1. "Sheol" is the common grave of mankind; it does not refer to a burial place
2. There is no state of consciousness in Sheol. When a person dies, he goes into a state of non-existence, i.e., he is annihilated.
3. There is no such thing as eternal punishment for the wicked.
The concepts of Sheol, Hades, and Gehenna were put together in doctrinal form during intertesament times, (the period of about 400 years between Malachi and Matthew). The concept of Sheol is not fully developed in the Old Testament. God's revelation on a certain teaching came in bits and pieces. It did not contradict or deny preceding revelation. The concepts became more clearly focused in the New Testament books and through Jewish rabbinical writings of the time.
SHEOL
The Old Testament describes Sheol in the following ways: a shadowy place or a place of darkness; down; beneath the earth, or in the lowest parts of the earth. These descriptions indicate that Sheol is not a part of this world but has an existence of its own in another dimension.
Sheol, in Hebrew, means "realm of the dead. It is found 65 times in the Old Testament. It is the compartmentalized region of the departed spirits of both the lost and the blessed dead during the period preceding the Ascension of Christ.
At death, man becomes a "rephraim", i.e., a "ghost," "shade," or "disembodied spirit." The Bible does not say that man passes into non-existence.
From the meaning of "rephraim," it is clear that when the body dies, man enters a new kind of existence and experience. He now exists as a spirit creature and experiences what angels and other disembodied spirits experience. He is composed only of "mind' and is capable of supra dimensional activity and such things as thought and speech without the need of a physical body.
Genesis 25:17; 49:10,29,30,33; Genesis 50:3,25; Num. 27:13; 31:2; Deut. 32:50
The prophets of old who died in God's favor were gathered to their people. According to Hebrew lexicons, the usage for "gathered," in this sense, means to restore. reassemble, gather together again.
Genesis 37:32-34 (Joseph and his brothers) Joseph did not have a grave because Jacob believed that he was devoured by a wild beast. Yet he said, "I shall go down into Sheol to see my son."
Deut. 18:10,11; Lev. 19:31; I Chron. 10:13,14 The Old Testament prophets condemned necromancy. If in the Old Testament the Jews believed that the dead ceased to exist, then why did God find it necessary to forbid them to practice seeking after the dead? Why would anyone try to make contact with the dead if they believed the dead had no conscious existence?
Job 26:5 The dead "tremble" in Sheol.
Psalm 86:13 King David declared, "Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol." If Sheol is non-existence, then how far down is the "lowest" part?
Psalm 116:3 Some in Sheol experience "distress" and "sorrow".
Isaiah 14:9-17Talks about a welcoming ceremony for the King of Babylon in Sheol. The verses show "recognition" and "conversation".
Isaiah 38:10 Sheol has gates by which one enters and bars that keeps one in after having entered. Why the need for "gates" and "bars" if the dead are non-existent?
Ezekiel 32:21 The strong and mighty "speak" to him out of Sheol.
Ezekiel 32:30 The chiefs of the north and the Sidonians "feel shame" and "disgrace" in Sheol.
Most of the confusion surrounding the topic of Hell is because the King James Version of the Bible translated 3 different Greek words with the same English word - "Hell." The 3 Greek words are:
1. Tartarus
2. Hades
3. Gehenna
TARTARUS
This place does not need to concern us much since this is a special abode for the wicked angels who are confined to this special pit of darkness. This word occurs only once in the New Testament. (II Peter 2:4)
HADES
The Greek equivalent of Sheol. It is a compound of two Greek words - one being the negative "not", and the other, "seen." (invisible)
The word "Hades" occurs 10 times in the New Testament in Matthew, Luke and John. Before the death of Christ, all the dead entered Sheol/Hades. Even Jesus promised the criminal who died beside Him that he would be with Him that very day in paradise (Luke 23:43), which was understood to be the favorable part of Sheol. After the resurrection of Christ, believers enter heaven to be with Him.
As for the wicked, they continue to enter Hades at death, and other aspects of their punishment is revealed in II Peter 2:9, which speaks of the unrighteous being kept under punishment for the day of judgment.
