both ‘inferno’ and ‘soggiorno dei morti’ refer to the same place.

Furthermore, I want you to know that the word ‘inferno’ – which is not present in the Riveduta Version – comes from the Latin word infernus which means ‘lower, underground’. As for the English term ‘hell.’ it comes from the Old English word helan, which means ‘to hide or cover’

Someone will say: ‘Why wasn’t this word translated always in the same way?’ Because sometimes the context did not allow the same rendering. In other words the same word has a different meaning in different contexts. Therefore, sometimes Sheol or Hades indicates the unseen place where the souls of the dead go, while some other times Sheol or Hades indicates the grave where the body is laid. Let me give you an example taken from the book of Isaiah. The prophet says: “Hell from beneath is excited about you, to meet you at your coming; it stirs up the dead for you, all the chief ones of the earth; it has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. They all shall speak and say to you: ‘You also have become as weak as we, and you have become like us” (Isaiah 14:9-10 – Translated from the IBDV). Here Diodati translated the word Sheol as ‘inferno’ - Luzzi translated it as ‘soggiorno dei morti’ – because it does not mean grave, in that the text speaks of people staying in Sheol who at the coming of the king of Babylon speak to him.

Therefore, in the light of the Scriptures, those who deny that the word Sheol (or the equivalent Greek word Hades) refers also to the place of torment where sinners continue to exist after death (and they stay there till the resurrection) are greatly mistaken.

Now I am going to prove from the Scriptures the existence of this place of torment (called Sheol or Hades) in the unseen world; I will tell you where it is located and how the Bible describes hell.

● It is written: “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell [Greek: Hades] he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:19-31).

This is a story which was told by Jesus Christ. It teaches that people continue to exist after death and that the souls of the sinners continue to live in an unseen world. It is clear that we do not see our soul, yet we know that it dwells in our body made of flesh and bones; and just as we can’t deny the existence of the soul just because we do not see it, so we can’t deny the existence of Hades just because we do not see it or we have not seen it. The fact is that while the soul is in our body, Hades is in the lower parts of the earth. According to the Word of God, Hades is a real place where the soul of the sinner, after it has gone out of the body, goes to stay and where it will be waiting for the judgement. In other words, while the sinner lives on the earth his soul enjoys the pleasures of life and takes delight in doing evil things using the human body, but when the body in which the soul dwells temporarily dies, the soul departs from the body and goes to Hades where it will tormented by the fire which is in this horrible place. The story of the rich man tells us that he lived in luxury every day while he was on the earth and that when he died he was buried, but he found himself in a place of torment called Hades. It was his body which was buried not his soul, because man’s soul cannot be seized by any man nor can it be buried. According to what God said to Adam, it is the human body which returns to dust: “For dust you are and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19 – NKJV), and not the soul because the soul is not made of destroyable matter. On one occasion Jesus said that we must not fear “those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28 – NKJV); therefore, unlike the body, the soul of man cannot be killed nor seized by any man. As you can see, the rich man, who had enjoyed himself on the earth, was still able to talk, to remember, while he was in Hades, and according to what he said to Abraham his tongue could have been cooled by some water, but there is no water in Hades; water is just a memory for those who are in the fire of Hades. Now, we can’t understand how the soul of a man can burn continually in the midst of the fire of Hades without burning out, nor can we understand how the soul of a man can weep and gnash the teeth in Hades. However, this does not keep us from believing that those who are in Hades are tormented by fire and they weep and gnash their teeth continually. If we were to believe the things the Scripture speaks of only when we fully understand them, we would end by disbelieving the things the Scripture speaks of; we would not believe even in the existence of God. But thanks be to God through Jesus Christ for He has given us faith, by which we accept all the things the Word of God teaches us without doubting them. So we do believe all the details of this story told by Jesus, they are all true. As I said before, even though that man did not have a body any longer, he was able to talk and remember.

The rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus that he might dip the tip of his finger in water and cool his tongue for he was in agony in the fire of Hades, but Abraham told him that such a thing was not possible. Abraham told him to remember that in his lifetime he had received his good things, and furthermore he told him that between them (Abraham and Lazarus) and him there was a great gulf fixed, so that those who were in Abraham’s bosom could not go from there to those who were tormented in Hades to help them. God had no mercy on that man; just as he had been merciless toward his neighbour during his lifetime, so God was merciless toward him after he died. In this we see a manifestation of the justice of God. Even under the Old Covenant He did not leave unpunished those who refused to heed His Word.

