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NASB | Ephesians 4:9 (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 4:9 (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had previously descended [from the heights of heaven] into the lower parts of the earth? |
Subject: Jesus decended into hell? |
Bible Note: Apologies for the late reply - I had not seen your note! You said that, "Sheol is the only word translated as hell in the Old Testament. I realize it is also translated grave in other verses but if you change it to grave at every instance then the word hell is never used in the Old Testament." This statement actually hits the nail on the head. If you replace the word "hell" with the correct translation "grave", then you suddenly have an Old Testament with no "Hell". And that's the way it was written! Hell as a fiery place full of demons simply does not exist in the Old Testament, only Sheol - The Grave. I appreciate that it is a big step to realise that each and every time the word "hell" appears in the Old Testament it actually means "grave", and that "Hell" as such does not exist. The New Testament is slightly different in its use of the word hell, but basically the same. In the New Testament the word "Hades" is the equivalent of the Hebrew Sheol. In the Septuagint - a translation of the Old Testament into Greek, compiled approximately two hundred and fifty years before the birth of Jesus - this word is used almost without exception to represent Sheol. Hades equals Sheol equals The Grave. Another word used in the New Testament is "Gehenna", which is a place-name - The Valley of Gehenna, and should never have been translated into the word hell at all - it should have been left as the place-name Gehenna. Gehenna was a valley on the edge of the city of Jerusalem. It was primarily a place for Jews to burn the refuse of the city but in the time of Christ they also used it to dispose of the carcases of animals and unburied criminals after execution. For this purpose and to avoid the stench of putrefaction, fires were kept burning there continually and it became synonymous with death and condemnation. So Gehenna is simply another type of grave. So again, every time the word "Hell" is read in the New Testament, you need to understand that the writer is talking about the grave. The idea of Hell as a fiery underground place full of demons and tortured souls arrived after the Bible was written and on examination is simply not supported by The Bible. Yrs, Dr. B. |