The first error you make is saying Sheol/Hades is the grave, some six feet under place rather than THE PLACE in the spiritual realm where the souls & spirits of people go after they physically die & their body stays on this earth.
Jesus is the prime example that refutes your error & wild speculations. AT THE SAME TIME Jesus' lifeless physical body was put in a grave, a tomb--His human spirit was committed to go to the Father..."into Thy hands I commit MY SPIRIT." Stephen in Acts 7 did the same thing, only committing HIS SPIRIT (not the Holy Spirit) into the care of Jesus Himself.
And AT THE SAME TIME Jesus' lifeless body was in the grave AND His Spirit given to the Father for his care after separating from the body (James 2), Jesus' human soul was found to be in Paradise, a level in Sheol/Hades, where the departed souls of those of faith in God, from the body leave & go after physical death.
There are definite Hebrew & Greek terms for the grave or sepulchre and they are NOT the Hebrew word Sheol or the Greek word Hades.
And I have done an in-depth conclusive contextual study on Luke 16:19-31, showing that it is not a parable but describing the actual destinations of two people, one believing & one not & what happens & where they go after they physically die. (if anyone is interested)
Hell, Sheol, Hades, Paradise, and the Grave
There seems to be some confusion about the meaning of Hell & who goes there because of the way the Hebrew word
Sheol & the Greek word
Hades have been translated in our English Bibles. Since this confusion has led some into an erroneous understanding of what the Bible actually teaches about the intermediate state & the final state of the dead, we think that it is important that we address this subject here.
Sheol is found in the Bible 65 times. It is translated “the pit” 3X, “the grave” 31X & “hell” 31X.
Hades is used 11X, being rendered “hell” 10X & “grave” once. Adding to the confusion is that two other words are also translated hell in the NT. These are
Tartarus, found once &
Gehenna, which is used 12X.
The term “Hell” is commonly understood to mean a place of torment where the souls of the wicked go after physical death. This is true. However, because Hades in the NT & Sheol in the OT are variously rendered hell or grave, there has been some misunderstanding about what hell & the grave are. Before looking at these words though, we should first give our attention to the Greek word Gehenna (Gehenna of fire), which is always translated hell & used in reference to the Lake of Fire & also Topheth of fire. It is found in Matt 5:22,29,30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5 & James 3:6.
THE FINAL HELL
The Lake of Fire, or Hell, is a literal place in the spiritual realm of everlasting fire that was originally created by God as a place of punishment (torments) for Satan & the angels that followed him in his rebellion against God (Matt 25:41).
Because it is referred to as the place of
“outer darkness” (Matt 8:12; 25:30), we believe that it is most probably located at the farthest reaches of the creation. Gehenna is described in Scripture as a “
furnace of fire” (Matt 13:42);
“everlasting punishment” (Matt 25:46);
“the mist [gloom]
of darkness” (II Pet. 2:17); the
“hurt of the second death” (Rev. 2:11 cf. 20:6,14; 21:8);
“a lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Rev. 19:20; 20:10; 21:8). The fires of Topheth in the valley of Ge-Hinnom (where the transliterated term Gehenna comes from) are also A PICTURE, a metaphor, of the lake of fire or the Gehenna of fire. Topheth literally means 'burning fire.'
While Hell was created for Satan & the other fallen angels, the unsaved of humanity from all ages will be with them in this place of torment where “
there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Mat. 13:42). This is the “everlasting reward” of all that die in their sins.
While there is no one in the Lake of Fire at this time, it will one day hold a vast multitude. The first residents of this place of righteous retribution will be the Beast (Antichrist) & the False Prophet (HUMAN BEINGS) who, at the end of the Tribulation, will be
“cast ALIVE into a lake burning with brimstone” (Rev. 19:19-20). Joining them will be the unsaved of the nations who survive the Tribulation (Matt 25:31-32,41-46).
Also, at Jesus Christ’s return to earth, the rebel Israelites, i.e. unbelieving Jews, who survive the Tribulation, will be denied entrance into the Millennial Kingdom, no doubt to join their Gentile counterparts in the “
place of everlasting fire” (Ezek 20:33-38; Matt 7:21-23; cf. Matt 24:29-31,45-51).
