Our Readers Ask

Why Does God Allow Suffering?

God is not the cause of human suffering. “Far be it from the true God to act wickedly!” states the Bible. (Job 34:10) Who, then, is the prime instigator of misery?

Jesus called Satan “the ruler of the world.” (John 14:30) True, Jehovah is the Universal Sovereign. That position he will never relinquish. However, for a time, God has allowed Satan to rule most of mankind.​—1 John 5:19.

What kind of ruler has Satan been? Ever since his first contact with humans, Satan has been a murderer and a deceiver. Satan wreaks havoc on human society in profound ways. Jesus indicted him with these words: “That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie.” (John 8:44) Jesus also said that the men seeking to kill him were children of the first murderer. They made themselves his children by acting like him. Like father, like son, the adage states.

Satan still fosters murderous attitudes in the hearts of mankind. For example, R. J. Rummel, emeritus professor at the University of Hawaii, U.S.A., estimates that from 1900 to 1987, various governments murdered 169,198,000 people during political purges, genocides, and indiscriminate acts of violence. That death toll is in addition to the tens of millions killed on the battlefield during the same period.

If God does not cause suffering, why does he allow it? Because universal issues, moral ones, raised a long time ago still need to be settled. Let us look at just one of them.

At the beginning of human history, Adam and Eve sided with Satan. They rejected God’s rule and chose self-rule, which was really rule by the Devil.​—Genesis 3:1-6; Revelation 12:9.

Jehovah’s sense of justice required that time be allowed for evidence to accumulate. What is the inescapable conclusion? Human rule under Satan’s influence leads only to suffering. Really, in the long run, God’s allowance of time has been for man’s benefit. How so? Those who study the evidence and believe it have the opportunity to demonstrate their willingness to be ruled by God. Those who learn of God’s standards and live by them have the prospect of living forever.​—John 17:3; 1 John 2:17.

True, for now, Satan has the world in his evil grip. But not for much longer. Soon Jehovah will use his Son to “break up the works of the Devil.” (1 John 3:8) Under God’s direction, Jesus will mend broken hearts and restore shattered lives. He will resurrect back to life on earth billions of humans who have suffered and died over the centuries.​—John 11:25.

The resurrection of Jesus is an example of God’s victory over the works of the Devil​—a token of what is to come for humans who choose God’s rule. (Acts 17:31) The Bible directs our thoughts to that time to come with these comforting words: “God himself will be with [mankind]. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”​—Revelation 21:3, 4.

OUR READERS ASK . . .

Why Does God Allow the Strong to Oppress the Weak?

The Bible records some troubling instances of oppression of the weak by the strong. The case of Naboth comes to mind.* Ahab, a king of Israel in the tenth century B.C.E., allowed his wife, Jezebel, to have Naboth and his sons killed so that the king could take the man’s vineyard. (1 Kings 21:1-16; 2 Kings 9:26) Why did God allow such a gross abuse of power?

“God . . . cannot lie.”​—Titus 1:2

Let us focus on one important reason: God cannot lie. (Titus 1:2) What does that have to do with wicked acts of oppression? Well, in the very beginning, God warned mankind that rebellion against him would bring a grim result​—death. True to God’s word, death has been a part of the human experience ever since the rebellion in the garden of Eden. The first human death, in fact, came about through an act of oppression​—when Cain murdered his brother Abel.​—Genesis 2:16, 17;4:8.

Regarding human history since then, God’s Word summarizes it this way: “Man has dominated man to his harm.” (Ecclesiastes 8:9) Have those words proved true? Jehovah warned the nation of Israel, his people, that they would find their kings oppressive, causing the people to cry out to God. (1 Samuel 8:11-18) Even wise King Solomon taxed his people excessively. (1 Kings 11:43; 12:3, 4) Wicked kings, such as Ahab, were far more tyrannical. Consider: If God had prevented all such acts of domination, would he not, in effect, have turned his own words into a lie?

“Man has dominated man to his harm.”​—Ecclesiastes 8:9

Remember, too, that Satan claims that people serve God only for selfish reasons. (Job 1:9, 10; 2:4) If God protected all his servants from all forms of domination, would that not tend to substantiate Satan’s claims? And if God prevented all forms of oppression for everyone, would he not be responsible for an even greater falsehood? Under such protection, many might assume that humans can rule themselves successfully without God. But God’s Word says the very opposite​—that man is completely incapable of governing himself. (Jeremiah 10:23) We need the Kingdom of God to come; only then will injustice end.

