Will You Go to HELL?
Plain Truth Magazine
June 1955
Volume: Vol XX, No.5
Issue:
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Will You Go to HELL?

   Hundreds enthusiastically responded to Mr. Armstrong's last article on "Hell!" Here is another article on this vital subject.
   Does the BIBLE reveal that God is an "angry Judge"? — that God tortures helpless sinners ages without end?

   SHOCKING as it may seem, you may go to "hell"! Many of your loved ones are right now in "hell"!
   But don't be alarmed!
   You have probably never heard the TRUTH about what "hell" really is — and where all of your ideas on the subject came from in the first place. So open your mind to some truth you may not have understood before. Don't blindly accept anyone's ideas, but, "prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (I Thess. 5:21).
   You may have been taught about the idea of a horrifying, nightmarish place of never-ending torture for lost sinners. Many self-styled "evangelists" use this conception of "hell" as a means of playing upon the emotions of people who are sincerely trying to find God's will.
   But where did they — and where did you — learn these ideas?
   Bear in mind that anything relating to the future of man or anything supernatural cannot possibly be known by mortal man unless God himself REVEALS these things. Man's theories and man's ideas just can't be relied upon.
   A standing witness that the people of this world are in utmost confusion about spiritual matters is the fact that there are hundreds of different sects and denominations in this world — each claiming to represent Christ — but each one having its own different ideas. Who has the truth?
   Jesus said, "Thy word is TRUTH."
   It is time we quit "swallowing" the ideas and theories of confused humanity, and begin to study these things for ourselves in God's Word!

Man's Idea of Hell

   As in nearly everything else of a spiritual nature, mankind is confused and divided as to the type of future punishment the wicked will receive. Even most churches have changed or modified their beliefs on this subject over the years.
   However, the most common present-day belief on "hell" is given in the Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. 14, page 81. Here are some excerpts from its article on "Hell": "Hell as generally understood is the abode of evil spirits; the infernal regions, where the devil rules supreme, and where lost or condemned souls go after death to suffer indescribable torments and eternal punishment either for wickedness inherited from the sin of Adam or for more or less serious infractions of the divine law."
   Notice that the devil is supposed to rule supreme in "hell." He is often pictured with a tail, a pitchfork, and a fiendish smile — delighting himself in inflicting these "indescribable torments" on lost sinners.
   Continuing the article: "Hell, in the theological sense, has no place in most primitive religions, nor has heaven... There was no thought of dividing the future state into separate and distinct conditions of existence. Even so late a writer as the author of Ecclesiastes declares that 'all (men and beasts) go unto one place' (Eccl. 3:20) and 'there is one event to the righteous and wicked' (Eccl. 9:2)."
   Yes, the men who compiled this encyclopedia found that the early religions — which they term the "primitive" religions — had no idea of "heaven" or "hell" as we know them.
   It is interesting to note their comment that even so recent a writer as the author of Ecclesiastes believed that all living things went to one place — the grave! It might interest these learned gentlemen to know that GOD ALMIGHTY inspired the author of Ecclesiastes! But perhaps, they reason, God didn't know what He was talking about. He wasn't "educated" yet. Is that the way YOU reason?
   But let's continue with another excerpt from this encyclopedia article on "Hell:" "The popular idea of hell as a place of punishment — either redemptive or rigidly retributive in character — did not come suddenly and full — formed into existence. It is the product of centuries of thinking on the great problem of reward and punishment which, instinctively almost, man associates with human deeds."
   So our concept of "hell" is admittedly a product of man's instinctive thinking. It did not come fully revealed from God, but rather "is the product of centuries of thinking" — using human reason to decide what only GOD can reveal!

God's Purpose

   The primary reason so many men and organizations of men have a false conception of "hell" is that they view it just as an isolated doctrine. They fail to look at the overall purpose of God in putting man on this earth, of offering him the gift of eternal life for obedience, or of everlasting punishMENT (not punishing) for disobedience.
   God created man in His own image and likeness (Gen. 1:26). In the garden of Eden, He told man the way that would lead to eternal life. Then He told man that doing the wrong thing — eating the fruit of the tree which God had forbidden — would lead to DEATH (Gen. 2:17). But Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44), told the woman, "Ye shall not surely die" (Gen. 3:4).
   Man has been believing that LIE ever since!
   God's purpose is to develop holy, righteous character in man which would make him fit for eternal life. God gave ancient Israel His commandments, "that it might be well with them and with their children for ever" (Deut. 5:29). God's decrees are always for man's good. They are not designed as arbitrary decrees which God has set in order to have some excuse for plunging men into flames of fire! Where do men get such ideas of God? Certainly not in the Bible!
   Before going any further, let us be reminded again of the fact that God created man in His own image in order that man might be brought to the place where God could entrust him with the precious gift of eternal life. Notice that God offered Adam and Eve LIFE on the one hand, and DEATH on the other. If man would rebel against God and make it impossible for God to entrust him with eternal life — knowing he would abuse that life — then the kindest thing that God could do would be to let man die. Then, stubborn, sinning man would be unable to bring any further misery on himself or others by his wrong ways. He would just cease to exist, and would thus not interfere with the happiness of others who were found worthy of eternal life.
   That is exactly what God said would happen to Adam and Eve if they disobeyed! And the reward of eternal life for obedience — and of DEATH for disobedience — are continually stressed all through your Bible.
   This only is consistent with the scriptures, and with God's plan and purpose — and His character of supreme LOVE. But we shall see that men have disagreed with God and His Word, and have come to believe in an entirely different reward for the wicked. Beside their own human reason which is contrary to God, where do men get their ideas of "hell?" Do any of the scriptures lend weight to their theories?

