What Is the PRAYER OF JABEZ?

Let’s read the prayer of Jabez from the two most popular versions of the Bible:

9Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, ^c saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” 10Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 (NIV)

9And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. 10And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 (KJV)

This is all we know about Jabez in the Bible. Because his mother bore him in pain & sorrow, she gave him a name that came from the Hebrew word for ‘pain.’ Yet Jabez chose not to lead an unjustifiably cursed life and so turned to the LORD. As such, Jabez is cited as “more honorable than his brothers” in Holy Scripture. This shows that, whatever raw deal has been handed you in life, you can turn it around to the positive with God’s assistance (Romans 8:28 & 2 Peter 3:18). After all, isn’t the LORD “Fountain of Life” who pours abundant life into the lives of those who humbly seek & honor the Creator of All? See Psalm 36:9 and John 10:10.

Jabez’ prayer had four general points:

He sought God’s blessing on his life.
He sought for God to enlarge his “territory” and therefore his influence.
He sought God’s hand of support, help and favor.
He sought God to keep him from harm or evil and the corresponding pain & grief; in other words, he wanted protection from the life-altering pain of unnecessary tragedies.

These four requests are the general ones that any noble soul desires in life (in contrast to the ignoble soul obsessed with carnal things, like Mammon, fame and foolish sexual gratification).

Because Jabez diligently pursued the LORD in faith, God granted his requests (Hebrews 11:6). This passage does not exist by accident. It’s there to show us that — no matter how cursed our lives might be — we have the option to turn to the Almighty for succor and blessing, for God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11). The LORD can turn any ship around, so to speak, no matter how bad it is.

Recently, I took a 40-day fast from a couple things and prayed the prayer of Jabez every day corresponding to the specifics of my life. Since it’s a general prayer — a skeleton prayer — you can of course tweak it to apply to your situation.

For a good commentary on the topic, I recommend Bruce Wilkinson’s (short) book.

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Related Topics:

Prayer — The Basics

Prayer—Communing with God

How Often Should You Say “IN THE NAME OF JESUS” in Prayer?

FRUIT THAT WILL LAST & Why It’s Linked to Answered Prayer

The Basics of Christianity

Did Jesus Forgive His Murderers on the Cross?

Christ didn’t forgive anyone when He was on the cross. Read the text:

When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Luke 23:33-34

Yeshua prayed to the Father for Him to forgive His murderers, which means He was praying for His persecutors to come to penitence because this is the only way God forgives sin (Acts 20:21). God doesn’t forgive the arrogant unrepentant; He only forgives the humbly penitent (Proverbs 28:13 & 1 John 1:8-9). It’s an axiom.

For now, during the Church Age, the Creator is patiently extending mercy to the unsaved in the hope that they’ll be moved to repentance & reconciliation. Those who refuse will be judged and discarded in the lake of fire where they’ll suffer the “second death,” which means they won’t be forgiven by the LORD (Revelation 20:11-15).

So what Christ was doing on the cross was precisely what He instructed believers to do when we are mistreated for His name: Pray for our persecutors (Luke 6:28). Stephen did the same when he was martyred (Acts 7:60).

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Insights on OFFENSE & FORGIVENESS from Joseph’s Story

Why You should Always FORGIVE When the Offender Is Repentant

How to Confront & Correct (and How NOT to)

What if You KNOW a Confrontation Will Turn UGLY?

Spiritual Warfare — The Basics

How Does the Holy Spirit Convict People?

Here’s what Christ said about the Holy Ghost convicting the lost:

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹about sin, because people do not believe in me; ¹⁰about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

John 16:7-11

The Spirit of God convicts those lost in the world in three ways:

In regards to sin, which means to miss the mark morally and whose wages is eternal death (Romans 6:23);
In regards to righteousness because our righteousness is filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) and we desperately need the gift of righteousness thru Christ (Romans 5:17 & 2 Corinthians 5:21);
In regards to judgment because, apart from the Anointed One, people will have to stand before the LORD at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).

