When physical death occurs, the soul and the spirit pass into an intermediate state. Just as death is a temporary condition for the body, so also is the condition of the spirit and the soul when disembodied. All who pass into this intermediate state will be brought out of it some day. This state has also been called, “the separate state,” or “the unclothed state” (2 Cor. 5:44For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. (2 Corinthians 5:4)).
The Grave (“Qeber” or “Mnemeion”)
The custodian of the body while the spirit and soul have been separated from it through death is the grave. Even though many bodies have never been properly buried (some have been eaten by animals, some have been burned, etc.), still, in Scripture, a dead body, in whatever state it may be, is seen as in the grave.
The word in the Old Testament Hebrew for the grave, or a sepulcher, is “Qeber.” It is a literal or physical place—an actual burial site. In the case of Abraham that burying place was “before Mamre” (Gen. 50:1313For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre. (Genesis 50:13)). In the case of Saul and Jonathan it was “in Zelah, in the sepulcher of Kish” (2 Sam. 21:1414And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was entreated for the land. (2 Samuel 21:14)). “Qeber,” is something that can be dug (Gen. 50:55My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again. (Genesis 50:5)), and a person’s body is said to go into it (1 Kings 13:30; 230And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! (1 Kings 13:30)
30And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. (1 Kings 2:30) Kings 13:21; Jer. 26:2323And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. (Jeremiah 26:23)).
In the New Testament the word in the Greek for the grave is “Mnemeion.” It may be translated “tomb” (Matt. 27:6060And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. (Matthew 27:60); Mark 6:2929And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. (Mark 6:29)), or “sepulcher” (Matt. 23:2929Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, (Matthew 23:29); John 19:4141Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. (John 19:41)).
“Sheol” or “Hades”
While the bodies of men who have died are in the grave, their disembodied spirits and souls pass into the world of unseen spirits. The Biblical name for this temporary condition of disembodied spirits and souls is “Sheol,” or “Hades.” As “Qeber” and “Mnemeion” are the Hebrew and Greek words for the grave or a sepulcher, “Sheol” and “Hades” are Hebrew and Greek words for the unseen world of disembodied souls and spirits—the disembodied state. They are simply two different words from two different languages describing one thing. This can be easily proved by comparing Psalm 16:1010For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Psalm 16:10) with Acts 2:2727Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Acts 2:27). These two original language words have been adopted into the text in most English translations.
Unfortunately, the King James Version (KJV), which is usually a reliable translation, does not use “Sheol” and “Hades” in its text (as most other translations do), but translates the two words “hell,” the “grave,” or the “pit.” This has led to considerable confusion, for the grave is a temporary place of dead bodies and hell is the eternal abode of the lost, not the temporary condition of disembodied spirits. In the KJV translation of the Old Testament, “Sheol” has been wrongly translated “grave” (31 times), “hell” (31 times) and the “pit” (3 times). In the KJV translation of the New Testament, “Hades” has been erroneously translated “hell” in ten passages (Matt. 11:23; 16:1823And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. (Matthew 11:23)
18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18); Luke 10:15; 16:2315And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell. (Luke 10:15)
23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:23); Acts 2:27, 3127Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Acts 2:27)
31He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. (Acts 2:31); 1 Cor. 15:5555O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Corinthians 15:55) – margin; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13-1418I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. (Revelation 1:18)
8And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:8)
13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (Revelation 20:13‑14)). We would do well to go through our KJV New Testaments and mark these passages as “Hades,” rather than “hell,” to put an end to the confusion in our subsequent Bible studies.
“Sheol,” or “Hades,” is not a place, but a condition with two opposing states in it. It simply means, “the unseen world of disembodied spirits.” J. N. Darby’s Translation footnote in Matthew 11:2323And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. (Matthew 11:23), gives a helpful explanation of this condition of the disembodied spirits and souls. He says, “‘Hades’ like ‘Sheol’ in the Old Testament (see note at Psa. 6:55For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks? (Psalm 6:5)) is a very vague expression used in general to designate the temporary state of departed spirits, the unseen or invisible world of spirits, upon which, till the coming of Christ, darkness and obscurity rested.”