After the rich man had heard the answer of Abraham, he asked Abraham to send Lazarus to his father’s house to warn his five brothers of that place of torment so that they would not come to that place of torment. He thought that if his brothers had heard Lazarus, they would have repented and they would not have gone to that place of torment. However, Abraham answered him saying that his brothers had Moses and the prophets, so they had to listen to them in order not to go to that place of torment. However, the answer of Abraham did not satisfy that man, for he told Abraham that in his opinion the testimony of Lazarus would be more efficacious because if someone from the dead went to them they would repent. But Abraham did not agree with him, for he told him that if his brothers did not listen to Moses and the Prophets they would not be convinced even if someone rose from the dead. (I would like to point out to you the following things: first of all, that man believed that Lazarus could go back to the earth and speak to his brothers; secondly, he did not ask Abraham to grant him to go back to the earth; thirdly, Abraham confirmed that Lazarus was dead). The words of Abraham were hard words, and they show that those who do not believe what God says (through the Holy Scriptures) about Hades and the torments which people suffer in it, will not believe in the existence of this place of torment even if one goes to them from the dead and speaks to them about hell and the torments of this horrible place.

This is the truth, brothers: some people will not believe in the existence of hell neither will they repent of their sins, even if one of their loved ones rises from the dead and tells them the things he saw in hell. However we are called to warn people about this place of torment, because God Himself has warned us of this place with His Word. If God did not want people to know what will happen to them after death if they do not repent and bear fruits worthy of repentance, He would not have caused some persons to write so many clear references to Hades and to the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the place of torment where the wicked will be cast after they are judged in that day.

Let us see some other verses of the Scripture which confirm the existence of hell, and that hell is located in the lower parts of the earth and the wicked are brought down to it.

● In the Psalms it is written: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17 – NKJV), and again: “Like sheep they are cast into the abode of the dead; death is their shepherd” (Psalm 49:14 – Translated from the IBRV).

● Job said about the wicked: “They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment they go down to the abode of the dead” (Job 21:13 – Translated from the IBRV).

● Isaiah said about those who did not regard the work of the Lord but followed intoxicating drink: “Therefore the abode of the dead has enlarged itself and opened its mouth beyond measure, the splendour of Zion, its multitude and its pomp, and he who is jubilant among it, shall descend into it” (Isaiah 5:14 – Translated from the IBRV). Isaiah, in his prophecy against the king of Babylon, said to Israel: “It shall come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: ‘…. The abode of the dead from beneath is excited about you, to meet you at your coming; …. Your pomp and the sound of your stringed instruments are brought down to the abode of the dead” (Isaiah 14:3,9,11 – Translated from the IBRV).

● God foretold through the prophet Ezekiel what He would do to Tyre: “Then I will bring you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit …. “ (Ezekiel 26:20 – NKJV), and He told what He did to Pharaoh: “In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him. I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth. They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen” (Ezekiel 31:15-17).

● When Jesus rebuked Capernaum He said: “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades” (Matthew 11:23 - NKJV). And when He predicted that He would be in the abode of the dead for three days and three nights He said: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40 – NKJV), and we know that the soul of Jesus Christ went down to Hades, from which God brought it up on the third day when He raised Him from the dead, as it is written: “You will not leave my soul in Hades” (Acts 2:27 – NKJV).

As you can see, from all the above mentioned verses of the Scripture we clearly learn that the abode of the dead is a place which is in the lower parts of the earth, or rather, as Jesus said: “In the heart of the earth”, and that the sinners who refuse to heed the voice of God go down to this place.

However, the Scripture even describes hell.

● Job called hell “the land of darkness and the shadow of death. A land as dark as darkness itself, as the shadow of death, without any order, where even the light is like darkness” (Job 10:21-22 – NKJV).

● Bildad the Shuhite, in speaking of the destiny of the wicked, said: “He is driven from light into darkness” (Job 18:18 – NKJV).

● Zophar the Naamathite said about the wicked: “An unfanned fire will consume him” (Job 20:26 – NKJV). As for these words they are confirmed by the following words the rich man said to Abraham: “I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24 – NKJV). The fire which is in hell is not a fire which was lit by man, but by God, that’s why no one can put it out.

As you can see, the Bible describes hell as a place of darkness where people are tormented by an unfanned fire.

Hell is not a pleasant place where to dwell; some people scoff at it saying that those who go down to hell have a great time there! But I can assure you that it is a dreadful and horrible place. Some people have seen it, for God granted them to see it, and they have a clear and indelible memory of it. Yes, because even in this generation God has allowed some men and women to see hell. These people, after they came back to life, have tried to tell as clearly as possible the horrible things they saw in that place; they still recognize that the best words they can use to describe hell, which they saw by the grace of God, are those which are written in the Holy Scripture. Indeed there are no better words to describe hell than those written in the Word of God.

