#sheol

Sheol

When not translated as "Hell," Sheol is often rendered as "Grave" or "Pit." Sheol is simply the realm of the dead, where both the righteous and the wicked go. It is described as a place of silence and unconsciousness rather than torment. The Tanakh does not portray Sheol as a fiery place of punishment but as the common destiny of all humanity, though the righteous and the wicked were separated into different compartments.

Additionally, the Tanakh mentions individuals who avoided Sheol and went to heaven — Enoch and Elijah — who were righteous, but their ascension was not a direct result of their deeds; rather, it was a gift given to them by God.

In the New Testament, Sheol is presented as a temporary holding place for the souls of the unfaithful who await resurrection and judgment on the Day of Final Judgment.

Hades

In the Septuagint, the Greek term Hades is used to translate Sheol. Those familiar with Greek mythology will recognize this as an apt translation. Like Sheol, Hades was the abode of the dead and not necessarily a place of suffering. It was divided into three realms:

The Fields of Asphodel: Infinite meadows of asphodel flowers where most people went after death, regardless of whether they lived virtuously or sinfully. Souls resembled staggering zombies or ghosts drifting like leaves in an endless wind after drinking from the waters of Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, erasing their memories of life. They simply existed.

The Elysian Fields and the Isles of the Blessed: A sort of paradise reserved for heroes or those of extreme virtue in life. Essentially, it was a peaceful and happy realm within Hades, though its exact nature varies depending on the source. Later classical literature introduced the concept of reincarnation, stating that if a person was virtuous enough to reach Elysium after three successive lives, they would go to the Isles of the Blessed after their fourth life to dwell among legendary heroes for eternity (both realms were still part of Hades, meaning even the most virtuous still ended up in Hades).

Tartarus, which in early Greek literature, it was a vast abyss as far below Hades as Earth is below heaven. It was where the Titans were imprisoned. However, by the 5th century BCE, Tartarus evolved into a dungeon where the most wicked people were confined and subjected to ironic punishments. Some were redeemable and underwent a form of purgatory, while others were trapped forever. Yet, "eternal damnation" as we know it was not yet a solidified concept — very few were evil enough to be imprisoned in Tartarus forever, so the average person was not at risk. One would have to directly and personally offend the gods in a particularly brutal way to end up there.

Tartarus appears in the New Testament only in the second epistle of St. Peter, where it is referred to as the place where God imprisoned the fallen angels, mirroring Zeus’ imprisonment of the Titans in Greek mythology.

Additionally, myths mention individuals who avoided Hades and went to Olympus — such as Ganymede and Psyche — not as a direct result of their actions but as gifts bestowed by Zeus. The fact that Hades was a near-universal fate avoided only by a select few, with compartments separating the righteous from the wicked, shows that Sheol and Hades are mythologically interchangeable. When the Bible was translated into English, Hades was replaced with Hell (from Old English Hel), which is both the name of the Norse underworld and its goddess, making it a fitting substitution.

Abraham’s Bosom

Abraham’s Bosom appears in the New Testament only in a parable told by Jesus, where the righteous leper Lazarus is carried by angels to this destination after death, while a rich and wicked man ends up in Hades, distinctly separated by a chasm. The account aligns with Jewish beliefs about Sheol, where the dead were gathered in a general holding place — though the Jewish version featured a river with an angelic ferryman (similar to Charon) instead of a chasm, allowing passage from one side to the other through the intercession of Abraham.

This indicates that Abraham’s Bosom is the compartment of Sheol reserved for the virtuous, much like the Elysian Fields in Hades.

Gehenna

Unlike Sheol and Hades, Gehenna had a more tangible origin. It refers to the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom, a location outside Jerusalem where garbage, animal carcasses, and even executed criminals were burned. During the First Temple period, it was also the site of Tophet, where some kings of Judah sacrificed their children by fire — an act later cursed by the prophet Jeremiah.

By the Second Temple period, Gehenna became a symbol of divine judgment and destruction. Jesus used the term metaphorically to warn of the consequences of rejecting God but never described it as an eternal place of burning souls (the fire was unquenchable, but not the soul itself). Finally, in Rabbinic Judaism (diverging from Christianity), Gehenna became a figurative name for a place of spiritual purification for the wicked dead, akin to Catholic Purgatory.

