The Better Health Blog

The English word “hell” is found in the King James New Testament a total of 23 times.  We learned in the previous post, Hell In The Old Testament, that hell was always translated from one Hebrew word – “sheol”.  The King James New Testament however translates three Greek words into the English word “hell”.  Let’s take a look at each of these words and get a better understanding of their meaning… the Greek words are “hades“, “gehenna“, and “tartarus“.

Hades
The Greek hades is translated as hell ten times in the New Testament.  It is defined as: properly unseen, that is, “Hades” or the place (state) of departed souls: – grave.

That should sound familiar if you read my previous post, Hell In The Old Testament.  We learned in that post the Hebrew sheol means grave, and now we see the Greek hades also means grave.  Hebrew sheol shares the exact meaning as Greek hades.  Let’s look at scriptural proof:

Acts 2:27 KJV  Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell(Greek hades), neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Psalms 16:10 KJV  For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell(Hebrew sheol); neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Acts 2:27 is referencing Psalms 16:10, and in doing so has made Greek hades the divine scriptural equivalent of Hebrew sheol.  Hades means sheol; hades and sheol mean grave… always.

Let’s take a look at a few examples of hell(hades) in the New Testament:

Matthew 11:23 KJV  And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell(hades): for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

If you read the text around this verse you see that Jesus was scolding Capernaum for their arrogance, high-mindedness, and unwillingness to repent considering the mighty works they had seen.  This woe that Christ proclaimed against Capernaum is true for all of the self righteous.  They will be brought low… they will fall from their high pinnacle and they will be humbled and bow before the Lord.  Christ goes on to say that it will be more tolerable for Sodom in judgment than for Capernaum.  How is one verdict of eternal torture more tolerable than another?  Please study these scriptures and see how foolish the hell doctrine really is.

Matthew 16:18 KJV  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell(hades) shall not prevail against it.

We know that all men are appointed to die (Heb 9:27)… but note the word “gate” in Matthew 16:18.  Gates can be open or closed… they can even be locked.  I believe we find in Revelation 1:18 that Christ holds the keys to this gate.  Death and the grave will no longer prevail once Christ opens the gate.  Remember, all men experience hades… all men, but it is only temporary because Christ saves us from the power of death and the grave.

Luke 16:23 KJV  And in hell(hades) he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

This is a parable and is not about a literal hell… it is about Judah and the nations, but most people are so deceived regarding the hell doctrine that it will require a post of it’s own to explain.  This is in fact the last of a five part parable that begins in chapter 15.

Revelation 20:14 KJV  And death and hell(hades) were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Uh-oh!  Hell was cast into hell?  I wanted to include this verse because many people believe that the lake of fire is also the fiery, torturous hell of most Christian doctrine.  If that were so it would be rather difficult to throw hell into hell, wouldn’t it?  The lake of fire is certainly not hell either but that will also require a separate post.  Most will be shocked to learn who or what the lake of the fire really is.

One more interesting fact.  There is one time in the New Testament that King James’ translators translated the word hades correctly:

1 Corinthians 15:55 KJV  (55)  O death, where is thy sting? O grave(hades), where is thy victory?

Now ask yourselves why they didn’t translate hades to hell in this one and only instance.  I would love for all who come across these truths to see and hear… but sadly it is prophesied that most will stay behind the veil of deception.  Pray for understanding and a love for the truth.

Gehenna and Gehenna Fire
Twelve times the King James translators translated the Greek word gehenna to our English hell.  So what is gehenna?  Of Hebrew origin; valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem.

Gehenna is a transliteration of the Hebrew Gai Hinnom, the Vally of Hinnom, or the Valley of the sons of Hinnom.  Reference to this exact New Testament Gehenna is found in the Old Testament eleven times, such as:

Nehemiah 11:30 KJV  Zanoah, Adullam, and in their villages, at Lachish, and the fields thereof, at Azekah, and in the villages thereof. And they dwelt from Beersheba unto the valley(Hebrew gai) of Hinnom(Hebrew Hinnom, originally a Jebusite).

This valley of Hinnom, gai Hinnom, or Gehenna(Greek) is the location where idolatrous Israel passed their children through the fires in the worship of Molech.