Hades consisted of 2 parts:
1. Paradise - it was understood to be the favorable part of Sheol/Hades. Christ Himself had to enter this place to fulfill the prophecy in Acts 2:31 and to empty it of the faithful dead; in effect, transferring "Paradise" to Heaven. The Apostle Paul equated Paradise with the third Heaven (the presence of God) and adds that he traveled there either IN or OUT of his body.
(II Corinth. 12:2-4)
2. The lowest part - As far as the wicked, they continue to enter Sheol/Hades at death and other aspects of their punishment are revealed in II Peter 2:9 which speaks of the unrighteous being kept under punishment for the day of Judgment. Notice the grammar in this verse, "are kept" and "are held." - the present active infinitive form - continuously being "kept" and "held." The dead are not non-existent. If so, then why does God have to 'hold' and 'keep' them there? They "are" being punished - present passive participle (continuous) awaiting judgment which would occur as in Revelation 20:12,13.
The most detailed information we can find about Hades is in Luke 16:19-31 where we are told about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. Lazarus died in a righteous condition and the angels took him into Abraham's bosom; to a place of peace and security. The rich man, on the other hand, went to Hades and was in great torment. He was obviously fully conscious of his surroundings and not in a condition of "soul sleep," for the account in Luke records, "...he lifted up his eyes, being in torment..." vv. 22,23 He pleaded for a drop of water to cool his tongue because of the torment. He could see the happy condition of Lazarus but he could not leave his place of torment. He spoke about his worry over the condition of his five brothers who had yet to die. He wished to spare them his present agony. Yet this pitiful rich man had all his faculties and was indeed experiencing ongoing torment.
This account is not a parable since proper names of recognizable Bible characters are used. Jesus never used proper names in His parables and generally indicated when He was teaching a parable. Even if it was, it teaches an important truth, and Jesus taught truth.
According to the account in Luke 16, what was causing the torment of the rich man? He wants water to cool his tongue. The Watchtower Society says that the concept of 'Hell' is a pagan lie. If this is true, then which Pagan version did Jesus use in this account? Did He use the Society's concept? (the grave/non-existence) Elements in a parable always have a literal meaning, no matter what they symbolize.
Josephus, in an account titled "What the Jews believed about Hades," described an underworld as told in Luke 16. Ninety-five percent believed in a literal Hell. Whether Luke 16 is a Rabbinical story, or if it actually was a true story as many scholars suggest, one thing is certain: the Jews believed that Hades was a place of torment for some and that others would experience blessings - both in the immediate hereafter following death.
In the final judgment (Rev. 20:13), Death (bodies in the grave) and Hades (the realm of the spirits, souls) will deliver up the dead. This would be impossible if persons were non-existent.
GEHENNA
'Hades' or 'Sheol' is often called "the holding tank" by some Bible scholars, since souls in this place are not in their final destination. According to Revelation 20:11-13, those in Hades will yet stand before the Great White Throne Judgment. Hades will be terminated at this time. Those with condemnatory judgment will be cast into Gehenna - the Lake of Fire.
The word "Gehenna" occurs 12 times in the New Testament and every single quote is made by Jesus. It is derived from the word "Ge-Hinnom." During the time of the prophets, child sacrifices had been offered there to Molech and other false gods by apostate Jews. Gehenna first appears during intertestamental literature shortly before 100 B.C. though the actual place is un-named. It was described as "this accursed valley." The Jewish Talmud also mentions the Lake of Fire. In Jesus' day it was used as a garbage dump and the fires never stopped burning. It became an appropriate description to the Jews of what fate awaited pagans. Jesus agreed with this and used the word "Gehenna." Matthew 5:22 and Matthew 18:9 both refer to a "fiery hell" (Gehenna) The practice of sacrificing the living was how the valley received its significance; and not because of its later use as a dumping ground. Gehenna was the place where the body as well as the soul/spirit would be tormented.
One has only to read the words of Jesus in Mark 9:42-48 to know the seriousness of the final destination of Gehenna: Christ stresses that it would be better to lose the most precious things in this life and to avoid Gehenna.
