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WHAT DOES THE BIBLE
"To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.." -- Isaiah 8:20, New King James Version (52) Psalm 6:5 - For in death there is no memory of you. In Sheol, who shall give you thanks [Hebrews, Yadah, "laud, praise", or, "praise for mercies." -- Fausset*] David is here speaking of closeness of his own death. David's statment here is probably one of the most damaging to the theory that sheol consists of several compartments, or that those in sheol are conscious of anything. Certainly if David expected to go to the supposed paradise in sheol, he would also expect to give thanks to Yahweh in such a place; alternatively, David was certainly not saying that he expected to go to a place of eternal torture in sheol. However, once we realize that sheol is the oblivious, unconscious realm of death, we can see how this scripture fits well with other scriptures. -- Psalm 115:17; Ecclesiastes 9:5,6,10.
Some have claimed that Psalm 6:5 is not speaking literally, that is speaking "poetically"; thus it is claimed that David did not did not mean for this to be an actual description of those in sheol. While it is true that the Psalms are poetical, there is no reason to believe this means that we should view David's description here to mean anything other than what he stated, except that one wishes to discard what David said in order to hold onto the dualistic philosophy that the dead are not dead. Psalm 88:5 is cited to prove such an pictorial use. It is claimed that it is not true that God does not remember anymore. Yet when one examines Psalm 88:5 in its context, we can see that what David actually supports Psalm 6:5. God does no more remember the dead in the sense that his lovingkindness, his blessings, reach them while they are dead. See our comments on Psalm 88:3. It is further claimed that by taking Psalm 6:5 in context with verse 4, that we should see that David is explaining to the reader that the living, not the dead, remember God's mercies and celebrate his deliverance. Verse 4 reads: "Return, Yahweh. Deliver my soul, And save me for your lovingkindness' sake." One states: "Verse 5 of Psalm 6, when put back in context is a continuation of verse 4, explaining to the reader that the living not the dead remember God’s mercies and celebrate His deliverance." The statement itself is true; it confirms what we say. But the writer continues: "For as the context of Psalm 6 shows the perspective is from this physical life." Evidently by this he means that all that Paul is referring to is this physical life, and that one actually does not continue to praise Yahweh in sheol. This again read a whole lot into the what David said that just isn't there, with the evident desire to support the paganistic thought that the dead are not dead. (53) Psalm 9:17 - The wicked shall be turned back [defeated, repulsed] to Sheol, Even all the nations that forget [fail to regard, ignore] God. Many Bible Students in noting that the Hebrew word Shuwb is used here, and seeing that this word can mean to turn back, return, have concluded that these nations are being said to return to sheol, and thus that this scripture is speaking of the second death. This cannot be true because sheol will be destroyed in the second death, thus no one will be able to return there. (Revelation 20:14) The immediate context appears to be referring to present condition of the heathen (nations) in their pit and net of corruption that leads to destruction. (Psalm 9:15,16) In Psalm 2 these nations are said to come against Yahweh and his anointed. (Psalm 2:2,3; see also: Revelation 19:18; Isaiah 24:1-22) These will not be successful, but will be turned back from, or defeated in, their course of action into sheol. Regardless, there is nothing in the scripture that says that the heathen will spend an eternity of torture in sheol. (54) The Bible tells of the great destruction that comes upon the earth at Armageddon. (Isaiah 24:1-22) Notice, however, that it speaks of those who are destroyed as being shut up in a "prison." Job refers to those in death as "prisoners" who "rest together". (Job 3:18) The Bible tells of the gathering of "captive ones" from many nations in the latter days, the days when God's kingdom will rule the whole earth. (Jeremiah 48:47; 49:6,34-39; Isaiah 2:2) Yahweh speaks of gathering the captive ones of Sodom and Samaria along with the captive ones of Jerusalem. (Ezekiel 16:53) They are spoken of as returning to their 'former state', that is, they return from the prison house of death to their former state of sentiency upon the earth. So with those who are thrown into this prison at Armageddon - after many days they will be "visited." To be visited by Yahweh can mean to visited with his anger, or to be visited with his blessings. (Isaiah 26:14; Psalm 65:9) Since