Why do some teach that hell is the grave? The real reason is that most of them are on their way to hell and they hope it isn’t what the Bible says it is. The most prominent promoters of this heresy are the Jehovah’s Witnesses, founded by Charles T. Russell in the late 1870’s. The basic argument is that the word “hell” in the King James Bible is translated from Hebrew and Greek words that do not imply a place of fiery torment.
The first word, the Hebrew word sheol is used 65 times in the Old Testament Hebrew text from which the King James Bible was translated. Sometimes the word is translated as grave, but always with a negative connotation. For instance, Job 21:13 speaks of the wicked and says, “They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.” The Hebrew word for grave in this verse is shoel, a negative word, because it is a negative thing when wicked people die and go to hell, even though their bodies go to the grave. Their souls are in hell while their bodies are in the grave with no hope of a resurrection; therefore the negative sheol is used.
Psalm 9:17 says, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Here sheol is the word for hell, which some suggest should be translated as grave. But there is no real warning in saying that the wicked shall be turned into the grave (since we all go there), therefore hell in this verse implies something more than the grave, something deeper than the grave. Hell isn’t the grave, but it would be proper to say that hell is a grave for the soul, located in the mantle and outer core of the earth, both of which are under one’s bodily grave. Only in that sense is hell anyone’s grave.
Every time sheol is used it is used negatively, whether it’s translated hell, grave, or even pit, yet Hebrew words other than sheol are used in reference to the common burial of the righteous. Job 17:16 presents a good example: “They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.” If we substitute the words pit and dust with the Hebrew words, the verse would read, “They shall go down to the bars of sheol, when our rest together is in aphar.” Notice that “they” (the ones in sheol, or the pit) are not said to be resting, but “our” rest (Job speaking, being a righteous man) is in another place, a place called aphar, which simply means the dust, the earth, the ground. The “hell is the grave” crowd never makes this distinction. The meaning of the word sheol itself should be enough to make the distinction for them because the word means to inquire, request, or demand. If you’ve read Luke 16 lately, then you know that people in hell are requesting plenty. To be in sheol (hell) is to be in a place of dissatisfaction and asking for help. To be in sheol (the grave) is to be a dead lost man whose body will never be glorified like that of the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore he too is not satisfied and not resting in peace. In both cases, sheol concerns a lost man. In my personal studies, I have not found a single place in the Bible where sheol refers to the peaceful grave of the righteous. Rachel’s “grave” in Genesis 35:20 is the Hebrew geburah, not sheol. Josiah, a good king, didn’t go to sheol when he died (II Kgs. 22:20); he went to geber gibrah (a peaceful burying place, a grave). Yes, the wicked too go to a burying place, but not in hope of a resurrection, therefore their burying place is called sheol, as is their place of torment.
The Greek words for hell are hades and gehenna. Hades has basically the same meaning as sheol, while gehenna was the city dump of Jerusalem, used as a similitude to describe hell, God’s “dump” for the wicked.
However, it isn’t necessary that one know the meaning of Hebrew and Greek words in order to realize that hell isn’t the grave. Without using any of the information just presented, the serious Christian soldier can easily show anyone from the Bible that hell cannot be the grave by using five simple arguments.
The first argument is the fact that the grave contains no fire, yet the hell of the Bible does: “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” (Luke 16:23-24) “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” (Mat. 5:22) “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” (James 3:6) Clearly, the Lord could not have intended for us to understand hell to be the grave in these verses because the hell in these verses contains fire, yet the common grave does not. In fact, the words “hell” and “grave” are never found in the same Bible verse, yet “hell” and “fire” occur in eight separate verses!
Secondly, no one speaks from the grave, yet, in Luke 16:24, the rich man actually speaks from the fires of hell. All indications are that he has all of his natural senses. This is not so with a person in the grave.
A third point is the fact that hell, according to the Lord Jesus (Mat. 25:41), was originally prepared for the devil and his angels. This is not so with the grave.
A fourth argument is that only one’s body goes to the grave at death, not one’s soul. The Christian, in death, is said to be “absent from the body” and “present with the Lord” (II Cor. 5:8). The body of the Christian obviously goes to the grave like the body of anyone else, yet the Bible declares that the Christian himself (in distinction from his body) goes to be with the Lord. So, there is a separate dwelling place other than the grave. If this is true with Christians, then it is also true with unbelievers, which is made clear in the Scripture already provided from Luke 16:23-24, as well as in other passages.
A final and most logical argument against hell being the grave is the fact that Jesus said “it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.” (Mat. 18:9) If hell is only the common grave, then it certainly would not be better to suffer a handicap forever than to simply die and be gone forever, suffering no affliction at all. Obviously, Jesus was indicating that hell is something far worse than a physical handicap.
Friend, the Bible declares that hell is a very real and very horrible place. You do not have to go there, but you WILL go there, if your sins remain unforgiven due to your continued rejection of Jesus Christ.
(Accompanying chart by the great Clarence Larkin (1850-1924), author of Dispensational Truth and other fine works)
