Christian views on Hell generally hold it to be place or a
state in which the souls of the damned suffer the consequences of their sins.
Different Hebrew and Greek words are translated as "hell" in most
English-language Bibles. They include:
"Sheol" in the Hebrew Bible, and "Hades"
in the New Testament. Many modern versions, such as the New International
Version, translate Sheol as "grave" and simply transliterate
"Hades". It is generally agreed that both Sheol and hades do not typically
refer to the place of eternal punishment, but to the grave, the temporary abode
of the dead, the underworld.
"Gehenna" in the New Testament, where it is
described as a place where both soul and body could be destroyed (Matthew
10:28) in "unquenchable fire" (Mark 9:43). The word is translated as
either "hell" or "hell fire" in English versions.
The Greek verb which occurs once in the New Testament (in 2
Peter 2:4). It is almost always translated by a phrase such as "thrown
down to hell". Exceptionally, the 2004 Holman Christian Standard Bible
uses the word "Tartarus" and explains: "Tartarus is a Greek name
for a subterranean place of divine punishment lower than Hades.”
Hell is generally defined as the eternal fate of unrepentant
sinners after this life. Hell's character is inferred from biblical teaching,
which has often been understood literally. Souls are said to pass into Hell by
God's irrevocable judgment, either immediately after death (particular
judgment) or in the general judgment. Modern theologians generally describe
hell as the logical consequence of the soul using its free will to reject union
with God. It is considered compatible with God's justice and mercy because God
will not interfere with the soul's free choice.
