Doulos Iesou
Member
- Mar 22, 2013
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Introduction:
In another thread we have been briefly discussing the nature Hades itself, and some believe that Hades is the place where the final judgement takes place. This is demonstrably not the case as I will demonstrate.
Hades is Sheol:
πάντα ὅσα ἂν εὕρῃ ἡ χείρ σου τοῦ ποιῆσαι,
ὡς ἡ δύναμίς σου ποίησον,
ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ποίημα καὶ λογισμὸς καὶ γνῶσις
καὶ σοφία ἐν ᾅδῃ, ὅπου σὺ πορεύῃ ἐκεῖ. (Ecclesiasties 9:10 LXX)
In case you don't read Greek, the highlighted word here is Hades. Hades is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Sheol, as you will notice in the English translation they supply the transliteration of the word in most of the literal translations for this verse and others.
We must also understand that the use of this word Hades was only used in the context of the Jewish people, primarily in Jesus ministry. This was because the Jews he was speaking with had a knowledge of the Koine Greek used in the Septuagint rather than the Greek underworld of Hades.. though the thought of "underworld" is carried over from the ancient Greek language, the particulars are certainly different.
These are important ideas for determining what Hades meant in the NT.
Hades in the OT (Sheol):
Leading NT Scholar NT Wright has these words to say about the OT teaching on the afterlife and Sheol.
In Job 7:7-10 he about how he who goes down into Sheol (Hades) does not come up, it was believed by the ancient Jews until the post-exilic period that Sheol was a dark underworld of silence where those who dwelt there were in a sleep-like comatose state, that all activity, physical or mental has ceased.
Hence you will find a strong emphasis on the life lived to the fullest and the prayers for the life to be extended, there is little written about the hope of life after death and it was in reference to the resurrection, not a disembodied paradise.
Hades in the NT:
Hades is not a word that comes up often in the NT, it is only found in the following passages (Matthew 11:23, Matthew 16:18, Luke 10:15, Luke 16:23, Acts 2:27, Acts 2:31, Revelation 1:8, Revelation 6:8, Revelation 20:13, Revelation 20:14). We can observe that this was primarily used in the context of Jewish people, Jesus and his teachings in the gospels, and Peter's sermon in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (though used in reference to the grave.. not the underworld).
In Revelation, it is used as the abode to the dead and also to metaphorically represent a rider of the 4th seal who came with death to bring.. well death.
Much of the OT understanding seemed to have been carried over from the NT as it describes an intermediate type of state that someone goes down to.. an underworld. Hades is seen in Revelation 20 to be dumped into the lake of fire in a sense. Everything associated with death and the end of life seems to be swallowed up in the lake of fire.
Conclusion:
As it has been determined, not just on my opinion alone, but with support of reputable resources and scholarly insight that is quite unanimous. The idea of Hades in the NT is carried over from the understanding of Sheol the world of the dead as understood by ancient Jews and written on quite extensively in the OT.
Therefore, Hades cannot be referring to the final punishment as from early on in the OT people currently were dwelling and going to Hades.
Blessings in Christ,
Servant of Jesus
In another thread we have been briefly discussing the nature Hades itself, and some believe that Hades is the place where the final judgement takes place. This is demonstrably not the case as I will demonstrate.
Hades is Sheol:
πάντα ὅσα ἂν εὕρῃ ἡ χείρ σου τοῦ ποιῆσαι,
ὡς ἡ δύναμίς σου ποίησον,
ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ποίημα καὶ λογισμὸς καὶ γνῶσις
καὶ σοφία ἐν ᾅδῃ, ὅπου σὺ πορεύῃ ἐκεῖ. (Ecclesiasties 9:10 LXX)
In case you don't read Greek, the highlighted word here is Hades. Hades is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Sheol, as you will notice in the English translation they supply the transliteration of the word in most of the literal translations for this verse and others.
