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by George Sidney Hurd
Does the Hebrew word Sheol in the Old Testament and its Greek equivalent Hades refer to the realm of the souls of the dead, or does it merely refer to the grave? Some believe that the soul is inseparable from the body and therefore all consciousness ceases at death. If this were true, then these terms could not mean anything more than the grave.
There are two doctrinal camps today which argue that Sheol and Hades simply refer to the grave. The first is that of Annihilationists, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists, as well as a growing number of Evangelicals who argue that the dead remain in an unconscious state until the resurrection, at which time the just are granted immortality and the unjust are annihilated. For a more in-depth consideration of the doctrine of Annihilation as opposed to that of Universal Restoration I recommend my book, “Extermination or Restoration, (a Restorationist’s Response to Annihilationism).”
The second group is a modern variation of syncretistic Universalists, who, in order to deny the reality of Hell, or any form of postmortem retribution, argue that Sheol and Hades only have reference to the grave. They also argue that Jesus’ references to Gehenna fire (Matt 5:22-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:33) only had application to the Jews prior to 70 AD., and referred to the destruction of Jerusalem at that time [1]
Don Keathley presents their arguments in his recent book “Hell’s Illusion (Exposing the Myth of Hell).” He says that the only Hell that anyone will ever experience is the Hell we undergo in our own minds when we have been programmed by religion to believe in the myth of Hell. He claims that there is no need to receive Christ in order to be saved from sin, Hell and the wrath to come, because we were never separated from God to begin with. Our sins are not against God, according to him, but only against ourselves and therefore there is no divine retribution for the unrepentant in Hell. He says: “There is no such destination after we pass from the physical realm to a place called Hell, even if you didn’t pray the magic prayer!” [2] The “magic prayer” he refers to is the prayer of repentance and faith when we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. I consider their deconstruction of the biblical doctrines concerning sin, separation and salvation in my blog: “The Blurring of Biblical Distinctions.” I also consider in detail what the Scriptures have to say concerning Gehenna, often translated as “Hell,” and the Lake of Fire in my book “The Triumph of Mercy (The Reconciliation of All through Jesus Christ).” The objective of this blog is to respond to their claim that Sheol and Hades do not have reference to the conscious intermediate state of the souls of the dead, but simply refer to the grave or tomb.
Don Keathley makes the claim that the Early Church knew nothing of a place called Hell – that it was a later invention of Church leaders in order to control the people through fear. He claims that it originated with the Reformers. He says: “I will give you a little history on where this belief that Hell exists originated. It has roots in Calvinism and Arminianism, and they taught this to gain and keep people.” [3] Actually, he later attributes the origin of Hell to Augustine whom he also says invented other myths, such as the “myth” of inbred sin. [4] However, nowhere in his book does he substantiate this claim from Church history.
Most would agree that it was Augustine who first popularized the belief in unending torments in Hell, but prior to Augustine the belief in a just postmortem retribution in some form of Hell was unanimously held by the Early Church, including the intermediate state of the dead in a place referred to as Hades. Actually, I was unable to find even one reference in the writings of the Early Church Fathers presenting Hades as the grave. I will here cite a few examples from the Fathers demonstrating that they believed that, while the bodies of the dead remain in the graves until the resurrection, their souls continue in a conscious state in Hades. Justin Martyr (100-165 AD.) says concerning those who had previously died in their sins:
“it is likely enough that they themselves are now lamenting in Hades, and repenting with a too late repentance; and if it were possible for them to show you thence what had befallen them after the termination of this life, ye would know from what fearful ills they desired to deliver you.” [5]
It is evident that Justin Martyr did not regard Hades as being the grave but rather the place where the souls of the dead went upon leaving their bodies. Irenaeus (130-202 AD.), referring to those who rose from the dead after Christ’s descent into Hades, makes a clear distinction between their souls in Hades and their bodies which were raised from the dead: “This event was also an indication of the fact that when the holy soul of Christ descended to Hades, many souls ascended and were seen in their bodies.” [6] Referring to Matthew 27:52-53, Irenaeus says that the soul of Christ descended into Hades after His death, and when He rose from the dead He brought many souls with Him who were afterwards seen in their bodies. Hippolytus (170-235 AD) explains the nature of Hades in the following manner:
“But now we must speak of Hades, in which the souls both of the righteous and the unrighteous are detained. This locality has been destined to be as it were a guard-house for souls, at which the angels are stationed as guards, distributing according to each one's deeds the temporary punishments for (different) characters… But the righteous shall obtain the incorruptible and un-fading kingdom, who indeed are at present detained in Hades, but not in the same place with the unrighteous.” [7]
The belief that both the righteous and the wicked were kept in Sheol or Hades, awaiting the resurrection was common belief, both among the Christians and the Jews of that time. Later I will demonstrate that this belief is not mythical but rather was derived from the Scriptures themselves. However, my objective here is merely to show that it is not a recent belief, as Keathley affirms, but was universally held by the Early Church Fathers prior to Augustine and certainly before the influence of Calvinism and Arminianism much later in the 16th century.
There are too many references to Hades in the Church Fathers to quote in this short blog. I would just like to cite one more example from Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD.) where, making reference to 1Peter 3:18-20 and 4:6, he not only shows that the souls of both the righteous and those who were wicked in life are conscious in Hades, but that God’s postmortem punishments are saving and disciplinary, leading to conversion in their day of visitation when the gospel is preached to them:
“Do not the Scriptures show that the Lord preached the Gospel to those that perished in the flood…?’ And it has been shown also…that the apostles, following the Lord, preached the Gospel to those in Hades… If, then, the Lord descended to Hades for no other end but to preach the Gospel…then all who believe shall be saved…on making their profession there (ie. in Hades); since God's punishments are saving and disciplinary, leading to conversion…and especially since souls, although darkened by passions, when released from their bodies, are able to perceive more clearly, because of their being no longer obstructed by the paltry flesh.” [8]
While Clement, as with the majority of the Church Fathers prior to Augustine in the 5th century, clearly believed in the apocatastasis or the final restoration of all, [9] he, like all other Universalists of his day, believed that Hades was the place of departed souls and not the grave, and they also believed that the wicked undergo corrective punishments in Hades, eventually leading to their conversion.
Etymology of Sheol and Hades
The etymology of the Hebrew word “Sheol” has been debated. Some argue that its Assyro-Babylonian counterpart is “Shu'alu,” which meant, “the place where the dead are consulted or gathered.” Vine’s says that it is from the Hebrew word “sha’al,” which means “to ask, consult or enquire.” [10] Either way, the idea expressed implies that Sheol was considered to be a place where the dead were congregated and could be consulted. Consulting the dead on behalf of the living was a much more common practice in the Ancient Middle East than it is today, and it was a practice strictly forbidden by God (Deut 18:10-11). The Lord says to His people, “should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?” (Isa 8:19). If indeed Sheol were nothing more than the grave and the dead lay unconscious, such a prohibition would have been superfluous.
The Hebrew word “Sheol” in the Old Testament was translated as “Hades” both in the Greek Old Testament LXX and also in the New Testament when it cites the Old Testament. The etymology of Hades is less obscure than that of Sheol. It is a composite word, made up of the negative particle a, meaning “no” and eido which means “to see.” Even outside of Scripture it refers to the invisible unseen realm of the dead.
Many object to the rendering “Hell” for Sheol or Hades. However, when Hades was originally translated as “Hell” in the Old English, it meant essentially the same thing as Hades. The old word hel or Helle simply meant “that which is covered or concealed,” i.e. the invisible realm of the dead. [11] It is unfortunate that Greek Mythology and Dante’s version of Hell has been read into the word, but, etymologically speaking, the word Hell is totally consistent with the meaning of Sheol or Hades which is the unseen or hidden realm of the dead.
Meaning of Sheol determined by Usage
Much of the confusion concerning the meaning of Sheol is the result of the inconsistency of the translators of the King James Version. Sheol appears 66 times in the King James Version. It is translated as “the grave” 32 times, as “the pit” 3 times and as “Hell” 31 times. Some more recent versions, such as the New American Standard Version, avoid these interpretive renderings of Sheol, rendering it literally as Sheol in every instance.
A careful examination of each occurrence of Sheol in context makes it clear that it is referring to the unseen realm of the souls of the dead and not the grave. The substantive for grave, qeber, and its cognates qeburah and qabar “to bury” appear 215 times in the Old Testament, and in every instance, they clearly refer to the grave or graves where the bodies of the dead are laid to rest. On the other hand, Sheol consistently refers to a singular region where all souls are gathered at death.
There are several contrasts between Sheol and qeber which make it clear that Sheol does not refer to the grave. The following contrasts can be seen:
1) The living are said “to bury” (qabar) the body of their dead in a grave or graves (qeber) 132 times. In contrast, there is no verb form for Sheol which could be defined as, “to bury,” and no one is said to bury (qabar) their dead in Sheol.
2) Qeber appears 29 times in the plural, referring to more than one grave. In contrast, Sheol is only used in the singular form, referring to one region.
3) Man is said to have dug or made a qeber 6 times. Man is never said to have dug or made Sheol.
4) One’s body is said to be laid in a qeber 37 times. No one’s body is ever said to be in Sheol.
5) It is never said that one “goes down into” a qeber. Men are said to “go down into” Sheol 11 times. A soul may go somewhere after death, but a dead body cannot “go” anywhere.
6) Man is said to be able to touch a qeber 5 times. Man is never said to have touched Sheol.
7) Reference is made to an individual’s qeber 5 times. There is no reference whatsoever to someone’s Sheol.
Each of these seven contrasts taken together demonstrate that “grave” is not the correct meaning of Sheol. Also, in determining the meaning of words we should take into consideration a law of hermeneutics referred to as the law of first mention. The law of first mention states that the meaning of a word can normally be determined by what it meant in its first occurrence in Scripture.
The first occurrence of the word Sheol is when Joseph’s brothers told their father Jacob that they had found Joseph’s bloodstained coat. Jacob concluded that Joseph had been devoured by a wild beast and he refused to be comforted. He said: “I will go down to Sheol to my son mourning.” (Gen 37:35 ASV). While the King James Version reads, “I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning,” a careful consideration of the passage makes it clear that Jacob wasn’t referring to the grave.
In the first place, he says “I will go down.” As pointed out previously, a dead body could not literally be said to go into a qeber or grave. Whenever someone dies, they are taken to their grave (qeber) and buried (qabar) there – they don’t go there. It is the soul which goes to Sheol or Hades upon leaving the body (Luke 16:22-23).
In the second place, Jacob said that he would go down “unto his son” in Sheol. He couldn’t have been thinking of being buried with his son, since he thought that Joseph had been devoured by wild beasts, making it impossible to be buried with him. This expectation of being reunited with departed loved ones in Sheol is common throughout Scripture.
An expression we see repeated numerous times in the Old Testament is to say of the deceased that one breathed his last and was “gathered unto his people,” or instead of telling someone they will die they said: “you will go unto your fathers.” (Gen 15:15; 25:8; 25:18; 35:29; 49:33; Nu 20:26; Deut 32:49-50; 34:5-6). Obviously, it is not the cadaver that is being referred to, since a dead body cannot go anywhere. That these expectations were real and not simply empty euphemisms can be seen in David’s response when his baby son died. He said: “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” (2 Sam 12: 23).
Also, it says that when Jacob died that he “breathed his last and was gathered to his people.” (Gen 49:33). After being gathered to his people Joseph’s servants embalmed his body for forty days and the Egyptians mourned for him for seventy days. Only after the time of mourning had ended, did they begin the journey back to the land of Canaan where they finally buried his body. He was gathered to his people in Sheol upon breathing his last, but it was not until some three months had passed that his body was finally buried in his “burial place” (qeber) (50:13). So, upon breathing his last he was gathered to paradise or Abraham’s bosom in Sheol (even as was the case with the beggar Lazarus as well as the thief upon the cross), even though Jacob’s body had not yet been buried (Luke 16:22-23; 23:43).
