Life After Death Part Two


                                                                         


                                                                 I. Introduction: 


Where people will go when they die has been one of the great speculations in history across people of all religions. Much of the Biblical perspective on this issue was addressed in the last post, though I have a few more things to say. 

In the previous post, I detailed what happens to believers after they die, according to Scripture. Now, I wish to briefly demonstrate from the Bible what happens to believers when they perish.


                                                  II. Hell, Hades, and the Lake of Fire


One of the greatest misunderstandings in American Christianity is that there is only one hell.  

Revelation 20: 14 says that death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of Fire. It is clear that there are two places of destruction for the wicked. 

In Luke 16: 19-31, the rich man passes into Hades. However, in the context of Revelation 20: 14, since we have not yet experienced the final judgment (as explained in the previous post), unbelievers are now in Hades until their final judgment. After that, they will be cast into Hell. 

In this sense, deceased unbelievers are now in the intermediate hell, and alive believers are in the intermediate state. Neither has yet reached the final Heaven or Hell. 

Although we often use the word, ''Hell'' to describe judgment, Hades is the actual more accurate word when translated from the Greek word, Gehenna. 

Part of the misunderstanding about ''Hades'' is due to the popularity of the King James Bible. This English translation of Scripture uses, ''Hell'' rather than the literal translation of Gehenna into English, which would be Hades. 

There are many things to respect about the King James Bible. But it certainly is not perfect, nor the standard of Christians. Many faithful Anglicans and Puritans composed it and they made one of the most beautiful literary works in the history of English literature. Nevertheless, the Bible in its original languages is of more weight than any English translation. 


                                                             III. Conclusion


The fact that New Heavens is eternal, as is the Lake of fire, should inspire all of us to action. Are we evangelizing our neighbors? If we do, do we preach against all sin and call them to the repentance, or are we only preaching against sins that we believe will not offend them? If we are afraid of offending our neighbor, how much more we ought to be afraid of God's judgment of us for not preaching the truth. 

Matthew 7 is clear that most are headed the way to destruction. If we believe that the fires of Hades and the Lake of Fire are real, then we have every reason to not only fear God, but also, to strive in evangelizing everyone in our path to Christianity. 



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