Does that mean, then, that God does nothing about oppression? No. Consider two things he does: First, he exposes tyranny for what it is. For example, his Word exposes every aspect of Jezebel’s plot against Naboth. The Bible further reveals that such evil deeds are promoted by a powerful ruler who wants to hide his identity. (John 14:30; 2 Corinthians 11:14) The Bible exposes him as Satan the Devil. By exposing wickedness and oppression along with their true source, God helps us to keep free of wickedness ourselves. He thus protects our eternal future.

Second, God provides solid hope for an end to oppression. The way he exposed, judged, and punished Ahab and Jezebel​—as well as many like them—​gives us confidence in his promises to punish all evildoers one day. (Psalm 52:1-5) God also provides reliable hope that he will soon reverse the bad effects of wickedness for those who love him.* Faithful Naboth will thus see a time when he and his sons will live on a paradise earth forever free from injustice.​—Psalm 37:34.

See the article “Imitate Their Faith” in this issue.

See chapter 11 of the book What Does the Bible Really Teach? published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

OUR READERS ASK . . .

Who Made God?

Picture a father talking with his seven-year-old son. He says, “Long, long ago, God made the earth and everything in it, and he made the sun, the moon, and the stars.” The boy thinks about this for a few moments and then asks, “Daddy, who made God?”

“Nobody made God,” the father replies. “He has always existed.” That simple statement satisfies the child for now. As he grows older, however, the question continues to intrigue him. He finds it hard to comprehend how anyone could be without a beginning. Why, even the universe had a beginning. ‘Where did God come from?’ he wonders.

How does the Bible answer? Essentially, in much the same way as did the father in our example. Moses wrote: “O Jehovah, . . . before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the productive land, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.” (Psalm 90:1, 2) Likewise, the prophet Isaiah exclaimed: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, is a God for all eternity”! (Isaiah 40:28) Similarly, the letter of Jude refers to God as existing “for all past eternity.”​—Jude 25.

Those scriptures show us that God is “the King of eternity,” as the apostle Paul describes him. (1 Timothy 1:17) This means that God has always existed, no matter how far back in time we cast our gaze. And he will always exist in the future. (Revelation 1:8) Thus, his eternal existence is a fundamental attribute of the Almighty.

Why do we find this idea difficult to grasp? Because our limited life span gives us a completely different concept of time from that of Jehovah. Because God is eternal, to him a thousand years are like a day. (2 Peter 3:8) To illustrate: Could a grasshopper, which lives as an adult for only about 50 days, fathom our life span of 70 or 80 years? Hardly! Yet, the Bible explains that we are like grasshoppers in comparison with our Grand Creator. Even our ability to reason is dwarfed by his. (Isaiah 40:22; 55:8, 9) So it is not surprising that there are aspects of Jehovah’s nature that escape full human understanding.

Although the concept of an eternal God may be hard to grasp, we can see that it makes sense. If someone else had created God, that person would be the Creator. Yet, as the Bible explains, Jehovah is the one who “created all things.” (Revelation 4:11) Furthermore, we know that the universe at one time did not exist. (Genesis 1:1, 2) Where did it come from? Its Creator had to exist first. He also existed before there were any other intelligent beings, such as his only-begotten Son and the angels. (Job 38:4, 7; Colossians 1:15) Clearly, then, he existed alone first. He could not have been created; nothing was in existence that could have created him.

Our own existence and that of the entire universe testifies to the existence of an eternal God. The One who put our vast universe in motion, the One who established the laws to control it, must have always existed. Only he could have breathed life into everything else.​—Job 33:4.

Our Readers Ask

Are Natural Disasters Punishment From God?

God does not use natural disasters to punish innocent people. He never has, and he never will. Why? Because “God is love,” says the Bible at 1 John 4:8.

Love is the wellspring of God’s actions. Love does not call down hurt on the innocent, for the Bible states that “love does not work evil to one’s neighbor.” (Romans 13:10) At Job 34:12, the Bible states: “For a fact, God himself does not act wickedly.”

True, the Bible foretold disasters for our day, such as “great earthquakes.” (Luke 21:11) But Jehovah is no more responsible for the destruction caused by them than a weatherman is responsible for the damage done by a typhoon that he forecasts. Well, if God is not behind the human suffering wrought by natural disasters, what is the cause?

