Without Christ there was no salvation, those who died before he came (or without knowing him) went to Sheol. After Jesus' crucifiction he descended to Sheol to lead the righteous to Heaven... does this imply that both the righteous and the unrigheous were in Sheol, awaiting Jesus (judgement). Now that we have Christ, is there a need for Sheol (perhaps so for the unrigheous before the final judgment which would eternaly separate them from God).
2007-02-14 03:49:01 · 5 answers · asked by DoorWay 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Sheol when understood in the ancient culture was a place for all people both righteous and unrighteous to live eternally.
Jesus did not go down to Sheol. There is no scripture for that.
Sheol was the way God was revealing to them eternal life. He later, when the categories were availble in culture that heaven and hell exsisted.
2007-02-14 03:54:19 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
He did not descend to Sheol to lead the righteous to heaven. Nobody goes to heaven until judgment day, when God will judge the living and the dead according to what they have done.
Yes, everyone went to Sheol - no man is righteous.
When you die, you still await judgment day before going to heaven.
2007-02-14 11:53:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It helps to learn to recognize metaphor and myth. Jesus is a gate, a doorway, a path, leading from unrighteousness to salvation. The story about descent to Sheol, Hades, Hell, whatever, makes him timeless, eternal, ALWAYS available, both to those who lived after him and those who lived before. The love of God provides a way out of darkness to all who want one. Sheol and those who turn away from God are virtually one.
As for final judgment, do you really believe a loving God would give up on any soul? Was Jesus descending to Sheol (aka earth for most of us) an act of giving up? As long as any of us sin, we are in Sheol, and Jesus descends to rescue US, you and me.
2007-02-14 12:03:52 · answer #3 · answered by Philo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The root of the Hebrew word, sheol, is "question;" therefore when one died they went down to the "unknown." There is nothing about the afterlife in the Hebrew Bible. When you're dead, you're dead. The Christian beliefs about the afterlife come from Mithras, NOT Judaism.
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2007-02-14 11:53:07 · answer #4 · answered by Hatikvah 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sheol means grave.
2007-02-14 11:52:01 · answer #5 · answered by Mr. E 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