Gehenna is a hell, it is an allusion to the valley of Hinnom. I was saying the Judaic version of Gehenna is like Purgatory, not the Christian perspective is like Purgatory. I was trying to show you that you are committing an etymological fallacy.
In the Scriptures, however, “Gehenna” (“hell,” AV)—all incredible myths to the contrary notwithstanding—does
not speak of “the place of the eternal torments of the damned.” Instead, it refers to an actual place on earth, namely, the valley (or “ravine”) of Hinnom (Neh.11:30) in the land of Israel. The ravine of Hinnom is a valley to the southwest of Jerusalem (“the ravine of the son of Hinnom”; Joshua 15:8). The Hebrew phrase
gê (“ravine of”)
hinnom became
geenna in Greek, whence Gehenna in Latin and English.
By Jesus' time, the Hinnom Valley (
Ge-Hinnom in Hebrew)
was know by its Latin translation, Gehenna (see
Matt. 5:22, 29;
10:28;
8:9;
23:33;
Mark 9:43, 48;
James 3:6). Like other religious ideas that were portrayed in concrete images, Gehenna became the Hebrew picture of hell. It formed an appropriate image for the eternal burning and decay of hell, where worms were said to never die (
Mark 9:48).
As ancient Israelites emptied their garbage and sewer into the Hinnom Valley each day, they were given a vivid image of hell and an important reminder of the price for disobeying God's commands.
Also, armageddon is the final battle, not a valley or a mountain. It is based, however, on Har Megido, that is Mount Megiddo. Technically a mount is not a mountain, but you get the point.
In Revelations 16 there is a description of the end of the world, and the last battle being fought
at Armageddon between the forces of good and the forces of evil. The text: (16:16): "And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue
Armageddon".
In Hebrew the place can be interpreted as "Har-Megiddo", where Har is mountain or hill, and Megiddo is the ancient site of Tell Megiddo. The ancient city of Megiddo is located 18 miles south east of Haifa, and is located at a
strategic entrance or valley through the eastern Carmel hills where an ancient trade road (Via Maris). In this site an important City once flourished, and mentioned in the Old Testament as a strong City that played an important role in the history of the Biblical Israel.
The hills behind the Tell (mound) are in the south, right next to the Tell. These hills can be called Har-Meggedon, the source of the name of Armaggedon. The hills actually are a lower eastern extension of Mount Carmel. This section is called Menashe mountains, and they continue on towards the great depression of the Jordan valley. This mountain ridge presented a problem in ancient times, since the passage south had to climb up the mountains. There were only few passages, and Megiddo was one of them - a sort of gate keeper.
From this perspective, and since I have been stationed in Haifa (in 1999) and went to Megiddo, I fail to see the "fallacy" I'm allegedly under.