WEBVTT 00:00:02.789 --> 00:00:06.330 Welcome to the Kingdom Family Podcast, where 00:00:06.330 --> 00:00:09.630 we rediscover our identity as sons and daughters 00:00:09.630 --> 00:00:13.029 of Yahweh and learn to live the life of the Kingdom. 00:00:13.689 --> 00:00:17.390 Let's jump in to today's episode. All right, 00:00:17.550 --> 00:00:21.789 guys. Welcome back. Week three of rethinking 00:00:21.789 --> 00:00:26.660 hell this week. We're going to talk about Sheol 00:00:26.660 --> 00:00:30.059 and Hades. If you go back and listen to week 00:00:30.059 --> 00:00:32.840 one, if you've missed it, week one, we began 00:00:32.840 --> 00:00:36.000 to understand that the English word hell that 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:41.520 we have actually comes from four different Greek 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:44.780 and Hebrew words. Those words were Sheol, Hades, 00:00:45.020 --> 00:00:50.189 Gehenna. to Taurus. Last episode we kind of zoomed 00:00:50.189 --> 00:00:53.950 in more on Gehenna and discovered that this was 00:00:53.950 --> 00:00:57.210 not like mythology type thing. This was actually 00:00:57.210 --> 00:01:03.590 more geography. This Gehenna was a very real 00:01:03.590 --> 00:01:07.230 valley. It had very real history. It was tied 00:01:07.230 --> 00:01:13.530 to very real warnings. So tonight, or this episode, 00:01:13.530 --> 00:01:17.430 we're going to begin to define and examine Sheol 00:01:17.430 --> 00:01:22.909 and Hades. So let's start with Sheol here. Sheol 00:01:22.909 --> 00:01:25.629 is a Hebrew word. It's used throughout the Old 00:01:25.629 --> 00:01:29.450 Testament, and it simply refers to the realm 00:01:29.450 --> 00:01:33.489 of the dead. It's not referring to a place of 00:01:33.489 --> 00:01:36.750 torment. It's not referring to some place of 00:01:36.750 --> 00:01:42.109 torture. No, it is simply death. We can look 00:01:42.109 --> 00:01:46.810 at Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verse 10, and it says 00:01:46.810 --> 00:01:50.709 this, whatever you do, do well, for when you 00:01:50.709 --> 00:01:53.790 go to the grave, and that word grave there is 00:01:53.790 --> 00:01:58.090 the word shio. There will be no work or planning 00:01:58.090 --> 00:02:02.849 or knowledge or wisdom. So here we have Ecclesiastes 00:02:02.849 --> 00:02:06.989 chapter 9 verse 10. It's simply talking about 00:02:06.989 --> 00:02:11.639 death. It's not talking about any form of punishment 00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:17.180 or eternal torture. It is simply talking about 00:02:17.180 --> 00:02:21.259 death We can look at another scripture We can 00:02:21.259 --> 00:02:25.099 look at Psalm chapter 6 verse 5 and it says in 00:02:25.099 --> 00:02:28.620 the darkness of death Who remembers your name 00:02:28.620 --> 00:02:31.919 and worship? How could I bring your pray bring 00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:37.539 you praise if I'm buried in a tomb? That phrase 00:02:37.539 --> 00:02:41.259 there in death. There's no remembrance. It's 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:46.479 again. It's the word shio So so understand and 00:02:46.479 --> 00:02:51.780 see the picture here that when The Hebrew writers 00:02:51.780 --> 00:02:55.439 are writing about shio. They're not writing about 00:02:55.439 --> 00:02:58.860 some kind of place of torture or eternal torture 00:02:58.860 --> 00:03:03.000 or place of Punishment. No, it's simply it is 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:07.229 simply death That's all it is. It's death. It's 00:03:07.229 --> 00:03:11.250 not eternal torment. It's it is just death imagery 00:03:11.250 --> 00:03:16.129 That's that's that's all it is And it's important 00:03:16.129 --> 00:03:18.569 for us to understand that both the righteous 00:03:18.569 --> 00:03:23.469 and the wicked were described as going to this 00:03:23.469 --> 00:03:27.590 place called shio And that's important to note 00:03:27.590 --> 00:03:30.729 because it dismantles this this heaven and hell 00:03:30.729 --> 00:03:34.419 dualism in early Hebrew thought The Old Testament 00:03:34.419 --> 00:03:38.360 feared death, not eternal torture. And that's 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:41.620 something we really need to stop and consider, 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:45.599 stop and think about. You know, one of my favorite 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:48.020 sayings, don't check your brain at the door. 