CHAPTER 15

THE PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF HELL

The doctrine of hell massively contradicts the truth of the Bible that God is the Saviour of all men and the Saviour of the world. Before we comment in some detail about the pagan origin of the doctrine of hell, it is important to first clearly establish that the Apostolic Church preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the absolute biblical truth of Universal Salvation and Reconciliation through the work of the cross. 

Apostle Paul Preached Universal Salvation and Reconciliation

Colossians 1:19-20
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

God used Apostle Paul mightily to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul was a Universalist through and through. He preached the Good News of Universal Salvation and Reconciliation to all of the churches where he ministered in his thirty-two years of ministry. The following scriptures show and prove that Apostle Paul preached the Gospel of Universal Salvation and Reconciliation.

Romans 5:18-19, 11:26,32, 1 Corinthians 15:22-23, 2 Corinthians 5:15-19, Galatians 3:8-9, Ephesians 1:7-10, Philippians 1:9-11, Colossians 1:15-20, 1 Timothy 2:3-6, 4:9-10, Titus 2:11-12.

There is only one statement made by Apostle Paul, in 2 Thessalonians 1:9, that speaks of ‘everlasting (aionios) destruction’, but this is a mistranslation of the Greek word aionios, as we explain in Chapter 17.

Apostle John Preached Universal Salvation and Reconciliation

Like Apostle Paul, Apostle John also believed in and preached Universal Salvation and Reconciliation. The following scriptures show and prove this. 

John 1:29, 4:42, 6:33, 51, 12:32, 1 John 2:2, 4:14, Revelation 5:13, 21:1-6.

Please also refer to Chapter 3, Universal Reconciliation Scriptures, The Riches of Christ for commentary on many glorious scriptures, which clearly confirm the biblical truth of Universal Salvation and Reconciliation.

The ministry of Apostles Paul and John reached thousands of early Christians in many villages, towns, cities and regions including Damascus, Cilicia, Jerusalem, Antioch, Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Lycaonia, Galatia, Troas, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus and Malta. We can be sure that the early Christians believed in Universal Salvation and Reconciliation just like Apostles Paul and John. It is not surprising that Universalism was the predominant belief of the early Christian church in the first few centuries following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“During the first five centuries of Christianity, there were six theological schools, of which four (Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea, and Edessa, or Nisibis) were Universalist; one (Ephesus) accepted conditional mortality; one (Carthage or Rome) taught endless punishment of the wicked.” (The Schaff-Herzog Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. 12, page 96: Retrieved April 29, 2007) 

Clements of Alexandria (150-215 A.D.), Origen of Alexandria (185-254 A.D.), Gregory of Nazianzus (330-390 A.D.) and Gregory of Nyssa (335-390 A.D.), known as ‘the Greek Church Fathers’, all believed in Universal Salvation and Reconciliation.

‘Universalism, the Prevailing Doctrine of the Christian Church during Its First Five Hundred Years’ by J W Hanson is a thorough research on the subject described by the title of this book. It was first published in 1899 and is available to read for free online.

‘The Origin and History of the Doctrine of Endless Punishment’ by Thomas B Thayer, published in 1881, is also available to read for free online. In this  well researched book, Thomas B Thayer argues that ancient Egyptians believed in the concept of eternal torment, and it spread from them to the Greeks and Romans.

We know that the Apostolic Church, as founded by the early Apostles, did not believe in hell, therefore, it does not surprise us that the concept of eternal torment in hell originated from pagan philosophy and pagan beliefs. For example, Plato (427-347 B.C.) discussed the concept of hell in his dialogue ‘Gorgias’ where he spoke of eternal punishments. There can be no doubt whatsoever that belief in eternal punishment in hell was a pagan belief embraced by Roman Catholicism in the very early years of the history of Christianity.
 
The Roman Catholic Latin Church Fathers, Tertullian (160-220 A.D.), Jerome (347-420 A.D.) and Augustine (354-430 A.D.), all strongly believed in the doctrine of hell. These early Latin Church Fathers are highly venerated Roman Catholic saints who believed that God’s punishment of unbelievers would be in a hell of everlasting torment.

In 382 A.D. Pope Damasus commissioned Jerome to make a revised translation of the Bible in Latin. Jerome, a Roman Catholic by birth, believed in the doctrine of hell and he produced the revised translation of the complete Bible in Latin known as the Latin Vulgate (circa 405 A.D.).

Jerome mistranslated and misinterpreted several key Hebrew and Greek words into the Latin Vulgate in support of the already established doctrine of hell in the Roman Catholic Church. We expose and highlight these translation and interpretation errors in the next two chapters, Chapters 16 and 17.

