Bible Study The Goal: Get to the Tree of Life !

[Jay T]

Revelation 22:14 "Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city".

Keeping the commandments (Exodus 2-:3-17) gets one to the Tree of Life, OK ?
And Remember....the Tree of Life, is in heaven !

Adam & Eve lost their access to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:22-24)....BECAUSE...they DID NOT.....keep the commandments of God.

So then....how important is the commandments of God ?

Did Jesus ask anyone to keep the commandments in their own human strenght...NO !
HE Promised to help us......keep the commandments........

Romans 10:4 "For Christ [is] the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth".

 

[Bick]

Get to the tree of life

Jay T, maybe you believe your future is to eat of the tree of life to sustain yourself, but not me!

As a believer in gospel given to the Apostle Paul to preach, I am in the body of Christ; a special ecclesia made up of both believing Jews and Gentiles.

As set forth in Ephesians, the church/body is special: after having been vivified at the catching away to meet the Lord in the air (1 Cor. 15:51ff), we willl be enjoying every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies, that God has prepared. We will be joint-heirs with Christ, and, potentially we have been raised with Christ, sitting in the heavenly places with Him.
With new spiritual bodies, fit for the universe, we will be witnessing to unbelieving spirit beings (principalities and powers) in the celestials, the manifold wisdom of God (Eph. Chapts. 1-4), until all enemies in the celestials will become subject to Christ.

Meanwile, on the earth in the ages to come (the Millennium, and the New Earth) Christ, as king, with Israel co-reigning, will subject every enemy to Christ; then, as Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 15:23-28 and Phil. 2:10-11, with all enemies "made His footstool", every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Then Christ shall turn over the kingdom to God the Father, that God may be all in all.

So why would one want to eat of the tree of life when he, as a member of the church/body, can look forward to what we have in store for us in the heavenlies.

Bick

 

[JM]

What is the chief end of man?

Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him for ever.

 

[Jay T]

Re: Get to the tree of life

Jay T, maybe you believe your future is to eat of the tree of life to sustain yourself, but not me!

That's too bad, as only by getting to the Tree of Life will you have eternal life.

The Tree of Life is in heaven now, and promised to those who obey God's commandments.....
Revelation 22:14 Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.


Adam & Eve lost access to the Tree of Life when they BROKE God's commandments (Genesis 3:22-24).

Eternal life is promised ONLY to commandmetn-keepers......
19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Jesus Christ is the MEANS....by which anyone, can keep the commandments.

 

[JM]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... nism&hl=en

 

[Bick]

The goal--get to the tree of life!

No Jay T, the tree of life mentioned in Rev.22:14 is not for eternal life; it will undoubtedly sustain life in some special way to all who partake, for it says in Rev. 21:4 "...There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." NIV

THUS: In the new earth there will be no more dying.

And why leave out the River of Life? Don't you want to drink of it, too? After all, it flows from the throne of God and the Lamb, down the middle of the great street in the New Jerusalem. And, you wouldn't have to try and keep the commandments (which no one can keep perfectly). For we read in Rev. 22:17 "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.'"

Look at that, Jay T. It's free!

As a believer in the gospel Paul preached, I am in the church/body of Christ. Paul is our apostle and teacher, and I read in Rom.3 that all who are hoping to attain the righteousness of God by keeping the commandments will be sadly mistaken; for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none that seeketh God, there is none that understands. No one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather through the law we become conscious of sin. NIV.

Jay T, Salvation is of the Lord. We are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

We are saved by grace, kept saved by grace, and accomplish good works because of his grace.

I know I will gain eternal life when I, being mortal, will put on immortality at the calling of Christ, as set forth in 1 Cor. 15:51-56 and 1 Thes. 4:13-18. There, to meet the Lord in the air along with the dead in Christ, who have been raised and made incorruptible.

Nothing in the Scriptures says 'The tree of life is in heaven,' Are you calling Christ metaphorically, 'The tree of life?

Of course Jesus could say what he did, for he knew the hearts of men.
And what did Jesus tell him to do when the rich young man said he kept the commandments Jesus listed? He told the young man to "sell his possessions and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven."