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:51.360 Really stop and ask yourself, have a conversation 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:54.360 with the Holy Spirit, the Great Teacher. What 00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:59.400 does this mean? If Sheo is not a place of eternal 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:01.400 torture and is simply referring to the realm 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:04.780 of the dead, then maybe we have the wrong viewpoint 00:04:04.780 --> 00:04:09.319 of this place called hell. Just something for 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:15.599 us to wrestle. If you look at the word Hades 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:20.959 in the New Testament, Hades is the Greek word 00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:25.000 used in the New Testament to describe the realm 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:29.519 of the dead. It's simply a parallel, if you will, 00:04:29.860 --> 00:04:33.899 to the word Sheol. That's all it is. And we can 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:36.439 look here in a couple different places. We can 00:04:36.439 --> 00:04:39.720 start in Acts chapter two, verses 26 through 00:04:39.720 --> 00:04:42.939 27. It says, No wonder my heart is glad and my 00:04:42.939 --> 00:04:46.480 glory celebrates. My mouth is filled with praises 00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:49.740 and I have hope that my body will live because 00:04:49.740 --> 00:04:54.079 you will not leave my soul among the dead, nor 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:56.860 will you allow your sacred one to experience 00:04:56.860 --> 00:05:01.069 decay. So in this verse here we have Peter who's 00:05:01.069 --> 00:05:04.490 speaking here and what is he doing? He's quoting 00:05:04.490 --> 00:05:24.449 Psalm chapter 16. Psalm 16 9 and 10 says, So 00:05:24.449 --> 00:05:29.379 Peter in Acts chapter And Acts chapter 2 is quoting 00:05:29.379 --> 00:05:33.439 Psalm chapter 16 and he's applying it to Jesus. 00:05:34.459 --> 00:05:37.540 Jesus certainly entered death, but he was not 00:05:37.540 --> 00:05:41.560 left there. And again, another important distinction 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:44.699 for us to wrestle with and to consider when we 00:05:44.699 --> 00:05:50.240 look at the modern day view of hell. That Jesus 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:53.040 certainly entered death. He experienced death. 00:05:53.100 --> 00:05:57.389 I like to say it this way. that death swallowed 00:05:57.389 --> 00:06:00.970 something that it could not take in. And it had 00:06:00.970 --> 00:06:06.569 to spit it back out. Death attempted to swallow 00:06:06.569 --> 00:06:09.750 the giver of life. It bit off, if you will, bit 00:06:09.750 --> 00:06:13.670 off more than it could chew. Death was dealt 00:06:13.670 --> 00:06:18.430 with in the person of Christ. Death was dealt 00:06:18.430 --> 00:06:24.060 with by the person who was life. The person that 00:06:24.060 --> 00:06:30.180 we find our life in and who gives us life. So 00:06:30.180 --> 00:06:34.180 Jesus certainly entered death, but He was not 00:06:34.180 --> 00:06:37.120 left there. The grave had to give Him back up. 00:06:37.740 --> 00:06:40.300 The grave bit off more than it could chew in 00:06:40.300 --> 00:06:44.259 this instance. That's how Christ, He came and 00:06:44.259 --> 00:06:47.019 dealt with this enemy called death. Listen, I'm 00:06:47.019 --> 00:06:49.699 reading a book right now by Tommy Miller. I've 00:06:49.699 --> 00:06:52.579 actually got two that I'm... reading together 00:06:52.579 --> 00:06:55.920 once through my Kindle app when I have my phone 00:06:55.920 --> 00:06:59.759 with me and not the physical book. But on my 00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:02.839 Kindle app, I'm reading the book Sacred Biology. 00:07:03.740 --> 00:07:06.480 Eventually I'm going to have to get the physical 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:10.420 copy of this just because it is such a good book. 00:07:10.540 --> 00:07:14.600 And then at home, I'm reading the book Deathless. 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:17.560 And it's interesting because the two kind of 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:22.420 are speaking to the same idea at least where 00:07:22.420 --> 00:07:25.180 I'm at in each book, but if you really understand 00:07:25.180 --> 00:07:28.759 that death is not part of the promise, death 00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:34.600 was part of the curse. I forget what early Church 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:37.040 Father it was, but it says that whatever he assumed, 00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:41.860 he healed. So ask yourself, what did Christ not 00:07:41.860 --> 00:07:46.519 assume? Christ assumed every part of our humanity. 00:07:46.970 --> 00:07:50.470 He assumed our death, he assumed our disease, 00:07:50.689 --> 00:07:54.009 he assumed our sickness, he assumed our sin, 00:07:54.209 --> 00:07:57.350 our distorted identity, he assumed every part 00:07:57.350 --> 00:08:01.970 of that and whatever he assumed, he heals. So 00:08:01.970 --> 00:08:04.209 in this instance, when we're talking about death, 00:08:04.629 --> 00:08:07.430 certainly Jesus entered that realm of death, 00:08:07.709 --> 00:08:11.269 but he did not stay there. No, he dealt with 00:08:11.269 --> 00:08:14.689 that in me called death. Death is not our portion. 