In the LXX ᾅδης(hades) is almost always a rendering of שְׁאוֹל(Sheol). In the OT this signifies the dark (Job 10:21 f.) “realm of the dead†which is set beneath the ocean (26:5) and which consigns all men indiscriminately (Ps. 89:49) behind its portals to an eternal (Job 7:9 f.; 16:22; Qoh. 12:5) shadowy existence (Is. 14:9), cf. 38:10; Job 38:17. This OT שְׁאוֹל idea is in essential agreement with the conception of the future world found in popular Babylonian belief.
. Vol. 1: Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964- (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (146–147). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
. Vol. 1: Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964- (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (146–147). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
We must also understand that the use of this word Hades was only used in the context of the Jewish people, primarily in Jesus ministry. This was because the Jews he was speaking with had a knowledge of the Koine Greek used in the Septuagint rather than the Greek underworld of Hades.. though the thought of "underworld" is carried over from the ancient Greek language, the particulars are certainly different.
These are important ideas for determining what Hades meant in the NT.
Hades in the OT (Sheol):
Leading NT Scholar NT Wright has these words to say about the OT teaching on the afterlife and Sheol.
Ecclesiastes, too, insists that death is the end, and there is no return. Though nobody can be sure what precisely happens at death, as far as we can tell humans are in this respect no different from beasts:
The fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows whether the human spirit [or: ‘breath’, ruach] goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward to the earth?
No: to die is to be forgotten for good. Death means that the body returns to the dust, and the breath to God who gave it; meaning not that an immortal part of the person goes to live with God, but that the God who breathed life’s breath into human nostrils in the first place will simply withdraw it into his own possession.
Wright, N. T. (2003). The resurrection of the Son of God. Christian Origins and the Question of God (98–99). London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
The fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows whether the human spirit [or: ‘breath’, ruach] goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward to the earth?
No: to die is to be forgotten for good. Death means that the body returns to the dust, and the breath to God who gave it; meaning not that an immortal part of the person goes to live with God, but that the God who breathed life’s breath into human nostrils in the first place will simply withdraw it into his own possession.
Wright, N. T. (2003). The resurrection of the Son of God. Christian Origins and the Question of God (98–99). London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
In Job 7:7-10 he about how he who goes down into Sheol (Hades) does not come up, it was believed by the ancient Jews until the post-exilic period that Sheol was a dark underworld of silence where those who dwelt there were in a sleep-like comatose state, that all activity, physical or mental has ceased.
Hence you will find a strong emphasis on the life lived to the fullest and the prayers for the life to be extended, there is little written about the hope of life after death and it was in reference to the resurrection, not a disembodied paradise.
Hades in the NT:
Hades is not a word that comes up often in the NT, it is only found in the following passages (Matthew 11:23, Matthew 16:18, Luke 10:15, Luke 16:23, Acts 2:27, Acts 2:31, Revelation 1:8, Revelation 6:8, Revelation 20:13, Revelation 20:14). We can observe that this was primarily used in the context of Jewish people, Jesus and his teachings in the gospels, and Peter's sermon in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (though used in reference to the grave.. not the underworld).
In Revelation, it is used as the abode to the dead and also to metaphorically represent a rider of the 4th seal who came with death to bring.. well death.
Much of the OT understanding seemed to have been carried over from the NT as it describes an intermediate type of state that someone goes down to.. an underworld. Hades is seen in Revelation 20 to be dumped into the lake of fire in a sense. Everything associated with death and the end of life seems to be swallowed up in the lake of fire.
Conclusion:
As it has been determined, not just on my opinion alone, but with support of reputable resources and scholarly insight that is quite unanimous. The idea of Hades in the NT is carried over from the understanding of Sheol the world of the dead as understood by ancient Jews and written on quite extensively in the OT.
Therefore, Hades cannot be referring to the final punishment as from early on in the OT people currently were dwelling and going to Hades.
Blessings in Christ,
Servant of Jesus
