Why are so many Christians still so confused about the afterlife?

[Curtis]

Both these words have been used INCORRECTLY in the KJV (which I use all the time).

Since Sheol/Hades is in the lower parts of the earth (or near the core of the earth) it cannot possibly be the grave (six feet under). And since Hell is Gehenna -- the Lake of Fire in "outer darkness" -- it cannot possibly be Sheol/Hades.

Sorry, but hell cannot be the lake of fire, because,hell its thrown into the lake of fire, in Revelation. You can’t throw hell into hell.

Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

And in the account of the rich man in hell and Luke chapter 16, hell is a compartment in the earth, separated by a great chasm from the paradise compartment in the earth.

 

[Curtis]

It may not mean anything mysterious like it does in 1 Peter 3 and Christ preaching to the spirits in prison when he descended in hades.

Preached to the 'dead', could simply mean those dead in trespasses and sins, whom God has not yet made alive, as Ephesians 2 says.
And note also the context, Peter is talking about these gentiles and their evil deeds. As if Peter is saying we apostles are not just preaching to the choir, the church. Plus these particular dead men in 1 Peter 4, can live according to God in the spirit because of that preaching, so they can not have died and gone to hell.

Note the similarities between 1 Peter 4 and with Ephesians 2
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Actually, if you read the account of the rich man in hell and Luke chapter 16, you find there are two compartments in Hades at that time, separated by a great chasm.

The paradise compartment, a.k.a. Abrahams Bosom, held the souls of the righteous Old Testament dead, who could not ascend to heaven till Messiah atoned for sins, and it was these spirits that Jesus preached to, when he descended into the lower parts of the earth.

 

[Curtis]

Do you choose to remain confused about this matter? Did you read my OP which deals with all the confusions?

Hades = Sheol/Hades - the place where people await judgment

Gehenna = Hell = the Lake of Fire (prepared for the devil and his angels)

Death and Hades are PERSONIFIED and metaphorically cast into the Lake of Fire. That simply means that they are terminated -- no more death on earth, therefore no need for Sheol/Hades.

You can write OPs all day long, but you’re still wrong.

The contents of the hill are thrown into the lake of fire - all those people waiting judgment are thrown into the lake of fire after judgment. And there is a death angel, that’s how death could be thrown into the lake of fire too.

When you claim to know more than the Strongs dictionary, as you did in an earlier post, then you are too far out for me.

 

[Scott Downey]

Actually, if you read the account of the rich man in hell and Luke chapter 16, you find there are two compartments in Hades at that time, separated by a great chasm.

The paradise compartment, a.k.a. Abrahams Bosom, held the souls of the righteous Old Testament dead, who could not ascend to heaven till Messiah atoned for sins, and it was these spirits that Jesus preached to, when he descended into the lower parts of the earth.

I agree with that, sort of, however their salvation was certain, the dead in paradise.
But the verse 1 Peter 4:7 is also understood this way, in the AMP version as referring to those spiritually dead in trespasses and sins in their lifetime. See I am not the only person that notices that too.

KJ21
For, for this cause was the Gospel preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

AMP
For this is why the good news [of salvation] was preached [in their lifetimes] even to those who are dead, that though they were judged in the flesh as men are, they may live in the spirit according to [the will and purpose of] God.

AMPC
For this is why the good news (the Gospel) was preached [in their lifetime] even to the dead, that though judged in fleshly bodies as men are, they might live in the spirit as God does.

 

[Scott Downey]

And PETER narrows down the extent of the preaching or proclaiming Christ did in hell to those who died in the time of Noah's flood, not all the dead in hell.
Quite possibly this tells us those who died in the time of the flood are also in a separate compartment of hell.

1 Peter 3:18-20
New King James Version

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.

Abraham is having this talk to the rich man in fiery torments, who is aware of the Law and the prophets. So those there with him in hell could be in another separate part of hell, and they don't need to be preached to as they had the LAW, the rich man was a Jew.

It is entirely possible that hell is made up of several compartments of the dead. When you add in Tartarus, the lowest part of hell where the fallen angels are, that adds another compartment of the prison known as hell.