Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43 The Bible refers to places such as Hell, Sheol, Hades, the Grave, the Lake of Fire, as well as Paradise and Heaven. The reason why there’s confusion in understanding all this, is because the Greek and Hebrew words were not translated consistently in the same way. In addition, they were translated differently in the Old Testament than in the New Testament. So, the short version is this: - Hell, Hades, and Sheol are all the same place, and it is a temporary place of punishment and torment.
- Everyone who is in that temporary place of punishment will be sent to the Lake of Fire after Judgment Day. The Lake of Fire (also known as Gehenna) is a permanent and eternal place of punishment. It is the final hell.
- Paradise was a temporary place of blessing, and scholars think it was located in a special section of Sheol. In the New Testament it was also referred to in one of Jesus’s parables as “the bosom of Abraham.”
- When Jesus died on the cross, he went down to Paradise to be with the blessed souls who were sort of stuck there, and then he took all those faithful, God-fearing people to Heaven with him. Thus, Jesus took “captivity captive” (see Eph. 4:8-10). Paradise was emptied and is no longer needed. When we die, we will go directly to Heaven to be with Jesus.
I’m sure this short little study will raise questions, so if you would like an in-depth, scriptural explanation of all those terms, here is an excellent study. Just click on the following link: Hell, Sheol, Paradise and Heaven 
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