Yahweh's anger had already been expressed upon those shut up in prison at Armageddon, their being "visited" after many days would have to signify that they would then be released from the prison and have the opportunity to respond to the blessings that will then be upon the earth during the thousand year reign of Christ. - Revelation 20:11-15;21:1-4. (55) The word "pit", used in Isaiah 24:22, is translated from the Hebrew bowr. Bowr in many cases can be seen to be a close synonym to the Hebrew word, Sheol. Many scriptures use these terms in parallel, thus indicating that they refer to one and the same place: "For it is not Sheol that can laud you; death itself cannot praise you. Those going down into the pit [bowr] cannot look hopefully to your trueness." - Isaiah 38:18; See also Psalm 30:3,9; 88:3,4,6; 143:7. (56) Psalm 16:9,10 - Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices. My body shall also dwell in safety. For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, Neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption. Peter applies this scripture to our Lord Jesus. (Acts 2:27-32) Many combine the scripture in Acts with Jesus' statement in Luke 23:43, and thus by use of their imagination commingled with Hellenistic Jewish philosophy they seek to see in this that paradise was a part of sheol (hades). Some even further imagine that Jesus took paradise from sheol into heaven. In reality, in examining all the verses concerning sheol as well as paradise, we never find any mention at all about paradise as a part of sheol. Such teaching is derived from the later Judaic doctrines that were in turn adopted from Grecian philosophy and blended into the Bible. (57) The King James translators evidently realized that the "Holy One" of this text is Jesus, yet they translated sheol here as "hell", despite the fact that usually where the righteous were concerned they translated sheol by the words "grave" or "pit". The reason for this is apparent, because of th e fact that it is Jesus' soul that is said to be in sheol. Had they used the word "grave", they would have been admitting that Jesus' soul was in the grave. So, knowing that in the minds of the average reader hell was at least a place of life, they used the word "hell". They either were hoping perhaps no one would inquire too diligently as to why Jesus was in hell, or just what his experience there might have been, or if they did, they could use scriptures such as 2 Peter 2:4 (in their mistranslation of that verse) and 1 Peter 3:19 to claim that Jesus went to hell to preach to those being tortured there. But to admit, through a translation, that Jesus' soul was in the grave, the oblivious realm of death, would have disproved another of the Dark Age dogmas; namely, the erroneous theory of the immortality of the soul. Actually, Jesus' soul did go into death, into sheol. The Prophet Isaiah writes concerning him that "he poured out his soul to death"; his soul was made "an offering for sin." (Isaiah 53:12,10) It was essential that Jesus thus give his life, his soul, in order for the human race to be redeemed from death. It was because Jesus took the sinner's place in sheol, in death, that an will be awakened from death and given an opportunity to live forever — "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." -- 1 Corinthians 15:22; see also: Romans 5:12-19; Acts 2:27; Acts 2:31. (58) Psalm 18:5 - The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came on me. The Hebrew word translated "cords" is shown as Strong's #2256, chebel. Its first meaning is "cord, rope, territory, band, company"; its second meaning is given as: "pain, sorrow, travail, pang."* Even though these words words were spoken by David, in this scripture many translations are pleased to use "hell" for "sheol" and "sorrows" for the Hebrew chebel, for with the traditional idea of "hell" as a place of torture in the minds of many, and without reading the scripturally closely, one could come to the conclusion that there are sorrows in hell, and thus that those in hell are conscious and being tortured. Indeed, this scripture is used by many advocates of eternal torture as a description of hell as a place of sorrows. --------- (59) Actually if one reads the scripture closely, one can see that sheol is being paralleled with death. David was expressing his concern of how his life was in peril of death, and that this peril is like cords drawing him into the death condition. If David was using the Hebrew word in sense of "sorrows", it still does not mean that David expected to experience sorrow in sheol, but rather that the threat of sheol upon his life was producing sorrows for him. In reference to those who claim that paradise was a part of sheol, we might further add that if David expected to enter in paradise, then why would think of it as a place of sorrow? It should be