The Underworld Part one
What's under our feet according to the Bible
Where Are the Dead?
The following study is the truth of the Bible on all phases of the subject of the dead and their destiny:
I. Death Defined
The word death as applied to man in Scripture means separation, or a cutting off from fulfilling God’s purpose for which he was created. One can logically substitute the word separation for death in every scripture where it is used. It will clarify many passages to do so, as we shall see below.
II. Physical Death
Physical death is the separation of the inner man from the outer man, the separation of the soul and spirit from the body.
The body without the spirit is dead: Only the body dies at the time of physical death. This is caused by the soul and spirit leaving the body. The body returns to dust and the soul and spirit of the righteous go to heaven to await the resurrection (2Cor. 5:8; Phlp. 1:21-24; Heb. 12:23; Rev. 6:9-11). The soul and spirit of the wicked go to hell to await the resurrection (Luke16:19-31; Isa. 14:9; Rev. 20:11-15). The soul and spirit are spiritual and immortal. They cannot go back to dust.
So faith without works is dead also: Just as surely as the inner man leaves the body at physical death and is no longer with the body, so faith without works is dead separated and is powerless. (Jas. 2:26).
III. Spiritual Death
Spiritual death is separation of man from God because of sin. One can be alive physically and spiritually dead at the same time (Mat. 8:22; Col. 2:14; 1Tim. 5:6). He can also be dead physically and alive in hell—conscious in the soul and spirit, or the inner man.
IV. Second Death: Eternal Death
The second death means the second and eternal separation from God in the lake of fire (Rev. 2:11; 20:6, 20:14; 21:8).
V. Penalty for Sin
The penalty for sin was eternal death or eternal separation from God in hell. Had it been physical death, every man would be automatically justified in the sight of God when he died physically. With the penalty thus paid, God could not punish the sinner any further than physical death. Such death would be the means of justification and the door to heaven; but this could not be. Some who die physically will be saved and others will be lost, so the penalty could not be physical death.
Neither could it be spiritual death, which is the state of man in sin. If so, then all who commit sin would automatically be justified in the sight of God. This would make committing sin the penalty for committing sin, which is ridiculous. It would mean that all who commit sin would be saved and go to heaven. This would guarantee eternal life for all men, for all have sinned (Rom. 3:23). It would make the salvation of souls foolish and unnecessary. Furthermore, it would make the death of Christ unnecessary, for all men were sinners before He came.
The real penalty for sin, therefore, could not be physical or spiritual death, but eternal death or separation from God. Physical death is the result of spiritual and eternal death. Eternal death is the penalty for spiritual death or committing sin (Eph. 2:1-9).
VI. Resurrection from Spiritual Death
The resurrection of man from spiritual death or separation from God takes place when one is saved from death in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1-10), when he is born again (John 3:1-8), is made a new creature in Christ (2Cor. 5:17-18) and is fully reconciled to God through Christ (2Cor. 5:14-21; Eph. 2:12-16; Col. 1:20-22; 2:6-13).
VII. Immortality of the Soul
The soul and spirit together called the inner man are immortal. They continue in full consciousness between the death and resurrection of the body, and in the new resurrected body into all eternity.
VIII. Mortality of the Body
The body is now mortal. It will die and go back to dust (Gen. 3:19; Ecc. 3:19-21; Heb. 9:27; Jas. 2:26). This procedure will continue until sin is put down and death is destroyed (1Cor. 15:24-28; Rev. 21:3-7; Rev. 22:3).
IX. Resurrection of the Dead
This refers only to the bodies of all men who die, not to the souls and spirits which are immortal. Without exception, all scriptures on the future resurrection of the dead refer only to the bodies which die and will be resurrected from dust again (Dan. 12:2; John 5:28-29; 1Cor. 15:1-58; 1Thes. 4:13-17; Rev. 20:4-6, 20:11-15). There will be no spiritual resurrection—a resurrection of the soul and spirit. All spiritual resurrection is accomplished in this life before the body dies (Eph. 2:1-10; Col. 2:11-13). If one is not resurrected spiritually from death in trespasses and sins in this life, he will remain forever spiritually dead or separated from God (Heb. 9:27; Rev. 22:11).
X. No Soul-Sleeping Taught
All scriptures used by false cults to prove soul-sleep really refer to death of the body which knows nothing in the grave.
XI. Immortality of the Body
The body, which is now mortal, will become immortal in the resurrection. All scriptures mentioning future immortality refer to the body, not to the soul which is now immortal.
XII. The Intermediate State
This refers to the state of the dead between death and the resurrection of the body. After the body goes back to dust at physical death (Gen. 3:19; Ecc. 3:19-21; Jas. 2:26), it remains dead separated from the inner man until the future resurrection day when the body will be made immortal (1Cor. 15:35-54). The soul and spirit remain alive, being immortal either in heaven or hell, until the resurrection day when the body will be made immortal.
At physical death the soul and spirit leave the body (Jas. 2:26). If one is a converted person, his soul and spirit go to heaven immediately at death to await the resurrection of the body (Luke 20:38; John 11:25-26; 2Cor. 5:8; Eph. 3:15; 4:8-10; Phlp. 1:21-24; Heb. 12:22-23; Rev. 6:9-11). If he is a sinner, his soul and spirit go to hell at death to await the resurrection of the body (Isa. 14:9; Luke 16:19-31; 2Pet. 2:9; Rev. 20:11-15).
XIII. Five Departments in the Underworld of Departed Spirits
There are five distinct prisons in the underworld of departed spirits:
1. Tartarus (1Pet. 3:19; 2Pet. 2:4; Jude 1:6-7). This prison is a special one for fallen angels who sinned before the flood. No human beings or demons ever go to this prison. See 2Pet. 2:4.
