The Afterlife
- James Ward
- Oct 22, 2017
- 42 min read
"But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, For in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:17)
Genesis 2:17 is the first mention of death in the Bible. Since Adam continued to physically live for many years, it's obvious God didn't mean that Adam was going to drop dead on the spot. Adam lived until chapter 5, so biblically there are different definitions of "death".
The day that you eat from it you will surely die. (Genesis 2:17)
The serpent said 'You surely will not die'! (Genesis 3:4)
Adam lived 930 years and then he died. (Genesis 5:5)
"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin,
and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12)
According to the Bible, we all die because we all sin. We all sin because we're all corrupted. Death is like a paycheck that we earn for working so hard at rebelling against our Creator. We've all earned our death.
"the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23)
Physical death is the separation of the spirit from the body.
"Moses "died" in the land of Moab" (Deuteronomy 34:5)
Spiritual death is the state of having no spiritual life, spiritually corrupt, dead in sin, a slave to your own desires, cut off from relationship with God, the state of spiritual condemnation all humans are born under. (Ephesians 2:1, Ephesians 2:5, Colossians 2:13, John 3:18)
"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1)
One death is the absence of physical life, the other is the absence of spiritual life, a dead spirit compared to a dead body. Every human is born spiritually dead and physically dying. A dead body goes into the grave, but where does a dead spirit go?
Genesis doesn't say whether God told Adam and Eve about the afterlife. We know God told them the first gospel in Eden, that a Savior would come (Genesis 3:15). We know God continued to interact with them at least for a little while after the fall, because we see Him interacting with Cain and Abel. God may have told them about the afterlife, but Genesis doesn't mention it.
"you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19)
"his spirit departs, he returns to the earth;
In that very day his thoughts perish." (Psalm 146:4)
"then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:7)
the grave, the underworld,
Old Testament "realm of the dead"
(Psalm 31:17, Psalm 6:5; 9:17; 16:10; 31:17; 49:14; 88:3, Isaiah 5:14; 38:10, Genesis 37:35, Job 14:13)
“Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” (Genesis 37:35)
Sheol literally means "the grave", but it's used figuratively to mean much more. Like the Greek underworld Hades, Sheol was also considered to be inside of the earth. As for details about Sheol as an afterlife, the Old Testament doesn't give us much. It's clear that everyone went there, because everyone dies. The wicked and the righteous all go to Sheol, just like the Greek concept of Hades.
"The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up." (1 Samuel 2:6)
God used prophets to reveal more information about Himself and His plans, as the events of the Old Testament unfolded. As the time of Messiah got closer, God used prophets to reveal information about the subject of life after death. God slowly revealed the ultimate destination of man, and His ultimate plans for this world and for His people.
"If a person dies, will they live again?" (Job 14:14)
“Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God" (Job 19:26)
"Your dead will live;
Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits." (Isaiah 26:19)
The prophet Daniel mentions resurrection and the judgment in the same context.
"Everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:1-2)
In Ezekiel 37:1-14 God brings Ezekiel to a valley full of dry bones, and then prophesies that there will be a resurrection in the future. Ezekiel sees a great army of people resurrected and given the Spirit of God. Then he describes the reunion of Israel and Judah into one kingdom with Messiah as their King.
"Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people” (Ezekiel 37:12)
So now the Jews knew that the spirit went to Sheol to wait for something else to happen, not just to stay there forever. The body may completely turn to dust, but would someday be recreated by God and returned to life. This was a huge piece of God's plan revealed. The Jews didn't know about resurrection at first, but now they knew that God's judgment and the salvation of His people involved resurrection, the restoration of Israel and Judah, and the Messiah. Now they knew they wouldn't stay in Sheol forever. The resurrection became central to Jewish theology. Every Jew looked forward to the day when they would be united with the entire family of Abraham under the King Messiah.
"Martha said to Him, 'I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.'" (John 11:24).
Greek subterranean realm of the dead,
used in the New Testament instead of Sheol,
replaces Sheol in Greek translation of the Old Testament
(Matthew 11:23, 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27, 31; Revelation 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14; Psalm 9:17; 31:17; 49:14; Isaiah 5:14)
As time went on, God revealed more information through His prophets. This progressive revelation continued into the New Testament era. The events in the New Testament took place in the culture of the Roman Empire. When Alexander the Great conquered the known world, he enforced Koine Greek as the mandatory language which everyone must understand. Anyone, from anywhere, would be able to understand when given an order by a soldier, and it created effortless trading among the nations because everyone could barter and negotiate in a common language. This is important because it was during this era that Christ appeared in the world, allowing the gospel to be spread across the planet miraculously because of this common language. Christ and all of the apostles would have understood Greek because it was the language of the known world. Most people would have spoken enough Greek to be able to understand basic things, and they would have also spoken their own regional dialect, such as Aramaic. When the Greek-speaking Jews of that era translated their ancient Hebrew scriptures into Greek, called the Septuagint, they translated the word Sheol into Hades. The everyday Greek-speaking Jew would know it as Hades, not Sheol, because of the Roman culture in which they lived. They used the word that their culture was using. By the time of Christ, Hades was the common word for the afterlife, not Sheol, so He and the apostles used that word when referring to the place that their Hebrew-speaking predecessors called Sheol. In the Bible, Hades and Sheol are the same place.
