Why Do People Believe in the Idea of Hell?
My Proposal: Humans believe in the idea of hell because they have to! Hell is the only way to hold on to two other cherished beliefs of humanity.
Traditional beliefs about “hell” are the logical outworking of a basic root error... assuming and believing the human soul is immortal and lives on after death. The error is at the core of most religious systems: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist etc.
Where Did Such an Idea Come From?
Genesis 3:1-3 the big lie of human immortality was introduced into human thinking by Satan… and it began very early in the human time line.
- Some part of every person lives on after they die (error)
On to this error that some part of every person lives on after the death of this body we’ll add a true observation obvious and apparent to all humanity: some people act in a good way and some people act in a bad way. Note: we might have differing opinions about what defines good versus bad… but we all see a world where some are good and some are bad.
- Some part of every person lives on after they die (error)
- Some act in a good way and some act in a bad way (observation/truth)
Next, we add something else that is true: justice is a force in the universe. This is a spiritual understanding that flows from the person of God the Creator of the universe. Humans have an innate desire for justice because they are created in God’s image.
For Christians, Muslims, Jews, this is judgment by a personal Creator God involving punishment or reward. For other religions this punishment vs. reward is an impersonal force called karma [how karma is enforced is very vague and confusing, involving the collective mind of the universe and stuff like that].
- Some part of every person lives on after they die (error)
- Some act in a good way and some act in a bad way (observation/truth)
- There is justice [punishment/reward] in the universe (spiritual truth)
If the human soul lives on, if some are good and some are bad, and if there is justice in the universe… you need an explanation for where all those bad people go after death that is in some way different from where all the good people go and provides payback for all their badness.
- Some part of every person lives on after they die (error)
- Some act in a good way and some act in a bad way (observation/truth)
- There is justice [punishment/reward] in the universe (spiritual truth)
- There must be a form of eternal punishment in a living and conscious state (error)
The idea of the immortality of the human soul does not flow naturally out from the reading of scripture. The idea that you do not really die is found on the lips of Satan, the father of lies. It’s an idea that humans want to be true… and then desperately try to insert back into the scriptures.
The immortality of the soul is the biggest lie ever told.
Why would humanity want to insert such an idea into scripture? To use the obvious authority of God’s word to some how validate this wishful thinking.
Opinion: it’s a lie that also serves Satan’s larger purpose by presenting the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as cruel & unfair.
How Did This Idea Find it Way Into Christian Teaching?
The immortal soul concept is as old as human history. But how did it creep into what we call Christianity? By that I mean Baptist, Catholic, Evangelical, or Protestant teaching.
- Human immortality is not part of the religion of Israel
- Human immortality is not part of the 1st century apostolic teaching
It crept into biblical teaching through theologians and learned men who love praise and pre-eminence. In their won culture Greek philosophy was highly regarded and offered the possibility of worldly acceptance. Leaders & thinkers who had gained control over the church wanted to make God’s word more “respectable” by synchronizing or reconciling the Greek system of thinking about life and death with what was presented in the scriptures.
Greek and other humanly devised ideas about the afterlife are worthless so I don’t want to spend time discussing their ins and outs… but here’s a basic concept found among the Greeks:
Greek philosophy teaches that a soul will be free from the restraints of the physical body after death. The body dies and goes to the grave while the soul floats away to live elsewhere. The body is seen as a sort of prison into which the soul is placed. Life’s suffering must be endured and escaped so the soul might take its proper place with some higher form of existence… “to take your place among the stars” for instance.
Question: do you want to build your belief and faith starting with the pure teachings that come from scripture and Jesus Christ… or do you want to build your belief and faith starting with speculative assumptions from philosophers and self proclaimed priests?
John 17:17
2 Peter 1:20-21 it is not for us to dream up our own ideas about life and death and then force them into the pure word God has given us.
Colossians 2:1-8 this stuff has always been around
The Soul in the Hebrew Scriptures
In the portion of scripture written in Hebrew “soul” is a translation of the word nephesh. The word nephesh does not mean a spirit entity within a human body… nephesh refers to the entire living being: the flesh, the spark of life, the spirit… everything all wrapped up together. In the Old Testament humans are referred to as nephesh over 130 times.
Genesis 2:7 a living soul
The word nephesh is also used to describe animal existence Genesis 1:21 [living thing/creature = nephesh]. It is used for birds verse 30, insects & reptiles verse 24-25. Nephesh is also used to describe dead bodies Leviticus 22:4, Numbers 5:2, 6:11, 9:6-10
The idea of a soul as something existing apart from the body is not derived from Old Testament scripture.
Genesis 2:17 two living souls named Adam & Eve are told they will die.
Question: does this mean Adam & Eve HAD immortality and LOST it because of disobedience? See Genesis 3:22-24 they would not have eternal life unless they ate of the tree of life.
Genesis 3:19 return to the dust Ezekiel 18: 4,20
A soul is identified as a living being with a body not as something with a separate existence that lives on after the body dies.
Ecclesiastes 12:9 The spirit is described as returning to God who gave it. However, it has no conscious awareness (or anything else we would call life) apart from a body.
Ecclesiastes 9:5 the dead have no conscious awareness.
Soul In The New Testament Scriptures… Greek
The new testament portion of the bible is written in Greek rather than Hebrew. Greek was the language of the masses, plus it was also more linguistically precise than Hebrew with a larger vocabulary.
The word translated soul in the NT is psyche, body is soma, spirit is pneuma, flesh or way of flesh is sarx.
The teaching of the New Testament is consistent with the Old and offers some clarification on the concepts of justice and immortality.
- The wicked who refuse to repent will die permanently
- Humans do not possess immortality
Truth #1 The New Testament contains multiple statements confirming that the wicked who refuse to repent will die permanently. This is the truth about God’s justice in the universe.
Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus does not merely say that the justice of the universe leads to punishment of wicked people… He says DESTRUCTION. Jesus says choose life, the alternative is destruction. The options are not a happy life after death in place A versus an agonizing life after death in place B.
Destruction is given 2 qualifiers: It is complete, and it is everlasting
Matthew 10:28 that destruction is complete, it encompasses both body [soma] and soul [psyche] in the fire of Gehenna.
2 Peter 3:7 complete destruction (the whole person not just part of you)… again referring to the fire of destruction.
2 Thessalonians 1:9 that destruction is everlasting, meaning permanent non-existence.
The time of that complete and permanent destruction is mentioned in Revelation 20 as coming 1,000 years after the return of Christ. There are several important other details of that time which we will go into in a future message.
Truth #2 The new testament teaches that we do not already possess everlasting life [ie. immortal soul]. This is the truth about the present status of your personal existence.
Romans 6:23 God has to GIVE us everlasting life, we don’t already have it
1 Timothy 6:16 God alone has immortality
Galatians 6:8 here are both ideas presented together in a single statement. Corruption is another way of saying destruction.
Reaping corruption/destruction is the logical opposite of reaping eternal life.
The scriptures do not present the alternatives as eternal life in a bad place versus eternal life in a good place. The alternatives are everlasting life or permanent destruction.
Conclusion
The bible clearly states that we do not possess immortality but must put on immortality. For the first fruits that putting on takes place at a distinct point in human history… the resurrection, when you are raised up with a new, different, and everlasting body. Until then you [your body, or your soul] have no more permanence than a blade of grass.
Through these same scriptures God presents you with a comprehensive program through which you can have everlasting life.
So, get with the program and don’t let yourself be confused by the biggest lie ever told.
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