2 Chronicles 28:3 KJV  Moreover he(King Ahaz) burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

Take note that this practice of burning children in fire was “the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel”.  God has always given strict warning to his people not to worship in the way of the heathen.  Almost all pagan doctrines, customs, and traditions can be traced back to Egypt… and God warned Israel not to practice these beliefs.  God’s people are to be separate from these worldly things.  We have to see how blasphemous it is to associate such a pagan doctrine of burning children to our mighty God.  He does not do the very thing he gave strict orders for us not to do.  The Christian Hell Doctrine is not only unscriptural but it is an utmost sin to accuse our Lord of such a thing.  God’s judgment is never about purposeless torment and torture but about correction.

Gehenna in Jesus’ day was no longer used to burn children, but the fires still continually burned for the destruction of Jerusalem’s refuse.  Jesus spoke figuratively of these fires as the destruction associated with the judgment of God.  God’s judgment is not about burning for all time in endless torment… but of burning the chaff, wood, hay, and stubble from the gold, silver, and precious stones of our lives.

Matthew 3:12 KJV  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

1 Corinthians 3:12-15 KJV  (12)  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;  (13)  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.  (14)  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.  (15)  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

The instances of hell translated from Gehenna confirm the above scripture:

Mat 5:29  And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell(gehenna).
Mat 5:30  And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell(gehenna).

This is figurative language.  What good would it really do to cast an eye or a hand into hell?  The eye means perception and the hand represents works.  It is the false doctrines and works of the flesh that must be cast into the fire.  The lusts of the flesh have to be burned away because “flesh and blood do not enter the kingdom of God”. (I Cor. 15:50)

The scriptures tells us over and over that we are saved by fire and that God is a consuming fire.  It is an evil and blasphemous idol of the heart to associate God and his means of correction into the Hell Doctrine of Satan.

As I asked in my post Hell In The Old Testament, where do we see mention of condemned souls, devils, punishment, Satan, being separated from God, evil, misery, or torment?  We don’t see those evil doctrines in the holy scriptures and Israel did not see them in the oracles of God… these doctrines and practices were and still are the ways of the heathen. (See Lev 18:3, Deu 12:30, Jer 10:2)

Tartarus
Regarding the Greek tartarus which only appears in II Peter 2:4 – Tartarus was derived from mythology as a place of restraint, an abyss.  II peter 2:4 is speaking of angels and reserving them or restraining them until judgment, a time in the future.  This concerns the judgment of angels… not ours.  (See Jude 1:6)  A better translation may have simply been abyss or the original Greek word as we have no English word for it.

I hope that a look at hell in both the Old and New Testament of the King James will open your eyes and ears to God’s truth, and create in you a desire to study scripture as we are commanded to do.  The Good News is actually good, and so is God… unlike what so many believe.

Here is a listing of all verses that translate hades to hell:
Mat 11:23, Mat 16:18, Luk 10:15, Luk 16:23, Act 2:27, Act 2:31, Rev 1:18, Rev 6:8, Rev 20:13, Rev 20:14

The one time they got it right, hades to grave:
1Co 15:55

Here is a listing of all verses that translate gehenna to hell:
Mat 5:22, Mat 5:29, Mat 5:30, Mat 10:28, Mat 18:9, Mat 23:15 , Mat 23:33, Mar 9:43, Mar 9:45, Mar 9:47, Luk 12:5, Jas 3:6

Here is the verse that translates tartarus to hell:
2Pe 2:4

Here is a listing of all Old Testament verses referencing Gai Hinnom or Gehenna:
Jos 15:8, Jos 18:16, 2Ki 23:10, 2Ch 28:3, 2Ch 33:6, Neh 11:30, Jer 7:31, Jer 7:32, Jer 19:2, Jer 19:6, Jer 32:35

Hell is defined as the eternal fate of unrepentant sinners after this life.  Many people believe a soul that has not accepted Jesus will burn without end… and this is justice.  So let’s take a look at the word “hell” in the King James Old Testament.  Hell is found 31 times… and every time translated from the Hebrew word “sheol”.  So knowing only that, one might believe that “sheol” means “hell”.  Coincidentally though, the Hebrew word “sheol” is also translated to the English word “grave” 31 times.  Here we have within the King James Old Testament the Hebrew word “sheol” being translated to the English words “hell” and “grave” exactly 31 times each.  Does it occur to you that hell and grave do not share the same meaning?  If not, you can ask you church leaders if the words “grave” and “hell” are synonymous within the Holy Scriptures.  A simple followup to their response of “no” might be:

“Then why are both the words hell and grave translated from the single Hebrew word sheol?”

