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Hell comes from an Anglo-Saxon word helan meaning a place
'covered over' or concealed. As such it is a good equivalent
for the Hebrew sheol or the Greek hades found in the Bible.
"He 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, KJV).
There is no indication of fire or burning in the word 'hell'.
Hades and sheol were thought of as very cold places. Sheol,
hades, gehenna and tartarus in the original, have all been
rendered as 'hell' in the KJV. The idea that hell is a place
of torment with eternal fire is foreign to the Bible, but
it is found some pagan religions, and it is from these sources
that it has been borrowed and added to the 'christian' religion.
The pagan ideas about fires of eternal torment have been merged
with Gehenna (q.v.), the burning rubbish dump outside the
walls of Jerusalem, to produce the popular but entirely false
idea of 'hell' as the place of everlasting punishment in fire.
Modern versions (such as the NIV) have generally continued
with this error. The Bible teaches total destruction for the
wicked: "When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven
in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those
who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord
Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction
and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty
of his power." (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).
(See also GEHENNA; GRAVE).
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Hades
Hallelujah
Heart
Heathen
Heaven
1. the Sky
2. God's Home
Heavens and Earth
The "third heaven"
Hebrews
1. The People
2. The Language
3. The Letter
Hell
Heresy, Heretic
Holy
Holy Land
Holy Spirit
1. Holy Spirit in creation
2. Holy Spirit inspires God's
word
3. Jesus was born by the power
of the Holy Spirit
4. Jesus was filled with the
Holy Spirit
5. The Holy Spirit given to
the apostles
6. The Holy Spirit with the
church
Hope
House
1. A building in which people
live
2. A 'household' or family
living together
3. The dwelling of the believer
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