The Battle for the Keys: Revelation 1:18 and Christ's Descent into the Underworld (Paternoster Biblical Monographs)

by Justin W. Bass

Josephus believes that the real Samuel did come up from Hades to pronounce judgment on Saul.

I agree with Harris against Heidel and others since the account in Genesis not only testifies that Jacob will go to Sheol (Gen 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31), but being “gathered to one’s fathers” is parallel with Sheol (Gen 49:29). If being “gathered to one’s fathers” and “sleeping with your fathers” is parallel with Sheol then it is clear that the vast majority of the righteous went to Sheol.30

In short, Sheol is the realm of the dead in the OT and all go there (except Enoch and Elijah), but the righteous have the hope that God would one day rescue them out of there.36

As demonstrated in Chapter 2, there is no evidence before the NT era that the souls of men and women went to heaven, but instead all descended into one of these compartments in the underworld.