clear that there is no evidence in this verse of either torture or paradise in sheol. -- See also the discussion on 2 Samuel 22:6. (60) Psalm 30:3 - Yahweh, you have brought up my soul from Sheol. You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. "Meaning, that he escaped death most narrowly." (Geneva Study Bible Notes*) Verse 9 is very revealing, for David says: "What profit is there in my destruction, if I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise you? Shall it declare your truth?" Thus David realized sheol as a condition of destruction, and that his soul in the dust of the ground could not praise Yahweh. These scriptures shows that David did not think of sheol, which he parallels with the pit (Hebrew, Bowr, Strong's #953), as containing paradise. ======== (61) Psalm 31:17 - Let me not be put to shame, Yahweh, for I have called on you. Let the wicked be put to shame. Let them be silent in Sheol. According to one vision of hell, "plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear." Another supposedly received a vision which was described liked this: "0, who can describe the dreadful yells and shrieks which burst upon the ear when the bolts were unfastened and the doors flung open; and, 0, who can depict the melancholy appearance of the inhabitants of this wretched place!" How opposite of what the scriptures describe of those in sheol, that the wicked will be silent there -- no shrieks, yells, cries, etc. "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." -- Isaiah 8:20, New King James Version. (62) Psalm 49:14 - They are appointed as a flock for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. Their beauty shall decay in Sheol, Far from their mansion. The New King James Version reads: "Like sheep they are laid in the grave; Death shall feed on them; The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling." This describes the wicked as going to sheol, gravedom, the realm of death. The words translated "beauty" literally means "rock image". It appears to be speaking of the physical body, that their bodies will be consumed in sheol. Young renders this as: "their form is for consumption." Fausset tells us that these words mean: "literally, "form" or shape.* (63) The Psalmist here also describes the time when these wicked are released from sheol. This corresponds to Revelation 20:12,13. The Psalmist says that in that millennial morning the "upright", the just, will have dominion over them. This agrees with other prophecies, such as Daniel 7:22,27; 1 Corinthians 6:2; Revelation 2:26,27 and Revelation 20:4. --------------- *Fausset, A. R., A.M. "Commentary on Psalms 49". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible". http://bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries/JamiesonFaussetBrown/jfb.cgi?book=ps&chapter=049>. 1871. (64) Psalm 49:15 - But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, For he will receive me. Selah. This connects with verse 14. The Psalmist tells us that God will redeem his soul from the power of Sheol. The word translated "power" literally means "hand". In this sense, it reflects the grasp that sheol had on its victims. Again David does not give us reason to believe that he expected to be in paradise in sheol. But David points for to the deliverance from sheol, that sheol will not have an eternal grasp on his soul. We also need to note that David expected that his soul would be in the hand of sheol, and that it would be his soul that would be delivered from its grasp. Yahweh provides the means of deliverance by means of the ransom sacrifice of his Son. Our Redeemer “poured out his soul [being, sentient existence] to death,” He made His soul [being] an "offering for sin” (Isaiah 53:10,12); and it was the soul of Adam (and his posterity) that He thus bought with His precious blood - by making His soul (being) an offering for sin. Consequently souls were are to be delivered from sheol; souls are to be awakened, resurrected. (65) Some commentators claim that David meant here that his body would be in the hand, or grasp of sheol, but that his soul, being immortal, would be delivered from its power in order to be receives into glory. It is claimed that sheol has no power over the soul at all the human soul is immortal.* This would make void the ransom sacrifice of Jesus, for if the human soul is already immortal, and cannot die, what need is there for Jesus give his soul as a ransom? (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45) Additionally this view would make void the scripture written by David: "You will not leave my soul in Sheol," (Psalm 16:10), which Peter quotes as applicable to the soul of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 2:27,31) As we have seen, Jesus gave not only his body, but his soul, his entire being, as an offering for sin. -- Isaiah 53:10,12; Matthew 20:28.