2. Paradise (Luke 16:19-31; 23:43). This was the abode of the righteous after physical death, where they were held captive by the devil against their will, until Christ conquered death, hell, and the grave. It is now empty of the righteous, who go to heaven at death, since Christ captured the captives in hell and took them to heaven with Him when He ascended on high. See, Luke 16:22; see, Eph. 4:8; see, Heb. 2:15.
3. Hell (Mat. 16:18; Luke 16:19-31). This is the torment compartment of Sheol/Hades where wicked souls have always gone and will always go until the end of the Millennium. Then the wicked will be brought out of here to be reunited with their resurrected immortal bodies and cast into the lake of fire for eternity (Rev. 20:11-15).
4. The abyss or bottomless pit (Luke 8:26-31; Rom. 10:7; Rev.9:1-3, 9:11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1-10). This is the abode of demons and some angelic beings. No human soul and spirit ever go to the abyss. The O.T. equivalent is Abaddon and is translated destruction (Job 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; Psm. 88:11; Prov. 15:11; 27:20).
5. The lake of fire. This is the eternal hell and perdition of all fallen angels, demons, and wicked men (Rev. 20:6, 20:11-15; 21:8; 22:15). It is the same as gehenna of see, Luke 12:5. It is the final hell prepared for the devil and his angels (Mat. 25:41) and is eternal in duration (Isa. 66:22-24; Mat. 25:46; Rev. 14:9-14; 19:20; 20:10-15).
XIV. Hell
The English word hell is defined as the abode of evil spirits; infernal regions; place of eternal punishment or extreme torment; in ancient times, the place of departed spirits. The word infernal means belonging to hell. The word inferno is another word for the infernal regions, hell. Gehenna is defined as the place of future torment; hell; hellfire. Tartarus is defined as the place of punishment in the lower world. There are seven Hebrew and Greek words translated hell and grave as follows:
1. Hebrew: she’owl, the unseen world. It always refers to the unseen world of departed spirits and is always in contrast with the Hebrew: qeber, which means the grave, or the seen world where bodies are buried. Qeber is always translated grave, burying place, sepulchre. It is never translated hell, and rightly so.
She’owl is translated hell 31 times (Deut. 32:22; 2Sam. 22:6; Job 11:8; 26:6; Psm. 9:17; 16:10; 18:5; 55:15; 86:13; 116:3; 139:8; Prov. 5:5; 7:27; 9:18; 15:11, 15:24; 23:14; 27:20; Isa. 5:14; 14:9, 14:15; 28:15, 28:18; 57:9; Eze. 31:16-17; 32:21, 32:27; Amos 9:2; Jon. 2:2; Hab. 2:5); grave 31 times (Gen. 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 44:31; 1Sam. 2:6; 1Kgs. 2:6, 2:9; Job 7:9; 14:13; 17:13; 21:13; 24:19; Psm. 6:5; 30:3; 31:17; 49:14-15; 88:3; 89:48; 141:7; Prov. 1:12; 30:16; Ecc. 9:10; Son. 8:6; Isa. 14:11; 38:10, 38:18; Eze. 31:15; Hos. 13:14); and pit 3 times (Num. 16:30, 16:33; Job 17:16).
2. Hebrew: qeber, the proper word for grave, the seen world, is translated four different ways and always of the place where the body goes at death:
(1) Grave (Gen. 35:20; 50:5; Exo. 14:11; Num. 19:16, 19:18; 2Sam. 3:32; 19:37; 1Kgs. 13:30; 14:13; 2Kgs. 22:20; 23:6; 2Ch. 34:4, 34:28; Job 3:22; 5:26; 10:19; 17:1; 21:32; Psm. 88:5, 88:11; Isa. 14:19; 53:9; 65:4; Jer. 8:1; 20:17; 26:23; Eze. 32:22-26; 37:12-13; 39:11; Nah. 1:14).
(2) Burial (2Ch. 26:23; Ecc. 6:3; Isa.14:20; Jer. 22:19).
(3) Burying place (Gen. 23:4, 23:9, 23:20; 47:30; 49:30; 50:13; Jdg. 16:31).
(4) Sepulchre (Gen. 23:6; Deut. 34:6; Jdg. 8:32; 1Sam. 10:2; 2Sam. 2:32; 4:12; 17:23; 21:14; 1Kgs. 13:22, 13:31; 2Kgs. 9:28; 13:21; 21:26; 23:16-17, 23:30; 2Ch. 16:14; 21:20; 24:25; 28:27; 32:33; 35:24; Neh. 2:3, 2:5; 3:16; Psm. 5:9; Isa. 22:16; Jer. 5:16).
3. Greek: Hades, the unseen world. It is equivalent to she’owl of the O.T. and is always in contrast with mnemeion, the seen world, or place of bodies at death. Mnemeion, meaning the grave, is never translated hell. Hades is translated hell ten times (Mat. 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27, 2:31; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13-14) and grave once (1Cor. 15:55).
4. Greek: mnemeion, the proper word for grave, is translated three different ways, as follows:
(1) Grave (Mat. 27:52-53; Luke 11:44; John 5:28; 11:17, 11:31, 11:38; 12:17; Rev. 11:9)
(2) Tomb (Mat. 8:28; 27:60; Mark 5:2-3; 6:29; Luke 8:27)
(3) Sepulchre (Mat. 23:29; 27:60; 28:8; Mark 15:46; 16:2-8; Luke 11:47-48; 23:53, 23:55; 24:1-2, 24:9, 24:12, 24:22, 24:24; John 19:41-42; 20:1-11; Acts 2:29; 7:16; 13:29)
5. Greek: gehenna, from Hebrew: gay’, gorge or valley, and Hinnom, lamentation. It means valley of Hinnom, where perpetual fires were kept burning the refuse of Jerusalem. It came to be used by the Jews as an appropriate picture of eternal hell and punishment. Gehenna is translated hell twelve times (Mat. 5:22, 5:29, 5:30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 23:33; Mark 9:43-47; Luke 12:5; Jas. 3:6). It is never translated grave, and rightly so. See, Luke 12:5.