“The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one,” Satan the Devil, reveals the Bible. (1 John 5:19) He has been a manslayer from his rebellion at mankind’s beginning down to our day. (John 8:44) Satan sees human life as cheap and disposable. He is governed by self-serving ambition, so it is no wonder that he has created a global system that thrives on selfishness. Today’s world system condones human exploitation even to the point that many defenseless people live in harm’s way, in places where natural or man-made disasters are very likely to strike. (Ephesians 2:2; 1 John 2:16) Thus, greedy humans must bear the blame for some of the calamity that victims experience. (Ecclesiastes 8:9) How so?

A surprising number of disasters are at least partially man-made. Consider, for example, the woes that afflicted residents of the hurricane-flooded city of New Orleans, U.S.A., or the houses flattened by mud slides off the coastal mountains of Venezuela. In those instances and others, natural phenomena, such as wind and rain, turned catastrophic largely because of human environmental ignorance, shoddy engineering, flawed planning, unheeded warnings, and bureaucratic bungling.

Consider a disaster in Bible times. In Jesus’ day, the sudden collapse of a tower claimed 18 lives. (Luke 13:4) This disaster may have been the result of human error, “time and unforeseen occurrence,” or both​—but assuredly not a result of God’s judgment.​—Ecclesiastes 9:11.

Have any disasters ever been caused by the hand of God? Yes, but unlike natural or man-made disasters, they were selective, they had a purpose, and they were extremely rare. The global Flood in the days of the patriarch Noah and the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah during the days of Lot are two examples. (Genesis 6:7-9, 13; 18:20-32; 19:24) Those divine judgments swept away incorrigibly wicked populations but preserved alive people who were righteous in the eyes of God.

As a matter of fact, Jehovah God has the means, the desire, and the power to end all suffering and to bring relief from the effects of natural disasters. Regarding God’s appointed King, Jesus Christ, Psalm 72:12 foretold: “He will deliver the poor one crying for help, also the afflicted one and whoever has no helper.”

Our Readers Ask . . .

Did God Have a Beginning?

▪ The Bible answers that God did not have a beginning. God has always existed. As difficult as the concept of God’s eternity is to grasp, we cannot dismiss the idea simply because we cannot fully comprehend it.

How reasonable is it that we should expect to understand all of God’s ways? The apostle Paul declared: “O the depth of God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How unsearchable his judgments are and past tracing out his ways are!” (Romans 11:33) Our minds cannot fully grasp the depth of God’s wisdom and knowledge any more than an infant can understand all the ways of a parent. These inspired words of Paul, although primarily about the uniqueness of God’s wisdom and mercy, suggest that there are aspects of Jehovah God and his workings that are too deep for our minds to fathom. The concept of God’s being without a beginning is apparently one of them. Yet, we can have absolute trust in what the Bible teaches about God. Jesus Christ said regarding the sacred writings: “Your word is truth.”​—John 17:17.

Moses said in prayer to Jehovah: “You have always been, and you will always be.” (Psalm 90:2, The Holy Bible, New Century Version) Here Moses describes God’s existence as stretching in two directions. One is toward the future. Jehovah is “the One that lives forever and ever.” (Revelation 4:10) Thus, God’s existence stretches forward into the eternal future. The other is toward the past. In other words, God was neither created nor did he come into existence. Rather, God’s existence stretches back into the infinite past.

Abstract ideas are hard for most of us to comprehend. Yet, we sometimes deal with challenging concepts, such as positive and negative numbers. Counting numbers can go on endlessly, either up or down. Could we not apply this example to the years in the life of the Creator?

It is therefore fitting that only God bears the unique title “King of eternity.” (1 Timothy 1:17) Just think: Jesus Christ, the myriads of angels in heaven, and mankind on earth all have a beginning because of being created. (Colossians 1:15, 16) Not so with God. To insist that God must have been created introduces pointless and circular logic about who created the Creator. No, Jehovah alone exists “from eternity to eternity.” (Psalm 90:2, The New American Bible) In other words, Jehovah existed “before all time.”​—Jude 25, footnote.

Keep in mind, though, that the concept of God’s eternal existence is not just a cold fact. A closer look at Moses’ prayer reveals that God’s eternity guarantees a warm promise of everlasting life for us. In contrast with the fleeting nature of our present life, God is described as “a real dwelling for us during generation after generation.” As a loving Father, Jehovah has been, is, and always will be there for his people. May you take comfort in that wonderful truth!​—Psalm 90:1.

