An Exercise in Refuting False Doctrine
We are closing in on the final lesson or two concerning the doctrine of Hell. As we do so, we’ll finish considering the testimony of the Old Covenant prophets and psalmists, and then examine what kind of damage is done to the faith when the doctrine of Hell is denied. Let’s start off with a couple of quotes on Hell by “big names” which are not exactly fundamentalists. Their sentiments, however, are helpful here.
The doctrine of hell is not “medieval priestcraft” for frightening people into giving money to the church: it is Christ’s deliberate judgment on sin…. We cannot repudiate hell without altogether repudiating Christ.
—DOROTHY SAYERS
The safest road to Hell is the gradual one — the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.
—C. S. LEWIS
Gradual, gentle damnation is the effect achieved by so many wolves in the sheep’s clothing of evangelicalism. They’re driving Great Grandma to the church picnic, and she’s holding her peach cobbler, which is about to overflow her pan. Preaching and teaching is done in the most cautious and gentle fashion. To avoid the potholes of “Hell, judgment, wrath, etc…” they drive miles around sound doctrine. They also leave Christ and His teaching behind.
What are the merits of utilizing the Old Testament in a study like this? The Old Testament is God-breathed, profitable for doctrine! This, at least, is what Paul told Timothy (2 Timothy 3:14-17). Four questions will serve us in our Old Testament component of this study. We’ve examined the first, and are ready to engage the second.
How is “Sheol” Used in the Old Testament?
When working up a denial of hell, in the effort to reframe Christianity, a denial of Scripture’s clarity is essential. The term “Sheol” is trotted out early in such a campaign, to demonstrate the foggery of divine revelation. At some point a clever doubting churchman will note that the King James translated “Sheol” along with other terms as “Hell” and caused a great deal of misunderstanding. While this translation faux pas is lamentable, it does not make God’s word unclear. All we have to do is read about “Sheol” in its Old Testament contexts and we will better understand how these same themes are more fully developed in the New Testament. There is harmony here, not contradiction. How is “Sheol” used in the Old Testament? We see it used in at least three ways: the grave, a punishment and an enemy.
The Grave
The term “Sheol” has an onomatopoeic feel, speaking to that which is hollow. I recall when my father-in-law died, my wife’s brother in the room, an atheist, was crushed by the difference between life and death. Even he understood what was manifest in the passing. One moment Dad was there. The next moment, he was gone. His body was hollow. Connected to this Hebrew word picture is that in the ancient near east the body was placed in a hole in the ground or an opening in a cave. These too were hollow. “Sheol” thus can be translated as “the pit.” Because the pits into which bodies were lain went down, the “direction” of Sheol was understood as “down.” This contrasted with the direction of life which was up. Up and walking meant you were alive. Above ground meant life; below ground meant death. Indeed, with the swallowing up of Dathan and Abiram by the earth (Numbers 16) and the promises of God written in the stars (Genesis 15), the directions of death and life were deeply entrenched.
Sheol is a flexible term which always refers to death, but can often include considerations of the afterlife. As always, context is king. In Genesis 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31 we read of Jacob’s sorrow concerning the “loss” of Joseph. He fully expects to go down into “Sheol” in sorrow. The risk of losing Benjamin makes this feeling all the worse. Here are the first four uses of “Sheol” and it clearly refers to the grave. We often make many considerations about the choices of our lives and make deep reflections upon the course of our lives in light of the grave. Jonathan Edwards’ famous resolutions took this into account. How will we want to have lived once we have died?
A Judgment
When dealing with the term “Sheol” in the Old Testament, we need to remember what God first said about death:
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
Genesis 2:16-17
Death is God’s determined judgment upon sinners. God sentences His rebellious creatures to death. We understand that this death encompasses more than mere physical expiration. As the Old Testament deals with death, through the metaphor of Sheol, the judgment of God is a perennial theme. Take for example:
The Lord is known by the judgment He executes; The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten; The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.
Psalm 9:16-18
While we certainly believe according to the Scriptures that God punishes the wicked with conscious eternal torment, that is not the direct use of the term “Sheol” in this context. Here, death is being declared as the tool God uses to judge the wicked. Sheol is often seen as God’s punishment. Consider the following two passages, Psalm 6:1-5; 31:16-18. David deserves the punishment of death, but desires to continue in praise of the LORD. He appeals to the mercy of God. David’s enemies deserve death and he desires their profanities to cease sounding. Death is also the eventual punishment of the fool. We see this in Proverbs 5:5; 7:27; 9:18. The fool sows folly and reaps death. Because Sheol is seen as a punishment for sinners, it is also used in more poetic ways. In Psalm 88:1-7 Heman the Ezrahite writes of Sheol metaphorically, describing the judgment of God upon him in terms of death. In a prolonged and eloquent way, the psalmist says to God, “You’re killing me!”
When Sheol is applied as a punishment, this humbles the arrogance of the wicked. Recall that eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a remarkably prideful act. To define good and evil for oneself rather than submit to the definitions of the Creator is supreme arrogance. Thus, death, as the punishment for such sin, has a markedly humbling impact. This is expressed in Isaiah 5:13-16, regarding the sin and punishment of Israel. It also appears in God’s judgment of the king of Babylon,
The whole earth is at rest and quiet; They break forth into singing. Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you, And the cedars of Lebanon, Saying, ‘Since you were cut down, No woodsman has come up against us.’ “Hell from beneath is excited about you, To meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations. They all shall speak and say to you: ‘Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, And the sound of your stringed instruments; The maggot is spread under you, And worms cover you.’ “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. “Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?’
Isaiah 14:7-17
This cartoon demonstrates that death is a humbling and thus fitting punishment brought against the proud and arrogant king. The cartoon works due to the assumption that there is some kind of continued awareness of one’s life after death.
An Enemy
One aspect about Sheol which is often stumbling for the New Covenant believer is the way in which the Old Covenant saints sometimes dealt with the grave. On the frontside of the resurrection, they felt most keenly that Sheol was an enemy. This is true. The negative light which the saints often cast on Sheol is best understood in this light. If Sheol is read only as Hell, this leads to a great deal of bad theology. The notion that the Saints are in danger of hell is wrong. Consider how closely the idea of enemies and Sheol are intertwined:
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said: I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.
Psalm 18:1-6
There are many other examples, but the entirety of Psalm 30 would be a preeminent meditation on the subject.
The theme of “Sheol” does not obfuscate the doctrine of Hell. We find that the OT calls death an enemy. This enemy will be defeated.
For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
1 Corinthians 15:25-26
