Advent: Week 4
The words of focus for this week of Advent are love and hell. You may be wondering at this point what hell has to do with Christmas and the season of waiting for the coming Messiah. We often think of hell primarily as this fiery place of torment, and while there are some verses in the Bible that describe it that way, that is not its primary meaning. There are four main words used in Scripture that are translated as hell.
Sheol - the only Hebrew and Old Testament word for hell. It has a broad meaning intended to refer to the place of the dead.
Hades - a Greek word for hell similar to Sheol. It is used 10 times in the New Testament.
Gehenna - Used 12 times in the New Testament, it is a Greek word referring to a valley outside of Jerusalem known as the Valley of Ben Hinnom. In Old Testament times, this valley was dedicated to the pagan god, Molech, and was where the people of Israel became guilty of child sacrifice. It was a place where great evil occurred. In Jesus’ day, this valley was used to dump trash where it was burned and produced the constant stench of sulfur. It also became a cesspool for the sewage of Jerusalem. It truly represented hell on earth.
Tartarus - a Greek word that represented a place where evil gods and the wicked were sent to be punished. It is only used once in the Bible in 2 Peter 2:4.
With all of these words in mind, one can think of hell as a place that represents death, evil, judgment, wrath, and all things considered unclean. It stands for being under the curse of sin, the power of death, doomed and cast out from the community of faith and relationship with God. The imagery of Gehenna especially depicts the human condition apart from the saving work of God.
Read Jeremiah 19:1-6 and verse 10. This is an odd scene. God wants the prophet to offer a living picture of the situation in Israel and the seriousness of their sin.
What are some of the sins God says the people of Israel are guilty of? How might we look at our world today and see a similar situation?
Even though the picture Jeremiah describes seems extreme, the truth is, we are all guilty of sin. We have bowed to and worshipped other gods, whether it be money, fame, popularity, possessions, romantic love, and any other desire that comes between us and our relationship with God. Romans 6:23 says that the payment for our sin is death, which means being under the curse and cast out from the community of faith and communion with God.
Thankfully, the story does not end here. When Jesus, the promised Messiah was born, a new hope arrived. The Savior God had promised in the Old Testament was here, and His purpose was to save His people from their sins (see Matthew 1:21).
Read John 3:16-21. According to these verses, why did God send His Son, Jesus? What motivated Him?
Now read Hebrews 13:11-14. These verses indicate that the area where Jesus was crucified was outside the gate. Being cast outside the gate recalls the imagery of the Valley of Ben Hinnom or Gehenna, where the unclean and unworthy were cast and burned. Jesus, in coming to earth as one of us and dying in our place, went to hell to save us from the curse and bring us from death to life. Jesus went to hell for you, and He did so because He loves you and refused to condemn you to death and separation from a relationship with Him. THAT is what Christmas is all about! The baby that was born in a humble stable became the Savior of the world, going to the very depths of hell to stop at nothing to rescue those He dearly loves.
The writer of Hebrews invites those of us who know Jesus and have experienced His salvation, to join Him outside the camp where there are those who are still suffering from the disease of sin and death. Just as Jesus came to where we are to rescue us, so we are called to go to those who still need to hear about His love.
Watch the video below and spend some time reflecting on Jesus’ love for you, find a way to thank and worship Him, and think about ways you can follow Jesus outside the gate to spread the Good News of salvation to those who do not know about His amazing love.