Well, Jay T, does this fit you? Are you holding on to posessions? I'm being facetious. Thank God, through His grace, we who believe into Jesus Christ, are "in" Christ, and there is therefore no condemnation (no negative judgement). The law of the Spirit of life has set us free from the law of sin and death. Rom. 8:1-2.

Bick

 

[Solo]

Since the Seventh Day Adventists do not believe that Jesus did enough to gain them eternal life, they are still attempting to climb the tower of babel to gain access to heaven in order to eat of the tree of life all on their own abilities so that they can stand proud in the heavenlies and boast that they achieved what no other man could.

What a crying shame.

Since the Seventh Day Adventists do not believe that the soul and the body are separate, I wonder what they teach concerning that flesh and blood do not enter into heaven.

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 1 Corinthians 15:50

 

[Bick]

The goal....the tree of life!

Yes, Solo, it is a crying shame.

To not understand that Christ, the Lamb of God, "takes away the sins of the world," John 1:29, is sad, because any who don't understand this, must always be working at trying to make themselves "good enough" to warrent future deliverance.

There are other scriptures but this is so clear: 2 Cor. 5:17-19;

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, NOT COUNTING MEN'S SINS AGAINST THEM. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."

CAPITALS MINE FOR EMPHASIS.

The sin question is settled, but all will have to answer for their deeds.
The church/body of Christ will be judged at the bema of Christ in the heavenlies, and will gain or lose rewards, but not their salvation.

Well, Solo, I believe the Scriptures teach that man became a living soul, when the Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Gen. 2:7.
NOTICE: It didn't say a "soul" was breathed into man; it didn't say a separate soul was joined to a prepared body.

If you will do a word study of "soul"....which in Hebrew is "nephesh", and in Greek is "psuche,"....it will be seen that "soul" is related to man's consciousness, his desires, his feelings, etc.

Man is a living being with senses to enable him to experience all around him. Even air breathing animals that move or roam are called "soul" creatures (Gen. 1:20, 21, 24; 2:19; 9:3,4,8-10,12, etc.).

The difference being, man was "made in the image of God, after his likeness". As God thinks, reasons, has faith, so man can.

I'm not aware of what they teach concerning our body of blood and flesh not entering heaven.

Certainly, IMO, Paul in 1 Cor. 15:50 is writing from the context of what is called "the rapture." He has pointed out in vs. 42ff, using a figure of sowing a seed, which dies and brings forth something much more glorious:
So the dead (in Christ), having sown their natural (soulish..Greek) body (in death), will be raised a spiritual body; raised imperishable, in glory and power.

Bick

 

[Solo]

Re: The goal....the tree of life!

Yes, Solo, it is a crying shame.

To not understand that Christ, the Lamb of God, "takes away the sins of the world," John 1:29, is sad, because any who don't understand this, must always be working at trying to make themselves "good enough" to warrent future deliverance.

There are other scriptures but this is so clear: 2 Cor. 5:17-19;

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, NOT COUNTING MEN'S SINS AGAINST THEM. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."

CAPITALS MINE FOR EMPHASIS.

The sin question is settled, but all will have to answer for their deeds.
The church/body of Christ will be judged at the bema of Christ in the heavenlies, and will gain or lose rewards, but not their salvation.

Well, Solo, I believe the Scriptures teach that man became a living soul, when the Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Gen. 2:7.
NOTICE: It didn't say a "soul" was breathed into man; it didn't say a separate soul was joined to a prepared body.

If you will do a word study of "soul"....which in Hebrew is "nephesh", and in Greek is "psuche,"....it will be seen that "soul" is related to man's consciousness, his desires, his feelings, etc.

Man is a living being with senses to enable him to experience all around him. Even air breathing animals that move or roam are called "soul" creatures (Gen. 1:20, 21, 24; 2:19; 9:3,4,8-10,12, etc.).

The difference being, man was "made in the image of God, after his likeness". As God thinks, reasons, has faith, so man can.

I'm not aware of what they teach concerning our body of blood and flesh not entering heaven.