Our Readers Ask . . .

Does God Dwell in One Place?

Various religions describe God as omnipresent, a term suggesting that God dwells in all places simultaneously. For example, the New Catholic Encyclopedia refers to God as the one “who is actually present in all existing places and things.” Likewise, John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, wrote a sermon entitled “On the Omnipresence of God” in which he stated that “there is no point of space, whether within or without the bounds of creation, where God is not.”

What does the Bible teach? Is God omnipresent, existing in all places in heaven, on earth, and even in humankind at the same time?

Actually, the Bible speaks of God as having a specific place of dwelling​—the heavens. It records a prayer of King Solomon in which he called upon God: “May you yourself listen from the heavens, your established place of dwelling.” (1 Kings 8:43) When teaching his disciples how to pray, Jesus Christ told them to address their prayers to “Our Father in the heavens.” (Matthew 6:9) After his resurrection, Christ entered “into heaven itself, now to appear before the person of God,” states the Bible.​—Hebrews 9:24.

These verses clearly indicate that Jehovah God dwells, not everywhere, but only in heaven. Of course, “the heavens” mentioned in these passages does not refer to the atmosphere surrounding the earth nor to the vast expanse of outer space. The physical heavens cannot contain the Creator of the universe. (1 Kings 8:27) The Bible tells us that “God is a Spirit.” (John 4:24) He resides in the spiritual heavens, a realm independent of the physical universe.​—1 Corinthians 15:44.

What, though, of Bible passages that seem to suggest that God is present everywhere? For example, as recorded at Psalm 139:7-10, David said regarding God: “Where can I go from your spirit, and where can I run away from your face? If I should ascend to heaven, there you would be; and if I should spread out my couch in Sheol, look! you would be there. Were I to take the wings of the dawn, that I might reside in the most remote sea, there, also, your own hand would lead me.” Do these verses indicate that God is, in fact, omnipresent, dwelling in each of the places mentioned?

Note that David first asked: “Where can I go from your spirit?”* By means of his holy spirit, God can see anything and exert his power anywhere, without literally going there or dwelling there. To illustrate: In recent years scientists have been able to examine soil on the planet Mars, millions of miles (kilometers) from Earth. How? Not by traveling there personally, but by studying detailed photos and other information transmitted back to Earth by probes sent to Mars’ surface.

Likewise, Jehovah God does not have to be present everywhere, or omnipresent, in order to perceive what is happening at any point in the universe. God’s Word says: “There is not a creation that is not manifest to his sight.” (Hebrews 4:13) Yes, Jehovah’s powerful active force, or holy spirit, can extend anywhere, allowing him to be all-seeing and to accomplish his purpose from a fixed location, his “holy dwelling” in the heavens.​—Deuteronomy 26:15.

The Hebrew word here translated “spirit” refers to God’s active force, the power God uses to accomplish his will.

Our Readers Ask . . .

Do All Have an Equal Opportunity to Come to Know God?

When asked which was the greatest commandment, Jesus said: “You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.” (Matthew 22:37) However, before people can love God, they need to acquire accurate knowledge of him. (John 17:3) Will all have an equal opportunity to gain this knowledge?

The primary source of knowledge of God is the Bible. (2 Timothy 3:16) Many live in communities where the Bible is readily available. Those same individuals might also receive repeated invitations to gain accurate knowledge of God by means of a personal Bible study. (Matthew 28:19) Some are raised by their loving Christian parents, who daily give them the opportunity to learn about God.​—Deuteronomy 6:6, 7; Ephesians 6:4.

Others, however, live under less favorable circumstances. Some individuals come from abusive families in which parents have shown no natural affection for their offspring. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Those raised in such an environment might find it difficult to view God as a loving heavenly Father. Many have not had access to adequate schooling, which hampers their ability to read the Bible. Still others have had their minds blinded by false religious teachings, or they live in families, communities, or countries where the teaching of Bible truth is not tolerated. (2 Corinthians 4:4) Do the circumstances of such individuals deny them the opportunity to learn about God and come to love him?

Jesus acknowledged that the challenges some people face will make it difficult for them to love and obey God. (Matthew 19:23, 24) However, Jesus reminded his disciples that even though some obstacles seem insurmountable to men, “with God all things are possible.”​—Matthew 19:25, 26.