00:08:15.719 --> 00:08:19.259 Death is not part of what we're supposed to be. 00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:23.379 Listen, we quote these verses, at least in the 00:08:23.379 --> 00:08:26.279 church where I grew up in, the same spirit that 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:28.639 raised Christ from the dead. But yet we still 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:30.680 have the belief and the notion, again, this is 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:34.460 something new to me. I'm just beginning to read 00:08:34.460 --> 00:08:39.159 this book from Tommy Miller and it's very revelatory. 00:08:41.100 --> 00:08:45.139 But if you really wrestle with this, The verse 00:08:45.139 --> 00:08:47.000 that says we've been given the same spirit that 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:49.279 raised Christ from the dead Why would we then 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:54.419 think that it's normal to experience death? Okay 00:08:54.419 --> 00:08:57.139 Chris, well, it's appointed for man once to die. 00:08:57.340 --> 00:09:00.279 Okay, I would like to argue that you already 00:09:00.279 --> 00:09:03.120 died in the person of Christ when he was crucified 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:06.120 on the cross. Paul would say that we were co 00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:09.139 -crucified, we were co -buried with Christ, and 00:09:09.139 --> 00:09:12.600 now we are co -resurrected and co -glorified 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:16.379 with him, seated with him in the heavenly places. 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:19.940 So I would like to say, when it says that it's 00:09:19.940 --> 00:09:22.519 appointed for man once to die, then to face judgment, 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:26.700 that's already happened. You and I have already 00:09:26.700 --> 00:09:30.080 experienced that death mystically with the person 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:33.539 of Christ. That's important for us to think about 00:09:33.539 --> 00:09:37.500 and to really wrestle. And again, this is my 00:09:37.500 --> 00:09:40.460 belief. You can believe what you want, but I'm 00:09:40.460 --> 00:09:44.779 beginning to... I don't know how to say this 00:09:44.779 --> 00:09:48.600 properly. I'm beginning to have this idea and 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:52.200 this thought that maybe I don't have to die. 00:09:54.460 --> 00:09:59.500 Think about that. Maybe we do get to live forever. 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:05.019 Paul seemed to have this idea that he gets to 00:10:05.019 --> 00:10:09.259 choose when he died. And if you look after the 00:10:09.259 --> 00:10:13.740 fall of Adam, people are still living long lives 00:10:13.740 --> 00:10:18.820 like 900 plus years of life. I like how Damon 00:10:18.820 --> 00:10:20.820 Thompson put it that if you look at the fall 00:10:20.820 --> 00:10:23.919 after the fall, if you go five minutes after 00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:27.100 the fall, nothing looks different, but yet everything 00:10:27.100 --> 00:10:31.320 has changed. If you go five minutes after the 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:33.740 crucifixion and even five minutes after the resurrection 00:10:33.740 --> 00:10:38.659 of Christ, Nothing looks like it has changed, 00:10:38.740 --> 00:10:42.620 but yet everything has indeed changed for that 00:10:42.620 --> 00:10:47.360 moment and for all of us in life. Nothing looks 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:49.679 different in the five minutes after the fall 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:52.860 or the five minutes after the resurrection of 00:10:52.860 --> 00:10:59.039 Christ, but yet everything has changed. Think 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:02.059 about this, wrestle with this notion, wrestle 00:11:02.059 --> 00:11:06.940 with this idea that everything has now changed 00:11:06.940 --> 00:11:10.519 and in this instant changed back for the good. 00:11:10.679 --> 00:11:13.720 He has redeemed and restored us back to the original 00:11:13.720 --> 00:11:18.100 design. You got to think about this. Scripture 00:11:18.100 --> 00:11:20.639 would tell us that we were alienated in our own 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:24.940 minds. We've never been separated from Christ. 00:11:25.820 --> 00:11:28.279 And you say, well, we all have to die, that's 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:29.919 a part of life. Really? Because you're going 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:33.539 to have to talk about Enoch. Enoch was and then 00:11:33.539 --> 00:11:36.519 was not. You're going to have to talk about, 00:11:36.519 --> 00:11:38.759 and I always get these backwards, it's either 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:41.919 Elijah or Elisha who just is caught up in a whirlwind. 