What Did Jesus Say About ‘Hell’?

“Jehovah’s Witnesses” and other professed Christian groups teach that ‘Hell’ and ‘the grave’ are synonymous terms, that they mean the same thing, and are therefore interchangeable terms.

I know this to be true because I was taught this, believed it, and preach it to the public as one of “Jehovah’s Witness” the majority of my life.

I began preaching this from door to door at age eight in 1959. I taught this, parroting in ignorance of the real truth and because I was at that time putting trust in “earthling man” and another human being’s reasoning ability. Christ had to cleanse my mind.

Here are the standard remarks of a “Jehovah’s Witness” about ‘hell’:

Quote: ”Hell is the Grave ( the condition in which life ceases Eccl. 9:10 until such Time as The Resurrection of The Just and Unjust begins Acts 24:15. In KJV Old Testament the Hebrew word “ Sheol “ translated 31 Times Hell, 31 Times Grave, 3 Times Pit.”

“Jehovah’s Witnesses” have a habit of mix things that shouldn’t be because they are things that have nothing in common with one another. That is a key trait of false religion.

When Scripture speaks of “Gehenna”, “Lake of fire”, “Hell”, it is not referring to the common grave or state of the dead who have died the death due to original sin. ‘Hell’ is not the wages of sin as it is in the Adamic death we as humans suffer. ‘Hell’ is the wages for being wicked.

When most people use the term ‘hell’ they are not talking about the condition in common grave.

And the word ‘Hell’ as most people use it, is not referring to common grave nor the state of the human dead from inherited sin. It is not and we can know this for a certainty.

It is IMPOSSIBLE for that to be the case because Jesus himself stated ‘who’ hell was created for and it wasn’t for humans. He refers to this state of existence as “the eternal fire”:

Matthew 25:41

“Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!” HCSB

Jesus said that this state of existence was created for “the devil and his angels” and not a human being. So it is clear that ‘hell’ is not mankind’s resting place after death. The Bible states that the wicked will inherit the devil’s inheritance. Revelation 21:8:

But cowards, traitors, perverts, murderers, the immoral, those who practice magic, those who worship idols, and all liars—the place for them is the lake burning with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” GNT

Examine the Lord’s words recorded at Matthew 25:41 in context:

31 “When the Son of Man comes as King and all the angels with him, he will sit on his royal throne, 32 and the people of all the nations will be gathered before him. Then he will divide them into two groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

33 He will put the righteous people at his right and the others at his left. 34 Then the King will say to the people on his right, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. 35 I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, 36 naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 The righteous will then answer him, ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38 When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Away from me, you that are under God’s curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels!

Why do I know and have confidence that Hell actually exist? Because Jesus said it does and I have complete belief in him.

Do you believe what Jesus says or do you find it necessary to modify his words to fit what you prefer to believe?

A true disciple of Jesus believes Hell exist because Christ our Lord said it exist.

One problem is that “Jehovah’s Witnesses” do not believe that we are ‘spirit creatures’ poured into fleshly bodies.

They believe and teach that God’s “spirit” that is in us is basically some ‘atmosphere of energy’ or ‘air’ breathed into us by God at the time of birth and at that then we become a “living soul”.

They believe and teach that God’s spirit in us is like start up power and not something living …’alive’.

They refer to it as “God’s active force”.

Their other teachings certainly infer that ‘something’ survives death that can be asleep and awaken. But they still deny man is a ‘spirit’ in a body of flesh. If we are nothing but flesh with an ‘air’ of energy blown into us, then what is it that is sleeping then in death?

How do they make sense then of these words also uttered by Jesus?

“Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28

If nothing of us survives death of the body, how could his words above have any real meaning?

What could possibly be a fate worse than death to an already unconscious spirit?

Is the resurrection’s purpose to wake the dead simple to inform them they won’t be being resurrected to life and to say to them “Now go back to sleep”? What purpose would that serve?

The Second Death is not Adamic death repeated.

That Adamic death all the human dead have experienced is not the ceasing of our existence entirely is clear in Jesus’ words that state that upon his arrival he summon all the dead from the tomb.

John 5:28-29:

“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” New King James Version

Ask yourself: What “hears” his voice if nothing exist after we die?

What “Jehovah’s Witness” believe and teach about the ‘spirit’ in a human, cuts off any further consideration that eternal torment in Hell is even possible.

“Jehovah’s Witnesses’ and others who claim to be Christians, have no rational explanation of Jesus’ parable of Lazarus and the wicked rich man. What Jesus said is impossible within their belief. They either claim he didn’t mean what he said or they avoid discussion of this passage of Scripture all together. It just doesn’t fit in to what they want to believe.

They prove themselves disciples of other human beings and not disciples of Christ. “You cannot serve two masters”.

Matthew 6:24

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other;” King James Version

Remember the situation between the devil and the woman Eve in the Garden of Eden and the scene of original sin?

There the devil posed a question to Eve that opened the door to Eve’s thinking independent from the express words of God.

After God had unambiguously stated the penalty for disobedience to His command, the devil questioned whether it was so. It was a question that should have never been asked or considered. The devil was successfully in making her doubt the word of God given to her by her husband.

Why, Eve was even able to recite the commandment back to Satan.

But still, he was able to sow doubt in her mind as to whether God would really carry out what He said He would or, that God even meant what He said. He asked Eve, ”Is it really so…?”

Even though Christ said Hell is real and exist, even though he states that it was created for Satan and his demons, even though he said those there will be tormented forever (Revelation 14:11), even though he offers a parable of a man in Heaven and a man in Hell having a meeting after they both have died, those that deny the existence of Hell (the second death) do so just as satan did to Eve by casting doubt and confusion on something clearly stated by Christ Jesus.