 

 

The testimony of a man who died in his sins and came back to life

 

The late Kenneth Hagin (1917-2003) saw Hell at the age of 16. Here is what he tells us in his book I believe in visions: “I gave my heart to the Lord and was born again the very first night I became bedfast. That was Saturday, April 22, 1933 at 7:40 p.m. in the south bedroom of 405 North College Street in McKinney, Texas. Earlier that evening, my heart had stopped beating and the spiritual man who lives in my body had departed. When death seized my body, my grandmother, my younger brother, and my mother were sitting in the room. I had time only to tell them "goodbye." Then the inner man rushed out of my body and left my body lying dead, with eyes set and flesh cold. I went down, down, down until the lights of the earth faded away. I don't mean I fainted - I don't mean I was unconscious - I have proof that I was actually dead. My eyes were set, my heart had stopped beating, and my pulse had ceased.

The Scriptures tell us about the lost being cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 25:30). The farther down I went, the blacker it became, until it was all blackness - I could not have seen my hand if it had been one inch in front of my eyes. And the farther down I went, the hotter and more stifling it became.

Finally, far below me, I could see lights flickering on the walls of the caverns of the damned. The lights were caused by the fires of Hell. The giant, white-crested orb of flame pulled me, drawing me as a magnet draws metal to itself. I did not want to go, but just as metal jumps to the magnet, my spirit was drawn to that place. I could not take my eyes off of it. The heat beat me in the face. Many years have gone by, yet I can see it just as clearly today as I saw it then. It is as fresh in my memory as if it just happened.

I came to the entrance of Hell. People ask, "What does the entrance of Hell look like?" I cannot describe it, because if I tried, I would have to have something with which to compare it. (Similarly, if a person had never seen a tree in his life, it would be impossible to tell him what a tree looks like.) Coming to the entrance, I paused momentarily, because I did not want to go in. I sensed that one more foot, one more step, one more yard, and I would be gone forever and would not come out of that horrible place! Upon reaching the bottom of the pit, I became conscious of some kind of spirit being by my side. I had not looked at him, because I could not take my gaze off of the fires of Hell. But when I paused, the creature laid his hand on my arm to escort me in.

At that same moment, a voice spoke from far above the blackness, above the earth, and above the heavens. I don't know if it was the voice of God, Jesus, an angel, or who. I did not see him, and I do not know what he said, because he did not speak in English; he spoke in some other tongue. When he spoke, his words reverberated throughout the region of the damned, shaking it like a leaf in the wind, and causing the creature to take his hand off my arm. I did not turn around, but an unseen power, like suction, pulled me up, away from the fire, away from the heat, and back into the shadows of the absorbing darkness.

I began to ascend until I came to the top of the pit and saw the lights of the earth. I saw my grandparents' home, went through the wall back into my bedroom, and it was just as real to me as it was any time I had entered through the door (my spirit needed no door). I slipped back into my body as easily as a man slips into his trousers in the morning. It was the same way in which I had gone out - through my mouth. I began to talk to my grandmother. She said, "Son, I thought you were dead."

My great-grandfather had been a medical doctor, and Granny had worked with him. She later told me, "I dressed many people for burial and laid them out in days gone by. I have had much experience with death, but I learned more about death in dealing with you and your experiences than I ever knew before. You were dead. You had no pulse or heartbeat, and your eyes were set."

"Granny," I said, "I am going again. I am dying. Where is Momma?" "Your mother is out on the porch," she replied. And about that time I heard my mother praying at the top of her voice as she walked up and down the porch. "Where is my brother?" I asked. "He ran next door to call the doctor," Granny answered. If you're not ready to go, you want somebody with you. You're afraid! I said, "Granny, don't leave me! Don't leave me! I'm afraid I'll go while you're gone! I want somebody with me! Don't leave me!" So she gathered me into her arms again. I said, "Tell Momma I said goodbye. Tell Momma I love her. Tell Momma I appreciate everything she has ever done for me and for all of us. And you tell Momma that I said if I've ever put a wrinkle in her face, or a grey hair in her head, I'm sorry, and I ask her to forgive me." I felt myself slipping. I said, "Granny, I'm going again. You were a second mother to me when Momma's health failed. I appreciate you. Now I'm going, and I won't be back this time. "I knew I was dying, unprepared to meet God. I kissed her on the cheek and said goodbye.