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:46.940 If you look at John the Beloved who writes, who 00:11:46.940 --> 00:11:49.139 gives us the Gospel of John, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd 00:11:49.139 --> 00:11:51.360 John in the book of Revelation, if you look at 00:11:51.360 --> 00:11:55.710 him, there's no... documentation, historical 00:11:55.710 --> 00:11:57.950 documentation that he ever experienced death. 00:11:59.909 --> 00:12:03.909 How do we know he actually died? Well, Chris, 00:12:04.049 --> 00:12:08.610 it just has to, does it? I know this sounds completely 00:12:08.610 --> 00:12:10.590 nuts and some of you probably have turned me 00:12:10.590 --> 00:12:13.649 off, but then again, if you really think about 00:12:13.649 --> 00:12:18.090 this and let it speak to your inner man, something 00:12:18.090 --> 00:12:23.860 begins to say, yeah, that makes sense. It don't 00:12:23.860 --> 00:12:26.299 make sense to my natural person, but there's 00:12:26.299 --> 00:12:28.620 something inside of me that's like, you know 00:12:28.620 --> 00:12:32.779 that there may be something to this. I don't 00:12:32.779 --> 00:12:34.580 know how we got there talking about Sheo and 00:12:34.580 --> 00:12:36.419 Hades, but I feel like that's what we needed 00:12:36.419 --> 00:12:41.179 to talk about. But if you just look at, again 00:12:41.179 --> 00:12:44.740 what I said, it's Peter's quoting in Acts chapter 00:12:44.740 --> 00:12:48.250 2, he's quoting Psalm 16. Jesus certainly entered 00:12:48.250 --> 00:12:51.450 death, but he was not left there. He he assumed 00:12:51.450 --> 00:12:54.110 death and then come out on the other side victorious 00:12:54.110 --> 00:12:58.070 He come out of the grave. He did not stay there 00:12:58.070 --> 00:13:01.710 and the same is true for you and I We experienced 00:13:01.710 --> 00:13:05.049 his death Mystically, I can't explain that for 00:13:05.049 --> 00:13:07.529 you. I can't make that make any more sense to 00:13:07.529 --> 00:13:10.870 you. I'm just telling you that we experienced 00:13:10.870 --> 00:13:15.529 his death with Him. We experienced His resurrection 00:13:15.529 --> 00:13:19.289 with Him and now we are co -glorified, co -seated 00:13:19.289 --> 00:13:25.909 with Him in the heavenly realm. Alright, so let's 00:13:25.909 --> 00:13:31.090 move on. Let's look at Lazarus in Luke, excuse 00:13:31.090 --> 00:13:33.110 me, Luke chapter 16. Let's make sure I was on 00:13:33.110 --> 00:13:37.529 the right spot. So again, here in Luke chapter 00:13:37.529 --> 00:13:40.029 16, you can go read the whole story for yourself. 00:13:40.460 --> 00:13:43.559 But it's about the rich man who in the story 00:13:43.559 --> 00:13:47.679 has no name. He still treats Lazarus who was 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:49.940 actually given a name in this parable, which 00:13:49.940 --> 00:13:52.539 actually meant something. Remember, Jesus doesn't 00:13:52.539 --> 00:13:55.259 just say things for the fun of it. He's actually 00:13:55.259 --> 00:13:59.700 using the story for a purpose and using naming 00:13:59.700 --> 00:14:03.820 this individual for a purpose. But he does not 00:14:03.820 --> 00:14:07.330 give the rich man a name. But he does give the 00:14:07.330 --> 00:14:10.230 poor man a name and that poor man's name was 00:14:10.230 --> 00:14:13.370 Lazarus. And in this story in Luke chapter 16, 00:14:13.690 --> 00:14:17.350 the rich man still treated Lazarus as a servant. 00:14:18.029 --> 00:14:20.769 And what's happened between the two? There is 00:14:20.769 --> 00:14:26.210 a great gulf and the rich man is in flames. And 00:14:26.210 --> 00:14:31.190 what is this? It's imagery. Remember that Jesus 00:14:31.190 --> 00:14:35.169 taught, he frequently taught, using parables. 00:14:35.629 --> 00:14:37.690 And I want you to remember that this imagery 00:14:37.690 --> 00:14:40.990 parallels non -Jewish storytelling traditions. 00:14:41.070 --> 00:14:44.330 This is not some sort of literal geography that 00:14:44.330 --> 00:14:45.909 Jesus is trying to plant and paint a picture 00:14:45.909 --> 00:14:50.289 of. Look at the flow of this. If you go back 00:14:50.289 --> 00:14:53.330 to Luke chapter 15 leading up to Luke 16, you 00:14:53.330 --> 00:14:55.970 have the lost sheep, you have the prodigal son, 00:14:56.350 --> 00:14:59.190 you have the story of the mustard seed, and then 00:14:59.190 --> 00:15:02.070 he goes into Luke chapter 16. Remember this? 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:07.100 The early scriptures did not have chapter and 00:15:07.100 --> 00:15:11.039 verse divisions. It was just straight through. 