Another characteristic of Sheol which is not true of the grave is that its inhabitants can communicate with each other. In Isaiah 14 it begins speaking of the death of the king of Babylon and it says that the inhabitants of Sheol would rise to meet him and taunt him as he descended into Sheol:
“Sheol from beneath is excited over you to meet you when you come; It arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth; It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones. 10 ‘They will all respond and say to you, ‘Even you have been made weak as we, you have become like us. 11 ‘Your pomp and the music of your harps have been brought down to Sheol; Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you and worms are your covering… All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb. 19 But you have been cast out of your tomb (qeber) like a rejected branch, clothed with the slain who are pierced with a sword, who go down to the stones of the pit like a trampled corpse. 20 You will not be united with them in burial (qeburah)… “(Isa 14:9-11, 18-20 NASU).
Here we see the leaders and kings of the nations who had previously died, coming up to meet the great king of Babylon – the most powerful empire of ancient times, as he descends into Sheol after having died in shame and dishonor. They said to him: “We were all buried with honor in our own tombs, but your corpse was thrown in a pit or mass grave and left to the maggots, buried under the corpses of all those slain with the sword.” Here, we see a clear distinction between the souls in Sheol and the body buried in a mass grave without an honorable burial in his royal tomb.
Another passage which makes a clear distinction between Sheol and the grave is when Saul sought out a medium to call up Samuel who had previously died in order to consult him concerning an impending battle with the Philistines. The Lord sent Samuel up to inform Saul that he and his sons would be killed and would be with him on the following day:
“Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?’ And Saul answered, ‘I am greatly distressed; for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has departed from me and no longer answers me, either through prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.’ 16 Samuel said, ‘Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your adversary? 17 ‘The Lord has done accordingly as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. 18 ‘As you did not obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day. 19 ‘Moreover the Lord will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed the Lord will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!” (1Sam 28:15-19)
Here we see Samuel coming up to talk to Saul – something that would not be possible if he were unconscious in the grave. God forbids the practice of consulting the dead. Such a prohibition would not make sense if it were impossible to do so. Samuel told Saul that he and his sons would be with him the next day and on that day they were killed in battle just as Samuel had said. But he could not have been referring to being with him in the grave on the next day since they were not buried the next day. It wasn’t until two days later that the Philistines found their bodies. They beheaded Saul and their bodies were hung from the city wall where they remained for another night before finally being taken down and buried, but not in the place where Samuel was buried. So, clearly, the reference is to the souls of Saul and his sons which would be with Samuel in Sheol the very next day, rather than their bodies which were only later placed in their graves.
Hades in the New Testament
Hades appears 10 times in the Greek New Testament and in every instance it was translated as “Hell” by the King James translators with the exception of 1Corinthians 15:55 which they rendered “grave.” We have already seen that Hell has essentially the same literal meaning as Hades. As stated earlier, the translators of the LXX Greek Old Testament, which was in use in Jesus’ day, consistently rendered Sheol as Hades, which literally means “the invisible or unseen” and therefore, “the invisible realm of the souls of the dead.” Just as we have seen with Sheol, both the just and the unjust remain in Hades until the resurrection.
In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 we see that Lazarus died and was carried by the angels – not to his tomb, but to Abraham’s bosom or Paradise. The rich man also died and his body was buried in the grave (v.22). However, the next thing we see is the rich man in torments in Hades, calling out to Abraham and Lazarus and conversing back and forth with them.
Some argue that this is simply a parable and therefore should not be taken literally. In some ways I would agree. Lazarus was not literally in Abraham’s bosom, and fire in Scripture normally refers to fiery trials meant to purify and therefore should not be understood as literal flames (see my blog “Sulfur, Salt and the Refiner’s Fire”). However, while Jesus often made use of parables, hyperboles and figures of speech in His teachings, He never used falsehood to illustrate truth. In the light of this parable, to say that Hades is nothing more than the grave and that the souls of the dead cannot communicate with each other is tantamount to calling Jesus a false teacher. It would also make Him out to be delusional, since He spoke with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt 17:3).
Death and Hades
There is a distinction drawn in Scripture between death, in which the flesh is given over to decay, and Hades, which is the habitation of the souls of the dead. Psalm 16:10 is prophetic of Christ’s burial and His descent into Hades: “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.” On the Day of Pentecost, Peter quoted this Psalm and then applied it to Christ, saying that, “His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption” (Acts 2:31). Here there is a contrast between the soul, which goes to Hades, and the flesh or body which decays in the grave.
Just as the Early Church Fathers repeatedly state, during the three days in which His body lay in the tomb, Christ’s soul was in Hades or the invisible world of the dead where He preached the gospel to those who were formerly disobedient in order that, having been judged in the flesh, they might live with Him in the spirit (1Peter 3:18-20; 4:6). His body was laid in the tomb and preserved from decay until the resurrection, but His soul descended deep down into “the heart of the earth” (Matt 12:40). The reference to “the heart of the earth” is not referring to the grave, but to the deepest pit of Sheol, also referred to as Tartarus (2Peter 2:4), a region reserved for the most wicked (cf. Ezek. 31:16). It is referred to as “the bottomless pit” or “the abyss” seven times in the book of Revelation.
Jesus didn’t merely descend into the region of Hades where Paradise or Abraham’s bosom was located, but He went way down into the lowest parts of Hades, preaching the gospel even to those who had perished in the flood. In Ephesians 4:8-10 Paul says the following concerning His descent:
“When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.’ 9 (Now this, ‘He ascended’ — what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)” (Eph 4:8-10).
I understand this to be telling us that, when Christ descended into the lower parts of the earth, He released those who were in captivity and ascended with them on high, that He might fill all things. This is the idea expressed in Today’s English Version: “When he went up to the very heights, he took many captives with him; he gave gifts to mankind." (Eph 4:8 TEV). Compare this with Luke 4:18 where it says that Jesus was anointed “to proclaim [kerusso] freedom to the captives.” Also, 1Peter 3:19-20 where Jesus “preached,” (kerusso) in Hades. He took the keys of Hades from Satan, preached the good news to those who were in captivity, and took them with Him when He ascended. Paul here is quoting from Psalms 68:18 where we see that He not only took with Him those who were in Paradise who had lived saintly lives, but also those who were once disobedient:
“Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.” (Ps 68:18 KJV)
Before Christ’s resurrection and ascension, Paradise was not in the presence of the Lord as it is now. Both Jesus and the thief on the cross descended into Sheol when they breathed their last and Jesus remained in Hades, the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. Yet, as promised, the thief was with Him in Paradise the same day they died. Jesus said to him: “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43).
On the third day He arose from the dead, having made propitiation for the sins of the world, including all the sins previously committed (Rom 3:25-26). When He arose, He ascended unto the throne of God and took Paradise with Him, including all the repentant who responded to His preaching of the Gospel in Hades as far down as the lowest parts of the earth. That is why, when Paul was caught up into the third heaven Paradise was there (2Cor 12:2-4). Now, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2Cor 5:8). The very moment our soul leaves our body we are with Him in Paradise, just like the thief on the cross, except that now Paradise is in the very presence of the Lord in the third heaven!
If we die before Christ returns, our souls remain in the presence of the Lord until His Second Coming, at which time we will accompany Him to be reunited with our bodies, which have remained “sleeping in the dust,” but will be raised unto immortality:
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will BRING WITH HIM those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1Thess 4:13-17)
Some have been confused by the reference to the dead as having “fallen asleep” or “sleeping,” concluding from this that the dead are in an unconscious state. I consider this with more detail in my book “Extermination or Restoration ),” but these are demonstrably euphemisms, intended to soften the blow when a loved one dies, much as we would say today that the dead person “departed,” “is at rest,” “is at peace,” “has passed away,” “is deceased,” “went to be with the Lord,” etc. It is considered very insensitive to simply say: “he is dead,” so we have developed a vocabulary of euphemisms which are not always meant to be taken in a strictly literal sense, but rather are intended to soften the blow. Some, ignoring the many evidences in Scripture to the contrary, insist that the souls of the dead are unconscious until the resurrection, rather than being present with the Lord and coming with Him when He returns.
The first resurrection is the resurrection unto life when Christ returns. The second resurrection takes place 1,000 years later and is a resurrection unto judgment (Jn 5:29; Rev 20:5-6). At that time Death and Hades will deliver up all their inhabitants to appear before the White Throne Judgment:
“The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Rev 20:13-15)
The reference to “Death and Hades” means that all the bodies of the dead (Death), will be reunited with their souls in Hades in order to be judged according to the deeds done in their bodies while they were alive. The reference to the sea giving up the dead emphasizes that even those whose bodies have been consumed and dispersed in the sea will have to face judgment.
When it says that Death and Hades were cast into the Lake of fire, some, in an attempt to eliminate all postmortem judgment, claim that it is only Death and Hades as entities which are cast into the Lake of Fire, ceasing to exist at that time. However, what it is saying is that every individual who inhabited Death and Hades will be resurrected and judged according to their works and then they (i.e. all the inhabitants of Death and Hades) will be cast into the Lake of Fire to undergo the second death (Rev 2:11). The last enemy – death, is not destroyed until all have been made alive, when every knee will have finally bowed in voluntary submission to Jesus Christ as Lord, at which time He will subject Himself to the Father and God will be all in all (1Cor 15:22,25-28; cf. Php 2:10-11).
So, in conclusion, clearly Sheol or Hades is the unseen realm of disembodied souls and not the qeber or grave, as some have sought to argue. Hades, by its very definition is the invisible realm of the souls of the dead. The just are gathered unto their people in Paradise and the unjust go each to their own respective place, awaiting judgment before the Great White Throne (cf. Acts 1:25). While the doctrine of Hell was greatly distorted entering into the Dark Ages, it is nevertheless real and not an illusion. Even though the Lake of Fire is a purifying fire and therefore not eternal, it is nevertheless an age during reality which should be avoided at all cost. Jesus said that it would be better to pluck out an eye or cut off a hand if it causes one to sin, rather than to be cast into Gehenna fire.
There is no condemnation awaiting those who are in Christ Jesus, but he who does not believe will be condemned at the White Throne Judgment, receiving “their part” in the Lake of Fire, not getting out of there “until” they have paid in full (Rom 8:1; Mark 16:16; Jn 3:18; Rev 20:15; Rev 21:8; Matt 5:26). There are some Inclusivists (those who say that everyone is already saved) who would tell the unrepentant that they are already in Christ without ever having received Him.
False teachers like Don Keathley would have us believe that it is not necessary to believe on Christ in order to be saved. He says: “Believing has nothing to do with being saved, Christ is the Savior of ALL men, everyone is saved…” [12] He says this in spite of the fact that Jesus clearly stated, “he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). While it is true that He died for all, and all will be made alive in Christ – each in his own order, it is necessary to personally receive Him, being born again as a new creation in order to be in Christ and be found free from all condemnation in the day of Jesus Christ (Jn 1:12; Php 3:8-9; 2Cor 5:17; Jn 3:3).
[1] Keathley, Don. Hell's Illusion (p. 41). Don Keathley. Kindle Edition.
[2] Keathley, Don. Hell's Illusion (p. 46). Don Keathley. Kindle Edition.
[3] Keathley, Don. Hell's Illusion (p. 22). Don Keathley. Kindle Edition.
[4] Keathley, Don. Hell's Illusion (p. 59). Don Keathley. Kindle Edition.
[5] Justin Martyr Chapter 35 - Appeal to the Greeks
[6] Irenaeus, fragments, XXVIII.
