Death
There is a great deal of confusion being propagated and promoted regarding this subject, particularly the false doctrines of Soul Sleep and Annihilationism (both of which come primarily from the cults -- heterodox Christian groups with many other false doctrines).
Before we discuss death, we need to know from Scripture what is the nature of human beings (who are made in the image and likeness of God). And the Bible tells us that man is a tripartite being, consisting of a spirit, a soul, and a body (which also reflects the Holy Trinity): And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess 5:23)
The spirit and soul are immaterial, but the body is material. However, the spirit and soul are also imperishable (not immortal, since mortality and immortality pertain to the body). This is denied by the cults who promote Annihilationism.
Now there are two deaths mentioned in Scripture – the first death and the second death. The first death is the separation of the soul and spirit from the body, while the second death is the eternal separation of the damned from God in the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:11-15).
Death is first mentioned in Genesis 2:16,17 as the consequence of disobedience to God (which is a sin): And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Whatever may have been the nature of the fruit of that tree (which was certainly not an apple tree), it was the disobedience behind the eating that brought about death. But we know from Genesis 3 that neither Adam nor Eve fell down dead on that day. Yet what God stated must be certainly true. On that day they experienced “death”. And because they were driven out of Eden, and placed under a curse, we must conclude that the word “die” in Genesis 2:17 meant much more than physical death. It meant separation from God and His fellowship, and when we turn to the New Testament, we see that there is a “second death”, which is indeed eternal separation from God.
Sheol
There are several verses in the Old Testament which speak of Sheol. Sheol is called Hades in the New Testament, and it is the abode of departed souls and spirits, located within the core of the earth (called “the heart of the earth” or “the lower parts of the earth”). Unfortunately, the King James translators mistakenly translated Sheol as “the grave” several times, and created a major misunderstanding of the afterlife. People began to imagine that the soul sleeps in the grave when that is certainly not true.
Up until the resurrection of Christ, all souls (and spirits) – righteous or unrighteous – went to Sheol/Hades, while the body was laid in the grave and gave the appearance of “sleep” or repose. Hence the dead are said to “sleep”. But the body turns to dust, since that is what the sinner Adam was told: ...for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return (Gen 3:19). However, souls and spirits are not dust, and they did not go into the grave. They went to Sheol, and remained silent until the resurrection of Christ.
Hades
Now, because the cults wish to promote their false doctrine of Soul Sleep, they quote exclusively from the Old Testament regarding Sheol, but label the revelation of the afterlife (as given by Christ in Luke 16:19-31) “a parable”, so that they can avoid the plain meaning of this passage. But parables are earthly stories with heavenly meanings, and this is NOT an earthly story, and it does NOT illustrate something else. Furthermore it specifically names individuals, and records a very significant dialogue in Hades. There was no intimation of such details of the afterlife in the Old Testament, since God would have Christ Himself give these revelations about Hades and Gehenna (the Lake of Fire) to the world. What we find recorded for us is this (and it does not begin with “And Jesus spake another parable...”):
What do we learn from this?
1. Both the righteous and the unrighteous went to Hades.
2. The righteous (e.g. Lazarus) went to “Abraham’s Bosom” (the region of the righteous dead)
3. The unrighteous (e.g. the Rich Man) were also in Hades, but separated by a great chasm from the righteous, and in excruciating torment.
4. Both the righteous and the unrighteous were fully conscious and capable of communication across that chasm.
5. The unrighteous in their torment would desire to warn their loved ones about Hades, so that they could avoid the torments which are experienced there.
6. There is no second chance after death, and there was no crossing over from the region of the righteous to that of the unrighteous.
7. This narrative gives us a true and accurate picture of the afterlife, since it was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who gave us this revelation. Therefore to simply dismiss this as “a parable” is not only disrespectful, but also dishonest.
Christ in Hades
The presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in Hades (called “hell” mistakenly by the KJV translators) totally demolishes the false doctrine of Soul Sleep. If Soul Sleep were true, then the spirit and soul of Christ would have remained sleeping in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. But we know from both the OT and NT that Christ was in Sheol/Hades for three days and three nights (Mt. 12:40). We have this prophecy regarding the very brief stay of Christ is Sheol/Hades to prove that Soul Sleep is bogus doctrine:For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; [SHEOL] neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Psalm 16:10) --- This confirms that souls (and spirits) go to Sheol, not to the grave. Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, [HADES] neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Acts 2:27) – This confirms that what was called Sheol in the OT is Hades in the NT.
What did the Lord do in Hades for three days and three nights? He was certainly not asleep, but extremely busy. He was “preaching” or proclaiming (not the Gospel, but His victory) to the spirits in prison: For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. (1 Pet 3:18-20).
Following this, Christ took all the OT saints (including Abraham) to the New Jerusalem (which is in Heaven): Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) (Eph 4:8-10)
So what do we learn from this? That Christ descended into “the lower parts of the earth” for three days and three nights, and then ascended into Heaven. At the same time “He led captivity captive” when means that the righteous dead, who were held captive in Sheol/Hades until the resurrection of Christ, were released from their captivity, taken to Heaven, and perfected by the Holy Spirit, thus becoming “the spirits of just [justified] men made perfect (Heb 12:23). These saints are awake and alive in Heaven, along with all the NT saints who have died in Christ and “sleep in Jesus” (the dead bodies being compared to sleeping bodies).