Two States in “Sheol” or “Hades”
As mentioned, “Sheol,” or “Hades,” are general terms having to do with departed souls and spirits without describing their state. They are used in Scripture for the departed righteous (Gen. 37:3535And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him. (Genesis 37:35); Job 14:1313O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! (Job 14:13); Acts 2:2727Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Acts 2:27); 1 Cor. 15:5555O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Corinthians 15:55) – the Greek text), and also for the departed wicked (Psa. 9:17; 31:1717The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. (Psalm 9:17)
17Let me not be ashamed, O Lord; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. (Psalm 31:17); Ezek. 31:16-1716I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth. 17They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen. (Ezekiel 31:16‑17); Matt. 11:2323And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. (Matthew 11:23); Luke 16:2323And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:23)).
With the coming of the Lord Jesus into this world, we have been privileged to know more than what was revealed in the Old Testament concerning the disembodied state. The Lord taught that there are two opposing states in the world of unseen, disembodied spirits. There is a state of bliss for the righteous in heaven and a state of torment for those who are lost.
The Lord’s description of “the rich man” and “Lazarus” indicates this (Luke 16:19-3119There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: 28For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16:19‑31)). It is not exactly a parable, for it doesn’t bear the marks of His other parables. For instance, He never used names of people in His parables, but here He does. The story is, rather, an actual history of two persons. It is given in a Jewish setting, because that’s who His audience was, and much symbolism is used. If we take the story literally, we will come away with all sorts of mistaken ideas. For instance, we would think that people in a lost eternity can look up and see people in heaven, and that they can speak to each other.
An objector might tell us that if the eyes and the tongue of the rich man are symbolical, so must the torments and the flame be symbolical. And they are quite right. The physical torments described in this account are symbolic of spiritual torments that affect the soul and the spirit. They are anthropomorphisms—that is, the use of human features to symbolize certain real things. For instance, Scripture speaks of the “eye” of God, or the “hand” of God. God does not have a body with eyes and hands for He is a spirit (John 4:2424God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)). But human features, such as an eye, are used to symbolize the fact that God knows everything (His omniscience). His power is at work everywhere and is often used under the figure of a “hand” (His omnipotence). Similarly, the disembodied soul and spirit of the rich man in Hades did not have eyes and fingers, etc. Such anthropomorphisms are used to describe his torment in terms which we can understand.
Some have imagined that their departed loved ones in heaven are looking down at them as they live here on earth, but Scripture does not support this idea. The account of the rich man and Lazarus shows that people in the disembodied state are fully conscious, having memories and emotions, etc. However, they are not cognizant of things presently happening in this world since they are in another world. Job 1415Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands. 16For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin? 17My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity. 18And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place. 19The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. (Job 14:15‑19), which has been called “the great resurrection chapter of the Old Testament,” speaks of persons in the disembodied state having no knowledge of current things on earth. Verse 21 says, “His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.” Solomon also said, “The dead know not any thing” (Eccl. 9:55For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. (Ecclesiastes 9:5)). That is, they don’t know anything that is happening on earth. When Samuel was brought up out of the world of the unseen departed spirits, he had to be informed of the present condition of Israel (1 Sam. 28:15-1915And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. 16Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? 17And the Lord hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbor, even to David: 18Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day. 19Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. (1 Samuel 28:15‑19)). The same is said of Abraham (Isa. 63:1616Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting. (Isaiah 63:16)).
Others have mistakenly assumed that these verses we have just quoted are teaching that departed souls are asleep or unconscious—the so-called doctrine of “soul-sleep.” But they don’t mean that at all. Luke 16:19-3119There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: 28For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16:19‑31), shows conclusively that all souls are conscious after death. The Lord Himself said that all the dead “live unto Him” (Luke 20:3838For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. (Luke 20:38)). The context of Ecclesiastes has to do with what is “under the sun” (Eccl. 1:33What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun? (Ecclesiastes 1:3), etc.), which is an expression that refers to life in this world. Such verses as Ecclesiastes 9:55For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. (Ecclesiastes 9:5), must be taken in their context. Hence, the “dead know not any thing”—that is, in connection with what is going on in this world. Similarly, we do not know what is happening right now in Buckingham Palace because we are not there to take account of it, but that fact doesn’t mean that we are unconscious. We are simply not there to know.
