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| Beyond Quantum Theology: HELL By Dr. Gary Hanson Ph.D. |
Hell is a subject that conjures up a lot of horrifying images in one’s mind. Down through the ages the
graphic images of people being burned in an ever burning hell fire have persisted. John Wesley insisted
that “the whole Christian religion depended entirely on the horrors of hell. If there were no unquenchable
fire, no everlasting burnings, then all New Testament teaching is a lie, and there is no reason to believe in
the revelation of heaven.”
In 1632, Johann Clopenburg responded with, “It is absurd that God should be angry forever, and punish
the finite sins of creatures with infinite punishments.”
So who is right? What does the Bible really, really say about Hell?
Yahshua spoke of Hell several times, and of all people on earth, he most surely should know the truth
about hell.
In Matthew 5:29-30, Yahshua said, “If your right eye offend you, pluck it out, and cast it from you, for it is
profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast
into hell.”
In the New Testament, translated from the Greek, there are three Greek words that are translated into the
English word Hell. They are Hades, Gehanna, and Tartaros. The word that Yahshua used in this verse is
Gehenna.
Gehenna was actually the Valley of Hinnom outside of Jerusalem, which was the site of a huge garbage
dump, where rubbish, including the corpses of criminals and other outcasts were burned. It had a horrible
smell, and the fires burned continuously. You can imagine the flies and maggots around that area. But
before it became a garbage dump it was the site of an altar where sacrifices were made to Molech.
In Leviticus 18:21 YAHWEH warned the people “You shall not let any of your seed pass through the fire to
Molech…” Do you think the children of Israel listened to YAHWEH? Read what king Solomon did!
I Kings 11:6-7 says, “Solomon did evil in the sight of YAHWEH and went not fully after the Eternal, as
David his father did. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, and for
Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise he did for all of his foreign wives which
burned incense and sacrificed unto their gods.”
The peculiar thing about the sacrifices made to Molech is that they also did a ceremony called passing
their children through the fire. The purpose of this ritual was to purify the child before their god. And
YAHWEH had warned the children of Israel not to do this with their children. But do you think they
listened?
Read for yourself in II Kings 16:2-3. “Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned
sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the Eternal YAHWEH, like David
his father. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yes, and made his son to pass through the fire,
according to the abominations of the heathen whom the Eternal had already cast out from before the
children of Israel.”
So the Valley of Hinnom, or Gehenna, was the site of the shrine to Molech where the firstborn sons of the
kings of Israel were passed through the fire of purification to Molech. It was two or three generations after
king Ahaz that these foreign altars and shrines were destroyed and the practice of purification by passing
children through the fire finally ceased.
After Gehenna was turned into a garbage dump, the purification idea took on the added meaning of
destroying that which is no longer needed. How do we know this was the common understanding of
Gehenna in Yahshua’s day? He tells us that in Mark 9:47-49. “If your eye offends you, pluck it out. It is
better for you to enter into the kingdom of Yahweh with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into
Gehenna fire, where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched. For everyone shall be salted with
fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.”
Yahshua always used metaphors and parables of physical things to illustrate spiritual ideas. It is like
saying, if you get gangrene in your leg, it is better to cut off the leg and go on with life than to keep the
leg and let it destroy you.
The phrase where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched is a simple reference to the Gehenna
garbage dump that is full of flies and maggots (worms) and has a perpetual fire burning. He says that if
you consciously begin to purify your body and mind now, you will not need to suffer the fires of purification
later. Notice that he said, everyone shall be salted with fire!
This is a spiritual concept that Yahshua is teaching, and he took it from Leviticus 2:13 which says, “And
every oblation (gift) of your meat (meal) offering you shall season with salt. Neither shall you suffer the
salt of the covenant of your Eternal to be lacking from your meal offering. With all your offerings you shall
offer salt.”
YAHWEH was teaching the children of Israel how to prepare an appetizing meal. This gift sacrifice would
be baked in a pan or skillet, over a fire at the altar, and some of it would be offered to the priesthood. Salt
would make it more delicious. When I eat grits or corn meal it always tastes much better with butter and
salt. The salt of the covenant, of course, is an admonition to be consciously aware of why you are making
the sacrifice and the gift in the first place. If you are keeping the spiritual intent of the covenant, then you
are using the salt of the covenant with your offering.
When Yahshua said that everyone shall be salted with fire, he was using fire as a metaphor for testing
and spiritual trials to create in you a better offering to YAHWEH and his purpose for your life. In other
words your life will be salted, or spiced up to be of better use for YAHWEH’s purpose. So whenever
Yahshua spoke of hell, or the fires of hell, that is what he usually meant.
Malachi 3:2-3 might clarify the Gehenna metaphor a little more. “Who may abide the day of his coming?
And who shall stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. And he shall sit
as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver,
that they might offer unto the Eternal an offering in righteousness.”
