Q&A on SHEOL / HADES, the Intermediate State of the Unsaved
What Does the Bible Teach About SHEOL / HADES?
Sheol or Hades involves the intermediate state of unsaved souls between physical death and later resurrection when they’re judged (Revelation 20:11-15). It is “the world of the dead,” as scholar James Strong defined it, or “the assembly of the dead,” as Proverbs 21:16 describes it, or “the realm of the dead,” as observed in Isaiah 14:9,15, Ezekiel 31:15,17 and 32:21,27. The verses from Ezekiel feature the LORD Himself speaking.
In short, Sheol is the spiritual graveyard of dead souls located in the heart of the Earth (Matthew 12:40), albeit in the dark heavenlies or Underworld, not the physical realm. Since Sheol refers to the abode of the dead, it’s often spoken of as synonymous with death in Scripture, e.g. Proverbs 7:27 and 9:18. Here are a couple examples from Isaiah and Psalms:
“For Sheol cannot thank you,
death cannot praise you;
those who go down to the Pit
cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living, they thank you
as I do this day.”
Isaiah 38:18-19 (NRSV)
Who can live and never see death?
Who can escape the power of Sheol?
Psalm 89:48 (NRSV)
Consider those two questions in that last verse: Who can live and never see death? Who can escape the power of Sheol? Only those who are redeemed through Jesus Christ and thus have spiritual regeneration. Ever since Christ died for our sins and was raised to life for our justification, believers are redeemed and spiritually regenerated. Thus death & Sheol have no power over New Covenant believers who physically die. Instead, we go to be with the Lord in Heaven during the intermediate state in which we await our resurrection body, which is verified by several clear passages, like 2 Corinthians 5:6-9, Philippians 1:20-24, Hebrews 10:39, 1 Thessalonians 5:10, Revelation 6:9-11 and 7:9-17.
The souls of the unregenerated, however, go to Sheol at the point of physical decease wherein they are held until their future resurrection and judgment. This includes Old Testament saints who will be resurrected when Christ returns to the Earth at the end of the Tribulation (Matthew 19:28).
What Do Souls Experience in Sheol?
What do these dead souls experience in Sheol during the intermediate state? Are they tormented in fire the entire time, like the rich man in Jesus’ parable? Do they chum around with father Abraham, like Lazarus in that tale? No, they’re dead and therefore experience nothing. Solomon made this clear:
Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NRSV)
The language describes beyond any doubt that Sheol is a condition of unconsciousness. In Sheol:
- there’s neither good work nor bad work;
- there’s neither positive, hopeful thoughts nor anguished, hopeless thoughts;
- there’s neither knowledge of what’s good and holy nor knowledge of what’s evil and impure.
This is further verified in verse 5:
The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing.
Ecclesiastes 9:5 (NRSV)
The obvious reason the dead “know nothing” is because they’re no longer alive and conscious—they’re dead. This coincides with this passage from the Psalms:
His breath goeth forth, he [his body] returneth to his
earth;
in that very day his thoughts perish.
Psalm 146:4 (KJV)
The Psalmist says that when an unredeemed person physically dies his/her thoughts perish. There is no mention whatsoever of a person’s thoughts continuing to live on in some devil-ruled chamber of horrors. This is obviously because a dead person is no longer conscious of anything. While some translations say “plans” rather than “thoughts,” the original Hebrew word, eshtonah (esh-toh-NAW), literally means “thoughts.”
Take another look at Ecclesiastes 9:10 above and notice that Solomon doesn’t make a distinction between righteous or unrighteous people. He plainly says that everyone would go to Sheol during that period of time, whether righteous or wicked, rich or poor, small or great. In fact, Solomon’s major point in Ecclesiastes 9 is that death or Sheol is the common destiny of all people before redemption was made available through Christ’s death and resurrection. He plainly states in verse 3 that “the same destiny overtakes all.” What destiny? The destiny of Sheol, death, where—he goes on to say—there is neither work nor thought nor knowledge nor wisdom.
When Is Sheol First Mentioned in the Bible?
Sheol first appears in Genesis 37:35, which is notable due to the hermeneutical law of first mention. This was the occasion where Jacob’s sons treacherously sold their brother Joseph into slavery and then lied to their father by telling him that Joseph was slain by a wild beast. Jacob believed the lie and was understandably heartbroken:
All his sons and daughters sought to comfort him [Jacob]; but he refused to be comforted, and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son [Joseph], mourning.” Thus his father bewailed him.
