Posted on 10/20/2010 5:23:03 PM PDT by wmfights
This month I would like to explain the difference between the immediate state of the dead (what happens after death) and the ultimate destiny of the human race (Lake or Fire or New Jerusalem).
In the Bible, various words are used to describe the state of the dead. The terms Sheol, in the Hebrew Bible, and Hades, in the Green New Testament, are EQUIVALENT. This is very important to understand. They mean the same thing-the place of Departed Spirits! In Psalm 16:10, we read these words of David:
“For thou (YHVH) will not leave me soul in Hell (Sheol)
neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one (Jesus) to see
corruption.” Psalm 16:10
David says that GOD will not leave his soul in SHEOL. Sheol is the PLACE OF DEPARTED SPIRITS. Prior to the resurrection of Christ, Sheol was under the earth and had TWO COMPARTMENTS (Luke 16:22-24).
The verse that we quoted in Psalm 16 is REPEATED in the New Testament. In Acts 2:27, Peter quoted from Psalm 16. When we read the word “hell” it is really HADES (in Greek). Thus HADES and SHEOL are EQUIVALENT.
Prior to Christ, everyone went to SHEOL. No one went directly to heaven except Elijah and Enoch. Even Christ went to SHEOL, for the Scripture says, “…He (Christ) also DESCENDED first into the lower parts of the earth” (Ephesians 4:9). We must understand that Christ and the righteous dead of the Old Testament went to the UPPER COMPARTMENT of Sheol, which is called PARADISE, or “Abraham’s bosom.” The unrighteous dead (i.e. the rich man in Luke 16, etc.) went to the LOWER COMPARTMENT of Sheol.
When Christ died on the cross, he told the thief, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). He took this man to paradise, or Upper Sheol. Some churches have creeds that state that Christ “DESCENDED INTO HELL.” This is actually HADES (SHEOL). After His resurrection, He emptied Upper Sheol (Paradise) and took the righteous dead to heaven (Ephesians 4:8). Only LOWER SHEOL remains in the earth and is the destination for the lost. LOWER SHEOL will be emptied into the LAKE OF FIRE (GEHENNAH) at the final judgment (Revelation 21:14).
“And death and HADES were cast into the LAKE OF
FIRE…” (Revelation 21:14).
The term GEHENNAH is different from SHEOL (Hades), for it refers to the FINAL ABODE of the unrighteous dead. One place where it is used is Matthew 5:22: “…Thou fool, shall be in danger of GEHENNA fire.” The confusion comes because GEHENNA is also translated “hell” in the King James Bible. GEHENNA IS NOT SHEOL but the FINAL JUDGMENT, which is often called the Second Death! (Revelation 21:14-15).
Between UPPER and LOWER Sheol, there was a “great gulf” or some kind of division (Luke 16). The righteous dead went to the upper compartment
Yes. The fathers of the Church had a lot to say on the fact that the poor man is referred to by name. Most agree with you:
AMBROSE; This seems rather a narrative than a parable, since the name is also expressed.CHRYS. But a parable is that in which an example is given, while the names are omitted. Lazarus is interpreted, "one who was assisted." For he was poor, and the Lord helped him.
CYRIL; Or else; This discourse concerning the rich man and Lazarus was written after the manner of a comparison in a parable, to declare that they who abound in earthly riches, unless they will relieve the necessities of the poor, shall meet with a heavy condemnation. But the tradition of the Jews relates that there was at that time in Jerusalem a certain Lazarus who was afflicted with extreme poverty and sickness, whom our Lord remembering, introduces him into the example for the sake of adding greater point to His words.
GREG. We must observe also, that among the heathen the names of poor men are more likely to be known than of rich. Now our Lord mentions the name of the poor, but not the name of the rich, because God knows and approves the humble, but not the proud. But that the poor man might be more approved, poverty and sickness were at the same time consuming him; as it follows, who was laid at his gate full of sores.
I wonder where St. Gregory got his ethnographical observation about the heathens.
The purgatory is taught directly in 1 Cor 3:8-15.
Tartarus would be the Greek equivalent to Gehenna/Hell.
>>The purgatory is taught directly in 1 Cor 3:8-15.<<
In that letter to the Corinthians Paul is talking about the carnal state of the believers at Corinth. He is saying that he and Apolos are working to build the true Church of God on earth. If the ministers of the Gospel are truly of God the foundation they lay and the work they do among the people will last. It teaches nothing of purgatory.
Surely that can not be a passage the justifies a belief in purgatory.
Bible scholars differ as to whether this particular story was merely a parable addressing the Pharisees, as you said, or was it ALSO a story, not only addressing the Pharisees, but also telling us something about the nature of the afterlife--at least before the resurrection. It could easily have served both functions, being a kind of true-story-as-parable.
As to the tri-part view of human nature, that's very doubtful as:
The lists of parts varies:
"Jesus replied: ' "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."'" (Matt 22:37) "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deut 6:5)
Other passages indicate two parts only:
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt 10:28) "But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness." (Rom 8:10) "Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit." (I Cor 7:34b)
Or maybe even 4 parts:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."(Mark 12:20; Luke 10:27)
Or possibly, 2 to 7(?)parts:
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
The little charts I learned in bible school on the the neat and tidy 3 part nature of man don't really come to grips with scripture, so I'll stick with scripture.
The last quote is Hebrews 4:12.