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:16.200 We added the chapter and verses. But when they 00:15:16.200 --> 00:15:18.500 were writing this, they were not penning chapter 00:15:18.500 --> 00:15:22.480 15, chapter 16, verse 1. No, it was just being 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:26.039 written straight through. So Luke 15 leading 00:15:26.039 --> 00:15:28.039 up to 16 you got a story of the lost sheep you 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:30.360 got the prodigal son Which is really more of 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:32.779 a story about the father And then you have the 00:15:32.779 --> 00:15:35.659 mustard seed and then we go to Luke 16 it fits 00:15:35.659 --> 00:15:40.299 the pattern of symbolic storytelling That's important 00:15:40.299 --> 00:15:44.179 for us to remember this passage reveals moral 00:15:44.179 --> 00:15:48.220 warning and not some sort of blueprint for the 00:15:48.220 --> 00:15:53.200 afterlife again Learn to think about this. Pause 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:55.840 this episode. Really sit with it. Go back and 00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:58.799 read it for yourself. Ask the Holy Spirit to 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:02.620 teach you. That's important for us to understand 00:16:02.620 --> 00:16:06.779 that we have the freedom and the liberty to allow 00:16:06.779 --> 00:16:09.539 Holy Spirit, to allow the Trinity to actually 00:16:09.539 --> 00:16:14.029 teach us through Scripture. We we have the ability 00:16:14.029 --> 00:16:17.909 to have a personal relationship because we are 00:16:17.909 --> 00:16:20.730 one with the trinity to have a personal relationship 00:16:20.730 --> 00:16:25.149 a personal dialogue with The word and the author 00:16:25.149 --> 00:16:31.350 of a word think about that And then we look at 00:16:31.350 --> 00:16:34.429 um, let's consider this let's consider revelation 00:16:34.429 --> 00:16:37.860 chapter 1 verse 17 and 18 And it says this, it 00:16:37.860 --> 00:16:40.100 says, when I saw him, I fell down at his feet 00:16:40.100 --> 00:16:42.580 as good as dead, but he laid his right hand on 00:16:42.580 --> 00:16:47.879 me and I heard his reassuring voice saying, don't 00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:52.440 yield to fear. I am beginning and I am the end, 00:16:52.700 --> 00:16:56.159 the living one. I was dead, but now look, I am 00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:59.059 alive forever and ever. And listen, pay attention 00:16:59.059 --> 00:17:03.379 to this. I hold the keys that unlock death and 00:17:03.379 --> 00:17:07.720 the unseen world. When it says death and the 00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:11.500 unseen world that phrase there Unseen world on 00:17:11.500 --> 00:17:16.039 the passion translation is the Greek word Hades 00:17:16.039 --> 00:17:21.500 So understand like Jesus doesn't fear death Jesus 00:17:21.500 --> 00:17:25.319 conquered death. We should not fear death death 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:29.970 has been conquered in our place Jesus represented, 00:17:30.269 --> 00:17:33.430 he said, I'm the last Adam. He's the last Adam 00:17:33.430 --> 00:17:37.529 and he came to deal with every enemy that rose 00:17:37.529 --> 00:17:41.589 up against us because of this fall. And I believe 00:17:41.589 --> 00:17:45.250 he actually dealt with them. I believe when he 00:17:45.250 --> 00:17:47.349 said it is finished, he actually meant that. 00:17:47.750 --> 00:17:50.650 That there was nothing else left for him to do. 00:17:53.410 --> 00:18:00.650 Let's look at Just consider the concept that 00:18:00.650 --> 00:18:12.069 He holds the keys to these. I've been taught 00:18:12.069 --> 00:18:16.329 all my life that hell is a separation from God. 00:18:17.390 --> 00:18:19.210 First of all, I may have mentioned this in a 00:18:19.210 --> 00:18:20.809 previous episode. I don't even remember it at 00:18:20.809 --> 00:18:25.210 this point. First of all if it's separated from 00:18:25.210 --> 00:18:27.109 God and God can't be there then that would mean 00:18:27.109 --> 00:18:30.630 that hell in itself has to be a God Because it 00:18:30.630 --> 00:18:33.829 would have to be self -sustaining And that's 00:18:33.829 --> 00:18:38.170 not the case Christ says I hold the keys to death 00:18:38.170 --> 00:18:43.970 and I hold the keys to Hades the unseen realm 00:18:43.970 --> 00:18:49.009 the realm of the dead If you hold the keys to 00:18:49.009 --> 00:18:52.579 something typically If I think about this in 00:18:52.579 --> 00:18:55.319 our world and I'm just thinking out loud here 00:18:55.319 --> 00:18:58.859 with you on this conversation typically if you 00:18:58.859 --> 00:19:02.319 hold the keys to something you own it or at least 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:09.079 have the authority to enter this place or to 00:19:09.079 --> 00:19:13.960 utilize this equipment or this vehicle. That's 00:19:13.960 --> 00:19:17.200 usually what having keys would be a symbol of. 00:19:18.539 --> 00:19:22.839 I have the keys to my house because my wife and 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:27.279 I signed the mortgage deed. No one else can get 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:30.920 into my house without that key unless they enter 00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:38.839 illegally. Think about that. Let's jump over 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:42.039 to, let's see, let's jump over to 1st Corinthians 00:19:42.039 --> 00:19:46.839 chapter 15. I'm gonna read verses 24 and 26. 