It is a common belief that righteous people go to heaven and the wicked go to hell, not just in Christianity, but in Judaism and Islam as well, also widely accepted among many atheists under the christian influence. But is that really taught in the bible? Doesn't look like that when it's scrutinized through biblical lens. Here's a brief summary to clear out the confusion:
- First of all, there're one temporary depository and two eternal destinations. The temporary one is known as Sheol in the OT and Hades in the NT, commonly referred to as "hell". Here, Sheol is not the capital of South Korea, but "grave" or "dark pit" in Hebrew; Hades is the evil brother of Zeus in Greek mythology, the lord of the underworld. Two eternal ones are the New Jerusalem and the Lake of Fire.
- Hades is the dwelling place for all dead people, both the righteous and the wicked, both the saved and the unsaved. They're not necessarily being tormented down there, but certainly not sleeping either. In the 5th Seal, the saints who died in the Tribulation are crying out for justice.
- Jesus personally went down to Hades for two days and rose on the third day. This is prophesied in Psalm 16:10, also quoted by Peter in Acts 2:27 - "For You will not leave my soul in Sheol (Hades), Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption." By Jesus's own testimony (Rev. 1:18), He died an earthly death, and there was a mission for Him in Hades.
- And what that mission was? To set His chosen people free from Hades, for He holds the keys to Hades and Death (Rev. 1:18)! That's a reassurance of resurrection. He also holds the key of David, which is a symbol of His ownership over the Heavenly Kingdom, where He has the authority to decide who has access and who doesn't. This is told in Rev. 3:7-8 to the Philadelphia church.
- All His faithful followers who were chosen will be resurrected on the Day of the Lord when He returns, they will reign with Christ in the final millennial kingdom for a thousand years, that's the "kingdom of heaven" or "kingdom of God" in Jesus's kingdom parables; New Jerusalem comes after that. The wicked, though, will remain in Hades until the 1000 years are over (Rev. 20:4-6). The mass resurrection of saints on the crucifixion day recorded in Matthew was a brief preview.
- The worst translation in KJV is probably naming the third person of the trinity as "Holy Ghost" instead of Holy Spirit. In almost every culture, a "ghost" is the disembodied soul of a dead person, floating in the air and wandering around, and it can communicate with the living through some dream or vision. In the gospels, when Jesus was walking on water, Peter thought he saw a ghost; and when resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples, Thomas though he saw a ghost. That's not the correct view. Believers will received a glorified, sinless and incorruptible body in the heavenly kingdom, they will be resurrected in the same way that Jesus was resurrected.
- The Antichrist and the False Prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire BEFORE the millennial kingdom. After that, the wicked ones whose names are not written on the Book of Life will receive the white throne judgement according to their works, and they will be cast into the Lake of Fire, along with Satan and Hades. That's the Second Death (Rev. 20:11-15). You've probably heard the teaching, that the righteous "live twice, die once", the wicked "live once, die twice." Rev. 20:10 says there will be eternal torment in the Lake of Fire, while some believe that it's annihilation, everyone goes in there just ceases to exist anymore.
So there's all I have gleaned from the Bible about afterlife. I hope every key component is encapsulated. One thing I still don't quite understand, though, is Jesus's promise to the thief crucified next to Him: "TODAY you'll be with me in PARADISE." However, Jesus didn't ascend to heaven on that day, He was buried, resurrected and then He lingered on earth for 40 days. Also, the word "paradise" literally means "garden", which refers to the New Jerusalem as a Restored Garden of Eden, the new heaven and the new earth. But wait, if that's the case, isn't there a church age and a millennial kingdom in between? So in my understanding, what Jesus possible meant is that on that day He signed the thief's name on the Book of Life, the thief is granted access to enter New Jerusalem when that promise is due. Maybe you guys know something better about that, I'd like to hear it.
- First of all, there're one temporary depository and two eternal destinations. The temporary one is known as Sheol in the OT and Hades in the NT, commonly referred to as "hell". Here, Sheol is not the capital of South Korea, but "grave" or "dark pit" in Hebrew; Hades is the evil brother of Zeus in Greek mythology, the lord of the underworld. Two eternal ones are the New Jerusalem and the Lake of Fire.
- Hades is the dwelling place for all dead people, both the righteous and the wicked, both the saved and the unsaved. They're not necessarily being tormented down there, but certainly not sleeping either. In the 5th Seal, the saints who died in the Tribulation are crying out for justice.
- Jesus personally went down to Hades for two days and rose on the third day. This is prophesied in Psalm 16:10, also quoted by Peter in Acts 2:27 - "For You will not leave my soul in Sheol (Hades), Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption." By Jesus's own testimony (Rev. 1:18), He died an earthly death, and there was a mission for Him in Hades.
- And what that mission was? To set His chosen people free from Hades, for He holds the keys to Hades and Death (Rev. 1:18)! That's a reassurance of resurrection. He also holds the key of David, which is a symbol of His ownership over the Heavenly Kingdom, where He has the authority to decide who has access and who doesn't. This is told in Rev. 3:7-8 to the Philadelphia church.
- All His faithful followers who were chosen will be resurrected on the Day of the Lord when He returns, they will reign with Christ in the final millennial kingdom for a thousand years, that's the "kingdom of heaven" or "kingdom of God" in Jesus's kingdom parables; New Jerusalem comes after that. The wicked, though, will remain in Hades until the 1000 years are over (Rev. 20:4-6). The mass resurrection of saints on the crucifixion day recorded in Matthew was a brief preview.
- The worst translation in KJV is probably naming the third person of the trinity as "Holy Ghost" instead of Holy Spirit. In almost every culture, a "ghost" is the disembodied soul of a dead person, floating in the air and wandering around, and it can communicate with the living through some dream or vision. In the gospels, when Jesus was walking on water, Peter thought he saw a ghost; and when resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples, Thomas though he saw a ghost. That's not the correct view. Believers will received a glorified, sinless and incorruptible body in the heavenly kingdom, they will be resurrected in the same way that Jesus was resurrected.
- The Antichrist and the False Prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire BEFORE the millennial kingdom. After that, the wicked ones whose names are not written on the Book of Life will receive the white throne judgement according to their works, and they will be cast into the Lake of Fire, along with Satan and Hades. That's the Second Death (Rev. 20:11-15). You've probably heard the teaching, that the righteous "live twice, die once", the wicked "live once, die twice." Rev. 20:10 says there will be eternal torment in the Lake of Fire, while some believe that it's annihilation, everyone goes in there just ceases to exist anymore.
So there's all I have gleaned from the Bible about afterlife. I hope every key component is encapsulated. One thing I still don't quite understand, though, is Jesus's promise to the thief crucified next to Him: "TODAY you'll be with me in PARADISE." However, Jesus didn't ascend to heaven on that day, He was buried, resurrected and then He lingered on earth for 40 days. Also, the word "paradise" literally means "garden", which refers to the New Jerusalem as a Restored Garden of Eden, the new heaven and the new earth. But wait, if that's the case, isn't there a church age and a millennial kingdom in between? So in my understanding, what Jesus possible meant is that on that day He signed the thief's name on the Book of Life, the thief is granted access to enter New Jerusalem when that promise is due. Maybe you guys know something better about that, I'd like to hear it.
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