Certainly, IMO, Paul in 1 Cor. 15:50 is writing from the context of what is called "the rapture." He has pointed out in vs. 42ff, using a figure of sowing a seed, which dies and brings forth something much more glorious:
So the dead (in Christ), having sown their natural (soulish..Greek) body (in death), will be raised a spiritual body; raised imperishable, in glory and power.

Bick

The Old Testament teaches of a place named Sheol in the Hebrew, and the same place is named Hades in the New Testament Greek. Sheol is the place that incorporates the place of the dead bodies, the disembodied souls of the righteous, the disembodied souls of the unrighteous, the place called the grave, tomb, sepulcher, and the place called the pit and abyss.

Please explain the following scripture:

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 1 Peter 3: 18-20

Where did Jesus go to preach to the spirits in prison, and did he physically go to preach to them, or did His spirit/soul go to preach to them in Sheol/Hades?

 

[Jay T]

Re: Get to the tree of life

So why would one want to eat of the tree of life when he, as a member of the church/body, can look forward to what we have in store for us in the heavenlies.

Bick

Heaven is promised ONLY to those who comply with the conditions, that God has set forth in the Bible.

I believe that Jesus Christ knew what HE was talking about regarding eternal life.......
#1.) Matthew 19:16 " And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments".

#2.) Revelation 22:14 Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

And ONLY thru Jesus Christ can anyone keep the commandments of God, as no human can do so in their own strength.Romans 10:4).

 

[Fnerb]

Re: Get to the tree of life

Heaven is promised ONLY to those who comply with the conditions, that God has set forth in the Bible.

And ONLY thru Jesus Christ can anyone keep the commandments of God, as no human can do so in their own strength.Romans 10:4).

The only path to heaven is through Jesus. When you get to heaven, no matter the number of times you kept a commandment (or moral law), you broke it many times more.

1 Timothy 2:5-7 tells us exactly why we have a place in heaven. Because when we are judged, it's not on our merit.

No ammount of commandments you keep here on this earth will get you to heaven. That is not to say you have a free pass to live an immoral life. Jesus tells us that we are known by our fruit (Matthew 7:20). Why would someone whom believes strive to keep His commandments? Out of love. Not to mention that continued, chosen sin (when you know it's a sin but continue to openly choose to do it) destroys faith.

So yes Jay T, I believe that each of us should strive to live a Godly life, but it's important to remember that none of it (our salvation) is on our own merit. Remember the criminal crucified with Jesus? (Luke 23: 39-43)

Jesus saves, not the good works you do or the commandments you keep.

 

[Jay T]

Re: Get to the tree of life

The only path to heaven is through Jesus. When you get to heaven, no matter the number of times you kept a commandment (or moral law), you broke it many times more.

1 Timothy 2:5-7 tells us exactly why we have a place in heaven. Because when we are judged, it's not on our merit.

No ammount of commandments you keep here on this earth will get you to heaven. That is not to say you have a free pass to live an immoral life. Jesus tells us that we are known by our fruit (Matthew 7:20). Why would someone whom believes strive to keep His commandments? Out of love. Not to mention that continued, chosen sin (when you know it's a sin but continue to openly choose to do it) destroys faith.

So yes Jay T, I believe that each of us should strive to live a Godly life, but it's important to remember that none of it (our salvation) is on our own merit. Remember the criminal crucified with Jesus? (Luke 23: 39-43)

Jesus saves, not the good works you do or the commandments you keep.

Maybe I should have rephrased what I said.
Jesus, is the means, to keeping the commandments.......
Romans 10:4 For Christ [is] the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Without the power of Jesus Christ living HIS life within us, NO ONE can keep the commandments of God....and therefore have no hope of getting into heaven.
YES, Jesus is the means and the WAY.

 

[Bick]

Quote from Solo:

The Old Testament teaches of a place named Sheol in the Hebrew, and the same place is named Hades in the New Testament Greek. Sheol is the place that incorporates the place of the dead bodies, the disembodied souls of the righteous, the disembodied souls of the unrighteous, the place called the grave, tomb, sepulcher, and the place called the pit and abyss.

Please explain the following scripture:

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 1 Peter 3: 18-20

Where did Jesus go to preach to the spirits in prison, and did he physically go to preach to them, or did His spirit/soul go to preach to them in Sheol/Hades?

