To Christians, Hell is not a "place" but an eternal spiritual state of separation from God. God does not exists in spiritual separation from Himself.
Sheol (Hebrew underworld) cannot be an equivalent of Christian concept of Hell because it was a "place" where the souls of the righteous as well as the unrighteous "went" after physical death (analogous to the Hades or the unseen of the ancient Greeks).
Wikipedia mentions that, consistent with the messianic movement the concept of Sheol changes from the original Judaic concept to a newly revealed one.
This "intermediate state" (incorporated by the early Church directly from messianic Judaism) is reflected in Eastern Orthodox (and Catholic) teaching that those who die are immediately judged and are waiting for the Final Judgment (reunion with new bodies) and final disposition of the resurrected to either eternal communion with, or separation from, God. But the Christian concept does not equate hell with a "place."
When I say the "state" of a soul I mean how a soul experiences God's presence. Either we are in communion with Him or we feel separated from Him. That separation is like knowing that God is next door but the doors to where He is are shut permanently. This is the Eastern Orthodox teaching and not my opinion, in case you wondered.
Catholic Catechism states:
Pope John Paul II stated "Rather than a place, Hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy."
Sheol and Hades simply meant grave, a place for the righteous and the unrighteous equally, that none could escape. It does not infer anything about the state of one's soul with respect to God. But the soul can either be in His presence or without it.
But, hey, if the Protestants believe in fairy-tale "places," that's what they believe! I can only offer what the Church always taught and not what some men invented 1,500 years later.
One thing is certain: Sheol and Hell and not one and the same concept. And your KJV makes no distinction between them. Just another proof how terribly misleading KJV is.
Perhaps this...
"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." -- Matthew 10:28
So here we have Christ telling us that hell is an objective place, not the non-objective haze of some existential nothingness, but an actual place of being.
The interesting thing about this discussion of hell and whether or not God is omnipresent is that it was MarkBsnr whom you were first "correcting" by your "hell is just an illusionary state of deprivation" argument. Here's what Mark had to say, which sounds pretty literal to me (and correct)...
"According to Scripture, if one is in hell, "he shall be tormented with fire and sulfur . . . the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, and day and night they have no rest" (Rev. 14:11). This is an "everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:41). Jesus tells his listeners of Lazarus and the rich man, where the rich man dies, and is "existing in torment . . . he sees . . . calls out . . . 'I am in anguish in this blazing fire'" (Luke 16:19-31). As a further illustration, Jesus stated that hell is likened to Gehenna. This "Valley of Hinnom" was located southeast of Jerusalem, and was used as a garbage dump where trash and waste were continuously burned day and night in a large fire. Jesus informs the listeners that hell is like this, "where the maggot does not die, and fire is not put out" (Mark 9:42-48). It is the place where the wicked are sent, and from this "everlasting fire" (Matt. 18:8) will come "weeping and the gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 8:12). Lastly, Revelation 20 calls hell a "pool of fire . . . [where] they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever"—all who are not in the book of life. So, if one's name is in the book of life, one enters heaven (Rev. 21:27). If it not in the book, then a literal hell awaits."
Amen, Mark. An objective hell, not a subjective state of mind, but a torment of mind, body and soul.
Either we are in communion with Him or we feel separated from Him. That separation is like knowing that God is next door but the doors to where He is are shut permanently. This is the Eastern Orthodox teaching
Wow. So according to you and the EO, God's wrath and eternal damnation are like Robin Williams' definition of Canada -- a loft apartment above a really great party?
Thanks, but I think I prefer Mark's Scriptural definition.
Or the Westminster Shorter Catechism...
Q. 143. What is hell?
A. A place of dreadful and endless torment.
Because if hell is something so subjective and vague, then so is heaven. But thank God, He has assured us that is not the case. Heaven is real and awaits all those who love Him.
Q. 145. What is heaven?
A. A glorious and happy place, where the righteous shall be forever with the Lord.
"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." -- 1 Corinthians 2:9
Thus, heaven is not imaginary, but quantitatively more than our imaginings.
But I ended up by understanding something pertinent to this discussion of hell -- Christ suffered the actual torments of hell for His flock. Were those torments real, or just a "spiritual separation from God?"
Scripture shows us clearly that Christ suffered the agony of hell on the cross for us. He gave us a clear portrait of what hell is, promising that we wouldn't have to suffer like He did because He suffered for us, so that we could stand acquitted of our sins before God.
And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him." -- Matthew 27:30-31 "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." -- Hebrews 12:2"And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.
If our hell is merely a psychic malaise, then so was Christ's separation from God. But He showed us clearly that it wasn't -- it was objective and real and devastating.