Genesis 37:35 (NRSV)
Two simple facts can be derived from Jacob’s expression of grief in this passage: 1. Jacob expected to go to Sheol when he died, and 2. Jacob believed that Joseph was already in Sheol, that he would remain there, and that he himself would join him when he eventually died.
The King James Version translates sheol in this passage as “the grave.” Why? Because the verse refers to Jacob and Joseph, both righteous men of God (righteous in the sense that they were in-right-standing with God via their covenant, not that they were unflawed individuals). This is in harmony with the King James translators’ policy of rendering sheol as “hell” when it applied to unrighteous people and as “the grave” when it applied to Hebrews in covenant with the LORD. But there’s absolutely no justification for this practice; the meaning of the word sheol does not change depending on the spiritual state of the person going there.
Whether intentionally or inadvertently, this is evidence in the very first appearance of sheol in the Bible that religious people have tried to mislead the populace about its nature and who exactly went there.
As for the KJV and other translations rendering sheol as “the grave,” Sheol never denotes the physical grave or tomb where bodies are laid to rest; there’s a separate Hebrew word for this. Sheol should only be understood as “the grave” in the sense that it is the graveyard of souls in the spiritual realm, where dead souls are held and ‘awaiting’ resurrection to be judged by God.
Getting back to Jacob’s statement in Genesis 37:35, although Jacob doesn’t say anything about the nature of Sheol, it’s obvious that he didn’t regard it as some sort of nether paradise where his son was hanging out with father Abraham. If this were the case, would Jacob be “mourning” and “bewailing” Joseph so grievously? Of course not. It might be argued that Jacob was grieving over his own personal loss and not the destination of his son’s disembodied soul. If this were so, wouldn’t Jacob likely exclaim something to the effect of, “Praise the LORD that my son is now in the blissful presence of father Abraham, and I will one day go down to this same paradise rejoicing.” Yet Jacob says nothing of the kind; in fact, his reaction is completely opposite to this.
Does Genesis Contain Further Insights on Sheol?
Yes, observe what Jacob later exclaims to his sons during a famine:
“I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”
Genesis 42:2
Jacob’s son, Judah, makes a similar statement in the following chapter:
Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go [to Egypt] at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die.”
Genesis 43:8
Both quotes are in reference to Jacob’s sons traveling to Egypt to apprehend food so their clan “may live and not die.” Obviously, Jacob and his family were in no hurry to go to Sheol to commune with father Abraham in some nether-paradise. Please notice that there’s mysteriously no accompanying statement like, “…but—thankfully—if we die, we’ll be in bliss with our forefathers in Sheol.” Why not? Because this is an unbiblical doctrine.
This same point can be made from similar passages all over the Bible.
In both of these passages the Hebrew word for “die” is muwth (mooth), which simply means “to die” and is used in reference to the death of animals as well as humans (Exodus 7:18). It does not mean “to separate” or, more specifically, “to separate and go to either bliss or torment in Sheol.” The Hebrew term for ‘separate’ is badal (baw-DAL), which is used in Genesis 1:4: “God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.”
Needless to say, statements like “so we may live and not die” only make sense if Sheol is the graveyard of dead souls where souls ‘rest’ in death until their resurrection.
What Did Job Say About Sheol?
Job goes into quite a bit of detail on the nature of Sheol. Did he just dream up all this information or did he have Divine revelation on the subject? No doubt God revealed these truths to him. We can confidently draw this conclusion because what Job says about Sheol is in complete agreement with what the rest of the Bible teaches on the subject (taking the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus as what it is—a symbolic tale—and not a real-life accounting of life-after-death). Only if Job’s position contradicted the rest of Scripture should we question its validity.
In the book of Job, satan argues to God that Job is devout merely because the LORD blessed him so greatly and that Job will curse his Creator if his blessings were removed. God thus permits satan to attack the man to find out. As a result, Job loses his ten children, scores of his employees (with only four survivors), all of his great wealth and even his health as he is afflicted with painful sores from head to toe.
After months of suffering, three of Job’s friends go to “comfort” him, but end up judging & accusing him of some great hidden sin, which they presume brought about all his horrible suffering. Most of the book consists of Job, in great anguish, profoundly debating with these “friends.” It should be noted, however, that much of what Job says is directed at God Himself. Such is the case with this passage:
“But mortals die, and are laid low;
humans expire and where are they?