What Is "Hell"?

   You will be surprised to learn that Jesus Christ himself went to "hell" when He died! In Peter's inspired sermon on the day of Pentecost, he said, "He (David) seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in HELL, neither his flesh did see corruption" (Acts 2:31).
   So — according to your Bible — Jesus went to "hell"!
   Any real Bible student should know that the New Testament was written in the Greek language and that the King James translation into English is sometimes a little misleading. Actually, there are three different Greek words, each with a different meaning, which have all been translated "hell" in our King James Version of the Bible.
   The "hell" where Jesus was for three days and three nights (Mat. 12:40) after his crucifixion is translated from the Greek word hades. Hades simply means "pit" or "grave."
   When the King James translation of the Bible was made, Englishmen commonly understood that "hell" could mean a grave, pit, or hole in the ground. They often spoke of burying their potatoes in "hell" for the winter.
   So the "hell" where Jesus went was simply the grave — the rock hewn sepulchre where He was buried. Unless you live until Christ comes and are changed from mortal to immortal (I Cor. 15:53) — you will go to this same "hell."
   The second Greek word translated "hell" is tartaroo. It is used only once in The Bible (II Peter 2:4) and refers to the condition of restraint of the fallen angels. It never refers to men.
   The Greek word denoting a place of punishment is gehenna. Gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnom, was located outside of Jerusalem. It was a place where trash, filth, and the dead bodies of animals and despised criminals were thrown. It was like some of our city dumps today, only on a larger scale. Ordinarily, everything thrown in this valley was destroyed by fire — completely burned up.
   In Jewish thought, this burning, smoking Valley of Hinnom was associated with the future punishment of the wicked. So it was natural for Jesus and the apostles to use the word gehenna — derived from the Valley of Hinnom — when referring to the lake of fire which will be the fate of the wicked. This lake of fire is described in Rev. 20:14-15.
   These, then, are the three Greek words which are translated into the word "hell" in our Bibles. In the Old Testament, which was written in Hebrew, there is only one word which is translated "hell." That word is sheol. It corresponds to the Greek word hades — meaning the grave, or pit.
   Before we consider the scriptures where these words are used and find the astonishing, God-given TRUTH about what "hell" really is, let's briefly inspect some of the theories of men on this subject.

Example of "Hell-Fire" Scriptures

   A familiar passage to most "hell-fire" preachers is found in Mark 9:43-48. Jesus was showing that it was better to rid ourselves of anything — even a job, an association or a habit which we loved as much as our right arm — than to let it cause us to disobey God and thus be cast into hell (gehenna), "into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
   The "hell" to which Jesus referred was Gehenna — deriving its name from the Valley of Hinnom which was located outside of Jerusalem. As was explained before, it was a place where trash, filth, and the dead bodies of animals and despised criminals were thrown. There were ledges along the edge of this valley on which these dead might land instead of falling down into the fires below where everything was burned up. Smith's Bible Dictionary gives a description of this valley — which was something like one of our city dumps today where trash and rubbish is burned up.
   If anything, especially a dead body, landed on a ledge above the fires, it would be devoured by many worms or maggots which were kept alive by the animal and vegetable substances deposited there.
   It was to these worms that Christ was referring when He said, "their worm dieth not." But Christ didn't mean that each individual worm continued to live forever! He wasn't teaching the immortality of worms!
   Actually, these worms, or maggots, are the larvae which develop from eggs deposited by flies. They continue for only a few days in this larvae form, then pupate and finally emerge as flies, later dying.
   These are scientific facts, known by any real student of science. And yet some people think that Jesus ignorantly stated that these larvae continued to Jive forever in that stage of development.
   The Greek word which was inspired and translated into the English word "worm" in this passage simply means a grub or maggot. It is a collective expression for all the worms that devour dead matter. These worms do not die, but pupate and become flies. Later, these flies like all other animals will return to the dust from which they come. "All are of the dust, and all turn to dust again" (Ecc. 3:19-20).
   The "fire that never shall be quenched" is a description showing that God will permit nothing to put out or quench this fire. It will simply burn up the bodies of the wicked.
   Naturally, the "hell-fire" preachers use this passage to frighten unthinking people into believing that sinners will suffer eternal torment in hell fire — evidently with worms chewing on them at the same time!

