Bible Cosmology (7)

The Underworld (The Grave, Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, Hell)
The third component of this three-decker universe is the Underworld. It seems, in fact, to be a physical place as much as a spiritual one. The first mention of Sheol is in Genesis, where Jacob says that he will go down to the grave (Gen.37:35) to his son, Joseph. The direction he states is important because obviously, when he died, he would not visibly go up. It is the “realm of death below”, and in the “depths”. People can go down alive into the pit— this has to be more than just dying. In Numbers 16, Korah, Dathan and Abiram went down alive (Num.16:30-33). In Deuteronomy, God refers to a fire “that burns to the realm of death below.” (Deut.32:22) And Samuel’s spirit came up out of the ground. (1 Sam.28:13) The mysteries of God are “deeper than the depths of the grave,” Job 11:8,9) and Job speaks of those who “go down to the grave in peace.” (Job 21:13) On a less happy note, another Psalmist says, “I am counted among those who go down to the pit…You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.” (Psa.88:4,6) Happily, the Psalmist tells us that “from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up” (Psa.71:20) and “You have delivered me from the depths of the grave.” (Psa.86:13)

There is life (or at least conscious existence) in the Underworld because Isaiah says about a recently dead celebrity, “The grave below is all astir to meet you at your coming.” (Isa.14:9) “You are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.” (Isa.14:13,14) Amos speaks of a physical underworld that could, at least theoretically, be accessed with a shovel: “Though they dig down to the depths of the grave, from there my hand will take them.” (Amos 9:2) Jonah himself felt that he had been alive in the underworld because he said, “from the depths of the grave I called for help,” (Jonah 2:2) and, “You brought my life up from the pit.” (Jonah 2:6) The Lord takes up the same picture and asks Capernaum, “Will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths.” (Luke 10:15)

There is a good deal more that could be said about the Underworld. For instance, part of it was a place of torment and, across a great gulf, was a region of peace and contentment. (Luke 16) And the Bible gives instructions about how to go to one place or the other.

Endings

The end of this earth (and the entire cosmos) as the Bible describes it, is an awesome sight. The Apostle John tells us that there will be “a great earthquake”, so tremendous that “every mountain and island was removed from its place.” (Rev.6:12-14) This same passage tells us that the sun will turn black, the moon blood red and the stars in the sky will fall to earth. Isaiah tells us that “all the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll.” (Isa.34:4) Peter indicates that “the heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” (2 Pet.3:10,12) Finally, Jesus Himself assures us that “Heaven and earth will pass away…” (Mat.24:35)

How to explain all this in terms of the science of today? For starters, the study of tectonics has defined plates on the earth’s crust that are surrounded by intense volcanic and earthquake zones. By comparison, the February 2010 earthquake in Chile moved the entire city of Concepcion 10 feet westward.

A series of super-volcanoes could put thousands of cubic kilometers of dust into the sky— enough to darken the sun and turn the moon blood red. Earlier in this series we saw the sky compared to a dome or a scroll or a tent. If the ancient writers had this picture of the sky, it was only a step to viewing that dome destroyed or that scroll rolled up. And if that firmament gave way, who knew what would happen to the earth?