Sheol

[OldSchool2]

from First Things:

"... In the Bible, the Hebrew word 'Sheol' sometimes refers to the place of the dead, regardless of the manner of death or the character of the dead. But as Jon Levenson has pointed out, 'Sheol' often refers to the experience and destination of those whose deaths are violent, premature, and fruitless. Ivan Illych’s were the screams of a man descending to Sheol.

"Sheol is grim, dim, gloomy, hopeless—a place of silence and shame (Psalm 31:17). When Sheol swallows the living, it destroys all merriment and joy. Because of Israel’s sins, Isaiah says, Sheol has 'enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; and Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry, and the jubilant within her, descend into it' (Isaiah 5:14).

"Sheol doesn’t wait until we stop breathing. For the biblical writers, distress, affliction, sickness, friendlessness, exile, childlessness, infertility, separation from Yahweh or his house, famine, persecution, and defeat in battle are proleptic [the anachronistic representation of something as existing before its proper or historical time] deaths. Separated from God in his temple, alienated from friends, surrounded by enemies, one is on the verge of Sheol or already there.

"Not every death is a descent to Sheol. The patriarchs die ripe in years, surrounded by family and troops of friends, satisfied that their life is complete and their work finished. They do not 'descend to Sheol.' They are 'gathered to their people' (Genesis 25:8, 17; 35:29; 49:29, 33)...."

http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2016/02/delivered-from-sheol

[JohnD]

 

Luke 16:19–31 (AV)

19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:

28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Note that the devil and his demons (fallen angels) are locked away in the abyss / gulf (Jude 6, Revelation 9:11, 11:7-8, 20:1-3 ) between the two sides for humanity:

Isaiah 14:12–26 (AV)

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.

21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

22 For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.

23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

24 The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

25 That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

Abraham's Bosom is now empty and has been since the day of the crucifixion:

Ephesians 4:8–10 (AV)

8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

In the end sheol will be thrown into the lake of fire:

Revelation 20:14 (AV)

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

 

[JohnD]

The Point Being... the Bible has a lot to say about Sheol and we need not seek (so-called) experts who only voice their opinions usually based on others who voiced their opinions. 

[enoob57]

sola scriptura....

[missmuffet]

Another hell thread? 

[JohnD]

4 hours ago, bopeep1909 said:

Another hell thread? 

What the... C;|

[thilipsis]

On Friday, March 04, 2016 at 10:40 AM, JohnD said:

 

Luke 16:19–31 (AV)

19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:

28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Note that the devil and his demons (fallen angels) are locked away in the abyss / gulf (Jude 6, Revelation 9:11, 11:7-8, 20:1-3 ) between the two sides for humanity:

Isaiah 14:12–26 (AV)

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.

21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

22 For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.

23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

24 The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

25 That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

Abraham's Bosom is now empty and has been since the day of the crucifixion:

Ephesians 4:8–10 (AV)

8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

In the end sheol will be thrown into the lake of fire:

Revelation 20:14 (AV)

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

 

Sheol is synonymous with death and the grave. Hell as we know it is virtually unknown in the OT, there's a verses in Danial that describes those raised to ever lasting shame and content but little else. Jesus was the only one who taught about Hell because he was the only one who knew anything.

[JohnD]

On 11/25/2016 at 9:41 PM, thilipsis said:

Sheol is synonymous with death and the grave. Hell as we know it is virtually unknown in the OT, there's a verses in Danial that describes those raised to ever lasting shame and content but little else. Jesus was the only one who taught about Hell because he was the only one who knew anything.

Isaiah 66:22–24 (NASB95)
22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me,” declares the LORD, “So your offspring and your name will endure.
23 “And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the LORD.
24 “Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”

There's a lot more in the Old Testament than most realize.

[JohnD]

Furthermore we ought not attempt to refute or define the latter revelation of a proven divine source by a previous revelation / covenant in the progression of God's over all progressive revelation.

Mark 9:42–48 (NASB95)
42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.
43 “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,
44 where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.
45 “If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell,
46 where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.
47 “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell,
48 where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.

[Ezra]

On 3/4/2016 at 8:53 AM, JohnD said:

The Point Being... the Bible has a lot to say about Sheol and we need not seek (so-called) experts who only voice their opinions usually based on others who voiced their opinions. 

Quite right. Sheol/Hades was the abode of the dead -- both righteous and unrighteous, until the resurrection of Christ. After the resurrection of Christ, the righteous go to Heaven whereas the unrighteous go to Hades to await their final judgment.