(When you intercede for those who are lost & dying in this world, pray accordingly).

Of course the Holy Spirit also convicts believers of sin, which is part of the process of sanctification and keeps one in fellowship with the LORD along with God’s grace/favor flowing into his or her life (1 John 1:7-9).

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Is the Holy Spirit God or a Divine Force?

What Are the “Seven Spirits of God” From Revelation?

What Is the UNPARDONABLE SIN (Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit)?

The Basics of Christianity

What Are “Positional Truths”?

Many truths in the Bible are practical in nature. You hear or read what the Word of God says and you do it, like “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). These are practical truths. Yet there are revelational and positional truths as well. A revelational truth isn’t practical, but it reveals something important; and so changing your beliefs accordingly will benefit you, such as the nature of eternal life.

Meanwhile a positional truth is a truth that reveals your position in Christ and therefore how God sees you because of this position. For instance, Colossians 1:22 declares that we are “holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” This is how God sees you because this is who you are in Christ.

A good example from the Old Testament is Gideon, who viewed himself as the weakest and least, but God saw him as a “mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12-16). He had to change his thinking in order to fulfill his calling.

Here are ten positional truths to chew on and renew your mind:

You are holy (Colossians 1:21-22).
You are a child of God (John 1:12-13).
You are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
You are the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
You are dead to sin (Romans 6:11, 6:14, 6:18).
You are more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37).
You are a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
You are rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).
You are healed (1 Peter 2:24).
You are a royal priest of the Most High God (1 Peter 2:9).

Why is this important? Because the book of wisdom points out: “Be careful what you think for your thoughts run your life” (Proverbs 4:23 NCV). In other words, if you think you’re an unholy slave to sin who can’t do anything right, that is what you will be.

Thankfully, these positional truths will set you free of any such disempowering thoughts (John 8:31-32).

For important details, here’s a video that covers the topic at length:

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Related Topics:

Your Thoughts RUN Your Life!

How to Be a GIANT-KILLER

How to Be a Modern DAVID Against a Modern GOLIATH

What Does It Mean to Be “MORE THAN A CONQUEROR”?

How to TAKE CAPTIVE Thoughts (Noémas—Mindsets, Ideologies)

Understanding Christ’s LORDSHIP in the Believer’s Life

The Basics of Christianity

Is the Use of ‘Man’ for Humanity Sexist?

The term ‘man’ in the Bible refers to both male and female, unless the context tells otherwise, as observed here:

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26-27

The Hebrew word translated “mankind” is the same word for “man” in Genesis 2:7. This is clearer in the New King James Version:

26Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Genesis 1:26-27

As you can see in verse 27, ‘man’ in this generic sense refers to both male and female.

That said, I regularly use ‘human’ for man, and ‘humankind’ (or ‘humanity’) for mankind, so that there’s no misunderstanding and no one’s needlessly offended.

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Related Topics:

Human Nature — Spirit, Mind & Body

Is Christ’s Body after Resurrection Physical or Spiritual (or Both)?

Does God Have a Feminine side?

The Basics of Christianity

How Old Is the EARTH According to the Bible?

The Bible does not say what the age of the Earth is and so people draw conclusions based on various data. It’s a non-essential issue and believers can hold to one position or another without it affecting their relationship with God or their Christian service. The more important an issue is, the more directly and fully the Bible addresses it. For instance, our moral responsibilities and the means to eternal salvation are clearly addressed at length, but less critical topics are not, such as the age of the Earth. When it comes to God’s Word “The main things are the plain things.”

That said, let’s consider the young Earth view, commonly held by Evangelicals, as well as the old Earth perspective and, more specifically, the gap theory, which isn’t as widely accepted.

Young Earth advocates maintain that the Earth is only about 6000 years old, a figure they get from adding up the life spans of biblical figures from the time of Adam. How do we reconcile this with the evidence of geologists, who say the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old (and the Universe 13.8 billion years old)? Supporters of young Earth creationism argue that, if God creates something in a mature state, like a human being, it would have the appearance of age and thus it is with the Earth.

