GEHENNA

One of the most prominent and interesting valleys around the walls of Jerusalem is the Valley of Gehenna, also knows as the Hinnom Valley. It is located on the west and south of the city. In ancient times children were sacrificed to the sun god Molech. (Jeremiah 7:30-32) It was so desecrated that it was used later as a reminder of those terrible days as the people of Jerusalem made it into a garbage dump. It was continuously burning and became a symbol of the fires of hell. (Matthew 18:8) The Valley of Gehenna supplied the imagery for the description for Sheol, the counterpart of the gloomy dark underworld of the Greeks and Romans. Its worms and fire and smoke represented the worst of worlds. Gehenna became the antithesis of the place called "Heaven." It was viewed as a valley of woe.