[7] Hippolytus, Against Plato on the cause of the universe, §1
[8] Clement of Alexandria, Book 6, Chapter 6 - The Gospel Was Preached to Jews and Gentiles in Hades
[9] The great Church historian, Philip Schaff, although not a Universalist, said: “In the first five or six centuries of Christianity there were six known theological schools, of which four (Alexandria… Antioch, Caesarea, and Edessa or Nisibis) were Universalist, one (Ephesus) accepted conditional immortality; one (Carthage or Rome) taught endless punishment of the wicked. Other theological schools are mentioned as founded by Universalists, but their actual doctrine on this subject is unknown.”
“Under the instruction of these great teachers [Clement, Origen, Gregory, and Theodore of Mopsuestia] many other theologians believed in universal salvation; and indeed the whole Eastern Church until after AD 500 was inclined to it.”
[10] Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, OT:7585 she°ol OT:7585, "place of the dead." Sha°al (ask, consult, inquire) seems to be the basis for an important noun in the Old Testament, she°ol.
[11] https://www.etymonline.com/word/Hell
[12] Keathley, Don. Hell's Illusion (p. 100). Don Keathley. Kindle Edition.
Does the Hebrew word Sheol in the Old Testament and its Greek equivalent Hades refer to the realm of the souls of the dead, or does it merely refer to the grave? Some believe that the soul is inseparable from the body and therefore all consciousness ceases at death. If this were true, then these terms could not mean anything more than the grave.
There are two doctrinal camps today which argue that Sheol and Hades simply refer to the grave. The first is that of Annihilationists, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists, as well as a growing number of Evangelicals who argue that the dead remain in an unconscious state until the resurrection, at which time the just are granted immortality and the unjust are annihilated. For a more in-depth consideration of the doctrine of Annihilation as opposed to that of Universal Restoration I recommend my book, “Extermination or Restoration, (a Restorationist’s Response to Annihilationism).”
The second group is a modern variation of syncretistic Universalists, who, in order to deny the reality of Hell, or any form of postmortem retribution, argue that Sheol and Hades only have reference to the grave. They also argue that Jesus’ references to Gehenna fire (Matt 5:22-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:33) only had application to the Jews prior to 70 AD., and referred to the destruction of Jerusalem at that time [1]
Don Keathley presents their arguments in his recent book “Hell’s Illusion (Exposing the Myth of Hell).” He says that the only Hell that anyone will ever experience is the Hell we undergo in our own minds when we have been programmed by religion to believe in the myth of Hell. He claims that there is no need to receive Christ in order to be saved from sin, Hell and the wrath to come, because we were never separated from God to begin with. Our sins are not against God, according to him, but only against ourselves and therefore there is no divine retribution for the unrepentant in Hell. He says: “There is no such destination after we pass from the physical realm to a place called Hell, even if you didn’t pray the magic prayer!” [2] The “magic prayer” he refers to is the prayer of repentance and faith when we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. I consider their deconstruction of the biblical doctrines concerning sin, separation and salvation in my blog: “The Blurring of Biblical Distinctions.” I also consider in detail what the Scriptures have to say concerning Gehenna, often translated as “Hell,” and the Lake of Fire in my book “The Triumph of Mercy (The Reconciliation of All through Jesus Christ).” The objective of this blog is to respond to their claim that Sheol and Hades do not have reference to the conscious intermediate state of the souls of the dead, but simply refer to the grave or tomb.
Don Keathley makes the claim that the Early Church knew nothing of a place called Hell – that it was a later invention of Church leaders in order to control the people through fear. He claims that it originated with the Reformers. He says: “I will give you a little history on where this belief that Hell exists originated. It has roots in Calvinism and Arminianism, and they taught this to gain and keep people.” [3] Actually, he later attributes the origin of Hell to Augustine whom he also says invented other myths, such as the “myth” of inbred sin. [4] However, nowhere in his book does he substantiate this claim from Church history.
Most would agree that it was Augustine who first popularized the belief in unending torments in Hell, but prior to Augustine the belief in a just postmortem retribution in some form of Hell was unanimously held by the Early Church, including the intermediate state of the dead in a place referred to as Hades. Actually, I was unable to find even one reference in the writings of the Early Church Fathers presenting Hades as the grave. I will here cite a few examples from the Fathers demonstrating that they believed that, while the bodies of the dead remain in the graves until the resurrection, their souls continue in a conscious state in Hades. Justin Martyr (100-165 AD.) says concerning those who had previously died in their sins:
“it is likely enough that they themselves are now lamenting in Hades, and repenting with a too late repentance; and if it were possible for them to show you thence what had befallen them after the termination of this life, ye would know from what fearful ills they desired to deliver you.” [5]
It is evident that Justin Martyr did not regard Hades as being the grave but rather the place where the souls of the dead went upon leaving their bodies. Irenaeus (130-202 AD.), referring to those who rose from the dead after Christ’s descent into Hades, makes a clear distinction between their souls in Hades and their bodies which were raised from the dead: “This event was also an indication of the fact that when the holy soul of Christ descended to Hades, many souls ascended and were seen in their bodies.” [6] Referring to Matthew 27:52-53, Irenaeus says that the soul of Christ descended into Hades after His death, and when He rose from the dead He brought many souls with Him who were afterwards seen in their bodies. Hippolytus (170-235 AD) explains the nature of Hades in the following manner:
“But now we must speak of Hades, in which the souls both of the righteous and the unrighteous are detained. This locality has been destined to be as it were a guard-house for souls, at which the angels are stationed as guards, distributing according to each one's deeds the temporary punishments for (different) characters… But the righteous shall obtain the incorruptible and un-fading kingdom, who indeed are at present detained in Hades, but not in the same place with the unrighteous.” [7]
The belief that both the righteous and the wicked were kept in Sheol or Hades, awaiting the resurrection was common belief, both among the Christians and the Jews of that time. Later I will demonstrate that this belief is not mythical but rather was derived from the Scriptures themselves. However, my objective here is merely to show that it is not a recent belief, as Keathley affirms, but was universally held by the Early Church Fathers prior to Augustine and certainly before the influence of Calvinism and Arminianism much later in the 16th century.
There are too many references to Hades in the Church Fathers to quote in this short blog. I would just like to cite one more example from Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD.) where, making reference to 1Peter 3:18-20 and 4:6, he not only shows that the souls of both the righteous and those who were wicked in life are conscious in Hades, but that God’s postmortem punishments are saving and disciplinary, leading to conversion in their day of visitation when the gospel is preached to them:
“Do not the Scriptures show that the Lord preached the Gospel to those that perished in the flood…?’ And it has been shown also…that the apostles, following the Lord, preached the Gospel to those in Hades… If, then, the Lord descended to Hades for no other end but to preach the Gospel…then all who believe shall be saved…on making their profession there (ie. in Hades); since God's punishments are saving and disciplinary, leading to conversion…and especially since souls, although darkened by passions, when released from their bodies, are able to perceive more clearly, because of their being no longer obstructed by the paltry flesh.” [8]
While Clement, as with the majority of the Church Fathers prior to Augustine in the 5th century, clearly believed in the apocatastasis or the final restoration of all, [9] he, like all other Universalists of his day, believed that Hades was the place of departed souls and not the grave, and they also believed that the wicked undergo corrective punishments in Hades, eventually leading to their conversion.
Etymology of Sheol and Hades
The etymology of the Hebrew word “Sheol” has been debated. Some argue that its Assyro-Babylonian counterpart is “Shu'alu,” which meant, “the place where the dead are consulted or gathered.” Vine’s says that it is from the Hebrew word “sha’al,” which means “to ask, consult or enquire.” [10] Either way, the idea expressed implies that Sheol was considered to be a place where the dead were congregated and could be consulted. Consulting the dead on behalf of the living was a much more common practice in the Ancient Middle East than it is today, and it was a practice strictly forbidden by God (Deut 18:10-11). The Lord says to His people, “should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?” (Isa 8:19). If indeed Sheol were nothing more than the grave and the dead lay unconscious, such a prohibition would have been superfluous.
The Hebrew word “Sheol” in the Old Testament was translated as “Hades” both in the Greek Old Testament LXX and also in the New Testament when it cites the Old Testament. The etymology of Hades is less obscure than that of Sheol. It is a composite word, made up of the negative particle a, meaning “no” and eido which means “to see.” Even outside of Scripture it refers to the invisible unseen realm of the dead.
Many object to the rendering “Hell” for Sheol or Hades. However, when Hades was originally translated as “Hell” in the Old English, it meant essentially the same thing as Hades. The old word hel or Helle simply meant “that which is covered or concealed,” i.e. the invisible realm of the dead. [11] It is unfortunate that Greek Mythology and Dante’s version of Hell has been read into the word, but, etymologically speaking, the word Hell is totally consistent with the meaning of Sheol or Hades which is the unseen or hidden realm of the dead.
Meaning of Sheol determined by Usage
Much of the confusion concerning the meaning of Sheol is the result of the inconsistency of the translators of the King James Version. Sheol appears 66 times in the King James Version. It is translated as “the grave” 32 times, as “the pit” 3 times and as “Hell” 31 times. Some more recent versions, such as the New American Standard Version, avoid these interpretive renderings of Sheol, rendering it literally as Sheol in every instance.
A careful examination of each occurrence of Sheol in context makes it clear that it is referring to the unseen realm of the souls of the dead and not the grave. The substantive for grave, qeber, and its cognates qeburah and qabar “to bury” appear 215 times in the Old Testament, and in every instance, they clearly refer to the grave or graves where the bodies of the dead are laid to rest. On the other hand, Sheol consistently refers to a singular region where all souls are gathered at death.
There are several contrasts between Sheol and qeber which make it clear that Sheol does not refer to the grave. The following contrasts can be seen:
1) The living are said “to bury” (qabar) the body of their dead in a grave or graves (qeber) 132 times. In contrast, there is no verb form for Sheol which could be defined as, “to bury,” and no one is said to bury (qabar) their dead in Sheol.
2) Qeber appears 29 times in the plural, referring to more than one grave. In contrast, Sheol is only used in the singular form, referring to one region.
3) Man is said to have dug or made a qeber 6 times. Man is never said to have dug or made Sheol.
4) One’s body is said to be laid in a qeber 37 times. No one’s body is ever said to be in Sheol.
5) It is never said that one “goes down into” a qeber. Men are said to “go down into” Sheol 11 times. A soul may go somewhere after death, but a dead body cannot “go” anywhere.
6) Man is said to be able to touch a qeber 5 times. Man is never said to have touched Sheol.
7) Reference is made to an individual’s qeber 5 times. There is no reference whatsoever to someone’s Sheol.
Each of these seven contrasts taken together demonstrate that “grave” is not the correct meaning of Sheol. Also, in determining the meaning of words we should take into consideration a law of hermeneutics referred to as the law of first mention. The law of first mention states that the meaning of a word can normally be determined by what it meant in its first occurrence in Scripture.
The first occurrence of the word Sheol is when Joseph’s brothers told their father Jacob that they had found Joseph’s bloodstained coat. Jacob concluded that Joseph had been devoured by a wild beast and he refused to be comforted. He said: “I will go down to Sheol to my son mourning.” (Gen 37:35 ASV). While the King James Version reads, “I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning,” a careful consideration of the passage makes it clear that Jacob wasn’t referring to the grave.
In the first place, he says “I will go down.” As pointed out previously, a dead body could not literally be said to go into a qeber or grave. Whenever someone dies, they are taken to their grave (qeber) and buried (qabar) there – they don’t go there. It is the soul which goes to Sheol or Hades upon leaving the body (Luke 16:22-23).
