church of Christ at 26th and Connecticut
Joplin, Missouri

Phone
417-781-2326
Fax
417-781-2326

   Worship Schedule

Sunday
    Bible Class              9 am
    Morning Worship    10 am
    Evening Worship      6 pm

Wednesday
     Devotional & Class   7 pm

Upcoming Activities

HADES, PARADISE AND TARTARUS

1.      Hades

“Hades” is a Greek word that means “unseen.”  Sometimes “Hades” is translated “the grave,” referring to where a body goes at death.  But sometimes, as we’ll see, “Hades” refers to where a soul goes at death.

The wicked go to Hades

In Luke 16:19-31, we read about Lazarus who died and was carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom where he was comforted.  We also read there about a rich man who died and went to “Hades” where he was tormented.  He went there because he wouldn’t repent (Luke 16:30).  So, the lost go to “Hades” when they die to be tormented. 

The righteous go to Hades

But then, in Acts 2:27, we also read about Jesus’ soul in “Hades” between His death and resurrection (in the New American Standard Bible, the New King James Version, and the English Standard Version).  This suggests, then, that there is a place in “Hades” where the righteous go.  We would assume that this is the same place of comfort where Lazarus and Abraham were.

2.      Paradise

The word “Paradise” means “park” or “garden.”  In the Septuagint, a Bible translation used by Jesus and the apostles, the garden of Eden was called “Paradise.” 

Paradise between death and resurrection

Just before Jesus died, He told a robber that they both would be in Paradise that day (Luke 23:43).  We infer, therefore, that Paradise is that comfortable part of Hades to which the righteous go when they die.  Paul equates “Paradise” with “the third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2-3).  The first heaven would be where the birds fly.  The second heaven would be outer space.  The third heaven probably refers to the “Paradise” portion of “Hades.”

The heavenly Paradise

However, “Paradise” apparently refers to heaven in the book of Revelation.  I say this because it speaks of Paradise having the tree of life in Revelation 2:7.  But then, in Revelation 22:2, the tree of life is pictured as being in heaven.  So, both the ultimate home of the righteous and the temporary home of the righteous are Paradises.

3.      Tartarus

The English word “hell” appears 13 times in the New American Standard Bible.  12 of those times, it translates the Greek word “Gehenna” and refers to the ultimate dwelling place of the wicked.  But in 2 Peter 2:4, it translates a form of the Greek word “Tartarus,” which means “incarceration.”

Angels in Tartarus

Here’s what 2 Peter 2:4 says: “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell [Greek: Tartarus] and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment,” then, verse 9 answers, “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment” (NASB).  So, sinful angels are being kept in Tartarus until judgment day.

Humans in Tartarus

The Bible doesn’t actually say that humans also go to Tartarus.  Greek mythology does, but the Bible doesn’t.  However, Bible students have found it reasonable to conclude that this “Tartarus” is that same place of torment to which the rich man went (Luke 16:19-31).

4.      Conclusions