My heart stopped beating for the second time. It's almost as real to me today, nearly half a century later, as it was that day. I felt the blood cease to circulate. The tips of my toes went numb - then my feet, ankles, knees, hips, stomach, and heart. I leaped out of my body and began to descend: down, down, down. Oh, I know it was just a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. I began to descend again into the darkness until the lights of earth had faded. Down below, the same experience occurred. The voice spoke from Heaven and again my spirit came up out of that place - back into my room and back into my body. The only difference this time was that I came up at the foot of the bed. I began to talk to Granny again. I said, "I will not be back this time, Granny." I asked, "Where is Grandpa? I want to tell Grandpa goodbye." She said, "Son, you know your Granddad went down to the east part of town to collect rent off of some of his rent houses."

"Oh," I said, "I remember that now. I just forgot momentarily." I said, "Granny, tell Grandpa goodbye. I've never known what it means to have a daddy. He's been the nearest to a daddy I've known. He gave me a home when I had none. Tell him I appreciate him. Tell him I love him. Tell Grandpa that I said goodbye." Then I left a word for my sister and two brothers, and my heart stopped for the third time. I could feel the circulation as it cut off again - and I leaped out of my body and began to descend.

Until this time, I had thought, this is not happening to me. This is just a hallucination. It can't be real! But now I thought, this is the third time. I won't come back this time! Darkness encompassed me 'round about, darker than any night man has ever seen.

I wish I had adequate words to describe the horrors of Hell. People go through this life so complacently, so unconcerned, as if they will not have to face Hell. But God's Word and my own personal experience tell me differently. I know what it is to be unconscious - it is black when you are unconscious - but there is no blackness to compare with outer darkness.

As I began to descend in the darkness this third time, my spirit cried out, "God, I belong to the church! I've been baptized in water!" I waited for Him to answer, but no answer came - only the echo of my own voice as it came back to mock me. It will take more than church membership - it will take more than being baptized in water - to miss Hell and make Heaven. Jesus said, .... Ye must be born again" (John 3:7). Certainly I believe in being baptized in water - but only after a person is born again. Certainly I believe in joining the church - but only after a person is born again. If you merely join the church and are baptized in water without being born again, you will go to Hell! The second time I cried a little louder, "God! I belong to the church! I've been baptized in water!" Again I waited for an answer, but there was no answer, only the echo of my own voice through the darkness.

It would frighten a congregation out of their wits if I ever imitated the way I screamed the third time, although, if I could scare them out of Hell and into Heaven, I'd do it! I literally screamed, "GOD! GOD! I BELONG TO THE CHURCH! I'VE BEEN BAPTIZED IN WATER!" And all I heard was the echo of my own voice. I came again to the bottom of that pit. Again I could feel the heat as it beat me in the face. Again I approached the entrance, the gates into Hell itself. That creature took me by the arm. I intended to put up a fight if I could to keep from going in. I only managed to slow down my descent just a little, and he took me by the arm.

Thank God that voice spoke. I don't know who it was - I didn't see anybody - I just heard the voice. I don't know what he said, but whatever he said, that place shook; it just trembled. And that creature took his hand off my arm. It was just as if there was a suction to my back parts. It pulled me back, away from the entrance to Hell, until I stood in the shadows. Then it pulled me up headfirst. As I was going up through the darkness, I began to pray. My spirit, the man who lives inside this physical body, is an eternal being, a spirit man. I began to pray, "0 God! I come to You in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I ask You to forgive me of my sins and to cleanse me from all sin." I came up beside the bed.

The difference between the three experiences was that I came up on the porch the first time; I came up at the foot of the bed the second time; and I came up right beside the bed the third time. When I got inside my body, my physical voice picked up and continued my prayer right in the middle of the sentence. I was already praying out of my spirit. Now, we didn't have all the automobiles in 1933 that we have today - that was in the Depression. But they tell me that between me and Momma praying so loud, traffic was lined up for two blocks on either side of our house! They heard me praying from inside the house, and they heard my mother as she walked the porch praying at the top of her voice.

I looked at the clock and saw it was 20 minutes before 8 o'clock. That was the very hour I was born again due to the mercy of God through the prayers of my mother. I felt wonderful - it was just like a two-ton weight had rolled off of my chest. Although I was rejoicing and was happy in my spirit - although I felt wonderful spiritually - I felt no better physically. The doctors had been called, and they told my family that I was going to die. I thought I would die that night, but it no longer bothered me. I knew I was ready to go. My experience of being brought back from the dead is not new. Jesus raised three people from the dead: Lazarus, Jairus' daughter, and the widow's son. The Apostle Peter raised Dorcas from the dead; the Apostle Paul raised a young man from the dead; and others throughout Church history have had similar experiences.