00:19:47.339 --> 00:19:50.599 Says then the final stage of completion comes 00:19:50.599 --> 00:19:54.779 when he will bring to an end every other rulership 00:19:54.779 --> 00:19:58.019 authority and power and he will hand over his 00:19:58.019 --> 00:20:01.660 kingdom to father God Until then he is destined 00:20:01.660 --> 00:20:05.519 to reign as king until all hostility has been 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:08.960 subdued and placed under his feet and The last 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:12.799 enemy to be subdued and eliminated is death. 00:20:13.259 --> 00:20:18.259 So think about this Death and not humanity is 00:20:18.259 --> 00:20:23.240 the enemy that is to be destroyed It's not talking 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:26.740 about people It's not talking about the Democrats 00:20:26.740 --> 00:20:28.559 or the Republican. It's not talking about the 00:20:28.559 --> 00:20:33.099 Muslim or the Buddhist or the Islamist You know, 00:20:33.140 --> 00:20:35.740 that's a word It's not talking about those people. 00:20:35.740 --> 00:20:38.000 It's not talking about the homosexual the transsexual 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:41.240 the bisexual is not talking about these people 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:47.250 It says The last enemy to be subdued and eliminated 00:20:47.250 --> 00:20:53.630 is death itself. So it's death, not humanity, 00:20:55.309 --> 00:20:59.650 that is to be destroyed. Again, just important 00:20:59.650 --> 00:21:02.170 for us to consider, important for us to think 00:21:02.170 --> 00:21:06.769 about when we're talking about hell. It's a big 00:21:06.769 --> 00:21:14.720 deal. What was the real fear here? Because the 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:18.500 Bible's greatest concern was never, at least 00:21:18.500 --> 00:21:21.640 with my studying and my reading, was never eternal 00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:26.180 torture. It was death. Never eternal torture. 00:21:27.539 --> 00:21:31.480 I want you to think about something. If hell 00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:36.980 was supposed to be such this big idea and this 00:21:36.980 --> 00:21:43.720 big topic, Then I'll get to that a minute. Just 00:21:43.720 --> 00:21:48.220 just hold on So just consider the gospel for 00:21:48.220 --> 00:21:51.319 a minute because the gospel is not avoid hell 00:21:51.319 --> 00:21:57.460 It's not And I spent part of my church life growing 00:21:57.460 --> 00:21:59.740 up understand part of the gospel is you get to 00:21:59.740 --> 00:22:03.000 repeat a prayer and You know now you don't have 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:07.279 to go to hell Now the gospel is Christ has defeated 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:10.539 death. This is the good news. The gospel is literally 00:22:10.539 --> 00:22:15.160 translated into good news. The good news is Christ 00:22:15.160 --> 00:22:18.980 has defeated death. Now the gospel is that Christ 00:22:18.980 --> 00:22:22.480 finished the work. He completed His assignment 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:25.940 for us. And I would say not just for us but as 00:22:25.940 --> 00:22:30.220 us. He became that distorted image called sin 00:22:30.220 --> 00:22:35.029 to make us the righteousness of God. What did 00:22:35.029 --> 00:22:38.450 Christ do? He ended the rule of sin. He ended 00:22:38.450 --> 00:22:41.750 the rule of guilt. He ended the rule of shame. 00:22:42.869 --> 00:22:45.069 So again, just think about something. If the 00:22:45.069 --> 00:22:49.349 concept of hell was intended to be such a big 00:22:49.349 --> 00:22:55.670 deal. Go read the book of Acts. The book of Acts 00:22:55.670 --> 00:22:59.309 where we get the birth of the church and other 00:22:59.309 --> 00:23:04.980 than Hades being referenced in Acts chapter 2 00:23:04.980 --> 00:23:07.240 when then this is when the verse I just read 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:10.400 when Peter is quoting Psalm 16 Go read the book 00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:16.680 of Acts. There is zero mention of hell Acts emphasizes 00:23:16.680 --> 00:23:21.759 things like Jesus's death his resurrection forgiveness 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:24.660 of sins repentance the kingdom of God the gift 00:23:24.660 --> 00:23:28.420 of the Holy Spirit the Lordship of Christ and 00:23:28.420 --> 00:23:31.490 I've heard I've heard growing up and You know, 00:23:31.549 --> 00:23:34.009 who said it? I don't remember. I've heard many 00:23:34.009 --> 00:23:37.690 people say it and listen, this is not to attack 00:23:37.690 --> 00:23:42.430 people. I believe people majority of the time 00:23:42.430 --> 00:23:44.769 have the right intentions, maybe just the wrong 00:23:44.769 --> 00:23:47.289 information. I think a lot of times in the church, 00:23:47.410 --> 00:23:50.789 especially in church culture, we just regurgitate 00:23:50.789 --> 00:23:53.150 information because it sounded good. It sounded 00:23:53.150 --> 00:23:56.910 right. And we don't go and study for ourselves. 