Introduction

Many are the terms used in scripture to reference the other-worldly realms.  These abodes include the habitations of the dead, both righteous and unrighteous, and angels, both righteous and unrighteous.  Some of these realms are temporary.  Some permanent.  And, in many cases an English rendering of scripture alone does not do justice to the interpretational necessities of the biblical student.  At times it is unclear, for example, in the Old Testament whether one’s afterlife abode is “Hell,” as the King James Version may translate, or “the grave,” as the NIV may translate for the very same verse.  The term “Hell” certainly brings a vivid picture of eternal destruction to the mind of the biblical student, while the terms “the grave” do not indicate such a specific judgment to have yet been rendered.

Furthermore, there are terms used in scripture depicting other realms, not of this world, for which the average biblical student has no formal understanding.

This work is an attempt to define biblically, through systematic study, the definitions of these terms so that the interpreter of scripture may more completely understand the theology indicated by the use of these terms.

A general credit must be given to Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum for the framework which began the author’s pursuit into this field of study.  In his work entitled “The Place of The Dead” Dr. Fruchtenbaum led the author to his own examination and understanding of the conclusions of scripture regarding these terms.  While this work will expand on the conclusions of “The Place of The Dead,” the skeletal structure of that work can clearly be observed in this first parts of this work by those who have read both.