Through my experience, God brought me to knowledge of salvation, which is the best thing in the world to know. I was so thankful to know that my heart was right with God, and to know that if I should die before morning I would go, to be with Him’ [6]

 

 

Conclusion

 

Brothers in the Lord, I conclude by saying to you: rejoice and be exceedingly glad for Christ Jesus in His mercy has saved you from the fire of hell, from the unspeakable torments of hell people suffer in this horrible place because of their iniquities; and warn sinners of this terrible place of torment, exhorting them to repent and to believe in Jesus Christ, because if they do not repent and believe in Jesus they will go to hell when they die.

 

 

Footnotes

 

1] Giovanni Diodati (1576-1649) was an Italian Bible Scholar, who translated the Bible into Italian. The Italian Bible Diodati is very similar to the King James Version for it is based on the Text Receptus. This Bible Version is still used by many believers.

 

2] In the King James Version as well as in the New International Version, the Hebrew word Sheol is translated ‘grave’ in 1 Kings 2:6, Job 7:9, and Isaiah 38:18. While in the New King James Version the word Sheol of Isaiah 38:18 was not translated, for we read: “For Sheol cannot thank You”.

 

3] In the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (New York 1995), the Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary defines Sheol in this way: ‘Hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranean retreat), includ. its accessories and inmates: - grave, hell, pit’ (page 135), while the Greek Dictionary of the New Testament defines hades in this way: ‘Hades’ or the place (state) of departed souls: - grave, hell’ (page 2).

 

4] In the Old Testament of the King James Version, too, the word Sheol is translated ‘hell’ many times (31). In Psalm 9:17, Job 26:6 and Proverbs 7:27 Sheol is translated ‘hell’. In the New Testament the equivalent Greek word Hades is translated ‘hell’ ten times (see Matthew 11:23; 16:18, Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27; 2:31, Revelation 1:18; 6:8; 20:13; 20:14), while once it is translated ‘grave’ (1 Corinthians 15:55).

In the Old Testament of the New King James Version the word Sheol is translated ‘hell’ 18 times. In Psalm 9:17 and in Proverbs 7:27 Sheol is translated ‘hell’ (while in Job 26:6 and in many other verses it is left in its untranslated Hebrew form). In the New Testament the equivalent Greek word Hades is left in its untranslated Greek form: see Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27,31; 1 Corinthians 15:55; Revelation 1:18; 6:8; 20:13,14.

As for the Old Testament of the New International Version, it must be said that unfortunately the word Sheol is never translated ‘hell’. Most of the times it is translated ‘grave’. And this is a bad thing which was done by the Bible translators of this Bible for there are various verses – for instance Psalm 9:17, Job 26:6, Isaiah 14:9 - in which the word sheol must be translated ‘hell’ or ‘abode of the dead’ and cannot be translated ‘grave’ or ‘death’. As for the New Testament of the NIV, the word Hades is translated ‘the depths’ in Matthew 11:23 and Luke 10:15; ‘grave’ in Acts 2:37 and 2:31; ‘hell’ in Luke 16:23; ‘death’ in 1 Corinthians 15:55; while it is left in its untranslated Greek form in the following verses: Matthew 16:18; Revelation 1:18; 6:8;20:13,14. The word Hades in Matthew 11:23 and Luke 10:15, and Acts 2:37 and 2:31 should not have been translated in that way.

 

5] Giovanni Luzzi (1856-1948) was a Bible Scholar. In 1906 the British Bible Society appointed him Chief Reviser of a Committee whose task was to revise the Italian Bible Diodati Version. The Luzzi Version therefore is a Revised version of the Bible translated by Giovanni Diodati. We call this Bible ‘La Versione Luzzi’ that is, ‘the Luzzi Version’ or simply ‘la Versione Riveduta’, that is, ‘the Revised Version’. It must be said, however, that many passages of the New Testament of the ‘Revised Version’ are very similar to the New Testament of the New International Version for the Committee based the revision also on the ‘Critical Text’.

 

6] I want you to know that I don’t accept every thing that Kenneth Hagin writes in his book I Believe in Visions (for example, I don’t accept the fact that he says that angels are waiting for our commands). Furthermore, I don’t accept several things he teaches on prosperity and health, for I reject the so called ‘prosperity message’, and I don’t accept his ‘holy laughter’ for I consider it a carnal and diabolic manifestation. There are other teachings taught by Hagin that I reject. Of course, the fact that at a certain point of his life Kenneth Hagin accepted strange and diabolical teachings did not bring him honor nor did it bring praise to God, for I firmly believe that his false teachings have discredited seriously his ministry. However, I firmly believe that what he says about his death-experience is true and cannot be refuted at all, because it is confirmed by the Scripture.

 

 

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