THE CURRENT TEACHING OF THE MORMON CHURCH:
Hell as an institution is eternal only for the "Sons of Predition," those who have left Mormonism. ("Sons of Predition," MORMAN DOCTRINE, p.746.) Inmates come and go as in jail. They do not spend eternity there. A person stays until his debt has been paid to God.
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT HELL AND RELATED TERMS:
At the present time, the Final Hell, the "Gehenna" or "Lake of Fire", is unoccupied.
| (1) | The very first ones who will be cast into it will be the "Beast" and the "False Prophet" Revelation 19:20. |
| (2) | Satan and his Angels will be cast into it a thousand years later. Revelation 20:10. |
| (3) | And then, all the wicked "those who will be delivered up from Hades, the present Hell, whose names were not written in the "Book of Life", after the "Great White Throne Judgment", will be cast in the "Lake of Fire" to spend eternity. Revelation 20:12-15. |
1. SHEOL:
| In the Old Testament it usually means the place of departed spirits. | Psa 16:10 |
2. HADES:
| Usually means place of the departed spirits in the New Testament. | Act 2:27 |
3. TARTARUS:
| The deepest abyss of Hades prepared for the Devil and his angels. | Mat 25:41-46 |
4. GRAVE (QUEBER IN HEBREW):
| "He was buried in the grave of his father." | 2Sa 17:23 |
5. TOPHET (OLD TESTAMENT)
GEHENNA (NEW TESTAMENT GREEK):
These words are used to describe the lake of fire.
NOTES: SHEOL AND HADES occasionally can be translated "grave" but not always. QUEBER always means "grave" where the body goes. Sheol, Hades, and Queber are not used interchangeably.
6. HELL AS DESCRIBED IN THE BIBLE:
| Everlasting fire | Mat 25:41 |
| Eternal punishment | Mat 25:46 |
| Outer darkness | Mat 8:12 |
| Everlasting destruction | 2Th 1:9 |
| Lake of fire | Rev 19:20 |
7. THE PURPOSE FOR HELL:
| For the Devil and his angels | Matthew 25:41 |
| For the wicked | Rev 21:8 |
| For the disobedient | Rev 2:8, 9 |
| For the fallen angels | 2Pe 2:4 |
| For the beast and the false prophets | Rev 19:20 |
| For the worshipers of the beast | Rev 14:9 |
| For the rejectors of the Gospel | Mat 13:41-42 |
8. THE NATURE OF THE PUNISHMENT EXPERIENCED BY THE RESIDENTS OF HELL:
| Bodily | Mat 5:29, 30 |
| In the soul | Mat 10:28 |
| With degrees | Mat 23:14 |
| Unchangeable | Luk 16:22-31 |
9. SURPRISES FOR THE INHABITANTS OF HELL:
| They possess memory | Luk 16:23, 26 |
| They cry for release | Luk 16:24 |
| They cannot escape from God. | Psa 139:8 |
10. THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED WILL BE ENDLESS — FOREVER AND EVER.
NOTE: Matthew 25:46 "And they shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal." In Jesus’s own words the punishment of the wicked is everlasting, and the life of the righteous is eternal. Everlasting and eternal are the same Greek word "aionios." Therefore, the punishment of the wicked will be just exactly as long as the life of the righteous.
The word is the very same word used in Romans 16:26 (..everlasting God..) If the word means endless duration when applied to existence of God, and if it means endless duration when applied to the existence of the righteous, then it also means endless duration when applied to the existence and punishment of the wicked.
Cite This Page:
Grieshaber, Erich, and Jean Grieshaber. "Hell," Redi-Answers on Mormon Doctrine. Blue Letter Bible. 1 Jul 2002. 21 Nov 2009.
<http://blueletterbible.org/study/cults/ramd/ramd15.cfm>.