Consider the following facts: Jehovah God has ensured that his Word, the Bible, is the most widely distributed book of all time. The Bible foretold that the good news about God and his purpose for the earth would be preached in “all the inhabited earth.” (Matthew 24:14) Today, Jehovah’s Witnesses preach that good news in over 230 lands and produce Bible-based literature in some 500 languages. Even those who have no access to the Bible can still learn much about the true God by observing the things he has made.​—Romans 1:20.

Additionally, God’s Word states: “All hearts Jehovah is searching, and every inclination of the thoughts he is discerning. If you search for him, he will let himself be found by you.” (1 Chronicles 28:9) So although Jehovah does not promise that every individual will receive exactly the same opportunity, he does make sure that an opportunity is held out to all honesthearted ones. He will even make sure that those who have never had the occasion to learn about him will be given an opportunity by means of a resurrection to life in a righteous new world.​—Acts 24:15.

Our Readers Ask . . .

Do All Faithful Christians Go to Heaven?

▪ Many have read Jesus’ comforting words: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Did Jesus mean that all faithful worshippers of his Father, Jehovah God, would go to heaven to enjoy everlasting life in true happiness?

Note Jesus’ thought-provoking statement: “No man has ascended into heaven but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man.” (John 3:13) This implies that faithful worshippers in the past, such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David, had not gone to heaven. (Acts 2:34) Where, then, did they all go? In brief: The faithful of old are in the grave, sleeping in death, unconscious, awaiting resurrection.​—Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6; Acts 24:15.

The Bible’s first reference to heavenly life after death was also by Jesus. He told his apostles that he would prepare a place for them in heaven. (John 14:2, 3) This was something new for God’s people. The apostle Paul later explained that after Jesus’ death and resurrection to heaven, Jesus ‘inaugurated for his disciples a new and living way’​—a way no other human had traveled before.​—Hebrews 10:19, 20.

Does this mean that from then on all faithful ones would go to heaven? No, for resurrection to heaven is closely related to an assignment given only to some humans. On their last evening together, Jesus told his apostles that they would “sit on thrones to judge” in his heavenly Kingdom. Thus, ruling with Jesus in heaven was to be their assignment.​—Luke 22:28-30.

Besides the apostles, other humans would also be given this marvelous commission. In a vision, the apostle John saw Jesus with a group of resurrected ones in heaven described as ‘a kingdom and priests to rule over the earth.’ (Revelation 3:21; 5:10) How many of them were there? As in every government, only a limited number govern. So, too, with this heavenly Kingdom. Jesus, the Lamb of God, rules with 144,000 corulers “bought from among mankind.”​—Revelation 14:1, 4, 5.

True, 144,000 is a small number compared with the number of all faithful ones, past and present. But this is understandable because the 144,000 are resurrected to heaven for a specific sacred assignment of work. If you were to build a house, would you contract all the skilled builders in your area? No. You would need only as many as were required for the job. Similarly, not all faithful ones are chosen by God for the unique privilege of ruling with Christ in heaven.

This heavenly government will accomplish God’s original purpose for mankind. Jesus and his 144,000 corulers will oversee the transformation of the earth into a global paradise, where an untold number of faithful ones will live forever in happiness. (Isaiah 45:18;Revelation 21:3, 4) This will include those in God’s memory, who will be resurrected.​—John 5:28, 29.

Every faithful worshipper of Jehovah​—past or present—​can receive the marvelous gift of everlasting life. (Romans 6:23) A few will receive life in heaven for a special assignment, and the great majority will receive life on earth in a global paradise.

Our Readers Ask

Is All Miraculous Healing From God?

There is no doubt that Jehovah God has the power to heal. Also, there is no doubt that he can give that power to his worshippers. For instance, during the time of the apostles, miraculous healing was one of the special gifts of his holy spirit. The apostle Paul writes: “The manifestation of the spirit is given to each one for a beneficial purpose. For example, to one there is given through the spirit speech of wisdom, . . . to another gifts of healings by that one spirit, . . . to another prophesying, . . . to another different tongues.”​—1 Corinthians 12:4-11.

However, Paul also wrote in that same letter to the Corinthians that the miraculous gifts of God’s holy spirit would end. He said: “Whether there are gifts of prophesying, they will be done away with; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will be done away with.”​—1 Corinthians 13:8.