Abaddon

Finally, Abaddon means "destruction" and is used in the Bible to refer to an abyss, often appearing alongside Sheol. In the Book of Revelation, it is described as an abyss where a fallen angel of the same name dwells, implying it is Tartarus.

Hell

Summarizing everything above, what we know as Hell has two compartments: Abraham’s Bosom for righteous unbelievers and the Valley of Hinnom for wicked unbelievers, while the faithful avoid Hell altogether and go to heaven. Although Hell is a negative consequence for rejecting Jesus, it is not a bad place to be if you were virtuous in life — Abraham’s Bosom is a paradise in its own right, unlike Gehenna (also known as Tartarus or Abaddon), which is a place of real torment, and even it may not be eternal for some.

Over time, Gehenna was conflated with Hell as a whole, and the confusion became so great that the Catholic Church established a dogma called Limbo (from Limbus, meaning "edge") to refer to Abraham’s Bosom, since Christians used (and still use) Infernum ("Hell") to refer only to Gehenna.

Dante’s Inferno is the best example of Catholic Limbo being depicted much like the Biblical Abraham’s Bosom. The same occurs in Islam, where Gehenna (Jahannam) is often presented as the sole alternative to the Garden of Eden (Jannah), though Limbo (Qabr/Barzakh) also exists in Islamic tradition.

That said, traditional Jewish sources teach that there is a spiritual realm of punishment for sin in the afterlife, but it is not an eternal fire to make you suffer for eternity. The Jewish version of “hell” is essentially about repentance for not having fulfilled your potential and the “purification” of your soul to remove impurities, it is about not having done enough, not having fulfilled your purpose – at least, that is what I interpreted after researching.

I believe that the Outside Tower is showing us what would happen had The Batter never appeared at all.

His absence would lead to the bosses in the tower turning into what we fight!

The Winged Scourge, Daedalus would've fully merged with Malachi.

Pazuzu would've taken over Jadon.

Gauis would fully convert himself with only his brain left.

And Adam would grow into a larger and larger Serpent.

Then come the Original Zone Guardians, had the Batter not arrived Zaphkiel would still have the grands out of reach and so Abram would win in the end, corrupting them severely more than when we fought them the first time in their zones.

This is why they look different and more corrupt in the tower, it's because Abram won in the future that it's showing us glimpses of!

Sheol might be the same or a similar dark future where Abram is on the brink of ending the world, everything is twisted and wrong. There are almost no traces of Zaphkiel's influence aside from the High Priest in the church.

With Abram ending the world Arbela has become more affected than the numbered Zones, Lugosi has fully corrupted a worm like being inside the church, Delilah and Lucretia are present as well even after all this time.

The Residence area has become flooded, the water has risen to terrifying levels, everything has sunken.

The Entertainment area holds a theater with entertainment meant for nobody aside from the wicked.

Who knows how much time has passed yet Gauis is there.

But this time he has no body, his brain is not there in the Construct. His very soul had become corrupted, Nothing remains except for his regrets.

Eternally laughing the pain away.

The Prison has turned larger, it loops at all times, summoning the corpse when someone is felt walking outside their bars. Where once was a hospital was discarded and moved elsewhere to torment Gauis. Now the little good that once was in the prison, the hospital that may have assisted some, is not there anymore.

In these Districts something remains, the ? ? ? Items, i believe these are the Supreme items that have been heavily corrupted, Each of them feel like something that correlates to the guardians

"It feels like... Feathers?" Referring to Malachi's parasite.

"It feels like... Mimicry?" The Second Guardian (Japhet/Jadon) who who held a parasite within(Japhet's Corruption/Pazuzu) that grew until it overtook the host (Similar to The Parasite in Layer 2/Pazuzu in The outside tower). Jadon's fate is mimicking Japhet's very very closely, that's why it feels like mimicry.

"It feels like... Anger?" Gauis went through the pain and agony of losing his friends and wife one by one until he lost himself. Thats why it feels like anger.

"It feels like... Persistence?" Adam was hated by Zaphkiel and implied to be treated somewhat wrong by his father from birth. He was called a failure yet his persistence was stronger, he took the prison, took the judge and then turned into the black serpent.

With all four items in hand... The waters inside the church open, but instead of rising higher, you descend deeper. Deeper than hell itself.

What happens when you descend deeper than hell?

You end up in heaven.

But the world above ends by Abram's hand. The Batter didn't arrive in time to change things in the new zones.

The future was too far gone, He couldn't change anything here.

It was pointless.