Q. I am very confused about what Hades is. Some say it is the grave and others say it isn’t. Is Hades the same as the grave? Pt. 1

A. No, Hades is not the same as the grave. Some denominations teach this and it stems from a basic confusion of terms and bad Bible translations. People need to look up the words and meanings in concordances and lexicons and this would go a long way in clearing up some of these issues. We should never argue over translations because that is what they are, translations. And translations are predicated on who translates, what their knowledge of the biblical languages are, social issues of the time and other criteria. There are several translations out there that are terrible and they contribute to so much misunderstanding. That’s why looking the words up for yourself and studying their meanings for yourself can go a long way. But, textual criticism is another issue. Let’s deal with what Hades is and isn’t. Hades is the Greek word for the Hebrew “sheol” and it is used 66 times in the Old Testament as the “netherworld” or “abode of the dead” and it cannot mean “grave” even though the King James translation translates it 31 times as “grave”, 31 times as “hell” and “pit” 3 times. The Hebrew word for grave is “kever” and the biblical authors did not view sheol and kever as synonymous. In Isa 14.19 the king is thrown out of kever into sheol, for example. A group of Hebrew scholars were commissioned to translate the Hebrew Tanach (OT) into Greek and this took some time, but the work was completed before 132 BC. Because there were 72 scholars who contributed,the work was called the Septuagint, abbreviated to LXX. In the LXX, sheol is never translated “mneema”, or grave in Greek. Kever is never translated as “hades” either. Kever is the fate of the body, sheol is the fate of the spirit. (Ps 16.8-11, Phil 1.23). Sheol is under the earth (Isa 14.9;44.23;Ezek 26.20;31.14,16,18, 32.18,24; Psa 63.9;139.8;Gen 37.34-35). Those in sheol are conscious (Isa 44.4-7; 44.23;Ezek 31.16;32.21). There are at least 19 contrasts between kever and sheol:

1) Can’t bury in sheol (Gen 23.4,6,9,19,20, 49.30-31).

2) Kever (graves) can be plural, sheol is never plural.

3) Grave is localized, sheol is accessible anywhere.

4) You can purchase and sell a grave, sheol can’t (Gen 23.4-20).

5)You can own a grave, sheol can’t be owned.

6) You can choose a grave (Gen 23.6), sheol can’t

7) You can drop a body into a grave (Gen 50.13), but you can’t with sheol.

8) erect a monument over a grave (Gen 35.20), but in sheol you can’t.

9) you can open and close a grave (2 K 23.16), sheol is never or closed by man.

10) you can touch a grave (Num 19.18), you can’t touch sheol.

11) a grave is ritually unclean, sheol no

12)you can enter and leave a grave (2 k 23.16), sheol no

13) you can uncover and remove bodies (2 K 23.16)), sheol no

14) you can beautify a grave (Gen 35.20), sheol no.

15) you can rob and defile a grave (Jer 8.1-2), but not with sheol.

16) A grave can be destroyed, but sheol can’t be by man.

17) a grave can be full, sheol never (Prov 27.20).

18) you can see a grave, sheol no.

19) you can visit a loved one, but not in sheol (Job 17.16;Isa 38.10).

Next week, we will pick up on this question and start with what sheol is, which is described as a shadowy, dark place (Job 10.21-22, Psa 143.3) and “down under the earth” (Job 11.8; Isa 44.23, 57.9) and not a part of this world. We will then continue on with what the Greek term ‘hades” means and it how the meanings in the New Testament basically pick up where the Old Testament leaves off. We will also talk about “Paradise” and “Gehenna” as well. Hopefully,once you study all this out there will be no questions about these terms and what the Bible has to say on the issue.

