sheol

I. Holy Hades - She’ol, or, The Underworld

Genesis 37:35

(35) And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said: ‘I will go down to She’ol, to my son mourning.’ And his father wept for him.

Numbers 16:32-34

(32) [...] and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households, all Korah’s people and all their possessions. (33) They went down alive into She’ol, with all that belonged to them; the earth closed over them and they vanished from the midst of the congregation. (34) All Israel around them fled at their shrieks, for they said, “The earth might swallow us!”

Isaiah 38:18

(18) For Sh’eol cannot praise You, death cannot celebrate You; They that go down into the pit cannot hope for Your truth.

Job 7:9

As a cloud fades away, so one that goes down to She’ol shall not come up.

II. Back from the Dead - Resurrection

Ezekiel 37:11-12

(11) Then God said unto me: ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say: Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off. (12) Therefore prophesy, and say unto them: Thus says the Lord, God: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.

Isaiah 26:19

(19) Thy dead shall live, my dead bodies shall arise— Awake and sing, you that dwell in the dust— For your dew is as the dew of light, and the earth shall bring to life the spirits.

Daniel 12:2

(2) And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches and to everlasting abhorrence.

Sifrei Devarim 306:35 [2nd-3rd Century CE]

R. Simai [said]: There is no section in the Torah that does not deal with the resurrection, but we lack the strength to expound it.

Talmud Bavli Ketubot 111a:1-27 [4th-6th Century CE]

Rabbi El’azar said: The dead of the lands outside of Eretz Yisrael will not come alive and be resurrected in the future, as it is stated: “And I will set glory [tzvi] in the land of the living” (Ezekiel 26:20). This teaches that with regard to a land which contains ‘My desire’ [tzivyoni], its dead will come alive; however, with regard to a land which does not contain Tziyyon, i.e., outside of Eretz Yisrael, its dead will not come alive. [...] The Gemara asks: And according to the opinion of Rabbi El’azar, will the righteous outside of Eretz Yisrael not come alive at the time of the resurrection of the dead? Rabbi Ile’a said: They will be resurrected by means of rolling, i.e., they will roll until they reach Eretz Yisrael, where they will be brought back to life. Rabbi Abba Salla Rava strongly objects to this: Rolling is an ordeal that entails suffering for the righteous! Abayé said: Tunnels are prepared for them in the ground, through which they pass to Eretz Yisrael.

III. Gan Eden / Gei Hinnom - Heaven & Hell

Tosefta Sanhedrin 13:3 [1st-2nd Century CE]

Beit Shammai taught: There are three groups– one is destined for eternal life, another consigned to eternal ignominy and eternal abhorrence, while those whose deeds are balanced will go down to Gei Hinnom, but when they scream they will ascend from there and be healed.

Talmud Bavli Berakhot 57b:10 [4th-6th Century CE]

Three things are microcosms of the World-that-Is-Coming, and they are: Shabbat, a sunny day, and sexual intercourse

Talmud Bavli Berakhot 17a:12 [4th-6th Century CE]

Rav was wont to say: The World-that-Is-Coming is not like this world. In the World-that-Is-Coming there is no eating, no drinking, no procreation, no business negotiations, no jealousy, no hatred, and no competition. Rather, the righteous sit with their crowns upon their heads, enjoying the splendor of the Divine Presence.

Talmud Bavli Shabbat 152b:8 [4th-6th Century CE]

Rabba said to Rav Naḥman: What happens to the souls of mediocre people, who are neither righteous nor wicked? Rav Naḥman said to him: It is good that you asked me this question, for even if I were dead I would not have been able to tell you that! Sh’muel said as follows: These and those, the souls of the wicked and of the mediocre people, are handed over to Dumah, the angel in charge of spirits. But these, the souls of the mediocre people, have rest, and these, the souls of the wicked, do not have rest.

IV. Soul (Re)Cycling - Reincarnation

R’ Sa’adiah Gaon, Book of Beliefs and Opinions, vi. 8 [9th Century CE]

I have found certain people, who call themselves Jews, professing the doctrine of ... ‘transmigration of souls.’ Many of them would even go so far as to assert that the spirit of a human being might enter into the body of a beast or that of a beast into the body of a human being, and other such nonsense and stupidities!

Zohar I:186b [11th-12th Century CE]

As long as a person is unsuccessful in their purpose in this world, the Holy One, blessed be God, uproots them and replants them over and over again.

