The Origin of Hell?

“For fire has been kindled because of My anger and burns to the depths of Sheol it devours the land and its produce and scorches the foundations of the mountains.” - Deuteronomy 32:22 Holman Illustrated Study Bible

This scripture is intriguing to me because I think it may indicate the origin of hell. This verse came from a “song” that God gave to Moses, ordering him to teach it to the Hebrews before they entered the promised land–the land flowing with milk and honey, the land, you will recall, in which Caleb and Joshua returned a good report and for which they were subsequently blessed–and before Moses died and “was gathered with his people.”

God knew that the Hebrews would almost immediately turn their back on His law and begin serving other gods, and so He wrote the song so that the Hebrews knew He knew, and understood what He was going to do to them should they commit such atrocities.

History shows that they did, and He did.

According to JewishEncyclopedia.com** Sheol is “very deep” and “marks the point at the greatest possible distance from heaven.” Sheol is a place of silence where warriors carry their weapons with them but have no power, they are mere shadows of themselves–hence they are the name “rephaim.”

Sheol is divided up into compartments. It has gates. It is a place where both the righteous and unrighteous go–the righteous to one day ascend unto God, the unrighteous elsewhere.

In the Deuteronomy verse quoted above, we see that God says that His fire burns to the depths of Sheol. If the righteous are also there, then my question is obvious: What becomes of them if they don’t deserve the fire of God’s anger? Moses, for example. Did he go to Sheol, and if so, was he rescued before God’s anger kindled and burned to its depths?

Another interesting phrase is that God’s fire “scorches the foundations of the mountains.” I assume the foundations of the mountains are the tectonic plates, which at their seams certainly contain untold quantities of molten rock.

But the most mysterious phrase is the one that says God’s fire “devours the land and its produce…” Clearly this has not yet happened. There have certainly been large fires over the millennia, but I (perhaps naively) assume this clause is saying the entire earth’s land and produce are devoured. This reminds me of Luke 12:49 where Jesus says “I came to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze.” Also 2 Peter 3:10, which says “But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.” And finally, Revelation 21:1 says this: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea existed no longer.”

So, I’m wondering if this is a prophetic verse: God is saying that as He watches the Hebrews turn from His law to the foolishness of idolatry, His anger will so greatly kindle that His fire will ultimately burn up even Sheol.

Those that are found unrighteous are said to be cast into the lake of fire. This is the hell that I understand from my earliest days of Sunday school.

All of this activity seems to happen on the Judgment day, when the Book of Life is brought forward and those whose names are found in it are taken into the Lord’s presence, but those whose names are blotted out are cast into the lake of fire. I believe all names are written in the Book, but those who finally, ultimately and irrevocably reject God and His son are blotted out. I don’t think God happily does this blotting. I think this is a very sad time for the hosts of heaven.

Anyway, Deuteronomy 33:22 is an extremely interesting verse, one that is prophetic in nature and denotes God’s emotions toward a stubborn and rebellious people.

** http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=S&artid=614

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