Q. Is there any significance to the fact the Jesus taught on the Mount of Olives?

A. He didn’t teach anywhere without it meaning something. In past articles I showed where he taught in the Temple and the Sea of Galilee all had meaning, and the Mount of Olives has major significance. The Mount of Olives is called “har Mashiach” (mount of Messiah) in Hebrew because of its significance to the coming of Messiah. In the rabbinical writings associated with the feast of Sukkot they wrote that when Messiah comes he will weep over the city from the Mount of Olives. (Zech 14). Let’s deal with one passage in Mark 13 .3, Luke 21 and Matt 24 as an example. These passages teach prophecy and it is very significant that he teaches about the final days here (Matt 24.3). The olive tree is symbolic of Israel (Zech 4.2,3,11; Hosea 14.6; Rev 11.4) and the olive was very valuable. The first press is the best and it is called “extra virgin” olive oil. The priest was anointed with it (Ps 133.2; Exo 27.2). It was used in the Temple (Exo 30.25-30) and the title “ Messiah” is “mashiach” in Hebrew and it means “anointed one.” Messiah is an olive branch out of an older root (Isa 11.1-5) leading men out of darkness (Isa 11.6-10). In Jer 23.5-8, 16.14-16 he gathers Israel from among the nations a second time after a “shaking” called the Tribulation or the “birth-pains of the Messiah.” Now, to get the olives the “branches” are shaken violently (tribulation) and in the process some of the branches break. Those branches are grafted back in and become stronger than before and they produce better. In Rom 11.17-24 Paul teaches that scattered Israel will be grafted into their own tree again (redeemed) and in Rom 11.25 he quotes Isa 59.20 concerning this redemption. There is a word picture here. When a branch is grafted back into the tree it is called a “scion.” A scion means “an heir or descendant.” So, it was very significant that he taught about the shaking, scattering and the eventual regathering of Israel at a place called the Mount of Olives. He went to the Garden of Gethsemene on that same mountain the night when he was arrested. Gethsemene means “oil (shemen) press (gat)” and it was where he (Messiah, anointed one) was pressed. He was the first one “pressed’ (extra virgin=without sin) and many are now grafted into one tree and are “heirs” to salvation. There is much more to this concept but it is very significant that the Messiah taught what he did on the Mount of Olives.

Q. What is the Law of the Tongue?

A The Bible has a lot to say about speech and there isn’t enough room to explain this in detail but here are some basic guidelines. First, we have to see what the Law of the tongue is not. It is not naming and claiming anything. He is God, we are his people. We have no creative power in ourselves to speak anything into existence. Lamentations 3.37-38 says that nobody speaks and it comes to pass unless the Lord has commanded it from His own mouth, and from it comes good and evil. Amos 3.6-8 is another verse that says the same thing. There are many faith teachers who teach people that whatever they say in faith will come to pass, but that isn’t true and they know it. That is not the Law of the Tongue. The law of the Tongue can be found in many scriptures, but it is explained in James 3.1-12. To simplify it, everything we say is from one of three time periods..past, present and future. Most speak in the past through anger or to expound , explain, clarify, justify, rationalize, teach and so on. When we speak in the present we request or assert a fact. When we speak in the future we take an oath, promise or declare and we create a reality and things will change around you, so we shouldn’t enter into this area lightly. So, there are literal “ABC’s” to follow to control our tongues. First, “accuracy”, make sure that we don’t exaggerate and embellish. Secondly, “benefit” means that a revelation must be the only way to obtain some constructive benefit. Third, “certainty” is where we must be sure the information is reliable. Fourth, “desire” is for the information that is being told is going to be constructive, not destructive. And lastly, “equity” means that the revelation must not cause undeserved damage to the subject. It’s not “equitable” to protect one person at the expense of the other. This is the basic, biblical meaning of the law of the tongue and I hope this explains what it is and gives you a basic guideline.