How old was Adam one minute after God created him? One minute, but how old did Adam look? About 25-30 years old, certainly not like a newborn baby. The same principle can be applied to plants, trees, mammals, birds, fish, mountains, Earth, planets, stars and the Universe.

If doctors studied Adam’s body—his skeletal development, the size of his organs, his mental capacity, etc.—they’d conclude that he was an adult male of about 25-30 years of age. God’s creation of Adam in a mature state (in which his growth was perhaps accelerated to a brief period) is included in the creation account of Genesis 1-2 wherein God’s creation of the Heavens and Earth is also chronicled. If the LORD created Adam in a mature state—with the obvious appearance of age—is it not possible, even likely, that God did the same with the Earth & Universe?

Notice how the LORD refers to the creation of the Heavens and Earth:

“ ‘The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. ¹⁷It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’ ”

Exodus 31:16-17

We know from authentic science that the Earth & Universe appear to be ancient—billions of years old—but we see here that the LORD created them in six days as a testimony to the Israelites. The physical creation is incredibly old, but God evidently condensed the aging process of each phase of creation into six days. Since the LORD was addressing Moses & the Israelites in the above passage, and they understood the “six days” to be six literal days, it stands to reason that God meant six literal days.

Think about it like this: If you had a huge project that would take 50 years to accomplish, yet you had the power to condense the time into 5 minutes, would you do it? Of course you would. How much more so if your purpose for doing this was to illustrate a point to people? It’s the same principle with God’s creation of the Earth & Universe.

Consider those science videos where a plant is filmed over the course of a year or so and then this growth is condensed to seconds for viewers. If filmmakers can do this via cinematic wizardry, would the Almighty have a problem doing something similar with the initial creation of people, animals, plants, trees, mountains, canyons, planets, stars and galaxies? There’s even a blatant example in Scripture of God supernaturally condensing the growth-time of something in Jonah 4:6. So why wouldn’t the LORD do the same thing when creating the Earth & Universe?

Where do dinosaurs fit in this young Earth scenario? In the post-flood years, they largely died out due to changing climate, lack of food or disease. Much as threatening animals like lions, tigers, bears, crocogators and pachyderms have been killed or driven out of populated areas by humans, so the last vestige of land-dwelling dinosaurs were slain or driven out. This would explain the “slay the dragon” myth in so many cultures, as well as the ancient art testifying to humans and dinosaurs coexisting.

To see the proverbial big picture, the young Earth perspective is depicted in this interesting diagram.

As for the old Earth perspective, the top view is the gap theory, which speculates that there were billions of years between the first verse of Genesis 1 and the second verse. As such, Genesis 1:2 describes the Earth after some great cataclysm, which made the Earth “formless and empty”:

In the beginning God created the heavens [the Universe] and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Genesis 1:1-2

The mystery of this passage is the obvious contrast between verses 1 and 2: The first verse says that God created the Universe and the Earth, but then verse 2 states that the Earth was formless, empty and dark. Since when does God create something that’s “formless and empty”?

Gap theorists argue that Isaiah 45:18 lends support: “He is God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it to be a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited” (NASB). The words “waste place” are one word in the Hebrew, tohu (TOH-hu), and this is the same word translated as “formless” in Genesis 1:2. This word means “formless,” “desolation,” “waste place,” “chaos” and “emptiness.” The hermeneutical principle that “Scripture interprets Scripture” applies: Isaiah 45:18 plainly states that God did not create the Earth to be tohu—formless, empty, chaotic, desolate, a waste place—yet Genesis 1:2 shows that the Earth was tohu sometime after the LORD created it.

Lending further support to this theory, they say, is the statement in Genesis 1:2: “Now the earth was formless and empty.” If you look at the footnote in the New International Version of the Bible it shows that the word ‘was’ could possibly be translated as “became” because the Hebrew verb hayah (haw-yaw) is often translated as such. As a matter of fact, it’s translated as “became” 59 times and “become” 164 times in the New International Version. However, it’s translated as “was” 305 times.