As mentioned, there are two opposite conditions in the disembodied state. One is “paradise” (Luke 23:4343And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43)) and the other is “prison” (1 Peter 3:1919By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; (1 Peter 3:19)). The righteous—those who have died with faith—are in “paradise.” The unrighteous—those who have died without faith—are in “prison.”
An illustration the late Albert Hayhoe used is helpful in understanding this division in “Sheol” or “Hades.” He said that the assembly meeting room in the town where he lived was built in such a way that upon entering it, you were faced with a half flight of stairs to the upper floor, and a half flight of stairs down to the basement. He said that if we were to watch someone come down the street and go into that building, that person would disappear behind the doors (which he likened to death), and we wouldn’t know where he went; whether it was to the upper or the lower floor. The same takes place when a person passes through the article of death. His body goes into the grave, but his soul and spirit go into “Hades” (Sheol)—either to “paradise” or to “prison.”
Paradise
The righteous in “Sheol,” or “Hades,” are in “paradise” with Christ (Luke 23:4343And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43); 2 Cor. 12:1-41It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 3And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. (2 Corinthians 12:1‑4); Rev. 2:77He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7)). “Paradise” means “the garden of delights,” and describes the state of the righteous in heaven resting in bliss. The Apostle Paul equates it with “the third heaven,” which is the immediate presence of God (2 Cor. 12:1-41It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 3And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. (2 Corinthians 12:1‑4)).
The righteous in “paradise” would include all those who have died in faith, and also those who died in infancy who were under the age of understanding (2 Sam. 12:23; 123But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. (2 Samuel 12:23)
23Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. (2 Samuel 1:23) Kings 14:13). The Lord said, “In heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 18:1010Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 18:10)). He used the word “angels” for their disembodied spirits. It is also used so with Peter in Acts 12:1515And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. (Acts 12:15). While the souls and spirits of departed infants are in heaven (paradise), they are not part of the Church of God. Those who compose the Church have been sealed with the Spirit of God upon believing the gospel of their salvation (Eph. 1:1313In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (Ephesians 1:13)). This requires faith and some intelligence in the message of the gospel. Persons in this class of departed infants would be among those who are the friends of “the Bridegroom” (John 3:2929He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. (John 3:29)). They will have a blessed portion with Christ in the resurrection and will reign with Him in the Millennium over the earth.
The saints who are in “paradise” are said to be “unclothed” (2 Cor. 5:44For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. (2 Corinthians 5:4)), and also said to be “with Christ; which is far better” (Phil. 1:2323For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: (Philippians 1:23); Luke 23:4343And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43)). They are in heaven, but not yet glorified. They are waiting (as we are waiting on earth) for the coming of the Lord. When He comes, He will effect the first resurrection, at which time they (and we) will be glorified. Both the saints alive on earth, and the saints who have departed are waiting—the difference is that the departed saints are in a brighter waiting room in heaven. More will be said on this when we consider resurrection.
The Jews believed that their departed forefather Abraham was in the highest place of happiness. Hence, when the Lord spoke of Lazarus being in “Abraham’s bosom” they clearly understood that He was referring to this state of bliss (Luke 16:2222And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; (Luke 16:22)). This is a figurative term; there is no literal place in Abraham’s bosom for the blessed righteous.
As mentioned earlier, the gospel has shed much more light on the intermediate state than what the Old Testament saints had. We can now speak more definitively concerning the righteous in that condition. Hence, in the New Testament, the word “Hades” all but disappears in application to the righteous. It is only used twice in that way: in speaking of the Lord when He was in the disembodied state (Acts 2:2727Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Acts 2:27)), and for the saints at the time of the first resurrection (1 Cor. 15:5555O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Corinthians 15:55) – the Greek text). The reason for this is that, since we know specifically of the condition of the saints as being in “paradise,” it is not necessary to use the vague and general term of “Hades.”
