Happy Heralds, IncMISUNDERSTOOD MYSTERIES MADE MANIFEST (CLEAR) III. THE MYSTERY OF LIFE AFTER DEATH -- THE PIT (GRAVE) Where do we humans go when we die? (Job 14:10-15; Luke 16:19-26). Where did The Lord Jesus Christ go when He Died? This mystery is due to confusion about Scriptural terms used interchangeably. But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and
where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth
and drieth up: So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be
no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. O
that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me
secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set
time, and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? all the
days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou
shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work
of thine hands (Job 14:10-15). Please look up and read Luke 16:19-26. A. MULTIPLE TERMS ARE USED. 1. OLD TESTAMENT (HEBREW). There are four words for the place after death: three for the body (grave) and one for the soul (sheh-olé). a. Keh́-ber is translated Grave, Burying Place, Sepulchre (Genesis 47:30; 50:3,5; Exodus 14:11; 2 Chronicles 16:14) Always refers to the body! But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place (keh́-ber). And he said, I will do as thou hast said. . . . And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days. . . . My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave (keh́-ber) which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again (Genesis 47:30). And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves (keh́-ber) in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? (Exodus 14:11). And they buried him in his own sepulchres (keh́-ber), which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries' art: and they made a very great burning for him (2 Chronicles 16:14). b. Shakh́-ath refers to the body in the grave and is translated: Grave (Job 33:22; Psalm 94:13; Is. 38:18) or Pit (Job 33:18,24,28,30; Psalm 38:17) or Corruption (Psalm 16:10). Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave (shakh́-ath), and his life to the destroyers (Job 33:22). For the grave (shakh́-ath) cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit (Bôwr) cannot hope for thy truth. (Isaiah 38:18). That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit (shakh́-ath) be digged for the wicked (Psalm 94:13). He keepeth back his soul from the pit (shakh́-ath), and his life from perishing by the sword (Job 33:18,24,28, 30). What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit (shakh́-ath)? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? (Psalm 30:9). For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption (shakh́-ath) (Psalm 16:10). c. Bôwr (bore) translated Pit also refers to either the body in the grave or the soul in sheh-olé. Grave (Isaiah 14:19; Jer. 41:7,9) or Pit (Psalm 28:1; (Proverbs 1:12; Isaiah 14:15; 38:18; Ezek. 26:20; 31:14-18). (1) Referring to the body in the grave: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave (sheh-olé); and whole, as those that go down into the pit (bôwr) (Proverbs 1:12). But thou art cast out of thy grave (keh́-ber) like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit (bôwr); as a carcase trodden under feet (Isaiah 14:19). Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit (bôwr) (Psalm 28:1). For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit (bôwr) cannot hope for thy truth (Isaiah 38:18). And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit (bôwr), he, and the men that were with him (Jeremiah 41:7,9). When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit (bôwr), with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit (bôwr), that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living (Ezekiel 26:20. (2) Referring to the soul in sheh-olé: Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell (sheh-olé), to the sides of the pit (bôwr) (Isaiah 14:15). To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit (bôwr) (Ezek. 26:20). When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit (bôwr), with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit (bôwr), that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to the grave (sheh-olé) I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him. I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell (sheh-olé) with them that descend into the pit : and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth. They also went down into hell (sheh-olé) with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen. To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD (Ezekiel 31:14-18). d. Sheh-olé: Place of Departed spirits is translated grave 31x, hell 31x and pit 3x. She-olé consists of two compartments: Abraham’s Bosom (Luke 16:22,23) and Lowest Hell (Deut. 32:22; Psalm 86:13), with a great chasm standing firmly fixed between them (Luke 16:26 APT). And it came to pass that the poor one died off. And he was carried away by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. Then the rich one died off also and he was buried. In Hell he lifted up his eyes, existing in tortures and he beholds Abraham from afar off and Láhzahrohs in his bosoms [plural] (Luke 16:22,23 APT). For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains (Deuteronomy 32:22). For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. (Psalm 86:13). And in addition to all these things, a great chasm stands firmly fixed between ourselves and yourselves so that the ones determinedly willing to traverse from this place to you are not able, neither do the ones from there ever cross through to us (Luke 16:26 APT). 