Hell (a.k.a. Lake of Fire, Gehenna)

The New Testament presentation of "hell" derives from NT passages with the phrase "gehenna of fire," or "lake of fire." For example:

"Be not afraid of those killing the body, and are not able to kill the soul; but fear rather Him who is able both soul and body to destroy in gehenna [hell]." (Matthew 10:28 - Young's Literal Translation)

"Fear him who, after the killing, is having authority to cast to the gehenna [hell]" (Luke 12:5 - Young's Literal Translation)

"If thy hand may cause thee to stumble, cut it off; it is better for thee maimed to enter into the life, than having the two hands, to go away to the gehenna, the fire unquenchable [hell]--where there worm is not dying, and the fire is not being quenched. And if thy foot may cause thee to stumble, cut it off; it is better for thee to enter into the life lame, than having the two feet to be cast to the gehenna, the fire unquenchable [hell]--where there worm is not dying, and the fire is not being quenched. And if thine eye may cause thee to stumble, cast it out; it is better for thee one-eyed to enter into the reign of God, than having two eyes, to be cast to the gehenna of the fire [hell]--where their worm is not dying, and the fire is not being quenched. (Mark 9:43-48 - Young's Liiteral Translation)

I saw the dead, great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds...And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:12,15))

In Mt 10:28 and Luke 12:5, we see that none were to fear mere physical death, such as martyrdom or the Roman slaughter of AD 70; rather they were to fear what God could do to them after physical death, in the gehenna of the afterlife: "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell [gehenna]." We see God afflicts the departed soul with gehenna--something no mere mortal could do by killing the body alone. The Jews and Romans could kill only the body, but Jesus was telling men to fear a post-mortem punishment that was worse than the killing of the physical body.

Such warning of hell is seen in other NT verses. In Mk 9:42, the fate of being killed is said to be better than the fate awaiting false teachers. A fate worse than being merely physically killed can only speak of a worse punishment post-mortem. And in Mk 9:43-48, cited above, the sinner is told to fear being cast into gehenna the unquenchable fire, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched" (emphasis is on the ongoing nature of their punishment).

In Luke 16:22-28, we see the Old Testament Hadean scenario as it was known in the time of Jesus--i.e., a post-mortem probationary state wherein some wicked ones were experiencing suffering. Christ's description fully matches Josephus' discourse on hades, wherein the Lake of Fire destiny of the wicked is claimed to be even worse than that experienced in Hades.

In Mt 25:41, the wicked are sent into "the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." The phrase "everlasting fire prepared for the devil and angels" cannot mean the rubbish heap of south Jerusalem at AD 70, but must speak of a punishment of the non-corporeal realm (for evil angels cannot have been dumped into the Valley of Hinnom by the Romans at AD 70). The everlasting fire prepared for the fallen angels and the devil (Mt 25:41) was likewise the destination for wicked men (Mt 25:41). In 2 Peter 2:4,9, we get a glimpse of the punishment of the wicked angels. Again, punishment of angels cannot speak of the slaughter and disposal of people in the refuse heap of South Jerusalem at AD 70--rather, it speaks of punishments in the non-corporeal realm. Importantly, the fate of the wicked angels is also the fate of wicked men (Matt 25:41), and Jude 1:22-23 instructs that preaching the gospel to men for salvation equates to saving them from "fire."

Finally, in Rev 11:18 and Rev 20:15-18, the judgment of dead ones is mentioned, which unquestionably speaks of post mortem judgment. This judgment of the dead is actually detailed in Rev 20:15-18, where the dead are thrown into the lake of fire (i.e, post-mortem people are thrown into the gehenna of fire). This cannot be the rubbish heap of south Jerusalem with the Romans, but rather is the traditional hell designated for the wicked in the afterlife. Since the passage speaks of dead individuals sent to the gehenna of fire, it cannot be threatening physical death by the Romans at AD 70 in the Valley of Hinnom. These dead people are already removed from the land of the living on earth.