00:23:57.710 --> 00:24:00.690 So this is not to attack anybody. It's not if 00:24:00.690 --> 00:24:02.910 you hold this belief is not to attack anybody. 00:24:02.910 --> 00:24:05.930 You've said it Whatever. It's not meant to attack 00:24:05.930 --> 00:24:09.410 people but it is meant to bring honesty and truth 00:24:09.410 --> 00:24:16.470 back to the conversation so if you look at I 00:24:16.470 --> 00:24:20.769 Was I was taught that Jesus spoke a lot about 00:24:20.769 --> 00:24:26.099 hell but Jesus never speaks of people going to 00:24:26.099 --> 00:24:29.380 an abstract place called hell using a single 00:24:29.380 --> 00:24:35.359 technical term, if you will. No, he uses different 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:38.880 languages. Gehenna, which was, again, a real 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:42.599 valley used symbolically. He uses Hades, the 00:24:42.599 --> 00:24:45.400 realm of the dead. He used outer darkness, the 00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:48.619 furnace of fire, unquenchable fire, weeping and 00:24:48.619 --> 00:24:51.319 gnashing of teeth. That's the kind of stuff that 00:24:51.319 --> 00:24:55.559 he used. And one of the biggest interpretive 00:24:55.559 --> 00:24:59.299 questions is whether these images are all describing 00:24:59.299 --> 00:25:02.359 the same reality or whether Jesus is drawing 00:25:02.359 --> 00:25:06.140 from different Old Testament metaphors to communicate 00:25:06.140 --> 00:25:09.799 different aspects of judgment, covenant crisis, 00:25:10.500 --> 00:25:13.529 exclusion, purification. And that's one reason 00:25:13.529 --> 00:25:17.170 that many scholars encourage studying each image 00:25:17.170 --> 00:25:21.230 in its own literary and historical context rather 00:25:21.230 --> 00:25:24.890 than to assume they all refer to the same concept 00:25:24.890 --> 00:25:32.490 of hell. So think about this seven. Seven of 00:25:32.490 --> 00:25:37.289 the eleven Gehenna references occur in the Book 00:25:37.289 --> 00:25:40.880 of Matthew. Which is the gospel most focused 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:44.180 on Jesus's mornings to Israel's religious leadership 00:25:44.180 --> 00:25:47.920 and the coming judgment of Jerusalem Just something 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:51.819 for us to think about if you look at and I'm 00:25:51.819 --> 00:25:54.519 pulling my image so I can actually read it good 00:25:54.519 --> 00:25:59.039 If you look at what Jesus Focused on he didn't 00:25:59.039 --> 00:26:03.819 focus on hell at all Jesus focused on the kingdom 00:26:03.819 --> 00:26:09.630 Jesus mentioned hell for That's it, 14 times 00:26:09.630 --> 00:26:14.789 in the Gospels. Now just remember, some of these 00:26:14.789 --> 00:26:19.809 are the same story. Other major themes in His 00:26:19.809 --> 00:26:21.789 teaching, you have the Kingdom of God and the 00:26:21.789 --> 00:26:24.309 Kingdom of Heaven, 100 plus references. You have 00:26:24.309 --> 00:26:27.470 Him talking about the Father, 150 plus references. 00:26:28.490 --> 00:26:30.849 Dozens of references on life and eternal life. 00:26:31.289 --> 00:26:34.170 Dozens of references on faith and belief. He 00:26:34.170 --> 00:26:38.849 repeatedly talks about love. A major recurring 00:26:38.849 --> 00:26:44.069 theme is forgiveness. Jesus' longest discourses 00:26:44.069 --> 00:26:48.970 aren't about hell. Take into consideration the 00:26:48.970 --> 00:26:53.329 Sermon on the Mount, the Kingdom parables. None 00:26:53.329 --> 00:26:57.250 of that, again, some of His longest discourses 00:26:57.250 --> 00:27:02.890 that we have, and they're not about hell. And 00:27:02.890 --> 00:27:05.750 yet we've been taught in the West how big of 00:27:05.750 --> 00:27:08.950 a deal hell should be when presenting the Gospel 00:27:08.950 --> 00:27:12.809 message. And that's not how it should be, my 00:27:12.809 --> 00:27:19.250 friend. So, again, simple week. I'm not trying 00:27:19.250 --> 00:27:21.789 to make these long and drawn out. I want to make 00:27:21.789 --> 00:27:25.269 these kind of shorter to make sure we hit each 00:27:25.269 --> 00:27:28.849 point. We'll spend roughly, I think, about eight 00:27:28.849 --> 00:27:32.259 weeks total doing this series. And then we're 00:27:32.259 --> 00:27:35.099 going to go jump into some other stuff. But this 00:27:35.099 --> 00:27:38.140 one was just about looking at Sheol and Hades. 