Human Reason

   But many will argue that the Bible does tell us about an eternal, burning "hell." As I write, I have before me a book explaining the principal doctrines of one of the large denominations. The chapter on "hell" is entitled, "Hell, Not A Pleasant Prospect, But Most Reasonable." As is so with most of today's churches, the main appeal on this subject is to human reason — to what seems "most reasonable" to the carnal mind of man. In this chapter on "hell," they also follow the prevailing custom of quoting PART of a Bible text to prove their point — and leaving off the very part which would indicate the TRUTH of the subject!
   You have got to watch for this sort of thing. STUDY your Bible to find all that it says on a given subject if you want to find the truth.
   Here is the part of the text they quote: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire" (Mat. 25:41). They do not quote the end of the verse which shows the real purpose of the everlasting fire. It says, "prepared for the devil and his angels." Yes, as we shall see, God has not purposed to torture any human being forever and ever. The lake of fire is prepared for rebellious spirit beings — not to torture humans forever. But this article on "Hell" does not mention the many verses in the Bible which prove that. They just quote part of one verse which seems to indicate their preconceived idea of "hell" when taken by itself and interpreted by human reason instead of other scriptures in God's Word.
   It is man's idea that lost sinners will suffer indescribable agonies in the bloodcurdling "hell" they picture. They seem to forget that God is LOVE (I John 4:8). They neglect to realize that God could have no purpose — based on love — to torment sinners ages without end.
   Let us put the ideas of men on the shelf, and turn to God's Word to see what the Creator reveals about the fate of the wicked.
   It will be impossible in the present article to explain every text that "hellfire" preachers use, but this should be an example to inspire you to STUDY these things in your Bible, to be sure of the originally inspired words in each passage, and to study all of the scriptures on a subject — bearing in mind that God does not contradict himself in His Word, the Bible. Jesus said, "The scriptures cannot be broken" (John 10:35).

What to Fear

   Instead of fearing what some misguided preacher may tell us about hell, let us see what Jesus said to fear. "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him (God) which is able to DESTROY both soul and body in hell (Gehenna)" (Mat. 10:28). Here we find the clear statement that God can destroy both our body and soul in Gehenna, or the lake of fire. There is no mention made of burning forever and ever, and yet never quite burning up. But it does speak of destruction.
   Recall that God told Adam and Eve that if they disobeyed him, they would surely DIE. Their lives would be cut off — destroyed. Jesus told his disciples: "Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction (not eternal life in "hell-fire"), and many there be which go in there at" (Mat. 7:13). Then He said, "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire" (verse 19). What happens to a tree when it is cast into the fire? Why, it is burned up — destroyed.
   Speaking of the harvest of the righteous and wicked, Jesus said he would tell the reapers, "Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn" (Mat. 13:30). The tares, of course, refer to the wicked, and the wheat to the righteous. When literal tares are burned, they are BURNED UP. What about these types of sinners which are burned up? Was Jesus using wrong examples, or did he mean what he said?
   The obvious answer which any honest person can find is that Jesus meant exactly what He said. The fate of the wicked will be Gehenna, or the Lake of Fire which the Bible mentions. But this fire is a lot hotter than most people think!
   The wicked are human, mortal beings. Flesh and blood is subject to burning up. When the wicked are cast into the Lake of Fire, they will be burned up — destroyed!
   From Genesis to Revelation, life and death are set as the two opposites — the fate of the righteous and the wicked respectively. God told Adam, "dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen. 3:19). No mention here of being plunged immediately into "hellfire." The reward for disobedience was death.
   Later, David wrote of the wicked, "Into smoke shall they consume away" (Psalm 37:20).
   Still later, Malachi speaks of the fire that will burn the wicked: "For behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble: and the day that cometh shall BURN THEM UP, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this" (Malachi 4:1-3).
   Can anything be plainer than that the wicked are to be burned up — completely destroyed? That is why Jesus said, "Fear him which is able to DESTROY both soul and body in hell" (Mat. 10:28).