Every instance of the word sheol should be translated to the word grave.  Let’s take a look at just a few examples of sheol being translated correctly to grave.

1 Samuel 2:6 KJV The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave(sheol), and bringeth up.

If sheol had been translated to hell in this verse it wouldn’t fit Christian doctrine very well would it… is it believed by the church of man that God sends souls to hell and then brings them back or restores them from there?  This correct translation of grave confirms that sheol is not an eternal place at all… but a temporary place that God resurrects us from.

Job 14:13-14 KJV  O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave(sheol), that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!  If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.

Job was aware that sheol would only last until his change come.

Psalms 49:15 KJV  But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave(sheol): for he shall receive me. Selah.

Certainly evident why the believers of a hell doctrine wouldn’t want sheol translated to hell in this one.

Psalms 88:3 KJV  For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave(sheol).

King David knew that upon his death he would be in sheol.  I don’t think he was expecting fiery torment in an eternal hell-hole, do you?

Psalms 89:48 KJV  What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave(sheol)? Selah

In fact all men go to the grave… or do all men go to hell?

Ecclesiastes 9:10 KJV  Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave(sheol), whither thou goest.

This verse describes the state of the dead… being no perception whatsoever.  Certainly not perceivable, endless torture.

Hosea 13:14 KJV  I will ransom them from the power of the grave(sheol); I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave(sheol), I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

It doesn’t get any clearer than this.  God ransoms those from sheol, will be the very plague of death, and is the destroyer of sheol.  While that doesn’t agree with the Christian hell it certainly agrees with the rest of scripture.  (see Rev 20:14)

I can no longer hesitate to mention a truth that most Christians fail to believe.  Dead people are dead… not alive somewhere else.  Many people continue to be deceived by the very first lie ever told.  (see Gen 3:4)  God says the soul that sinneth, it dies… but most prefer, to this day, the lie Satan told Eve in the garden. So I ask, does the resurrection of the dead mean anything?  When we die we are in the grave(sheol) dead, and dead we will be until the resurrection.

Let’s think back on hell in the Old Testament again.  We need to start asking ourselves some questions and pay attention to the words in scripture.  Have you thought – if such a terrible place as endless torment exists, why didn’t God warn anyone about it?

Genesis 2:17 KJV  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Hey, that sounds familiar… or did Paul tell us that the wages of sin is hell?  Of course not!  Paul confirms that the wages of sin is death… not endless, burning torture.

Genesis 3:19 KJV  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

We may refuse to accept death… but that is the price we pay for sin.  Death is what we are saved from… not a fabled hell derived from pagan Egyptian beliefs.

Was Cain warned of endless punishment?  How about anyone prior to the flood being warned of an endless punishment?  Is it mentioned once?  No!  Neither was it mentioned to Abraham or Moses.  Even the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were not threatened with a place called hell.  The truth was given to us from the beginning… that if we sin, we die.  And what is death?  Does it really mean alive somewhere else as the brick and mortar Christian Church teaches?

Ecclesiastes 9:5 KJV  For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing…

The dead know not any thing.  Certainly not that they’re burning… because they know not anything.  They are neither in heaven nor hell but dead awaiting resurrection.

Sheol means grave and always means grave.  It doesn’t mean grave one minute and a place of merciless torment the next.

We can look at some verses in the Old Testament where sheol is translated as hell… and each time the translation should have been grave.  This is because sheol is about death.  It is the place or state of the dead where there is no perception.

Psalms 16:10 KJV  For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell(sheol); neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

All people are in sheol at death… all people.  David knew this… why don’t we?

Proverbs 9:18 KJV  But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell(sheol).

Sheol is the place for dead people… not people who are alive burning in fiery torment.

We can examine every instance of the word hell in the King James Old Testament and we see that sheol pertains to death and dead people… not living, conscience people tormented for all time.  Not once is there a mention of an endless punishment.

