Finding Hell

When evangelicals think of hell, they think of eternal torment. They also think there are multitudes of passages that convey this doctrine. But I think even a sweeping look at the potentially relevant texts will reveal that we no far less about the nature of hell that we may presume.

1. Sheol
The word 'hell' does not appear in the Old Testament. Sure, the KJV & NKJV use the word 'hell' to translate the Hebrew word 'sheol,' but sheol certainly didn't communicate a place of torment. Sheol is used 65 times in the OT and simply means 'the grave' or 'underground' or figuratively 'death.' In fact, with a couple of dramatized exceptions, Sheol is simply an inactive common grave for all the OT dead. We have no evidence of eternal torment in the Old Testament.

2. Hades
Hades is simply the Greek translation of the word Sheol. It is used 11 times in the NT and speaks, again, of death and the grave (though some translations translate it as 'hell'). But there is 1 key exception and that is the story of the Rich man and Lazarus. Here, we find consciousness for both the wicked & the righteous (not to mention the fact that they can see each other. Does this story give us new and accurate details regarding the afterlife? Or didn't Jesus intend for us to focus on the details? It seems to me that if it weren't for this 1 short story, the shape of the discussion would be a lot different.

3. Gehenna
This was the garbage dump for Jerusalem. It was the Valley of Hinnom of the Old Testament. The word is used 12 times in the NT and is often translated as 'hell.' But was it used to describe a place of eternal torment or a place of annihilation? Was Jesus simply predicting that His contemporary Jerusalem would suffer the same sort of slaughter for Rome as they had previously from Babylon?

Personally, I am not convinced that anything in the above can be used as a solid case for eternal torment. In fact, I wouldn't be able to use any of the above to build a case for torment at all with the possible exception of the rich man in Hades. So what verses are left? Where do we find our evidence for eternal torment? I submit that the evidence depends on the interpretation of a mere handful of verses which use phrases like 'eternal fire, 'weeping and gnashing of teeth,' and/or 'without rest.' But when we recognize that such passages were referencing OT judgments, even these verses fail to make a clear cut case for unending torment.

We're left with some verses from Revelation about the Beast, False Prophet & Satan being tormented forever. Apocalyptic literature, of course, is hardly the place to take verses literally and form doctrines out of them. It is worth noting, however, that death and Hades are thrown into the 'Lake of Fire' on Judgment Day. In my opinion, this 'Lake of Fire' is the only thing that parallels, to a satisfactory degree, our evangelical concept of 'hell.'

What verses do you think are the best evidence for eternal torment? There are certainly some which can be used in making a case.