Hell: What exactly is in the Bible?

The existence of hell is generally undisputed. And no, before you get all excited, I’m not here to try to disprove the existence of hell exactly. I’m just trying to make clear distinctions and definitions about the Biblical, eternal location of those who did/have not accept Jesus Christ as Savior.
First of all, we should probably define our terms. I will use as a base point the teachings in Lesson 11 of Awana’s Main Study 4 (MS4). However, most of this post is concerning the very definition of what we consider Hell, so the problems will begin immediately. MS4 states “At death, the soul of a person leaves the body. Souls of the saved go immediately to heaven; those of the unsaved to into immediate punishment. This punishment is a place called ‘Sheol’ in the New Testament, [and] ‘Hades in the New Testament (Luke 16:19-31) [which I’ll deal with in a minute]. Both terms refer to hell.” Later in the lesson, it says that “hell is not a place where the unsaved will sit around playing cards. It is a place of constant, conscious torment. The Bible describes hell as a lake of fire (Revelation 20:14-15). (Note: I only included the card playing part just to give you the entire quote so you knew I wasn’t messing with their argument. Okay, so this is where the problems start. MS4 says that hell is translated as “Hades” and is a lake of fire. First of all, the words “Hades” and “Sheol” both mean the same thing. Sheol is Hebrew and used in the OT, and Hades is Greek and used in the NT. Anywayl, what about Revelation 20:13-15?

[13] And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. [14] Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15] And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
(Note: All the verses I use are from the ESV Bible)

So if Hades is thrown into the lake of fire, and hell is both Hades and the lake of fire, that means hell is thrown into itself. That sounds quite impossible to me. I mean, the reading here is pretty straightforward. What’s obvious here is in verse 15, that all whose names were not written in the book of life were thrown into the lake of fire. But to make sure we can define lake of fire enough, let’s back up to Revelation 20:10 which says “[10] and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” So, the lake of fire is a burning place of torment forever and ever. But, we’ve also noted that the concept of hell seems to be a bit different than what MS4 is saying so far. Now, let’s look back at their backup verse for Hades in Luke 16. The actual relevant part is 22 through 28, so I’ll just quote that:

[22] The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, [23] and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. [24] And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ [25] But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. [26] And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ [27] And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— [28] for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’

Okay, so here, Jesus is describing Hades. It is:

1. A place of torment
   
2. A place with flames
   
3. Is separated from “Abraham’s side” by a great fixed chasm
   
4. A place whose inhabitants can speak to those at “Abraham’s side”
   
5. A place where those at “Abraham’s side” can speak to its inhabitants
   
6. A place where those at “Abraham’s side” can see its inhabitants

Now, for further clarification, I will quote some ESV Study Bible Notes:

Luke 16:22–23 The poor man died and received no burial, in contrast to the rich man who was buried. The poor man was carried … to Abraham's side (lit., “bosom”), which means he was welcomed into the fellowship of other believers already in heaven, particularly Abraham, the father of the Jewish people.But the rich man went to Hades (the place of the wicked, the dead, or “hell”), a place of torment. That the rich man saw Abraham far off indicates the unbridgeable gulf between heaven and hell. The previous earthly situations of the rich man and Lazarus are completely reversed. As in 13:28, the unbelieving dead seem to have some awareness of the blessedness of believers in heaven. Though this is a parable, and thus it is unclear how far the actual details should be pressed, the story seems clearly to teach that, immediately after death, both believers and unbelievers have a conscious awareness of their eternal status and enter at once into either suffering or blessing.

Luke 16:24 have mercy. The merciless one now seeks mercy but will not receive it (vv. 25–26) because the “year of the Lord's favor” (4:19) has passed. send Lazarus. The rich man knows Lazarus's name and thus knew his plight, though he had ignored it. The conversation between the rich man and Abraham may be one of those details of the parable that should not be pressed for doctrinal significance, for nowhere else in Scripture is there any indication that there will be personal communication between those in heaven and those in hell.

Hmm. So the notes are saying that this is a parable. Which means it did not happen and was used as an example for teaching. So essentially, what the notes (and MS4) are saying is to take from this parable only that which is in orthodox Christianity and suppose the rest to be fiction. So we consider Hades to be a place of torment containing flames (just like the lake of fire which we’ve seemed to establish as something different from Hades), but not as a place where those who are in heaven can see those who are in “hell” and can talk to them. I don’t know about you, but if heaven is a place of perfection and where there will be no pain or sickness or sorrow, how on earth will we be happy when we can potentially see billions of people dying and screaming in pain and agony? I mean, one can respond with the fact that God’s glory will overshadow everything, but then what’s the point of being able to see them? A constant reminder of what we’ve been delivered from? That doesn’t seem right. And the notes themselves say that we should have caution in pressing this passage for doctrine anyway.
Another passage used for the doctrine of “hell” is in Luke 13, specifically, 27-28:

[25] When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ [26] Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ [27] But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ [28] In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.