11 As waters fail from a lake,
and a river wastes away and dries up,
12 so mortals lie down and do not rise again;
until the heavens are no more, they will not
awake
or be aroused out of their sleep.
13 Oh that you [God] would hide me in Sheol,
that you would conceal me until your wrath is
past,
that you would appoint me a set time,
and remember me!
14 If mortals die, will they live again?
All of the days of my service
I would wait until my release should come.
15 You would call, and I would answer you;
you would long for the works of your hands.”
Job 14:10-15 (NRSV)
In verse 10, Job declares that “mortals die” and then asks “where are they?” He partially answers in verse 12 by likening death to “sleep” which humans will not “awake” from until “the heavens are no more” or, we could say, a very long time. What needs to be emphasized from these words is that Job describes the condition of death as “sleep” from which all humans will one day “awake” or be resurrected.
Yet he still hasn’t really answered the question of where people go after they die. The very next verse answers this: In his anguish, he cries out to God to hide him in Sheol (verse 13). Why does Job pray this? Because his suffering was so great he wanted to escape it through death; and obviously when a person died—Job believed—his/her soul would go to Sheol.
One may argue that, in verse 12, Job is perhaps referring to the body “sleeping” in the grave, but the obvious focus of his words is the death condition of the soul in Sheol because in the very same breath he prays to go specifically there: “Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath is past, that you would appoint a set time and remember me!”
Job mistakenly believed that God Himself was causing his great afflictions because he was unaware of the devil’s hand in the situation. In truth, the LORD only permitted Job’s afflictions by allowing satan to attack him. Nevertheless, the fact is that Job believed he would escape his intense suffering by dying and going to Sheol.
Yes, Job was actually hoping and praying to die and go to Sheol, a place many religious people consider “hell” and believe to be a devil-ruled torture chamber! Obviously, Job’s view of Sheol was quite different from what religious tradition has taught us. He prayed to go to Sheol because he knew that Sheol was a condition of unconsciousness, which he described as sleep. Job was understandably weary of his intense suffering and wanted it to end. He knew that in death, in Sheol, he would find relief from his misery, not an increase of it.
Regardless of the nature of Sheol, Job definitely believed that everyone would ultimately be resurrected from there. In verse 12 he makes it clear that all mortals who lie down in the “sleep” of death will one day awaken, that is, be resurrected when “the heavens are no more.” And, while Job prayed to go to Sheol in verse 13, it was not with the expectation that he would remain there forever. Job obviously believed that, if God “hid” him in Sheol, He would “appoint a set time and remember” him, which is when his “release” would come (verse 14). Release from what? From captivity to Sheol. So, God “remembering” him and “releasing” him are references to a future resurrection from Sheol, which is in harmony with what the rest of the Bible teaches.
Do “the Wicked Cease from Turmoil” in Sheol?
Job elaborates on the nature of Sheol in an earlier chapter where he curses the day of his birth because of his suffering. He was in essence wishing he were never born because then he would never have had to experience such agony. He then details what it would’ve been like if this were so:
“Why did I not perish at birth
and die as I came from the womb?
12 Why were there knees to receive me
and breasts that I might be nursed?
13 For now I would be lying down in peace;
I would be asleep and at rest
14 with kings and counselors of the earth
who built for themselves places now lying in
ruins,
15 with rulers who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a
stillborn child,
like an infant who never saw the light of day?
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,
and there the weary are at rest.
18 Captives also enjoy their ease;
they no longer hear the slave driver’s shout.
19 The small and great are there,
and the slave is freed from his master.”
Job 3:11-19
Job starts off asking why he didn’t die as an infant. In that event, he argues, he would not be enduring all the great suffering that he was experiencing. Had he died in infancy, he believed that he would be peacefully “lying down… asleep and at rest” (verse 13).
Job then explains that he would have shared this condition of sleep and rest with kings and counselors of the Earth, with the small and the great, with rulers and slaves, with captives and weary people and, yes, even with the wicked! In this state of death, Job declares in verse 17 that “there the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest,” and he makes it plain that there’s no “slave driver’s shout” as well (verse 18).
This coincides with what Job later says concerning the wicked:
“They [the wicked] spend their days in prosperity
and in peace they go down to Sheol.”
Job 21:13 (NRSV)
He doesn’t say the wicked go down to Sheol in torment; no, they go down to Sheol in peace. This contradicts the religious belief that the unredeemed go to some horrible devil-ruled nether realm immediately after physical death to suffer torments as they are goaded on by slave-driving demons in fiery pits with not a single drop of water for relief. Instead, Job makes it clear that there is no turmoil or torment for the wicked in Sheol.