--------- (66) It is the human soul that has been condemned, dying, and thus enters into the oblivious condition of sheol, and it is the human soul that needs to be delivered from sheol. Many suppose that the bodies buried are to be restored atom for atom, but, on the contrary, the Apostle declares, “you don't sow the body that will be.... But God gives it a body even as it pleased him.” In the resurrection God gives to each person (to each soul or sentient being) such a body as His infinite Wisdom has been pleased to provide; to the joint-heirs, selected during the Gospel Age, spirit bodies; to others, human bodies, but not the same ones lost in death. -- 1 Corinthians 15:37,38. (67) Psalm 55:15 - Let death come suddenly on them. Let them go down alive into Sheol. For wickedness is in their dwelling, in the midst of them. Was David here praying for his enemies to go into eternal torture? This is what some think when they read this verse. However, in reality David was praying for his enemies to go into sheol, the oblivious condition of the dead -- that absence of life. (68) Some read into the expression "Let them go down alive into sheol" that those going down in sheol are kept alive in sheol, but that is not what David is saying. The expression simply means that death would come upon them suddenly, prematurely. Fausset says concerning this expression: "or, living in the midst of life, death will come (compare Numbers 16:33)."* Wesley says it means: "Cut off by a sudden and violent death."**
---------- **Wesley, John. "Commentary on Psalms 55". "John Wesley's Explanatory Notes
on the Whole Bible". http://bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries/WesleysExplanatoryNotes/
wes.cgi?book=ps&chapter=055. 1754. (69) Psalm 86:13 - For your lovingkindness is great toward me. You have delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol. Many read into this description of sheol that there are compartments in sheol. According to these, "lowest hell" is the compartment of eternal torture, where souls of humans spend an eternity in fiery flames. To view this verse in this manner, however, would mean that the David was in expectancy of entering such a place. (70) In actually The words "lowest sheol" -- the lowest realm of death -- here signifies depth of condemnation. The condemnation of death placed upon man would have been eternal were it not for the redemption God provides through his Son. It is from this eternal death that David prophetically states his deliverance. The New American Standard translation reads: "For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol." (71) The KJV translators chose "lowest hell" as a rendering here, even though it would put David's soul in hell. To have said that David's soul was in the grave, of course, would not have been in harmony with their traditional thought that the soul does not die, and would have given the readers the impression that David expected his soul to be dead. The text actually does prove that human souls are not immortal, for sheol is the oblivious condition of death. -- Ecclesiastes 9:10. (72) Psalm 88:3 - For my soul is full of troubles. My life draws near to Sheol. David was expressing sorrow that his troubles was going to kill him. Again, David does seem to think of his drawing near to Sheol as though he were drawing near paradise, for in verse four he likens it to going down into the pit. Again, he does not give support the tradition that would have paradise as a compartment in Sheol. Nevertheless, his expression does fit the Biblical truth that sheol is the oblivious realm of death. Indeed, this Psalm, like some other scriptures, parallels sheol with the pit (Hebrew, bowr, Strong's #953) and the grave (Hebrew, Qeber, Strong's #6913 -- it is from this parallelism that many refer to sheol as "gravedom", as referring to the common grave, not to a single grave), and describes the dead in sheol as as going down into Sheol as those who lie in the grave, whom Yahweh remembers [as in blessing, his lovingkindness -- Psalm 88:11] no more and who are cut off from his hand [of blessing]. (Psalm 88:5) It is described as being in the "darkest depths." Verse 10 confirms the condition of those in sheol, where David asks Yahweh: "Do you show wonders to the dead? Do the dead rise up and praise you? Is your lovingkindness declared in the grave? Or your faithfulness in Destruction? Are your wonders made known in the dark? Or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?" (Psalm 88:10-12) Notice the terms used in verse 12, "in the dark" and "the land of forgetfulness". This confirms Ecclesiastes 9:5,10, which shows that those in sheol are not