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

[Nehemiah6]

PART I

One of the most misunderstood doctrines in Christendom is the doctrine of the afterlife. And part of the reason for this is that the Hebrew and Greek words Sheol, Hades, and Tartarus were all translated as either “hell” or “the grave” by the King James translators. Had they simply transliterated them, much confusion could have been avoided. Therefore the correct word has been inserted in the quotations from the King James Bible (shown below).

Many people believe that no one goes to Heaven after they die, even if they are saved. Many others believe that souls sleep in the ground six feet under the soil. Many others believe that Christians go to Purgatory until they are prayed out of it. Many believe that people are simply annihilated in the end. Many others think that there is no eternal Hell. All of this is because many groups have promoted false doctrines about these matters for a long time, and people have failed to examine them carefully. Behind all this is Satan, who loves to sow spiritual confusion, and does not want people to see the reality of Hell.

However, there is no need to be confused if we take all the relevant Scriptures into account and see what God and Christ have revealed to us, since only they know what is true and what is false about the afterlife. So what the Bible says -- rightly divided -- is all that matters.

A. Physical death
When people die, their souls and spirits are separated from their bodies, and the bodies are buried in graves: And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. (Gen 35:18,19). It should be noted that many pagan religions either burn the bodies of the deceased, or give them to the carrion to be consumed. But Christians are to be buried, not cremated like the pagans. Also, the spirits of unbelievers are already dead “in trespasses and sins”, so only their souls go to Sheol/Hades. But the spirits of believers are alive, and very closely associated with their souls (though distinct from each other). Thus souls and spirits stay together.

B. All souls went to Sheol/Hades before Christ’s resurrection
I said,“In the prime of my life I shall go to the gates of Sheol; I am deprived of the remainder of my years.” (the words of Hezekiah in Isaiah 38:10 NKJV). Unfortunately, the KJV has “the grave” for “Sheol”, which has led to a lot of confusion. Sheol may literally have gates, since Christ spoke of “the gates of Hades” (which is the Greek word for “Sheol”). Sheol/Hades is located near the core of the earth (called “the heart of the earth” or “the lower parts of the earth”).

C. Both the righteous and the unrighteous went to Sheol from the beginning
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom [in Sheol/Hades]: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in Sheol/Hades 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. (Luke 16:22-24)

D. Christ was in Sheol/Hades for three days and three nights
This is rather important, since it establishes the reality of Sheol/Hades. He had already prophesied that He would be there. He had also prophetically stated that He would not be there for more than three days and three nights. Then Peter revealed that while He was there He preached to the spirits in prison (since Sheol/Hades was indeed a prison for souls and spirits).

1. Christ prophesied about being in Sheol/Hades
But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Mt 12:39,40) While Jonah was in the whale’s belly, his soul and spirit were in Sheol: And [Jonah] said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of Sheol שְׁא֛וֹל cried I, and thou heardest my voice. (Jonah 2:2)
2. Christ would not be in Sheol/Hades beyond three days and three nights
This is what Christ said through David about 1,000 years before He died: For thou wilt not leave my soul in Sheol; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Psalm 16:10). Peter quoted this verse from David and confirmed that it was fulfilled at the resurrection: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption... He [David] seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, neither his flesh did see corruption. (Acts 2:27,31)
3. Christ preached to the spirits in prison while in Sheol/Hades
While the body of Jesus lay in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, He proclaimed to the spirits in Sheol/Hades His victory at the cross (1 Peter 3:18,19): 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. Since no one can be saved after they die (Heb 9:27), Christ did not preach the Gospel of salvation in Sheol/Hades. That word “preached” means “proclaimed”, so what else would Christ have proclaimed other than His victory over sin, death, Hades, Hell, Satan, and all his evil spirits? This victory would include the removal of the saints from Sheol/Hades to Paradise in the New Jerusalem. Thus the gates of Hades would not prevail against the Church.

 

[Nehemiah6]

PART II
E. The righteous dead went to Heaven from Sheol/Hades at Christ’s resurrection
We know from the above historical narrative (not a parable) that there was a “great gulf” or huge chasm fixed between the righteous and the unrighteous dead. However, at the time of the resurrection of Christ, all the righteous dead (the OT saints) were taken by Christ to 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) This is confirmed in Hebrews 12:22-24 where the OT saints are called “the spirits of just men made perfect” and found in the New Jerusalem.

F. Since the resurrection all the New Testament saints go directly to Heaven
The example of the first martyr -- Stephen -- is sufficient to establish the fact that when the saints are buried their souls and spirits go directly to Heaven, not six feet under the soil (Acts 7:55-60;8:1,2): But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep [died]. And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

In view of this here is what Paul said to Christians: Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. (2 Cor 5:6-8)

G. The Bible shows that both OT and NT saints are now in Heaven
One of the most significant passages in the Bible which is generally overlooked is Hebrews 12:22-24. It shows us all the occupants of the New Jerusalem at the present time: But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and Church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

There are two groups of saints shown here in the New Jerusalem: (1) the NT saints described as the general assembly and Church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and (2) the OT saints, described as the spirits of just men made perfect. So all the saints are very much awake and alive in Heaven, and are in fact called “a great cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1)

H. The unrighteous dead in Sheol/Hades will face the Second Death
Those who are presently in Sheol/Hades will be resurrected at the resurrection of damnation (John 5:29), then judged at the Great White Throne Judgment, then cast into the Lake of Fire, which is the Second Death (Rev 20). But God does not want anyone to face the Second Death, and that is why the Gospel is to be preached in all the world and to “every creature” (Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15,16):

