“But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”” Numbers 16:30.
This narrative left me totally dumbfounded, I see a mine to dig knowledge that I don’t even have a way to investigate. I pleaded with the Lord for revelation because no human being can help me in this matter, as I don’t even know what to ask. I felt that the Lord impressed me to go deeper into my own experience to understand my queries.
“Go down alive into Sheol”. Sheol has a very extensive definition, but for reason of space I’ll use this: Sheol is the unseen realm of the dead.
My mind lit up to understand a mystery of dying. Before dying there is a process of special kindness and grace that God pours over the soul of the deceased. However, a person under Divine judgment can lose this process of goodness and grace. This judgment happened to this people in the Book of Numbers chapter 16.
The Mystery of Dying
I share two of my experiences here:
My aunt had an only child, who was disabled. She was overprotective of him and he depended on her 100%. When the hour of her death approached, she parted from him.
My mother had a perfect tooth, and she took pride and her oral hygiene. I took her to the doctor’s office, and he hospitalized her. I was very worried about her toothbrush and very diligently I rushed to the store to buy one. When I showed it to her, I was shocked that she ignored it.
A few days before her death, she detached herself from us and from everything around her. She spent her last days on this planet, but her soul entered a state of pure peace and tranquility.
I saw a process of emotional dissociation. It was like a soul buffer to ease the blow of detachment from this reality to the eternal one. I saw it as a conditioner of the soul, so that it crosses the river peaceful and not terrified.
All transitions cause some kind of apprehension because it introduces to the unknown, and we always struggle to maintain our stability.
I realized God gives us a special kindness at the death bed. He allows a controlled tranquility as a mode of transportation to the departing soul. This is the normality for a soul that has been redeemed by the Lord. Without this special grace of God, even the saved soul will be shocked to depart from its body. This is how the Apostle explains it:
“While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.” 2 Corinthians 5:4.
Death was never God’s plan that’s why we hate it. However, we have the comfort of knowing that the transition is sweet for the deceased. We cross the river of death to enter eternal bliss.
What happens when a soul goes to Sheol alive?
Before people go to the next state, the death process must occur, but is it possible to face the next state without the death process? According to Numbers 16:30, yes it can! This is the sad reality for those who die without receiving the gift of eternal life.
Right now you can ask the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you and to receive you as His child and He gladly will. Death is real and today is your opportunity to chose eternal life or eternal damnation. I chose eternal life, I chose Jesus Christ as my Savior and King!
This is my Story! What is yours?