Then, at the end of the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Satan will be
“cast into the lake of fire & brimstone, where the beast & the false prophet are (still here after being cast alive into it earlier--not annihilated) & shall be tormented DAY & NIGHT--forever AND ever” (Rev. 20:10). And finally, the unsaved dead of all ages will be raised & judged at the Great White Throne by Jesus Christ & then cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:11-15).
[One should note that all human beings, both the righteous & the wicked will be resurrected with physical resurrected bodies that are IMMORTAL, that are incorruptible AND WILL NOT PERISH, that will remain forever & ever. (see I Corinthians 15:42-50)
That is why Jesus taught plainly, Matt 10:26-28:
So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light & what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but CANNOT KILL the soul. Rather fear him who can bring to ruin (destroy) both soul & body in Gehenna (hell).]
The name Gehenna derives from a deep narrow ravine south of Jerusalem where some Hebrew parents actually sacrificed their children to the Ammonite god, Molech, during the time of the kings (II Kings 16;3; II Chron 28:1-3; cf. Lev. 18:21; I Kings 11:5,7,33). This pagan deity is also referred to as Malcham, Milcom & Moloch in the Bible.
It became a graphic symbol of the place of punishment & abomination for the wicked. It was named the “Valley ('Ge') of Hinnom,” which translated into Greek becomes Gehenna. The passages where the word is found in the NT plainly show that it was a commonly used expression for Hell by that time.
The word is found 12X in the Scriptures, being used 11X by the Lord Jesus & once by James. When we consider the context, it is clear the Lord used this word in reference to the place of everlasting punishment for the wicked dead & NOT to the sacrifice of children to a demon false god.
Gehenna, or the Lake of Fire or Tophet or the Second Death, might be referred to as the future, or final, Hell because it is where all of the wicked from all ages will finally end up. Satan, the fallen angels & all of the lost of mankind will reside in torment there forever & ever.
SHEOL/HADES: THE PRESENT HELL
Scripture passages in which Gehenna is used should be distinguished from those using Hades, which refers to a place of temporary torment that we might refer to as the immediate, or present, Hell.
What we mean by this is that, at the time of death, the souls of the lost go directly to Hades, where they suffer in torment until the time of the Great White Throne Judgment when they will be resurrected & cast into the Lake of Fire. The souls of all the lost who have already died are presently there & those who die in their sins immediately go there to join them.
Hades is the NT equivalent of the OT word Sheol. The Greek & Hebrew words speak of the same place, the present Hell. However, this is problematic because Sheol has been translated “grave” as often as it has “hell” & some have mistakenly taught that Sheol & Hades are only references to the grave rather than Hell. This erroneous teaching leads to the denial of the existence of an immediate or present Hell. The false doctrine of soul-sleep & other ideas that teach the unconscious state of the dead between death & resurrection, spring from this error.
The common word for “grave” in the OT is
queber. Of the 64X is used, it is translated “grave” 34X, “sepulcher” 26X & “burying place” 4X. Queber is used 5 additional times as part of a place name, Kibroth-hattaavah, which means “graves of lust.”
A comparison of how
Sheol &
queber are used reveals eight points of contrast that tell us that they are NOT the same thing.
- Sheol is never used in plural form. Queber is used in the plural 29X.
- It is never said that the body goes to Sheol. Queber speaks of the body going there 37X.
- Sheol is never said to be located ON the face of the earth. Queber is mentioned 32X as being located on the earth.
- An individual’s Sheol is never mentioned. An individual’s queber is mentioned 5X.
- Man is never said to put anyone into Sheol. Individuals are put into a queber by man (33X).
- Man is never said to have dug or fashioned a Sheol. Man is said to have dug, or fashioned, a queber (6X).
- Man is never said to have touched Sheol. Man touches, or can touch, a queber (5X).
- It is never said that man is able to possess a Sheol. Man is spoken of as being able to possess a queber (7X). (These eight points of comparison are adapted from “Life and Death” by Caleb J. Baker, Bible Institute Colportage Ass’n, 1941).
From the differences between how
Sheol &
queber are used in Scripture, it is obvious that they are not the same thing. The Greek word
Hades in the NT would fit into the Sheol column of our chart, strongly indicating that it is the same thing as Sheol.
Words associated with
queber are
quabar &
qeburah.