Jonah 2:2 KJV  And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell(sheol) cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

Jonah rightly believed that the belly of the fish would be his grave, but it certainly wasn’t a burning, eternal hell.

We could examine each instance of the word hell and never see any mention of condemned souls, devils, punishment, Satan, being separated from God, evil, misery, or torment… not once.  The state of the dead and God’s plan for the salvation of all however, is present.

To be complete I must mention that sheol is also translated to the English word pit three times.  Each time it also is in relation to death or the state of the dead.

Study the scriptures as God commands.  Pray for understanding and a love for the truth.  Start asking questions… and find the answers in God’s Word.  A good tool to do any word study is eSword or most any concordance such as Strong’s.

Here is a listing of all verses that translate sheol to hell:
Deu 32:22, 2Sa 22:6, Job 11:8, Job 26:6, Psa 9:17, Psa 16:10, Psa 18:5, Psa 55:15, Psa 86:13, Psa 116:3, Psa 139:8, Pro 5:5, Pro 7:27, Pro 9:18, Pro 15:11, Pro 15:24, Pro 23:14, Pro 27:20, Isa 5:14, Isa 14:9, Isa 14:15, Isa 28:15, Isa 28:18, Isa 57:9, Eze 31:16, Eze 31:17, Eze 32:21, Eze 32:27, Amo 9:2, Jon 2:2, Hab 2:5

Here is a listing of all verses that translate sheol to grave:
Gen 37:35, Gen 42:38, Gen 44:29, Gen 44:31, 1Sa 2:6, 1Ki 2:6, 1Ki 2:9, Job 7:9, Job 14:13, Job 17:13, Job 21:13, Job 24:19, Psa 6:5, Psa 30:3, Psa 31:17, Psa 49:14, Psa 49:15, Psa 88:3, Psa 89:48, Psa 141:7, Pro 1:12, Pro 30:16, Ecc 9:10, Son 8:6, Isa 14:11, Isa 38:10, Isa 38:18, Eze 31:15, Hos 13:14

Here is a listing of all verses that translate sheol to pit:
Num 16:30, Num 16:33, Job 17:16

Continue reading my next post, Hell In The New Testament.

Consider human cells as unique living creatures… because that is exactly what they are.  Like us they eat, drink, expel waste, grow, multiply, and eventually die.  While we think of ourselves as individuals, we are in fact a collective of an estimated 100 trillion cells.  Each of these 100 trillion cells are individual living organisms.  Our health, as the big cell, is dependent upon the health of these tiny lives within us.

In regards to better health we must begin by thinking of the health of the individual cell.  The cell, the building block of life, is also the building block to better health.  If the cells are healthy, we are healthy.  Sadly, most people in this country live in a way that lowers cell vitality.  We do this by overworking, over-indulgences, poisonous pharmaceuticals, surgical operations, and harboring negative thoughts or feelings.  Additionally, our cells are deprived of the nutrition needed due to the dead foods of our poisonous diets.  The blood and lymph streams that feed our cells lack necessary mineral elements and instead contain an overabundance of waste matter.  This waste or morbid matter accumulates as a result of the diets that produce it and the weakened cell’s ability to eliminate it.  This is the beginning of disease… the cell’s attempt to right itself.

Cells are obedient to their purpose and fight very hard to keep us healthy.  There are two ways in which cells die… either by injurious agents or suicide.  When faced with an injury or infection it cannot recover from, a cell will sacrifice it’s own life to prevent replication of the abnormal condition.  This process of programmed cell death is call apoptosis.

It may surprise you that cells do not die from natural causes or old age… and it may surprise you more to know that neither do we.  We are cells.  With the exception of physical trauma, we die from conditions in our body that we ourselves are accountable for… and unlike the cells in our body, we are not so committed to a purpose that fulfills our best interest.  We have sacrificed our health, whether knowingly or not, to live life in ways outside the Creator’s design.

Drinking coffee has always been a relaxing experience for me.  Few things beat a quiet early morning with a fresh cup of hot coffee.  Occasionally I may have a cup after dinner too.  After studying the pH effect of foods and beverages, I have made an attempt to decrease the amount of coffee I enjoy.  Coffee is extremely acid forming and contains caffeine.  Whether caffeine itself is beneficial or harmful I am really undecided.  What I did decide was to make coffee a beverages I have in moderation… and I’m still working on that.