Here's one out of several examples of Hades and Sheol being interchangeable as the same place.
"For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay." (Psalm 16:10)
"Because You will not abandon my soul to Hades,
Nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay." (Acts 2:27)
In Acts 2, Peter, a Jew, is giving a sermon to a crowd of Jews who were gathered for the feast of Pentecost. These men were gathered here from far and wide, because they were required to come to Jerusalem for the feast. Peter is telling them that Jesus is their Messiah, and he quotes Psalm 16 and applies it to Jesus. So a Jew who is speaking to a crowd of Jews, instead of using Sheol, uses Hades. Some of the men in the crowd may have understood Hebrew, but all of them spoke Greek, no matter what country they came from.
At this point, some readers may be confused if they only read the King James translation of the Bible. Let's take a quick look at how the KJV translates the example from above, and notice how the KJV translates both Sheol and Hades as "hell".
"For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." (Psalm 16:10) KJV
"Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." (Acts 2:27) KJV
The King James Bible was produced 400 years ago. There have been advancements in the understanding of the ancient languages and cultures. There are grammatical rules of the languages, which the KJV translators did not even know about, but are known now and are applied to modern translations. Also, the English language has changed over the past 400 years. So although it does contain the truth of God's word, and is still a reliable source of the gospel, the KJV does translate some words imprecisely in modern English. A good example is Exodus 20:13, "Thou shalt not kill", when it really should be "murder", and indeed it does translate as murder in other verses in the KJV, Psalm 94:6 for example.
Another good example is the way the KJV translates Sheol in the Old Testament 31 times as "grave", 3 times as "pit", and 31 times as "hell". The NASB uses the word "hell" zero times in the Old Testament, because the Hebrew says "Sheol" for all 65 occurrences, and it's "Hades" in the Greek translation. Sheol and Hades are two words for the same place, but that place is not hell. Everyone went to Sheol/Hades in the Old Testament. If Sheol was consistently translated each time as "hell", there would be some passages in the Bible that wouldn't make sense. So when the KJV translators came to a verse where it makes no sense that the person would be going to "hell", they used "the grave" instead.
"I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning." (Genesis 37:35) KJV
"I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son." (Genesis 37:35) NASB
This misunderstanding about the word hell has actually led many people into some very bad theology, like the idea that Jesus went to hell and suffered torment.
The Apostles Creed says that Jesus,"was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into hell. The third day he arose again from the dead." But Jesus didn't go to hell, the place of torment. He went to Hades, specifically to the section of Hades where all of the Old Testament believers were waiting for Him. Jesus didn't go to hell, He went to paradise. There is an enormous difference!
"Today you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43)
Please note: I do not tell people to stop using the KJV. If you prefer it, God bless. As long as you are studying it regularly I have no criticism. If the subject comes up, I don't mind talking about the reasons I prefer a more modern translation, but I do not attack the KJV or its readers.
More information on the subject of the KJV, and Bible translation:
So Hades has two sections?
The progressive revelation of the afterlife continued into the New Testament. Jews knew that when they died they would go to Sheol/Hades and wait. They knew Messiah would come and reunite Israel and Judah, and be King of the world. And they knew they would get to participate in all of this because they were going to be resurrected with new bodies. Then the Messiah came, but He did things differently from what they were expecting. He came as a lowly servant, suffered, died, and was Himself resurrected. And even though these things were in their scripture (Isaiah 53, psalm 22), they didn't understand. It was not time yet for everyone to be resurrected and judged, not time yet for Him to sit on the throne of David as King of Israel, whom all nations will worship (Isaiah 2:2). God's plan is much larger than what the Jews imagined. Christ wasn't here to do everything all at once. A consistent theme in the Bible is that people think they know what God's plan is, only to find out they didn't have all of the information. Imagine how many millions of God's children have been added to the kingdom of Christ in the past 2,000 years. The Jews had no idea God's plan was so large. As God said to Abraham,
"Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore" (Genesis 22:17)
During Christ's earthly ministry, He taught a lot about the afterlife. He described Hades as having two separate and distinct sections. One section was paradise, a place of rest and joy, called "Abraham's bosom", or "Abraham's side", indicating the assembling of the family of Abraham together by his side. This was the place of happiness where the dead saints were waiting.
The other section of Hades is a place of torment where the wicked go. This is where the unsaved dead wait for the day of their ultimate judgment. Jesus illustrated this view of Hades in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. (Luke 16:19-31)
After Christ finished His work on the cross, He went down into Hades, to paradise, where His people were waiting for Him. On the cross, Christ made eternal atonement for everyone who believes. That covers believers in the past, present, and future (Romans 4). His blood covered the people who lived in the past, who had faith and looked forward to the Savior. His work granted them access to heaven, to the Father, just like it does for us. Everyone who is ever saved, is saved by grace through faith in Christ.