The Latin Vulgate became the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church, and to this day, it is regarded to be free from any doctrinal errors by the Roman Catholic Church. The Latin Vulgate reigned supreme for over a thousand years and the doctrine of hell became deeply entrenched into the psyche of the Christian world as a true biblical doctrine. This was because of the complete dominance of the Roman Catholic Church throughout the Middle Ages, from the 5th century to the 16th century. 

Jerome, through the Latin Vulgate, and Augustine, through his book City of God, are the most important and influential figures in the development of Roman Catholicism.

Augustine was canonised and recognised as a Doctor of the Church in 1298 A.D. by Pope Boniface. Augustine has profoundly influenced both Roman Catholic and Protestant doctrines. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists, consider him to be one of  the  theological  fathers of the Protestant Reformation. It is ironic that Augustine, reputed to have combated heresies in the church, was himself the very one who championed belief in one of the greatest church heresies of all time, namely, the doctrine of hell.

From circa 590-1517 A.D. the Roman Church reigned supreme and dominated the western world where it controlled religion, philosophy, morals, politics, art and education, and became a very wealthy institution. This was the dark ages for true Christianity. The vital doctrines of Biblical Christianity had, from all appearances, disappeared from the scene.

During these Dark Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church refused to allow Scripture to be available in any language other than Latin. Those in possession of non-Latin Scriptures were persecuted and sometimes even killed. Only priests were educated to understand Latin, and this gave the church ultimate power. Power to control and rule the masses without question. The  Roman Catholic Church capitalised on this enforced ignorance of the peoples for over a thousand years.

The first hand-written English language Bible translation was produced circa 1380 by John Wycliffe, an Oxford professor, scholar and theologian. Wycliffe translated it from the Latin Vulgate, which was the only source text available to him. Pope Martin V was so infuriated by the activities of Wycliffe and his translation of the Bible into English such that 44 years after Wycliffe’s death, he ordered the bones of Wycliffe to be dug-up, crushed and scattered in a river!

In 1517 A.D. Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic German monk, openly confronted the unbiblical practices of Roman Catholicism. Luther famously posted his 95 theses in Latin to display his displeasure with the abuses of Roman Catholicism, most notably the sale of indulgences. This revolt by Martin Luther changed the course of western civilisation by initiating the Protestant Reformation.

Martin Luther abandoned many of the unbiblical teachings and practices of Roman Catholicism. He had a degree of understanding of the biblical truth of Righteousness by Faith. However, sadly, Luther failed to see and believe the really Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that ultimately, God will grant the gift of God’s Righteousness to all people in God’s time and order, extending beyond this age.

Martin Luther could not break loose from one of the greatest Roman Catholic heresies of all time, the doctrine of hell. This was because of the supremacy of the Latin Vulgate and the profound influence of Augustinian theology. Sadly, Martin Luther died without knowing the full extent of the love and forgiveness of God towards all people whom he created in His own image. Luther left this life with an intense hatred and unforgiveness in his heart towards Jews.

Some of the most influential figures in Christendom; Tertullian, Constantine, Jerome, John Chrysostom, Augustine, Martin Luther and John Calvin, all believed in the doctrine of hell and all them were anti-Semitic. God did not reveal the Mystery of the Ages to these individuals, which is the truth of Universal Salvation and Reconciliation through the work of the cross.

It is not surprising that the translators of the KJV (1611 A.D.) were greatly influenced, both directly and indirectly, by the Latin Vulgate and they simply copied many of the translation errors made by the Latin Vulgate in support of the doctrine of hell. Do you know that the KJV was originally published with the spurious books of the Apocrypha, as contained in the Latin Vulgate?

The KJV was the standard version of the Bible for Protestant Christianity for nearly 350 years and it has been translated into many languages. The KJV has had a major influence on formulating the traditional Protestant Christian doctrine of hell, which is of course similar to the Roman Catholic doctrine of hell. 

Many subsequent versions of the Bible have corrected translation errors found in the KJV to varying degrees. However, the most popular versions of the Bible like the NIV, the NKJV, the NAS, the RSV and others have still retained the basic translation errors, which support the doctrine of hell. Some versions of the Bible like YLT (Young’s Literal Translation) have been true to the literal meanings of the original Hebrew and Greek Manuscripts and they have entirely eliminated the doctrine of hell from the Bible.

The false teaching of the doctrine of hell is a heresy of the greatest proportion. It changes the great victory won by Jesus Christ on the cross over sin and death for all people into a great defeat for most people. It is about time that Christians worldwide woke up to the truth of the Bible, which tells us that Jesus is the Saviour of the world. It is about time they broke free from the false teaching and belief in the doctrine of hell, one of the greatest church heresies of all time.

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