Here is a reasonable article explaining Grave Sheol/Hades and Hell.
https://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/hell-sheol-hades-paradise-and-the-grave/
Hell, Sheol, Hades, Paradise, and the Grave
by W. Edward Bedore, Th.D.
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There seems to be some confusion about the meaning of Hell and who goes there because of the way the Hebrew word
Sheoland the Greek word
Hades have been translated in our English Bibles. Since this confusion has led some into an erroneous understanding of what the Bible actually teaches about the intermediate state and the final state of the dead, we think that it is important that we address this subject here.
Sheol is found in the Bible sixty-five times. It is translated “the pit” three times, “the grave” thirty-one times, and “hell” thirty-one times.
Hades is used eleven times, being rendered “hell” ten times and “grave” once. Adding to the confusion is that two other words are also translated hell in the New Testament. These are
Tartarus, which is found once and
Gehenna, which is used twelve times.
The term “Hell” is commonly understood to mean a place of torment where the souls of the wicked go after physical death. This is true. However, because Hades in the New Testament and Sheol in the Old are variously rendered hell or grave, there has been some misunderstanding about what hell and the grave are. Before looking at these words though, we should first give our attention to the Greek word Gehenna, which is always translated hell and used in reference to the Lake of Fire. It is found in Matthew 5:22,29,30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5; and James 3:6.
THE FINAL HELL
The Lake of Fire, or Hell, is a literal place of everlasting fire that was originally created by God as a place of punishment for Satan and the angels that followed him in his rebellion against God (Mat. 25:41). Because it is referred to as the place of
“outer darkness” (Mat. 8:12; 25:30), we believe that it is most probably located at the farthest reaches of the creation. Gehenna is described in Scripture as a “
furnace of fire” (Mat. 13:42);
“everlasting punishment” (Mat. 25:46);
“the mist [gloom]
of darkness” (II Pet. 2:17); the
“hurt of the second death” (Rev. 2:11 cf. 20:6,14; 21:8);
“a lake of fire burning with brimstone”(Rev. 19:20; 20:10; 21:8).
While Hell was created for Satan and the other fallen angels, the unsaved of humanity from all ages will be with them in this place of torment where “
there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Mat. 13:42). This is the “everlasting reward” of all that die in their sins.
While there is no one in the Lake of Fire at this time, it will one day hold a vast multitude. The first residents of this place of righteous retribution will be the Beast (Antichrist) and the False Prophet who, at the end of the Tribulation, will be
“cast alive into a lake burning with brimstone” (Rev. 19:19-20). Joining them will be the unsaved of the nations who survive the Tribulation (Mat. 25:31-32,41-46). Also, at Jesus Christ’s return to earth, the rebel Israelites, i.e. unbelieving Jews, who survive the Tribulation, will be denied entrance into the Millennial Kingdom, no doubt to join their Gentile counterparts in the “
place of everlasting fire” (Eze. 20:33-38; Mat. 7:21-23; cf. Mat. 24:29-31,45-51). Then, at the end of the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Satan will be
“cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). And finally, the unsaved dead of all ages will be raised and judged at the Great White Throne by Jesus Christ and then cast into the Lake of Fire (see Rev. 20:11-15).
The name Gehenna comes from a deep narrow ravine south of Jerusalem where some Hebrew parents actually sacrificed their children to the Ammonite god, Molech, during the time of the kings (II Kin. 16;3; II Chron. 28:1-3; cf. Lev. 18:21; I Kin. 11:5,7,33). This pagan deity is also referred to as Malcham, Milcom, and Moloch in the Bible. This valley later served as the city dump and, because there was continual burning of refuse there, it became a graphic symbol of the place of punishment for the wicked. It was named the “Valley of Hinnom,” which translated into Greek becomes Gehenna. The passages where the word is found in the New Testament plainly show that it was a commonly used expression for Hell by that time. The word is found twelve times in the Scriptures, being used eleven times by the Lord Jesus and once by James. When we consider the context, it is clear the Lord used this word in reference to the place of everlasting punishment for the wicked dead and not to the city dump.
Gehenna, or the Lake of Fire, might be referred to as the future, or final, Hell because it is where all of the wicked from all ages will finally end up. Satan, the fallen angels, and all of the lost of mankind will reside in torment there forever and ever.
SHEOL/HADES: THE PRESENT HELL
Scripture passages in which Gehenna is used should be distinguished from those using Hades, which refers to a place of temporary torment that we might refer to as the immediate, or present, Hell. What we mean by this is that, at the time of death, the souls of the lost go directly to Hades, where they suffer in torment until the time of the Great White Throne Judgment when they will be resurrected and cast into the Lake of Fire. The souls of all the lost who have already died are presently there and those who die in their sins immediately go there to join them.
Hades is the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament word Sheol. The Greek and Hebrew words speak of the same place, the present Hell. However, this is problematic because Sheol has been translated “grave” as often as it has “hell” and some have mistakenly taught that Sheol and Hades are only references to the grave rather than Hell. This erroneous teaching leads to the denial of the existence of an immediate or present Hell. The false doctrine of soul-sleep, and other ideas that teach the unconscious state of the dead between death and resurrection, spring from this error.
The common word for “grave” in the Old Testament is
queber. Of the sixty-four times it is used, it is translated “grave” thirty-four times, “sepulcher” twenty-six times, and “burying place” four times. Queber is used five additional times as part of a place name, Kibroth-hattaavah, which means “graves of lust.” As we said earlier, Sheol is found sixty-four times, being rendered “grave” thirty-one times, “hell” thirty-one times, and “pit” three times.
A comparison of how
Sheol and
queber are used reveals eight points of contrast that tell us that they are not the same thing.
- Sheol is never used in plural form. Queber is used in the plural 29 times.
- It is never said that the body goes to Sheol. Queber speaks of the body going there 37 times.
- Sheol is never said to be located on the face of the earth. Queber is mentioned 32 times as being located on the earth.
- An individual’s Sheol is never mentioned. An individual’s queber is mentioned 5 times.
- Man is never said to put anyone into Sheol. Individuals are put into a queber by man (33 times).
- Man is never said to have dug or fashioned a Sheol. Man is said to have dug, or fashioned, a queber (6 times).
- Man is never said to have touched Sheol. Man touches, or can touch, a queber (5 times).
- It is never said that man is able to possess a Sheol. Man is spoken of as being able to possess a queber (7 times). (These eight points of comparison are adapted from “Life and Death” by Caleb J. Baker, Bible Institute Colportage Ass’n, 1941).
From the differences between how
Sheol and
queber are used in Scripture, it is obvious that they are not the same thing. The Greek word
Hades in the New Testament would fit into the Sheol column of our chart, strongly indicating that it is the same thing as Sheol. Hades is used eleven times, being rendered Hell ten times and grave once.
Words associated with
queber are
quabar and
qeburah.
Quabar is a verb meaning to bury or to be buried and
qeburah is a noun meaning a grave or place of burial. The use of these related words helps to reinforce the difference between
queber and
Sheol, as they clearly have to do with the grave as a burial place, while Sheol does not.
