What Do You Mean By “Hell?”

The English term hell is not precise. Take, for instance, the Apostles Creed. In one portion of this ancient creed, the text reads, “Jesus Christ descended into hell.” Many Christians have rejected this statement, because they (rightly) disbelieve Christ went to the Lake of Fire after his death. The issue is that the Apostle’s Creed does not mean “Lake of Fire” with its use of the term “hell.” Based upon the Latin term, a less confusing way to render the statement “he descended into hell” is “he descended into the lower regions [of the dead].” The Latin term for hell means lower regions. The English term hell used to mean “lower regions of the dead,” but not anymore.

Another way that the term hell can be misunderstood is in relation to the intermediate state. When someone dies, their body goes in the ground, and their soul either enters into divine bliss or divine agony (Luke 16:19–31). The destination of the wicked man in this passage is “hades” (v. 23). Is hades hell? Maybe, but it’s important to remember that hades will not last forever. Hades is a temporary holding place for the souls of the wicked. The Apostle John states in Rev 20:14 that at the end of time “hades” will be thrown into “the Lake of fire.” 

The last way (and the best way) that the term hell can be understood is to refer to the ultimate destination of the wicked. At the end of time, God will raise all people from the dead—both the righteous and the unrighteous (Dan 12:2). Only after this future resurrection, the eternal God will cast the wicked into the Lake of Fire to suffer punishment for all of eternity (Rev 20:15).

This analysis leaves us with three different concepts of hell: the underworld, hades, and the Lake of Fire. This means that the term hell doesn’t have just one meaning. It has three different meanings. When I use the term hell, I tend to mean the Lake of Fire, not the underworld or hades. When you use the term, what do you mean by it? Keep thinking about the Word!

Pastor Chance Sumner