Truth Seeker - Judgment & Sheol

Warning: If you do not fully understand that the soul is mortal and dies, that the spirit is a non-being, a repository of what God needs returned to him on the death of the individual so as to resurrect the dead one, and that this is what returns to God, this page is not for you. If so, please study Soul Immortal & Animal or the Man’s Spirit page.

Sheol

What are we told about Sheol, aka Hades, grave, and hell.

Job 14:12,13: So man lies down and doesn't rise; Until the heavens are no more, they shall not awake, Nor be roused out of their sleep. 13 "Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, That you would keep me secret, until your wrath is past,That you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! (NJB)

All of the following Bible translations ACV, ASV, Darby, NW, YLT use "in Sheol." Rotherham says, "that, in hades, thou wouldst hide me!"

Job 3:13-18, For now I should have lain down and been quiet. I should have slept. Then I would have been at rest 14with kings and counselors of the earth, who built waste places for themselves, 15or with rulers who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. 16Or I should have been as a hidden untimely birth, as infants that never saw light. 17There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. 18There the prisoners are at ease together. They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster (ACV)

Isa 26:10-14, Though the wicked one should be shown favor, he simply will not learn righteousness. In the land of straightforwardness he will act unjustly and will not see the eminence of Jehovah … .14 They are dead; they will not live. Impotent in death, they will not rise up. Therefore you have turned your attention that you might annihilate them and destroy all mention of them. (NW)

Ps 49:14-19, As sheep for Sheol they have set themselves, Death doth afflict them, And the upright rule over them in the morning, And their form is for consumption. Sheol is a dwelling for him. 15Only, God doth ransom my soul from the hand of Sheol, For He doth receive me. Selah. 16Fear not, when one maketh wealth, When the honour of his house is abundant, 17For at his death he receiveth nothing, His honour goeth not down after him. 18For his soul in his life he blesseth, (And they praise thee when thou dost well for thyself.) 19It cometh to the generation of his fathers, For ever they see not the light. 20Man in honour, who understandest not, Hath been like the beasts, they have been cut off! (YLT)

Ps 69:26-28, For they have pursued him Thou hast smitten, And recount of the pain of Thy pierced ones. 27Give punishment for their iniquity, And they enter not into Thy righteousness. 28They are blotted out of the book of life, And with the righteous are not written. 29And I am afflicted and pained, Thy salvation, O God, doth set me on high. (YLT)

Ps 9:5, Thou hast rebuked nations, Thou hast destroyed the wicked, Their name Thou hast blotted out to the age and for ever. (YLT)

Ps 55:12-14, For an enemy reproacheth me not, or I bear it , He who is hating me Hath not magnified himself against me, Or I hide from him. 13But thou, a man--as mine equal, My familiar friend, and mine acquaintance. 14When together we sweeten counsel, Into the house of God we walk in company. 15Desolations are upon them, They go down to Sheol--alive, For wickedness is in their dwelling, in their midst. (YLT)

Conclusion:

The scriptures just reviewed are self-explanatory. The summary is that all go to Sheol, the wicked, the righteous man Job, as well as everybody else. The last two scriptures are of particular interest because Psalm 55:12-14 has been applied to Judas Iscariot. In verse 15 of that same chapter, Judas the son of perdition (DRC, John 17:12) is shown to be going to Sheol.

We may conclude that Sheol or Hades is the common grave of mankind. By saying common, the above scriptures show that all mankind wicked, unrighteous, righteous, and good go there upon dying. Here it should be pointed out that the book of Revelation mentions one more common grave of mankind, the Sea.

The important thing to learn from the scriptures above is that many of Sheol's dead will never be resurrected. These will remain dead and asleep , non-existent forever.

God's Judgment and Adamic Sin

Sin is divided into two categories, Adamic sin and the sin each person is responsible for. Adamic sin gets atoned for by Jesus' sacrifice, personal sin may (mind you, may) get no atonement. Those who put faith in Christ and become baptized believers purify themselves; through faith, these get forgiveness of sins. They do not practice sin any longer. (John 3:16, 1 John 3:3, 1 John 3:4-9) Still, they may receive punishment for some of their sins God judges them to be personally responsible for. (See Judgment of Christians) Such punishment must be viewed as discipline of a child by a loving parent. Of course, some Christians may be so well behaved from youth on that they experience little of this while others know that they have been disciplined by God?!

The great number of the dead who were ignorant about God still get the benefit of atonement of their Adamic sin through Jesus' sacrifice. These unrighteous ones get the resurrection of judgment. (John 5:28, 29) Those among them that God's Judge, Christ, find guilty of sins classifying them as wicked get no gift of resurrection.

In Rom 2:5,6, Paul here emphasizes that some treasure up wrath, indicating that what is done now has later consequences! The next verse then says again, that God will, yes, shall render according to a man's deeds – in other words, what is done now will receive payback, good or bad. The conclusion is inescapable, God shall pay back all, either with eternal judgment of eternal sleep or eternal life. Some we are told receive a resurrection of judgment. These will be given the choice to accept or deny Christ and get their final judgment later, many perhaps after Satan is let loose again and follow him that final time.

