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Sheol and the Intermediate States

I. Etymology of the Hebrew word (לואש)

A. Disputed. Does not occur in any other Semitic language.

B. Most plausible = from לאש , "ask, inquire".

Originally related to asking of the dead (necromancy), a practice forbidden in the O.T. (Deut. 18:11; 1Chron. 10:13).

C. O.T. usage is pervasive, 66 times from Genesis to Habakkuk.

D. Meaning based upon the above usage = "the place of the dead".

E. Description based upon the above usage.

  1. "Like all other ancient peoples, the Hebrews believed that the dead, though ending earthly life, did not relinquish existence per se. Somewhere, in a region outside the earth but accessible to God (Job26:6; Ps. 139:8; Amos 9:2) they lingered on."
  2. Inevitable for all, Ps. 89:48;
  3. Oblivious of former lives, Ps.88:12;3.
  4. Bereft of all mudane pleasures, Sirach 14:16;
  5. Freed from the ‘sick fatigue’ of the flesh, Job 3:17;
  6. Located usually under the earth, Num.16:30; beneath the roots of the mountains, Jonah 2:6; but also Enoch observed it as in the west where the sun goes down, Enoch22:3;
  7. The land of gloom and deep shadow and no return, Job 10:21
  8. Place of silence, Ps. 94:17, 115:17;
  9. As a city with gates, Job 38:17; Is. 38:10; cf. Mt. 16:18
  10. As a place where the fire of God’s wrath punishes, Duet. 32:22;
  11. A place where heat & drought snatch away sinners, Job 24:19; Ps. 9:17;
  12. The fate of those who trust in themselves, Ps. 49:14;
  13. A place from out of which the righteous will be redeemed; Ps. 49:15; Hosea 13:14; cf. Jonah 2:2.

II. Development of the idea of Sheol.

A. Clear emergence of the concept of a resurrection from the dead, Is. 26:19, and Daniel 12:2-3;

B. Paradise("park"/ "garden"; Heavenly Eden) as the place of the righteous.

"O Lord of the Universe! Thou hast created the kGarden of Eden and Gehenna"." (T.B. Sot. 22a). "The furnace of Gehenna shall be made manifest, and over against it the Paradise of delight." II Esdras 7:36.

C. N.T. usage:

By New Testament times revelations came regarding what happened between death and resurrection. "Paradise" became understood as the abode of the righteous dead.

  1. Luke 23:43 Jesus tells the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with me in Paradise."
  2. Luke 16:22 Jesus says that the righteous, poor man, Lazarus, when he died was brought to Abraham’s side/bosom. Presumably so called because this was the place where Abraham was.
  3. 2 Cor. 12:1-4 Paul says he was "caught up into the 3rd heaven,"into paradise..."
  4. Rev. 2:7 Jesus says to the church of Ephesus, "To him who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."

D. "Hades" came to be understood as the abode of the unrighteous dead.

  1. Matthew 11:23 "you will go down to Hades."
  2. Luke 16:23 Jesus says a certain rich man after death was "in Hades where he was in torment." (As opposed to Lazarus who was in Abraham’s bosom/at his side)
  3. Rev. 20:13f. We are told that the unrighteous, as well as the righteous will be resurrected to face final judgment and sentancing. At that time, "The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them."

Both Hades and Paradise, then are "intermediate states" (i.e., after death but before the resurrection of the dead when the righteous will receive their final reward (Heaven) and the unrighteous will receive their final punishment(Hell/Gehenna). (It should be noted that "hell" is an English word variously used to describe both Hades and Gehenna.)

III. Final States

A. Gehenna.

Fiery hell. Greek word for O.T. "Valley of Hinnom, the name for the ravine south of Jerusalem, which, during the days of the monarchy was the scene of an idolatrous cult involving the passing of children through fire "(2 Kings 23:10; Jer. 7:31). In New Testament times it was apparently a smoldering garbage dump. It came to denote a place of fiery torment reserved for the wicked after their resurrection and final judgment.

  1. Matthew 5:22, 29f. Jesus warns of the danger of the fire of Gehenna.
  2. Matthew 10:28 Jesus says to fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in Gehenna.
  3. Rev. 19:20 The Anti-Christ and the False Prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. This, Christians clearly understood to be the same as Gehenna.
  4. Rev. 20:14ff. The unrighteous, after being resurrected and judged are thrown into the lake of fire, and indeed death and Hades themselves are thrown into the same fiery and final hell.

B. Heaven.

Final blessedness for the righteous in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21-22).