Job is saying that, at death, kings, counselors, rulers, infants, the wicked, the weary, captives, the small, the great and slaves all share the same condition, a condition of peaceful “sleep” and “rest,” which are obvious references to unconsciousness. No wonder Job, stripped of all his possessions, forsaken by his wife, wrongly judged by his “friends,” tortured by painful sores from head to toe, mocked and made a byword by everyone, and mourning for his ten children & myriad employees, prayed to go to such a place. His understanding of Sheol was quite different from that held by many misguided people today.
Some may wonder if perhaps Job was referring to the literal grave or tomb where the body is laid to rest since there is no specific mention of Sheol in chapter 3. This idea is ruled out because Job says in verses 13-15 that, if he died, he’d be lying down asleep with kings, counselors and rulers. So, Job is referring to a common place or condition that all people shared together. Biblically speaking, this would be Sheol, the realm of dead souls, as verified in Ecclesiastes 9:10. Job would not be referring to the literal grave or tomb for the body because it is not acceptable or usual practice to bury people together in mass graves or tombs, then or now.
Keep in mind that this was well before the death and resurrection of Christ, hence spiritual rebirth and the consequent attainment of eternal life were yet to be manifested. For this reason, the souls of Old Testament saints could not be ushered into God’s presence when they physically died. The souls of both the righteous and unrighteous went to Sheol at this time because redemption was not yet available.
What Are Some Other Descriptions of Sheol?
There are literally dozens of passages in the Bible that refute the false doctrine that dead souls are conscious in Sheol, whether suffering constant roasting torment or chumming around with father Abraham.
Consider the Psalms, which are “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16) since all the psalmists “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). For unmistakable proof of this, Jesus said in Matthew 22:43-44 that David was “speaking by the Spirit” when quoting Psalm 110:1, which of course implies all the psalms he wrote.
In other words, David’s statements in the Psalms were given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is God. As such, David’s exposition on the nature of Sheol in the Psalms, as well as commentary by other psalmists, shouldn’t be considered just “their view” of Sheol. No, it’s God’s view because they were “speaking by the Spirit.”
Here are several descriptions:
Sheol Is Synonymous With Death
This can be observed in the first mention of Sheol in the book of Psalms (keeping in mind the hermeneutical law of first mention):
For in death there is no remembrance of you [God];
in Sheol who can give you praise?
Psalm 6:5 (NRSV)
This is an example of synonymous parallelism in which the second part of the verse simply repeats and reinforces the thought of the first, just in different words. With this understanding, notice how Sheol is paralleled with death, not life in roasting torment.
The verse also reveals…
Souls in Sheol Cannot Remember or Praise God
David was praying for God to save his life in Psalm 6 because his enemies were trying to kill him (as indicated in verse 10). Despite his anguish, David didn’t want to die; he was “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14 & Acts 13:22) and thus wanted to live and worship God. He knew that, if he died and went to Sheol, he wouldn’t be able to do this.
This contradicts the prominent religious position on Sheol, which suggests that when Old Testament saints died their souls would go to a supposed “paradise” section of Sheol where they would be supremely comforted as they fellowshipped with father Abraham. If this were so, wouldn’t they be able to remember God? Would they not be praising their Creator and thanking God, as long as it were possible?
Yet David makes it clear that souls in Sheol do not and cannot remember God and consequently cannot praise their Creator either. This suggests that those in Sheol are unconscious—“asleep” in death until their resurrection. This is corroborated by other texts. For instance:
The dead do not praise the LORD,
nor do any that go down into silence,
18but we [the living] will bless the LORD
Psalm 115:17-18 (NRSV)
This passage shows that those who die in that era “go down into silence.” Sheol is a place of silence because those who go there are unconscious and, more accurately, dead. There’s no praising & worshipping of God nor are there horrible screams of torment. It is a condition of silence. It is the living who bless the Lord, the psalmist plainly states, not the dead.
Righteous King Hezekiah’s prayer coincides:
“For Sheol cannot thank you,
death cannot praise you;
those who go down to the Pit
cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19The living, the living, they thank you
as I do this day.”
Isaiah 38:18-19 (NRSV)
Notice, again, how Sheol and death are spoken of synonymously. Secondly, witness how Hezekiah makes it clear that those in Sheol are unable to thank or praise God, just as David and the other psalmist did.
