Immortality or Resurrection (Updated) by William West (reading strategies book .TXT) 📖

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that hates reproof shall die. HELL [grave-sheol] and destruction are before the Lord."
The grave and destruction is not a picture of Hell as it is painted by today's Theology
where none that are in Hell shall never die or be destroyed.
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(6) Proverbs 15:24 "The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from the
HELL [grave-sheol] beneath." Protestants do not believe that any will depart from Hell
once they are there. See Psalms 18:3-6 and Psalms 55:15. The writers of Psalms,
Proverbs and all the Old Testament believed God would in their lifetime reward the
righteous and punish the evil even with premature death; “All these blessings” and “All
these curses” in Deuteronomy 28 were in their lifetime. Israel went into captivity
frequently and many of them died in captivity; when they would repent God would bring
them out of captivity. Even under the New Covenant the wrath of God is on the sinner
now in this life [Romans 1:18; 2 Peter 2:9].
(6) Proverbs 23:14 "You shall beat him with the rod, and shall deliver his soul from
HELL [grave-sheol]." A child that is not punished when it does wrong will not keep the
law and may be punished even with death [see note on Proverbs 15:24 above]. "You shall
beat him with the rod, and deliver (save) his life from the grave." No child can be
delivered from the Hell that is taught today by disciplining him, so why was Hell used in
this passage?
(7) Proverbs 27:20 "HELL [grave-sheol] and destruction are never full." "And he that
hates reproof shall die [Proverbs 15:24]. Hell [grave-sheol] and destruction are before
the Lord" [Proverbs 15:10-11]. The grave and destruction are associated many times. No
matter how many die, as long as time goes on, there will be room for more. In Proverbs
30:16 the translators translated the same thought as grave. "The GRAVE [sheol]...says not
'It is enough.'" This is not saying Hell is so large a place that it can never be filled. This
passage is like the other 64 passages that have sheol in them, nothing is said about
torment in Hell.
Mr. Stuart, who believes in "Hell" said, "The inconsistency with which they have sometimes
rendered the word Sheol, in the same connection and with the same sense, is a striking
circumstance which cannot but be regarded with some wonder by an attentive inquirer."
Note: There are four others words in the Hebrew Old Testament that are translated
"grave" in the King James Version (kvooraf, kehver, shahaghath, bgee), but to my
knowledge none of them are used by anyone to prove there is any kind of life in the
grave.
PASSAGES FROM WHICH THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION REMOVED
"HELL" THAT WAS IN THE KING JAMES VERSION The New King James Version
took Hell out of thirteen of the thirty-one times it is in the King James Version. It
changed the way sheol was translated in the King James Version 19 of the 65 times sheol
is used. It also changed the three words used in the King James Version Old Testament to
four words; pit, grave, Hell, and sheol.
| KJV | NKJV |
2 Samuel 22:6 | Hell | Sheol|
Job 11:8 | Hell | Sheol|
Job 26:6 | Hell | Sheol|
Psalms 16:10 | Hell | Sheol|
Psalms 18:5 | Hell | Sheol|
Psalms 86:13 | Hell | Sheol|
Psalms 116:3 | Hell | Sheol|
Isaiah 5:14 | Hell | Sheol|
Isaiah 14:15 | Hell | Sheol|
Isaiah 28:15 | Hell | Sheol|
Isaiah 28:18 | Hell | Sheol|
Isaiah 57:9 | Hell | Sheol|
Jonah 2:2 | Hell | Sheol|
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More Changes | KJV | NKJV |
Job 17:16 | Pit | Sheol|
Ezekiel 31:15 | Grave| Hell |
Isaiah 14:11 | Grave| Sheol|
Isaiah 38:10 | Grave| Sheol|
Isaiah 38:18 | Grave| Sheol|
Proverbs 1:12 | Grave| Sheol|
The New King James Version removes much of the foundation on which the belief in
Hell was built, and the American Standard Version and most others removed the
foundation completely from the Old Testament, but the belief now still stands without it.
After looking at the sixty-five passages where sheol is used in the Old Testament,
there is only one conclusion that we can come to, death really is death for both the
good and the evil, and there is no life for anyone or any part of anyone before the
resurrection.
• THERE IS NO HINT OF AN ETERNAL LIFE OF TORMENT AFTER
DEATH OR AFTER THE JUDGMENT IN ANY OF THE SIXTY-FIVE
PASSAGES.
• THE OLD TESTAMENT DOES NOT CONTAIN TODAY'S CONCEPT OF
HELL.
• THERE IS NO WORD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THAT EVEN COMES
CLOSE TO THE MEANING THAT HELL HAS TODAY.
TWO DEFINITIONS: Webster's New World Dictionary.
1. A place in the ground where a dead body is buried. Any place where a dead body
is laid or comes to rest."
2. Today's theology, "A place where the living that can never be dead are tormented
forever by Satan or by God."
HOW DID THE TRANSLATORS GET TWO WORDS, GRAVE AND HELL,
WITH SUCH A VAST DIFFERENCE IN MEANING FROM THE SAME
HEBREW WORD? It is as if the same word [sheol] means "white" in thirty-four
passage and "black" in thirty-one passages. TO MISTRANSLATE THE WAY THE
KING JAMES TRANSLATORS DID IS NOT ONLY A BAD TRANSLATION, IT IS
SINFUL TO SO MISUSE GOD'S WORD, BOTH SINFUL FOR THE TRANSLATORS
AND SINFUL FOR THOSE WHO KNOW IT IS WRONG BUT USE IT ANYWAY
AND DO NOT SPEAK OUT ABOUT WHAT THEY KNOW TO BE WRONG. What
will they say to God at the judgment?