6. Greek: tartaros, the deepest abyss of Sheol/Hades, the unseen world. The verb form tartaro is translated cast ... down to hell in 2Pet. 2:4.
7. Greek: limnen tou puros, lake of fire, the same as the gehenna of fire, the eternal hell, and perdition of all rebels against God, whether spirits, giants, pre-Adamites, or Adamites. It is used five times (Rev. 19:20; 20:10-15; 21:8).
It can be seen from a study of all the above scriptures on Sheol/Hades, gehenna, tartaros, and qeber/mnemeion that hell is not the grave, but a place of consciousness and torment. This will be abundantly proven in the following facts about hell and the grave:
Eighty-eight Facts Proving that Hell Is Not the Grave:
1. In Scripture, Sheol/Hades (hell) is never the place of the body; qeber/mnemeion (grave) is never the place of the soul (Psm. 16:10; Acts 2:25-29).
2. She’owl is never in the plural; qeber is plural 38 times, and singular 74 times.
3. She’owl is never located on earth; qeber is located on earth 73 times.
4. The body never goes to she’owl; the body is mentioned as going to qeber 75 times.
5. An individual’s she’owl is never mentioned; an individual’s qeber is mentioned 79 times.
6. Man, never puts anyone into she’owl; man puts bodies into a qeber 40 times.
7. Man, never digs or makes a she’owl; man digs and makes a qeber 51 times.
8. Man on earth never touches a she’owl; he touches a qeber 51 times.
9. Man has never seen a she’owl on earth; he has seen a qeber 51 times.
10. God alone puts men into she’owl (Num. 16:30-33; 1Sam. 2:6; Eze. 31:16; Luke 16:19-31).
11. God alone will bring men out of she’owl (1Sam. 2:6; Rev. 20:11-15).
12. Hell-bound men descend (Isa. 5:14) and go down into the lower parts of the earth into she’owl at death (Gen. 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 44:31; Num. 16:30-33; 1Sam. 2:6; 1Kgs. 2:6, 2:9; Job 7:9-10; 17:16; 21:13; Psm. 31:16-17; Isa. 14:9-16; Eze. 31:15-17; 32:27; Mat. 11:23; Luke 10:15).
13. People go into she’owl in a moment and quickly (Num. 16:30-33; Job 21:13; Psm. 55:15; Luke 16:19-31).
14. People are forced into she’owl (Isa. 5:15).
15. People are cast into she’owl (Eze. 31:15-17).
16. Sheol is located in the nether parts of the earth (Eze. 31:14-18; 32:24), lower parts of the earth (Psm. 63:9; 68:18; Eph. 4:8-10), heart of the earth (Mat. 12:40), below the depth of the seas and below the foundations of the mountains (Jon. 2:2-6), beneath like a pit (Prov. 15:24; Isa. 14:9-16; Eze. 31:14-18; 32:18-31) and is too deep to dig into (Job 11:8; Amos 9:2).
17. Sheol/Hades, unlike the grave, is a place of activity, a place of wrath (Deut. 32:22; Luke 16:19-31).
18. A place of sorrow (Gen. 42:38; 44:29, 44:31; 2Sam. 22:6; Psm. 18:5; 55:15; 116:3; Prov. 7:27; Isa. 14:9-15).
19. A place of fire (Deut. 32:22; Son. 8:6; Luke. 16:19-31).
20. A place hidden from man, but naked before God (Job 26:6; Psm. 139:8; Prov. 15:11; Amos 9:2)
21. A place of power (Psm. 49:15; Hos. 13:14; Mat. 16:18; 1Cor. 15:51-56; Rev. 1:18; 6:8).
22. A place of full consciousness (Isa. 14:9-15; Eze. 32:27-31; Luke 16:19-31).
23. A place for the soul and spirit, not the body (Psm. 16:10; 30:3; 49:15; 86:13; 89:48; Prov. 23:14; Acts 2:25-29).
24. A place of conversations (Isa. 14:9-16; Eze. 32:21; Luke 16:19-31).
25. A place where many kings and chief ones of the earth live after death (Isa. 14:9-11).
26. A place where its inhabitants are stirred up at the coming of others (Isa. 14:9-11; Eze. 32:27-32).
27. A place where great men acknowledge their defeat (Isa. 14:9-11).
28. A place where men recognize and converse with one another (Isa.14:16; Luke 16:9-31).
29. A place where knowledge and memory exist (Isa. 14:10, 14:16; Luke 16:19-31).
30. A place for the proud—Mat. 11:23; Luke 10:15. If the grave is hell, then the curse of Jesus here is meaningless, for all go to graves physically, the proud and the humble, without such a curse (Heb. 9:27).
31. A place of torment (Luke 16:23).
32. A place of prayer (Jon. 2:2; Luke 16:19-31).
33. A place of regret over mistreatment of others (Luke 16:24-31).
34. A place where men still have willpower, though it is too late to accept God’s terms and escape hell (Luke 16:24-31).
35. A place where men are conscious of life on earth but cannot visit earth to warn men of the real torments (Luke 16:26-31).
36. A place where the lost become conscious of the need of soul-winning (Luke 16:27-31).
37. A place so terrible that those who are in it plead for some means of warning others not to come there (Luke 16:26-31).