The obvious conclusion we must draw is that, if the righteous are unable to remember God and cannot praise or thank Him, then they must not be able to do so. They must be either unconscious or dead—no longer alive. This is supported by Hezekiah’s statement in verse 19 where he stresses that only “the living, the living” can thank and praise God, not those who go to Sheol, the world of the dead.
Here’s yet another corresponding passage:
3 For my soul is full of trouble
and my life draws near the grave (sheol)…
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do those who are dead rise up and praise you?
11 Is your love declared in the grave (qeber),
your faithfulness in destruction.
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
Psalm 88:3,10-12
This is further proof that those in Sheol are dead and therefore unable to rise up and praise God. Sheol is likened to the literal grave (qeber) or destruction, said to be “the place of darkness” and “land of oblivion.” The psalmist plainly states that God does not show His wonders to the dead in Sheol; that the dead cannot praise Him there and that God’s love, faithfulness and righteous deeds are all unknown there. What unmistakable proof that souls in Sheol are dead and conscious of nothing!
This Psalm was written by Heman the Ezrahite when his life was in mortal danger; it’s a prayer to God for deliverance from death. Note in verse 3 that Heman clearly expected to go to Sheol when he died, just as Solomon, Jacob, Job, David and Hezekiah did. In the King James Version this is kept from the reader by the use of the word “grave” as a translation of sheol, which is likewise the case with the NIV rendering, as shown above (although the NIV provides a footnote indicating that the verse is referring to Sheol). Because of this mistranslation, the average reader is misled into believing that the psalmist is talking about the condition of the literal grave where the body is buried and not to Sheol where the soul goes. The problem with this is that it obscures the truth about the nature of Sheol to the common person and consequently perpetuates false religious ideas.
Sheol Is “The Land of Silence”
Let’s examine another enlightening Psalm text by David from two translations:
…let the wicked be put to shame
and lie silent in the grave (sheol).
18 Let their lying lips be silenced,
Psalm 31:17-18
…let the wicked be ashamed,
and let them be silent in the grave (sheol).
18 Let their lying lips be put to silence;
Psalm 31:17-18 (KJV)
Notice that this passage is solely referring to “the wicked,” i.e. people who are in rebellion against God—living according to the desires of the sinful nature. These are David’s enemies. They have rejected his God-appointed kingship and are trying to murder him. David is actually praying for their death for that is the only way their lying lips will be silenced.
Observe David’s description of the condition these wicked souls will experience if they die: They will lie silent in Sheol. The wicked do not constantly scream in torment in Sheol, but rather lie silent! This is in harmony with the view that Sheol is a condition of unconsciousness where souls lie “asleep” in death “awaiting” their resurrection.
Other passages likewise reveal that souls lie silent in Sheol, such as Psalm 115:17 from the previous section. Here’s another coinciding verse:
If the LORD had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
Psalm 94:17 (NRSV)
The psalmist is testifying that, if the LORD had not delivered him from his wicked enemies (referred to in verse 16), they would have killed him and his soul would have gone to “the land of silence.” What is “the land of silence”? Since he’s addressing the place his soul would go to after death we know he’s referring to Sheol.
With this in mind, notice that the psalmist does not describe Sheol as “the land of shrieking in torment” or “the land of comforts with father Abraham” (religionists would have us believe Sheol is one or the other, depending on whether the soul is wicked or righteous respectively). That’s because neither of these descriptions is true. Sheol is, in reality, the land of dead souls where there’s no consciousness of anything and thus only silence.
Take another look at the King James rendition of Psalm 31:17-18 above and note that the passage deviates from the King James standard practice of rendering sheol as “hell” whenever the text referred to the wicked (and as “the grave” when it referred to saints). Why did the translators fail to render sheol as “hell” in this particular case since it clearly refers to “the wicked”? Obviously because the passage portrays the wicked in Sheol as lying in silence and this contradicted their belief that wicked souls in Sheol suffer a constant state of screeching torment.
Sheol Is “the Pit” or “Well of Souls” in the Underworld
We saw earlier in Isaiah 38:18 how Sheol/death is described as “the Pit,” which can also be observed in this Psalm:
O LORD, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to
the Pit.
Psalm 30:3 (NRSV)
David was thankful because God delivered him from death. He knew that, if he died, his soul (not his body) would go to Sheol.
Since Sheol is spoken of as synonymous with “the Pit,” we will gain insight into its nature by deciphering what “the Pit” means.