In the second place, Jacob said that he would go down “unto his son” in Sheol. He couldn’t have been thinking of being buried with his son, since he thought that Joseph had been devoured by wild beasts, making it impossible to be buried with him. This expectation of being reunited with departed loved ones in Sheol is common throughout Scripture.
An expression we see repeated numerous times in the Old Testament is to say of the deceased that one breathed his last and was “gathered unto his people,” or instead of telling someone they will die they said: “you will go unto your fathers.” (Gen 15:15; 25:8; 25:18; 35:29; 49:33; Nu 20:26; Deut 32:49-50; 34:5-6). Obviously, it is not the cadaver that is being referred to, since a dead body cannot go anywhere. That these expectations were real and not simply empty euphemisms can be seen in David’s response when his baby son died. He said: “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” (2 Sam 12: 23).
Also, it says that when Jacob died that he “breathed his last and was gathered to his people.” (Gen 49:33). After being gathered to his people Joseph’s servants embalmed his body for forty days and the Egyptians mourned for him for seventy days. Only after the time of mourning had ended, did they begin the journey back to the land of Canaan where they finally buried his body. He was gathered to his people in Sheol upon breathing his last, but it was not until some three months had passed that his body was finally buried in his “burial place” (qeber) (50:13). So, upon breathing his last he was gathered to paradise or Abraham’s bosom in Sheol (even as was the case with the beggar Lazarus as well as the thief upon the cross), even though Jacob’s body had not yet been buried (Luke 16:22-23; 23:43).
Another characteristic of Sheol which is not true of the grave is that its inhabitants can communicate with each other. In Isaiah 14 it begins speaking of the death of the king of Babylon and it says that the inhabitants of Sheol would rise to meet him and taunt him as he descended into Sheol:
“Sheol from beneath is excited over you to meet you when you come; It arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth; It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones. 10 ‘They will all respond and say to you, ‘Even you have been made weak as we, you have become like us. 11 ‘Your pomp and the music of your harps have been brought down to Sheol; Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you and worms are your covering… All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb. 19 But you have been cast out of your tomb (qeber) like a rejected branch, clothed with the slain who are pierced with a sword, who go down to the stones of the pit like a trampled corpse. 20 You will not be united with them in burial (qeburah)… “(Isa 14:9-11, 18-20 NASU).
Here we see the leaders and kings of the nations who had previously died, coming up to meet the great king of Babylon – the most powerful empire of ancient times, as he descends into Sheol after having died in shame and dishonor. They said to him: “We were all buried with honor in our own tombs, but your corpse was thrown in a pit or mass grave and left to the maggots, buried under the corpses of all those slain with the sword.” Here, we see a clear distinction between the souls in Sheol and the body buried in a mass grave without an honorable burial in his royal tomb.
Another passage which makes a clear distinction between Sheol and the grave is when Saul sought out a medium to call up Samuel who had previously died in order to consult him concerning an impending battle with the Philistines. The Lord sent Samuel up to inform Saul that he and his sons would be killed and would be with him on the following day:
“Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?’ And Saul answered, ‘I am greatly distressed; for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has departed from me and no longer answers me, either through prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.’ 16 Samuel said, ‘Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your adversary? 17 ‘The Lord has done accordingly as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. 18 ‘As you did not obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day. 19 ‘Moreover the Lord will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed the Lord will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!” (1Sam 28:15-19)
Here we see Samuel coming up to talk to Saul – something that would not be possible if he were unconscious in the grave. God forbids the practice of consulting the dead. Such a prohibition would not make sense if it were impossible to do so. Samuel told Saul that he and his sons would be with him the next day and on that day they were killed in battle just as Samuel had said. But he could not have been referring to being with him in the grave on the next day since they were not buried the next day. It wasn’t until two days later that the Philistines found their bodies. They beheaded Saul and their bodies were hung from the city wall where they remained for another night before finally being taken down and buried, but not in the place where Samuel was buried. So, clearly, the reference is to the souls of Saul and his sons which would be with Samuel in Sheol the very next day, rather than their bodies which were only later placed in their graves.
Hades in the New Testament
Hades appears 10 times in the Greek New Testament and in every instance it was translated as “Hell” by the King James translators with the exception of 1Corinthians 15:55 which they rendered “grave.” We have already seen that Hell has essentially the same literal meaning as Hades. As stated earlier, the translators of the LXX Greek Old Testament, which was in use in Jesus’ day, consistently rendered Sheol as Hades, which literally means “the invisible or unseen” and therefore, “the invisible realm of the souls of the dead.” Just as we have seen with Sheol, both the just and the unjust remain in Hades until the resurrection.
In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 we see that Lazarus died and was carried by the angels – not to his tomb, but to Abraham’s bosom or Paradise. The rich man also died and his body was buried in the grave (v.22). However, the next thing we see is the rich man in torments in Hades, calling out to Abraham and Lazarus and conversing back and forth with them.
Some argue that this is simply a parable and therefore should not be taken literally. In some ways I would agree. Lazarus was not literally in Abraham’s bosom, and fire in Scripture normally refers to fiery trials meant to purify and therefore should not be understood as literal flames (see my blog “Sulfur, Salt and the Refiner’s Fire”). However, while Jesus often made use of parables, hyperboles and figures of speech in His teachings, He never used falsehood to illustrate truth. In the light of this parable, to say that Hades is nothing more than the grave and that the souls of the dead cannot communicate with each other is tantamount to calling Jesus a false teacher. It would also make Him out to be delusional, since He spoke with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt 17:3).
Death and Hades
There is a distinction drawn in Scripture between death, in which the flesh is given over to decay, and Hades, which is the habitation of the souls of the dead. Psalm 16:10 is prophetic of Christ’s burial and His descent into Hades: “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.” On the Day of Pentecost, Peter quoted this Psalm and then applied it to Christ, saying that, “His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption” (Acts 2:31). Here there is a contrast between the soul, which goes to Hades, and the flesh or body which decays in the grave.
Just as the Early Church Fathers repeatedly state, during the three days in which His body lay in the tomb, Christ’s soul was in Hades or the invisible world of the dead where He preached the gospel to those who were formerly disobedient in order that, having been judged in the flesh, they might live with Him in the spirit (1Peter 3:18-20; 4:6). His body was laid in the tomb and preserved from decay until the resurrection, but His soul descended deep down into “the heart of the earth” (Matt 12:40). The reference to “the heart of the earth” is not referring to the grave, but to the deepest pit of Sheol, also referred to as Tartarus (2Peter 2:4), a region reserved for the most wicked (cf. Ezek. 31:16). It is referred to as “the bottomless pit” or “the abyss” seven times in the book of Revelation.
Jesus didn’t merely descend into the region of Hades where Paradise or Abraham’s bosom was located, but He went way down into the lowest parts of Hades, preaching the gospel even to those who had perished in the flood. In Ephesians 4:8-10 Paul says the following concerning His descent:
“When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.’ 9 (Now this, ‘He ascended’ — what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)” (Eph 4:8-10).
I understand this to be telling us that, when Christ descended into the lower parts of the earth, He released those who were in captivity and ascended with them on high, that He might fill all things. This is the idea expressed in Today’s English Version: “When he went up to the very heights, he took many captives with him; he gave gifts to mankind." (Eph 4:8 TEV). Compare this with Luke 4:18 where it says that Jesus was anointed “to proclaim [kerusso] freedom to the captives.” Also, 1Peter 3:19-20 where Jesus “preached,” (kerusso) in Hades. He took the keys of Hades from Satan, preached the good news to those who were in captivity, and took them with Him when He ascended. Paul here is quoting from Psalms 68:18 where we see that He not only took with Him those who were in Paradise who had lived saintly lives, but also those who were once disobedient:
“Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.” (Ps 68:18 KJV)
Before Christ’s resurrection and ascension, Paradise was not in the presence of the Lord as it is now. Both Jesus and the thief on the cross descended into Sheol when they breathed their last and Jesus remained in Hades, the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. Yet, as promised, the thief was with Him in Paradise the same day they died. Jesus said to him: “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43).
On the third day He arose from the dead, having made propitiation for the sins of the world, including all the sins previously committed (Rom 3:25-26). When He arose, He ascended unto the throne of God and took Paradise with Him, including all the repentant who responded to His preaching of the Gospel in Hades as far down as the lowest parts of the earth. That is why, when Paul was caught up into the third heaven Paradise was there (2Cor 12:2-4). Now, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2Cor 5:8). The very moment our soul leaves our body we are with Him in Paradise, just like the thief on the cross, except that now Paradise is in the very presence of the Lord in the third heaven!
If we die before Christ returns, our souls remain in the presence of the Lord until His Second Coming, at which time we will accompany Him to be reunited with our bodies, which have remained “sleeping in the dust,” but will be raised unto immortality:
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will BRING WITH HIM those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1Thess 4:13-17)
Some have been confused by the reference to the dead as having “fallen asleep” or “sleeping,” concluding from this that the dead are in an unconscious state. I consider this with more detail in my book “Extermination or Restoration ),” but these are demonstrably euphemisms, intended to soften the blow when a loved one dies, much as we would say today that the dead person “departed,” “is at rest,” “is at peace,” “has passed away,” “is deceased,” “went to be with the Lord,” etc. It is considered very insensitive to simply say: “he is dead,” so we have developed a vocabulary of euphemisms which are not always meant to be taken in a strictly literal sense, but rather are intended to soften the blow. Some, ignoring the many evidences in Scripture to the contrary, insist that the souls of the dead are unconscious until the resurrection, rather than being present with the Lord and coming with Him when He returns.
The first resurrection is the resurrection unto life when Christ returns. The second resurrection takes place 1,000 years later and is a resurrection unto judgment (Jn 5:29; Rev 20:5-6). At that time Death and Hades will deliver up all their inhabitants to appear before the White Throne Judgment:
“The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Rev 20:13-15)
The reference to “Death and Hades” means that all the bodies of the dead (Death), will be reunited with their souls in Hades in order to be judged according to the deeds done in their bodies while they were alive. The reference to the sea giving up the dead emphasizes that even those whose bodies have been consumed and dispersed in the sea will have to face judgment.
When it says that Death and Hades were cast into the Lake of fire, some, in an attempt to eliminate all postmortem judgment, claim that it is only Death and Hades as entities which are cast into the Lake of Fire, ceasing to exist at that time. However, what it is saying is that every individual who inhabited Death and Hades will be resurrected and judged according to their works and then they (i.e. all the inhabitants of Death and Hades) will be cast into the Lake of Fire to undergo the second death (Rev 2:11). The last enemy – death, is not destroyed until all have been made alive, when every knee will have finally bowed in voluntary submission to Jesus Christ as Lord, at which time He will subject Himself to the Father and God will be all in all (1Cor 15:22,25-28; cf. Php 2:10-11).
So, in conclusion, clearly Sheol or Hades is the unseen realm of disembodied souls and not the qeber or grave, as some have sought to argue. Hades, by its very definition is the invisible realm of the souls of the dead. The just are gathered unto their people in Paradise and the unjust go each to their own respective place, awaiting judgment before the Great White Throne (cf. Acts 1:25). While the doctrine of Hell was greatly distorted entering into the Dark Ages, it is nevertheless real and not an illusion. Even though the Lake of Fire is a purifying fire and therefore not eternal, it is nevertheless an age during reality which should be avoided at all cost. Jesus said that it would be better to pluck out an eye or cut off a hand if it causes one to sin, rather than to be cast into Gehenna fire.
There is no condemnation awaiting those who are in Christ Jesus, but he who does not believe will be condemned at the White Throne Judgment, receiving “their part” in the Lake of Fire, not getting out of there “until” they have paid in full (Rom 8:1; Mark 16:16; Jn 3:18; Rev 20:15; Rev 21:8; Matt 5:26). There are some Inclusivists (those who say that everyone is already saved) who would tell the unrepentant that they are already in Christ without ever having received Him.
