The righteous dead are "at home with the Lord" ( 2 Cor 5:8 ), "in paradise" ( Luke 23:43 ), or in the presence of God ( Rev 6:9 7:9 14:3 ). This differentiation between the wicked and the righteous dead continues throughout the New Testament. Similarly, Lazarus rests at Abraham's side, connoting the joyous abode of the righteous dead ( Luke 16:23 ). Jesus' point is that Hades foreshadows the rich man's final judgment. This is the intermediate state, for the bodily resurrection and the final judgment are still future. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man experiences torment in Hades. Hades is the place where the wicked dead reside and are punished. Other Scriptures also portray the requests of the dead and the fixity of their future ( 2 Col 5:10 Heb 9:27 Rev 6:9-10 ). In this case Jesus' vivid description of the basic conditions of the godly and ungodly dead is indispensable to the parable's point. Usually the details of parables should not be pressed to teach doctrine. The rich man recalls his fate and that of his family, and cries out in distress for Abraham to send them a sign and relieve his punishment, but to no avail. Death has fixed the human's destiny without further opportunity for repentance. An unbridgeable chasm separates the wicked and the righteous dead. Jesus' parable of the rich man and Lazarus portrays additional features of this state ( Luke 16:19-31 ). Finally, Jesus' deliverance from Hades establishes the new life for humanity ( 1 Cor 15 ). Furthermore, this descent confirms that God assumed human nature and even our sinful destiny, death ( 2 Corinthians 5:14 2 Corinthians 5:21 Heb 2:14 ). This is the path of the Old Testament righteous ( Isa 53 ). However, Jesus' descent to Hades is theologically important. 18, "made alive by the Spirit"), and that the dead in 1 Peter 4:6 are deceased believers who heard the gospel while alive. The New Testament does not explore Jesus' precise residence or activity while in Hades, unlike the later church traditions of the "harrowing of hell" or a "Hades Gospel." It is widely accepted that the proclamation in 1 Peter 3:19 occurs after rather than before his resurrection (v. In both instances, Hades refers to a disembodied existence. Similarly, Jesus prophesies that the Son of Man will be delivered from the heart of the earth, just as God delivered Jonah from Hades ( Matt 12:40 ). Following David's prophecy in Psalm 16:10, Peter interprets the resurrection as God delivering Jesus from Hades ( Acts 2:27 Acts 2:31 ). In the New Testament a descent to Hades may simply refer to someone's death and disembodied existence. Hades is the state in which all the dead exist. He is the "Lord of both the dead and the living" ( Rom 14:9 ). For Christ has established authority over all powers ( Eph 1:20-23 ), even the one who "holds the power of death" ( Heb 2:14 2 Tim 1:10 ). In the New Testament Christ's revelation and salvific work decisively shape this term. This indeterminate picture of Sheol and its Greek translation, Hades, allowed varying interpretations by intertestamental Jews. But the precise expectation of a bodily resurrection for the wicked and the related conception of Sheol as an intermediate state is late ( Dan 12:2 ). The Old Testament confidently awaits God's victory over Sheol ( Psalm 98 Isa 25:8 Hosea 13:14 ). While an antagonist, Sheol ultimately exists at Yahweh's service ( 1 Sam 2:6 Psalm 55:23 139:8 ). 2-3), the Old Testament personifies Sheol as the power of Satan and his demonic hosts ( Job 18:14 Psalm 18:4-5 Isa 28:15 Jer 9:21 ). Since death is not a natural occurrence but invaded creation through the fall and Satan's destructive work (Gen. These conscious souls face a lethargic existence, apparently without reward or retribution ( Job 10:21 Eccl 9:10 Isa 14:10 ). Sheol refers primarily to death and the abode of the dead, both godly and ungodly ( Gen 37:25 Psalm 16:10 88:10-12 Isa 14:9 ). The New Testament use of Hades ( hades ) builds on its Hebrew parallel, Sheol (se'ol), which was the preferred translation in the Septuagint. Greek term widely used to denote the deity of the underworld and the abode of the dead.
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