conscious. It also confirms Psalm 6:5, where David speaks of those in sheol as being unable to give thanks (praise) to Yahweh. (73) Psalm 89:48 - What man is he who shall live and not see death, Who shall deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah. This agrees with Paul's statement that all are dying in Adam. (1 Corinthians 15:22) No man under this condemnation is able to deliver himself from death. (Psalm 49:7,12,14; Ecclesiastes 8:8; Romans 6:23) This scripture shows a connection between the condemnation of death in Adam with sheol. This parallels with Revelation 20:14, which also refers to Adamic death in connection with the Greek equivalent of sheol, hades. (74) Psalm 116:3,4 - The cords of death surrounded me, The pains of Sheol got a hold on me. I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I on the name of Yahweh: "Yahweh, I beg you, deliver my soul." This scripture is often said to mean that sheol is a place, not of oblivion as described in Ecclesiastes 9:10, but of conscious sorrow and pain. Such depends on a surface reading of the verse taken out of context. If the pains, sorrow and trouble spoken of here happen in a conscious place of suffering after death, then the Psalmist must have went to this place and returned to tell about it. This, of course, is not what the Psalmist is saying. (75) The trouble and sorrow that the Psalmist experienced is while he was yet alive, right here on earth, not in sheol. David was expressing how the pains he was experiencing was bringing him to the gates of death, and the painful experience of dying which leads to sheol. He is not saying that he experienced pains in sheol, or that he expected to experience pains in sheol when he died. Here the prophet is narrating his narrow escape from death at the hands of his enemies and his rejoicing that Yahweh has spared his life. (76) Psalm 139:7,8 - Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there! Of course, at the time this was written, the Psalmist could not literal ascend up into the heaven, not even the sky. Nor could he literally make his bed in sheol. Both are pictoral references. Of course, David had no thought here of a hell of torture, nor was he saying that he could make his "bed" in paradise. Nor is David saying that Yahweh would die in order to be present in the realm of death. We need to remember that sheol is often used pictorially in this manner, such as speaking of digging into sheol (hiding in the earth) in order to escape from God's presence. (See Amos 9:2) And we also read of Jonah, that he was in sheol when in the belly of the fish. Likewise, David is saying that even if he could enter into sheol in order to try to hide from God, God would still find him. (76) We need to caution reading "omnipresence" into this verse, for that is not the point that David was trying to make. Rather the point is that God is able to make his presence or power known no matter where we might go. Thus, it carries the same general meaning as Amos 9:1,2. Translators add several words in English which may give the text a greater meaning than what David meant to say. Young's Literal Translation renders Psalm 139:8 as: "If I ascend the heavens -- there Thou [art], And spread out a couch in Sheol, lo, Thee!" While more literal, Young still adds one word, "art", which he put in brackets to show that it does not appear in the Hebrew. With this in mind, and in view of the context, the verse could possible be understood to mean: "If I ascend up into heaven, there you find me; if I make my bed in sheol, there you will find me." Nevertheless, God is able to make his presence and power known in sheol, oblivion, for he has shown his power to raise the dead from sheol; likewise, David prophesied that the Messiah's soul would not be left in sheol. (Psalm 16:9,10) Peter testified that God did raise Jesus' soul from sheol (hades), thus, in effect, showing that God made his presence known in sheol in order to raise him from the dead. -- Acts 2:27-32. (78) Psalm 141:7 - "As when one plows and breaks up the earth, Our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol." David is speaking of himself and his friends, and, using figurative language, he speaks of the closeness that they had come to death "at the mouth of sheol." The meaning is not totally clear, but it could be that David is likening the plowing and breaking of the earth to the breaking of their bones, figuratively being close to death, or the grave. At any rate, there is nothing here to support the idea that sheol is either a place of torture, or that sheol contains a compartment called "paradise."
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