Malachi is speaking about the coming of the Messiah whose fire, or Holy Spirit would begin the refining
process or the purification of each individual’s soul. You can begin to experience the fiery purification
process in your life right here, right now. Or you can face it on an interim plane after you die. The choice
is totally yours.
Yahshua made another reference to hellfire in Matthew 5:21-22, when he said, “You have heard it said by
them of old time thou shalt not murder. Whosoever shall murder shall be in danger of the judgment. But I
say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment.
Whosoever shall say to his brother Raca, or you worthless s.o.b. shall be in danger of the council. But,
whosoever shall say you fool, or you dull, stupid, idiot, shall be in danger of hell fire.”
What is the spiritual lesson Yahshua has for us here? In olden times, or under the Old Covenant, if you
physically murdered someone, you would be brought before the ruling council for trial. If the judgment was
against you, you were immediately taken out and stoned to death by the people. That was the form of
judgment under the Old Covenant. But now Yahshua added a new twist.
Under the New Covenant your intent and your attitude would now come under scrutiny. He said that from
now on, if you get angry with some one without cause you would be in danger of judgment from the
tribunal or ruling council. Now, could you really accuse someone of getting angry with you without cause
and take them to court?
No! Yahshua was using this example as a spiritual metaphor.
Then he said, if you called someone a worthless s.o.b. you would be in danger of the council, or
Sanhedrin. Again, this is something you could not literally do. Yahshua was using this as a spiritual
metaphor to show that you are responsible for your own attitudes.
Then he capped it off by saying that if you called someone a fool, or a dull, stupid, idiot, you would be in
danger of hell fire. Now, is this a crime so much worse than the others that it warrants burning in the hot
fires of hell forever?
No, it is not!
But it does reflect an attitude that needs to be changed before the fires of purification overtake you. The
fires of purification will usually visit you as karma. Yahshua then continues by alluding to the salt of the
covenant idea.
Matthew 5:23-24 continues, “therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your
brother has something against you, leave your gift before the altar and go and be reconciled to your
brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
Using the salt of the Covenant with your offering means using the principles of the Covenant in your life.
By doing so, you will be reminded if you have a matter with someone that needs to be corrected. When
that happens, fix the problem immediately and you won’t have to face it after you die. Your attitude is a
very important part of your spiritual life. The best way to maintain a good and righteous attitude is through
gratitude.
Next month we will examine the Bible verse, “fear him who can destroy both the body and the soul in hell.”
graphic images of people being burned in an ever burning hell fire have persisted. John Wesley insisted
that “the whole Christian religion depended entirely on the horrors of hell. If there were no unquenchable
fire, no everlasting burnings, then all New Testament teaching is a lie, and there is no reason to believe in
the revelation of heaven.”
In 1632, Johann Clopenburg responded with, “It is absurd that God should be angry forever, and punish
the finite sins of creatures with infinite punishments.”
So who is right? What does the Bible really, really say about Hell?
Yahshua spoke of Hell several times, and of all people on earth, he most surely should know the truth
about hell.
In Matthew 5:29-30, Yahshua said, “If your right eye offend you, pluck it out, and cast it from you, for it is
profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast
into hell.”
In the New Testament, translated from the Greek, there are three Greek words that are translated into the
English word Hell. They are Hades, Gehanna, and Tartaros. The word that Yahshua used in this verse is
Gehenna.
Gehenna was actually the Valley of Hinnom outside of Jerusalem, which was the site of a huge garbage
dump, where rubbish, including the corpses of criminals and other outcasts were burned. It had a horrible
smell, and the fires burned continuously. You can imagine the flies and maggots around that area. But
before it became a garbage dump it was the site of an altar where sacrifices were made to Molech.
In Leviticus 18:21 YAHWEH warned the people “You shall not let any of your seed pass through the fire to
Molech…” Do you think the children of Israel listened to YAHWEH? Read what king Solomon did!
I Kings 11:6-7 says, “Solomon did evil in the sight of YAHWEH and went not fully after the Eternal, as
David his father did. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, and for
Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise he did for all of his foreign wives which
burned incense and sacrificed unto their gods.”
The peculiar thing about the sacrifices made to Molech is that they also did a ceremony called passing
their children through the fire. The purpose of this ritual was to purify the child before their god. And
YAHWEH had warned the children of Israel not to do this with their children. But do you think they
listened?
Read for yourself in II Kings 16:2-3. “Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned
sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the Eternal YAHWEH, like David
his father. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yes, and made his son to pass through the fire,
according to the abominations of the heathen whom the Eternal had already cast out from before the
children of Israel.”
So the Valley of Hinnom, or Gehenna, was the site of the shrine to Molech where the firstborn sons of the
kings of Israel were passed through the fire of purification to Molech. It was two or three generations after
king Ahaz that these foreign altars and shrines were destroyed and the practice of purification by passing
children through the fire finally ceased.
