I. How Does the Old Testament refer to the of the dead?
a.
Isaiah 38:10 (ESV) – I said, in the middle of my days I must depart; I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the rest of my years.
i. Revealed as a place of .
Psalm 116:3 (ESV) – The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.
ii. The go to Sheol.
Psalm 9:17 (ESV) – The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.
iii. The also seem to go to Sheol.
Genesis 35:29 (ESV) – And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Genesis 49:33 (ESV) – When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.
In Jewish tradition, this term “gathered to his people” or “gathered to their fathers” came to be referred to as “Abraham’s bosom” or “Abraham’s side.”
Luke 16:22 (ESV) – The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.
iv. The righteous are from Sheol.
Psalm 49:15 (ESV) – But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for He will receive me.
v. Those in Sheol are fully .
Ezekiel 32:21 (ESV) – The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: ‘They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’
b.
Psalm 30:3 (ESV) – O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; You restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.
HEAVEN: The Realm of Deity
EARTH: The Realm of the Living
SHEOL: The Realm of the Dead
Daniel 12:2 (ESV) – And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
II. How does the New Testament refer to ?
1. What Jesus Teaches:
Matthew 5:22 (ESV) – But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; but whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
Matthew 5:29-30 (NKJV) – If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
Matthew 10:28 (ESV) – And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 23:15 (ESV) – Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
Matthew 8:10-12 (ESV) – When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 22:13 (ESV) – Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 25:30 (ESV) – And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 25:31-33, 41 (ESV) – “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.. Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
2. Three Words for Hell in the NT
a.
b. Use of “Hades”
Matthew 16:18 (NASU) – I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
c. Use of “Tartaros”
2 Peter 2:4 (ESV) – For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until judgment.
3. Teaching from Revelation
a. Jesus has the to Hades
Revelation 1:17b-18 (ESV) – “Fear not, I am the First and the Last, and the living One. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
b. Hades Follows
Revelation 6:8a (ESV) – And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him.
c. Hades will deliver up all its dead for judgment.
Revelation 20:13b (ESV) – … Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
d. Hades itself will be cast into the Lake of Fire along with Death.
Revelation 20:14-15 (ESV) – Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
1)
2) Eternal Suffering
Revelation 14:10b-11a (ESV) – … and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night…
3) Lake of Fire
Revelation 20:10 (ESV) – And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 20:14-15 (ESV) – Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
CONCLUSION:
Progressive Revelation of Hell
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Applications:
1) The of hell is one, of many motivations to trust in Christ.
2) The of hell, should be a key motivator in telling others the .
3) The of hell is one, of many motivations to serve Jesus and others.