2. NEW TESTAMENT (GREEK) There are seven words used for the place after death: three for the body (grave) and five for the soul. a. Mnayeîohn means memorial grave, but has been translated Grave, Sepulchre, Tomb (John 11:17,31,38; Luke 24:1; Matthew 27:60). Then when Jesus came, He found him having been in the memorial grave (mnayeîohn) four days already. . . . Therefore when the Jews, |namely| the ones being with her in the dwelling and tenderly consoling her, beheld that Mary rose up hastily and exited, they followed her, saying, ‘‘She is slipping away unto the memorial grave (mnayeîohn) in order that she loudly weep there.’’ . . . Therefore Jesus, again moved with emotion in Himself, goes unto the memorial grave (mnayeîohn). But it was a cave and a stone had been laid upon before it (John 11:17,31,38 APT). Now they found the stone standing rolled away from the memorial grave (mnayeîohn) (Luke 24:2 APT). And he laid it down in his new memorial grave (mnayeîohn), which he hewed from stone in the rock ledge. And he rolled up a great stone against the door of the memorial grave. And he departed (Matthew 27:60). b. Táfohs translated Sepulchre, Tomb (Matthew 28:1) means burial place. Then after evening guard of Sabbaths, in the dawning unto one with reference to Sabbaths, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to observe the burial place (táfohs) (Matthew 28:1 APT). c. Ha-ihdays, the Place of Departed Spirits has been translated Grave 1x (1 Cor. 15:55) and Hell (hades) 10x (Luke 16:23; acts 2:27,31). In Hell (ha-ihdays) he lifted up his eyes, existing in tortures and he beholds Abraham from afar off and Láhzahrohs in his bosoms[plural] (Luke 16:23 APT). You will not forsake My soul in Hades (ha-ihdays), neither will You give Your Devout One to behold utterly destroying corruption. . . .Since He previously beheld, he spoke concerning the resurrection of The Christ, that His soul not be left remaining behind in Hades (ha-ihdays) neither did His flesh behold utterly destroying corruption (Acts 2:27,31 APT). d. Géh-ennah, (Hell) (Matthew 5: 22,29,30; Mk. 9:43-47) -- place of fiery torment for sin, But I Myself am saying to you, ‘‘Everyone who is angry in himself with his brother rashly shall be guilty in the judging. But who ever say to his brother, Rahkáh [‘numbskull’, spoken in bitter contempt], shall be guilty in the Sanhedrin. Then who ever say, O moron [fool, worthless thinker], shall be guilty unto the Géh-ennah of the fire.’’ . . . Then if (and it is true) your right hand offends you, cut it off and cast |it| away from you! For it is expedient for you that one of your members perish and not your whole body be cast into Géh-ennah (Matthew 5:22,29,30 APT). e. Táhrtahrohs: lowest Hell is a lower place than Géh-ennah (2 Peter 2:4). . . . The God did not spare sinning angels, but on the contrary confined them to Táhrtahrohs in bindings of thick darkness and delivered |them| over, standing kept watchfully secure, unto judging (2 Peter 2:4 APT). Táhrtahrohs is described by Homer in The Iliad , as being ‘as far below Hades as Heaven is above the Earth.’ At the very least Táhrtahrohs is far below the great chasm standing firmly fixed. f. Ábussohs: Deep (Luke 8:31 AV), Bottomless Pit (abyss) (Rev. 9:1,2,11; 20:1-3). And they kept entreating Him that He not enjoin them to depart into the abyss [bottomless pit of torment] (Luke 8:31 APT). And the fifth angel sounded a trumpet, and I beheld a star standing fallen out of Heaven onto the Earth. And the key to the Bottomless Pit was given to him. And he opened the Bottomless Pit and a smoke as smoke of a /burning\ furnace ascended out of the pit. And the sun and the air became obscured in darkness by reason of the smoke from the pit. . . . And they were having breastplates as breastplates of iron and the sound of their wings as a sound of many horse-drawn, two-wheeled war chariots while persistently running in war. . . . /They have\ authority: . . . /to\have a king over them, /the\ angel of the Abyss, his name in Hebrew |is|, Ahbahddōn, /but\ in the Greek he has a name, Ahpoll-úōn (Rev. 9:1,2,11 APT). And I beheld an angel descending out of the Heaven, holding the key to the Abyss and a great chain upon his hand. And he mightily took hold of the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is, Devil and [the] Satan, who continually deceives the whole inhabited globe and he bound him for a thousand years. And he cast him into the Abyss. And he shut /\ and he sealed him over, so that he not lead astray the nations anymore until the thousand years be finished. And after these it is absolutely necessary for him to be loosed for a little space of time (Rev. 20:1-3 APT). g. Parádeisohs: Paradise (Lk. 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:3,4; Eph. 4:8-10; Rev. 2:7). Paradise is a place of bliss and the bode of saved human spirits. The Lord Jesus Christ went there the moment He died on the cross of Calvary. He told the repentant criminal, who while dying on the cross asked to be remembered by The Lord Jesus, that he would be in Paradise with Him that same day. Therefore Abraham’s Bosom, the abode for the spirits of the Old Testament righteous saints, became Paradise, which The Lord Jesus translated from the heart of the Earth to Heaven when He resurrected out of dead ones at the resurrection-ascension early Sunday morning, 16 Nisan, or April 5, A.D. 33 (Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ by Harold W. Hoehner, Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1979, p. 137). And Jesus said to him, Amen I am saying to you, Today you shall be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:43 APT). I am aware of the such like human (whether in body, I do not perceive; whether outside of the body, I do not perceive, The God is aware), that he was snatched away unto the Paradise. And he heard undeclarable declarations, which is not lawful for a human to speak (2 Corinthians 12:3,4 APT). The one having an hearing organ is to hear at once what The Spirit is continually