The concept of the afterlife in the Old Testament is left rather vague. There are few actual references to where a person goes when they die. Some even denied that the soul persisted after death, but they were the exceptions. The loose and general consensus was that the dead went to "Sheol."
"Sheol" is the place of graves, like a cemetery or catacomb. It is a temporary respository of the bodies of the dead, usually with the souls asleep until the Day of Judgment, although there are exceptions for those who cannot rest, or who are called to Heaven for saintly lives. In Sheol, one contemplates the events of one's life, via dreams, which is why we hope they will "rest in peace." The parallel place of the dead, in the Bible, was "Gehenna," named after the valley of Hinnom, where bodies were thrown to be burned. Jeremiah's vision of the "valley of dry bones" was of the abandoned people in Gehenna.
Sheol and Gehenna are where Jesus went to announce the Gospel to the dead, between the crucifixion and his resurrection. Those who received Him with joy will be saved on the Last Day.
By contrast, Hell is the place where those who have rejected God's salvation are tormented, despairing of finding any meaning or consolation in their existence, and mocked and tortured by demons for their failures. Hell has very few human denizens before the Day of Judgment, and they lack physical bodies until then.
By contrast, Heaven is the reward for those who have chosen to know and love God. It will be anything but boring, and we will enjoy a close relationship with Him forever, throughout an eternity filled with loving friends and meaningful occupations.
What then is Hell? God is not cruel, spiteful or vengeful. He prefers mercy to justice. But punishment? It's a matter of interpretation.
Hell is existing without any relationship with God... a totally meaningless, absurd, boring, pointless and unfulfilling life, where you can't trust anyone and no one loves anyone, and every activity is hard work that comes to nothing... fruitless. No pleasure or joy, only struggle, so that every sensation seems like pain to be endured endlessly. You can't make it better, but you can make it worse... except you can't make it end, either.
No meaning, no love, no success, no hope. And all because you don't want to have a relationship with God. So -- you don't go to Heaven, because there you surely will have a relationship with God. You don't want to repent and turn your life around. You like your selfish, indulgent, dark and destructive ways, even though you know it's crazy. You have no interest to get right with God. Therefore you end up in Hell. Your choice, your decision to spend eternity without God.
Yes, you offended God. You told Him to get lost. So He left you alone with yourself... and others like you. That's justice.
Do you want to imagine what Hell looks like? You can read the Qur'an. Muhammad would know all about it. Visualize a post-apocalyptic wasteland, like a desert. The air is reeking of sulfurous smoke, thick like fog, obscuring the distance. You continuously hear the crying of those in despair, or their screams of fear and horror. Your body suffers and you wear long, heavy chains. Your food is unwholesome, thorny and rotten, and the water is putrid, boiling hot. It burns your mouth. There is no shade, except under the rocks where vermin, scorpions and serpents hide. You can't even approach any of your neighbors without a conflict. Of course, anything you want only appears along the borders of your confined territory, where you have to compete for your part of it. No one shares. You have no clothes and no shoes, except what you can fashion from the rough desert plants. Indeed, since no one will work with you, you have only what you can do for yourself.
And then you see the demons, fallen spirits who desire only to torture you out of spite. They hate you because they fell from grace for saying that you didn't deserve the chance to become a child of God, and you proved it, even while others ascended. They hate you because you had the capacity to desire to know God. You had the opportunity to try to win what they had lost, but you refused it. Thus, their scorn and contempt is without limit. And you know that you deserve it.
So then, what is Purgatory?
That's where you go if you didn't refuse to believe in God. You actually kinda wanted to be okay with Him, but you didn't really want to turn your life around. Lukewarm. It's sad, because Purgatory feels a lot like Hell, being abandoned and left out from a relationship with God, except you can fix that.
Unlike Hell, in Purgatory there are no demons or troublesome neighbors, and the food isn't foul or painful. Moreover, it doesn't have to last forever. You are allowed one consolation. You can pray. Your prayers, and those of others on your behalf, can help to turn your life around, to make up for your sins, to reject sinful habits and allow you to learn proper devotion. In this, your efforts are not quite fruitless. It may feel, at times, like a penalty, but in place of despair you still have hope. Imagine a place where the world is always in twilight. The dawn seems to be slowly rising on the horizon, but if you want more light, you have to walk there. The amount of light you have shows your spiritual state.
The one torture in Purgatory is the great longing for a personal relationship with Jesus, and through Him, with the Father. It burns in your soul, like being homesick while in prison and missing your loved ones, only worse. But then one day, who knows after how long, you will get out. And when you do, you can humbly approach the mercy seat of God, and ask to be friends. You will then be welcomed home with a joyful triumph.
But maybe the concept of Purgatory is not an essential interpretation of the Scriptures. The Bible and Tradition seem to suggest that the dead are asleep or resting, in Sheol or Hades, to await the Day of Judgment, at which time we will learn of our eternal fate.
There doesn't seem to be any punishment analogous to the Lake of Fire in Hell (unless it's like Gehenna, the place of rejection and final abandonment), at this time, because the dead are not integrated embodied souls until the resurrection. Once that occurs, then our eternal reward or punishment will take effect. But for the interim now, it seems likely that there are few or no humans in residence in the final prison of Hell.
Those who yet await the Last Judgment are either consoled or tormented by their own consciences. If Purgatory is a current reality, then some have already been judged as worthy of Heaven, but in need of character improvement. They know that they have tried to grasp the opportunity to be reconciled to God, but lacked the full repentance needed for personal transformation. We know whether we have desired to love God and neighbor, and done what we could to follow. Alternately, we know if we have refused the Truth, denying his call and choosing selfish advantage in the present world, telling ourselves that there is no afterlife.
The traditions that suggest a long sleep in the grave, or Sheol, where we contemplate the events and acts of our completed lives are the reason why we have the old cliché carved on tombstones as "Rest in Peace." It must be terrible to know that Judgment is coming, and that your likely end shall be eternal suffering in Hell, especially as you will know that it was only your own stubbornness that led you to refuse the grace that could have saved you.
So let Jesus call you once again. He does not wish that even the most selfish, corrupted soul should suffer and perish. He has already paid your penalty. All you need to do is to accept his Hand as He is now holding it out to you. Yes, you need to turn from evil, but He understands how hard that can be. He will give you strength.
Don't wait. Come now. It's a whole lot easier to come to Jesus with faith, and turn your life around now, than it will be later when you can't do good things to help show your faith. Prayer is good, but deeds have a multiplier effect. Break the bad habits, and build some good ones. You'll be glad you did. At least try. God understands. That's why Jesus is merciful to forgive. Effort shows your desire. And the Holy Spirit will make sure that you aren't left fruitless. God doesn't want anyone to give up. Like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, He wants to run out to meet you as soon as you make the effort to return to Him. God truly is Love.
You can start with this simple prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Help me to amend my ways, and lead me to follow thy path. Lord Jesus, teach me thy Way of Truth, and let me share thy Life, now and forever. Amen.
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