Further evidence can be observed in Hebrews 11:3, which states: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” The word ‘formed’ in the Greek is katartizó (kat-ar-TID-zoh), which means “to complete,” “to perfect,” “make complete,” “mend,” “restore” and “bring into its proper condition (whether for the first time, or after a lapse).” While this doesn’t negate the young Earth theory, it’s friendly toward the gap theory.

Supporters of the gap theory argue that Jeremiah 4:23-26 lends additional support for their position as it gives us a picture of cataclysmic global judgment whereupon no living thing survives, which they say only fits the pre-Adamic context between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. The prophet says in verse 23: “I looked at the earth and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens and their light was gone.” This is the exact same description as Genesis 1:2. ‘Formless’ is the same Hebrew word tohu and ‘empty’ (or ‘void’ in some translations) is the same Hebrew word bohu (BOH-hu). These Hebrew words appear together in Scripture only these two times and, in the case of Jeremiah 4:23, it’s clearly an occasion of global-spanning judgment.

Verse 25 goes on to say that the prophet couldn’t see any people on the planet, at least from the perspective of his vision, nor could he see any birds. We know there will be people and animals on the Earth after the Tribulation judgments noted in the book of Revelation because, after all, Christ will judge the living nations upon His return, which is The Sheep and Goat Judgment, aka The Judgment of Living Nations (Matthew 25:31-46). As such, adherents of the gap theory argue that Jeremiah 4:23-26 more likely refers to the Earth after a pre-Adamic cataclysm or judgment that took place between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2.

This cataclysm would explain the extinction of the dinosaurs, they argue.

Gap theorists also maintain that God’s command to the survivors of the Noahic flood to “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1) meant to replenish the Earth, which is how the Hebrew word for ‘fill,’ male (maw-LAY), is translated in the KJV. This is the same word used in the similar command to Adam in Genesis 1:28, which suggests that it could also mean replenish in that context, particularly since it’s the same command from God given to two different sets of people.

Check out the responses from youth Earth advocates to these gap theory arguments; then consider the rebuttals by gap theorists. If you’re interested, this article does just that (it’s basically just the long version of this article). In any case, it’s healthy to consider opposing views and the support for each before drawing an informed conclusion or, at least, a hypothesis.

While I suppose I lean toward the young Earth position, I confess agnosticism on the topic. I wasn’t present when the LORD created the Universe and neither were you. The best we can do is make an educated guess based on biblical and scientific data, keeping in mind that, however old the Earth is, it has no bearing on one’s spiritual growth and service. Also keep in mind that this is decidedly a side issue. As it is said:

In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.

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The Five Earths of the Bible (and the Eight Ages)

Dinosaurs — Where Do They Fit?

Leviathan and Behemoth — What Were They? (Dinosaurs)

Hermeneutics — Proper Bible Interpretation

Why is this World so Messed Up?

The Basics of Christianity

(Pseudo) Science Is the “New God” and Dubious Scientists Are the “New Gods”

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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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

What Couldn’t Jesus Tell the Disciples Because They Couldn’t BEAR IT?

The Lord made this interesting statement to His disciples:

12“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

John 16:12-13

There were some things that Christ simply could not tell the disciples because they wouldn’t be able to handle the knowledge at the time. Yet the Holy Spirit would later reveal these things to the early Church. What were these things? Here’s a list:

The entire Mosaic system would be set aside since believers are not under the Law (Romans 7:6).
The Sabbath and Hebrew festivals would be abolished (Colossians 2:16-17).
Having a covenant with God and obtaining the corresponding eternal salvation would be extended to Gentile believers and they were to be equal members of the Church (Acts 9:15, 11:18, 28:28, Romans 11:11, etc.).
The Messiah was not a political savior who would save the Hebrews from the oppression of the Roman Empire, but rather something far greater — a spiritual savior who sets people free from the bondage of satan’s dominion and sin & death (Acts 26:18, John 3:36 & 2 Timothy 1:10).

Church of Christ — What Is It?

