CONDITION OF THOSE IN SHEOL - CENTER OF THE EARTH

Condition of Those in Sheol-Hades

 

 

• They are Conscious

The Righteous
Jonah 2:2 - "Out of the belly of Sheol cried I"
Matt. 17:3 - "And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him."
      -Moses talking - proof of consciousness during intermediate state.
Luke 23:42-43 - "With me in paradise" "with" fellowship demands consciousness.
Matt. 22:32 - "Not a God of the dead, but of the living." Spoken to Moses by God.

• The Wicked

Isa. 14:9-11, 15-16 ARV. "Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee."  "Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;"  -Recognition, knowledge, speech, astonishment
Luke 16:23-25  "And in Sheol he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented."
- note marks of consciousness: see, speak, hear, feel, remember.

• The wicked are under Punishment

Deut. 32:22 "For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest Sheol, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains." - God's anger
Prov. 9:18 "But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of Sheol."
Isa. 14:15 ARV "uttermost parts of the pit"
2 Pet. 2:4, 9  "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to Sheol, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;" "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:"

• The Righteous had Rest and Comfort

1 Sam. 28:15 "Why hest thou disquieted me?"
Dan. 12:13 "Thou shalt rest"
Psa. 139:7-12 "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee."
Luke 23:39-43 with Acts 2:27 (Jesus went that day to Hades) The thief must have been a Jew with some knowledge of the Messianic hope, and this hope centering in the resurrection.
- Argument:
-      "Paradise" (see below) Paradise must have been in Hades.

• Evidently, two different places in Sheol-Hades

Luke 16:19-31 "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in Sheol he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."

One called "Lowest Sheol"
Deut. 32:22 "For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest Sheol, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains."
Rom. 10:7 "Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)"
Rev. 9:11 or well of the abyss. - Tartarus  "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon."
2 Pet. 2:4 "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;"

• Other called "Paradise"

Eccl. 2:5 ARV "I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:"
Song of Songs 4:13 - A beautiful, cultivated park, orchard. "Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,"
Neh. 2:8 "Kings forest"
"Abraham's bosom" - John 1:18; 13:25 "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." "He then lying on Jesus' bosem saith unto him, Lord, who is it?"
   -A place of tender, intimate, fellowship