HI Solo. The subject of "immortal soul" is probably covered in some other link, but without getting into too many scriptures, let's look at 1 Pet. 3:18-20.

It is important to use as literal a rendering of this passage as possible. I will be quoting from a Greek-English Interlinear N.T by George Berry.

"..because, indeed Christ once for sins suffered, (the) just for (the) unjust, that us he might bring to God; having been put to death in flesh, but made alive in spirit, in which also to the in prison spirits having gone he preached (who) disobeyed sometime when once was waiting the of God longsuffering in (the) days of Noe..."

First, Peter is telling of Christ's suffering (on the cross), having been put to death in flesh, but made alive in spirit.

"Made alive" is Christ's resurrection. He died and was raised.

Then, in spirit, he proclaimed or heralded to the spirits in prison his triumph over the grave, that they are under his authority; for as we read in vs. 22. "..Jesus Christ who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him."

IMO, these "spirits" are not human, but are the same that Peter tells about in 2 Pet. 2:4: the angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation in the days of Noe. They have been thrust down into Tartarus (Greek), being held in pits of darkness until they are judged. See Jude 6.

As to the meanings of Sheol and Hades, I recommend keeping to the meanings derived from the words themselves, using a concordance, and to how the words are used in their context.

I've read a number of the stories and parables written by the Rabbiis and other Jewish philosophers, and IMO, they are fanciful and deviate from Moses and the Prophets. I believe they were influenced by the 70 years captivity in Babylon, with its mystic philosophies.

It takes time, but look up a number of scriptures in which "soul" is used.
I think you will find that the soul is said to die, be killed, be destroyed, etc;
SOUL could be said to be the consciousness, the feelings, the desires, produced by the breath of life vitalizing the body. For Gen.2:7 tells us "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

Bick

 

[Jay T]

SOUL could be said to be the consciousness, the feelings, the desires, produced by the breath of life vitalizing the body. For Gen.2:7 tells us "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

Bick

There is NO SOUL without a body....as it takes a body plus the breath of life (spirit) to make a soul.

If the Breath of Life is missing, there is no soul.
And, if the body is missing, there is no soul.

 

[Solo]

The Seventh Day Adventist teaching on the soul and body being one is a false teaching. Those who have the Holy Spirit guiding them as they read the Bible recognize these teachings as false. A good book to purchase to understand these false teachings has been written by a former SDA pastor who graduated from a Seventh Day Adventist college. The following is an excerpt from his book, EXPOSING SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM by Russell Earl Kelly, Ph.D.

• Psalm 16:10 For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol; neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay [qeburah: pit, corruption].
  
  Acts 2:27 Because Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay [corruption].
  
  Acts 2:31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.
  
  Ephesians 4:9 (Now this {expression,} “He ascended,†what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?
  
  1 Peter 3:18-19 For Christ also died for sins once for all, {the} just for {the} unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits {now} in prison.
  
  Psalm 16:10 is quoted in Acts 2:27-31; Acts 13:35 and alluded to in Acts 13:34-37. It is applied to Jesus Christ.
  
  One: The texts prove that the New Testament meaning of Hades and the Hebrew Sheol are interchangeable.
  
  Two: The texts reveal that Jesus’ “soul†[psuche} did not cease to exist at death.
  
  Three: Jesus’ “soul†went to Sheol/Hades at death. It did not cease to exist.
  
  Four: Jesus’ body, or flesh, did not see corruption or decay in the pit [qeburah]. Although “pit†includes all of the “death†concept, the words for “grave,†“tomb,†and “sepulcher†are not used here. The Greek word of “corruption†is diaphthora (Strong’s 1312) and is defined as the bodily decay after death. The word occurs six times in the New Testament and always refers to Psalm 16:10.
  