L. Ray Smith, "I do not even contend that this is bad scholarship. This is NO scholarship at all.
This is nothing less than FRAUD-a Christian HOAX! Show me where else in historic academia we
find such reckless abandonment of the facts? I am not contending for my personal preference in
translating the scriptures, but to merely translate accurately and consistently what we find in all
the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts."
Often, the person who teaches sheol is somewhere beneath the surface of the earth and
the dead all to sheol will at other times teach all go to Heaven or Hell at death. The Old
Testament teaching of all the dead being asleep in sheol, the grave is in direct
contradiction to today's teaching of going directly to Heaven at death, yet many teach
both depending, I guess on what their needs are at any given time, but most seem to be
unaware of what they are doing, unaware that they are changing back and forth between
two contradictory teachings.
THE ENGLISH "HELL" OF TODAY ------ VERSUS - SHEOL OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
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A PLACE OF REMORSE AND SUFFERING -- VERSUS - "FORGETFULNESS" PS 88:11-12
A PLACE OF ENDLESS FIRE ---------- VERSUS - "DARKNESS" JOB 10:21
OF TORMENT WITH SHRIEKS AND GROANS - VERSUS - "SILENCE" PSALMS 115:17
HADES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT (Used 11 times)
Hades used with reference to the death of Christ (3 passages)
Hades used with reference to death (1 passage)
Hades used with reference to the destruction of cities or nations (2 passages)
Hades in the symbolic passages (5 passages)
The Greek word hades in the New Testament corresponds to sheol in the Old
Testament. Hades is used in the Septuagint Version, a translation of the Old Testament
into Greek, sixty of the sixty-five times where sheol is used. It is used in the New
Testament when the Old Testament is quoted [Psalms 16:10; Acts 2:27]. HADES DOES
NOT HAVE ANY REFERENCE TO THE SOUL OF ANYONE IN ANY OF THE
ELEVEN PASSAGES WHERE IT IS USED. NOR DOES IT HAVE ANY
REFERENCE TO TORMENT IN HELL. An examination of every passage where hades
is used in the New Testament shows that not one of them says anything about everlasting
conscious torment or of eternal punishment. Not a one of them says anything about what
will be after the judgment day.
Hades in the three passages
That has reference to the death of Christ.
(1) Matthew 16:18 "And I say also unto you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I
will build my church: and the gates of HELL [the grave-hades] shall not prevail against
it." "And the gates of HADES shall not prevail against it" New King James Version. The
grave is pictured as a fortified city with gates as many cities at that time had; the
believers were told pray that their flight be not on a Sabbath for then the gates of the city
would be closed and would hold them in [Matthew 24:20]. The gates were unable to hold
Christ in the grave and will be unable to hold the dead in Christ, they will be resurrected
and have the victory over death. Death and the grave will “not prevail against IT” – the
church, which is all that are in Christ.
"Death shall neither destroy the organic church which is in the world, nor the members thereof
which go down into the grave." J. W. McGarvey, The Fourfold Gospel, Standard Publishing Company,
Page 412.
• "And the gates of HELL shall not prevail against it" King James.
• "And the gates of HADES shall not prevail against it" New King James.
Which translation do you believe? There is no way that both could be right.
According to today's theology Hell and Hades are two entirely different places, but
these two translations are in conflict with each other on the place all through the New
Testament.
(2) Acts 2:27 "Because you will not leave my soul in HELL [the grave-hades], neither
will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption." Hades is the Greek translation of the
Hebrew sheol. In Acts 2:27, hades is a translation of sheol from Psalm 16:10. Only the
King James Version translates hades into Hell. Most translations, even the New King
James Version, have not translated hades into Hell. Many would not translate it and
therefore left the untranslated Greek word in the English translation. This does not help
the English reader who does not know Greek; but it was left untranslated in many
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versions of the Bible because those who believe the soul is immortal and believe in Hell
do not want neither sheol in the Old Testament or hades in the New Testament to be
translated.
(3) Acts 2:31 "He seeing this before spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul
was not left in HELL [the grave-hades]; neither his flesh did see corruption." "That His
soul was not left in HADES" New King James Version. This is a quotation of Psalms
16:10. David "both died and were buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day" [Acts
2:29]. If David were living at this time and he was not in the tomb, Peter had no point or
argument, and what he said had no meaning. "From the day that the fathers fell asleep" 2
Peter 3:4. This shows that David is still asleep, along with all other's that "are fallen
asleep" 1 Corinthians 15:6. To say that David is not dead or has been raised is to say the
resurrection is passed, and Christ was not the "first fruits" 1 Corinthians 15:20, or the
"first born" Colossians 1:18, Revelation 1:5. To say that David was never dead is to make
a resurrection impossible. The resurrection at the coming of Christ is the subject, and
nothing is said about what will be from death to the resurrection. Jesus was in His grave
until God resurrected Him, and David will be in his grave until the resurrection. David
and all who have died except Christ are still in the grave [in sheol-hades] and will be unto
the Resurrection. The King James Version has the "soul" of David being taken out of
Hell but