Samuel, Saul & Sheol
Saul the first king of Israel did not fare very well. He did not worship foreign gods as many did; however, he failed to follow after God and followed after his own heart. In the end, where did King Saul go?
When Saul went to the witch of Endor, Samuel arose instead of her familiar spirit. This is what scared the witch. Samuel told Saul in 1 Samuel 28:16-19:
16Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing Yehovah is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? 17And Yehovah hath done to him, as he spake by me: for Yehovah hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: 18Because thou obeyedst not the voice of Yehovah, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath Yehovah done this thing unto thee this day. 19Moreover Yehovah will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: Yehovah also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.
Although God was against Saul, he was to end up in the same place where Samuel was. Remember how Saul died, 1 Samuel 31:4:
4Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.
Saul committed suicide. Yet with all Saul did, he ended up in the same place where Samuel was, sheol. The wicked with the righteous in sheol.
These are only a few of the passages from the Hebrew Scriptures. These are representative of the Hebrew scriptures. The Hebrew scriptures teach that sheol is the place of the dead, both the good and wicked go there. There is no differentiation. It is a place of unconscious rest not a place of suffering.
Have you ever considered that, for God to say to Adam in the day you eat you shall surely die, then surprise everyone with in the day that you eat you shall surely fry and not die. If so, can we really say that God is trustworthy? Of course God is trustworthy; unfortunately, too many have misrepresented His word.
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