First Century Christianity
First Century Christianity
Death
So when I got to the end of the Bible back when I was trying to prove some stuff to my wife, it sure looked to me like hell didn’t exist. I asked the wife and she said, “of course not”. Again, I had just assumed that people go straight to heaven or hell when they die, but apparently, hell doesn’t exist. Uh-oh.
Here are the words translated “hell” in the Bible:
Sheol - grave or pit
Gehana - valley used as garbage dump with fires burning all the time
Hades - grave
Tartarus - pit, deepest Hades
The next logical question was, “If hell doesn’t exist, then what happens when we die?” It sure looks to me like death means sleep.
And there was a certain sick one, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Then his sisters sent to Him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick. When Jesus heard, He said, This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God might be glorified by it. And Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Therefore, when He had heard that he was sick, then indeed He remained two days in the place where He was. Then after that He said to the disciples, Let us go into Judea again. The disciples said to Him, Rabbi, the Jews lately have sought to stone You, and do You go there again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of the world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because there is no light in him. He said these things; and after that He said to them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps. But I go so that I may awaken him out of sleep. Then His disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get well. But Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He had spoken of taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, in order that you may believe. But let us go to him.
(John 11:1-15)