"Unquenchable fire" is not referring to the garbage dump because the fire there ceased burning. "Where their worm dieth not" is no sarcastic reference to worms having immortality. This is a 'Hebraism,' an idiom that expressed a state of never dying. The word "their" denotes possession. Something that belongs to a lost soul in Hell (Gehenna) never dies. Some Christian scholars maintain that this means "the gnawing conscience of the lost."
Some religious groups like to think that the fire would annihilate them, but God is capable of altering the properties of fire. Consider the burning bush of Moses' day that was not consumed by the fire (Exodus 3:2) and that also the fiery furnace of Daniel's day (Daniel 3:21 27)
Compare Revelation 19:20 with Revelation 20:10. Before the 1,000 year reign of Christ, the beast and the false prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire (Gehenna). Were they annihilated? No, for 1,000 years later they are still alive, and the Devil joins them in their condition of torment. And the word "torture" does not mean "jailed" as the Jehovah's Witnesses teach. How can Revelation 20:10 be symbolic when the Witnesses admit that the Devil is not symbolic, but real! Can a real Devil be cast into a symbolic Lake of Fire that does not actually exist? If the Devil becomes non-existent, then how can he be tormented, whatever the word means to them? The future torment here is the same as in Revelation 11:10. Did the two prophets mentioned "annihilate" those dwelling on earth?" The Greek word "basanizo" in every case found in the New Testament speaks of pain and conscious suffering.
Gehenna has various degrees of punishment. There are few and many stripes: Luke 12:47,48; Matthew 10:14,15; Matthew 11:22-24; Mark 12:40. If Gehenna's punishment is only annihilation in the grave, then Jesus' words have no real meaning. How can there be degrees of punishment when one is non-existent? If death is non-existence, then how do you explain these verses:
1. It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorra in the day of judgment than for those who saw the mighty works of Jesus. (Matthew 10:15) Are there degrees of non-existence?
2. How is Judas' condition worse 'now' than if he had never been born? (Mark:14-21)
Let's just believe the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:46, that there are two destinations: one for believers and one for unbelievers. The same exact words in the Greek describe both conditions. Both are "everlasting," "eternal" and "ongoing." "He, then, who was adored by the prophets as the living God, He is the God of the living; and His Word is He who also spake to Moses, who also bestowed the gift of resurrection,...For if He be not the God of the dead, but of the living, yet was called the God of the fathers who were sleeping, they do indubitably live to God, and have not passed out of existence, since they are children of the resurrection." Irenaus Against Heresies, Book IV, ch. 5, section 2
"...but learning by experience that we possess eternal duration from the excelling power of this Being (god), not from our own nature," Irenaus Against Heresies, Book V, ch. 2, section 3
"For since there are real men, so must there also be a real establishment, that they vanish not away among non-existent things, but progress among those which have an actual existence. For neither is the substance nor the essence of the creation annihilated (for faithful and true is He who has established it), Irenaus Against Heresies, Book V, ch. 36, section 1
"And the writers who spoke of a multiplicity of gods came at length to the doctrine of the unity of God, and those who asserted chance spoke also of providence; and the advocates of impunity confessed there would be a judgment, and those who denied that there is a sensation after death acknowledged that there is." Theophilus to Autolycus, Book II, ch.XXXVIII
"...or, falling with the rest, a worse one (another life) and in fire; for God has not made us as sheep or beasts of burden, a mere by-work, and that we should perish and be annihilated." Athenagoras - A Plea for the Christians, ch. XXXI
"...to those who bear upon them the image of the Creator Himself, and are endowed with understanding, and blessed with a rational judgment, the Creator has assigned perpetual duration,...But since this cause is seen to lie in perpetual existence, the being so created must be preserved for ever, doing and experiencing what is suitable to its nature, each of the two parts of which it consists contributing what belongs to it, so that the soul may exist and remain without change in the nature in which it was made,...and the body be moved according to its nature towards its appropriate objects, and undergo the changes allotted to it,..." Athenagoras - On the Resurrection of the Dead, ch. 12
"...we are content with a life associated with neediness and corruption, as suited to our present state of existence, and we steadfastly hope for a continuance of being in immortality; and this we do not take without foundation from the inventions of men, feeding ourselves on false hopes, but our belief rests on a most infallible guarantee--the purpose of Him who fashioned us, according to which He made man of an immortal soul and a body," Athenagoras - On the Resurrection of the Dead, ch.13