  Five: According to Ephesians 4:9, Jesus “descended into the lower parts of the earth.†This is another clear connection between Sheol and Hades, and not to the grave. Jesus’ grave, tomb, or sepulcher was a cave above ground (Matthew 27:61, Matthew 27:64, Matthew 27:66; Matthew 28:1). Although the Greek word for grave occurs forty times in the New Testament, it is clearly not the “lower parts of the earth†which has a distinctly Sheol or Hades implication.[list:856f7]
  The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary says, “[This is] not the place of torment; nor, on the other hand, merely the grave, which is not referred to until the next clause; but the unseen world of disembodied souls: the Hebrew Sheol, the Greek Hades.†[Acts 2:27]
  
  Barnes Notes says, “The language used here implies, of course, that what is here called the soul would be in the abode to which the name Hell [Sheol] is given, but “how long†it would be there is not intimated. The thought simply is, that it would not be “left†there; it would not be suffered to “remain†there.†[Acts 2:27]
  
  The Keil & Delitzsch Commentary says, “There is no passage of Scripture that so closely resembles this as 1 Thess. 5:23…. David here expresses as a confident expectation; for ‘ap (Hebrews 6:39)] implies that he also hopes for his body that which he hopes for his spirit-life centere in the heart, and for his soul raised to dignity both by the work of creation and of grace.†[Acts 2:27]

[/list:u:856f7]

Russell Earl Kelly's book entitled EXPOSING SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM is available at the various online book distributers such as amazon.com.

 

[Bick]

Goal: to get to the tree of life

Hi Solo. From Young's Concordance: the literal meaning of "Sheol" is "the unseen state;" and "hades" also means "the unseen."

In the scriptures, man is called a "soul", and is said to "have a soul"

From so many scriptures, I have found that "soul" is a phenomenon; it is the perception of the senses; it is simply the human experience.

When a person dies, throughout the bible, it says "he dies;" the whole person.

As for Jesus death: in Matt.27:6, the angel said "HE is not here; HE has risen, just as He said. Come see the place where HE lay."
In Mark 16:6, "HE is not here. See the place where they laid HIM."
In Luke 24:6, "HE is not here; HE has risen."

Capitals mine for emphasis. Notice, it wasn't just his body that had died. HE died.

When man dies he returns to dust from whence he came (Gen. 3:19).
It's true, David prophecys that Christ's soul: his consciousness, feelings, desires, will not be left in the unseen (Sheol--hades),or simply disapppear.

You may not like the NIV; their compilers put it this way in Acts 2:27, "because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay."

Eph. 4:9 must be interpreted as a metaphor, for if Christ died completely, and I believed he did, then "lower parts of the earth" has to be a figure of speech.

This verse only says "lower parts of the earth." Jesus, in Matt. 12:40, says, "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Jesus says he, the 'son of man, will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.' But, we know he was in the tomb at ground level.
"In the heart of the earth," like the verse in Eph., has to be a figure of speech.

If you tried to locate Sheol: in the story of Jonah, he said he was in Sheol (Hebrew) in the fishes belly.

Solo, isn't there a tendency to label a doctrine as false (even though it might be scriptural), just because a particular group considered spurious teaches it?

Bick

 

[Solo]

Re: Goal: to get to the tree of life

Hi Solo. From Young's Concordance: the literal meaning of "Sheol" is "the unseen state;" and "hades" also means "the unseen."

In the scriptures, man is called a "soul", and is said to "have a soul"

From so many scriptures, I have found that "soul" is a phenomenon; it is the perception of the senses; it is simply the human experience.

When a person dies, throughout the bible, it says "he dies;" the whole person.

As for Jesus death: in Matt.27:6, the angel said "HE is not here; HE has risen, just as He said. Come see the place where HE lay."
In Mark 16:6, "HE is not here. See the place where they laid HIM."
In Luke 24:6, "HE is not here; HE has risen."

Capitals mine for emphasis. Notice, it wasn't just his body that had died. HE died.

When man dies he returns to dust from whence he came (Gen. 3:19).
It's true, David prophecys that Christ's soul: his consciousness, feelings, desires, will not be left in the unseen (Sheol--hades),or simply disapppear.

You may not like the NIV; their compilers put it this way in Acts 2:27, "because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay."

Eph. 4:9 must be interpreted as a metaphor, for if Christ died completely, and I believed he did, then "lower parts of the earth" has to be a figure of speech.