The Hebrew word for “the Pit” is bowr (borr) which literally refers to a hole or pit in the ground and is used 71 times in the Bible. The setting in which bowr appears determines what specific type of hole or pit and, consequently, which English word is used to translate it. For instance, bowr is used 26 times in reference to a ‘cistern,’ nine times in reference to a ‘well,’ five times in reference to a ‘dungeon,’ once to a ‘quarry’ and once it’s even translated as ‘death’ (Proverbs 28:17).*
* These figures are from the original New International Version.
Why “death”? Because bowr is a hole in the ground and that’s what a grave actually is. The grave signifies death, of course—the utter absence of life.
The Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15) is telling us that Sheol is like a vast pit or grave where unregenerated souls are held after physical death and before resurrection.
Since one of the definitions of bowr is ‘well,’ Sheol could be described as “the well of souls,” a pit where dead souls are held between physical death and resurrection. Like the subterranean chamber beneath the Dome of the Rock, Sheol is a dungeon—a dungeon where souls are held captive to death after physical decease. This explains why bowr is translated as “dungeon” in reference to Sheol in this passage from Isaiah:
21 So it will happen in that day, that the LORD will
punish
the host of heaven, on high,
and the kings of the earth, on earth.
22 And they will be gathered together
like prisoners in the dungeon (bowr),
and will be confined in prison;
and after many days they will be punished.
Isaiah 24:21-22 (NASB)
The passage is referring to the day when the LORD’s cataclysmic wrath will be poured out upon the whole Earth, which occurs just before the establishment of the millennial reign of Christ. Because of God’s judgments, billions of people will die and every unsaved soul will be confined to Sheol “like prisoners in the dungeon.” Only “after many days,” that is, after the thousand-year reign of Christ, will these souls be resurrected to face judgment and suffer the eternal punishment of the second death, covered in this article (Revelation 20:13-15).
Verse 22 plainly says that these unsaved souls will not be punished until after they are resurrected from Sheol and judged; this is further evidence disproving the view that souls are punished with roasting torment while captive in Sheol. The only punishment experienced in Sheol is death itself, the utter absence of life. This stands to reason since it is in harmony with the biblical axiom that death is the wages of sin (Romans 6:23).
Sheol is a gloomy dungeon or prison in the Underworld where souls are confined. It is not the Underworld (Philippians 2:10), but rather a pit in the Underworld. No wonder David praised and thanked God for delivering him from this death condition. Obviously, David didn’t share the view of some people today that righteous souls in Sheol are (or were) in some type of “paradise” chummin’ around with father Abraham. This is a religious myth! Sheol is a dungeon, a prison, a common pit of death where unregenerated souls are confined until their appointed resurrection.
The only soul who can escape this dungeon-like pit of death is the soul that is born-again and thus possesses eternal life (John 3:36, 5:24 & 1 John 3:14). This is only possible because “Christ Jesus… has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10). The gospel or “good news” refers to all the benefits available to humankind as a result of Yeshua’s sacrificial death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Aside from reconciliation with God, the main benefit of this gospel is, of course, eternal life. Until Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, eternal life or immortality was not available and that’s why in Old Testament times, before the ascension of Christ, both righteous and unrighteous souls had to go to Sheol after physical decease.
Incidentally, it’s interesting that the original definition of the English word ‘hell’—“to conceal or cover”—is in harmony with the biblical description of Sheol as “the Pit.” This is evidence that the Old English ‘hell’ was originally used as a translation of Sheol because it properly gave the image of souls consigned and concealed in a pit in the netherworld until their resurrection on Judgment Day. Unfortunately, the definition of ‘hell’ has taken on a completely different meaning since that time, i.e. perpetually writhing in roasting torment in some devil-ruled torture chamber.
Getting back to Psalm 30, David reveals the state that his soul would have been in if God had not delivered him from death:
11 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me
with joy,
12 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
Psalm 30:11-12 (NRSV)
David is praising God here because he knew that, had he died, his soul would have been silent in Sheol. He well knew that a person cannot praise the LORD or tell of God’s faithfulness in Sheol, as indicated in verse 9, because Sheol is a “land of silence.”
Sheol Is Distinct from the Physical Grave, Yet Paralleled With It
Although the physical grave (qeber) and the soulish grave (sheol) are indeed separate terms in the Bible they are often mentioned in the same breath. Why? Because the two go hand-in-hand—if an unredeemed person physically dies, his or her soul goes to Sheol; if his/her soul is in Sheol it’s because s/he physically died. Simple, right? Let’s look at a few examples.
