Death and the Afterlife, Part III: Sheol

I emphatically believe there is an afterlife called Sheol.  Sheol is SHAL or SHAWL in Hebrew and means world of the dead.  It is pronounced sheh-ole’, with a long e.  Translators over the centuries have also called this hell.

The individual letters in the word Sheol tell us much about its meaning.  Hebrew is read from right to left.  The first letter of Sheol looks like a ‘W’ and is the letter ‘shin’, the 21st letter in the Hebrew alphabet.  It is next to the last letter in the alphabet with the last letter being T, Taw.  This itself means that Sheol is not the final place, but the next to last place.  If it were the final place, it would be better represented by T, as in Theol.

The legs of the shin converge downward into a central point or valley.  The Jews believe the way it is drawn represents the three valleys surrounding Jerusalem coming together with the central point being Jerusalem itself.  Note that Ezekiel below speaks about the bones of the valley coming to life.  Sheol is a pit.  Pit correlates with valley.  Overall the first letter of Sheol reminds us of the wide path to hell:

“Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.” (Matthew 7:13)

Then there is the letter A, aleph and looks kind of like our ‘X’.  A is undeniably the letter which represents God and things or people denoting God’s realm.  ALHYM is God’s name given to us in the first sentence of the Bible.  Coming after shin in the word Sheol shows us that God is the only one who can reach down into Sheol, but that He is right there beside those who suffer in Sheol, that they are not forgotten by Him.

The next letter in the word Sheol is an L, lamed, and it reaches up into Heaven!  The letter L is associated with words describing holy concepts in the Bible.  It is next to aleph because it is connected to Heaven.  Almighty ALHYM  contacted those in the pit, redeemed them, and sent them on into Heaven.

Sometimes a ‘vav’ or w (in modern Hebrew it is a v) is inserted between the aleph and lamed (A and L) in the word Sheol.  A vav serves as a divine connector or force of God that binds Heaven and earth (hebrew4christians.com).  In the picture of the word Sheol above, there is no vav.  However, in the above word for Sheol there is an H, hey, placed at the end.  H represents God’s breath and exists in everything.  At the beginning of words it imparts definition to a thing, or acknowledges something as it is.  In the middle of words it means God breathes right into the thing.  At the end of words it means femininity.  Being placed here at the end of Sheol it likely means He resurrected his bride from Sheol, and sent her into Heaven upon His breath.

Finally, the letters in the word Sheol are strikingly close to the letters in the word for Israel:  YSRAL, showing us that God’s people are never far from Sheol, and as Jesus says, most will end up there.

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As I have been describing in my vision given to me by God, Sheol for those who have denied God is a torment.  Here are some verses that offer some interesting descriptions of it:

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.  And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’²⁷ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—²⁸ for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ ²⁹ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ ³⁰ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”  ~Luke 16:22-31

God allowed the rich man to look up into paradise to see the rich man being comforted by Abraham.  God is watching to see what the rich man says and what is in his heart when he is called to look up out of Hades (Sheol).  The rich man cared more about his brothers in this parable than himself, which is good.  When he asks if someone can go to them from the dead it is an allusion to Christ’s coming crucifixion and sacrifice on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead.  But to communicate with the dead is a sin, illustrated by the story of Saul and the witch of Endor, so there is no way Father Abraham will grant the rich man’s wish.

Once you die, it is too late to be redeemed except by the grace of God, and the prayers of those who breathe the Holy Spirit your direction.

…For there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.  (Ecc 9:10)

In Hebrew:

Work is ‘M’SaH’ and means activity or work.

Thought is ‘CHSHBWN’ and means contrivance, intelligence, or reason.

Knowledge is ‘D’TH’ and means knowledge, norantly, and cunning.

Wisdom is ‘CHKMah’ and means wisdom in a good sense, wisely.

Especially enlightening is the word for knowledge, D’TH, because this is the word referenced in the Bible for God’s knowledge, not just human knowledge.  The root word is YD’ which means ‘to know’.  There are other less divine words available to express human knowledge.

This shows us that Sheol is a place where they cannot work, they cannot reason, they cannot have knowledge, and they cannot be wise.

Many verses go on to speak about the lack of hope in Sheol or the Pit.  This excerpt is from Isaiah 38:17-18:

“…but You loved my soul from the pit of destruction; You have cast all my sins behind Your back.  For Sheol cannot thank You; death cannot praise You; the ones going down to the Pit cannot HOPE for Your truth.”

In these verses, the first mention of ‘pit’ is SHCHTH meaning corruption, grave, or pit.  Sheol means world of the dead or hell.  And the second mention of ‘Pit’ is BWR meaning bore, pit hole, dungeon.  Hope is SHBR meaning watching, or to expect.

Numerous verses speak to God retrieving those in Sheol, and there being a consciousness of sorts there:

“If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.”  ~Psalm 139:8

“Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD; how much more the hearts of the children of man!”  ~Proverbs 15:11

“Though they dig into Sheol, From there will My hand take them; And though they ascend to heaven, From there will I bring them down.”  ~Amos 9:2

God is there with those in Sheol.  There is no memory, no knowledge, no intelligence, no activity, no wisdom, and no hope.  Man will suffer but not even understand why he is suffering.  All things that man needs to live as a man in God’s image and thrive are absent there.  Man in this state is completely at God’s mercy to reach out to him, because in Sheol it seems man will not be able to reach out and seek God anymore.  And I believe God has so much grace that it is right in line with His way to give man a final chance to turn his heart to God in Sheol.  While others sleep peacefully awaiting the Messiah, souls in torment are being saved in ways only God knows.

Only the most evil or wicked will be left in the Final Day, and cast into the eternal Lake of Fire.

The following vision from Ezekiel teaches us how we can each, through the Holy Spirit, reach our hearts down into Sheol and save those destined there for final destruction, helping them on into Heaven with our love through Jesus Christ.  God clearly iterates in this narrative that He gives us the power to do that!

Praise You Yahweh ALHYM for giving Your people a final, extra chance at everlasting life.

The Dry Bones Live

37 The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of theLord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.² Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. ³ And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”

⁴ Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. ⁶ I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”’”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹ Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you shall know that I amthe Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. ¹⁴ I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spokenit and performed it,” says the Lord.’”