This verse only says "lower parts of the earth." Jesus, in Matt. 12:40, says, "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Jesus says he, the 'son of man, will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.' But, we know he was in the tomb at ground level.
"In the heart of the earth," like the verse in Eph., has to be a figure of speech.

If you tried to locate Sheol: in the story of Jonah, he said he was in Sheol (Hebrew) in the fishes belly.

Solo, isn't there a tendency to label a doctrine as false (even though it might be scriptural), just because a particular group considered spurious teaches it?

Bick

Bick,
First of all, any and all teachings that contradict the truth in God's Word are false, and any group that stands upon these false teachings are abiding in false doctrine leavening the whole group. It is very important to understand the Word by studying to show oneself approved unto God, rightyly dividing the word of truth.

15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

Secondly, let us examine the Hebrew word Sheol. The word Sheol is translated into English using various words that can be confusing to the reader. The King James Version translates Sheol as grave 30 times, hell 31 times, and pit 3 times. The New King James Version translates Sheol as grave 25 times, hell 19 times, Sheol 18 times, and pit 2 times. The New International Version translates Sheol as grave 56 times, death 6 times, realm of death below 1 time, and depths 1 time. The New American Standard Version and the Revised Standard Version use the Hebrew word Sheol 63 times, and lowest Sheol/depths of Sheol 1 time.

The question must then be asked what is Sheol? Here are the various definitions of the Hebrew word Sheol:

• International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Sheol
  This word is often translated in the King James Version “grave†….It means really the unseen world, the state or abode of the dead…. The English Revisers have acted somewhat inconsistently in leaving “grave†or “pit†in the historical books and putting Sheol in the margin, while substituting Sheol in the poetical writings, and putting “grave†in the margin….
  Not a state of unconsciousness: Yet it would be a mistake to infer, because of these strong and sometimes poetically heightened contrasts to the world of the living, that Sheol was conceived of as absolutely a place without consciousness, or some dim remembrance of the world above. This is not the case. Necromancy rested on the idea that there was some communication between the world above and the world below.
  Post-canonical Period: There is no doubt, at all events, that in the post-canonical Jewish literature (the Apocrypha and apocalyptic writings) a very considerable development is manifest in the idea of Sheol. Distinction between good and bad in Israel is emphasized; Sheol becomes for certain classes an intermediate state between death and resurrection; for the wicked and for Gentiles it is nearly a synonym for Gehenna (Hell).
  
  Nelson’s Bible Dictionary: Sheol
  The abode of the dead. Sheol is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek Hades, which means “the unseen world.â€Â
  Sheol was regarded as an underground region, shadowy and gloomy, where disembodied souls had a conscious but dull and inactive existence. The Hebrew people regarded Sheol as a place to which both the righteous and unrighteous go at death, a place where punishment is received and rewards are enjoyed. Sheol is pictured as having an insatiable appetite.
  However, God is present in Sheol. It is open and known to Him. This suggests that in death God’s people remain under His care, and the wicked never escape His judgment. Sheol gives meaning to Psalm 16:10. Peter saw the fulfillment of this messianic psalm in Jesus’ resurrection.
  
  Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Dictionary, 1960:â€ÂGraveâ€Â
  The Hebrew Sheol, a poetic expression for the grave, is difficult to translate. In poetic sections of the Bible it frequently appears in parallel constructions with “death†and “pit,†a poetic word for grave. Because of the theological implications of “Hell†(not inherent in the Hebrew word), this rendering is less desirable than grave.
  
  Smith’s Bible Dictionary: “Hellâ€Â
  It would perhaps have been better to retain the Hebrew word, Sheol, or else render it always by “the grave†or “the pit.†It is deep and dark in the center of the earth, having within it depths on depths, and fashioned with gates and bars. In this cavernous realm are souls of dead men, the Rephaim and ill spirits. It is clear that in many passages the O. T. Sheol can only mean the grave.
  
  New Unger’s Bible Dictionary: Sheol
  The world of the dead…. There seems to be an allusion to the belief that there is a dark and deep abyss beneath the center of the earth, inhabited by departed spirits, but not necessarily a place of torment…. In the great majority of cases in the OT, Sheol is used to signify the grave….
  