38. A place where souls are not burned up by the fire (Luke 16:22-31; 1Pet. 3:4).
39. A place of cruelty (Son. 8:6).
40. A place that has enlarged itself—it has not been enlarged by men (Isa. 5:14).
41. A place that is never full or satisfied (Prov. 27:20; 30:16; Hab. 2:5).
42. A place that receives men in numbers like flocks of sheep (see, Psm. 49:14).
43. A place from which only salvation can deliver one (Psm. 86:13).
44. A place of gates and bars (Job 17:16; Isa. 38:10; Mat. 16:18; Rev. 1:18).
45. A place of debasement (Isa. 57:9).
46. A place of pains (Psm. 18:5; 116:3; Luke 16:19-31).
47. A temporary place of torment (Luke 16:19-31; Rev. 20:11-15).
48. A place of two compartments—one for the righteous before the resurrection of Christ, and one for the wicked departed souls from Abel’s time to the end of the Millennium—with a great gulf between the compartments forbidding travel but not communication between them (Luke 16:19-31).
The Paradise Compartment of Sheol:
49. A place other than the grave for the righteous who, until Christ came, were captives of the devil against their will (Heb. 2:14-15). It was called Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16:22) and paradise (Luke 23:43).
50. It was a hiding place from God’s wrath after death (Job 14:13; Luke 16:19-31), a place without fire, but with water and other comforts (Eze. 31:16; Luke 16:19-31).
51. Lazarus went into this place of comfort, but his body went to the grave (Luke 16:19-31).
52. Christ and the penitent thief went into paradise at death (Psm. 16:10; Mat.12:40; Luke 23:43; Eph. 4:8-10).
53. Jonah also went into this compartment while his body was dead in the belly of the whale (Jon. 2:2, 2:6-7; Mat. 12:40).
54. Angels carried the righteous souls into this compartment, but men carried their bodies to graves (Luke 16:22-26; 23:43).
55. Christ, while there, preached to the angels in tartarus, proving that the hell He was in is not the grave (Psm. 16:10; see, 1Pet. 3:19).
56. Christ, while in Sheol/Hades, liberated the righteous captives of Satan taking them to heaven with Him when He ascended on high (Eph. 4:8-10; Heb. 2:14-15).
57. Paradise is now empty of all the righteous souls (Eph. 4:8-10; Heb. 12:23); the graves continue to hold bodies of both the righteous and unrighteous.
58. The righteous were alive in paradise, else Christ could not have preached and liberated the righteous captives; and Lazarus and others in this place could not have been comforted (Luke 16:19-31).
The Torment Compartment of Sheol:
59. It is the lowest part of Sheol, even lower than paradise, and therefore could not be the grave (Deut. 32:22; Psm. 86:13; Prov. 9:18; Isa. 57:9).
60. The greater number of people (not all) go into it at death (Deut. 32:22; Psm. 9:17; Isa. 5:14; Luke 16:19-31), whereas all men go into a grave, watery or otherwise, at death.
61. The fire in it is as literal as the mountains (Deut. 32:22; Luke 16:19-31).
62. The fire is kindled in God’s wrath (Deut, 32:22)
63. Entrance into it is down, deeper than a grave, through the earth to its center (Num. 16:30-33; Mat. 12:40; Eph. 4:8-10).
64. Bodies of men are buried at the mouth of it on the earth’s surface only (Psm. 141:7).
65. Men go alive into it (Num. 16:30-33; Psm. 88:3; Prov. 1:12; Eze. 32:27-31; Luke 16:19-31).
66. The wicked only are tormented in it (Deut. 32:22; Psm. 9:17; Prov. 5:5; 7:27; 9:18; Isa. 14:9-16; Luke. 16:19-31).
67. Its depth is contrasted with the height of heaven, which could never be so of the grave (Job 11:7; Ism. 57:9; Amos 9:2).
68. The Rephaim, or giants, are there for sexual sins, proving that they are still alive in she’owl (see on Gen. 6:1-4; Prov. 9:18; 21:16; Isa. 14:9-19; 26:14).
69. Christ now has the keys of Sheol/Hades (Rev. 1:18).
70. Chastening can help men to be godly and escape it (Prov. 23:14), but chastening will not keep men from graves. All go to graves, but all do not go to hell. In fact, no saved man goes there since Christ conquered hell (2Cor. 5:8; Phlp. 1:21-24; Heb. 12:23; Rev. 6:9-11).
71. The gates of hell (Hades) shall not prevail against the church in this age (Mat. 16:18), but they did prevail against O.T. saints, for they all went down into the paradise compartment of she’owl and were held captive by Satan against their will (Heb. 2:14-15). Since the resurrection of Christ, saints do not go to Sheol/Hades as before He conquered hell and liberated the righteous souls from Satan, leading them captive to heaven (Eph. 4:8-10; Heb. 2:14-15). Saints of this age now go to heaven at death instead of to Sheol (2Cor. 5:8; Phlp. 1:21-24; Heb. 12:23; Rev. 6:9-11), which proves that hell is not the grave. No such change regarding graves has ever been made. The bodies of both the righteous and the wicked continue to be put into graves.
72. Every man in Sheol/Hades will be brought out and judged 1,000 years after the righteous have been resurrected (Rev. 20:4-6, 20:11-15). If men at death are extinct or unconscious in graves, why bring them back into existence or consciousness just to judge them and send them into extinction of being again, as false cults teach? This would make the Bible a lie, for conscious punishment of sins would then be impossible. Unconsciousness in graves now, and unconsciousness and extinction of being in eternity, would not meet the demands of the law of eternal punishment for eternal rebellion, as we shall see below.
73. Sheol/Hades held the captives that were captured by Christ and taken to heaven when He ascended on high (Eph. 4:8-10; Heb. 2:14-15). How could extinct or unconscious men be held captive? Why would Christ even attempt to capture extinct beings? What would He want with them? Those He captured must have been real and living, for God is not the God of the dead bodies of men but of their living souls (Luke 20:38). If the captives were brought back into being again when their captivity by Christ took place, then the resurrection of the righteous has already taken place and many scriptures stating the future resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked are without meaning (Dan. 12:2; John 5:28-29; 1Thes. 4:16; Rev. 20:4-6).