To illustrate this, we might speak of a person we know as having gone to Britain. But after learning of his exact whereabouts, we thereafter speak of him in the specific place to which he has gone. We don’t just say that the person is in Britain; we say that he is in London. Hence, with believers who have departed from this world through death; we don’t refer to them as being in “Hades,” though they are. Christian intelligence on this subject enables us to say that they are “with Christ” in heaven—in “paradise.”
Even though the departed righteous are in an intermediate state, being separated from their bodies, their souls and spirits are in a fixed condition of bliss in “paradise.” When they are raised and glorified at the first resurrection, they will continue for eternity in that state of bliss.
Prison
The unrighteous in “Hades” (Sheol) are in “prison” (1 Peter 3:1919By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; (1 Peter 3:19)). It is a condition of torment (Luke 16:2323And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:23)). The “prison” is a “holding tank,” so to speak, of the disembodied wicked. While their condition in “prison” is temporary, their state of torment is eternal. It is a fixed condition. Once a person passes out of this world in his sins he is in a lost eternity, and no amount of prayer will avail a person then! Job said, “I know that Thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house of assemblage for all living. Indeed, no prayer [availeth] when He stretcheth out [His] hand: though they cry when He destroyeth” (Job 30:23-2423For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living. 24Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction. (Job 30:23‑24) – J. N. Darby Trans.). The Lord Himself said that He only had power to forgive sins on earth (Matt. 9:66But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. (Matthew 9:6)). Once a person draws his last breath and passes into a lost eternity the mighty power of Christ’s forgiveness cannot reach him there. How solemn!
Isaiah 24:21-2221And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. 22And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. (Isaiah 24:21‑22) says, “It shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.” The “host of the high ones that are on high” is Satan and his fallen angels. Just after the Appearing of Christ, they will be taken and cast into “the pit.” See also Revelation 20:1-31And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (Revelation 20:1‑3). The “kings upon the earth” are the armies of the nations that will be gathered in the land of Israel. They will be judged at that time. They will be killed, and their souls and spirits put in “prison.” They will be held there for “many days” (through the Millennium), and then “visited” by a further execution of judgment and then assigned to the lake of fire.
Since Acts 2:2727Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Acts 2:27) says that the Lord’s soul went into Hades after he died (but before He was raised), some have imagined that He went down into the “prison” and preached the gospel to the spirits of disembodied men there, giving them a second chance to get out of there. The verse used to support this idea is 1 Peter 3:18-2018For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. (1 Peter 3:18‑20). It says, “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also He went and preached unto the spirits [which are] in prison; which sometime [heretofore] were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”
This, however, is a twisted use of the Scriptures. It is wrongly assumed that Hades is exclusively a condition of suffering. And, on that false premise, people mistakenly conclude that after the Lord died, He went into that state where disembodied spirits of wicked men are and preached to them. That is not at all what the passage in 1 Peter 3 is teaching. Peter is speaking of the Lord’s resurrection, not His spirit in the disembodied state. He is referring to the work of the Holy Spirit, saying, “In which (the Spirit) ... He (the Lord Jesus) went and preached to the spirits [which are] in prison.” The point of the passage is that the same Spirit that raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead was also active in Noah’s day when he preached to that antediluvian world. Speaking to men on earth by the Holy Spirit was the way in which the Lord worked in Old Testament times. He warned, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man” (Gen. 6:33And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. (Genesis 6:3); Psa. 139:77Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? (Psalm 139:7)). Peter affirms this in the first chapter of his epistle, telling us that “the Spirit of Christ” was the moving power in testimony throughout Old Testament times.
The “spirits” of those men that Noah preached to long ago are now in “prison” because they refused the message God gave to them when they were alive on earth (1 Peter 4:66For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. (1 Peter 4:6)). To make no mistake as to when Christ preached by the Spirit to those people, Peter adds, “Which sometime [heretofore] were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah.” This proves that it was in Noah's day, not when Christ was disembodied in the interval between His death and resurrection. There is not a word in the passage intimating that the Lord, in His disembodied state, went and preached in the “prison.” Neither does it say that these people were disembodied spirits when they were preached to; the preaching happened when they were alive on earth (in their bodies) back in the days of Noah.