Here we can see that these are the people who thought they were saved but in reality were “goats” and Jesus does not know them. But also note the timeframe of this teaching. It is figurative and talks about “When the master of the house has risen and shut the door and you begin to stand outside and to know at the door”. Well, is this a description of what happens as soon as one dies? The “you” is obviously plural, so is he talking about a certain set of people that will die and go straight to “hell” or is he talking about an entire group of people that thinks they’re saved because they were “around Jesus” and were “with him” (Note again that this is figurative, so I don’t think he’s just talking to the Jews who were actually with Him during His life on earth). This sounds very much like people who do good works and go to church but haven’t actually repented of their sin and accepted Jesus’ death on the cross as the sole means of getting to heaven. “All you workers of evil” sounds very encompassing to me. So, this is sounding more like the Great White Throne Judgment where all people who aren’t saved will be judged according to their works. Notice that the false believers’ bases for their acceptance into heaven is the things they “did” and not their faith. And curiously, people who are judged in the Great White Throne judgment don’t have their names written in the book of life and are thrown where? Oh, the lake of fire! Sounds like a great place for weeping and gnashing of teeth to me! And notice Jesus doesn’t even say “In hell, there will be…” He says “in that place”. So is “hell” a place of gnashing of flame and of gnashing of teeth? Hmm. Let’s keep looking.
Another interesting passage that mentions Hades/Sheol is in Acts 2. Peter is preaching a sermon to the Jews and is talking about how it was God’s will that Jesus died.

[25] For David says concerning him,           “‘I saw the Lord always before me,         for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;      [26] therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;         my flesh also will dwell in hope.      [27] For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,         or let your Holy One see corruption.

So here in this case, Peter is quoting a Psalm of David written about Jesus. Peter even says “For David says concerning him” and he’s talking about Jesus. Verse 27 says “For you will not abandon my soul to Hades”. Now the first thing that might pop into your head is “Aha! 1 Peter 3:19 talks about Jesus descending into hell and preaching to people there! It makes sense!” No it doesn’t. The passage is very ambiguous and actually is talking about the Spirit of Jesus preaching to those in the times of Noah who would not listen. There are also many issues with that being added into the Apostle’s Creed much later that the rest and for odd reasons.  It obviously has a more complex explanation, but since the main point of this blog is not 1 Peter 3:19, I’m just going to say that the belief Jesus preached to souls in “hell” is a load of hogwash. If you want the complex explanation, read Systematic Theology Pages 582-594. Now, going back on track, the passage seems to make a lot more sense to read it literally “For you will not abandon my soul to the grave”. That’s simple. Jesus’ soul was not abandoned to the grave because He rose again 3 days later.
And hey, how about another passage? Revelation 1:18 says:

“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

So here, Jesus is talking to John just before He reveals to him all the things that will happen. He says that he died, and now is alive forevermore. He also says (in the same sentence) that He has the keys of Death and Hades. So, does he have the keys of “hell”? Well, possibly. But the explanation that He has the keys of death and the grave fit well with the previous phrase of being died and alive forevermore. Jesus conquered the grave and death has no more power over those who believe.
Well, we’ve been focusing really heavily on “Hades” and have actually hit almost every NT reference to it in the Bible. (There’s one other where it’s talking about a city descending into Hades [Matt:23:11] but that seems irrelevant to my argument so I won’t use it). In Psalm 30, David begins with praising God for His help when he was in trouble. He says:

[3] O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

Now this passage is somewhat figurative. If one uses Sheol as “hell” or “grave” it’s not really saying that David, one of the most faithful followers of God and who obviously had faith in the coming Messiah died and was raised from the dead. However, the ESV study notes say:

Ps. 30:1–3 Reasons Why I Will Extol. The opening phrase, I will extol you, is followed by three experiences that lead the singer to extol God: deliverance from the attacks of the foes, answered prayer in desperate circumstances, and rescue from impending death. The mention of Sheol and the pit in v. 3 probably indicates that the threatened death would have been death under divine judgment (cf. 28:1).

So here we can see that it was highly likely that David is thanking God for saving his life in a dangerous situation. (Fleeing from Saul maybe?) Also note the parallelism between “Sheol” and “the pit”. When you tack on the fact that he says God “restored him to life” it makes clear and obvious sense to translate “Sheol” as “grave”.
So it seems to me that “hell” is somewhat of a misnomer. However, I can think of some issues. Does this mean that when good people die, they don’t go straight to heaven but are also in “the grave” with the spirits of the unsaved? Or do the saved go to heaven and the unsaved are stuck in “the grave” or some place like it where God’s presence and love is absent and they are simply tormented? The questions keep coming, but really, as much as I like to make these arguments, they’re kind of pointless, because regardless, the saved go to heaven and the unsaved burn in the end.