Wages of Sin

   The apostle Paul summed up the whole matter of man's reward for sin when he wrote: For the wages of sin is DEATH; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). If you believe this scripture means what it says, then you know the truth. But, unfortunately, most theologians and their blind followers try to twist and distort what Paul said into something else.
   Could anything be more clear than this scripture? The wages, or reward, of sin is shown to be death, and eternal life is stated to be a gift from God — not something we already have.
   Death means just that — the cessation of life and consciousness — total oblivion! In spite of the vain attempt of many preachers to make death mean separation from God, you cannot reconcile this with scripture. Neither does death mean eternal life in the horrifying, nightmarish torments of an imaginative "hell."
   This "hell-fire" doctrine which is used to frighten so many ignorant human beings is a damnable LIE. Its author is the father of lies — Satan the Devil! If you are one who has gullibly swallowed that doctrine and suffered mental agonies from the fear of a man-made "hell-fire," God help you to study all the scriptures on this subject and find his truth.
   But remember that the penalty of death will be caused by fire. Paul warns in Hebrews 10:26-27, "For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall DEVOUR the adversaries." Here we find that those who, knowing the truth, sin willfully or deliberately will be devoured by fire — they will be totally burned up and consumed.
   This is a FEARFUL WARNING to those who know God's truth and still refuse to obey it! This is not an unreasoned fear of a harsh, stern God who delights in punishing sinners. Rather, it is the sober realization that unless we surrender to God's will and His way of love, and refuse to let anything turn us aside, God will take away the life He has given us.
   Yet this same passage shows God's infinite LOVE. He will not take away anyone's life because of ignorance or weakness, but because they willfully and knowingly refuse to obey their Creator. This rebellious attitude in itself would bring them, and those about them, nothing but eternal trouble and misery if they were allowed to live forever. So God in His mercy and supreme wisdom has decreed the penalty of DEATH for such people.

The Lake of Fire

   When the Bible says, "The wages of sin is death," it is not referring, of course, to the death we see around us every day. These are the ones referred to in I Cor. 15:22 which says, "for in Adam all die," and in Hebrews 9:27 which says, "and it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." These passages describe the first death — a death caused by a person wearing out physically and from which he can be resurrected.
   Revelation 20 shows the time of the resurrections, and when the wicked are cast into the lake of fire. Study it carefully. The first three verses describe Satan being bound for a thousand years, and the resurrected saints ruling the world under Christ.
   The first part of verse 5 is an inserted thought which tells us, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." So the heathen and the confirmed sinners are not resurrected until after the thousand year reign of Christ.
   At that time, the devil will go forth to deceive the nations once more. He will be overcome and, "cast into the lake of fire where the beast and false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever" (verse 10). Notice that the word are is in italics in your King James Bible. It is an inserted word to complete the meaning, and should be rendered "were cast" — because the beast and false prophet are human beings who will be burned up when they are put in the lake of fire.
   At this point, some of you may be thinking about the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man — and wondering if the Rich Man wasn't pictured as being in eternal torment. He definitely was not! But for the full and interesting proof of this, write immediately for Mr. Armstrong's free booklet on Lazarus and the Rich M an.
   Now continuing in Revelation 20, notice in verses 11 to 13 that the dead are raised and are judged "according to their works." Verse 14 continues, "And death and hell (hades, the grave) were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Here is a plain statement revealing that Gehenna, or the lake of fire, IS the SECOND DEATH.

Truth Makes Free

   "The wages of sin is DEATH" — not eternal life in hell-fire. When will the deceiving "hell-fire" preachers repent of preaching this LIE in order to frighten people into a false, temporary repentance based on an unreasoned, superstitious fear of eternal torment.
   Liars will not have their names written in the Lamb's book of life (Rev. 21:27), "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:15).
   Thus, the Bible reveals a very different God from the one so often preached today.
   It seems that men either try to do away with God's power altogether by preaching as though God had gone "way off" and left man to work things out according to human reason, or they go to the opposite extreme and look upon God as an "angry Judge" who is just waiting for an opportunity to punish helpless sinners throughout all eternity.
   The Creator of heaven and earth is now permitting man to sin and suffer in order to learn certain lessons. If man will accept God's truth as it is revealed, and learn these lessons God intended, He will be given eternal life in God's kingdom. But if he stubbornly persists in going the way that leads to wretchedness and misery for himself and others, God in His mercy will cut off his life by casting him into the lake of fire — which is the second death.
   Untold suffering and mental anguish has been caused by the false doctrine of an angry God plunging everyone who did not follow certain denomination! teachings into a terrifying "hell-fire.
   Most people have been bound by denominational teachings, and too few have been willing to study all the scriptures on a subject to see what the Bible really said. But Jesus said of those who were willing to continue in His word, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).

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Plain Truth MagazineJune 1955Vol XX, No.5