74. Qeber/mnemeion, the proper words for grave, are never translated hell. Sheol/Hades should never have been translated grave. To prove this, let us substitute hell where burial, grave, tomb, and sepulchre are found and see how ridiculous it would be:
Examples of Using Hell for Grave:
(1) Choice of our hells (Gen. 23:6)
(2) Jacob set a pillar upon her hell (Gen. 35:20)
(3) In my hell which I have digged (Gen. 50:5)
(4) Because ... no hells in Egypt (Exo. 14:11)
(5) Whosoever touches a hell shall be unclean seven days (Num. 19:16, 19:18)
(6) Buried by the hell of my father (2Sam. 19:37)
(7) Carcass in his own hell (1Kgs. 13:30)
(8) The hell of Elisha (2Kgs. 13:21)
(9) Hell of the man of God (2Kgs. 23:17)
(10) Remain among the hells (Isa. 65:4)
(11) Bones out of hells (Jer. 8:1)
(12) Hells of the prophets (Mat. 23:29)
(13) Hells of the righteous (Mat. 23:29)
(14) Dwelling among the hells (Mark 5:3)
Examples of Using Grave for Hell:
(1) Fire burning in the lowest grave kindled by God’s wrath (Deut. 32:22)
(2) Sorrows of the grave (2Sam. 22:6)
(3) Wicked and all nations that forget God turned into the grave (Psm. 9:17)
(4) Soul in the grave (Psm. 16:10)
(5) Pains of the grave (Psm. 116:3)
(6) The grave is never full (Prov. 27:20)
(7) The inhabitants of the grave move to welcome you at your coming (Isa. 14:9)
(8) Speak out of the grave (Eze. 32:21)
(9) Shall be in danger of grave fire (Mat. 5:22; 18:9; Mark 9:43-49)
(10) Fire of the grave never quenched (Mark 9:43-49)
(11) God only has power to cast in the grave (Luke 12:5)
(12) In the grave he lift up his eyes, being in torments in fire ... flame (Luke 16:19-31)
(13) Angels cast down to the grave (2Pet. 2:4; Jude 1:6-7)
Other Ridiculous Conclusions:
(1) They shall look into the grave on sinners where their worm does not die and their fire shall not be quenched (Isa. 66:22-24).
(2) Cast into the grave where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mat. 8:11-12; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30).
(3) Who has warned you to flee from wrath in the grave (Mat. 3:7)?
(4) Killed and cast into the fire of the grave (Mat. 3:10).
(5) Burn in unquenchable fire in the grave (Mat. 3:12; 7:19; Luke 3:17).
(6) Tares are burned in the grave fire (Mat. 13:40, 13:50).
(7) Cast them into the grave of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Mat. 13:42).
(8) A twofold child more of the grave than yourselves (Mat. 23:15).
(9) Be cast into everlasting fire in the grave (Mat. 18:8-10).
(10) Depart from Me, you cursed, into the grave of everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Mat. 25:41).
(11) These shall go away in the grave of everlasting punishment (Mat. 25:46).
(12) The angels that sinned have been reserved in everlasting chains and set forth for an example of suffering the eternal fire of the grave (Jude 1:6-7).
(13) He opened the grave and out of it came forth smoke of a great furnace that darkened the sun (Rev. 9:1-21).
(14) The smoke of the grave rose up forever and ever (Rev. 19:3).
(15) Satan shall be cast into the grave of fire and brimstone and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever (Rev. 20:7-10).
(16) Death and the grave were cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14).
(17) All sinners shall have their part in the grave that burns with fire and brimstone (Rev. 21:8; 22:15).
(18) Are you come to torment us demons in the grave before it is time to be tormented (Mat. 8:29)?
(19) Warn my five brethren lest they also come to this grave of torment in fire (Luke 16:19-31).
(20) He Lazarus has comfort in his grave but you have torment in yours (Luke 19:25).
(21) He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the grave and they shall have no rest day or night forever and ever (Rev. 14:9-11).
Many other statements just as ridiculous could be made if we, like false cults, forced a meaning into Scripture that is not there—that hell is the grave; that there is no consciousness after death; that eternal fire and eternal punishment in hell are false.
75. Hades is spoken of as being completely defeated (1Cor. 15:55). This is sufficient proof that it isn’t the grave.
76. The fact that the soul is immortal proves that it remains in consciousness some place between death and resurrection (see, 1Pet. 3:4). Since it does not go to the grave, but to hell (Isa. 14:9-16; Luke 16:19-31; Rev. 20:11-15) or heaven (2Cor. 5:8; Phlp. 1:21-24; Heb. 12:23; Rev. 6:9-11), then hell is not the grave.
77. Since the soul is immortal and the body mortal (Gen. 3:19; Ecc. 3:19-21), then it is clear that only the body goes into the grave to see corruption until its resurrection to immortality when if wicked it will be punished in hell with the soul or if righteous, will be permitted to enjoy eternal bliss.
78. Since only the body is to be changed in the future resurrection of the dead, then only the body will come out of unconsciousness in the grave so it can be made as immortal as the soul and spirit, and be rewarded in heaven or punished in hell, according to its deeds (Dan. 12:2; John 5:28-29; Rev. 20:11-15). See, Dan. 12:2.
79. Since soul-sleep is not taught in Scripture and body-sleep is, then it is the body only that is unconscious in the grave. The soul goes to hell or heaven at death, as seen in the many scriptures above.
80. Since the bodies of the wicked as well as the righteous will become immortal in the resurrection, then it is impossible to burn them up, consume them, annihilate them, or cause them to become extinct through fire or any other means. Where are immortal wicked beings going to spend eternity as everlasting monuments of God’s wrath and examples of eternal punishment for rebellion (as in Isa. 66:22-24; Rev. 14:9-11; etc.), if not in hell?
