The Biblical Hell Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tophet

The KJV translates Sheol, Gehenna, and Hades simply as "hell." "Sheol" is used in the Old Testament in passages such as Deut. 32:22, Job 11:8, and Isaiah 5:14, among others. "Hades" is used less frequently, but can be found in Matt. 11:23 and 16:18, and Luke 10:15 and 16:23. "Gehenna" is the word most often used in the New Testament to represent hell. "Tophet" is used in the Bible, but the KJV leaves it as Tophet, and does not translate it into the English word "hell." Like "Gehenna," it is a word used for the Valley of Hinnom: "And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart" (Jeremiah 7:31).

Answer: The worm

Hell is a place "Where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:48). However, the body and soul apparently can be destroyed: "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). Annihilationists have used this verse to negate the traditional concept of hell as a place of eternal, conscious, punishment.

They argue that it is, instead, a state of annihilation and therefore eternal separation from God. Traditionalists, however, point out that the Bible also refers to hell as "everlasting punishment" (Matthew 25:46).

There is a third view: some rabbinical literature taught that hell would mean annihilation for certain sinners, and eternal conscious punishment for others. (See http://www.yeshuatyisrael.com/sheol.htm)

Answer: A parable

Those who argue that the story is a parable point out that it begins in the manner of a parable: "And there was a certain beggar..." (Luke 16:20). This is how Christ begins many of his parables in Luke: "There was a certain rich man..." (Luke 16:1) and "A certain man went down from Jerusalem..." (Luke 10:30). Those who consider it an actual event argue that none of the other parables gives a name to the characters, whereas here we have a beggar named Lazarus.

The counter argument to that, in turn, is that the rich man is unnamed, and "Lazarus" may have been a common name given to beggars, much like "Jane Doe."

Answer: A garbage dump

"Gehenna" is a Greek form of the Hebrew word for the Valley of Hinnom. There, the Ammonites sacrificed children to the god Moloch by burning them alive. One method was to fill the belly of a metal idol with hot coals, and to place the children in its hands. By Christ's time, the Valley served as a giant garbage dump, where refuse was burned.

Answer: A holding place for the dead

According to the article "Sheol and the Afterlife," (http://www.yeshuatyisrael.com/sheol.htm), "The Hebrew word SheÔol, for example, in Deuteronomy 32:22 (R.V. 'the lowest pit'), is probably derived from a root 'to make hollow,' and was seen as the common receptacle of the dead, below the earth."

Answer: Psalms

Psalm 16:10 is often viewed as a messianic prophecy. According to Christian tradition, after his crucifixion, Christ descended into hell, but he did not remain there. On the third day, he rose again.

Answer: Ezekiel

Amos refers to hell only once (9:2), Jonah only once (2:2), and Habakkuk only once (2:5). However, Ezekiel refers to it at least four times. Isaiah (not a choice here) refers to hell even more frequently.

Answer: The tongue

"And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. " (James 3:6). James emphasizes the importance of guarding our tongues, and being slow to speak.

Answer: A lake of fire

Revelation 20:14 says: "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."

Answer: Death

Revelation 6:8: "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."