There is a great deal of confusion being propagated and promoted regarding this subject, particularly the false doctrines of Soul Sleep and Annihilationism (both of which come primarily from the cults -- heterodox Christian groups with many other false doctrines).
Before we discuss death, we need to know from Scripture what is the nature of human beings (who are made in the image and likeness of God). And the Bible tells us that man is a tripartite being, consisting of a spirit, a soul, and a body (which also reflects the Holy Trinity): And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess 5:23)
The spirit and soul are immaterial, but the body is material. However, the spirit and soul are also imperishable (not immortal, since mortality and immortality pertain to the body). This is denied by the cults who promote Annihilationism.
Now there are two deaths mentioned in Scripture – the first death and the second death. The first death is the separation of the soul and spirit from the body, while the second death is the eternal separation of the damned from God in the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:11-15).
Death is first mentioned in Genesis 2:16,17 as the consequence of disobedience to God (which is a sin): And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Whatever may have been the nature of the fruit of that tree (which was certainly not an apple tree), it was the disobedience behind the eating that brought about death. But we know from Genesis 3 that neither Adam nor Eve fell down dead on that day. Yet what God stated must be certainly true. On that day they experienced “death”. And because they were driven out of Eden, and placed under a curse, we must conclude that the word “die” in Genesis 2:17 meant much more than physical death. It meant separation from God and His fellowship, and when we turn to the New Testament, we see that there is a “second death”, which is indeed eternal separation from God.
Sheol
There are several verses in the Old Testament which speak of Sheol. Sheol is called Hades in the New Testament, and it is the abode of departed souls and spirits, located within the core of the earth (called “the heart of the earth” or “the lower parts of the earth”). Unfortunately, the King James translators mistakenly translated Sheol as “the grave” several times, and created a major misunderstanding of the afterlife. People began to imagine that the soul sleeps in the grave when that is certainly not true.
Up until the resurrection of Christ, all souls (and spirits) – righteous or unrighteous – went to Sheol/Hades, while the body was laid in the grave and gave the appearance of “sleep” or repose. Hence the dead are said to “sleep”. But the body turns to dust, since that is what the sinner Adam was told: ...for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return (Gen 3:19). However, souls and spirits are not dust, and they did not go into the grave. They went to Sheol, and remained silent until the resurrection of Christ.
Hades
Now, because the cults wish to promote their false doctrine of Soul Sleep, they quote exclusively from the Old Testament regarding Sheol, but label the revelation of the afterlife (as given by Christ in Luke 16:19-31) “a parable”, so that they can avoid the plain meaning of this passage. But parables are earthly stories with heavenly meanings, and this is NOT an earthly story, and it does NOT illustrate something else. Furthermore it specifically names individuals, and records a very significant dialogue in Hades. There was no intimation of such details of the afterlife in the Old Testament, since God would have Christ Himself give these revelations about Hades and Gehenna (the Lake of Fire) to the world. What we find recorded for us is this (and it does not begin with “And Jesus spake another parable...”):
What do we learn from this?
1. Both the righteous and the unrighteous went to Hades.
2. The righteous (e.g. Lazarus) went to “Abraham’s Bosom” (the region of the righteous dead)
3. The unrighteous (e.g. the Rich Man) were also in Hades, but separated by a great chasm from the righteous, and in excruciating torment.
4. Both the righteous and the unrighteous were fully conscious and capable of communication across that chasm.
5. The unrighteous in their torment would desire to warn their loved ones about Hades, so that they could avoid the torments which are experienced there.
6. There is no second chance after death, and there was no crossing over from the region of the righteous to that of the unrighteous.
7. This narrative gives us a true and accurate picture of the afterlife, since it was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who gave us this revelation. Therefore to simply dismiss this as “a parable” is not only disrespectful, but also dishonest.
Christ in Hades
The presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in Hades (called “hell” mistakenly by the KJV translators) totally demolishes the false doctrine of Soul Sleep. If Soul Sleep were true, then the spirit and soul of Christ would have remained sleeping in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. But we know from both the OT and NT that Christ was in Sheol/Hades for three days and three nights (Mt. 12:40). We have this prophecy regarding the very brief stay of Christ is Sheol/Hades to prove that Soul Sleep is bogus doctrine:For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; [SHEOL] neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Psalm 16:10) --- This confirms that souls (and spirits) go to Sheol, not to the grave. Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, [HADES] neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Acts 2:27) – This confirms that what was called Sheol in the OT is Hades in the NT.
What did the Lord do in Hades for three days and three nights? He was certainly not asleep, but extremely busy. He was “preaching” or proclaiming (not the Gospel, but His victory) to the spirits in prison: For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. (1 Pet 3:18-20).
Following this, Christ took all the OT saints (including Abraham) to the New Jerusalem (which is in Heaven): Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) (Eph 4:8-10)
So what do we learn from this? That Christ descended into “the lower parts of the earth” for three days and three nights, and then ascended into Heaven. At the same time “He led captivity captive” when means that the righteous dead, who were held captive in Sheol/Hades until the resurrection of Christ, were released from their captivity, taken to Heaven, and perfected by the Holy Spirit, thus becoming “the spirits of just [justified] men made perfect (Heb 12:23). These saints are awake and alive in Heaven, along with all the NT saints who have died in Christ and “sleep in Jesus” (the dead bodies being compared to sleeping bodies).
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