  Vine’s Expository Dictionary: Sheol
  First, the word means the state of death…. It is the final resting place of all men…. Sheol is parallel to Hebrew words for “pit†or “Hell,†“corruption†or “decay,†and “destruction.â€Â
  Second, Sheol is used of a place of conscious existence after death…. It is an undesirable place for the wicked and a refuge for the righteous. Thus Sheol is also a place of reward for the righteous….

In Russell Earl Kelly's book, EXPOSING SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM he gives a comprehensive definition of Sheol:

• Sheol is the proper place-name for “death,†“the pit,†and “the realm of the dead.†Although it includes the place for both the conscious “soul†and the “grave†for the body, it never stands for either of them alone. While Sheol is the place-name, “death†is the general description, and “the pit†is the geographical description. All three terms contain souls and graves.

Following the definition that Dr. Kelly gives, he states the following:

• It is my purpose to demonstrate that the preceding definition of Sheol, at least as far as the Old Testament is concerned, is correct. This definition has been derived as the result of several years of pondering a definition that is consistent with every Bible usage of the word Sheol.

Dr. Kelly also gives ten characteristics of Sheol as taught in the Old Testament:

• One: Sheol, “death†and “the pit†are all-inclusive and inter-changeable terms.
  [/*:m:0242e]
• Two: Sheol is the proper “place-name†which includes “death†and “the pit.†It most often focuses on the “soulâ€Â.
  [/*:m:0242e]
• Three: “Death†is the “general descriptive term†which includes Sheol and “the pit.†It also can be a personification.
  [/*:m:0242e]
• Four: “The pit†is the “geographical description†of Sheol and “death.†The pit is a very deep multi-chambered chasm in the earth with caves, or recesses. It contains both the graves and the souls of the dead.
  [/*:m:0242e]
• Five: In Sheol, “souls†are in a conscious, or semi-conscious, dull and dark condition. They can become aroused, become excited, see, speak and hear.
  [/*:m:0242e]
• Six: Before the resurrection of Christ, the souls of the righteous were also in Sheol at rest and peace.
  [/*:m:0242e]
• Seven: The souls of the wicked in Sheol receive some kind of torment and suffering.
  [/*:m:0242e]
• Eight: “Souls†are located in the deeper and deepest parts of Sheol, death and the pit.
  [/*:m:0242e]
• Nine: “Graves†are only one part of Sheol, death and the pit. They are usually located in the upper parts around its mouth.
  [/*:m:0242e]
• Ten: “Grave†is NOT “equivalent†to Sheol, death and the pit. It is only a part of them.[/*:m:0242e]

Concerning Jonah, let us look at Jonah's cry to the Lord for salvation from the place for the wicked in Sheol.

Jonah believed that the wicked would continue to suffer in Sheol after death.Notice that Jonah cried for help from the depth of Sheol (not a shallow grave or tomb or sepulcher). Jonah then explains that he was cast into the deep, into the heart of the seas and he was engulfed. He says that he was expelled from God's sight (a characteristic of the place of the wicked in Sheol). He was at the point of death at the bottom of the sea, and he had descended to the roots of the mountains (the very bottom). Jonah recites the Hebrew thought as he exclaimed that the earth with its bars had imprisoned him forever; but that the LORD God had brought JONAH'S LIFE from the PIT.

Jonah 2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish, 2 and he said, “I called out of my distress to the LORD, and He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; Thou didst hear my voice. 3 “For Thou hadst cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current engulfed me. All Thy breakers and billows passed over me. 4 “So I said, ‘I have been expelled from Thy sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Thy holy temple.’ 5 “Water encompassed me to the point of death. The great deep engulfed me, weeds were wrapped around my head. 6 “I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars {was} around me forever, but Thou hast brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.

Let us conclude with Deuteronomy 32:22:

For a fire is kindled by my anger, And shall burn to the lowest hell; It shall consume the earth with her increase, And set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

 

[Jay T]

The Seventh Day Adventist teaching on the soul and body being one is a false teaching.

Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

 

[Solo]

Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

 

[Jay T]

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life(Spirit); and man became a living soul.