In Psalm 30:3 David says, “O LORD, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit” (NRSV). David was praising God for deliverance from a life-threatening situation. On this occasion David was so close to death that he considered himself as good as dead; that’s why he symbolically exclaims, “you brought up my soul from Sheol [and] restored me to life.” David obviously didn’t literally die, but he came so close that he spoke as if he did. Also notice that David makes it clear that Sheol is the condition and place that souls specifically go to after physical death, which is in contrast to the physical grave where bodies are housed. Take note as well that David describes Sheol as “the Pit,” a synonym for Sheol.
With this understanding, consider what David goes on to say in verse 9: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?” (NRSV). Observe how David mentions “the Pit,” which is a reference to Sheol, and then in the same breath asks, “Will the dust praise you?” “Dust” is definitely a reference to the physical grave (qeber) or tomb (qeburah) where the body is housed because dust is what (unpreserved) bodies revert to after death. The reason David refers to Sheol and the physical grave interchangeably is simply because the two, although distinct, go together.
We also see this in Psalm 88 where Heman prays for deliverance from a serious life-threatening situation. Starting with verse 3 Heman says, “For my soul is full of troubles and my life draws near to Sheol. I am counted among those who go down to the Pit; I am like those who have no help, like those forsaken among the dead like the slain that lie in the grave (qeber)” (NRSV). By saying his “life draws near to Sheol,” Heman is simply expressing how close he was to losing his life in this situation. Now observe what Heman declares in verses 10-12:
“Do you [God] work wonders for the dead?
Do the shades rise up to praise you?
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave
(qeber),
or your faithfulness in abaddon [destruction]?
12 Are your wonders known in darkness,
or your saving help in the land of
forgetfulness?”
Psalm 88:10-12 (NRSV)
Heman specifically mentions Sheol in verse 3 and refers to it as “the Pit” in verse 4. His reference to “darkness” and “the land of forgetfulness” in verse 12 are also references to Sheol, although they could arguably apply to the physical grave as well. In addition, he refers to Sheol as “regions dark and deep” in verse 6. He also mentions the literal grave, qeber, in verses 5 and 11.
The point is that Sheol and the physical grave are sometimes noted in the very same breath. Although sheol refers to the soulish grave—“gravedom”—where un-regenerated souls go, and qeber refers to the physical grave where bodies are laid to rest, both terms are parallel and signify the same condition: DEATH, the cessation of life. Qeber signifies the utter absence of life in the physical realm and Sheol denotes the utter absence of conscious life period.
Because sheol and qeber are sometimes spoken of in the same breath some theologians have mistakenly theorized that Sheol refers to the physical grave, at least in the context in question. Yet, Sheol is repeatedly described in the Scriptures as a place and condition where immaterial souls go, not bodies. So the idea that Sheol refers to the physical grave must be rejected.
Our conclusion is that sheol and qeber are distinct yet parallel terms in the Bible; they have separate definitions but naturally go together. Being parallel terms, they signify the same thing—death, the absence of life. Is there any life in a physical grave? No. Neither is there life in Sheol, the soulish grave. Is a grave meant for anything other than that which is dead? No. The same goes for Sheol. Both terms, though distinct, denote the absence of life.
This presents a problem for the religious view which teaches that Sheol/Hades is a nether realm where unrighteous souls exist in a state of constant torment desperately hoping for less than a drop of water for relief while Old Testament saints hang out in paradise with father Abraham. If this were so, sheol and qeber couldn’t possibly be sister terms. Why? Because qeber would signify the utter absence of life whereas sheol would refer to the express opposite—conscious life in a spiritual dimension, whether in misery or bliss. They wouldn’t be parallel terms at all if they represent two opposite conditions.
What Did Christ Say About the Nature of Sheol?
Jesus got word that his friend Lazarus was deathly ill and, later, discerned that he had died. Notice what the Messiah says to his disciples:
…“Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
John 11:11-15
Lazarus died and Christ describes it as falling “asleep,” which his disciples mistook for natural sleep. So the Lord plainly informed them that Lazarus was dead.
Unlike the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, which is figurative, like all parables, this occasion is a historical chronicling and Jesus says nothing whatsoever about the real Lazarus going to paradise to hang out with father Abraham, which would be the case if his parable involving the fictitious Lazarus was a literal account of the nature of Sheol. How does Christ describe the real Lazarus’ condition after physically dying? He describes it in explicit terms of ‘sleeping’ in death. This doesn’t refer to literal snoozing, of course, but to the condition of non-existence in Sheol where dead souls are housed.