Jesus went to Hades. (Acts 2:31)
The paradise section of Hades. (Luke 23:43)
And released the captives. (Ephesians 4:8-10)
Now only the torment section of Hades is still functioning as a waiting place. The old Testament saints went to heaven to be with God, because Christ earned it for them, just like He earned it for us who believe in Him today. After Christ's victory over death, He went down to His people and got them, and He took them to Heaven. Now that Christ has done His work, Christians go directly to heaven when we die, without having to wait in Hades. (2 Corinthians 5:8)
The place of torment still has people in it. Christ did not empty that section of Hades. This is the place where people still go when they die, if they are not believing in Christ for their salvation. God's children do not receive that kind of punishment. Our portion of punishment was transferred to Christ on the cross, and His righteousness was transferred to us. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
Is the torment section of Hades the same as hell? Well, yes and no. The rich man in Luke 16 says "I am in agony in this flame." The guy is being tormented in flames, so yes, this is hell. But we know at the end of all things, those people are going to be resurrected and judged, and then thrown into "the lake of fire". So Hades isn't the final ultimate hell, it's only a waiting place. This is similar to when a person is arrested and immediately put into local jail where they await trial. The local jail is temporary. Then the prisoner must appear before the judge, receive his sentence, and then he goes to prison and serves out his punishment.
In the New Testament there are several descriptions of hell, and a few different words that are all being translated as hell, even in most modern translations. We need to look behind each word that's translated as hell, so we can understand the meaning. "Hell" is more complicated than most people realize.
In Greek mythology, Tartarus was a prison for the Titans, various gods, and demons. It also functioned as a place of torment for the evil dead. Tartarus was even lower under the earth than Hades, and held horrible monsters, and the most evil entities.
The word Tartarus is only used one time in the Bible. It's the word that Peter used for "hell" in 2 Peter 2:4.
You should read 2nd Peter Chapter 2 before going further. I'll try to condense it into only what we need for this study, but you should understand what he's saying in the chapter as a whole. For our main focus, we want to look at verse 2:4, but while we're here we'll look at a little more than just that.
The context of 2 Peter 2 is false prophets, false teachers, false Christians, and their punishment in hell. In verse 1, Peter is talking about false prophets and teachers who "introduce destructive heresies", and deny Christ, and bring destruction on themselves.
"For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into Tartarus and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment..." (2 Peter 2:4)
Peter says there are fallen angels in pits of darkness, in a place called Tartarus. There were angels who sinned and were put in prison. Peter uses a term from Greek culture that every reader would have understood. In the Greek mind, there was no place worse than Tartarus. According to the Iliad, Tartarus is as far below Hades as Hades is from earth. It was the darkest most terrifying place imaginable. Peter used it to describe the place where these fallen angels are being kept.
Peter refers to "pits of darkness"
2 Peter 2:4 is doubly interesting because it's the only time in the Bible where Tartarus is used for "hell", and it's also the only time this particular word for "pits" is used.
Pits and chains are both references to prison.
a line, a rope, a chain
from the root "to fasten", as binding
translated as "pits" or "chains"
"Chains" or maybe even "shackles" would be the better translation, according to that definition from Blue Letter Bible.
If this word is being translated as "pits" it has a strong implication of prison, which also makes the use of "chains" logical. Peter used this word to indicate the bonds of being imprisoned, like being shackled in a pit. The most ancient form of a prison was just a deep hole that they'd put someone in, and could bind them with rope or chains to make sure they didn't get out. Now imagine a spiritual version of this. The point is, these angels are in a prison. Fallen angels were put inside of this spiritual pit where they await their final destiny, God's ultimate judgment against them.
So Peter used his unique word for spiritual "shackles", combined with the concept of the Greek realm of Tartarus, as an illustration of what this angel prison is like. Tartarus was the worst place a Greek could imagine, the dark spiritual realm where monsters and evil spirits are imprisoned. Peter takes the concept of false prophets and greedy false teachers, and associates them with the fallen angels in Tartarus. He is talking about the punishment these people are going to get. In other words, they will not be going to heaven.
"in their greed they will exploit you with false words" (2 Peter 2:3)
They introduce destructive heresies, they deny Christ, follow their sensuality,
make Christianity look bad "maligned", greedily use lies to exploit people for money.
their judgment was 'from long ago'. (2 Peter 2:3)
He talks about "their judgment" and "their destruction".
Then Peter demonstrates a very important principle.
Since God punished the angels when He put them in Tartarus,
and He flooded the ancient world,
but He saved Noah and his family,
and He also punished Sodom and Gomorrah for their "sensual conduct",
but He saved Lot and his family,
Since in all of these examples, God punished the evil ones,
but He saved His people and they were not punished,
then God also knows how to rescue us from temptation.
God always saves some people from being punished.
He keeps "the unrighteous 'under punishment' until the day of judgment,"
"and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires", and they who "despise authority". Peter made sure to include those details.
Being "under punishment until the day of judgment", sounds exactly like the people who are in Hades, in torment, waiting to be resurrected and judged.
