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of innocence and the temporal blessings of Eden, while his disobedience involved
himself and his descendants in the forfeiture of these blessings. What is true concerning
the first death is true of the second death also. If the second death means eternal
conscious agony, it cannot be justly named the second death, for it differs in its every
character. Into the second death God will cast Hades (i.e. gravedom), and death, the last
enemy to be destroyed.
The lake of fire is God's great destructor. All things that offend are gathered out of
God's kingdom, not to be perpetuated by constant miracle, but to be destroyed, root and
branch. We hope to prove this definitely when we have considered the N.T. words.
Space will not allow us to go further in this issue. Muth, death, is the expression of abad,
periash, shamad, destroy, tsamath, cut off, karath, cut off, and kalah, to make an utter
end.
In our next paper we shall have to refer to muth again, as we shall therein consider the
word "hell" in the O.T. Meanwhile , let us not rest in the words of man, but let us see to
it that our faith rests in the "words which the Holy Ghost teacheth."
The Wages of Sin.
"Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee,
and thou be found a liar" (Prov. 30: 6).
pp. 84-88
We desire to draw attention in this paper to the word which in the Old Testament is
translated "hell," and to show its close connection with the word muth (death) which we
considered in our last article. The word in its original is sheol. It is translated "grave"
31 times, "hell" 31 times, and "pit" 3 times. The word sheol is dervied from the verb
shaal, meaning "to ask" or "to enquire."
Moses used the word sheol 7 times. The first 6 occurrences the A.V. renders by
"the grave" and "pit," the last by the word "hell." The passages are as follows:--
"I will go down into sheol (A.V. the grave), unto my son mourning" (Gen. 37: 35).
"Then shall ye bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to sheol" (A.V. the grave)
(Gen. 42: 38).
"My grey hairs with sorrow to sheol" (A.V. the grave) (Gen. 44: 29).
"His grey hairs to sheol" (A.V. the grave) (Gen. 44: 31).
"If the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up. . . . and they go down
quick (alive) unto sheol" (A.V. the pit) (Num. 16: 30).
"They went down alive unto sheol" (A.V. the pit) (Num. 16: 33).
"For a fire is kindled in Mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest sheol (A.V. hell),
and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the
mountains" (Deut. 32: 22).
Let the reader try the word "hell" in place of "grave," as used by Jacob and his sons,
and then let him ask whether Deut. 32: 22 has been translated fairly.