THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER
"Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. " (John 5:39)

VOLUME 3, NUMBER 44, NOVEMBER 30, 2003 

WHERE DOES A SOUL GO AT DEATH? 

    I received a very good question last week and I thought that it would make an excellent bulletin article. The question was the title of this article, “Where does a soul go at death?” While I certainly do not know all that there is to know about this subject, there are certain things revealed in God’s Word that shed some light upon it. 

    There are three Greek words that have been translated as “hell” in the King James Version, yet they do not refer to the same thing. Hades is one of the words and it refers to “the grave, the abode of the dead, disembodied spirits, or the unseen world”. Tartarus is yet another word, and refers to the “abode of the wicked dead.” Gehenna is the third word and it refers to “the lake of fire, the second death, the place of eternal punishment.” 

    We can begin to answer the question by first dealing with death itself. Death is a separation. When the spirit departs, the body is dead. James 2:26 tells us, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Eccl. 12:7 informs us that the body is returned to the dust from whence it came, but not so the spirit. Verse 7 says, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Specifically, the spirit enters “the abode of the disembodied spirits, “Hades”.  

    When Jesus died, His body was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, but His spirit went to Hades. Quoting from the New American Standard, Acts 2:25 – 31, we find, “For David says of Him, I was always beholding the Lord in my presence, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted; moreover my flesh also will abide in hope; because thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor allow thy Holy One to undergo decay. Thou hast made know to me the ways of life; thou wilt make me full of gladness with thy presence. Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne, He looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.” 

    Even as this is true, we must also consider the fact that Jesus told the thief on the cross that he would be with Him that very day in Paradise. So Jesus was going to enter Hades and be in a place referred to as Paradise – obviously not a place of torment, but a place of comfort. 

    In Luke 16:19-31, we learn that Lazarus, the poor beggar, died and went to “Abraham’s bosom” and was “comforted”. Since the dead enter into Hades and Lazarus was being “comforted”, we must conclude that he went to Paradise, a place of comfort. On the other hand we learn that the rich man died and went to Hades, but he was “in torments”, indeed, he said, “I am tormented in this flame.” He must have been in Tartarus, the “abode of the wicked dead.” Angels who sinned are committed there and “reserved unto judgment” (2 Peter. 2:4). We learn also from Luke 16:26, that there is a “great gulf” between the two, Paradise and Tartarus. 

    Having said all of this I will give you my conclusions. It appears to me that all who die go to Hades. Those who can be called the “righteous dead” go to Paradise, the place of comfort in Hades. Those who can be called the “wicked dead” go to Tartarus, the place of torment in Hades. It is also clear, because of the great gulf, that once we died there are no second chances. 

    In John 5:28 – 29, we read, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” When Jesus returns all will come forth from Hades. Those who lived their lives in obedience to the Lord will go home to heaven. Those who refused to do so will go to Gehenna – the lake of fire. And what of Hades after the resurrection? According to Revelation 20:13 - 14, it will cease to be. The passage says, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and Hades delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” 

After that – ETERNITY! 

Greg Litmer 

WHOM DO I PLEASE? (Jn. 12:42-43) 

It is impossible to please everybody. You never do it right for everyone at the same time. You can try to please them all, but that means that you will have to keep changing your rules, your methods, and your goals. Even then, there will be somebody unhappy with your performance. The sooner I learn that I can only please one, the better off I will be. That One must be the Lord. To please the Lord often means making some people unhappy. Yet, it is better to disappoint some people than to let down the Lord who died for me. That is the point anyway; Christ is the only One deserving of such service. Others don’t appreciate it and will never be satisfied with my efforts. Jesus will and will honor me in the last day. 

--Phil Mullins, The Manslick Road Speaker