Afterlife in the Bible Handout

the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares
Sheol of death confronted me.
1 Kings 2:6
Genesis 37:35 Act therefore according to your wisdom, but
All his sons and all his daughters rose up to do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in
comfort him, but he refused to be comforted peace.
and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my 1 Kings 2:9
son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for
Genesis 42:38 you are a wise man. You will know what you
But he said, “My son shall not go down with ought to do to him, and you shall bring his
you, for his brother is dead, and he is the gray head down with blood to Sheol.”
only one left. If harm should happen to him Job 7:9
on the journey that you are to make, you As the cloud fades and vanishes, so he who
would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow goes down to Sheol does not come up;
to Sheol.” Job 11:8
Genesis 44:29 It is higher than heaven—what can you do?
If you take this one also from me, and harm Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
happens to him, you will bring down my gray Job 14:13
hairs in evil to Sheol.’ Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you
Genesis 44:31 would conceal me until your wrath be past,
as soon as he sees that the boy is not with that you would appoint me a set time, and
us, he will die, and your servants will bring remember me!
down the gray hairs of your servant our father Job 17:13
with sorrow to Sheol. If I hope for Sheol as my house, if I make my
Numbers 16:30 bed in darkness,
But if the LORD creates something new, and Job 17:16
the ground opens its mouth and swallows Will it go down to the bars of Sheol? Shall we
them up with all that belongs to them, and descend together into the dust?”
they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall Job 21:13
know that these men have despised the They spend their days in prosperity, and in
LORD.” peace they go down to Sheol.
Numbers 16:33 Job 24:19
So they and all that belonged to them went Drought and heat snatch away the snow wa-
down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed ters; so does Sheol those who have sinned.
over them, and they perished from the midst Job 26:6
of the assembly. Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon
Deuteronomy 32:22 has no covering.
For a fire is kindled by my anger, and it burns Psalm 6:5
to the depths of Sheol, devours the earth and For in death there is no remembrance of you;
its increase, and sets on fire the foundations in Sheol who will give you praise?
of the mountains. Psalm 9:17
1 Samuel 2:6 The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the na-
The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings tions that forget God.
down to Sheol and raises up. Psalm 16:10
2 Samuel 22:6 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or
let your holy one see corruption.

jonswales@gmail.com http://theologicalramblings.posterous.com/ 1

Psalm 18:5 Proverbs 1:12
the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and
of death confronted me. whole, like those who go down to the pit;
O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Her feet go down to death; her steps follow
Sheol; you restored me to life from among the path to Sheol;
those who go down to the pit. Proverbs 7:27
Psalm 31:17 Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to
O LORD, let me not be put to shame, for I the chambers of death.
call upon you; let the wicked be put to Proverbs 9:18
shame; let them go silently to Sheol. But he does not know that the dead are
Psalm 49:14 there, that her guests are in the depths of
Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Sheol.
death shall be their shepherd, and the upright Proverbs 15:11
shall rule over them in the morning. Their Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the
form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no LORD; how much more the hearts of the
place to dwell. children of man!
But God will ransom my soul from the power The path of life leads upward for the prudent,
of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.
Let death steal over them; let them go down If you strike him with the rod, you will save
to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling his soul from Sheol.
place and in their heart. Proverbs 27:20
Psalm 86:13 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and
For great is your steadfast love toward me; never satisfied are the eyes of man.
you have delivered my soul from the depths Proverbs 30:16
of Sheol. Sheol, the barren womb, the land never satis-
Psalm 88:3 fied with water, and the fire that never says,
For my soul is full of troubles, and my life “Enough.”
draws near to Sheol. Ecclesiastes 9:10
Psalm 89:48 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with
What man can live and never see death? your might, for there is no work or thought or
Who can deliver his soul from the power of knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you
Sheol? Selah are going.
Psalm 116:3 Song of Solomon 8:6
The snares of death encompassed me; the Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal
pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered upon your arm, for love is strong as death,
distress and anguish. jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are
Psalm 139:8 flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD.
If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make Isaiah 5:14
my bed in Sheol, you are there! Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite
Psalm 141:7 and opened its mouth beyond measure, and
As when one plows and breaks up the earth, the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude
so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth will go down, her revelers and he who exults
of Sheol. in her.