Then Peter goes into detail about these people. He has some very harsh descriptions of them. In verse 15, he says they've "followed the way of Balaam". I'll talk about Balaam shortly.
Peter continues talking about these damned people.
"for whom the black darkness has been reserved" (2 Peter 2:17)
He mentions fleshly desires and "sensuality" again.
they are "slaves of corruption",
people who dabbled with Christ and then left Him,
they go back to their true nature, they're like animals,
they were better off never knowing anything about Christ.
"it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness" (2 Peter 2:21)
Peter had very harsh things to say about these false Christians. But our main focus is on his descriptions of hell. He used Tartarus to describe a dark prison where evil fallen angels await their judgment. And He compared that situation to the situation some humans will find themselves in.
*The Jude connection*
I'll go through the relevant verses of Jude and quickly break down what he's saying. Along the way, notice how Jude and Peter mesh together, and even use some of the same terminology. I would suggest opening 2 Peter 2 and Jude, so you can switch back and forth to see the connections. We'll start with verse 3.
3-4 Jude wants us to contend for the true faith because certain people have crept in unnoticed.
they "secretly introduce destructive heresies",
they were 'long beforehand marked' for condemnation, (2 Peter 2:3)
they turn God's grace into licentiousness,
they deny Christ. (2 Peter 2:1)
5 Jude reminds us that God saved His people out of Egypt, and then God destroyed the unbelievers.
Peter reminded us of Noah to make the same point.
6 "And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day".
"bonds", like the "chains" Peter mentioned.
"darkness", like Peter also associated with chains and bonds,
"pits of darkness" or "chains of darkness". (2 Peter 2:4)
The word Jude used means "shackle".
Shackles and chains, just like Peter talked about. They used different words in Greek but both Peter and Jude are using prison terminology: pits, shackles, chains, darkness, punishment. And they are both describing imprisoned angels.
7 "Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire."
Peter also mentioned Sodom and Gomorrah.
"eternal fire" as "punishment"
In the same way that these angels had done things that were forbidden, so did the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. The angels did what the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were guilty of. God rained fire on Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed everyone in the cities.
"in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire."
Jude associates the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, with these angels who abandoned their "proper abode" and went after "strange flesh". The people of Sodom and Gomorrah went after strange flesh in the context of sexual immorality. But how did these angels go after strange flesh? Is Jude saying the angels are also guilty of sexual immorality? Where in the Bible did anything like this happen?
"in the same way as these, indulged in gross immorality, and went after strange flesh".
These angels are now in bonds, like the chains in 2 Peter 2, where they await final judgment.
"in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day"
Then Jude goes back to describing the humans.
8 "Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority..."
They reject authority, just like Peter said.
They "despise authority" (2 Peter 2:10)
Fallen angels and wicked humans have this in common
9 Jude refers to Michael the archangel having a conversation with the devil.
10 Then Jude goes back to talking about these men, the ones who have crept in unnoticed. They revile the things they don't understand, and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.
Peter and Jude both call them "unreasoning animals". (2 Peter 2:12)
11 "Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah." Peter also mentioned Balaam in 2 Peter 2:16.
Their motivations were "for pay".
Peter said it was for their greed.
They're doing it for financial gain.
Who are Cain, Korah, and Balaam?
Cain was the first son of Adam and Eve. He didn't worship God properly and his sacrifice was rejected. God accepted his brother Abel's offering, which made Cain so angry that he murdered Abel. As the first son of Adam and Eve, Cain is an example of the evil within the human heart. Cain was cursed and cast out.
The story of Korah is in Numbers 16. Korah tried to revolt against Moses. He showed up with 250 men to stand against Moses. Moses says God will choose which side He favors, and Korah and his men are taken immediately into Sheol.
"31 As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 All Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us up!” 35 Fire also came forth from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense."(Numbers 16:31-15)
And finally, Balaam was a wicked prophet who led the people into sin and false worship (Numbers 22-24).
So Cain, Korah, and Balaam are all examples of wicked rebellious men. No one should want to be associated with any of these guys. It's a very bad thing to be compared to them.
Now back to Jude.
12-13 These men are "doubly dead" (Revelation 21:8)
for whom the "black darkness" has been reserved forever.
Peter used this same phrase "black darkness". (2 Peter 2:17)
Jude connects the fallen angels with the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, and then puts false teachers in along with them, just like Peter did. They both compare the judgment of the fallen angels to the judgment of wicked humans.
14 Jude goes on about a prophecy made by the prophet Enoch.
For now, we can stop looking at Jude. We've got some puzzle pieces of information about this angel prison called Tartarus.
Don't let it escape your attention that Peter and Jude both say greedy false teachers are going to hell, and they also both mention people who live sensual lives and deny Christ. Peter and Jude both used examples of God punishing sinners and saving His people.
Jude is obviously describing Tartarus, even though he never actually names it with that word. It's the same angel prison Peter talked about in 2 Peter 2:4. There are fallen wicked angels who sinned, and are currently waiting in chains of darkness, in a spiritual prison, waiting for the final judgment day, and they both compared this to humans waiting for their judgment.
