Question:
What is hades? Is it where unsaved people go when they die?

Answer:
Hades is a Greek word that means “unseen,” or “all receiving.” It is the condition of the whole unseen world, of the saved and unsaved dead (Luke 16:23) as well as of our Lord when He was dead (Acts 2:27).

Hades is a condition, not a place. Just as death is the condition of the body without the soul, so hades is the condition of the soul without the body. The Greek word “hades” corresponds to the Hebrew word “sheol,” which is found in the Old Testament (Psalm 16:10).Unfortunately, the words “hades” and “sheol” have both been translated “hell” in the KJV, which is normally associated with the eternal abode of the unsaved. But there is another Greek word, “gehenna,” which the Lord used for the eternal place of the unsaved dead, “where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:42-48). Gehenna is identical in meaning with the expression “the lake of fire” (Revelation 19:20; 20:10, 14, 15).