Q. What does Mark 9.49 mean where it says that everyone will be salted with fire?

A.To understand this verse we have to put it into context first, and then it will be clearer. Starting in Mk 9.39-48, the Lord is talking about what will happen to those who reject Him. They will go to the Lake of Fire (Rev 20.10) “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” quoting Isa 66.24. Their “worm” is a Hebrew idiom meaning their “conscience” and how it will “gnaw” way at them, tormenting and filling them with anguish. In v 49 however the Lord transitions to His own, true believers. “Everyone” refers to “every follower of mine” and the “fire” with which they must endure refers to ”fiery trials” which “season” them (to be salted) because “the servant is not above his master” and the Lord went through the very same thing. This “salting” refers back to Lev 2.13 where it says the Minchah or bread offering must be salted with salt when on the altar (the fire). This refers to the fact that the Messiah, that bread from heaven (Jn 6.58), is the one whose sacrifice is for eternity and it cleanses and preserves us to everlasting life (Jn 6.27). Salt is a preservative, it speaks of eternity and table fellowship. It also was used in cleansing (Ezek 16.4) and also denotes suffering. Salt also prevents fermentation and it was used on the ramp of the altar in the Temple when there was ice so that the priests would not slip, so it refers to being “sure –footed.” The “salt of the covenant” referred to in Lev 2.13 is referring to the perpetuity of the covenant God made at Mt Sinai, which also included the Brit Chadashah, or “new covenant” ( Num 18.19; Deut 29.1 thru 30.11; Jer 31.31,Luke 22.20).

Now, back to our verses in Mark 9.49-50. Every follower will have fiery trials to go through (1Pet 1.7) and to be an acceptable sacrifice and well pleasing to the Lord we must be salted. Matt 5.13 says that we are the “salt of the earth” and Mk 9.50 says that “salt is good”. So what is this salt? In Col 4.6 it says that our speech should be “salted with salt” so that we may know how to sincerely respond to each person. In 1 Pet 3.15-16 it goes a little deeper in that we are to sanctify, or set apart, the Lord in our hearts and to be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks us to give an account for the hope that is within us, yet with gentleness and reverence (salt) and to keep a good conscience (salt) so that in the thing in which you are slandered (fire) , those who revile (the fire) your good behavior (salt) in Christ may be put to shame. So when it refers to salt being good in Mk 9.50 it is referring to how we react under trials (fire) and the situation is “good” as long as we have left others with a good “taste” in their mouths in that they can’t say we spoke or acted untruthfully or unbecomingly. In other words, the salt is that preserving, ceaseless, purifying, honest, friendly speech and how we communicate with people and that should be a positive witness and example to an unbeliever. This “salt” will help remove the “fermentation” of sin in their lives and through our words they can have an accurate picture and may come to know the real Lord and Savior. But if the salt becomes un-flavorful, or does not accomplish the above, what good is it. The verse then concludes with the statement that we should have “salt in yourselves” which means we should retain those valuable and good qualities that will make us a blessing to one another and to all around us and thus, as v 50 says, “be at peace with one another”, the result of the flavorful, good salt.

Q. What does it mean in Rom 3.25 where it says that God “passed over” the sins previously committed?

A. To understand this, we have to see that all of this was decided upon before the world was. It was decided what Yeshua was going to do and what the Father was going to do. In Rom 3.25 it says that God displayed what Yeshua did on the cross in a public manner, as a mercy seat. The word mercy seat is the Hebrew “kipporet” (to cover over, atonement)and it is referring to the lid on the ark of the covenant where the blood was placed on Yom Kippur. The Greek word for “kipporet” is “hilasterion” and this word has the same root as the word “hilarious.” So, God is “hilariously” satisfied with Yeshua’s sacrifice and through his blood grace is bursting forth (Acts 14.16, 17.30). Now, we know that sin demanded death. We read in Gen 2.17 that the Lord said “for in the day that you eat (of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) you shall surely die.” In Hebrew it says “in dying (spiritually) you shall die (physically).” But, that isn’t exactly what happened. There were many who died physically but had faith and did not die in the sense of being forever separated from God. There were many righteous ones before the cross that God kept “safe” from eternal damnation after their death because they had faith. The Father had confidence, faith , in what Yeshua would do. There was much at stake. He knew that if he did not go through with the cross, many would have no chance for salvation because God meant what he said, and if there was no blood, then we all were lost based on Gen 2.17. They were waiting for their salvation in a place called Abraham’s Bosom. Yeshua had to vindicate the Father in what he said in Gen 2.17. Yeshua had to finish his work. Satan, on the other hand, lived up to his name as the accuser because he continually accused God of lying when he said ”in dying you shall die” because there were many who were “saved” from the second death by faith before the cross. So he accused God of having no integrity and lying. Well, Yeshua dies and is resurrected and his blood is the proof that God was righteous in letting death “pass over” the sins previously committed and forever silencing Satan’s accusations against God and us for all time. Yeshua is the “kipporet” before God that he “looks through” on our behalf.

