The Geography of Sheol: Enoch’s Tour of the Underworld

We’ve spent a lot of time the past few months talking about this spiritual region called The Underworld, also known as Sheol in the Bible.

Now, it’s actually part of something I would call my Underworld series, which started in July and will conclude in a few weeks. Only I didn’t call it that because I thought that saying we would do a 10-week Underworld series would scare a lot of people off.

And that’s because most Christians equate the Underworld with Hell. But that would be a gross oversimplification. That would be like saying that going to Texas means you’re going to Dallas. Dallas is a place within Texas, but Dallas is not the same thing as Texas.

Now, you might say that driving through Dallas is like going to hell, but that would mix our metaphors, so I’ll try to stay on track.

Texas is a big state, and it has a geography. There are different places within Texas beyond just Dallas. Likewise, Hell—as the fiery place of judgment—is actually just one compartment within Sheol. There are other compartments in Sheol that the Bible also tells us about.

And not just the Bible; the Book of Enoch also contains a pretty lengthy description of this realm. In fact, Enoch got to take a tour of this region, and he told us all about it in his book.

Which is pretty weird. And I’d like to read about that today and see how it lines up with the Bible.

And if you want to find out with me, turn to Revelation 20, and let’s get weird.

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Note: Enoch quotations are taken from the Modern Standard Version of the Book of Enoch, available on Amazon (and I highly recommend it if you choose to read Enoch's book!)

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