In Revelation 20, the Apostle John saw a vision in which anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

How should we interpret John's vision and other biblical passages that describe a place commonly referred to as hell?

Keep listening to hear Dr. David K. Bernard's answer.

Welcome to Apostolic Life in the 21st Century, a podcast dedicated to helping modern

day believers live out the teachings of the first century church.

This podcast is part of the teaching ministry of Dr. David K. Bernard.

Dr. Bernard has dedicated his life to studying the Bible

and helping believers apply its message to their daily lives.

In apostolic life in the 21st century,

Dr. Bernard answers your questions about what the Bible teaches

and how those teachings apply to everyday life.

In the closing verses of Revelation 20, the Apostle John sees a vision in which the way he describes it is that death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.

And then he adds, this is the second death and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was

cast into the lake of fire. Most of us, of course, are used to thinking of hell as the lake of fire,

but the way John describes it, death and hell are cast into the lake of fire. So my question for you

is, what's going on in this passage and how do we make sense of John's vision and other

biblical teachings on this place that we call hell? First, it's important to understand the

meaning of the word hell in English. It actually represents several different words in the Bible.

So we've got to start there. So in Revelation 20, for example, when death and hell are cast in the lake of fire,

hell there is the Greek term Hades, which means place of the dead.

It's a parallel to the Old Testament word shield.

But there is a different word used by Jesus for hell in the sense of the lake of fire,

...