In this article, Rev. Jefferson Vann discusses a fourth Old Testament word for final punishment that implies literal destruction. We conditionalists are often accused of using words like “destruction” in a simplistic, non-biblical sense. But in the three previous articles, I have examined the Old Testament Hebrew concepts of חרם (charam),[1] אבד (abad)[2] and שחת [...]
In this article, Rev. Jefferson Vann explains a Hebrew term for hell that reflects the idea of a spoiled vineyard. In this series of studies on hell, so far we have examined two Old Testament terms that help explain the biblical warnings about hell and describe its nature. We looked at the term חרם in [...]
In this article, Rev. Jefferson Vann explores the Old Testament background behind the term “perish.” When I taught Bible College, I told my students to always try to get into the bubble. By the term “bubble,” I meant the historical and literary background that original readers and listeners shared with the biblical authors. Since we [...]
Click here to read "Sheol: The Old Testament Consensus (Part 1)." Sheol Is Silent A stark contrast the Old Testament presents when comparing Sheol to heaven is the activity it describes to each place. Heaven and earth are places where God is praised continually.[1] But, when the soul reaches Sheol, that praise stops abruptly. David prays [...]
There were 400 silent years – a gap between the closing of the Old Testament prophets and the writing of the New Testament. During this time, the doctrine of the intermediate state (that state between death and the resurrection) underwent a sort of evolution. Jews became immersed in pagan communities which held to the doctrine [...]
Henceforth 