The Lord describes it in terms of ‘sleeping’ simply because every soul in Sheol will be ‘awakened’ one day; that is, resurrected. This is in contrast to the “second death,” which refers to being cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13-15). Those who suffer the second death are never said to be ‘sleeping’ because they will never be ‘awoken’ from eternal death, which is why the Bible calls it an “everlasting destruction”—destruction that lasts forever with no hope of resurrection (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
Lazarus’ death would’ve been the ideal occasion for Christ to elaborate on Sheol having a paradisal compartment for saintly souls of the Old Testament period, but the Lord says nothing of the kind. The Bible doesn’t mention anything at all about the real-life Lazarus being in bliss with Abraham and lamenting his return to our fallen Earth after Jesus miraculously resurrects him. Why? Because it’s a false doctrine based on mistaking a fantastical parable for a literal account.
Christ also described a dead girl as being “asleep” in three accounts of the same story, as seen in Matthew 9:24, Mark 5:39: and Luke 8:52. As with the case of Lazarus, this would’ve been the perfect occasion for the Lord to elaborate on how the girl was in paradise in Sheol with Abraham, but—again—He says no such thing. Instead, He likewise describes her condition in terms of ‘sleeping’ in death.
On top of this is the astounding event of “many holy people” who were raised to life when Christ was resurrected, as shown in Matthew 27:50-53. They came out of their tombs and went into Jerusalem and were seen by many. Again, absolutely nothing is said about these righteous people being resurrected from a supposed blissful section of Sheol where living souls commune with Abraham. Instead, the passage simply says this:
The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
Matthew 27:52 (NASB)
So, the Bible repeatedly describes the intermediate state of unregenerated souls in Sheol in terms of ‘sleeping’ in death, not being comforted in paradise or suffering constant fiery torment. It’s as if God is flashing the truth about Sheol in bright neon lights in His Word, but many Christians are too indoctrinated to see it. WAKE UP CHURCH!
Does This Support ‘Soul Sleep’?
More accurately, it supports soul death. When a spiritually unregenerated person dies, their body returns to the ground while the animating spirit of life returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7). The remains of the lifeless soul are stored in Sheol to ‘await’ resurrection for Divine judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). The soul “sleeping” is a metaphor: When they are resurrected from Sheol to be judged, they “awake.”
What About Those Who Say They’ve Visited Sheol?
This refers to people like Mary Baker and Bill Wiese, who claim to have gone to Sheol (Hades) in a vision or out-of-body experience. These people’s testimonies beg the question: Why did the LORD wait almost 2000 years after the biblical canon was completed to reveal these horrific details about Sheol? If their visions are to be believed, why aren’t there similar such descriptions of Sheol in the Bible, the Word of God?
We don’t need the dubious testimonies of these types of people to understand the nature of Sheol because everything God wants us to know about Sheol has already been revealed in the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15 & 3:16). This is in line with Paul’s doctrinal rule: “Do not go beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6), which explains why this article focuses exclusively on what God’s Word says on the subject and not the dubious testimonies of people who claim to have visions or experiences that just so happen to wholly disagree with what Holy Scripture teaches.
Eliphaz argued theology based on spooky visions rather than Scripture (Job 4:12-21), but God accused him & his friends of folly in what they said (42:7-8). Those who go outside of Scripture and use sensationalism to prove doctrine are guilty of “the Eliphaz syndrome.” If what they’re saying is true, they wouldn’t have to go beyond God’s Word to prove it.
You’ll rarely hear the topic of Sheol/Hades properly taught in the body of Christ due to entire sects embracing Jesus’ Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus as a literal accounting of life-after-death when, actually, it’s a biting satire — a figurative parable — given to rebuke the Pharisees & their ilk. It’s a case of not rightly-dividing the Holy Scriptures due to rigid sectarianism or superficiality in their studies (2 Timothy 2:15).
For even more scriptural details on the nature of Sheol, see this article.
This article was edited from chapter 15 of…
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Related Topics:
Sheol / Hades: The “Intermediate State” of the Unsaved Dead
The Believer’s “Intermediate State” (between Physical Death and Bodily resurrection)
Hell (Human Damnation) — Questions and Answers
Hell (Lake of Fire): Eternal Torment or Everlasting Destruction?
Eternal Life (“Heaven”): Questions & Answers
Hell (Human Damnation) — Questions and Answers
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