Fire and Sulfur: Part 2

In Part 2, I am sharing the rest of what The Lord Spoke recently on the topic of The Lake of Fire. It pertains to geography.

Mark 9:44-48 (ESV) 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

Isaiah 66:24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

In Mark 9:45 & 47, the word translated here is "gehenna". Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin gehenna, from Ancient Greek γέεννα (géenna), from Hebrew גֵּיהִנּוֹם ge'henom, “hell”, and literally “valley of Hinnom." (wikitionary.com)

The Valley of Hinnom is also known as "Gehinnom." The Valley of Hinnom was a geographical location outside of ancient Jerusalem. It was located to the south of the Holy City, and by the term Valley, we can assume a low elevation as well.

Jeremiah 19:2 ...and go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you.

Joshua 15:8 Then the boundary goes up by the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the southern shoulder of the Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem). And the boundary goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the Valley of Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim.

The Valley of Hinnom was outside the entrance to the Potshard Gate. The Potshard Gate was probably the same as the Dung Gate (biblegateway.com) This was the location of the city dump, where refuse was taken and burned. There were constant fires for burning refuse.

This site for decay & waste was at one point associated with abomination. The fire for burning refuge also became the fire for burning children in pagan human sacrifice. The Lord Declared it "The Valley of Slaughter." Even after Josiah destroys the pagan high places in 2 Kings 23:8-10 (see below), the dead bodies of animals and criminals continued to be burned in this municipal refuse dump. (biblegateway.com)

2 Chronicles 28:3 ... and he (*Ahaz, king of Judah) made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.

2 Chronicles 33:6 And he (* Manasseh, king of Judah) burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.

Jeremiah 7:31-32 31 And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind. 32 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it will no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth, because there is no room elsewhere.

2 Kings 23:8-10 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the gate of the city. 9 However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.

On the map, notice to the west of the Valley of Hinnom, is the Valley of Rephaim. The Valley of Rephaim is mentioned in Joshua 15:8 above (and other Scriptures). Rephaim is another Scriptural term for giants and dead spirits, which interconnected. Here is a link to an article I wrote on giants, it's all Scripture: Giants article

Just north of the Valley of Rephaim; is the Serpent Pool (also called Sultan's Pool) on one of King Herod The Great's compounds. Herod The Great's Father was an Edomite, his mother an Arabian princess from Petra in Jordan. The family converted to Judaism. Herod was the governor of Galilea when Judea (under Rome) was conquered by the Iranian Parthian Empire. Herod fled to Petra in Jordan. 3 years later, with Rome's backing, Herod conquered Jerusalem back to Rome. Herod then became King of Judea. I wonder if this Scripture refers to the same pool? I cannot confirm it, other than The Lord Showed this passage to me. Nehemiah 2:13 I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.

The Hill of Evil Counsel is traditionally thought to be the location where High Priest Caiaphas resided, and where the Sanhedrin plotted Jesus's Execution (Easton's Bible Dictionary). The hill is also historically significant as the location of the British Government House during the Mandate period, which later became the headquarters for the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO). UNTSO was established on 29 May 1948 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 50 (1948) to supervise a truce in the former British Mandate of Palestine during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. UNTSO maintains a presence across five countries—Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria—through liaison offices in Jerusalem, Beirut, Damascus, and Cairo, with observer groups stationed in these locations. The organization is headquartered in Jerusalem at the Government House...which is located on the Hill of Evil Counsel. (wikipedia) If you read my older posts about mountains, Height Matters; the UN owns several sites like this.

The Hinnom Valley was also the location of the field Judas bought, near its juncture with the Kidron Valley. Acts 1:18-19 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong[a] he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

KIDRON VALLEY:

Joel 3:2 I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land...

Joel 3:12-14 12 Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. 13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision. For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

The Valley of Hinnom connects to the Kidron Valley, also known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat, to the east and northeast. It lies between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. (When Jesus Returns, He Will set foot on Mount of Olives and later enter Jerusalem through the East Gate.) The Kidron Valley is associated with judgment and separation. The enemy will gather armies at Armageddon, north of Jerusalem (Revelation 16:13-16). The Lord will Draw them to the Kidron Valley / Valley of Jehoshaphat, where He will Battle them. This is not the Final White Throne Judgement, this is the Battle of Armageddon.

The Kidron Valley is also the route King David took when fleeing his son Absalom (2 Samuel 15:23). And Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley after the Last Supper, when He was going to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he prayed before his arrest (Mark 14:26-32).

The upper part of the Kidron Valley contains significant ancient tombs, including the Silwan necropolis, which dates back to the First Temple period. The Silwan necropolis is the remains of a rock-cut cemetery assumed to have been used by the highest-ranking officials residing in Jerusalem. Its tombs were cut between the 9th and 7th centuries BC. It is situated on the rocky eastern slope of the Kidron Valley, facing the oldest part of Jerusalem. Part of the predominantly Palestinian district of Silwan was later built atop the necropolis (Wikipedia)

South of all this is Hebron. From where Abraham watched as Sodom & Gomorrah, to the further southeast, was destroyed by fire. The area around Sodom and Gomorrah was filled with bitumen pits. Bitumen pits are flammable tar pits that smell like sulfur. That's right: flames and sulfur. When Abram's nephew Lot was taken captive, as kings ran out to escape, they fell into the bitumen pits.

Genesis 14:10-14 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country. 11 So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way. 13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

That's all of it. That's all The Lord Said to me. It is a LOT to take in and process. Please take it to The Lord in prayer. He is Speaking these things to His Church now for a reason. It is worth the effort to chew this meat.

In Jesus's name.

Christy Hale