81. Because there is full consciousness in the intermediate state between death and resurrection, souls of the wicked as well as the righteous must go to some place of waiting to remain until the resurrection of the body. See pt. (14), The Doctrine of Man. Where would the wicked go to await their bodies and receive judgment and their degrees of punishment, if not to hell?
82. Since the word "hell" is never in the plural, and since it is always clear, not only from the original words but from the subject matter of the texts, that bodies are put into graves and souls go to heaven or hell, then we must acknowledge that hell is not the grave.
83. Of the 65 places where she’owl is used, 11 where Hades is used, 12 where gehenna, 5 the lake of fire, and the 1 time where tartaros the verb form tartaroo is used in Scripture, only 2 places seem to teach that hell is the grave and that there is no consciousness in Sheol (Psm. 6:5; Ecc. 9:10).
The first passage is simply the statement of a man in great distress. He could not see how the inhabitants in she’owl could remember God’s goodness and give thanks to Him while in torment such as the rich man suffered in Luke 16:1-31. It is easily conceivable how such tormented rebels against God would not give thanks to Him, so this would not prove anything regarding hell being the grave. David did not believe that hell was the grave and that there was no life in she’owl, for in many places he taught that Sheol was the place of the immortal soul (Psm. 16:10; Acts 2:25-29); a place of sorrows and pains (Psm. 18:5); and a place of full consciousness where the wicked go at death (Psm. 9:17; 31:17; 68:18; 88:3).
In the second passage, Ecc. 9:10, Solomon merely expresses the idea that all human activity under the sun ceases at death, as proved by the next verse where he speaks of profit under the sun. The phrase under the sun is found 29 times in this short book. Solomon does not mean that hell is the grave in Ecc. 9:10, for elsewhere he teaches that the righteous do not go to the same compartment of Sheol as the wicked do (Prov. 5:5; 7:27; 9:18; 15:11, 15:24; 23:14; 27:20).
84. The confinement of angels and demons to prisons under the earth because of sin proves that others—the immortal souls and spirits of the human race and of giants—can also be confined to material prisons in the underworld (Isa. 24:21-22; 1Pet. 3:19; 2Pet. 2:4; Jude 1:6-7; Rev. 9:1-21; 20:1-10).
85. Examples of continued consciousness after death prove that hell and heaven are real places of life and not the grave where there is no life (Mat. 17:5; Luke 16:19-31; Heb. 12:23; Rev. 6:9-11).
86. The Bible refers to life after death in many places. See pt. (14), The Doctrine of Man.
87. Degrees of punishment in eternal hell prove that neither Sheol/Hades nor the lake of fire is the grave (Mat. 10:15; 11:22-24; 16:27; 23:12-15; Rev. 20:11-15). How could there be any kind of eternal punishment, much less degrees of punishment, if the wicked are extinct?
88. The eternal length of punishment of the wicked proves hell is not the grave. All bodies in graves will be resurrected and graves will be no more, but hell and eternal punishment will never end.
Fourteen Fallacies about Hell:
1. Hell is the grave. This is abundantly disproved above.
2. Fire in hell is figurative. The word fire is found in Scripture 549 times and is used figuratively only a few times. It is always clear when it is used figuratively, as of anger (Psm. 89:46); jealousy (Psm. 79:5); zeal (Psm. 104:4; John 2:17); shame (Rom. 12:20); trials (1Pe_1:7); judgment (Zec_13:9); Word of God (Jer_23:29); tongue (Jas. 3:5-6); and God (Heb. 12:29). Fire is used in plain literal descriptive language in the following statements of hell:
(1) Set on fire the foundations of mountains in the lowest Sheol (Deut. 32:22).
(2) Neither shall their fire be quenched (Isa. 66:22-24; Mark 9:43-49).
(3) Unquenchable fire (Mat. 3:10, 3:12).
(4) Hell fire (Mat. 5:22; 18:9; Mark 9:43-49).
(5) Cast into the fire (Mat. 7:19).
(6) Furnace of fire (Mat. 13:40-50).
(7) Cast into everlasting fire (Mat. 18:8; 25:41, 25:46).
(8) Fire that never shall be quenched (Mark 9:43-49; Luke 3:17).
(9) The vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 1:6-7).
(10) Tormented with fire and brimstone (Rev. 14:9-11).
(11) Lake of fire burning with brimstone (Rev. 19:20; 21:8).
(12) Lake of fire and brimstone (Rev. 19:20; 20:14-15).
3. Punishment of hell not eternal. If language means anything the torments of hell are proved to be eternal in the following:
(1) Danger of eternal damnation (Mark 3:29)
(2) Eternal judgment (Heb. 6:2)
(3) Vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 1:7)
(4) Shame and everlasting contempt (Dan. 12:2; John 5:28-29)
(5) Everlasting fire (Mat. 18:8; 25:41)
(6) Everlasting punishment (Mat. 25:46)
(7) Everlasting destruction (2Thes. 1:9)
(8) Everlasting chains (Jude 1:6-7)
(9) The smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever (Rev. 14:9-11).