False teachers like Don Keathley would have us believe that it is not necessary to believe on Christ in order to be saved. He says: “Believing has nothing to do with being saved, Christ is the Savior of ALL men, everyone is saved…” [12] He says this in spite of the fact that Jesus clearly stated, “he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). While it is true that He died for all, and all will be made alive in Christ – each in his own order, it is necessary to personally receive Him, being born again as a new creation in order to be in Christ and be found free from all condemnation in the day of Jesus Christ (Jn 1:12; Php 3:8-9; 2Cor 5:17; Jn 3:3).
[1] Keathley, Don. Hell's Illusion (p. 41). Don Keathley. Kindle Edition.
[2] Keathley, Don. Hell's Illusion (p. 46). Don Keathley. Kindle Edition.
[3] Keathley, Don. Hell's Illusion (p. 22). Don Keathley. Kindle Edition.
[4] Keathley, Don. Hell's Illusion (p. 59). Don Keathley. Kindle Edition.
[5] Justin Martyr Chapter 35 - Appeal to the Greeks
[6] Irenaeus, fragments, XXVIII.
[7] Hippolytus, Against Plato on the cause of the universe, §1
[8] Clement of Alexandria, Book 6, Chapter 6 - The Gospel Was Preached to Jews and Gentiles in Hades
[9] The great Church historian, Philip Schaff, although not a Universalist, said: “In the first five or six centuries of Christianity there were six known theological schools, of which four (Alexandria… Antioch, Caesarea, and Edessa or Nisibis) were Universalist, one (Ephesus) accepted conditional immortality; one (Carthage or Rome) taught endless punishment of the wicked. Other theological schools are mentioned as founded by Universalists, but their actual doctrine on this subject is unknown.”
“Under the instruction of these great teachers [Clement, Origen, Gregory, and Theodore of Mopsuestia] many other theologians believed in universal salvation; and indeed the whole Eastern Church until after AD 500 was inclined to it.”
[10] Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, OT:7585 she°ol OT:7585, "place of the dead." Sha°al (ask, consult, inquire) seems to be the basis for an important noun in the Old Testament, she°ol.
[11] https://www.etymonline.com/word/Hell
[12] Keathley, Don. Hell's Illusion (p. 100). Don Keathley. Kindle Edition.
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Who Destroyed Sodom and Why?
by George Sidney Hurd
To the average Christian, this topic may seem irrelevant since they accept the biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah as recorded for us in the Scriptures. However, we are living in a time in which most long-held beliefs are being deconstructed and reinterpreted in a manner less confrontational and offensive to the sensibilities of our postmodern permissive society. The God of the Scriptures is being repackaged so as to affirm and even approve of modern man’s sinful lifestyles rather than confronting and judging them.
The Evidence of Sodom’s Destruction
The Liberal Modernists of the past typically rejected the Bible outright, even denying that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah ever existed. However, sooner or later archeological discoveries usually uncover evidences which substantiate the biblical account, and the existence of Sodom and Gomorrah is no exception. In 1964 a team of archaeologists discovered the remains of an ancient city in northern Syria which was later identified as Elba, the seat of an ancient empire contemporary with the Patriarchs. In the excavation they discovered more than 2,000 tablets written in cuneiform text. The tablets contain the names of many of the ancient cities mentioned in Genesis, including all five of the cities of the plain which are recorded as having been destroyed, and they were referred to in a tablet as “sin cities.” 1 These tablets date as far back as 2,300 B.C., some 450 years before Sodom and the cities of the plain were destroyed according to Genesis 19.
Today, most Postmodern Progressive scholars do not outright reject the Scriptures as did the Modernist Liberals. Instead they reinterpret and nuance the obvious meaning of the text so as to accommodate our present society’s moral standards and sensibilities. Some, without outright rejecting the biblical account, argue that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was not a real historical event, but merely a story invented by men in order to control the people through fear. However, once again, the archeological evidence is not on their side. To me there is ample evidence to convince any unbiased individual that the ashen remains of each of the five cities still remain to this day.
The Genesis account says that Sodom and the cities of the plain were totally destroyed by fire and sulfur rained down from heaven:
“Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.” (Gen 19:24-25).
Both Peter and Jude make reference to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as being an observable sign in their day for all to see. Peter said of their destruction:
“and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example (hupodeigma) to those who afterward would live ungodly.” (2 Peter 2:6)
Here Peter says that God made an example or “visible display” (hupodeigma) of Sodom and Gomorrah for future generations to see, so that they would not follow after the same immoral practices. The visible display is said to be the ashen remains of the cities. In like manner, Jude says:
“as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example (deigma), suffering the vengeance (dike ‘justice’) of eternal fire (pur aionios, 'eonian fire’).” (Jude 7)
Here Jude uses a form of the same Greek term as Peter, (deigma), which Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines as, “specimen, thing shown.” The emphasis of both Peter and Jude taken together is that Sodom and Gomorrah were an observable sign in the form of ashen remains, demonstrating that God will judge those who continue in the same sexually immoral practices as those of the Sodomites.
Peter and Jude are not the only ones of that time who spoke of the ashen remains of the cities of the plain which God had destroyed. The Jewish historian Josephus who was a contemporary of Peter and Jude said of their destruction:
“The country of Sodom borders upon it (Dead Sea). It was of old a most happy land, both for the fruits it bore and the riches of its cities, although it be now all burnt up. It is related how, for the impiety of its inhabitants, it was burnt by lightning; in consequence of which there are still the remainders of that Divine fire, and the traces [or shadows] of the five cities are still to be seen… And thus what is related of this land of Sodom hath these marks of credibility which our very sight affords us.” 2
Josephus, nearly 2,000 years after Sodom’s destruction, said that the formations or shadows of all five of the cities could still be seen. They were not buried in tells and partially preserved as some of the smaller communities on the eastern side of the Dead Sea were. Other cities were rebuilt on top of the ruins of those cities, but according to the Scriptures the cities of Sodom were reduced to ashes, never to be rebuilt, and they still remained visible on the surface as an example to those who afterward would live ungodly (Zeph 2:9; Isa 13:19-20; Jer 49:18).
Also, Strabo, the Greek geographer, philosopher and historian who lived from 63 B.C. to 23 A.D. says, “There were once inhabited cities in that region of the Dead Sea near Masada under the metropolis city of Sodom.” 3 The remains of Herod’s fortress Masada overlook the ashen remains of Gomorrah, one of the cities of the greater Sodomite metropolis. They can be clearly seen from that vantage point as we see in the following images:
To the average Christian, this topic may seem irrelevant since they accept the biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah as recorded for us in the Scriptures. However, we are living in a time in which most long-held beliefs are being deconstructed and reinterpreted in a manner less confrontational and offensive to the sensibilities of our postmodern permissive society. The God of the Scriptures is being repackaged so as to affirm and even approve of modern man’s sinful lifestyles rather than confronting and judging them.
The Evidence of Sodom’s Destruction
The Liberal Modernists of the past typically rejected the Bible outright, even denying that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah ever existed. However, sooner or later archeological discoveries usually uncover evidences which substantiate the biblical account, and the existence of Sodom and Gomorrah is no exception. In 1964 a team of archaeologists discovered the remains of an ancient city in northern Syria which was later identified as Elba, the seat of an ancient empire contemporary with the Patriarchs. In the excavation they discovered more than 2,000 tablets written in cuneiform text. The tablets contain the names of many of the ancient cities mentioned in Genesis, including all five of the cities of the plain which are recorded as having been destroyed, and they were referred to in a tablet as “sin cities.” 1 These tablets date as far back as 2,300 B.C., some 450 years before Sodom and the cities of the plain were destroyed according to Genesis 19.
Today, most Postmodern Progressive scholars do not outright reject the Scriptures as did the Modernist Liberals. Instead they reinterpret and nuance the obvious meaning of the text so as to accommodate our present society’s moral standards and sensibilities. Some, without outright rejecting the biblical account, argue that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was not a real historical event, but merely a story invented by men in order to control the people through fear. However, once again, the archeological evidence is not on their side. To me there is ample evidence to convince any unbiased individual that the ashen remains of each of the five cities still remain to this day.
The Genesis account says that Sodom and the cities of the plain were totally destroyed by fire and sulfur rained down from heaven:
“Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.” (Gen 19:24-25).
Both Peter and Jude make reference to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as being an observable sign in their day for all to see. Peter said of their destruction:
“and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example (hupodeigma) to those who afterward would live ungodly.” (2 Peter 2:6)
Here Peter says that God made an example or “visible display” (hupodeigma) of Sodom and Gomorrah for future generations to see, so that they would not follow after the same immoral practices. The visible display is said to be the ashen remains of the cities. In like manner, Jude says:
“as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example (deigma), suffering the vengeance (dike ‘justice’) of eternal fire (pur aionios, 'eonian fire’).” (Jude 7)
Here Jude uses a form of the same Greek term as Peter, (deigma), which Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines as, “specimen, thing shown.” The emphasis of both Peter and Jude taken together is that Sodom and Gomorrah were an observable sign in the form of ashen remains, demonstrating that God will judge those who continue in the same sexually immoral practices as those of the Sodomites.
Peter and Jude are not the only ones of that time who spoke of the ashen remains of the cities of the plain which God had destroyed. The Jewish historian Josephus who was a contemporary of Peter and Jude said of their destruction:
“The country of Sodom borders upon it (Dead Sea). It was of old a most happy land, both for the fruits it bore and the riches of its cities, although it be now all burnt up. It is related how, for the impiety of its inhabitants, it was burnt by lightning; in consequence of which there are still the remainders of that Divine fire, and the traces [or shadows] of the five cities are still to be seen… And thus what is related of this land of Sodom hath these marks of credibility which our very sight affords us.” 2
Josephus, nearly 2,000 years after Sodom’s destruction, said that the formations or shadows of all five of the cities could still be seen. They were not buried in tells and partially preserved as some of the smaller communities on the eastern side of the Dead Sea were. Other cities were rebuilt on top of the ruins of those cities, but according to the Scriptures the cities of Sodom were reduced to ashes, never to be rebuilt, and they still remained visible on the surface as an example to those who afterward would live ungodly (Zeph 2:9; Isa 13:19-20; Jer 49:18).
Also, Strabo, the Greek geographer, philosopher and historian who lived from 63 B.C. to 23 A.D. says, “There were once inhabited cities in that region of the Dead Sea near Masada under the metropolis city of Sodom.” 3 The remains of Herod’s fortress Masada overlook the ashen remains of Gomorrah, one of the cities of the greater Sodomite metropolis. They can be clearly seen from that vantage point as we see in the following images:
Today, nearly 2,000 years after Josephus, its ashen remains still can be seen as a visible testimony to the judgment of God against persistent unbridled immorality. The closer one examines the remains, the more evident it becomes that they are indeed a solemn testimony to God’s judgment upon the cities of Sodom. The ashen remains are not found in the rest of the plain, but are confined to the sites of the five cities as indicated in the following images:
Other tells, such as Tall el-Hammam in the northeastern end of the Dead Sea, show signs of having been destroyed by fire as well, but they were not reduced to ashes as the biblical account says concerning the five cities of the plain which were utterly destroyed. Strabo indicates that there were other cities in the valley, apart from those of the Sodomite metropolis. He said: "there were once thirteen inhabited cities in that region of which Sodom was the metropolis” 4
Upon closer examination of the ashen remains of the cities it becomes even more evident that they correspond with the Genesis account of their destruction. Genesis 19:24 says that the Lord “rained brimstone and fire” upon the cities. Brimstone is the old English word for sulfur. Imbedded within the layers of ash are an abundance of sulfur balls of varying sizes with a crystalized shell which formed when the burning balls of sulfur were extinguished in the ash before being fully consumed. This is the only place in the world where sulfur has been found in this form.