Isaiah 7:11 its rivers, and many waters were stopped. I
“Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the
deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” trees of the field fainted because of it.
Isaiah 14:9 Ezekiel 31:16
Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when I made the nations quake at the sound of its
you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those
all who were leaders of the earth; it raises who go down to the pit. And all the trees of
from their thrones all who were kings of the Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all
nations. that drink water, were comforted in the world
Isaiah 14:11 below.
Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the Ezekiel 31:17
sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a They also went down to Sheol with it, to
bed beneath you, and worms are your cov- those who are slain by the sword; yes, those
ers. who were its arm, who lived under its shadow
Isaiah 14:15 among the nations.
But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far Ezekiel 32:21
reaches of the pit. The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with
Isaiah 28:15 their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: ‘They
Because you have said, “We have made a have come down, they lie still, the uncircum-
covenant with death, and with Sheol we have cised, slain by the sword.’
an agreement, when the overwhelming whip Ezekiel 32:27
passes through it will not come to us, for we And they do not lie with the mighty, the fallen
have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood from among the uncircumcised, who went
we have taken shelter”; down to Sheol with their weapons of war,
Isaiah 28:18 whose swords were laid under their heads,
Then your covenant with death will be an- and whose iniquities are upon their bones; for
nulled, and your agreement with Sheol will the terror of the mighty men was in the land
not stand; when the overwhelming scourge of the living.
passes through, you will be beaten down by Hosea 13:14
it. Shall I ransom them from the power of
Isaiah 38:10 Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death? O
I said, In the middle of my days I must depart; Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol,
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the where is your sting? Compassion is hidden
rest of my years. from my eyes.
Isaiah 38:18 Amos 9:2
For Sheol does not thank you; death does “If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my
not praise you; those who go down to the pit hand take them; if they climb up to heaven,
do not hope for your faithfulness. from there I will bring them down.
Isaiah 57:9 Jonah 2:2
You journeyed to the king with oil and multi- saying, “I called out to the LORD, out of my
plied your perfumes; you sent your envoys distress, and he answered me; out of the
far off, and sent down even to Sheol. belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my
Ezekiel 31:15 voice.
“Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day the Habakkuk 2:5
cedar went down to Sheol I caused mourn- “Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man
ing; I closed the deep over it, and restrained who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as


Sheol; like death he has never enough. He And Sadducees came to him, who say
gathers for himself all nations and collects as that there is no resurrection. And they
his own all peoples.”
asked him a question, saying,
Mark 12:23
Exported from Logos Bible Software 4, 11:33 In the resurrection, when they rise again,
6 May 2011. whose wife will she be? For the seven
had her as wife.”
Luke 14:14
and you will be blessed, because they
cannot repay you. For you will be repaid
at the resurrection of the just.”
Luke 20:27
There came to him some Sadducees,
those who deny that there is a resurrec-
Resurrection tion,
Luke 20:33
In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife
Matthew 22:23
will the woman be? For the seven had
The same day Sadducees came to him,
her as wife.”
who say that there is no resurrection, and
Luke 20:35
they asked him a question,
but those who are considered worthy to
Matthew 22:28
attain to that age and to the resurrection
In the resurrection, therefore, of the
from the dead neither marry nor are given
seven, whose wife will she be? For they
in marriage,
all had her.”
Luke 20:36
Matthew 22:30
for they cannot die anymore, because
For in the resurrection they neither marry
they are equal to angels and are sons of
nor are given in marriage, but are like an-
God, being sons of the resurrection.
gels in heaven.
John 5:29
Matthew 22:31
and come out, those who have done
And as for the resurrection of the dead,
good to the resurrection of life, and those
have you not read what was said to you
who have done evil to the resurrection of
by God:
judgment.
Matthew 27:53
John 11:24
and coming out of the tombs after his
Martha said to him, “I know that he will
resurrection they went into the holy city
rise again in the resurrection on the last
and appeared to many.
day.”
Mark 12:18
John 11:25


Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection ers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees.
and the life. Whoever believes in me, It is with respect to the hope and the res-
though he die, yet shall he live, urrection of the dead that I am on trial.”
Acts 1:22 Acts 23:8
beginning from the baptism of John until For the Sadducees say that there is no
the day when he was taken up from us— resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the
one of these men must become with us a Pharisees acknowledge them all.
witness to his resurrection.” Acts 24:15
Acts 2:31 having a hope in God, which these men
he foresaw and spoke about the resurrec- themselves accept, that there will be a
tion of the Christ, that he was not aban- resurrection of both the just and the un-
doned to Hades, nor did his flesh see cor- just.
ruption. Acts 24:21
Acts 4:2 other than this one thing that I cried out
greatly annoyed because they were while standing among them: ‘It is with re-
teaching the people and proclaiming in spect to the resurrection of the dead that I
Jesus the resurrection from the dead. am on trial before you this day.’ ”
Acts 4:33 Romans 1:4
And with great power the apostles were and was declared to be the Son of God in
giving their testimony to the resurrection power according to the Spirit of holiness
of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus
upon them all. Christ our Lord,
Acts 17:18 Romans 6:5
Some of the Epicurean and Stoic phi- For if we have been united with him in a
losophers also conversed with him. And death like his, we shall certainly be united
some said, “What does this babbler wish with him in a resurrection like his.
to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a 1 Corinthians 15:12
preacher of foreign divinities”—because Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from
he was preaching Jesus and the resur- the dead, how can some of you say that
rection. there is no resurrection of the dead?
Acts 17:32 1 Corinthians 15:13
Now when they heard of the resurrection But if there is no resurrection of the dead,
of the dead, some mocked. But others then not even Christ has been raised.
said, “We will hear you again about this.” 1 Corinthians 15:21
Acts 23:6 For as by a man came death, by a man
Now when Paul perceived that one part has come also the resurrection of the
were Sadducees and the other Phari- dead.
sees, he cried out in the council, “Broth- 1 Corinthians 15:42


So is it with the resurrection of the dead. The rest of the dead did not come to life
What is sown is perishable; what is raised until the thousand years were ended.
is imperishable. This is the first resurrection.
Philippians 3:10 Revelation 20:6
that I may know him and the power of his Blessed and holy is the one who shares
resurrection, and may share his suffer- in the first resurrection! Over such the
ings, becoming like him in his death, second death has no power, but they will
Philippians 3:11 be priests of God and of Christ, and they
that by any means possible I may attain will reign with him for a thousand years.
the resurrection from the dead.
2 Timothy 2:18
Jesus Invades Hell
who have swerved from the truth, saying Ephesians 4:8–9 (ESV)
8 Therefore it says,
that the resurrection has already hap-
pened. They are upsetting the faith of “When he ascended on high
some. he led a host of captives,
Hebrews 6:2 and he gave gifts to men.”
9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it
and of instruction about washings, the
laying on of hands, the resurrection of the mean but that he had also descended
dead, and eternal judgment. into the lower regions, the earth?
Hebrews 11:35 1 Peter 3:18–20 (ESV)
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins,
Women received back their dead by res-
urrection. Some were tortured, refusing to the righteous for the unrighteous, that he
accept release, so that they might rise might bring us to God, being put to death
again to a better life. in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19
1 Peter 1:3 in which he went and proclaimed to the
Blessed be the God and Father of our spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly
Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great did not obey, when God’s patience waited
mercy, he has caused us to be born in the days of Noah, while the ark was
again to a living hope through the resur- being prepared, in which a few, that is,
rection of Jesus Christ from the dead, eight persons, were brought safely
1 Peter 3:21 through water.
Baptism, which corresponds to this, now 1 Peter 4:6 (ESV)
6 For this is why the gospel was preached
saves you, not as a removal of dirt from
the body but as an appeal to God for a even to those who are dead, that though
good conscience, through the resurrec- judged in the flesh the way people are,
tion of Jesus Christ, they might live in the spirit the way God
Revelation 20:5 does.
Matthew 27:52–53 (ESV)


52 The tombs also were opened. And
many bodies of the saints who had fallen Matthew 5:22
asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of But I say to you that everyone who is an-
the tombs after his resurrection they went gry with his brother will be liable to judg-
into the holy city and appeared to many. ment; whoever insults his brother will be
liable to the council; and whoever says,
‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
Sheol-Death Will Matthew 5:29
If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it
be Defeated out and throw it away. For it is better that
Isaiah 25:7–8 (ESV) you lose one of your members than that
7 And he will swallow up on your whole body be thrown into hell.
this mountain Matthew 5:30
the covering that is cast over all peoples, And if your right hand causes you to sin,
the veil that is spread over all nations. cut it off and throw it away. For it is better
8 He will swallow up death that you lose one of your members than
forever; that your whole body go into hell.
and the Lord God will wipe Matthew 10:28
away tears from all faces, And do not fear those who kill the body
and the reproach of his people he will but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him
take away from all the earth, who can destroy both soul and body in
for the Lord has spoken. hell.
1 Corinthians 15:25–26 (ESV) Matthew 18:9
25 For he must reign until he has put all And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it
his enemies under his feet. 26 The last out and throw it away. It is better for you
enemy to be destroyed is death. to enter life with one eye than with two
Revelation 20:13–14 (ESV) eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
13 And the sea gave up the dead who Matthew 23:15
were in it, Death and Hades gave up the Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
dead who were in them, and they were hypocrites! For you travel across sea and
judged, each one of them, according to land to make a single proselyte, and
what they had done. 14 Then Death and when he becomes a proselyte, you make
Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. him twice as much a child of hell as your-
This is the second death, the lake of fire. selves.
Matthew 23:33
You serpents, you brood of vipers, how
Gehenna are you to escape being sentenced to
hell?


