Multiple Biblical Realms of Judgment

The Bible describes not one hell, but multiple realms of judgment, each with a distinct

purpose. Sheol in Hebrew and Hades in Greek both refer to the underworld,

a temporary holding place for the dead before final judgment. It's not eternal torment yet,

just a shadowy waiting room where souls exist in consciousness. Then there's Gehenna, the word Jesus used

most often. This was the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem, a cursed place where

garbage and bodies burned continuously. Jesus weaponized this image to describe the consequence

of rejecting God, a place of ultimate destruction and separation. Tartarus appears

once in Second Peter, describing a dark abyss where rebellious angels are chained, awaiting their final