John 5:29and shall come forth,—they who, the good things, have done, unto a resurrection, of life; but, they who the corrupt things, have practised, unto a resurrection, of judgment. (Rotherham)

Acts 24:15, Having, hope, towards God, which, even these themselves, do entertain—that, a resurrection, there shall certainly be, both of righteous and of unrighteous: (Rotherham)

Romans 2:5,6, But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

We may rest assured of God and His Son's great loving kindness and mercy; as we rest assured of his justice and wrath upon the wicked that deserve it. Supporting the above assertions, we read in Rom 2:14-16, "For when those of the nations, which have no law, practice by nature the things of the law, these, having no law, are a law to themselves; 15who shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts accusing or else excusing themselves between themselves;) 16in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my glad tidings, by Jesus Christ." (Darby)

Please re-read and meditate on that scripture once more. Here Paul states that these ignorant ones of the nations will be judged on the day of judgment for the things they did long time ago when they were alive! Later in chapter 6:7, Paul states (KJV) about the dead and sin: "For he that is dead is freed from sin!" How do the two scriptures agree, or do they in fact disagree because Paul has no clue as to what he is talking about? No, the scriptures do not disagree, but how can that be?

Most people would agree that if a dept is paid for and nothing remains of it, that you cannot be penalized for it later on. That's just plain good old logic! Right! In fact, that is how things are. We have not misunderstood anything here. There is nothing wrong with either the Bible or our logic, so far. In fact, we'll see that the problem is not about being penalized, it's about being rewarded! And that is where it may be difficult to follow the logic, however true it is.

Let's meditate on the following:

God's Judgment

God already judged us with a final judgment. How?

Gen 2:16, 17, . . . Of every tree of the garden thou shalt freely eat; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest of it thou shalt certainly die. (ASV)

Gen 3:19, In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou return to the ground: for out of it wast thou taken. For dust thou art; and unto dust shalt thou return. (ASV)

Ezekiel 18:4, Behold, all the souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (ASV)

This is how sinners are judged by God. Sinners shall die; it is God's undeniable, unavoidable judgment. There is no arguing it, no avoiding this simple judgment. It has been in force since Adam sinned. No human has survived from ancient times so as to be able to contradict this.

Judgment is in! Judgment is in! Judgment is in!

There is no further punishment for one's sin, no torture in a burning hell, no pain inflicted in some room of horror, ever and evermore! Each individual who dies has received the final punishment from God as was his judgment in the previous scriptures. This is why Rom 6:7 states that "For he that is dead is freed from sin " because the ultimate punishment has already been handed out!

Because the ultimate punishment has already been handed out, NOTHING WORSE, no further punishment, will never happen to the dead! They have received their due!

Judgment Day

Christ Jesus

who is destined to judge the living and the dead

II Tim 4:1

If the dead already have been judged and judgment has been executed, how is Christ going to Judge them? Why does Paul say this at least twice?

Hebrews 9:27, And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment

If we are told this shall indubitably happen then will it truly be, or not !

Revelation 14:13, And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them (So stated Jesus Christ, Revelation 1:1)

Matt 12:36, But I say unto you, That, every useless expression that men shall utter, they shall render, concerning it, an account, in a day of judgment; 37 For, by thy words, shalt thou be, justified, and, by thy words, shalt thou be condemned.

Matthew 11:21-24, Alas for thee, Chorazin! Alas for thee, Bethsaida! Because, if, in Tyre and Zidon, had been done the works of power, which were done in you, of old, in sackcloth and ashes, had they repented. 22Moreover, I say unto you, For Tyre and Zidon, more tolerable, will it be, in the day of judgment, than for you. 23And, thou, Capernaum! Unto heaven, shalt thou be uplifted? Unto hades, thou shall be brought down; because, if, in Sodom, had been done the works of power, which were done in thee, it would, in that case, have remained until this day. 24Moreover, I say unto you—For the land of Sodom, more tolerable, will it be in a day of judgment, than, for thee.

Matthew 12:41-42, The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 42The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Matthew 23:33, `Serpents! brood of vipers! how may ye escape from the judgment of the gehenna? (YLT)

John 12:48, He that disregards me and does not receive my sayings has one to judge him. The word that I have spoken is what will judge him in the last day (NW)

The scriptures just reviewed contain all give the same clear message; it's the same message that Romans 2:14-16 contains. The dead will be judged on judgment day for what they did during their lives! But, but, but! How is that possible when taking Romans 6:7 into consideration? The saying, ‘One cannot see the forest for the trees’ is a common truth showing how easily blinded we are even though the solution to a problem is staring right at us.

Let's enumerate the facts about the dead:

1. God has passed judgment already: the sinner must die.
2. God has executed this judgment already: the sinner died ! No human has ever avoided growing old and eventually die, yet.