Mark 9:43 so shall your offspring and your name
And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it remain.
off. It is better for you to enter life crippled 23 From new moon to new moon,

than with two hands to go to hell, to the and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
unquenchable fire. all flesh shall come to worship before
Mark 9:45 me,
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it declares the Lord.
off. It is better for you to enter life lame 24 “And they shall go out and look on the

than with two feet to be thrown into hell. dead bodies of the men who have re-
Mark 9:47 belled against me. For their worm shall
And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it not die, their fire shall not be quenched,
out. It is better for you to enter the king- and they shall be an abhorrence to all
dom of God with one eye than with two flesh.”
eyes to be thrown into hell,
Luke 12:5 Jeremiah 7:30–34 (ESV)
But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him
who, after he has killed, has authority to 30 “For the sons of Judah have done evil
cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! in my sight, declares the Lord. They have
James 3:6 set their detestable things in the house
And the tongue is a fire, a world of un- that is called by my name, to defile it. 31
righteousness. The tongue is set among And they have built the high places of
our members, staining the whole body, Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son
setting on fire the entire course of life, of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their
and set on fire by hell. daughters in the fire, which I did not
command, nor did it come into my mind.
Gehennaʼs Background 32 Therefore, behold, the days are com-

ing, declares the Lord, when it will no
2 Kings 23:10 (ESV) more be called Topheth, or the Valley of
10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the
the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of
Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth,
might burn his son or his daughter as an because there is no room elsewhere. 33
offering to Molech. And the dead bodies of this people will be
food for the birds of the air, and for the
Isaiah 66:22–24 (ESV) beasts of the earth, and none will frighten
22 “For as the new heavens and the new
them away. 34 And I will silence in the cit-
earth ies of Judah and in the streets of Jerusa-
that I make lem the voice of mirth and the voice of
shall remain before me, says the Lord, gladness, the voice of the bridegroom


and the voice of the bride, for the land 2. In 12 places the NT also designates
shall become a waste. the place of eternal punishing fire (→
πῦρ) as γέεννα; 11 occurrences are
γέεννα, ης, ἡ geenna Gehenna; hell found in the Synoptic Gospels (Matt 5:22,
1. In the OT and Judaism — 2. In the NT 29f.; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43,
— 3. Related expressions 45, 47; Luke 12:5), 1 in James (3:6).
1. The NT designation of the fiery place Γέεννα is also localized in → ᾅδης in the
of punishment, γέεννα, was originally a → ἄβυσσος. But ᾅδης is considered the
topographical proper name. The “Valley abode of the dead for only a limited time
of Hinnom” (Heb. gê-hinnōm, Josh 15:8b; between death and the resurrection,
18:16b; Aram. gêhinnām, b. ʻErub. 19a), while γέεννα is thought of as the place of
“valley of the son of Hinnom” (Josh 15:8a; eternal torment for the godless after the
18:16a), or “valley of the sons of Hinnom” final judgment.
(2 Kgs 23:10), was the name of a valley On the basis of Jesus’ Sermon on the
in the southern part of Jerusalem that to- Mount, γέεννα threatens both the person
day is called Wâdi̮ er-Rabâbi. Sacrifices who is scornful of a brother (Matt 5:22)
of children took place here under Ahaz and the adulterer (vv. 29f.). Another pas-
and Manasseh (2 Kgs 16:3; 21:6). Be- sage holds out the prospect of the judg-
cause of these sacrifices, Josiah allowed ment of γέεννα to the Pharisees (23:33)
the valley to become unclean (2 Kgs and their proselytes (v. 15). A fearless
23:10). Prophetic threats of judgment confession before other people is ex-
identified the Valley of Hinnom as a future horted in reference to him who can con-
“valley of slaughter” (Jer 7:32; 19:6). demn to γέεννα (where soul and body
Jewish apocalyptic literature developed the
perish, Matt 10:28); God himself is
idea that one day God would purify the de-
filed world and throw evildoers into purifying meant, not the devil (Matt 10:28b par.
fire (cf. 1 Enoch 10:13; 18:11-16, etc.; Jub. Luke 12:5). One who leads others to re-
9:15; 1QH 3:29–36; 2 Bar. 37:1; see further bellion or is led to rebellion must be pre-
the words of John the Baptist: Matt 3:10, 12 pared to be thrown into the eternal fire
par. Luke 3:9, 17). In the conclusion of Isa
(Matt 18:9 par. Mark 9:43, 45, 47). James
31:9; 66:24 (cf. Mark 9:48), the anticipated
hell of fire is located in the Valley of Hinnom is V 1, p 240 thinking along similar lines
(1 Enoch 26:4; 27:1-3; 54:1-6; 56:3f.; when he describes the tongue as trans-
90:26f.). Eventually Jewish literature named mitting the fire of γέεννα—for those who
the hell of fire itself gêhinnom/gêhinnām, or allow themselves to be led astray by
γέεννα in its Greek form, without reference
words (Jas 3:6).
to the topography of Jerusalem (4 Ezra 7:36;
2 Bar. 59:10; 85:13; Sib. Or. i.103; ii.292; 3. In other places in the NT where the
rabbinic examples in Billerbeck 1023–25, eternal punishment of fire is considered,
1029ff.). the idea of γέεννα is always in the back-