(10) Tormented day and night forever and ever (Rev. 20:10)
The same words translated eternal, everlasting, and forever and ever, which are used to state the eternity of God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, life, etc., are also used of hell and punishment. Therefore, if these persons and things are eternal, then hell and punishment are eternal. Some teach that forever means age-long. This may be true when used in a limited and qualified sense of temporary things, as in Exo. 21:6, but when used literally of God’s plan it always means eternal. The Hebrew word: ‛owlam and the Greek word aionios mean time out of mind, past or future; eternity; always; forever; everlasting; perpetual; without end. Besides the above eternal things, the following is a partial list:
Sixty-five Other Eternal Things
(1) God (Deut. 33:27; Rom. 1:20; Rev. 4:9)
(2) God’s name (Exo. 3:15; Psm. 72:17)
(3) God’s throne (Psm. 93:2)
(4) God’s kingdom on earth (Exo. 15:18; Psm. 145:13; 146:10; Jer. 10:10; Dan. 2:44-45; 4:3, 4:4; 2Pet. 1:11)
(5) God’s Word (Deut. 29:29; Psm. 12:6-7; 119:89, 119:152, 119:160; Isa. 40:8; 1Pet. 1:23-25)
(6) God’s glory (Psm. 104:31; 2Cor. 4:17; 2Tim. 2:10; 1Pet. 5:10; Rev. 1:6)
(7) God’s purpose on earth (Eph. 3:11)
(8) God’s mercy (1Ch. 16:34; Psm. 118:1-29)
(9) God’s kindness (Isa. 54:8)
(10) God as light among men (Isa. 60:19-20)
(11) Fear of God (Psm. 19:9)
(12) God’s counsel (Psm. 33:11)
(13) God’s righteousness (Psm. 111:3; 112:3; Isa. 51:8; Dan. 9:24)
(14) God’s works (Psm. 111:7-8; 148:6)
(15) God’s protection (Psm. 125:2)
(16) Christ (Mic. 5:2)
(17) Christ’s throne (Psm. 45:6; Heb. 1:8)
(18) Christ’s reign on earth (Isa. 9:6-7; Dan. 7:13-14; Luke 1:32-33; Rev. 11:15)
(19) Christ dwelling in the midst of Israel visibly (Eze. 43:7-9)
(20) Christ the same (Heb. 13:8)
(21) Holy Spirit (Heb. 9:14)
(22) Holy Spirit among men (John 14:16)
(23) Heavens (Psm. 72:17; 2Cor. 5:1)
(24) Earth (Psm. 104:5; Ecc_1:4)
(25) Man—eternal generations of natural people
(26) Israel as an eternal earthly nation (2Sam. 7:1-29; 1Ch. 17:22-27; 23:25; Isa. 9:6-7; Jer.31:36; Eze. 37:18-28; Joel 3:20; Luke 1:32-33; Rev. 11:15)
(27) Israel’s name (Isa. 56:5)
(28) Promised land to Israel (Gen. 17:8; Gen. 48:4; Jer. 25:5)
(29) Israel’s marriage to God (Hos. 2:14-19)
(30) Jerusalem—Zion (Psm. 48:8; 78:69; 125:1; Isa. 33:20; 60:15; Jer. 17:25)
(31) Abraham’s natural seed (Gen. 13:15)
(32) Noah’s natural seed (Gen. 9:12)
(33) David himself (Psm. 61:4-8)
(34) David’s natural seed (2Sam. 7:1-29; Psm. 89:4, 89:29, 89:36)
(35) David’s throne (Psm. 89:29, 89:36; Luke 1:32)
(36) David’s kingdom (2Sam. 7:1-29; Isa. 9:6-7; Luke 1:32-33)
(37) David as an eternal, resurrected king of natural Israel (Eze. 37:18-28)
(38) Noahic Covenant (Gen. 9:1-29)
(39) Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 17:7; 1Ch. 16:16-17)
(40) Davidic Covenant (2Sam. 7:1-29; 23:5)
(41) New Covenant (Isa. 55:3; 59:21; 61:8; Jer. 32:40; Eze. 37:26; Heb. 13:20)
(42) Natural life of man and animals on earth (Gen. 9:12; Isa. 9:6-7; Dan. 2:44-45; 7:13-14; Mat. 25:31-46; Rev. 11:15; 22:2-5)
(43) Eternal life for both natural and resurrected men (Mat. 25:46; Mark 10:30; John 3:16, 3:36; 5:24; 10:28; etc.)
(44) Things not seen (1Cor. 2:9; 2Cor. 4:18)
(45) Resurrected body (2Cor. 5:1)
(46) Salvation (Isa. 45:17; 51:6; Heb. 5:9)
(47) Redemption (Heb. 9:12)
(48) Inheritance (Heb. 9:15; Psm. 37:18, 37:29)
(49) Saints (Psm. 37:28; Dan. 7:18, 7:27)
(50) Kingdom on earth for saints (Dan. 7:18, 7:22, 7:27; Rev. 1:5; 5:10)
(51) Melchizedek priesthood (Psm. 110:4; Heb. 5:6; 6:20; 7:17, 7:21, 7:24)
(52) Holiness in God’s house (Psm. 93:5)
(53) Good man’s righteousness (Psm. 112:6-9)
(54) Truth (Psm. 117:2; Prov. 12:19)
(55) Perfection of saints (Heb. 10:14)
(56) Purging of sins (Heb. 10:12)
(57) Joy (Isa. 35:10; 51:11; 61:7)
(58) Consolation (2Thes. 2:16)
(59) Gospel (Rev. 14:6)
(60) Pleasures (Psm. 16:11)
(61) Sacrifices (Eze. 46:14)
(62) Mountains and hills (Gen. 49:26; Hab. 3:6)
(63) Chains (Jude 1:6)
(64) Desolation of Babylon (Jer. 50:39; 51:26, 51:62)
(65) Opening to hell (Isa. 34:1-17; 66:22-24)
One has as much right to make any one of the above 65 things age-long only, as to do so with the 12 eternal facts about hell above. No hint is ever found in Scripture that hell is the grave and a temporary place, or that punishment of the wicked is temporary.
4. The wicked are to be burned up. False cults interpret Mal. 4:1 to say this. However, it does not refer to hell at all, but to the battle of Armageddon, when fire will fall from heaven devouring the bodies of the wicked and killing them (Eze. 38:17-21; Zec. 4:1-15; 2Thes. 1:7-10; Rev. 19:11-21). Just a casual reading of Mal. 3-4 will show that it refers to the second coming of Christ, not to hell (Mal. 3:2-5, 3:16-18; 4:1-6). Not one word is said about hell in Malachi.
