Hades Where are the Dead? Steve Kissell Introduction: A. Several questions have touched on the subject of live after death and hades. In order to answer the specific question, one must know something about hades generally. B. Therefore, I have decided to study the subject of hades in general sense in view of answering specific questions along the way. I. Some Presuppositions: A. Not all questions on this subject can be answered. 1. In spite of dogmatic assertions from various writers, it is my view that several aspects of the subject cannot be definitively answered. 2. After all, when we speak of Hades, we are speaking of life after death; since none of us have died, there are many things about death that we don’t know or understand. 3. Deut. 29: 29 is a good passage to keep in mind. B. Some confusion on the subject is due to mistranslation (in the KJV). 1. There are three different Greek words that in the KJV are all translated by the word “Hell.” a. gehenna (12 times). This refers to the final abode of the wicked. b. tartarus (1 time: 1 Pet. 2: 4). All we know with absolute certainty is that Tartarus is comprised of “chains (or “pits”) of darkness” and is occupied by fallen angels awaiting judgment. c. hades (10 times). More on this later. C. Some confusions is due to the fact that a word may have more than one meaning. 1. For example: The word “soul” can refer to a variety of different things (I use this word as an example not only because it illustrates the point, but because it will have a bearing on the subject of hades): a. immortal nature (James 5: 20). In this sense, “soul” is synonymous with “spirit.” b. physical life (Matt. 2: 20). c. person (1 Pet. 3: 20). d. animal life (Lev. 24: 18). e. dead body, corpse (Lev. 21: 11). f. Other meanings: feelings, mind, breath, appetite, etc. 2. We are faced with the same problem when we approach the word “hades,” in that it seems to have more than one meaning. The immediate context will usually tell us which meaning applies but in some passages there is some uncertainty. D. The Greek mythological view of hades is not necessarily the Biblical view. 1. In classical Greek mythology, Hades was the place where the spirits of all the dead went. It was divided into two compartments: Tartarus for the wicked, and Elysium for the good. This, according to mythology, was the final abode of the dead. 2. This may be close to, but is not necessarily, the Biblical view of hades. E. The dead are somewhere. There is a conscious existence of the spirit (soul) at death. 1. We reject the notion that when a person dies he ceases to exist as a person. Death is a departure, not an annihilation: a. Gen. 35:18 b. Eccl. 12: 7 c. 2 Cor. 5: 1-8 d. Phillipians 1: 23-24 e. 2 Tim. 4: 6 2. Those passages that speak of death as sleep refer to appearance of the body at death. 3. If the story of Lazarus and the rich man teaches anything, it teaches that we survive death (see Luke 16: 19-31). a. I am convinced that this is not a parable. Reasons: 1) It fails to comply with the very essence of a parable. The basic idea of a parable is to teach a spiritual lesson by using some commonplace situation with which everyone was familiar (an “earthly story with a heavenly meaning”). Examples include a sower sowing seed, a fisherman drawing in a net, leaven in a lump of dough, etc. 2) This incident (Lazarus and the rich man) could not, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered to be a commonplace “earthly” incident with which we are all familiar. In fact, none of us knows anything at all, from personal experience, about life after death. This is nothing like a parable. 3) Jesus treats it like a true story in that he names a “certain poor man named Lazarus” (vs. 20). Notice the similarity to Job 1: 1 and Acts 10:1. b. Even if it is a parable, it still teaches that the dead are conscious. 1) A parable is not a “fairy tale.” A parable uses a true-to-life situation to teach a lesson. 2) We must assume, therefore, that if this is a parable, the situation depicted is based in reality. 2. So, our presupposition is that the dead are somewhere and they are conscious. F. “Hades” equals “Sheol” 1. Sheol is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek word hades. a) Acts 2: 25-27 à Ps. 16:10 b) The Holy Spirit chose the Greek word hades to translate the Hebrew word sheol. c) Therefore, we know that hades is the same thing as sheol. 2. This means that in our effort to determine the nature of hades, we can look into the Old Testament passages that refer to sheol with the knowledge that what is true of sheol is also true of hades. II. Two Basic Views of Hades (Sheol) A. View # 1 1. “The place prepared by the Lord where all disembodied spirits dwell between death and the resurrection is an intermediate abode called Hades” Tract: After Death…what then? By Perry Cotham, pg. 16. 2.Illustration: Hades Abraham’s Bosom Tartarus or Paradise 3. This is probably the view of a majority of our brethren who have written or preached on the matter. It starts with a consideration of Luke 16: a) Two men, one good and one bad, die. Their spirits are taken to another realm, unseen to those of us who are alive. b) The good man is in relative comfort and the bad man is in relative discomfort. They are separated by a impassable gulf. c) Verse 23 states that the rich man was in hades. It is assumed, although not stated, that Lazarus was in hades also. 4. Why is it assumed that Lazarus (along with all the righteous dead) is in hades? Are there any other passages in which we find a good person in hades? Yes, there is one passage: Acts 2: 27, 31. Notice: a) Jesus “soul” was in hades. b) In Luke 23: 43 Jesus indicated to the thief on the cross that both of them would be in paradise that day. c) It is reasoned that since Jesus went to hades, and since He also went to paradise, paradise must be at least a part of hades, the part that good people go. d) It is further reasoned that this is the place that Lazarus went, also called Abraham’s Bosom. 