saying to the churches, To the one continually overcoming I shall give to him to eat out of the tree of the absolute life, which is in the midst of the paradise of The God /of Mine\ (Revelation 2:9 APT). Wherefore He says, When ascending unto |Heaven’s| height, He led captivity captive and He gave gifts to the humans. (Now the |fact|, He ascended! What is it except that he also descended first unto the lower parts of the Earth? He Himself Who descended is also Who ascended over above all the Heavens in order that He fully fulfill the all things.) (Ephesians 4:8,9 APT). Note that the original manuscripts indicate his descent into the “lower parts of the Earth” and they do not use any of the Greek words which would indicate a place of torment were used. When The Lord Jesus died, He went to Paradise, just as He said he would and just where He said He would meet the repentant criminal. He could not be in Hell and in Paradise at the same time after committing His Spirit unto His Father because of the great chasm which stands fixed between the two. However, during those three hours of darkness between twelve and three in the afternoon while Jesus hung on the cross, He did endure the fiery wrath of The God to bear our eternal punishment in our stead (Lam. 1:12-14a; Rev. 1:13-15). Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: he hath made me desolate and faint all the day. The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, and come up upon my neck Lamentations 1:12-14a). . . . and in midst of the seven lampstands a like One to Son of Man[Human] standing clothed with a robe reaching to the feet and standing girded around with a golden belt to the paps. Now the head and the hair of His as / white wool, as snow and His eyes as a flame of fire and the feet of His similar ones to fine brass, ones having been burned as in a furnace (Revelation 1:13-15 APT). In Heaven His feet reflect the burning of The God’s wrath and will reflect to remind us throughout Eternity that He went through separation from The Holy God and suffered that dreadful wrath to pay the price for our ransom and redemption. From this concept of enduring the fiery wrath, the Western Church inserted “descended into hell” to ‘The Old Roman Creed’ in the sixth century. It was labeled ‘Gallican Creed.’ The Nicene Creed adopted at Constantinople in A.D. 381 and confirmed Chaldcedon in A.D. 451 does not contain the unorthodox insertion. B. MEANING UNDERSTOOD Upon death the body of all humans goes to the grave, referred to as burying place, sepulchre, tomb, pit, or corruption. But the soul and spirit of humans that died before the vicarious death of The Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary went to one of the two divisions of sheh-olé: Abraham’s Bosom or Hell. Then after the vicarious death of The Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary, the soul and spirit of humans went to Paradise or Hell. It appears there may be two levels of Hell: Hell or Géh-ennah for humans and Táhrtahrohs for fallen angels before the flood (Jude 6 cf. 2 Pet. 2:4). Although some hold that they are merely different terms for the same place. 1. There are Two Realms of Sheh-olé (O.T.) or Ha-ihdays (N.T.) which are separated by a Great Gulf or Chasm standing firmly fixed. They are: a. The Place of blissful rest for God’s people and b. The Place of horrible torment in fire of burning sulfur for unregenerate and /or unrighteous humans. 2. When death comes, the body of the human goes to the grave, but the soul and spirit of the unrighteous and faithless human goes to Hell, but the soul and spirit of obedient humans who commit total trust unto The Lord Jesus Christ go to paradise until the resurrection when the soul and spirit will be reunited into a resurrected eternal body to be judged and then go into Eternity. There is resurrection unto life first and then later resurrection unto judgment (John 5:28,29 APT). Stop marveling at this! Because hour is coming in which all the ones in the memorial graves shall hear His call for themselves and they shall make exit, the ones who did the beneficially good things unto resurrection of absolute life, but the ones practicing the worthless things unto resurrection of judging. The regenerated humans will spend Eternity with Christ while the unregenerated humans will spend Eternity banished from the presence of Christ in the Eternal Lake of Fire which is the second death. And the sea gave the dead ones in it and the death and the hell gave the dead ones in them. And they were judged each one according to the works of theirs. And the death and the hell were cast into the lake of the fire. This is the second death (Revelation 20:13,14 APT). CONCLUSION: The question raised at the beginning of these notes, Where do we humans go when we die? has been clearly answered from Scripture. Upon death, the body of all humans goes to the grave, referred to as burying place, sepulchre, tomb, pit, or corruption. But the soul and spirit of humans that died before the vicarious death of The Lord Jesus Christ went to one of the two divisions of Sheh-olé (O.T.) or Ha-ihdays (N.T.) Referred to as the nether parts of the Earth or the lower parts of the Earth. Where will you go? The God has made provision through His Son, The Lord Jesus Christ for every human since His death on Calvary and His resurrection-ascension on the third day in order that each one may be sure of where he or she will go upon death. Every one has the opportunity and the responsibility to choose and appropriate that provision for oneself. What is your choice? Paradise or Hell? Your choice also determines where you will spend Eternity! Choose well! Your choice is brief but endless! | | understood $singular &plural /the 0no article +masculine ~neuter Return to: MISUNDERSTOOD MYSTERIES MADE MANIFEST page...
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