00:27:38.579 --> 00:27:41.339 They're not places of torture, but they're realms 00:27:41.339 --> 00:27:45.019 of death. And the message of Jesus was never 00:27:45.019 --> 00:27:50.200 fear driven survival. Think about that. His message 00:27:50.200 --> 00:27:52.180 was never fear. In fact, scripture would tell 00:27:52.180 --> 00:27:55.740 us, John would tell us that perfect love casts 00:27:55.740 --> 00:28:02.109 out all fear. If someone is using hell as a fear 00:28:02.109 --> 00:28:04.990 tactic, my friend, that's called manipulation 00:28:04.990 --> 00:28:09.710 and that's demonic. Whether that individual knows 00:28:09.710 --> 00:28:14.109 it or not. Not saying the person doing it is 00:28:14.109 --> 00:28:19.809 demonic, but that is demonic. Probably well -intended 00:28:19.809 --> 00:28:24.289 people that use it as manipulation. But manipulation 00:28:24.289 --> 00:28:29.069 is witchcraft. Just think about that. So I hope 00:28:29.069 --> 00:28:31.809 this episode helps you. I hope you now understand 00:28:31.809 --> 00:28:34.069 we've talked about Gehenna now and tonight or 00:28:34.069 --> 00:28:36.769 this episode We've talked about Sheol in Hades. 00:28:37.130 --> 00:28:41.609 So I hope these are helping you maybe again I'm 00:28:41.609 --> 00:28:44.029 not interested in you coming to the same conclusion 00:28:44.029 --> 00:28:46.410 because I don't even know really what conclusion 00:28:46.410 --> 00:28:49.430 I still have after studying and reading all this. 00:28:49.450 --> 00:28:53.609 I just know that I'm Comfortable saying I no 00:28:53.609 --> 00:28:55.470 longer believe in the hell that I was handed 00:28:55.470 --> 00:28:59.240 and taught Now where I land completely on it, 00:28:59.240 --> 00:29:02.680 I don't really know. Is it a big deal for me 00:29:02.680 --> 00:29:05.279 at the moment? I'm gonna be 100 % honest. No 00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:09.640 Because once this series concludes I told our 00:29:09.640 --> 00:29:12.880 I told our group this past Saturday and then 00:29:12.880 --> 00:29:17.240 I'll Will end this episode here, but I told my 00:29:17.240 --> 00:29:20.500 our group this past Saturday that we do Typically 00:29:20.500 --> 00:29:22.799 a biweekly service and then we do Wednesday night 00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:27.480 Bible studies and I thought of myself. I feel 00:29:27.480 --> 00:29:29.980 like the rethinking in times and the rethinking 00:29:29.980 --> 00:29:33.799 hell series was more for me to feel the freedom 00:29:33.799 --> 00:29:38.299 to go play. That Papa gave me the ability to 00:29:38.299 --> 00:29:42.279 simply go play and to rethink these things number 00:29:42.279 --> 00:29:45.059 one for myself and the number two to be able 00:29:45.059 --> 00:29:49.599 to take what little information I have and to 00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:53.619 begin to give it to you to allow you the freedom 00:29:53.619 --> 00:29:56.700 to go and study for yourself. Now again, you 00:29:56.700 --> 00:29:58.700 may go study this and be like, no, I'm still 00:29:58.700 --> 00:30:01.539 sold on the idea of hell. That's completely fine. 00:30:01.819 --> 00:30:05.380 You're still welcome here You're still welcome 00:30:05.380 --> 00:30:09.059 to go on this journey It's not about you coming 00:30:09.059 --> 00:30:12.900 into agreement with whatever It's not about us 00:30:12.900 --> 00:30:14.740 landing at the same place. That's not what it's 00:30:14.740 --> 00:30:19.779 about But it is to give us a more hopeful idea 00:30:19.779 --> 00:30:26.170 a hopeful future if you will So my friend that's 00:30:26.170 --> 00:30:29.849 it till next week Thank you for listening guys 00:30:29.849 --> 00:30:33.009 leave a review help share this out help me out 00:30:33.009 --> 00:30:36.369 with that Maybe someone else wants to maybe have 00:30:36.369 --> 00:30:38.589 a friend who's interested in the concept or the 00:30:38.589 --> 00:30:41.789 thought of hell share this with them Give me 00:30:41.789 --> 00:30:44.410 some feedback guys. I'm not an expert by no means 00:30:44.410 --> 00:30:46.609 I'm sure there are plenty of theologians out 00:30:46.609 --> 00:30:48.789 there that you can read again. I think I referenced 00:30:48.789 --> 00:30:52.519 it but Her gates will never be shut by Bradley 00:30:52.519 --> 00:30:55.720 Drozak highly recommended I've got another book 00:30:55.720 --> 00:30:58.140 on my shelf by Don Keith Lee that I want to read 00:30:58.140 --> 00:31:00.799 it's called Hell's Illusion I've not read that 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:04.640 one yet, so I can't speak for that one But yeah, 00:31:04.859 --> 00:31:09.079 that's that's where we're at so guys be blessed 00:31:09.079 --> 00:31:14.099 Just be who God has created you to be and walk 00:31:14.099 --> 00:31:21.670 in the life of the kingdom be blessed Thanks 00:31:21.670 --> 00:31:24.369 for spending some time with me today on the Kingdom 00:31:24.369 --> 00:31:27.950 Family Podcast. If this episode spoke to you, 00:31:28.230 --> 00:31:31.049 take a moment to share it and help someone else 00:31:31.049 --> 00:31:34.490 rediscover their identity as a son or daughter 00:31:34.490 --> 00:31:37.970 of Yahweh. And don't forget, follow the podcast 00:31:37.970 --> 00:31:40.630 so you can stay connected with everything happening 00:31:40.630 --> 00:31:43.829 through Kingdom Family Ministries. Until next 00:31:43.829 --> 00:31:47.630 time, live love, live free, and live from the 00:31:47.630 --> 00:31:48.650 life of the Kingdom.