That is correct Gehenna,is from the Valley of Hinnom, which was a garbage dump outside the walls. There a fire was always going. So the Jews understood what the total destruction was , anything that was thrown in there, was destroyed. So all the symbolism in the bible about fire and destruction and eternal torment , etc, had to do with the idea that anything thrown in that fire would be destroyed. NO life. Also the Jews never threw any live people into it, it was only dead bodies of some criminals or animals, and anything else. So this just meant total destruction.
To the 1st Century Jew, the metaphor of Gehenna spoke of purification in the afterlife. Even today, traditional Jews mourn the dead for 11 months, but no longer, because to mourn a loved one more than 11 months is to say the person was especially wicked and needed more than normal purification before rising to Ga Eden (Paradise).
Another passage that speaks of conscious punishment in the afterlife is Luke's record of Jesus speaking of the rich man and Lazarus. And though Luke uses the word "Hades" to speak of the location of the rich man's torment (16:23) as being "Hades", it's likely that Jesus actually spoke of Gehenna and Luke translated what Jesus said, Gehenna, as Hades because it was the best Greek word to speak of the realm of the dead. And it's significant to note that the word "torment",
basanos, is used which is related to the purification process of metal and the use of a touch-stone.
Gehenna, being Jerusalem's trash dump, was used as a metaphor to speak of punishment and purification in the afterlife. Jesus said such was so bad that it would be better to loose a limb or an eye and be lame and blind in life, than to be physically whole in this life and suffer Gehenna in the the life to come.
You are correct in that live people were not cast into Gehenna, but the dead bodies of the poor and criminals. Gehenna speaks of the destruction of that which is dead already. It speaks of purification, the removal of trash. From the story one can assume that Lazarus, being poor, was cast into the physical Gehenna, though the rich man was cast into the Gehenna of the afterlife.
Now the bible says that all scripture is inspired of God and beneficial, so that no part of the bible is less important or has to be symbolic.
Also the scriptures are inspired so they should not contradict one another.
The bible also says that there is no interpretation except by God. So what does that really mean? It means the the bible interprets itself.
No part is less important, but the various types of literature should be interpreted according to that style of literature; and as for me, I believe that some passages of scripture are more authoritative than others. In fact, Jesus often mentioned the "Law and the Prophets" because the Jews considered the "Law and the Prophets" much more authoritative than the other "Writings" like Psalms and the wisdom literature, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
One should also recognize that revelation is progressive; the NT reveals much more of the plan of God than the OT does. And of course, Jesus himself is the perfect revelation of God, even more so than scripture.
Concerning scripture saying "that there is no interpretation except by God", please reference which passage you speak of. And the concept that "scripture interprets scripture" is not actually true; rather, people interpret scripture. People use one passage of scripture to interpret another. For example, you've taken the passages in Ecclesiates and are using them to interpret other passages. Whereas the better approach, I believe, is to intepret Ecclesiastes based on what Ecclesiastes says, taking into account its audience, its original language, its overall message, its author, its style of literature, its cultural context, etc.
Ezekiel 18:4 (Amplified Bible)
4Behold, all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine; the
soul that sins, it shall die.(
A)
Ecclesiastes 9:5 (The Message)
Seize Life!
4-6 Still, anyone selected out for life has hope, for, as they say, "A living dog is better than a dead lion." The living at least know something, even if it's only that they're going to die. But
the dead know nothing and
get nothing. They're a minus that no one remembers.
Their loves, their hates, yes, even their dreams, are long gone. There's not a trace of them left in the affairs of this earth.
Psalm 146:4 (The Message)
3-9 Don't put your life in the hands of experts
who know nothing of life, of salvation life.
Mere humans don't have what it takes;
when they die, their projects die with them.
Matthew 10:28 (Amplified Bible)
28And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can
destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna).
So all these scriptures say the same thing, when we die there non existence for us , ther is no difference from us to the animals.
Ecclesiastes 3:19 For there is an eventuality as
respects the sons of mankind and an eventuality as respects the beast, and
they have the same eventuality.
As the one dies, so the other dies; and they all have but one spirit, so that there is no superiority of the man over the beast, for everything is vanity. 20
All are going to one place. They have all come to be from the dust, and they are all returning to the dust.
As noted before, it's important to interpret scripture based on its style of literature. Poetic literature is not interpreted the same as didactic literature, historical narrative, or legal code. And yes, it is possible for God to destroy, Kill, both body and soul in the judgment of the afterlife, if he chose to do so. Mt.10:28 is meant to free people from the fear of men, because God is far more powerful than humanity. It is not meant to assert in any way that God is going to destroy or kill people in Gehenna.
Concerning us and animals, there are plenty of differences between us and the animals. For example, we have some choice in how we live our lives; animals don't. The Eccl. passage you quoted was not meant to teach that there is no difference between us and animals, but to poetically point to the futility of life. "All is vanity" is the theme of Ecclesiastes -- all of life is futile, except loving and serving God.
There is no life after death
This make sense when you consider Adam and Eve. They were not meant to die, they were to live forever. So why did they need something that lives on after death?
We also know the Jesus was the first one resurrected to heaven, so where are all the other ones like Noah, Job, Abraham, etc. They are just dead. No life, non existence. This means all of these scriptures are in harmony with one another.
The word "first" does not necessarily mean "first in order or time", rather it can simply mean that He is the "first in priority". Concerning Abraham, Noah, Job, etc., Jesus said that God is not the God of the dead, but of the Living. (Mt.10:32). As noted in other posts, Jesus in this passage is countering the errant doctrine of the Saduccees "which say that there is no resurrection" (10:23), that there is no life after physical death; and Jesus affirms that there is life after death, that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, affirming that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive, not dead.