3. They have already paid in full for their sins--no more debt left.

4. They shall be judged on judgment day, generally long after they died. The judgment concerns if they are worthy of receiving the gift of life, parole so to say.

5. Parole shall be granted depending upon, judged on, what they did while living.

Ask yourself this question: What does Christ judge?

Is it a question about heaping more punishment, pain, and suffering on the dead? No, it isn't. The dead have received full punishment! Is it about the resurrection? Yes, assuredly, judgment is about that.

Christ decides who among the wicked, unrighteous, etc. dead deserve to be resurrected and who do not deserve this. Judgment day for the dead means a review of their life course. Are they only guilty of Adamic sin? Are they guilty of worse?

If they are guilty of worse, Christ's judgment may find them unworthy of receiving a resurrection to either life or for judgment. If they only are guilty of Adamic sin, Christ's judgment finds that they are worthy of receiving either a resurrection of life or one for judgment in which they get the chance, mind you chance, to turn around and become Christians – a chance many will reject.

A negative judgment does not change their previous punishment executed by divine justice. They remain dead. True the label gets changed from Sheol or Sea to Gehenna, but that is merely a label. Their actual state changes not. They are not in more pain; their punishment isn't extended. Death is death.

Romans 6:23 b

1. If we consider the scripture below, we may discern that it has two parts. The first is, “the wages sin pays is death.” The following is, “the gift God gives is everlasting life…”

A B

(Ro 6:23) . . .For the wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord.

Just because A occurs, does that mean that B must happen? Is that what it means? NO! It is conditional.

John 3:16 states, “ . . .everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed . . .”

2. Since Adam, God’s justice has demanded death for sinners. The judgment that Christ hands down in God’s name is not determining if a person needs to die to pay for his sins – it's a foregone conclusion. (Rom 6:23A) That was already determined in Gen 3:19.

Rather, Christ’s judgment of the dead determines if there are grounds for leniency in regard to Christ's ransom sacrifice – according to God’s righteousness. This judgment does not add punishment; it takes it away if reasonable grounds exist – The gift B is conditional - because it’s a gift ! It is Rom 6:23B at work.

If no reason exists to discontinue established punishment then the punishment already in force remains – unchanged, as is. No punishment has been added or increased by this review of punishment, and this is as it should be according to Rom 6:7. However, the status of the dead one changes from Sheol or ‘common grave’ to Gehenna or lake of fire.

3. In this manner Rom 6:7 does not affect Christ’s judgment until someone is accorded the resurrection—then it takes effect so that the resurrected one starts off without a debt of sin. This explanation encompasses all of the details in a comprehensive easily understood manner. Why the wicked, the unrighteous and the righteous get a particular judgment becomes obvious. The paradox about why some wicked do not benefit from Rom 6:7 while others not-quite-so-wicked benefit from it, exists no longer.

A little Rom 6:7 logic

In Revelation 2:11, we are told, “He that conquers will by no means be harmed by the second death.” Ergo, he that fails may be harmed by the second death. (See below) Thus those anointed, all invited to be Saints but who died disapproved in the past will perhaps not be resurrected. IS GOD PARTIAL?

If you believe that all of mankind except for a very few will be exonerated by Rom 6:7, wouldn’t this apply without partiality to the anointed who died disapproved in the past? If those who committed, past tense, unspeakable atrocities during wars are resurrected due to Rom 6:7, wouldn’t the dead disapproved anointed? Is God unrighteous? Are we to believe that those who committed atrocities or other EVIL acts didn’t know these acts were evil?

John 15:6, If any one abide not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burneth. (DRC)

Heb 10:26-27, . . .For if we practice sin willfully after having received the accurate knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins left, 27 but [there is] a certain fearful expectation of judgment and [there is] a fiery jealousy that is going to consume those in opposition.. . .(NW)

Conclusion: The FINAL END, THE WORST POSSIBLE FATE a human may experience by God’s punishment is handed out at the moment of each individual’s death. God IS NOT GOING TO DO ANY WORSE TO ANY ONE OF THESE DEAD ONES! For this reason, Romans 6:7 takes effect when a person dies and he is assured by God that no worse will happen to him than death because “he who has died has been acquitted from [his] sin.”

What the dead one is not assured of is eternal life—the gift of God and that includes the resurrection!

The God appointed judge, Christ Jesus, then judges not if a dead one is worthy of being punished – it is a foregone conclusion since that is why the individual whose case is being considered is dead! Rather, he judges from their prior actions if they are worthy of the gift—the resurrection.

Romans 6:7 assures that no further punishment than death is meted out – AND, Christ’s judgment of the Dead doesn’t mete out any further, more severe judgment — it however establishes if the judgment meted out already may be softened by God’s undeserved kindness! If the person is judged wicked, the present judgment remains unchanged — ergo, Romans 6:7 has not been violated.

Click on the link to go to the related subject Rev 20:11-15