Q. I have heard that Ezekiel 1 describes a UFO. Is that true?

A. Ezekiel chapter one is a very interesting chapter and it uses what is called “apocalyptic” ( to reveal) language. That’s why the Book of Revelation is also called “The Apocalypse” because it uses a style of language known in Hebrew thought as “apocalyptic.” To understand this chapter there are few things that have to be understood. This chapter has nothing to do with flying saucers and here is why.  This vision is known as the “merkavah” (chariot) or in other words the “Ma’aseh Merkavah” or “the work or account of the Chariot.”  The term “chariots of fire “ (merkavah mophtim) comes from this. A “chariot” is the means (vehicle) by which God’s glory is displayed in creation.  Angels, Israel or something else that could be considered Gods “chariot.”  What Ezekiel saw in this vision was the angelic realm that “supported” the throne of God. There are two classes of angels here called “ophanim and cherubim” and they work as messengers, carrying out his will. This brings us to something that needs to be understood. There are five elements in the physical world and they are time, light, mass, space and energy.  The spiritual world has the same thing. There is spiritual time, light, mass, space and energy. This vision is saying that God’s presence ,or Shekinah, would no longer find its place among so degraded a people and it would be confined in the heaven (See Ezekiel 10.1-22; 11.22-25). We see later that Ezekiel saw the presence leave (spiritual movement)the Holy of Holies, then the Temple, then the city and finally into the heavenly realm at the Mt of Olives because judgment was coming and the Temple and city were going to be destroyed.  Interestingly enough, after the resurrection, the Lord left the Temple, the city and ascended into heaven at the same place before the city was again destroyed by the Romans. Here is an important concept. Spiritual movement does not relate to a measurable distance as in physical movement. “Near” means “similar to” and “far” means “opposite”  or “different.”  Spiritual time can be the holy days or prayer time, things like that. Spiritual light is the cause or will of God. Spiritual mass are the agents that carry out God’s will. Spiritual space can be heaven, the Temple, Israel, a home or any place set apart for the Lord. Spiritual energy, therefore,  is the result or effect of the spiritual mass on mankind or creation. So, the vision of the Merkavah in Ezekiel 1 shows a heavenly (spiritual space) “chariot” which is really four angelic beasts called Cherubim. These angels (spiritual mass) are carrying out God’s will. This purpose of God is also called being “in the spirit” or ”under the control” of the spirit, but no mention is made of what exactly the purpose was at that point. But what we have is an example of the relationship between spiritual light (will of God) with spiritual mass (the angels carrying out that will) and the resulting spiritual energy (effect of the actions) upon man and creation. Ezekiel 43.1-5  has the account of the presence of God returning into the Temple.  Now, why is Ezekiel 1, Ezekiel 10 and Ezekiel 43 important to understand in the right way? Because these portions of scripture were read in the Temple and synagogues on the feast of Pentecost and it prepared  the people for what was about to happen 50 days after the resurrection of the Lord and it was the setting for what happened in Acts 2.1-13 with the coming of the Lord’s presence (Spirit) into another Temple, the believer. All the five spiritual elements were in action. There is so much more to get into concerning this but I hope this at least gives you an idea about what the Lord is trying to communicate in these chapters and also will dispel any notions you may have that these chapters have anything to do with UFO’s or flying saucers.