The Basics of Christianity

Religion and Christianity — What’s the Difference?

What Does It Mean That the “SEA” Gave Up the Dead?

Let’s read the passage in question with focus on verse 13:

11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:11-20

Both the bodies and souls of the unredeemed will be resurrected to stand before the LORD at the Great White Throne Judgment. There are a couple of interpretations of verse 13.

Here’s one:

“Death… gave up the dead” would refer to all bodies resurrected from graves/tombs.
“Hades gave up the dead” would refer to all souls resurrected from Hades, aka Sheol.
“The sea gave up the dead that were in it” suggests this resurrection extends even to those who lost their lives in the waters of the Earth, whether oceans, seas, lakes or rivers. This would include the multitudes who perished in the global flood of Noah’s day (1 Peter 3:20 & Genesis 7:23). In other words, no unsaved person throughout history would be exempt from standing before God for judgment.

The other interpretation is this:

“Sea” is figurative of this turbulent fallen world and therefore refers to the resurrection of all unredeemed people who died throughout history.
Death and Sheol (Hades) are spoken of synonymously in the Scriptures, as observed in Psalm 6:5, Psalm 89:48, Proverbs 5:5, Proverbs 7:27, Proverbs 9:18, Isaiah 38:18-19 and many other passages. Why? Because, when unredeemed people suffer death, their dead soul is housed in Sheol (Hades) until resurrection on Judgment Day.
So verse 13 is simply a way of saying every unsaved person will be resurrected to face Divine judgment, both body and soul (Matthew 10:28).

I favor the second interpretation.

IMMORTALITY — Only Available Through the Gospel

DEATH — Does It Mean “Separation” as Religionists Claim? (No)

RICH MAN & LAZARUS: Fantastical Parable or Literal Account?

The Believer’s “Intermediate State” (between Physical Death and Bodily resurrection)

Hell (Human Damnation) — Questions and Answers

Eternal Life (“Heaven”): Questions & Answers

What Does Being “BORN OF WATER and of the Spirit” Mean?

Let’s read the passage in question:

3Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. ”

4“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

John 3:3-5

Christ was talking about spiritual regeneration as observed by his explanation in verse 6 of what he meant by being “born again”: “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” So why did he say in verse 5 that “no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit”? In short, what does being “born of water” have to do with with spiritual rebirth?

He wasn’t talking about water baptism since we know from Scripture that a believer can be spiritually born-again and receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit before undergoing the ceremony of water baptism. The first recorded Gentile believers is Exhibit A (Acts 10:43-48), as are plain passages like Romans 3:23-25, John 3:16, Acts 16:31 and Ephesians 2:8-9. Remember, being baptized in water is simply a public testimony of the believer’s baptism into Christ, which refers to spiritual regeneration, as observed by Galatians 3:26-27 and Romans 6:3.

Like Christ, Paul also linked water to spiritual rebirth and this helps us understand what the Lord meant:

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit

Titus 3:5

As you can see, inward regeneration involves 1. the “washing of (spiritual) rebirth” and the corresponding 2. “renewal by the Holy Spirit.”

A deeper interpretation is that the Lord used “water” in reference to the seed of the Word of God (Ephesians 5:25-26). In other words, being “born of water” means being born-again via the Word of God.

You see, believers are spiritually reborn of the Holy Spirit — as Jesus said “Spirit gives birth to spirit” (verse 6) — but this is only possible due to the the seed of the Living Word of God, Christ (1 Peter 1:23). In 1 John 3:9 ‘seed’ is translated from sperma, which is the Greek word for sperm. In other words, all true believers are spiritually reborn through the Holy Spirit via the sperm of Christ. Yeshua prayed to the Father, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). And Christ is both the living Word of God (John 1:1) and the Truth (John 14:6).

Related Topics:

The Six Basic Doctrines of Christianity

SPIRITUAL REBIRTH: Is Being “Born Again” Biblical?

How You Can KNOW You Are Saved

What Does “the Spirit, the Water and the Blood Testify” Mean?