Hell and Heaven

HEAVEN AND HELL: IN CHRIST SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE: PROF.M.M.NINAN
15:55; Revelation 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14.
Tartarus is found only in one verse, 2 Peter 2:4.
The verses in which Gehenna is found, speak of it as a punishment for wickedness or misconduct;
for instance, the first three Matthew verses are:
"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and
whoever says to his brother, “You good-for-nothing,” shall be guilty before the supreme court; and
whoever says, “You fool,” shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.... If your right eye makes
you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your
body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.... If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it
off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your
whole body to go into hell." (Mt 5:22, 29, 30)
The verses using Hades speak of it as an underworld place, and metaphorically to mean
destruction; for instance, the Luke 10 verse:
"And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!
"(Lk 10:15)
Tartarus, as noted, is only in one verse, and that is as a place of eternal torment for the “sinful
angels”:
"For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to
pits of darkness, reserved for judgment "(2 Pt 2:4)
We can safely say, then, that the word Tartarus was
not intended to apply to human beings; Tartarus
might, for all we know, be some place other than the
human Hell
Special Case: Revelation
Revelation uses Hades exclusively, but there, it is
clearly used to mean a place of torment for the
wicked
The “Bosom of Abraham” - Purgatory awaiting redemption to complete
A complication is presented by Luke 16:23. This term "Bosom of Abraham" occurs only in this
context of Luke 16 and not anywhere else. Evidently it is clearly stated as a parable. As a rule
Parables cannot be treated as true for doctrinal purposes. The parable is as follows:
"Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in
splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and
longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the
dogs were coming and licking his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the
angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades [the rich man]
lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he
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