Genesis 42:38 says, “Then you will bring down my gray hairs in sorrow to Sheol.” These were Jacob’s words. No Christian can deny that Jacob was a saved person. Romans 9:13 says that Jacob was loved by God. Since Jacob was loved and chosen by God, whatever Jacob told us was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Jacob said that he would go in sorrow to Sheol, which is equal to Hades in the New Testament. Perhaps some would say, “This is because Jacob was a bad person who could not be compared with his father, Isaac, and much less with his grandfather, Abraham. It is right for a person like him to go down to Hades. Abraham, however, probably did not go down to Hades.” Nevertheless, Genesis 49:33 says that Jacob “expired, and he was gathered to his people.” Jacob was gathered to his people. In other words, he went to the place where Abraham and Isaac were. This shows us that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are in Hades and not in a heavenly mansion.
Although we all would like to go to a heavenly mansion and may not like to go to Hades, the Bible clearly tells us that when the Old Testament saints died, their spirits and souls went down to Hades. This includes Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Psalm 16:10 says, “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol.” This is not only a prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus but also a reference to David, a saint in the Old Testament. According to this word, the Old Testament saints admitted that their souls would go down to Hades at the time of their death. The statement You will not abandon my soul to Sheol tells us two things. First, it tells us that their souls would go to Hades and second, that their souls would not be abandoned to Hades. This means that although their souls would go to Hades, they would be resurrected one day and would therefore not be abandoned to Hades. Thus, this was the faith of the Old Testament saints concerning this matter. They believed that when a person died, his spirit and soul went down to Hades, but that at a certain time it would be resurrected and come out of Hades and, therefore, would not be abandoned to Hades. This proves that the Old Testament saints acknowledged that the spirit and soul of a person go to Hades at his death.
In the New Testament the Lord Jesus tells us a story in Luke 16. In this story there are two men—a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. When the time came, the rich man died, was buried, and was in torment in Hades (vv. 19-23). Perhaps some may say that it was proper for this rich man to go to Hades since he was an unsaved person. Yet Lazarus who was saved also went to Hades at his death, because it says that in Hades the rich man “lifted up his eyes...and saw Abraham from afar and Lazarus in his bosom. And he called out and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in this flame. But Abraham said, Child, remember that in your lifetime you fully received your good things, and Lazarus likewise bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish” (vv. 23-25). Here we are told that the rich man went to Hades and that Lazarus was also in Hades. We cannot say that Lazarus was in a heavenly mansion at that time because the rich man saw Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom. Moreover, while he was in the flames in Hades, the rich man could talk to Abraham, who was in a place of comfort. This shows us that they were somewhat near each other. Although they were separated by a great chasm, they could talk to each other and hear each other.
In the Old Testament Genesis says that Jacob went to Sheol after his death and went to be with his fathers, one of whom was Abraham. This indicates that Abraham was in Hades, which is also called Sheol. Then in the New Testament when we come to Luke 16, and it says that Abraham was in Hades, except that Abraham was in a place of comfort, as was Lazarus who was also saved. This indicates that there are different sections in Hades. According to Luke, there is a section of Hades that is full of flames and where the spirits and souls of the unsaved ones go to be tormented after they die. There is also another section where Abraham is and where the spirits and souls of the saved ones go to be comforted after they die. Although there is a difference, they are both in Hades. This is what Genesis in the Old Testament and Luke in the New Testament show us.