"in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day"
"as an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter"
"reserved forever"
Peter and Jude both connect the judgment of angels with the judgment of sinful humans. They both mention Sodom and Gomorrah specifically as an example of God's fiery judgment. They both put false teachers into the same kind of judgment as the fallen angels who went after "strange flesh", along with the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah. They both talk about people who do what they know they're not supposed to do, people motivated by sensuality and greed, who lead other people astray, and do not worship God correctly. Peter and Jude both specifically say that these people deny Christ.
Tartarus is a dark pit pull of demons, but this isn't their abode forever, just like Hades isn't where humans will stay forever. Tartarus is like the angel version of Hades. There is an ultimate destination for both humans and angels, but for now they wait in prison. So is Tartarus hell? Again, yes and no. It's a dark pit full of the most evil things in existence. It's a hellish nightmare, but it isn't the final place of eternal punishment that we call "Hell". Tartarus is not the lake of fire.
bottomless,
an immeasurable depth,
abyss, pit, bottomless pit, hell
ancient Greek bottomless chasm in the lowest depth of the earth,
receptacle for the evil dead and for demons
"They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss..." (Revelation 9:11)
The abyss contains angels...
"Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him." (Revelation 9:1)
He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace..." (Revelation 9:1-2)
This is a different word for pit. It's also the word for "a well".
a well, (Luke 14:5, John 4:11-12)
the pit of the abyss (Revelation 9:2)
In Revelation 9:2, John used a word that normally meant "a well", and applied it to this place called the abyss, which the Greeks were familiar with. If you look up the definition of Tartarus, it is described as a deep abyss and a pit.
"the key of the bottomless pit was given to him" (Revelation 9:1-3)
"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him." (Revelation 20:1-3)
It's the same word, just translated interchangeably as "bottomless pit" or "abyss". From the descriptions John uses in Revelation, it seems clear that this abyss is the same place as the "pits of darkness" that Peter and Jude talked about, the angel prison. The abyss and the bottomless pit are both describing Tartarus.
In Revelation 9:11, John says the abyss contains fallen angels. Revelation chapter 9 shows how God releases demons out of the abyss/pit to torment humanity. Demons are believed to be fallen angels. In Revelation 20, God binds Satan in chains and puts him in the pit, but only for 1,000 years, so that Satan would not deceive humanity for a while. Then God lets Satan back out of the pit for a little while so that he can deceive humanity again, and then Satan is thrown into the lake of fire. God is absolutely in control of everything in His creation. He can imprison the inhabitants of the abyss and keep them as long as He desires, and He can release them whenever He desires, and He can use them for His purposes and then throw them away whenever He wants to.
"When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations" (Revelation 20:7-8)
In the book of Revelation, the abyss and the bottomless pit are descriptions of the same angel prison that Peter and Jude described. Peter and Jude also both referred to chains and bonds. In Revelation chapter 20, we see Satan being bound with chains like a prisoner.
The angel from heaven bound him with a great chain. (Revelation 20:1-3)
Tartarus, the bottomless pit, and the abyss, are all referring to the same place. It's a bottomless hole where the darkest evil entities exist, where they wait in spiritual bondage until the final judgment.
In Revelation 9, John is describing the locust-like swarm of demons that will be released from the abyss.
"They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss;
In Hebrew, abaddon literally means "destruction". But it was also referred to in the Old Testament as a place called Destruction. Sheol and Abaddon are often mentioned together in the Old Testament.
In Greek, Apollyon literally means “The Destroyer.”
Apollyon seems to be a different person than Satan. Notice Apollyon is let out of the pit, as if he's been in there waiting to come out. But Satan is not imprisoned, he is currently free. We see him being temporarily imprisoned in the future in Revelation 20. But right now he's here on earth, "seeking someone to devour". (1 Peter 5:8) (Job 1:6-22)
So if Apollyon isn't Satan, who is he? This is the only time that name is used in the Bible, so we can't know more than what this verse says. We know he's an imprisoned angel, so we can infer he is one of the fallen angels referred to by Peter and Jude. And we know what his names mean: Destruction the Destroyer. He does not sound like a pleasant fellow.
Notice also in Revelation 9, there are other angels being released from other places, not just from Tartarus. It seems there are angels being bound here on earth too.
“Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind". (Revelation 9:14-15)
The fallen angels are not just awaiting their own judgment, but they are first going to be used as instruments of judgment and punishment against mankind, and then will themselves be judged and punished. They have a purpose to serve.
It's biblically inescapable that there are angels who sinned, and are locked in a prison awaiting judgment. According to Jude, they sinned in a similar way to Sodom and Gomorrah, they went after "strange flesh". They did something so wrong, God isolated them in this angel prison until the day of judgment. But what did these angels actually do though? Is this found anywhere in scripture?
Genesis 6 contains one of the most fascinating passages in the entire Bible.
