I was aksed a question about the different places we go to when we die before we stand before the throne for judgement.
They stated that sheol, hades, hell all differnet places? NOw looking at the greek translation I can see they words are diff def...can some ellaborate on this?
From my understanding, Sheol is a Hebrew, Old Testament word that refers to the general, and temporary destination of all of the dead-- both righteous (Abraham's Bosom) and wicked (see Luke 16:22). Hades is the Greek word that's essentially means the same thing as Sheol, but used in the New Testament (again, the righteous are with Christ, but the wicked are in torment). Hell (Gehenna, or Lake of Fire) is the final punishment for the wicked (Rev. 20:14-15), where death and Hades are thrown into the Lake of Fire.
I'm going to "shoot from the hip" here. It's been a few years since seminary and language classes. Brandon is correct, I will add some stuff. Much of the doctrine of eternal conscious torment (ECT) is controversial and open for debate. Abe's Bosom and Paradise and Hades are the same place, albeit Hades was at one time believed to be compartmentalized in order to account for its "emptying" during/at the time of Christ's death (three days!). Some believe Hades was opened and its "righteous dead" in Christ were evacuated whereupon Jesus escorted them to Paradise (Eph. 4:8???). Yes, Hell, Lake of Fire, Bottomless Pit, Gr. gehenna) refer to the same place. Further, there is tartarus, which is supposed to be the "deepest" pit of hell; the abyss, upon which the worst angelic beings are now and shall forever be. Sheol refers to both a real place of the departed but can also refer to the very limited spacial location in the ground; a mere grave. More on paradise: Very interesting to me has been Christ's utterance to the thief on the cross when he said to the thief: "Today you will be with me in paradise." Jesus revealed a lot there. Not only is absence from the body to be present with the Lord, but what can "today" mean unless it refers to some sort of space-time physicality?? "With me" indicates clearly there will be some sort of immediate spatial existence when we are without our physical bodies. How else could we be "with" one another or recognized "with" Jesus or separate from Jesus unless some sort of space-time existence were not the reality after death. Is "Paradise" heaven?? I do not believe this to be the case, but BUT it can only mean one of two things: Either it IS heaven; or, it is some aspect of Hades—the remaining compartment after Hades was opened and the "grave" (sheol) liberated. Things get very complicated but very interesting. Finally, and this is controversial: I draw a distinction between everlasting "torment" and everlasting "torture." I submit that God is not capable of "torture" as this would render God to be a moral beast, inflicting eternal pain and suffering upon finite creatures.While torTURE is not possible for God, torMENT is. Torture is inflicted by an external agent; torment is SELF inflicted. This is the only way I can relieve God of the moral implications of ECTorture. Finally, an associated but unrelated matter: The eternal nature of torment: Guilt is eternal. We are as guilty today for a finite sin as we will be in 10,000 years for that same finite sin!! Unless our sin(s) is covered by a sacrifice that is infinite—the eternal sacrifice of Jesus Christ!!!!
Praise God.