After Gehenna was turned into a garbage dump, the purification idea took on the added meaning of
destroying that which is no longer needed. How do we know this was the common understanding of
Gehenna in Yahshua’s day? He tells us that in Mark 9:47-49. “If your eye offends you, pluck it out. It is
better for you to enter into the kingdom of Yahweh with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into
Gehenna fire, where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched. For everyone shall be salted with
fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.”
Yahshua always used metaphors and parables of physical things to illustrate spiritual ideas. It is like
saying, if you get gangrene in your leg, it is better to cut off the leg and go on with life than to keep the
leg and let it destroy you.
The phrase where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched is a simple reference to the Gehenna
garbage dump that is full of flies and maggots (worms) and has a perpetual fire burning. He says that if
you consciously begin to purify your body and mind now, you will not need to suffer the fires of purification
later. Notice that he said, everyone shall be salted with fire!
This is a spiritual concept that Yahshua is teaching, and he took it from Leviticus 2:13 which says, “And
every oblation (gift) of your meat (meal) offering you shall season with salt. Neither shall you suffer the
salt of the covenant of your Eternal to be lacking from your meal offering. With all your offerings you shall
offer salt.”
YAHWEH was teaching the children of Israel how to prepare an appetizing meal. This gift sacrifice would
be baked in a pan or skillet, over a fire at the altar, and some of it would be offered to the priesthood. Salt
would make it more delicious. When I eat grits or corn meal it always tastes much better with butter and
salt. The salt of the covenant, of course, is an admonition to be consciously aware of why you are making
the sacrifice and the gift in the first place. If you are keeping the spiritual intent of the covenant, then you
are using the salt of the covenant with your offering.
When Yahshua said that everyone shall be salted with fire, he was using fire as a metaphor for testing
and spiritual trials to create in you a better offering to YAHWEH and his purpose for your life. In other
words your life will be salted, or spiced up to be of better use for YAHWEH’s purpose. So whenever
Yahshua spoke of hell, or the fires of hell, that is what he usually meant.
Malachi 3:2-3 might clarify the Gehenna metaphor a little more. “Who may abide the day of his coming?
And who shall stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. And he shall sit
as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver,
that they might offer unto the Eternal an offering in righteousness.”
Malachi is speaking about the coming of the Messiah whose fire, or Holy Spirit would begin the refining
process or the purification of each individual’s soul. You can begin to experience the fiery purification
process in your life right here, right now. Or you can face it on an interim plane after you die. The choice
is totally yours.
Yahshua made another reference to hellfire in Matthew 5:21-22, when he said, “You have heard it said by
them of old time thou shalt not murder. Whosoever shall murder shall be in danger of the judgment. But I
say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment.
Whosoever shall say to his brother Raca, or you worthless s.o.b. shall be in danger of the council. But,
whosoever shall say you fool, or you dull, stupid, idiot, shall be in danger of hell fire.”
What is the spiritual lesson Yahshua has for us here? In olden times, or under the Old Covenant, if you
physically murdered someone, you would be brought before the ruling council for trial. If the judgment was
against you, you were immediately taken out and stoned to death by the people. That was the form of
judgment under the Old Covenant. But now Yahshua added a new twist.
Under the New Covenant your intent and your attitude would now come under scrutiny. He said that from
now on, if you get angry with some one without cause you would be in danger of judgment from the
tribunal or ruling council. Now, could you really accuse someone of getting angry with you without cause
and take them to court?
No! Yahshua was using this example as a spiritual metaphor.
Then he said, if you called someone a worthless s.o.b. you would be in danger of the council, or
Sanhedrin. Again, this is something you could not literally do. Yahshua was using this as a spiritual
metaphor to show that you are responsible for your own attitudes.
Then he capped it off by saying that if you called someone a fool, or a dull, stupid, idiot, you would be in
danger of hell fire. Now, is this a crime so much worse than the others that it warrants burning in the hot
fires of hell forever?
No, it is not!
But it does reflect an attitude that needs to be changed before the fires of purification overtake you. The
fires of purification will usually visit you as karma. Yahshua then continues by alluding to the salt of the
covenant idea.
Matthew 5:23-24 continues, “therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your
brother has something against you, leave your gift before the altar and go and be reconciled to your
brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
Using the salt of the Covenant with your offering means using the principles of the Covenant in your life.
By doing so, you will be reminded if you have a matter with someone that needs to be corrected. When
that happens, fix the problem immediately and you won’t have to face it after you die. Your attitude is a
very important part of your spiritual life. The best way to maintain a good and righteous attitude is through
gratitude.
Next month we will examine the Bible verse, “fear him who can destroy both the body and the soul in hell.”
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