It's perfectly natural to fear the grave and death and hades, though we are told that to be dead is to know NOTHING...to have NO perception. To die is the worst thing that can happen to a human being without hope.
What we have is hope, and that lies in resurrection. And if the world and the church knew and believed the truth about resurrection, they'd have hope too, and a greater hope than is preached from the pulpits. They pervert the very and only hope we have!
I don't mean to condescend, but it's helpful to remember that the Bible was not written in English. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and the New Testament primarily in Greek. The Greek words which are recorded in the NT are sometimes translations of Hebrew words in the OT. The problem is largely in how some of the English translations play fast and loose with the language and insert a very obvious and definate bias to support a Hell=Eternal Punishment theology. One of the strongest 'tools' for dismantling that bias is to truthfully and spiritually define the words being used.
Ray explains it fully. Follow the links and suggestions others have left.