¨If I knew God I´d be Him.¨
Though I know many well meaning Christians would say, ¨But we do know him through Christ¨. But I´m an Old Testament guy more comfortable with the God who says, ¨And I shall take away My hand, and thou shalt see My back; but My face shall not be seen¨. (Exodus XXXIII: 23)
The passage speaks of the believer being purified of inferior stuff that he allowed to get accrued through his life, and then entering heaven. Read what is written.
>>The passage speaks of the believer being purified of inferior stuff that he allowed to get accrued through his life, and then entering heaven. Read what is written.<<
You have got to be kidding me! How can anyone get the interpretation from that chapter? What church promotes that interpretation?
A valley southwest of Jerusalem which developed an evil reputation among Jews because of idolatrous and barbarous events that took place there during the reigns of Ahaz and Manasseh (II Chronicles 28:1-4, 33:1-6). Jeremiah deplored the superstitious excesses and renamed it the Valley of Slaughter (Jeremiah 7:32). Yahweh warned the inhabitants it would become a "city of desolation" (Jeremiah 19:8). In the New Testament the name in Hebrew acquired the meaning of Hell. Jesus used it on numerous occasions, warning sinners they would be condemned to Hell if they continued their sinful ways (Matthew 5:22, 5:29; Mark 9:43).
The Hebrew word for hell, corresponding to the Greek Hades. At first a vague, gloomy place in which departed souls lived, gradually it was looked upon as a place of terrible punishment for unworthy souls. The lesson is vividly taught in the New Testament that Sheol is the destination of souls dying in sin. Luke speaks of the "torment in Hades" (Luke 16:23). The letter to the Hebrews warns of "the dreadful prospect of judgment and of the ragin fire that is to burn rebels" (Hebrews 10:27). Revelation describes "the fire and brimstone in which they will be tortured in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb, and the smoke of their torture will go up forever and ever" (Revelation 14:10-11).
In Greek religion the god of the underworld; consequently the kingdom ruled over by Hades, or the abode of the dead. In the Bible the Greek translation of the Hebrew sheol, also meaning the abode of the dead, or death, or the power of destruction, or the place of the wicked after death. (Etym. Greek Haid_s, the nether world.)
The place and state of eternal punishment for the fallen angels and human beings who die deliberately estranged from the love of God. There is a twofold punishment in hell: the pain of loss, which consists in the deprivation of the vision of God, and the pain of sense, which consists in the suffering caused by outside material things. The punishment of hell is eternal, as declared by Christ in his prediction of the last day (Matthew 25:46), and as defined by the Fourth Lateran Council, stating that the wicked will "receive a perpetual punishment with the devil" (Denzinger 801). The existence of hell is consistent with divine justice, since God respects human freedom and those who are lost actually condemn themselves by their resistance to the grace of God.
The place or condition in which the souls of the just are purified after death and before they can enter heaven. They may be purified of the guilt of their venial sins, as in this life, by an act of contrition deriving from charity and performed with the help of grace. This sorrow does not, however, affect the punishment for sins, because in the next world there is no longer any possibility of merit. The souls are certainly purified by atoning for the temporal punishments due to sin by their willing acceptance of suffering imposed by God. The sufferings in purgatory are not the same for all, but proportioned to each person's degree of sinfulness. Moreover, these sufferings can be lessened in duration and intensity through the prayers and good works of the faithful on earth. Nor are the pains incompatible with great peace and joy, since the poor souls deeply love God and are sure they will reach heaven. As members of the Church Suffering, the souls in purgatory can intercede for the persons on earth, who are therefore encouraged to invoke their aid. Purgatory will not continue after the general judgment, but its duration for any particular souls continues until it is free from all guilt and punishment. Immediately on purification the soul is assumed into heaven. (Etym. Latin purgatio, cleansing, purifying.)
1 Cor. 3:15 does not teach purgatory as a place we go to in order to have some of our sins cleansed from us. It teaches that even though the person is justified by faith and cannot face damnation, his works will, however, be judged on “that day.” Those works which are good will survive the fires of judgment the way gold, silver, and precious stones can survive fire. But false works will be consumed the way fire consumes wood, hay, and straw. What is left has no bearing on whether or not we are saved. It has to do with rewards in heaven.
Purgatory is a dangerous doctrine that makes the Cross of Christ insufficient by requiring the person to undergo suffering in order to be made worthy of being with God. This is a false teaching and is to be avoided. We are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1), not by faith and works (Rom. 3:28).
Purgatory is not a dangerous doctrine at all. Thinking you will get into heaven without purging the damage you have done with your sins (if you know that you are forgiven them) is what is dangerous thinking.
No one, I repeat NO ONE, gets into heaven without being perfectly pure.
Agree completely! However, we are not cleansed by our good deeds, sufferings, merits, prayers, indulgences or a place between this world and Heaven. It is the blood of Christ which cleanses us from ALL sin.
Hebrews 10:1-14
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.
Then I said, 'Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, O God.' " First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
>>we are not cleansed by our good deeds, sufferings, merits, prayers, indulgences or a place between this world and Heaven. It is the blood of Christ which cleanses us from ALL sin.<<
Amen and Amen!
>> Thinking you will get into heaven without purging the damage you have done with your sins<<
Thinking that the Sacrifice Jesus paid on the cross was not complete but that we must somehow do part of it ourselves is a very dangerous thing. The last words of Jesus on the cross were “it is finished”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.