10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and Hades delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Death and Hades are personified in this passage ,and when they are “cast into the Lake of Fire” it means that they are terminated. That is the end of death and Hades. But as we can see there is eternal torment in Hell: and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

 

[Pilgrimshope]

PART II
E. The righteous dead went to Heaven from Sheol/Hades at Christ’s resurrection
We know from the above historical narrative (not a parable) that there was a “great gulf” or huge chasm fixed between the righteous and the unrighteous dead. However, at the time of the resurrection of Christ, all the righteous dead (the OT saints) were taken by Christ to 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) This is confirmed in Hebrews 12:22-24 where the OT saints are called “the spirits of just men made perfect” and found in the New Jerusalem.

F. Since the resurrection all the New Testament saints go directly to Heaven
The example of the first martyr -- Stephen -- is sufficient to establish the fact that when the saints are buried their souls and spirits go directly to Heaven, not six feet under the soil (Acts 7:55-60;8:1,2): But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep [died]. And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

In view of this here is what Paul said to Christians: Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. (2 Cor 5:6-8)

G. The Bible shows that both OT and NT saints are now in Heaven
One of the most significant passages in the Bible which is generally overlooked is Hebrews 12:22-24. It shows us all the occupants of the New Jerusalem at the present time: But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and Church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

There are two groups of saints shown here in the New Jerusalem: (1) the NT saints described as the general assembly and Church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and (2) the OT saints, described as the spirits of just men made perfect. So all the saints are very much awake and alive in Heaven, and are in fact called “a great cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1)

H. The unrighteous dead in Sheol/Hades will face the Second Death
Those who are presently in Sheol/Hades will be resurrected at the resurrection of damnation (John 5:29), then judged at the Great White Throne Judgment, then cast into the Lake of Fire, which is the Second Death (Rev 20). But God does not want anyone to face the Second Death, and that is why the Gospel is to be preached in all the world and to “every creature” (Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15,16):

10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and Hades delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Death and Hades are personified in this passage ,and when they are “cast into the Lake of Fire” it means that they are terminated. That is the end of death and Hades. But as we can see there is eternal torment in Hell: and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

I think some people find it hard to accept having lost people who may not have believed so it’s a hard thing to accept.

some people look at it like a threat but I see it as God speaking to us because he knows what’s ahead of we don’t repent he’s actually telling us the truth so if we believe we can escape and be saved

 

[studentoftheword]

I think some people find it hard to accept having lost people who may not have believed so it’s a hard thing to accept.

I totally agree with this ----I think the teaching of the truth in our Churches today is gone by the way side and many like to Sugar Coat the real truth of where unbelievers go when they pass on -----and the family and friends of that passed on person think because they were a good person that they are in Heaven -----that is in many churches what is being taught -----and this is dangerous teaching -----

Sugar Coating Scripture is bad for the soul ----Preaching Truth is what we really need to be doing but I believe the upper echelon of the Church has squashed a lot of Ministers ---Preachers --- from Preaching the truth because they are sacred that they will loose their people and their money will stop coming in -----so Sugar Coating and Soft preaching is the Norm -----the hard parts of Scripture get put aside and are hid under the table ------due to Fear----which comes from MR Satan Himself ---duping people out of the Truth -----


------

 

[Aerials1978]

I think some people find it hard to accept having lost people who may not have believed so it’s a hard thing to accept.

some people look at it like a threat but I see it as God speaking to us because he knows what’s ahead of we don’t repent he’s actually telling us the truth so if we believe we can escape and be saved

I know that there be many that I love whom will not be brought into the Kingdom. I know that the Lord is fair and just and gives to everyone according to their deeds. Trying to look at eternity from human perspective is beyond comprehension.

 

[Pilgrimshope]

I totally agree with this ----I think the teaching of the truth in our Churches today is gone by the way side and many like to Sugar Coat the real truth of where unbelievers go when they pass on -----and the family and friends of that passed on person think because they were a good person that they are in Heaven -----that is in many churches what is being taught -----and this is dangerous teaching -----

Sugar Coating Scripture is bad for the soul ----Preaching Truth is what we really need to be doing but I believe the upper echelon of the Church has squashed a lot of Ministers ---Preachers --- from Preaching the truth because they are sacred that they will loose their people and their money will stop coming in -----so Sugar Coating and Soft preaching is the Norm -----the hard parts of Scripture get put aside and are hid under the table ------due to Fear----which comes from MR Satan Himself ---duping people out of the Truth -----


View attachment 234627 ------ View attachment 234628

yes I agree we really just need to share the gospel Jesus taught with everyone who will hear and he will bring the minds of believers to freedom and truth I think it’s hard for people to realize this situation people are in

“In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭2:25-26‬ ‭

Only the truth is going to set us free

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
‭‭John‬ ‭8:31-32‬ ‭KJV‬‬

 

[Pilgrimshope]

I know that there be many that I love whom will not be brought into the Kingdom. I know that the Lord is fair and just and gives to everyone according to their deeds. Trying to look at eternity from human perspective is beyond comprehension.

yes I think it’s very relevant to know also that hell isnt the end hell will be destroyed d the people in hell resurrected to face the judgement of Christ

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭20:13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

after that the eternal Places come whether the lake of fire or the new heaven and earth.