5. I believe that this may very well be correct. I do believe, however, that the evidence for this view is less than conclusive and that another view may be correct. B. View # 2 1. The word hades is used in two different senses, one referring to the state of physical death (sometimes called “the grave”) and the other referring to the spiritual abode of the wicked (but not the righteous) dead. 2. Illustration: Paradise: Good Spirits All humans die physically: Hades: The Grave Hades: the spiritual abode (Tartarus): Bad Spirits 3. This is the view given in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia and is the position taught to me by brother Hugo McCord. a) Brother McCord, a Hebrew scholar, bases his conviction on his understanding of the Hebrew word sheol. b) According to Bro. McCord the primary meaning of the word sheol is the grave (in other words, a hole in the ground into which a corpse is placed). Examples: 1) Numbers 16: 30 2) Job 17: 13-16 3) Ps 6: 5 c) This meaning of “the grave” can also be use metaphorically to mean “the state of death” (death itself being the event that ushers in the state of death). In other words, “the grave” is used as a figure of speech meaning physical death. d) Illustration: Sometimes we hear something like: “he took his secret to the grave.” Or, “she went to the grave without ever…” In cases like these, we use “the grave” to refer to the state of being called death. e) So, what Bro. McCord and others are saying is that the primary meaning of sheol (and therefore, hades) is “the grave” or “death.” 1) That means that in this sense, everyone (good, bad, even animals) goes to hades at death. 2) See Eccl 9: 5-6, 10; 3: 19-20. f) However, although “death” or “the grave” is the primary meaning sheol, there is another meaning (remember presupposition #3). 4. According to this view, sheol (hades) also means the realm of departed spirits, but only of the wicked, not the righteous. So, there is a physical hades (the grave) into which everyone goes, and also a spiritual hades, into which the wicked go. Understanding the reasoning behind this position involves a look at each occurance of the word hades in the New Testament. Note the “flavor” of each one: a) Matt. 11: 23 b) Matt. 16: 16: 18. It isn’t completely clear whether “hades” here is physical or spiritual. 1) If physical, “the gates (power) of death (Jesus’) would not prevent the establishment of the church. 2) If spiritual, it could refer to the spiritual forces of evil (Satan and angels from hades) attempting to destroy the church. 3) Either way, there appears to be no reference here to the abode of the righteous dead. c) Luke 10: 15 (same as Matt. 11: 23). d) Luke 16: 23. This does not say that Lazarus was in Hades. It says that the rich man was in hades and in torment. I believe that if we approached this passage with no preconceived ideas, it is quite possible that we would conclude that these men were in two different places: the rich man in hades, and Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom. There seems to be no conclusive support here for the view that every departed spirit resides in hades. e) Acts 2: 27, 31 (We will come back to this one because this passage is the crucial one. Our interpretation of this passage may decide for us which view is correct). f) Rev. 1: 18; 6:8; 20: 13-14. These passages all refer to Death and Hades. 1) Death = the seperation of the spirit and body (an event). 2) Hades = the state of separation 3) Illustration: Retirement is the event that ushers in the state of retirement. Marriage is the event that ushers in the state of marriage. 4) It would be very difficult to prove from any of these references in Revelation that hades is the spiritual realm of the righteous dead. 5. Each of the references to hades we have looked at so far (we have looked at all of them but one) presents a very negative connotation to hades. In fact, the strong suggestion is that hades in the N. T. refers to either the grave into which we all go, or, the spiritual home of the wicked dead. No passage, so far, explicitly or implicitly states that the spirit of any righteous person was ever in a spiritual realm called hades. 6. But, there is one more passage to examine. Acts 2: 25 – 32. a) This passage states explicitly that Jesus’ soul was in hades. b) So, how does Bro. McCord, and others, understand this? Simply: he interprets the word hades (sheol) with its primary meaning of “the grave” and interpretes the word “soul” in its common meaning of person or body. c) This would mean that this passage refers to what happened to Jesus’ body, not his spirit. Notice: 1) Jesus’ “flesh” (vs. 26b) is what is being discussed. 2) Corruption (decay) is paralleled with hades (vs. 27). a. This a quote from Ps 16: 8-11. Remember that the psalms were songs. One method the Hebrews used to achieve a sort of rythem was parrallel lines. b. One form of parrallelism was called synonomous parallelism in which a statement is made and in the following line the same thought is repeated in a slightly different way (see Ps 37: 1-2; 19: 1-2). c. It is quite possible that Ps 16: 10 (and thus Acts 2: 27) is an example of this type of parallelism. If so, “abondoning my soul to sheol (hades)” is equal to “allowing Thy Holy one to decay;” meaning that God would not allow Jesus’ body to decay in the grave. This is poetic way to say that Jesus would rise from the dead. d. If this is correct, this reference to hades refers to the grave, and says nothing about Jesus’ spirit. 7. If this understanding of Acts 2: 27 is correct, there is no New Testament passage that proves that hades is the abode of the righteous dead. 8. The difference between these two positions seems to me to be symantical, that is, related to the labels we use. Whether the word hades extends to the abode of the righteous dead or not seems to be of little consequence. What is important is that we embrace Jesus as our Saviour and live our lives in such a way as to have no fear of death. III. Final Things When Jesus returns: • all dead bodies will be raised (Jn. 5: 28-29). • Those alive at that moment will be changed into incorruptible bodies (1 Cor. 15: 44-54) • and will be raised up to meet Him in the air (1 Thess. 4: 13-18). • All will stand before Christ in judgement (Mt. 25: 31-32; Acts 17: 31) • and each person will receive his reward in heaven or his punishment in hell.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 08:34:52 +0000
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