23 Minutes in Hell

There’s no such place called Hell… after Judgment Day, unbelievers will be thrown into the lake of fire called Gehenna. For those who have died and believe in Christ, there’s Sheol/Hades with Paradise (aka the bosom of Abraham). There is a second place for the unrighteous dead — with a chasm between them; concentrate on Luke 16:23,26:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+16%3A19-31&version=NASB

All the dead will be resurrected at Christ’s Second Coming.
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Believers’ Souls Do NOT Go To Heaven!

One of the biggest hoaxes that modern churches have thrust upon us is concerning the disposition of the soul after death. Almost universally, Christians will vehemently state the souls of deceased believers immediately go to Heaven, but that is NOT what the Scriptures state. So, if not Heaven, then where (if anywhere)?

Most Christians believe they belong to “New Testament churches;” therefore, they have no use for the Old Testament. But, what did Christ say on this subject? Examine Matthew 5:17-19: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A17-19&version=NASB. Is Christ a liar? Have all things been fulfilled? If you think so, then why is there a need for His Second Coming?

In fact, this ALL revolves around His Second Coming and the appointed times (Heb. mo’edim) in the Fall — known by the Jewry as the Days of Awe. So, where do ALL souls go after death — both the righteous and the wicked? The Bible calls this specific place by three names:

* Sheol (65x in the OT) – http://biblehub.com/hebrew/7585.htm;
* Hades (10x in the NT; 4x in Revelation) – http://biblehub.com/greek/86.htm; and
* Paradise (3x in the NT; this portion of Sheol/Hades is for believers only) – http://biblehub.com/greek/3857.htm.

To be perfectly clear, none of these is Hell (which is a misnomer; see http://biblehub.com/greek/1067.htm) nor the false precept of Purgatory; see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purgatory.

This is what the Bible states, and this is but a sampling of each:

* Numbers 16:25-35 (concentrate on vv 30,33 as well as the footnotes): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+16%3A25-35&version=NASB
* Job 7:7-10 (notice that it’s always DOWN to Sheol): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+7%3A7-10&version=NASB
* Acts 2:22-36 (concentrate on vv 27,30-31,34-35): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+2%3A22-36&version=NASB

The passage in Acts 2 is important as even Christ’s soul descended into the netherworld of Sheol/Hades/Paradise. Recall that He was dead and buried for THREE DAYS AND NIGHTS (15-17 Abib) in accordance with the Jonah prophesy; see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+12%3A38-41&version=NASB.

Examine the Greek word translated as “Paradise” again: http://biblehub.com/greek/3857.htm. It is a park, a garden, an enclosure! The souls of both the righteous and the wicked DESCEND to the netherworld — using whatever name desired: Sheol, Hades, or Paradise.

* Ezekiel 31:15-17 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel+31%3A15-17&version=NASB
* Luke 23:39-43: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+23%3A39-43&version=NASB

Can you handle the truth? Judgment Day — aka the great and terrible Day of the Lord — will occur on a future Yom Kippur (=Day of Atonement). The flip-side of atonement is… judgment!

* Revelation 20:12-15: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+20%3A12-15&version=NASB

Those who are TRUE believers in Christ (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3%3A16-21&version=NASB) will be given Grace, which is a judicial pardon on Judgment Day at His Second Coming! His First Coming was as the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 who brought salvation to the world. His Second is as the conquering priestly king of the order of Melchizedek (Heb. Malki-tsedeq; =my king is righteous[ness]) vanquishing all evil and establishing His Kingdom — where believers will ultimately reside — on the New Earth.

Those who do not believe in Him will be judged by the Law of Moses, found guilty, and will be thrown into the lake of fire known as Gehenna; examine http://biblehub.com/greek/1067.htm again.

Only three people, who were born incarnate on Earth, are currently in Heaven: 1) Christ, who was resurrected, transfigured, and ascended to the right hand of the Father; 2) Enoch; and 3) Elijah. The latter two are the witnesses (or the metaphorical lampstands [representing the Light of the Word] and olive trees [representing the anointing of the Word]) of Revelation. As ALL humans MUST die (i.e., the first death), the two witnesses will as well in Jerusalem; see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+11%3A3-13&version=NASB.

Note: Jerusalem is mystically called Sodom and Egypt in this passage; it is also called Mystery Babylon as rabbinic Jews follow the Babylonian calendar in which the fourth month is named after the Babylonian deity Tammuz, put more faith in the Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud) than they do in the TaNaKh (OT), and recite Adonai for the Tetragrammaton which invokes the Greek Adonis and Babylonian Tammuz. That’s why it’s necessary for an undefiled New Jerusalem to descend from the New Heaven to the New Earth. Also, the two witnesses are taken back up into Heaven after they are resurrected. Their bodies/temples were specially prepared (or at least Enoch’s was documented as being so); in the Book of Enoch, what appeared to be a hot coal was pressed to his lips to purify him. Focus on v5 if anyone desires to harm them before their time of prophesying is completed; see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+11%3A5&version=NASB. These are no longer regular human beings as we know them.

After the wicked are thrown into Gehenna in perpetuity, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb between Christ and the New Jerusalem will commence on Sukkot (=Feast of Tabernacles); see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+21%3A9-14&version=NASB.

To recap, this is the order of the resurrection that will occur just before Judgment Day: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A20-58&version=NASB.

So, there you have it, folks… The souls of the deceased — even the righteous/elect — are certainly NOT in Heaven. Not Adam, who was a literal son of God (see Luke 3:38); not Abraham; not Moses; not David; not Mary — NO ONE save Christ at this time.

Shema Yisrael!

#QuestionEverything

Copyright (C) 1995-2017, L. Alan Schuetz