Quabar is a verb meaning to bury or to be buried &
qeburah is a noun meaning a grave or place of burial. The use of these related words helps to reinforce the difference between
queber &
Sheol, as they clearly have to do with the grave as a burial place, while Sheol does not.
EXAMPLES SHOWING THAT SHEOL IS NOT A BURIAL PLACE
1. After selling Joseph into slavery, his brothers stained his coat with blood & used it to convince their father that he had been killed by a wild animal (Gen 37:26-36). Jacob’s sons & daughters tried
“to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted & he said, `for I will go down into the grave (Sheol)
unto my son mourning’. Thus his father wept for him” (v. 35 KJV).
From Jacob’s words it is clear that he fully intended to eventually be reunited with his son in a tangible way. Obviously then, he did not simply have in mind the idea of joining him in burial as he believed that Joseph’s body had not been buried at all, but was eaten by an animal (v. 33). This being the case, it was impossible for Jacob to think he would join Joseph in burial.
Plainly, he looked forward to being reunited with him in the place of the departed dead, not in burial. The word rendered grave in this passage is
Sheol, the abode of the souls of those who have died.
2. After Jacob died, Joseph had his body mummified, a process that took 40 days, then took him back to Canaan for burial (Gen 50:1-14). When we add to that the 30 days of mourning (Gen. 50:2-4) & the time it took to travel to Canaan for the funeral (Gen 50:5-13), we see that it was several weeks after Jacob was
“gathered unto his people” (Gen 49:33) before his body was placed in the cave that served as his burial place.
Considering that he had been dead for well over two months before his body was buried & that the Scriptures state that at the time he died he was “
gathered to his people” (Gen. 49:33) is telling. It shows that at the time of physical death, when “
he yielded up the spirit,” his soul immediately departed his body to be with Isaac & Abraham.
This cannot be a reference to his body being gathered together with their bodies, as that did not take place for over ten weeks. This is strong proof that Sheol does not mean a burial place for the body, but is the place where the souls of the departed reside. ['God is not the God of the dead but the God of the living.' I AM (eternally existing) the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob' not was].
3. That communication takes place in Sheol/Hades tells us that something other than a burial place is in view. In Isaiah 14:4-20, we find the prophet foretelling the eventual defeat & death of the king of Babylon. The nation that would eventually send Judah into captivity will itself be defeated & its mighty king will find himself among
“the chief ones of the earth…the kings of the nations” (Isa 14:9) who preceded him IN DEATH.
These are the kings of nations that he had conquered with the sword & ruled over with a cruel hand (Isa 14:6). These same men will serve as a welcoming committee for this once great “world ruler” when he arrives in Sheol/Hades. In mock surprise, they will ask this once powerful king,
“Art thou also become weak as we? Are thou become like unto us?” (Isa 14:10). They then taunt him by pointing out that the pretentious display of magnificence that he had demonstrated as the king of Babylon now meant nothing (Isa 14:11).
All of those who find themselves in this section of Sheol/Hades, like the king of Babylon & the kings who greeted him, will be faced with the reality of how helpless & hopeless they are. One of the boasts these kings make against him is that, while their bodies have been placed in their respective tombs, or graves, he was not honored by a respectable burial,
“But thou are cast out of the grave (queber) like an abominable (despised)
branch…thou shalt not be joined with them in burial” (Isa 14:18-20). Obviously, if his body was not in any grave at all, he was not simply joining them in burial.
What we see here is this man going into Sheol, while at the same time his body is cast out of its grave. Obviously then, Sheol cannot be the grave here as the body & soul are immaterial, in different places, the soul going to Sheol while the body remains unburied, or outside of the grave (vs. 20) to be infested by maggots (vs. 11). It is true that this is a prophetic passage.
And there are various opinions as to the identity of the person in view here (verses 12-15 are commonly thought to refer to Satan, the power behind the Gentile kings). But, regardless of who this prophecy is about, or whether it has already been fulfilled or not, does not change the fact that Sheol & the grave are to be regarded as different places in this passage of Scripture.
4. In the case of Samuel & Saul, we find another example of the Scriptures making a distinction between Sheol/Hades & the grave. In his conversation with King Saul, Samuel, whom the Lord had sent back from the dead to deliver a message to Saul, said that Saul & his sons would be WITH HIM THE NEXT DAY (I Sam 28:15-19).