During the first century, miraculous healings were performed by Jesus Christ and his apostles. At that time in Christian history, the gifts of the spirit, including the ability to perform healings, were for the glory of God and were a sign of Jehovah’s approval and blessing on the young Christian congregation. But once mature or fully established, rather than pointing to special gifts, the Christian congregation would point to its display of unswerving faith, hope, and love as evidence of God’s approval. (John 13:35;1 Corinthians 13:13) Thus, about the year 100 C.E., miraculous healings as a mark of God’s favor ceased.*

Yet, you may wonder, ‘Why do I still hear reports of miraculous cures?’ For example, one newspaper report told of a man who was purportedly afflicted with cancer. He had tumors on his head, on his kidneys, and even deep inside his bones. His future looked grim until the day that God “spoke” with him. A few days later, his cancer was gone, the report said.

When confronted with such a story, why not ask yourself: ‘Is this report factual? Is there documented, clinical evidence to support the claim? And even if there did seem to be a cure, does the Bible teach that God is responsible for all occurrences that appear to be miraculous healings?’

The answer to that last question is particularly important. Jesus cautioned his followers: “Be on the watch for the false prophets . . . Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works [miracles] in your name?’ And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness.”​—Matthew 7:15, 21-23.

Clearly, so-called miraculous healing can come from a source other than God. To avoid being deceived by those who claim to work miracles in God’s name, we need to gain accurate knowledge of God, to use our God-given ability to reason, and to learn how to identify those who are doing his will.​—Matthew 7:16-19; John 17:3; Romans 12:1, 2.

[Footnote]

Evidently, with the death of the apostles, the transmittal of the gifts ended, and the miraculous gifts of the spirit ceased altogether as those who had received these gifts died.

Our Readers Ask . . .

Is Gehenna a Place of Fiery Torment?

▪ In the Gospel accounts, Jesus warns his disciples against suffering the judgment of Gehenna. Obviously, Jesus intended that the warning be taken seriously. However, was he referring to a burning hell of everlasting torment?​—Matthew 5:22.

First, let us look at the word itself. The Greek word Geʹen·na corresponds to the Hebrew geh Hin·nomʹ, meaning “valley of Hinnom,” or more fully geh veneh-Hin·nomʹ, “valley of the sons of Hinnom.” (Joshua 15:8; 2 Kings 23:10) This geographic site, known today as Wadi er-Rababi, is a deep and narrow valley located to the south and southwest of Jerusalem.

In the times of the kings of Judah, from the eighth century B.C.E., this location was used for pagan rites, including the sacrificial burning of children in fire. (2 Chronicles 28:1-3;33:1-6) The prophet Jeremiah foretold that the same valley would become the place of slaughter for Judeans at the hands of the Babylonians in judgment from God for their wickedness.*​—Jeremiah 7:30-33; 19:6, 7.

According to the Jewish scholar David Kimhi (c. 1160-c. 1235 C.E.), the valley was later transformed into a garbage dump for the city of Jerusalem. The place served as an incinerator where fires were kept burning to dispose of rubbish. Anything thrown into this dump would be completely destroyed, turned into ashes.

Many Bible translators have taken the liberty of rendering Geʹen·na “hell.” (Matthew 5:22, King James Version) Why? Because they associated the pagan-inspired notion of an afterlife of fiery judgment for the wicked with the physical fire in the valley outside Jerusalem. Jesus, however, never associated Gehenna with torment.

Jesus knew that the very thought of burning people alive is repugnant to his heavenly Father, Jehovah. Referring to the use made of Gehenna in the days of the prophet Jeremiah, God said: “They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart.” (Jeremiah 7:31) Moreover, the idea of torment for the dead conflicts with God’s loving personality as well as with the Bible’s clear teaching that the dead are “conscious of nothing at all.”​—Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10.

Jesus used the term “Gehenna” to symbolize the utter destruction resulting from God’s adverse judgment. Hence, “Gehenna” has a meaning similar to that of “the lake of fire,” mentioned in the book of Revelation. Both symbolize eternal destruction from which no resurrection is possible.​—Luke 12:4, 5; Revelation 20:14, 15.

[Footnote]

Commenting on this prophecy, the New Catholic Encyclopedia says: “In the destruction of Jerusalem so many of its inhabitants would be killed that their corpses would be cast, unburied, into the valley to rot or be burned.”