"1 Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:1-4)
In an ancient Hebrew context, the phrase "sons of God" when used in this way, is always a reference to angels. (Job 1:6, Job 2:1, Job 38:7, Deuteronomy 32:8)
"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them." (Job 1:6)
The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took whomever they chose. Angels saw that human women were attractive and they "went after strange flesh" and sinned in a similar way as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, which means sexual immorality. Apparently these angels had sex with humans and produced offspring. The Bible calls their offspring the Nephilim, who are described as being "mighty men who were of old, men of renown". (Genesis 6:4)
Keep in mind Moses wrote those words almost 3,500 years ago, so "of old" means Moses was describing something that was ancient even to him. It is entirely possible that the ancient mythological heroes like Hercules, who were the product of "gods" mating with women, are actually corrupted accounts of the events told in Genesis 6:1-4. Looking at the way some of these translations handle Genesis 6:4, it seems this is not far fetched at all.
I don't look outside of the Bible for any of my theology, but occasionally non-biblical sources can shed light on biblical events that took place in history. The book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish book about fallen angels and their half-breed offspring called Nephilim. The Jews kept the book of Enoch, but it was not considered scripture, so it's not part of the Bible. So why am I even talking about it? Well, Jude quoted from Enoch. This gives it some weight. Jude was familiar enough with the book of Enoch to be able to quote from it.
Jude mentions "angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode", only a few verses before he quotes from Enoch, which is about fallen angels. It is reasonable to assume that Jude believed at least parts of what Enoch says about fallen angels. Add to this, the fact that Enoch, the person, is actually in the Bible, in Genesis 5, and Jude does call him a prophet. So there is something here worth looking at.
From the book of Enoch, original brackets included:
"And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of ⌈His⌉ holy ones To execute judgement upon all, And to destroy ⌈all⌉ the ungodly:
And to convict all flesh Of all the works ⌈of their ungodliness⌉ which they have ungodly committed, And of all the hard things which ungodly sinners ⌈have spoken⌉ against Him." (Enoch 1:9)
Now Jude:
"It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying,
'Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones,
to execute judgment upon all,
and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds
which they have done in an ungodly way,
and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.'"
(Jude 1:14-15)
Here's what we know biblically about Enoch from Genesis 5.
"Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah. Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." (Genesis 5:21-24)
Some people believe Enoch didn't die, but was simply taken to heaven by God, "God took him". This might just be a poetic way of saying that Enoch died, but he is the only one in the entire chapter who God "took". For everyone else, it specifically says they "died". We don't know anything more than this about Enoch from the Bible. Genesis 5 continues with the genealogy of Noah and ends with Noah and his three sons. Then Genesis 6 starts with the angels sinning.
Peter's word "Tartarus" connected us to Jude's angel prison, which led us to Enoch because Jude quoted him, and Enoch happens to be all about fallen angels, and so is Genesis 6:1-4. Jude says the angels in Tartarus "did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode", and also "just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh".
Jude must be describing the angels who procreated with women. This would be going after "strange flesh" where an angel is concerned. This would be an abandonment of their proper abode as angels, they didn't stay in their own domain. For angels to do this, and to produce offspring, was an abomination of the highest degree.
We know that not all of the fallen angels are in Tartarus right now because Satan is free, and in Revelation 12 we see fallen angels warring in heaven and being thrown down to earth. But those who committed the abomination of mixing with flesh are imprisoned in Tartarus.
"kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day" (Jude 1:6)
When the half-breed Nephilim were wiped out, their demonic spirits may have also been locked in Tartarus with their parents, or maybe they are earth-bound demons. We don't have that information.
Peter and Jude both talked about the angel prison in the context of God's judgment, by referring to events like Sodom and Gomorrah, the exodus from Egypt, and Noah's flood. Each being an example of how sinners were properly punished by God's judgment, and that God saves His people.
"God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into Tartarus, and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment" (2 Peter 2:4)
It should also be noted that during the 3 days when Jesus was "dead", He went and declared His victory to the "imprisoned spirits", which may be referring to the fallen angels in Tartarus.
"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so 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, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water." (1 Peter 3:18-20)
the valley of Ben-hinnom, the valley of the son of Hinnom,
a cursed valley outside of Jerusalem,
also called Topheth, the burning place,
used figuratively as a name for hell,
the place or state of everlasting punishment
(Joshua 15:8 and 18:16, 2 Chronicles 28:3, and 33:6)
2 Chronicles 28 tells the account of king Ahaz performing abominable acts in the valley of Ben-hinnom. He offered children to pagan gods, by sacrificially burning them.
"he burned incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom and burned his sons in fire"
2 Chronicles 33 tells of another wicked king named Manasseh, who did similar abominations in the same valley.
He "also erected altars for the Baals (pagan gods) and made Asherim (idols), and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them" (demon worship).
"He made his sons pass through the fire in the valley of Ben-hinnom".
Isaiah refers to a place called "Topheth".
"For Topheth has long been ready, Indeed, it has been prepared for the king. He has made it deep and large, A pyre of fire with plenty of wood; The breath of the Lord, like a torrent of brimstone, sets it afire."
(Isaiah 30:33)
Topheth literally means "the burning place",
a place in the southeast end of the valley of the son of Hinnom,
another name for the valley of Ben Hinnom, or Gehenna.
"Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind." (Isaiah 66:24)
In the reign of Josiah a call came from Jeremiah to destroy the shrines in Topheth. (Jeremiah 7:31-32, 32:35).
Josiah destroyed the shrine of the pagan god Molech at Topheth, to end the abominable sorcery, demon worship, and child sacrifices. (2 Kings 23:10)
Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem would become like Ben-hinnom and Topheth. (Jeremiah 19:2-6, 19:11-14)
Worshipers of Molech would make a giant metal statue of him with his hands out. They would build a fire inside of him and make him glow with intense heat. Then they would put their child in his hands to be burned to death. These horrible things took place in the valley called Ben-Hinnom, Topheth, or Gehenna.
The Jews considered the valley of Gehenna to be cursed because of its disgusting history. Some of the most evil things man is capable of took place in that valley, not only the mass child sacrifices, but all kinds of dark spiritual practices, like the worship of demons, witchcraft, and necromancy.
Gehenna became an incinerator pit, where corpses of criminals would go because they didn't deserve a proper burial, dead animals, sewage, any unclean disgusting thing that needed to be disposed of. This was the only function such a cursed place could serve. The Jews adhered to a religious system involving strict cleanliness, and Gehenna was the most unclean place imaginable. This was a valley of smoldering trash and corpses, and there were constant maggots. Not only would there be such visual nightmares, but there would be the constant smell of putrid smoke. It was a completely disgusting and horrifying place.
Jesus used Gehenna to describe hell numerous times. (Luke 12:5, Mark 9:43-47, Matthew 5:22-30, Matthew 10:28, Matthew 18:9, Matthew 23-15 and 23:33) (also James 3:6)
"Whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery Gehenna." (Matthew 5:22)
Luke 12:1-5: the context is the judgment of hypocrites.
Mark 9:42-49: the context is judgment for anyone who causes "little ones who believe to stumble".
He describes hell as "unquenchable fire" in Mark 9:43. He refers to Isaiah 66:24 "their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched"
Matthew 10:28 "fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna".
Matthew 18 is a parallel of Mark 9, about judgment.
Matthew 23 is about the judgment of hypocrites.
Starting from verse 1 of Matthew 23, this is about the hypocrisy of the pharisees. Jesus repeatedly calls the pharisees hypocrites and rebukes them, giving numerous examples of their religious hypocrisy.
He says to them "how will you escape the sentence of Gehenna?" (Matthew 23:33)
Matthew 25 is also about Judgment.
It starts with the parable of the virgins, some were shut out of the kingdom. Then the parable of the talents, where the bad slave is punished and thrown out.
"Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness;
in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth". (Matthew 25:30)
"outer darkness"
pits of darkness, chains of darkness (2 Peter 2:4) black darkness (2 Peter 2:17) eternal bonds under darkness (Jude 1:6)
"in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth"
Matthew 25:31-46: Judgment Day:
Jesus describes His second coming.
He will separate the goats from the sheep.
He gives examples of the differences between goats and sheep.
Then He will say to the goats,
"Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41)
"These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46)
"eternal fire" and "eternal punishment"
Jesus's word for eternal means "without beginning or end".
"prepared for the devil and his angels"
Jesus just told us the purpose of hell. It's there to serve as an eternal punishment for the devil and his angels. This is the final destination for all fallen angels, including the prisoners in Tartarus. But Jesus says this is also where some humans are going.
"How will you escape the sentence of Gehenna?" (Matthew 23:33)
Gehenna is not Tartarus, because Tartarus is where the angels are waiting until the day of final judgment. Some will be released, and used as instruments of judgment against earth, and then all will be thrown into Gehenna, the lake of fire, for their eternal place of punishment, along with Satan and every human who is not saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
literal word for Lake
literal word for Fire
(Revelation 19:20, Revelation 20:10-15, Revelation 21:8)
Revelation 19:20 The Beast and false Prophet are "thrown alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone".
1-3
Tartarus, is used as a prison to hold Satan for 1000 years. (angel prison)
4-6
John sees resurrected martyrs reigning with Christ for 1000 years, the rest of the dead are not resurrected until after the 1000 years. That's called the first resurrection.
7
1000 years is over, Satan is released from Tartarus.
8
Satan gathers the largest army of men ever, for the final war against Christ. This is an absolutely enormous group of people coming against Jesus.
"the number of them is like the sand of the seashore."
9
The army surrounds the saints, "and fire came down from heaven, and devoured the army".
Fire is consistently used by God as punishment.
10 "And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."
This punishment lasts forever. There is no getting out.
"11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
The lake of fire, Gehenna, is absolutely the true hell. This place is beyond description, beyond imagination. It will be the place where each individual will pay for their sins forever. There will not be any restraint on their evil anymore. They will be surrounded by nothing but pure evil, stewing in it, burning in it, along with the most evil creatures, who will interact with these humans in untold ways. The demons will most likely torment them in the flames as they are also being punished, and would want to make hell as hellish as they possibly can for the humans therein.
