(d) In Jesus, Christians are Abraham's heirs, whether of Jewish or Gentile stock (Ro 48*^-). They inherit Abraham's faith, and are therefore his sons ; the promise did not depend on Abraham's circum- cision, but was before it, though it was confirmed by it ; nor was it dependent on the Law. Thus all nations are blessed in Abi'aham, and he is the heir of the world (see above (6)). In Eph 1" St. Paul uses in regard to Gentile Christians the very words which described Israel's privilege: 'promise,' 'inheritance,' 'emancipation,' ' possession' (Robin- son, op. cit. p. 36). By adoption we were made fellow-heirs with Christ (Ro 8^''), and a heritage (Eph P^). Gentiles are fellow-heirs with Jews (Eph 3*, Ac 26'*) ; and Christians are fellow-heirs together of the grace of life (1 P 3^) — e.g. husbands and wives are fellow-heirs because they are Chris- tians. See art. Adoption.
(e) The inheritance is described as 'eternal life' in Tit 3^ ('heirs according to the hope of eternal life' ; cf. the Gosjiels : Mt lO^s, JNlk 10'^ [where 1| Mt 19'« substitutes ' have' for 'inlierit'], Lk 10-^ 18"*); as 'the kingdom' in Ja 2^ Eph 5* ('kingdom of Christ and God'), and by inference in Col 1'^'- (these seem to be founded on our Lord's words recorded in Mt 25**, where the predestination, and the giving, of the kingdom are emphasized ; cf. Dn 7^ and the Slavonic Secrets of Enoch, § 9 [' for (the righteous) this place is prepared as an eternal inheritance']). In He 1" the inheritance is ' salva- tion,' and so by inference in 1 P P'-. In He 6"^ it is ' the promises.' In 1 P 3' it is the ' grace of life,' i.e. the gracious gift of eternal life (Alford, Bigg); in v.^it is 'a blessing.' It is the portion
{kXtjpos) of the saints in light (Col l'^), and is eternal (He 9'5), incorruptible, undefiled, unfading (1 P 1*). With the NT idea of an ethical inheritance or portion we may compare Wis 5^, Sir 4'^ (glory) 31^ (confidence among his people), the Ethioplc Book of Enoch, Iviii. 5 (the heritage of faith), Psalms of Solomon, xii. 8 (inheritance of the promise of the Lord), xiv. 7 (life in cheerfulness).
(/) One condition of inheriting is self-denial (Mt 19"«, where ' receive' of Mk lO^^andLk IS'" becomes ' inherit' when applied to ' eternal life '). We are 'joint-heirs with Christ, if so be that we sutler with [him] ' (Ro 8'^). We must imitate those who ' through faith and patience inherit the promises ' (He 6'^) ; 'he that overcometh shall inherit and become God's son ' (Rev 21^ — the only instance in Rev. of KX-qpovofxeio). Other conditions are meek- ness and humility (1 P 3^ 'not rendering evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but contrariwise bless- ing ; for hereunto were ye called that ye should inherit a blessing' ; cf. Mt 5^ Ps 37'*) and sanctifl- cation (Ac 20'-). The inheritance is forfeited by self-indulgence ( I Co 6^*'-, Gal 5-'), and is not reached by ' flesh and blood ' or by ' corruption ' (1 Co 15*") — a spiritual regeneration is necessary for its attainment.
(ff) In a real sense the inheritance is already entered upon.* In He 6'^ the present participle kXtjpovoijlovvtwv is used : ' those who are inheriting ' (the Vulg. has tiie future hereditabunt, but some old Lat. MSS have the present potiuntiir) ; so in 4* ' we M'hich have believed do enter — are now enter- ing {elcrepxofieOa) — into that rest,' not as Vulg. in- grediernur, 'shall enter' (see Westcott, op. cit. p. 95). The kingdom has already begun (]\It 3^, and the parables of ch. 13). Yet the inheritance will not be fully attained till the Last Judgment (Mt 25'^). In Eph 1" St. Paul speaks of the sealing ' with the Holy Spirit of promise 'as 'an earnest (appajSiiv) of our inheritance,' and in the same con- text (v.i*^-) uses language which shows that in some sense it is entered upon already (cf. 2 Co 1'-^ 5®). The same thing is seen in Col l'^'- ; while in 3^ the promise to Christian bondservants that they should receive from the Lord the ' recompense of the inheritance ' rather points forward to the world to come. So in IP l'*^- the reference seems to be to the future : ' an inheritance . . . reserved in heaven for you ' (so Bigg ; but this is denied by Hort and von Soden). In this connexion we must be careful not to confuse our thought by connect- ing ' inheritance ' with our own death, or the ' death ' of this age. There is no idea here of ' suc- cession' (see above, 1). A. J. Maclean.
HELL. — 1. Context. — The word most freqiiently so rendered in the EVis the Gr. ^drjs (see Hades). In the NT, outside the Gospels, ' hell' is also used in translating the two Gr. words yiewa (' Gehenna ') and the very rare verbal form TapTapbu ('send into Tartarus').
The former occurs only once, viz. in Ja 3^ where it is obviously used metaphorically for the evil power which is revealed in all forms of un- licensed, careless, and corrupt speech. In the figurative phrase ' set on fire of Gehenna,' the author of the Epistle has clearly in mind the original idea of that name in the associations of the Valley of Hinnom, with its quenchless fire and its undying worm (2 Ch 28' 33« Jer 7").