"...the cause of his (man's) creation is a pledge of his continuance for ever, and this continuance is a pledge of the resurrection, without which man could not continue." Athenagoras - On the Resurrection of the Dead, ch. 13
"Man, therefore, who consists of the two parts, must continue forever....the conclusion is unavoidable, that, along with the interminable duration of the soul, there will be a perpetual continuance of the body according to its proper nature." Athenagoras - On the Resurrection of the Dead, ch. 15
WHAT THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS SAID ABOUT "NON-EXISTENCE"
"Yet is it not absurd, that that which has been produced with such circumstance, and which is beyond all else valuable, should be so neglected by its Maker, as to pass to nonentity?...but would God so neglect His own possession and work, that it becomes annihilated, and no longer exists? Should we not call this labour in vain?" Justin Martyr - On the Resurrection, ch. 8
ETERNAL PUNISHMENT
The Jews in Jesus' day believed in eternal punishment. Both the established schools of Shammai and Hillel recorded their beliefs in eternal punishment. (Appendix XIX, "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah," Alfred Edersheim)
Biblical accounts of "eternal punishment.":
Hebrews 9:27 Says that "it is appointed unto men to die once and then the judgment." If physical death IS the judgment, as the Witnesses claim, then what is the "judgment" that comes AFTER death - and why?
Hebrews 10:26-31 "more severer punishment" If a person dies and is annihilated, this passage doesn't make any sense. The theory that the wicked are annihilated breaks down here, for annihilation would give all the wicked the same punishment and hence would make it impossible for this added degree of worse punishment to exist..
James 2:19 "the devils tremble" Why? Because they know that there is a place of "everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels."(Matthew 25:41) This is why the demons said to Jesus, "Have you come here to torment us before the time?" (Matthew 8:29) The demons certainly know that there is a time coming when they will be tormented in everlasting fire. If not, then why would they tremble?
Revelation 14:9-11 says, "...he will be tormented with fire and brimstone...and the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever..." Also - Revelation 19:3 "And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever."
The apostle John uses the metaphor of burning sulfur and rising smoke to illustrate the process of torment. The eternity of the literal torment is symbolized by the metaphor of eternally ascending smoke. The assumption that the fire and smoke must be literal contributes to the ridicule heaped upon the doctrine of eternal punishment by the annihilationists. But the orthodox position doesn't require such literalization; just the recognition that there is torment and it is eternal in duration. Fire and smoke are apparently figures of speech which best describe the reality of conscious torment.
John uses two phrases to describe the duration of the torment. First, he says it will endure "forever and ever." In Greek, these two phrases mean "for the eons and eons." The Greek takes its greatest terms for time ("aionon"), the eon, pluralizes this, and then multiplies it by its own plural, even using articles which make these eons the definite ones. The Greek "aionon" ALWAYS means an endless period of time.
A CLOSING THOUGHT
Reality is always greater than the mental image created by figurative speech. Thus, Hell will be more horrible than the mental image of eternal worms gnawing on eternal bodies or being lost in an eternal lake of sulfuric fire. Hell will be greater than all the feeble and weak metaphors which human language can provide.
Since Hell is a future reality which no one has yet seen, the authors of Scripture and Christ Himself used what was available in the situation to describe the awfulness and ultimate separation from God.
This explains how and why mixed metaphors are used to describe Hell. Jude can use the Rabbinical metaphor of the horror, loneliness and despair of being lost in "the black darkness forever," while John can speak of being cast into the anger of God by the rabbinical metaphor of a "lake of fire and brimstone." There is no need to solve the literalist's riddle of how can Hell can be dark and yet be fire. Neither the darkness nor the fire are literal.
Annihilation is an idea which makes Hell less than what it was intended to be by having it mean 'nothingness.' If Hell is 'nothingness,' what mental images can be called upon to conceive of it? There is no mental image for 'Nothing.' Whence did all the terrifying mental images of Hell given in Scripture? Evidently the authors of Scripture attempted to depict Hell as "something" - not "nothing." If annihilation were true, then there would be no need for the terrifying mental images of figurative speech used in the Bible to describe Hell.