I have however discovered a way to reduce the acidity level of coffee by two-thirds and caffeine by approximately one-third.  That sounds like a great improvement to me.  Cold brewed coffee: here’s how I do it.

Take a bag of your favorite coffee beans and grind them on a course setting.  I grind a whole bag at once when I buy it at the store.  Dark roasts seem to work best – but be creative.  At this point it gets really low tech.  Simply take your coffee and soak it in cold water over night while you sleep and voila it’s done.  Sounds simple doesn’t it… and probably a little weird too?

A French Press Similar to Mine

I purchased a french press, or bodum as it is sometimes called, that holds about 32 ounces.  I start by adding two-thirds cup of coffee grounds and on top of that pour two and a half cups of water.  This is roughly a 1:4 ratio.  So whatever works best for you – 1 part coffee to 4 parts water.  Then I slosh it around a bit and let it be with the grounds floating amongst the water in the press.  This sits overnight.  It really needs about 12 hours so I try to remember to prepare this at dinner time so it will be ready when I wake up the next morning.

In the morning, start some water to boil.  Press the pot plunger and the grounds to the bottom of your pot leaving something even better than coffee… coffee concentrate!  At this point the ratio is reversed… one part concentrate to four parts HOT water.  I pour about two ounces of concentrate in an empty cup followed by approximately 8 ounces of HOT water.  This produces a very smooth cup of coffee.  The taste is much less bitter since the grounds were not subjected to the steaming water… only the concentrate.  The bitter acids and oils in conventionally brewed coffee stay in the grounds which you can later throw on the compost heap.

If your coffee is too weak or too strong, adjust the ratios above to suit your taste.  I have also noticed that once I push the plunger down in the press I leave it there and try not to swish it around too much afterward.  This keeps the actual concentrate from having a silt in the mix.  If this is a problem you can always run it through a regular coffee filter and then keep the concentrate in the fridge… I just keep mine on the counter because it is usually gone within two days anyway.  This concentrate can also be used to make iced coffee by adding milk or cream over ice.

Give cold brew coffee a try for great tasting, smooth coffee with two-thirds less acid and one-third less caffeine.

How can one possibly review this documentary when the subject itself is so large, the issues so broad, and begets such emotional involvement during the viewing and aftermath of this film?  Food, Inc., the documentary is a must see if you are on the path to becoming responsible for your own better health.  The people closest to me know that I often say “Know what you believe, and why you believe it”…  this film is really a beginning to understand “What you eat, and why you eat it”.  Don’t you think we should know what we are eating?

People used to know these things.  We used to eat foods grown locally.  Most of the foods we find at our local grocer has traveled 1,500 miles before reaching our dinner tables.  We have become complacent to the fact that we don’t know where our foods come from, who farmed them, or how they were farmed.  Of impact in this documentary is the fact that much of our food comes to us via the factory and not the farm.  Factory grown and harvested beef, pork, and poultry should both disgust and outrage you.  If you ever eat Tyson poultry products take responsibility for yourself and that of your family to learn how they raise their chickens… and the fact that their love of money far outweighs any desire to treat God’s creatures with respect… and that includes you.

Understand that I am not condemning the killing of animals for food.  I am disgusted by the way in which these animals are treated, the lack of sanitation, and the absence of God’s natural course of nature that has led to foods without nutritional value or worse, to harbor drugs, pesticides, and bacteria such as E. coli.  My internal reaction to the outright disdain for life, both animal and human exposed by this documentary, led me to repent for ever being part of this horrific system… and I will do my best to avoid being a part of it again.

As always, take action and do your own research.  Learn more about the issues exposed in the film.  If you think this is just another conspiracy theory, think again.  We cannot ignore the growing awareness against big government, big pharma, or big agra.  The love of money and personal gain has brought us very low and the first step in turning things around is discovering the truth.  If you don’t like this film or disagree with the content then keep researching… but please do some research and know what you believe, and why you believe it.

5 Stars
Food, Inc. (2008)
Rated PG
Director: Robert Kenner