This word occurs in the following passages — in all twelve times: Matt. 5:22,29,30; Matt. 10:28; Matt. 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43-47; Luke 12:5; James 3:6. It is the Grecian mode of spelling the Hebrew words which are translated “Valley of Hinnom.” This valley lay just outside the city of Jerusalem and served the purpose of sewer and garbage burner to that city. The offal, garbage, etc., were emptied there, and fires were kept continually burning to consume utterly all things deposited therein, brimstone being added to assist combustion and insure complete destruction. But no living thing was ever permitted to be cast into Gehenna. The Jews were not allowed to torture any creature.

When we consider that in the people of Israel God was giving us object lessons illustrating his dealings and plans, present and future, we should expect that this Valley of Hinnom, or Gehenna, would also play its part in illustrating things future. We know that Israel’s priesthood and temple illustrated the Royal Priesthood, the Christian Church as it will be, the true Temple of God; and we know that their chief city was a figure of the New Jerusalem, the seat of kingdom power and center of authority — the city (government) of the Great King, Immanuel. We remember, too, that Christ’s government is represented in the book of Revelation (21:10-27) under the figure of a city — the New Jerusalem. There, after describing the class permitted to enter the privileges and blessings of that Kingdom — the honorable and glorious, and all who have right to the trees of life — we find it also declared that there shall not enter into it anything that defileth, or that worketh abomination, or maketh a lie; but only such as the Lamb shall write as worthy of life.

This city, which thus will represent the entire saved world in the end of the Millennium, was typified in the earthly city, Jerusalem; and the defiling, the abominable, etc., the class unworthy of life everlasting, who do not enter in, were represented by the  refuse  and  the  filthy,  lifeless  carcasses  cast  into Gehenna outside the city — whose utter destruction was thus symbolized, the Second death. Accordingly, we find it stated that those not found worthy of life are to be cast into the “lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15) — fire here, as everywhere, being used as a symbol of destruction, and the symbol, lake of fire, being drawn from the same Gehenna or Valley of Hinnom.

Therefore, while Gehenna served a useful purpose to the city of Jerusalem as a place for garbage burning, it, like the city itself, was typical, and illustrated the future dealings of God in refusing and committing to destruction all the impure elements, thus preventing them from defiling the holy city, the New Jerusalem, after the trial of the Millennial age of judgment shall have fully proved them and separated with unerring accuracy the “sheep” from the “goats.”

So, then, Gehenna was a type or illustration of the Second death — final and complete destruction, from which there can be no recovery; for after that, “there remaineth no  more  sacrifice  for  sins,”  but  only  “fiery  indignation,  which  shall devour the adversaries.” — Heb. 10:26,27.

Let us remember that Israel, for the purpose of being used as types of God’s future dealing with the race, was typically treated as though the ransom had been given before they left Egypt, though only a typical lamb had been slain. When Jerusalem was built and the temple — representative of the true Temple, the Church and the true Kingdom as it will be established by Christ in the Millennium — that people typified the world in the Millennial age. Their priests represented the glorified Royal Priesthood, and their Law and its demands of perfect obedience represented the law and condition under the New Covenant, to be brought into operation for the blessing of all the obedient, and for the condemnation of all who, when granted fullest opportunity, will not heartily submit to the righteous ruling and laws of the Great King.

Seeing, then, that Israel’s polity, condition, etc., prefigured those of the world in the coming age, how appropriate that we should find the Valley or abyss, Gehenna, a figure of the Second death, the utter destruction in the coming age of all that is unworthy of preservation; and how aptly, too, is the symbol, “lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Rev. 19:20) drawn from this same Gehenna, or Valley of Hinnom, burning continually with brimstone. The expression, “burning with brimstone,” adds force to the symbol “fire,” to express the utter and irrevocable destructiveness of the Second death; for burning brimstone is the most deadly agent known. How reasonable, too, to expect that Israel would have courts and judges resembling or prefiguring the judgments of the next age; and that the sentence of those (figurative) courts of that (figurative) people under those (figurative) laws to that (figurative) abyss, outside the (figurative) city, would largely correspond to the (real) sentences of the (real) court and judges in the next age.

If these points are kept in mind, they will greatly assist us in understanding the words of our Lord in reference to Gehenna; for, though the literal valley just at hand was named and referred to, yet his words carry with them lessons concerning the future age and the antitypical Gehenna — the Second death.