Upon closer examination of the ashen remains of the cities it becomes even more evident that they correspond with the Genesis account of their destruction. Genesis 19:24 says that the Lord “rained brimstone and fire” upon the cities. Brimstone is the old English word for sulfur. Imbedded within the layers of ash are an abundance of sulfur balls of varying sizes with a crystalized shell which formed when the burning balls of sulfur were extinguished in the ash before being fully consumed. This is the only place in the world where sulfur has been found in this form.
The sulfur from the sites is unique from any sulfur found in other parts of the world. The sulfur produced by geothermal activity is only around 40 percent pure, whereas numerous laboratory tests have found the white sulfur from the cities of the plain to be from 94 to 98 percent pure sulfur with trace amounts of magnesium which combined produce sufficient heat to melt even stainless steel. Additionally, naturally formed sulfur does not appear in balls as those found in these sites.
Also, occasionally charcoal, or partially burned wood, is found trapped in the layers of ash, having been deprived of oxygen before they could be fully consumed.
The ashen remains of these cities are pure calcium sulfate which is the byproduct of intense heat and sulfur consuming limestone which is composed of calcium carbonate. Most of the structures of that region were made of cut limestone. The ash formed in thin layers which easily crumble into powder.
In some areas the layers appear in swirling formations which would be the result of a firestorm or thermal ionization caused by electrons repelling and attracting under extreme heat as seen in the following images.
This divine fire is reminiscent of the fire of the Lord which fell upon the alter after Elijah had prayed, consuming not only the sacrifice, but also the wood and the very stones of the alter itself (1Kings 18:38). Aside from the fact that the Scriptures say that it was the Lord Himself who rained down brimstone and fire upon Sodom from heaven, the very details of the forensic evidence taken together indicate that these cities were destroyed by means not natural to this planet.
While those who do not wish to retain the knowledge of God will always seek to discredit the evidence, in my opinion, as Peter and Jude said, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is a visible example to all subsequent generations, demonstrating that God will judge those who do not judge themselves (2 Peter 2:6; Jude 7; Heb 13:4). I believe that the evidence is so compelling as to leave man without excuse in the day of judgment. For a more detailed description, watch: Sodom & Gomorrah - true location found - Ross Patterson; Sodom and Gomorrah and The Search for Sodom and Gomorrah;.
Who Destroyed Sodom?
Some, while reluctantly conceding that cataclysmic events such as the flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah actually took place, nevertheless attempt to argue that it wasn’t God Himself who destroyed the cities. This in spite of the specific terms attributing the destruction to God Himself. God said to Abraham that He would not destroy Sodom if He found even ten righteous within the city (Gen 18:32). God clearly takes responsibility for Sodom’s destruction.
Progressives like Gregory Boyd argue that God is exclusively non-violent cruciform love, and therefore He would have never destroyed Sodom (I consider his arguments in my book “The Ways of God” As seen through the eyes of a Conservative Restorationist). Boyd argues that God simply “withdrew his protective hand to allow anti-creational forces that are ‘bent on destruction’” to carry out the judgment on the cities. 5 However, when the two angels told Lot that the cities were going to be destroyed, they said to him: “For we will destroy this place…the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” (Gen 19:13). Could we reasonably say that God’s angels are anti-creational forces that are bent on destruction? The language of Scripture does not allow us to separate God from Sodom’s destruction, as Boyd attempts to do. Genesis 19:24 emphatically says, “Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens.” In light of this, how can we reasonably attribute Sodom’s destruction to malevolent destructive forces?
Some would argue that the human author of Genesis mistakenly presented God as being the one who destroyed the cities – that Moses simply interpreted the destruction event according to his own distorted perception of God. They would say that, in order to know how God truly is, we must learn from Jesus. However, Jesus consistently authenticates the entirety of the writings of Moses and the Prophets as inspired of God and infallible (Matt 4:4; Jn 10:35; Mark 14:49; Matt 5:18; 26:56; Luke 21:22; 24:44; John 13:18; 15:25, etc.). Additionally, in Luke 17 Jesus not only affirms the historicity of God’s judgment upon Sodom, but also warns that the circumstances surrounding His return will be similar:
“Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:28-30 cf. Rev 6:15-17).
There is no indication that Jesus understood the destruction of Sodom to have been executed by malevolent forces rather than by God Himself. In fact, the New Testament uses similar language to describe the judgment that the Son of Man will Himself bring against the Antichrist and his followers when He is revealed from heaven:
“when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance (ekdikesis “executing justice”) on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with (diken tisousin, “shall pay the just penalty of”) everlasting (aionios “eonian”) destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” (2 Thess 1:7-9)
The God of the Old Testament is the same Lord Jesus Christ who comes in flaming fire, executing justice upon the ungodly at His Second Coming (cf. Rev 19:11-15). It is true that the just penalty is measured according to each man’s works and it will be eonian destruction, rather than an eternal destroying. Indeed, even Sodom will ultimately be restored (Ezek 16:53-55 ESV 6 ). But that doesn’t change the fact that it is God Himself who judges His people. As the writer of Hebrews says:
“For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The Lord will judge His people." 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb 10:30-31)
While it is true that in the coming ages, in the times of the restoration of all – the dispensation of the fullness of the times, all will have finally been restored, being reunited in Christ (Acts 3:21; Eph 1:10), the consequences of persisting in unrepentant sin are nevertheless very serious and age during. While the inhabitants of the cities of Sodom will eventually be restored, at least some of them have been in a conscious state in hades for more than 4,000 years awaiting their sentence on the day of judgment (Matt 10:15). While it is the subject of another blog, Hades, or Sheol in the Hebrew text is the invisible abode of the souls of the dead and not the grave where our bodies are laid to rest, as is claimed by some teachers such as Don Keathley. 7 For those who are interested, I demonstrate from the Scriptures that our souls continue in a conscious state after death in my blog: "Is Sheol the Grave?" and in my book “Extermination or Restoration? (A Restorationist’s response to Annihilationism)”
Contrary to modern popular opinion, affirming someone living in sin, rather than confronting them and warning them concerning God’s judgment upon the unrepentant, is not love. It is either unbelief concerning the warnings of God’s judgment given to us in Scripture – often by Jesus Himself, or else it is a lack of love and concern for the wellbeing of the unrepentant sinner. If we truly love someone and believe that God’s Word is true, we will not affirm them in their sinful lifestyle. We will warn them and earnestly intercede for them until they come to themselves and repent before God.
Affirming sinful behavior, rather than confronting it, is what characterizes all the false prophets. They are those who cry “peace and safety” instead of warning of impending judgment (1Thess 5:1-3; Ezek 13:16; Jer 14:14-16). This is what the false prophets did in the Old Testament whenever God warned through His prophets that judgments were impending. And Jesus warned that there would be many such false prophets just prior to His return:
“Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Matt 24:11-13)
Many false teachers have recently arisen within the Church who “deconstruct” the Scriptures and its revelation of God’s nature and His ways so as to remove all fear of God. They rightly say that perfect love casts out all fear (1Jn 4:18). However, it is also true that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Ps 111:10).
Any child who loves and respects his father knows that fear and love are not incompatible. If we are privileged to have had a good father who loved us, we know the love/fear relationship to one in authority. As long as we were obedient, the only emotion we felt was a positive one of love and respect (reverential fear). However, when we stepped beyond his established boundaries, even though we knew that he loved us and for that very reason corrected us, our predominant emotion was a negative one of fear because we knew he would discipline us. In fact, as the writer of Hebrews says, God disciplines and scourges us precisely because of His love for us (Heb 12:5-7). A parent who does not set standards and enforce them is a negligent parent, not a loving one (Pro 13:24).
We are living in an increasingly hedonistic society that despises all authority and says, “if it feels good, do it.” And many who do not outright deny God’s existence, instead of repenting of their sins and submitting to God, seek out for themselves teachers who reconstruct God, presenting Him as though He were an all-consenting father who is totally okay with whatever one happens to be into (2Tim 4:1-4). The result is that “there is no fear of God before their eyes." (Rom 3:18). Jesus said that in the time of His return it will be as it was in the days of Lot. When the angels came into Lot’s house, all the men of the city gathered at the door and insisted that Lot send them out to them so that they could gang-rape them. When Lot reproached them for what they were doing, they condemned him for judging them (Gen 19:9). Even when they were supernaturally blinded by the angels, they did not fear God and repent, but continued groping for the door until they wore themselves out (Gen 19:4-11).
Clearly, God Himself takes responsibility for the destruction of Sodom. And Jesus, as well as Peter and Jude, warn that if we obstinately follow in their footsteps, God who is no respecter of persons will likewise judge us. Many who have been conditioned to see God as being an all-permissive father will no doubt protest against this. But Paul would respond saying: “Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?” (Rom 3:5-6). God will judge the world, even as He judged Sodom and Gomorrah. Don’t believe the false prophets when they cry peace and safety, contrary to the warnings of Jesus and all the Scriptures (1Thess 5:3).
Why was Sodom Destroyed?
Historically, it has been held by both Jews and Christians alike that, although Sodom was guilty of many sins, they were destroyed primarily because of their practice of homosexuality. This conclusion is largely based upon Genesis 19:4-5 where it says:
“But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: 5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.” (Gen 19:4-5 KJV)
Among the Hebrews, to say that someone “knows” another in such contexts was a discreet way of referring to sexual intercourse (Gen 4:1,17,25; 24:16; 38:26; Matt 1:25, etc.). Recently, some have sought to argue that the demand made by the men of Sodom was not to know them sexually but interrelationally. They point out that “know” is most commonly used in the Scriptures in a nonsexual manner. From this they argue that they were merely demanding that they be allowed to interview them. However, in the context it is clear that “know” is used in a sexual sense. When they insisted upon knowing them, Lot offered to send out to them his own virgin daughters who had never “known” a man (Gen 19:8). It is obvious that he wasn’t merely offering to let them converse with his daughters.
In Judges 19 there is a similar incident where an elderly man invited a man with his concubine to stay in his house for the night rather than spending the night in the open square. What took place afterwards is difficult to read but illustrates what is meant by the men wanting to “know” someone in this sense:
“As they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, "Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!" 23 But the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, "No, my brethren! I beg you, do not act so wickedly! Seeing this man has come into my house, do not commit this outrage. 24 Look, here is my virgin daughter and the man's concubine; let me bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them as you please; but to this man do not do such a vile thing!" 25 But the men would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until morning; and when the day began to break, they let her go.” (Judg 19:22-25)
This parallel incident demonstrates beyond doubt that the demand to be allowed to “know” someone in these contexts is in order to have sexual relations with them and not merely to be able to converse with them. Clearly, in the context of Genesis 19, the sin that finally resulted in Sodom’s destruction was homosexual activity or sodomy. That is why Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, names the sin of Sodom as being that of having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh (Jude 7). In a similar manner, Paul speaks of the homosexual relations of women with women or men with men as shameful vile passions against nature (Rom 1:24-28).
Some argue that the sin of Sodom was inhospitality rather than the sin of homosexuality. They cite Ezekiel 16 which says:
“Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit.” (Ezek 16:49,50)
Here, as in Romans chapter one, we see a downward spiral. In this case we see that it began with pride and excess and spiraled into laziness, indifference and finally committing the abomination. Committing the abomination was what provoked the severe judgment of the Lord – not a lack of hospitality (“they…committed the abomination...therefore I…”
What is the abomination they committed? Certainly, it was not inhospitality. In the first place, inhospitality is a sin of omission - not commission. What sin is Sodom historically known to have committed that could be aptly described as an abomination? Homosexuality. That is why sodomy has historically been utilized as a synonym for the homosexual lifestyle.