ground, even when the word is not actu- earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for
ally present. This is true especially for the battle; their number is like the sand of the
use of κάμινος (Matt 13:42, 50; cf. Rev sea. 9 And they marched up over the
9:2) or λίμνη τοῦ πυρός (Rev 19:20; broad plain of the earth and surrounded
20:10, 14f.; 21:8; cf. 14:10); not only the the camp of the saints and the beloved
godless (cf. also Luke 16:24) but also Sa- city, but fire came down from heaven and
tan with his demons will be destroyed in it consumed them, 10 and the devil who had
by eternal fire (Matt 25:41; Rev 19:20; deceived them was thrown into the lake
20:10, 14; cf. T. Jud. 25:3; → ἄβυσσος of fire and sulfur where the beast and the
2). Perhaps 1 Cor 3:10–15; 2 Pet 3:5–13 false prophet were, and they will be tor-
(cf. Mark 9:49; Luke 17:29f.) teach that mented day and night forever and ever.
Judgment Before the Great White Throne
these expressions assume the purifying
11Then I saw a great white throne and
power of fire. Early Christianity shares
him who was seated on it. From his pres-
this view of eschatology with contempo-
ence earth and sky fled away, and no
rary Judaism. To be sure, the NT forgoes
place was found for them. 12 And I saw
a detailed description of the torments of
the dead, great and small, standing be-
hell; its reference to hell and its fire is
fore the throne, and books were opened.
useful for its ethical goals, not for the sat-
Then another book was opened, which is
isfaction of any religious curiosity (cf. on
the book of life. And the dead were
the other hand 1 Enoch 27:3f.). Some
judged by what was written in the books,
amount of present eschatology (cf. John
according to what they had done. 13 And
3:18f.; 12:31; 1 John 2:8f.) is encountered
the sea gave up the dead who were in it,
where γέεννα already threatens or con-
Death and Hades gave up the dead who
trols human beings (Matt 5:22; 23:15; Jas
were in them, and they were judged,
3:6).
each one of them, according to what they
O. Böcher1
had done. 14 Then Death and Hades
were thrown into the lake of fire. This is
Lake of Fire the second death, the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:7–14 (ESV)
The Defeat of Satan What About Paul?
7And when the thousand years are
ended, Satan will be released from his Romans 6:22–23 (ESV)
prison 8 and will come out to deceive the 22 But now that you have been set free

nations that are at the four corners of the from sin and have become slaves of God,

1Horst Robert Balz and Gerhard Schneider, vol. 1, Exegetical Dictionary of the New
Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1990-), 239-40.


the fruit you get leads to sanctification
and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages
of sin is death, but the free gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Thessalonians 1:9 (ESV)
9 They will suffer the punishment of eter-

nal destruction, away from the presence
of the Lord and from the glory of his
might,


Afterlife in the Bible Handout

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Afterlife in the Bible Handout