5. The wicked shall be annihilated. Scripture gives no doctrine teaching the annihilation of any part of creation. All passages teach the soul is now immortal and the body will be immortal in the resurrection, so nobody can be annihilated in hell or any other place. If the word annihilation is substituted for destroy, destruction, consume, etc., one can see how utterly senseless some scriptures would be in meaning. Try this in Gen. 6:7; 9:11; 41:30; Job 7:9; 19:10, 19:27; 21:17; 33:21; Psm. 6:7; 31:9-10; 39:10; 78:45; 91:5; Jer. 17:18; 1Cor. 5:5.
6. Men in hell will suffer absolute destruction. The Greek word for destruction in 2Thes. 1:9 means ruin, but not extinction.
7. The wicked shall die and be extinct. Death means separation, not annihilation.
8. Men in hell will be destroyed, will perish and be no more. The Greek word for destroy and perish in Mat. 10:28 and Joh. 3:16 is apollumi, meaning to torment, mar, and be lost, not annihilate. See, Mat. 10:28. In most places it means simply to die physically. This is not extinction of being, but the passing from one state to another or one place to another (Mat. 2:13; 8:25; 12:14; 18:14; 21:41; 26:52; 27:20; Mark 1:24; 3:6; 9:22; 11:18; 12:9; Luke 6:9; 9:56; 13:33; 17:27-29; John 10:10; etc.). In other places it means to be cut off from God or be lost (Mat. 10:6, 10:42; 15:24; 16:25-26; 2Cor. 4:3). When a sheep is lost from the shepherd, a man is lost from God in sin, or some other material object is lost, does it mean they are extinct? When leather bottles are marred by bursting, are they extinct (Mark 2:22)? When homosexuals utterly perish in their corruption, does it mean they are to be extinct, or die and suffer fleshly corruption by going back to dust physically? The latter is all it could mean, for the passage states such are yet to receive punishment for their sins (2Pet. 2:12-13). To see corruption here means going back to dust. Even so, to be destroyed or perish in hell does not mean extinction of being, but separation from God in conscious punishment, as in the scriptures above on hell.
9. The wicked shall consume away like smoke (Psm. 37:20). The Hebrew for consume is kalah, to end; to finish; to cease; to complete; and to take away. It never means extinction of being of the thing consumed. When famine consumed the land, did it annihilate the land (Gen. 41:30)? When the Syrians were consumed by the Jewish army, were they made extinct or merely defeated (1Kgs. 22:11; 13:17, 13:19)? When the sword consumed men, did it annihilate them or merely kill the body (Jer. 14:12; 49:27)? When a man is hit by the hand, is he annihilated (Psm. 39:10)? When a man consumed was still alive and speaking of the event, was he annihilated (Psm. 90:7)? Thus, being consumed like smoke simply refers to passing out of this life to the next where punishment is meted out, or the ma scriptures on punishment according to works are false. It means that all human activity ceases and life is finished on earth. It does not reveal the fate awaiting the next life.
10. The wicked will be burned up like chaff and the fire will go out when it has done its work (Mat. 3:11-12). The comparison of the righteous to wheat and the wicked to chaff does not prove that the wicked are to be extinct by fire. It merely expresses two destinies at death for two classes. The wicked are not burned up by fire like chaff any more than the righteous are cast into a garner for literal wheat. The picture is merely that of God taking the righteous to heaven and sending the wicked to hellfire to be punished, as in the many scriptures above. That the fire will never die down is stated by Isaiah (Isa. 66:22-24), John the Baptist (Mat. 3:12), Jesus (Mat. 18:8-9; Mark 9:43-49), Jude (Jude 1:6-7), and John (Rev. 14:9-11; 20:10-15; 21:8).
11. The wicked shall be no more (Prov. 10:25). This is no reference to hell. It merely expresses the end of human activity on earth.
12. The place of the wicked shall not be (Psm. 37:10). This is another passage which says nothing of hell but refers to the passing of the wicked from the earth so that they and their place in human activity shall soon be forgotten. Because the wicked cease to live among men, does that do away with the actual places where they did live on earth? If so, then all the earth would pass out of existence, for wicked men have lived on every part of it. The very fact that men will consider places the wicked used to be proves the places themselves are still here.
13. The wicked will be devoured by fire (Rev. 20:7-10). This passage refers to the destruction of living natural people who will seek to overthrow the kingdom of Christ at the end of the Millennium. It does not refer to hell or to resurrected people, for the wicked are not to be resurrected until after this (Rev. 20:11-15). The ones killed will be the nation's living on the earth during the Millennium and not the wicked dead who are in their graves and in she’owl to remain until after this rebellion (Rev. 20:4-15).
14. The wicked dead will be given a second chance and then if they do not accept Christ will be annihilated with the devil and all his angels and demons. The only scripture used by false cults to prove this is Rev. 20:7-10. But as we have seen above, this refers to the nations living on earth in natural bodies during the Millennium, not to the wicked dead who are not alive during the Millennium (Rev. 20:5). After the Millennium they are to be resurrected, judged, and cast into eternal hell without being given a second probation (Rev. 20:10-15). There is not second chance for any man (Heb. 9:27), no hope of any final restoration for the wicked. Nonexistence would not be punishment for nonexistent people would know nothing about it. One cannot be punished who is nonexistent. Everlasting punishment means perpetual suffering which presupposes perpetual existence in a conscious state. Persons to be punished forever must exist in consciousness forever. Hence, hell is not extinction of being. The punishment of hell is as long as the life of the righteous: "These shall go away into everlasting aionios punishment, but the righteous into life eternal aionios (Mat. 25:41, 25:46; 18:8; Mark 3:29; 9:43-49; 2Thes. 1:7-10; Jude 1:6-7, 1:13; Rev. 2:11; 14:9-11; 19:20; 20:10-15; 21:8; 22:15; Psm. 52:5; 92:7; Isa. 66:22-24).