Lack of hospitality is never referred to in Scripture as an “abomination” requiring the death penalty. God would have been acting outside of His own law if He were to inflict the death penalty upon them for failing to show hospitality. The law of God did not prescribe the death penalty for failing to give to the poor, but it did require the death penalty for the abomination of homosexual activity:
“If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death.” (Lev 20:13 cf. 18:22)
What abomination did Sodom commit that justified their death penalty as an example? This phrase “committed an abomination” as it appears here in singular form (Heb. tow`ebah) is the same as “committed abomination” in Ezekiel 16:50. In Scripture the expression “commit abomination” in the singular refers to the homosexual act. For this reason, Jude attributes their destruction to sexual immorality with strange flesh (Jude 7). “Strange flesh” (sarcos heteras) refers to any body of flesh except for that for which the man was designed to have sex. The male penis was designed for the woman’s vagina, but the anus is designed for elimination – not penetration. Paul, in similar manner, referred to same-sex relations as “vile,” and “that which is against nature.” (Rom 1:26). Apart from it being contrary to God’s design and an affront to Him, such practices against nature cause many severe health issues in addition to AIDS.
It is common to hear the proponents of homosexuality say, “Jesus didn’t say anything about homosexuality, so it must be okay.” However, there would have been no need for Him to address the issue since it was already understood in Judaism to be a grave sin. There was no incident of homosexuality presented to Him requiring His comments, as was the case with adultery. He didn’t address incest, pedophilia or bestiality either because they likewise were non-issues among the Jews of His time. Also, these sins, along with homosexuality, were explicitly forbidden in the Law, and Jesus upheld the Law. No doubt, if someone were to have questioned Him concerning homosexuality, He would have referred them to the Law, just as He did on more than one occasion (Matt 19:4; Luke 18:20). We must keep in mind that Jesus is God and therefore the divine Author of both the Old and New Testaments. Also, implicit in His description of Sodom’s destruction and their judgment when He returns is His condemnation of unrepentant homosexual activity (Luke 17:28-30; Matt 10:15).
Since I, as with most people in our times, have close relationships with people we love who are practicing homosexuals, I have sought to understand the issue from every different angle, reading books both for and against the homosexual lifestyle. Perhaps the most carefully thought out attempt to reconcile Christianity to the Gay lifestyle that I read was “God and the Gay Christian” by a young man named Matthew Vines. He acknowledges that the men of Sodom attempted to forcefully engage in anal sex with the two angels, thinking that they were men. However, he and other Gay advocates within the Church, argue that, that which God disapproves of is not the same sex act in and of itself, but rather promiscuous sexual activity with multiple mates outside of a loving committed relationship between two individuals. 8
However, the prohibition in Leviticus 18 and 20 is not merely that of promiscuous sex. It is against any man laying with a male as he lies with a woman (Lev 18:22). Likewise, what Paul refers to as being against nature is simply referred to as women with women and men with men (Rom 1:26-27). To say that Paul was only referring to sexual promiscuity is reading into the text that which is not stated.
Some point out that we are no longer under the Law, and from that they argue that the Levitical prohibition has no application to us. While it is true that in Christ we are no longer under the Law, the righteousness of the Law is nevertheless produced in us by the Holy Spirit as we walk in the Spirit and abide in Christ (Rom 8:4). What was immoral under the Law is still immoral today and that includes same-sex relations. Paul elsewhere explains that, while those who are in Christ are no longer under the Law, the Law still stands to convict transgressors:
“But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites (arsenokoitēs), for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.” (1 Tim 1:8-11)
Here we see that the Law still stands to convict the practicing homosexual of his sin. The word translated here as “sodomite” is arsenokoitēs which is a composite word made up of arsen – “male” and koitē – “bed.” From koitē we derived our word coitus which means “sexual intercourse.” Paul here is making reference to the prohibition in Leviticus against any man laying with a male as with a woman (Lev 18:22).
Gay advocates often seek to deconstruct the sound doctrines of Scripture, disputing over definitions of words, so as to make the Scriptures appear to affirm one’s ungodly lifestyle. Paul confronted this same problem and told us to avoid those of corrupt minds who are destitute of the truth and resort to wrangling over the meaning of words instead of adhering to sound doctrine which leads to godliness (1Tim 6:3-5).
That this is a timeless prohibition and not something only applicable to the Jews under the Law is evident when one looks at the entire chapter of Leviticus 18. After forbidding several sexual sins including incest, homosexuality and bestiality, the Lord makes it clear that these were not only abominable acts for His people Israel under the Law, but that He also judges the nations who practice these abominations. After listing all the abominable acts, He says:
“(for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), 28 lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. 29 For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people.” (Lev 18:27-29)
So we see that, not only were Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by God for these abominations, but these same abominations are also the reason why God drove the Canaanites out of the land. Homosexuality is a sin against God’s design, no matter which age you happen to be living in. In the beginning God made them male and female and told them to be fruitful and multiply (Matt 19:4-5; Gen 1:27-28). Homosexuality goes against God’s original design and intent, and while the Scriptures clearly teach that all will finally be restored (including even Sodom), it is equally clear that no immoral person will inherit the kingdom of God in his sinful condition. Paul says:
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor 6:9-11)
Paul says, “Don’t let anyone deceive you into thinking that you can inherit the kingdom of God while continuing in your sinful state.” If you are continually practicing any of the sinful activities listed here, rather than justifying your continuance in them and seeking out false teachers who will affirm you in sins which will exclude you from the kingdom, you need to repent of your sin before God and look to Him to cleanse and sanctify you in order that you may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, being spared from the Lake of Fire and the second death.
I have been accused of being unloving because I don’t affirm the homosexual lifestyle. However, knowing what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, and why, it would be unloving for me to be silent. There are people very close to me whom I love very much who are practicing homosexuals. If I could affirm them and love them at the same time, I would. But to affirm someone in their sin is not love – it is either ignorance, indifference or cowardice. Jesus said: “As many as I love I rebuke and chasten.” (Rev 3:19). Even God’s judgment against Sodom was a corrective intervention done out of love. It was a necessary judgment for the good of mankind but it culminates in Sodom’s restoration (Ezek 16:53-55). God is a God of justice, but He is also a God of mercy and His mercies never come to an end. In the end His mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13).
For a more in-depth treatment on the subject of homosexuality I highly recommend Mike Winger’s four part series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_5WvYcKv18&t=265
While those who do not wish to retain the knowledge of God will always seek to discredit the evidence, in my opinion, as Peter and Jude said, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is a visible example to all subsequent generations, demonstrating that God will judge those who do not judge themselves (2 Peter 2:6; Jude 7; Heb 13:4). I believe that the evidence is so compelling as to leave man without excuse in the day of judgment. For a more detailed description, watch: Sodom & Gomorrah - true location found - Ross Patterson; Sodom and Gomorrah and The Search for Sodom and Gomorrah;.
Who Destroyed Sodom?
Some, while reluctantly conceding that cataclysmic events such as the flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah actually took place, nevertheless attempt to argue that it wasn’t God Himself who destroyed the cities. This in spite of the specific terms attributing the destruction to God Himself. God said to Abraham that He would not destroy Sodom if He found even ten righteous within the city (Gen 18:32). God clearly takes responsibility for Sodom’s destruction.
Progressives like Gregory Boyd argue that God is exclusively non-violent cruciform love, and therefore He would have never destroyed Sodom (I consider his arguments in my book “The Ways of God” As seen through the eyes of a Conservative Restorationist). Boyd argues that God simply “withdrew his protective hand to allow anti-creational forces that are ‘bent on destruction’” to carry out the judgment on the cities. 5 However, when the two angels told Lot that the cities were going to be destroyed, they said to him: “For we will destroy this place…the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” (Gen 19:13). Could we reasonably say that God’s angels are anti-creational forces that are bent on destruction? The language of Scripture does not allow us to separate God from Sodom’s destruction, as Boyd attempts to do. Genesis 19:24 emphatically says, “Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens.” In light of this, how can we reasonably attribute Sodom’s destruction to malevolent destructive forces?
Some would argue that the human author of Genesis mistakenly presented God as being the one who destroyed the cities – that Moses simply interpreted the destruction event according to his own distorted perception of God. They would say that, in order to know how God truly is, we must learn from Jesus. However, Jesus consistently authenticates the entirety of the writings of Moses and the Prophets as inspired of God and infallible (Matt 4:4; Jn 10:35; Mark 14:49; Matt 5:18; 26:56; Luke 21:22; 24:44; John 13:18; 15:25, etc.). Additionally, in Luke 17 Jesus not only affirms the historicity of God’s judgment upon Sodom, but also warns that the circumstances surrounding His return will be similar:
“Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:28-30 cf. Rev 6:15-17).
There is no indication that Jesus understood the destruction of Sodom to have been executed by malevolent forces rather than by God Himself. In fact, the New Testament uses similar language to describe the judgment that the Son of Man will Himself bring against the Antichrist and his followers when He is revealed from heaven:
“when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance (ekdikesis “executing justice”) on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with (diken tisousin, “shall pay the just penalty of”) everlasting (aionios “eonian”) destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” (2 Thess 1:7-9)
The God of the Old Testament is the same Lord Jesus Christ who comes in flaming fire, executing justice upon the ungodly at His Second Coming (cf. Rev 19:11-15). It is true that the just penalty is measured according to each man’s works and it will be eonian destruction, rather than an eternal destroying. Indeed, even Sodom will ultimately be restored (Ezek 16:53-55 ESV 6 ). But that doesn’t change the fact that it is God Himself who judges His people. As the writer of Hebrews says:
“For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The Lord will judge His people." 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb 10:30-31)
While it is true that in the coming ages, in the times of the restoration of all – the dispensation of the fullness of the times, all will have finally been restored, being reunited in Christ (Acts 3:21; Eph 1:10), the consequences of persisting in unrepentant sin are nevertheless very serious and age during. While the inhabitants of the cities of Sodom will eventually be restored, at least some of them have been in a conscious state in hades for more than 4,000 years awaiting their sentence on the day of judgment (Matt 10:15). While it is the subject of another blog, Hades, or Sheol in the Hebrew text is the invisible abode of the souls of the dead and not the grave where our bodies are laid to rest, as is claimed by some teachers such as Don Keathley. 7 For those who are interested, I demonstrate from the Scriptures that our souls continue in a conscious state after death in my blog: "Is Sheol the Grave?" and in my book “Extermination or Restoration? (A Restorationist’s response to Annihilationism)”
Contrary to modern popular opinion, affirming someone living in sin, rather than confronting them and warning them concerning God’s judgment upon the unrepentant, is not love. It is either unbelief concerning the warnings of God’s judgment given to us in Scripture – often by Jesus Himself, or else it is a lack of love and concern for the wellbeing of the unrepentant sinner. If we truly love someone and believe that God’s Word is true, we will not affirm them in their sinful lifestyle. We will warn them and earnestly intercede for them until they come to themselves and repent before God.
Affirming sinful behavior, rather than confronting it, is what characterizes all the false prophets. They are those who cry “peace and safety” instead of warning of impending judgment (1Thess 5:1-3; Ezek 13:16; Jer 14:14-16). This is what the false prophets did in the Old Testament whenever God warned through His prophets that judgments were impending. And Jesus warned that there would be many such false prophets just prior to His return:
“Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Matt 24:11-13)
Many false teachers have recently arisen within the Church who “deconstruct” the Scriptures and its revelation of God’s nature and His ways so as to remove all fear of God. They rightly say that perfect love casts out all fear (1Jn 4:18). However, it is also true that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Ps 111:10).
