What Ezekiel Teaches About Hell and Sheol

Ezekiel 33

1 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them, When I bring the sword on a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:

3 If when he sees the sword come on the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;

4 Then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet, and takes not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be on his own head.

5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be on him. But he that takes warning shall deliver his soul.

6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.

7 So you, O son of man, I have set you a watchman to the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.

8 When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die; if you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at your hand.

9 Nevertheless, if you warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

10 Therefore, O you son of man, speak to the house of Israel; Thus you speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be on us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?

11 Say to them, As I live, says the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn you, turn you from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?

12 Therefore, you son of man, say to the children of your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turns from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sins.

13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he has committed, he shall die for it.

14 Again, when I say to the wicked, You shall surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;

15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.

16 None of his sins that he has committed shall be mentioned to him: he has done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

17 Yet the children of your people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.

18 When the righteous turns from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, he shall even die thereby.

19 But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.

20 Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O you house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.

21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came to me, saying, The city is smitten.

22 Now the hand of the LORD was on me in the evening, before he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.

23 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

24 Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.

25 Why say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD; You eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall you possess the land?

26 You stand on your sword, you work abomination, and you defile every one his neighbor’s wife: and shall you possess the land?

27 Say you thus to them, Thus says the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.

28 For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through.

29 Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.

30 Also, you son of man, the children of your people still are talking against you by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that comes forth from the LORD.

31 And they come to you as the people comes, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their covetousness.

32 And, see, you are to them as a very lovely song of one that has a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear your words, but they do them not.

33 And when this comes to pass, (see, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet has been among them.

Ezekiel 32

1 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him, You are like a young lion of the nations, and you are as a whale in the seas: and you came forth with your rivers, and troubled the waters with your feet, and fouled their rivers.

3 Thus says the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over you with a company of many people; and they shall bring you up in my net.

4 Then will I leave you on the land, I will cast you forth on the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain on you, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with you.

5 And I will lay your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your height.

6 I will also water with your blood the land wherein you swim, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of you.

7 And when I shall put you out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.

8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and set darkness on your land, says the Lord GOD.

9 I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known.

10 Yes, I will make many people amazed at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for you, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.

11 For thus says the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come on you.

12 By the swords of the mighty will I cause your multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.

13 I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside the great waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them.

14 Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, says the Lord GOD.

15 When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD.

16 This is the lamentation with which they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multitude, says the Lord GOD.

17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

18 Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, to the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.

19 Whom do you pass in beauty? go down, and be you laid with the uncircumcised.

20 They shall fall in the middle of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes.

21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the middle of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

22 Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:

23 Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living.

24 There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.

25 They have set her a bed in the middle of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the middle of them that be slain.

26 There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.

27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be on their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

28 Yes, you shall be broken in the middle of the uncircumcised, and shall lie with them that are slain with the sword.

29 There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.

30 There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.

31 Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, says the Lord GOD.

32 For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the middle of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord GOD.

In Ezekiel 32-33 the Bible uses the term "hell" to describe the state of death and the literal interior of the earth where those who have died are laid to rest. This place, known in Hebrew as Sheol, is not a location of conscious torment but a silent region of darkness and corruption located in the nether parts of the earth Ezekiel 32:18-32RMLA 8.2+1.

The Nature and Location of Hell (Sheol) 🌍

In these passages, hell is clearly defined as the "nether parts of the earth" or the "pit"HHMLD 179.1+1. It is the common receptacle for all the dead, whether they were mighty kings or common peopleWDNP 6.3+1.

• A Place of Silence: Hell is described as a land of forgetfulness and silence where no work, knowledge, or wisdom exists Ecclesiastes 9:10+1MND 141.3+1.

• In the Earth Beneath: The location is consistently represented as being "beneath" or in the "interior of the earth" Numbers 16:30RMLA 8.2+1.

• The State of the Dead: Rather than a place of active punishment, it signifies the state of death where the dead sleep until the resurrectionWDNP 14.2+1.

** Ezekiel 32: Pharaoh and the Mighty Fallen** 🛡️

Ezekiel 32 provides a vivid, figurative description of Pharaoh and his Egyptian multitude joining other fallen nations in the graveSYNPT 127.1+1.

• Figurative Language: The "strong among the mighty" are represented as speaking to Pharaoh out of the midst of hell, but this is a poetic figure of personification to show that death reduces all to the same level Ezekiel 32:21HHMLD 178.2+1.

• Weapons in the Grave: The passage notes that these warriors went down to hell with their "weapons of war" and laid their "swords under their heads," emphasizing that they are in the literal grave where their bones remain Ezekiel 32:27HHMLD 179.1+1.

• Comfort in Death: Pharaoh is said to be "comforted" when he sees other nations like Asshur, Elam, and Edom also slain and in the pit, illustrating that he is not alone in his destruction Ezekiel 32:31HHMLD 178.2+1.

** Ezekiel 33 and the Warning of Judgment** 🎺

While Ezekiel 33 focuses heavily on the role of the watchman, it reinforces the principle that the "soul that sinneth, it shall die" Ezekiel 18:4+1ARSH September 12, 1854, page 33.11.

• No Pleasure in Death: God declares He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked but desires that they turn from their ways and live Ezekiel 33:11.

• Accountability: If the wicked man does not turn, he will perish in his iniquity, eventually finding his place in the "pit" or "hell" mentioned in the previous chapter Ezekiel 33:8-9+1.

The Final Destiny of Hell 🔥

The Bible reveals that this "hell" (the grave) is temporary and will eventually be destroyed.

• Ransom from the Grave: God has promised to ransom His people from the power of the grave and to be the destruction of death itself Hosea 13:141NL 41.8+1.

• The Lake of Fire: At the end of time, death and hell (the grave) will be cast into the lake of fire, signifying the final and complete end of death and the realm of the dead Revelation 20:14EVRR698+1.

• Victory through Christ: Jesus Christ now holds the "keys of hell and of death," and through His resurrection, He provides the only way to escape the "land of the enemy" and receive eternal life Revelation 1:18SSP 37.1+1.