"This is the second death, the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:14)
Jude described the damned as "doubly dead". (Jude 1:12)
"But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)
Everyone dies once. But some will die twice. Right now there are unsaved humans being tormented in Hades, and there are fallen angels in Tartarus. Both will eventually be removed from these temporary prisons, judged, and sentenced to Gehenna, the lake of fire and brimstone.
literal fire
brimstone is probably sulfur, or only thought to be like sulfur because of its foul smell.
Looking through the list of verses that talk about brimstone, I noticed it's always accompanied by fire or burning, except for Job 18:15. But I looked at some other translations and was not surprised to find that some do include "fire" in Job 18:15 also.
"There dwells in his tent nothing of his..." (NASB)
"It shall dwell in his tabernacle..." (KJV)
"Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling." (NIV)
"Fire resides in his tent; over his residence burning sulfur is scattered." (NET)
The point is, fire and brimstone are jointly associated with God's punishment. God rains fire and brimstone from heaven and uses it for destruction and judgment.
Now imagine a lake full of that, with people in it, burning forever.
"the lake that burns with fire and brimstone" (Revelation 21:8)
God rained down fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24)
God rained fire on Elijah’s enemies (2 Kings 1:12)
God is described as having a stream of fire coming from His throne, symbolizing His holy punishment of sin (Daniel 7:10)
The Bible consistently uses fire to refer to God's punishment of sinners. The lake of fire is the ultimate judgment, the ultimate punishment, the ultimate hell. This is the destiny of all humans who do not come to Jesus for salvation. Gehenna is truly the place that we think of as "hell".
So we've seen that Hades, Tartarus, and Gehenna are three separate places, even though many Bibles translate all three as "hell". Before Christ came, everyone went to Hades when they died. Old Testament believers went to the paradise section, and everyone else went to the torment section. Now that Jesus has come and completed His work on earth, the paradise section of Hades is empty because He went down and got the saints and took them to heaven. Now the spirit of a believer goes immediately to be with God when they die, without having to wait in Hades. At the end of history, on the last day, everyone will be resurrected and given a new eternal body. Christians will live forever in our new bodies enjoying our rewards with Christ and all of our brothers and sisters, as one huge family.
But the people who do not believe in Jesus still go to the torment section of Hades when they die. They have to wait in torment until the day of resurrection and judgment. On the final day, they will be resurrected, judged according to their deeds, and cast into the lake of fire, along with all of the demons who are waiting in Tartarus. God will judge everyone by their deeds and each sentence will be justly deserved. He will also judge Christians for their deeds, and will give us rewards for the good things we did in our lives.
Heaven!!!
"The heavens" (Strong's H8064)
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)
In classic biblical thinking, there are three levels of "the heavens". The first heaven is what we call the sky, where birds fly and clouds float. The second heaven is outer space, where the stars and planets are. The third heaven is the domain of God, beyond creation, truly "Heaven".
Paul refers to the "third heaven" and calls it "Paradise". (2 Corinthians 12:1-9)
“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)
"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:1-3)
Heaven is a place of rewards for the good deeds done by God's children. God, by His amazing grace, has adopted us believers as His children, and He's given us His Spirit. We share the same Spirit that the Father and the Son share. In an indescribably glorious act of God's grace, we Christians will share in the rewards that Christ earned for us, as our inheritance as children of God. (Matthew 25:21, Luke 6:23-35, Galatians 6:7-9, 1 Corinthians 3:14; 9:18; 15:58, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Romans 8:17)
God is so kind and gracious that He rewards us for doing the good things that He did through us! It wasn't even our doing, but He gives us the rewards. Of course we are going to spend eternity worshiping and thanking God for everything He has done, because it will take forever to thank Him.
1 Peter 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls."
"You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever." (Psalm 16:11)
Believers do not have to fear Hades, Tartarus, Gehenna, or any other realm of existence, including earth itself. We are blessed children of God, for whom Christ came and died. He took our punishment on the cross and opened the gates of Heaven to us forever. When a believer dies, we go immediately into the presence of God, because of what Christ accomplished on our behalf.
"To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:1-8)
I'll now let scripture paint the final picture of the afterlife for believers. These precious few paragraphs give us tantalizing hints of what our destiny looks like.
1-11
Satan is locked in Tartarus for 1,000 years.
The first resurrection takes place.
They "will reign with Him for a thousand years."
Satan is let out of Tartarus to deceive the nations and make war.
He is thrown into Gehenna where the beast and the false prophet are.
Satan is gone, forever punished in hell.
Any human not saved by Christ, not found in the book of life, will go to hell.
Now it's all finished. All evil is gone. Only goodness remains forever.
1 "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband." And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 7 He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. 8 But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. 12 It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. 17 And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements. 18 The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; 26 and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; 27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life."
We've just been given a very precise description of an absolutely enormous structure called New Jerusalem. This will be the centerpiece of the new earth where we will live forever with Jesus and our brothers and sisters. Here's a short video showing how humongous New Jerusalem is.
1 "Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.
6 And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place. 7 “And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he *said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.”
10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.”
12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.”Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen."
Thanks for reading. God bless.
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