Any child who loves and respects his father knows that fear and love are not incompatible. If we are privileged to have had a good father who loved us, we know the love/fear relationship to one in authority. As long as we were obedient, the only emotion we felt was a positive one of love and respect (reverential fear). However, when we stepped beyond his established boundaries, even though we knew that he loved us and for that very reason corrected us, our predominant emotion was a negative one of fear because we knew he would discipline us. In fact, as the writer of Hebrews says, God disciplines and scourges us precisely because of His love for us (Heb 12:5-7). A parent who does not set standards and enforce them is a negligent parent, not a loving one (Pro 13:24).
We are living in an increasingly hedonistic society that despises all authority and says, “if it feels good, do it.” And many who do not outright deny God’s existence, instead of repenting of their sins and submitting to God, seek out for themselves teachers who reconstruct God, presenting Him as though He were an all-consenting father who is totally okay with whatever one happens to be into (2Tim 4:1-4). The result is that “there is no fear of God before their eyes." (Rom 3:18). Jesus said that in the time of His return it will be as it was in the days of Lot. When the angels came into Lot’s house, all the men of the city gathered at the door and insisted that Lot send them out to them so that they could gang-rape them. When Lot reproached them for what they were doing, they condemned him for judging them (Gen 19:9). Even when they were supernaturally blinded by the angels, they did not fear God and repent, but continued groping for the door until they wore themselves out (Gen 19:4-11).
Clearly, God Himself takes responsibility for the destruction of Sodom. And Jesus, as well as Peter and Jude, warn that if we obstinately follow in their footsteps, God who is no respecter of persons will likewise judge us. Many who have been conditioned to see God as being an all-permissive father will no doubt protest against this. But Paul would respond saying: “Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?” (Rom 3:5-6). God will judge the world, even as He judged Sodom and Gomorrah. Don’t believe the false prophets when they cry peace and safety, contrary to the warnings of Jesus and all the Scriptures (1Thess 5:3).
Why was Sodom Destroyed?
Historically, it has been held by both Jews and Christians alike that, although Sodom was guilty of many sins, they were destroyed primarily because of their practice of homosexuality. This conclusion is largely based upon Genesis 19:4-5 where it says:
“But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: 5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.” (Gen 19:4-5 KJV)
Among the Hebrews, to say that someone “knows” another in such contexts was a discreet way of referring to sexual intercourse (Gen 4:1,17,25; 24:16; 38:26; Matt 1:25, etc.). Recently, some have sought to argue that the demand made by the men of Sodom was not to know them sexually but interrelationally. They point out that “know” is most commonly used in the Scriptures in a nonsexual manner. From this they argue that they were merely demanding that they be allowed to interview them. However, in the context it is clear that “know” is used in a sexual sense. When they insisted upon knowing them, Lot offered to send out to them his own virgin daughters who had never “known” a man (Gen 19:8). It is obvious that he wasn’t merely offering to let them converse with his daughters.
In Judges 19 there is a similar incident where an elderly man invited a man with his concubine to stay in his house for the night rather than spending the night in the open square. What took place afterwards is difficult to read but illustrates what is meant by the men wanting to “know” someone in this sense:
“As they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, "Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!" 23 But the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, "No, my brethren! I beg you, do not act so wickedly! Seeing this man has come into my house, do not commit this outrage. 24 Look, here is my virgin daughter and the man's concubine; let me bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them as you please; but to this man do not do such a vile thing!" 25 But the men would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until morning; and when the day began to break, they let her go.” (Judg 19:22-25)
This parallel incident demonstrates beyond doubt that the demand to be allowed to “know” someone in these contexts is in order to have sexual relations with them and not merely to be able to converse with them. Clearly, in the context of Genesis 19, the sin that finally resulted in Sodom’s destruction was homosexual activity or sodomy. That is why Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, names the sin of Sodom as being that of having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh (Jude 7). In a similar manner, Paul speaks of the homosexual relations of women with women or men with men as shameful vile passions against nature (Rom 1:24-28).
Some argue that the sin of Sodom was inhospitality rather than the sin of homosexuality. They cite Ezekiel 16 which says:
“Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit.” (Ezek 16:49,50)
Here, as in Romans chapter one, we see a downward spiral. In this case we see that it began with pride and excess and spiraled into laziness, indifference and finally committing the abomination. Committing the abomination was what provoked the severe judgment of the Lord – not a lack of hospitality (“they…committed the abomination...therefore I…”
What is the abomination they committed? Certainly, it was not inhospitality. In the first place, inhospitality is a sin of omission - not commission. What sin is Sodom historically known to have committed that could be aptly described as an abomination? Homosexuality. That is why sodomy has historically been utilized as a synonym for the homosexual lifestyle.
Lack of hospitality is never referred to in Scripture as an “abomination” requiring the death penalty. God would have been acting outside of His own law if He were to inflict the death penalty upon them for failing to show hospitality. The law of God did not prescribe the death penalty for failing to give to the poor, but it did require the death penalty for the abomination of homosexual activity:
“If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death.” (Lev 20:13 cf. 18:22)
What abomination did Sodom commit that justified their death penalty as an example? This phrase “committed an abomination” as it appears here in singular form (Heb. tow`ebah) is the same as “committed abomination” in Ezekiel 16:50. In Scripture the expression “commit abomination” in the singular refers to the homosexual act. For this reason, Jude attributes their destruction to sexual immorality with strange flesh (Jude 7). “Strange flesh” (sarcos heteras) refers to any body of flesh except for that for which the man was designed to have sex. The male penis was designed for the woman’s vagina, but the anus is designed for elimination – not penetration. Paul, in similar manner, referred to same-sex relations as “vile,” and “that which is against nature.” (Rom 1:26). Apart from it being contrary to God’s design and an affront to Him, such practices against nature cause many severe health issues in addition to AIDS.
It is common to hear the proponents of homosexuality say, “Jesus didn’t say anything about homosexuality, so it must be okay.” However, there would have been no need for Him to address the issue since it was already understood in Judaism to be a grave sin. There was no incident of homosexuality presented to Him requiring His comments, as was the case with adultery. He didn’t address incest, pedophilia or bestiality either because they likewise were non-issues among the Jews of His time. Also, these sins, along with homosexuality, were explicitly forbidden in the Law, and Jesus upheld the Law. No doubt, if someone were to have questioned Him concerning homosexuality, He would have referred them to the Law, just as He did on more than one occasion (Matt 19:4; Luke 18:20). We must keep in mind that Jesus is God and therefore the divine Author of both the Old and New Testaments. Also, implicit in His description of Sodom’s destruction and their judgment when He returns is His condemnation of unrepentant homosexual activity (Luke 17:28-30; Matt 10:15).
Since I, as with most people in our times, have close relationships with people we love who are practicing homosexuals, I have sought to understand the issue from every different angle, reading books both for and against the homosexual lifestyle. Perhaps the most carefully thought out attempt to reconcile Christianity to the Gay lifestyle that I read was “God and the Gay Christian” by a young man named Matthew Vines. He acknowledges that the men of Sodom attempted to forcefully engage in anal sex with the two angels, thinking that they were men. However, he and other Gay advocates within the Church, argue that, that which God disapproves of is not the same sex act in and of itself, but rather promiscuous sexual activity with multiple mates outside of a loving committed relationship between two individuals. 8
However, the prohibition in Leviticus 18 and 20 is not merely that of promiscuous sex. It is against any man laying with a male as he lies with a woman (Lev 18:22). Likewise, what Paul refers to as being against nature is simply referred to as women with women and men with men (Rom 1:26-27). To say that Paul was only referring to sexual promiscuity is reading into the text that which is not stated.
Some point out that we are no longer under the Law, and from that they argue that the Levitical prohibition has no application to us. While it is true that in Christ we are no longer under the Law, the righteousness of the Law is nevertheless produced in us by the Holy Spirit as we walk in the Spirit and abide in Christ (Rom 8:4). What was immoral under the Law is still immoral today and that includes same-sex relations. Paul elsewhere explains that, while those who are in Christ are no longer under the Law, the Law still stands to convict transgressors:
“But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites (arsenokoitēs), for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.” (1 Tim 1:8-11)
Here we see that the Law still stands to convict the practicing homosexual of his sin. The word translated here as “sodomite” is arsenokoitēs which is a composite word made up of arsen – “male” and koitē – “bed.” From koitē we derived our word coitus which means “sexual intercourse.” Paul here is making reference to the prohibition in Leviticus against any man laying with a male as with a woman (Lev 18:22).
Gay advocates often seek to deconstruct the sound doctrines of Scripture, disputing over definitions of words, so as to make the Scriptures appear to affirm one’s ungodly lifestyle. Paul confronted this same problem and told us to avoid those of corrupt minds who are destitute of the truth and resort to wrangling over the meaning of words instead of adhering to sound doctrine which leads to godliness (1Tim 6:3-5).
That this is a timeless prohibition and not something only applicable to the Jews under the Law is evident when one looks at the entire chapter of Leviticus 18. After forbidding several sexual sins including incest, homosexuality and bestiality, the Lord makes it clear that these were not only abominable acts for His people Israel under the Law, but that He also judges the nations who practice these abominations. After listing all the abominable acts, He says:
“(for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), 28 lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. 29 For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people.” (Lev 18:27-29)
So we see that, not only were Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by God for these abominations, but these same abominations are also the reason why God drove the Canaanites out of the land. Homosexuality is a sin against God’s design, no matter which age you happen to be living in. In the beginning God made them male and female and told them to be fruitful and multiply (Matt 19:4-5; Gen 1:27-28). Homosexuality goes against God’s original design and intent, and while the Scriptures clearly teach that all will finally be restored (including even Sodom), it is equally clear that no immoral person will inherit the kingdom of God in his sinful condition. Paul says:
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor 6:9-11)
Paul says, “Don’t let anyone deceive you into thinking that you can inherit the kingdom of God while continuing in your sinful state.” If you are continually practicing any of the sinful activities listed here, rather than justifying your continuance in them and seeking out false teachers who will affirm you in sins which will exclude you from the kingdom, you need to repent of your sin before God and look to Him to cleanse and sanctify you in order that you may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, being spared from the Lake of Fire and the second death.
I have been accused of being unloving because I don’t affirm the homosexual lifestyle. However, knowing what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, and why, it would be unloving for me to be silent. There are people very close to me whom I love very much who are practicing homosexuals. If I could affirm them and love them at the same time, I would. But to affirm someone in their sin is not love – it is either ignorance, indifference or cowardice. Jesus said: “As many as I love I rebuke and chasten.” (Rev 3:19). Even God’s judgment against Sodom was a corrective intervention done out of love. It was a necessary judgment for the good of mankind but it culminates in Sodom’s restoration (Ezek 16:53-55). God is a God of justice, but He is also a God of mercy and His mercies never come to an end. In the end His mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13).
For a more in-depth treatment on the subject of homosexuality I highly recommend Mike Winger’s four part series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_5WvYcKv18&t=265
[1] https://www.adefenceofthebible.com/2019/06/28/ebla-tablets/
2 Josephus: Wars of the Jews, Book IV, Chapter VIII, §54 [4.54]
3 Strabo. Geography. Book XVII
4 Strabo. Geography. Book XVI, Chapter 2:44.
5 Boyd, Gregory A.. The Crucifixion of the Warrior God: Volumes 1 & 2 (p. 1071). Fortress Press. Kindle Edition.
6 I quote here from a version other than the King James Version for a good reason. The King James translators changed the beginning of verse 53, making it read: “When I restore…,” which would leave open the possibility that the Lord didn’t really mean that He was actually going to restore them. However, most recent translators, even though they are not Universalists, have corrected this apparently intentional mistranslation of the text, making it correctly read: “I will restore…”
7 Don Keathley, Hell’s Illusion part 2, 17:30 min.
8 Vines, Matthew. God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships (p. 113). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.