Zohar III:99b [11th-12th Century CE]

Truly, all souls, must undergo transmigration; but humanity does not perceive the ways of the Holy One, how the revolving scale is set up and people are judged every day at all time, and how they are brought up before the Tribunal, before they enter into this world and after they leave it. They do not even perceive the many transmigrations and the many mysterious works which the Holy One accomplishes with many naked souls, and how many naked spirits roam about, in the other world, without being able to enter within the veil of the King's Palace 

R' Hayyim Vital, Sha'ar HaGilgulim, 8 [16th Century CE]

Regarding reincarnation of souls, why do souls reincarnate? There are various reasons why souls reincarnate: a) they have transgressed on a particular commandment of the Torah; b) To correct a commandment that was neglected and is lacking by them; and c) For the sake of others, to guide them and help them to correct. 

R' Moshe Hayyim Luzzato, Derekh Hashem, 2:10 [18th Century CE]

There is a core principle which guides all the ways of the world - and this is that which the highest wisdom has arranged in order to increase [the chance of] success, as I have explained. For a single soul will come to this world many different times in many different bodies. Through this one is able to repair at one point that which was corrupted at another point - or to complete that which was left unfinished. And only at the end of all these transmigrations will the future judgement occur, and thus the soul will be judged on all that which transpired during all the incarnations in which it was transmigrated and all the circumstances of each.

In this second installment of Jonah, we see Jonah praying a prayer in an unlikely place:  within the belly of a fish.  We know from the first chapter, Jonah's disobedience landed him here.  But even as this place has brought him to his knees, Jonah's plea is not rejected before God.  Through the 10 verses of Jonah 2, there is a Psalm-like longing and hope within Jonah.  By the end, we see he has a heart of repentance and a desire to once again be reinstated for God's call.  It's a call we experience too as we fully submit and surrender to God's will.  

There are several Psalms that are described as Psalms of Ascent.  These are songs that likely would have been sung on pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  To go on pilgrimage is to ascend the Mountain of God.  But other Psalms also refer to descending to the grave or to The Pit.  What is the significance of the language of descending to the underworld?  Delve into the profound symbolism of ascending and descending in the Psalms, as we unravel the mysteries of these spiritual journeys.

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The Bible describes death as that moment when our spirit leaves our body.  So when that happens, where does it go?  What happens to our souls in the afterlife?  We take a look at Sheol, aka Hades, the realm of the dead, a place that is part Paradise, part fiery torment.  Along the way we will answer one very important question: if my loved one is destined for hell, is there anything I can do about it?  Spoiler alert - the answer is "Yes".  

Scriptures covered: Numbers 16 - the rebellion of Dathan, Abiram and Korah; 1 Samuel 28 - Saul consults a medium to bring up Samuel from the dead; Luke 23:32-43 - Jesus tells a criminal that he will join Him in Paradise; Luke 16:19-31 - the rich man and Lazarus; Colossians 3:1-2 - Jesus is at God's right hand; Philippians 1:21-24 - Paul wants to join Christ; Luke 11:29-32 - An example of why excuses won't work on Judgment Day. 

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Everyone reflects on the past events and try the best they can to figure out their next step. All hope for a more favorable future.

*Bonus Material Included*

The forces of light and darkness clash on a barren field as Sheol forces assault the Bouchard complex. The lives of many hang in the balance as two heavily matched spiritual forces battle for supremacy.

Music - O Fortuna, Epic Trailer Version by Hidden Citizens

Convergence - Keiko, Brooke, the Dukanes, and the dark Sheol forces clash in the beginning of a climatic battle.

The dark Sheol Official and Bahija take an eye opening trip to Canada with the two inner core associates. Keiko and Brooke decide to pay Bouchard a visit under the request of the Canadian government.

The Archangel Michael prepares for the inevitable upcoming battle.

The dark Sheol official finally come in contact with a couple of inner core associates . . . they are not what he expected. His mind races as he considers the who and what these two are.

The Dukane family . . . and Bouchard comes to grips over the reality of SHEOL finding out their current location.

Keiko and the follow Agents of GREY learn more about the mysterious internet noise they were investigating. During this time she also comes in contact with Martin and Pravus.

The Dark Sheol Official takes licks his wound, distraught over the failed genovirion plan, but finds himself spending time with a prospect inductee.