Q. If people believe that Yeshua is God, why don’t they leave out a letter like they do when they write “Lord” and God?”

A. I can’t answer that question for them, but I can give some reasons why this possibly could happen. There came a time, especially by the first century, that people were discouraged from saying the name of God found in the Hebrew letters “yod, hey, vav, hey”(or signified in English by YHVH). A man-made tradition developed that said people were to avoid saying the name. So, they would say “heaven” instead of “God” and use other things to avoid saying the name. Scrolls that had the name of God in them could not be thrown away because they felt that this violated the 3rd commandment also. These scrolls would then be stored in a place called a “genizah” and left there. The Dead Sea Scrolls are a perfect example of this. Used or otherwise unusable scrolls were stored in these caves and when the Romans were coming, those living in Qumran hid their manuscripts there because they could not take all them with them, and they thought that they may be coming back again.  Whatever they were thinking, they stored the scrolls in those caves which were considered “genizahs” because those particular scrolls contained God’s name in them. When the scrolls were discovered in 1947 and after, they found fragments of every Old Testament book except Esther because the book of Esther did not contain the name of God (YHVH), so they did not need to store Esther scrolls away. But, how to pronounce the name was known and that name (YHVH) was pronounced in the Temple, especially on Yom Kippur and there is debate as to whether everyone submitted to the ban on saying it in the first century or not, but the true pronunciation was known to the people. After the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple the true pronunciation of the name was lost to most because the services were stopped and the people killed, enslaved or scattered. The rabbis discouraged its usage and that is what has been passed down today, but it wasn’t always that way.  As far as today,here are some sages and rabbi’s that know the true pronunciation and it will be said again when Temple services begin, but that is another story. So another tradition arose, and you will see it in many Orthodox Jewish publications in English  that said that whenever the word “Lord” and “God” came up you left a letter out  in remembrance of the commandment not to desecrate the name of God. So Lord would look like L-rd and so on. Technically, Lord and God are not his names but are titles, but I think you get the picture. Now, I want say this before I answer the question. Many reading this will say that the Jewish and in particular the Qumran traditions and others like them were silly, but had they not taken this as serious as they did, we would not have the manuscripts and scrolls we have today. Many genizahs have been found all over the world in Jewish communities and there have been many valuable scrolls found there and translated. God has his way of preserving his word. And in the same way, say what you want about the Catholic Church, but it was the monks who were cloistered away during the times of the barbarian hordes and tremendous political  and social upheaval, copying the scriptures, that have allowed us to have the Bibles that we have today. I wish that believers had a tenth of the love of the word of God that those people had.

With that as a back-round, let me try and answer the question. When one honors the name of God and does not use it in vain or in a profane way, he does honor  Yeshua because he is God. On the other hand, Yeshua is the name that was given him at birth, it is his human name. He did not have that name from all eternity, it shows that he is human and had to be human otherwise he could not be our Goel, or “kinsman” redeemer. To be a “kinsman” he  had to be human. If he wasn’t human, there is no redemption. So, just because you leave out a letter in Lord or God and not in Yeshua doesn’t mean that you don’t believe that Yeshua was God, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. But it is his human name, he was the same flesh as we are, the second Adam and it is by his blood that man and creation was redeemed. But, keep in mind that to leave a letter out of Lord and God is just a man-made tradition and if that is what you want to do to honor the Lord, that’s fine but there are others who don’t and that’s fine, too. When the Scriptures are not specific about a particular action, we need to let others have room and not get judgmental either way. But we should be consistent in what we do and not do things just because we see others do it. We should be able to explain why we do what we do, and all of that should be to bring glory to the Lord.