Such an interpretation is irrational and raises more questions than it answers. It is absurd to think that when the Lord died, that of all the of people in “prison,” in Hades, He would single out that one generation of people—a relative few—and offer them a second chance. What about the people who lived during other Old Testament periods? Why wouldn’t the Lord give them a second chance too? And what about those who have died and have gone into the “prison” after the Lord rose from the dead—during this present Church period? Why wouldn’t He give them a second chance too? And how would they ever get such a chance if they died after He rose from the dead? The Lord would have to die again to go down into the “prison” in Hades to preach to them. This is absurd. If the doctrine of a second chance after death were true, then why would the Apostle Paul say, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation?” (2 Cor. 6:22(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Corinthians 6:2)) Why all the need for urgency in the gospel?
Scripture is clear that once a person dies and passes into that state of torment on account of their sins not being atoned for, the condition is “fixed.” They will come out of the prison when they are resurrected, but they will not come out of that state of torment. This is emphasized in the account of the rich man and Lazarus. “Beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence” (Luke 16:2626And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. (Luke 16:26)).
The Pit (Abyss)
The “pit,” or the “abyss” (same word in the Greek), is a temporary place of confinement for the wicked angelic spirits (Isa. 24:21-2221And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. 22And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. (Isaiah 24:21‑22); Rev. 9:1-2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1-31And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 2And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. (Revelation 9:1‑2)
11And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. (Revelation 9:11)
7And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. (Revelation 11:7)
8The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. (Revelation 17:8)
1And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (Revelation 20:1‑3)). It is translated “the deep” in Luke 8:3131And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. (Luke 8:31).
While angels do not die (Luke 20:35-3635But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: 36Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. (Luke 20:35‑36)), those who are found to be wicked will be consigned to the “pit” when Christ sets up His Millennial kingdom (Isa. 24:21-2221And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. 22And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. (Isaiah 24:21‑22)). Some wicked angels are in the “pit” now. The Apostle Peter said, “God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell [the deepest pit of gloom], and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment” (2 Peter 2:44For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; (2 Peter 2:4)). The word wrongly translated “hell” here, in the KJV, is not “Ghenna” but “Tartarus” in the Greek. It should be translated, “the deepest pit of gloom” (J. N. Darby Translation). Apparently, this is a special place of solitary confinement in the “abyss” or “pit.”
Some of the fallen angels in the days of Noah sinned in such a corrupt way that God intervened in judgment and cast them into this “deepest pit of gloom.” Jude adds more light on it, saying, “The angels which kept not their first [original] estate, but left their own habitation [dwelling], He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” At the time of the flood, some of the angels who fell with Satan before the creation, chose to not keep their “original estate,” which was sexless (Matt. 22:3030For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. (Matthew 22:30)). They “left their own habitation [dwelling]” which was in the heavens, and then came down and got involved in the degenerated practice of co-habiting with “the daughters of men” (Gen. 6:44There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:4)). Apparently, their design was to make a super-race of beings. We are told that there were “giants,” “mighty men [heroes],” and “men of renown” on the earth in those days (Gen. 6:44There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:4)). Such a practice was so corrupt that God wiped them all out in the judgment of the flood—except for “eight” persons (1 Peter 3:2020Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. (1 Peter 3:20)). The wicked angels involved in this practice were cast into “the deepest pit of gloom.” It is so defiling that God has drawn a covering over it and has told us very little in His Word.
The “pit” is a temporary place of judgment in which fallen angels are held until “the judgment of the great day,” which will be at the end of time (Rev. 20:1010And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)). While those wicked creatures are confined to the “pit” until that day, their wicked influences will be let loose on the earth once again during the Great Tribulation under the direction of the Antichrist (Rev. 9:1-111And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 2And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 3And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 5And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 6And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. 7And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. 8And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 9And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. 10And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 11And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. (Revelation 9:1‑11)).
In Summary
In summary, there are three words used in Scripture to describe the temporary state of all God’s created beings in the world of unseen spirits. They all begin with the letter “P.”
“Paradise” for righteous men.
“Prison” for wicked men.
“Pit” for Satan and the wicked angels.