IV. “Hades”—True Understanding Based on NT Usage, Not Pagan-Romanist

1. PAGAN ORIGIN AND INFLUENCE OF “HADES.”

While the Hebrew word she’ol ^{5She’ol occurs 65 times—rendered as “grave” (35), as “hell” (27), and as “pit” (3) See Part I, pp. 160-165. Therein lies the key.} (gravedom) comes to us largely from Old Testament Scripture, the Greek equivalent, hades, is of pagan origin, and came down to New Testament times tinctured with centuries of pagan tradition. It is essential that this fact be borne in mind.CFF1 297.1

More than that, the term hades reached the modern Christian church tinctured with the ideas of a divergent Judaism and Romanism. That is the second significant fact. The New Testament meaning of hades must be drawn neither from the human imaginations of the heathen nor from the later traditions of the Jews and Romanists. Instead, the true meaning must be derived from the actual usage of hades, as it appears in the New Testament, compared and checked with the Old Testament usage of she’ol.CFF1 297.2

2. ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS MOLDED BY ROMANIST BACKGROUNDS

In the original pagan sense, hades was used by Homer to designate the god of the unseen, in the nether world. Later it came to mean the abode of departed spirits. The Vulgate renders hades by infernum (the lower regions).CFF1 297.3

Ever since the rise of Romanism Hell has been popularly considered as the place for punishing departed spirits. But according to Scripture, hades and gehenna are not identical. There is no confusion in the original tongue. The confusion came through the English rendering of both words as “hell.” Here again traditional backgrounds have exerted their molding influence upon translation.CFF1 297.4

As noted elsewhere, gehenna occurs twelve times in the New Testament, ^{66) Matthew 5:22, 29, 30; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 18:9; Matthew 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5, 6.} and is uniformly rendered “hell” in the A.V., R.V., and A.R.V. In the Vulgate it is transliterated Gehenna. And Gehenna exactly fits the modern concept of Hell—a place of burning, especially for the punishment of the wicked—except that Gehenna is not presently active, but is simply the coming lake of fire.CFF1 298.1

3. HADES CONNECTED WITH DEATH, NEVER WITH LIFE

Hades occurs 11 times in the New Testament, ^{77) The eleven occurrences of hades in the New Testament are: Matthew 11:23; Matthew 16:18; Luke 10:15; Luke 16:23; Acts 2:27, 31; 1 Corinthians 15:55; Revelation 1:18; Revelation 6:8; Revelation 20:13, 14. The R.V. always transliterates it “hades,” except in 1 Corinthians 15:15, where it is rendered “death.”} and is rendered “hell” in every case save one (1 Corinthians 15:55, where margin is “hell.” The Koine and the Syriac give hades here.). Hades is invariably connected with death, never with life; always with dead persons, never with the living. Hades is also the place of “corruption” (Acts 2:31; cf. Acts 13:34-37), from which resurrection is the only exit.CFF1 298.2

4. HADES CLEARLY THE GRAVE, OR GRAVEDOM

The Hebrew she’ol of the Old Testament is the equivalent of the Greek hades of the New Testament and both are identical or synonymous with the grave, or gravedom, the state of death. That is the inescapable witness of Scripture. And only with such an understanding can we deal safely with any particular single passage of Scripture, for the meaning of death does not vary in the two great divisions of the Word. And, equally important, the general sense must govern the interpretation of any individual disputed passage.CFF1 298.3

The New Testament expressly states that in death the individual, the person, rests in the grave. Thus “devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him” (Acts 8:2). Stephen was in the grave, not in Heaven. Peter, likewise speaking under inspiration, said of the eminent Old Testament believer David, “David is not ascended into the heavens” (Acts 2:34). But the supreme example is Christ. Be it remembered that the death of Christ was identical with the death of His people, whether before His resurrection or since.CFF1 298.4

Christ tasted death for us all (Hebrews 2:9). And Scripture speaks of His death and that of His people as one and the same in kind. Apart from the atoning aspect, only in one respect did they differ—and that does not concern the nature of the state in death. That difference was the duration of the death state. Christ’s death was for so short a time that His “flesh” did not “see corruption” (Acts 2:27, 31). And even this distinction was noted in prophecy (Psalm 16:10; cf. Acts 2). But Christ’s death was itself the same as that of all of His followers. And in that death Christ went into hades (the grave, gravedom, or realm of death), and remained there until His resurrection.CFF1 299.1

And, we repeat, as with Him so with us.CFF1 299.2

5. ALL SOULS REMAIN IN GRAVEDOM UNTIL RESURRECTION

The very nature of the resurrection attests, beyond doubt, that each one of Christ’s people is in hades (gravedom, realm of death) until the resurrection. That was affirmed by Peter at Pentecost. And the apostle Paul succinctly declares that the resurrection of Christ was like that of His believing people (Romans 6:5; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23). It therefore follows that upon resurrection, Christ’s people come out of hades, or gravedom, just as Christ came out of hades (gravedom) upon His resurrection.CFF1 299.3

It is explicitly affirmed by Paul, in his description of the resurrection of believers (in 1 Corinthians 15), that hades continues to retain its power over those entering its domain, until the Second Advent and its attendant resurrection. In fact, in Paul’s exclamation in 1 Corinthians 15:55 (“O death, where is thy sting? O grave [hades], where is thy victory?”), he was but paraphrasing from Hosea, who wrote, “O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave [she’ol], I will be thy destruction” (Hosea 13:14)—with only such change as would comport with the New Testament diction.CFF1 299.4

6. GRAVEDOM: PLACE OF REPOSE THROUGHOUT DEATHSLEEP

Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 15 is reiterated by our Lord in the Apocalypse:CFF1 300.1

“Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell [hades] and of death” (Revelation 1:17, 18).CFF1 300.2

This teaching is unequivocal. Christ died, and He was placed in the grave (hades). Then follows the resurrection, when He left hades (gravedom). He then comforts the believers with the assurance, “I have the keys of hades and of death.” That is, “I will open hades [gravedom] for My people, even as I opened it for Myself.” So hades is clearly the state of death, identical with gravedom. It should also be noted that in the Apocalypse death and hades are thrice thrown together:CFF1 300.3

“I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell [hades] followed with him” (Revelation 6:8).CFF1 300.4

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [hades, margin, “the grave”] delivered up the dead which were in them” (Revelation 20:13).CFF1 300.5

“And death and hell [hades] were cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14).CFF1 300.6

Hades is not a dwelling place of departed living souls. According to Holy Writ it is the place of repose for the dead during their death sleep. This is uniform and conclusive.CFF1 300.7