Why was Cain's sacrifice not accepted? What even is a sacrifice, and what makes it acceptable? What does it mean to master temptation? What does it mean to be mastered by temptation? What does it mean to be cursed by God? Who needs to repent: only the oppressors, or all of us? And what does repentance look like, for both? Does God actually hear the cries of the victims, and how does he bring justice?

In this return to the text of Genesis and our walkthrough of the Scriptures, we see that each of us can at any time become either Cain or Abel. We look at the ways in which some portions of this narrative have been used to cause hurt, and we examine what it means for God to call both the innocent and the guilty to master the crouching sin-beast in at the doorway of their own hearts.

A Demon at the Door? | memoirandremains

Genesis 4 – What History’s First Criminal Report Can Teach Us - Cerebral Faith

Cain, the Sinner - The Whole Counsel Blog

What is gehenna? Is it the same as hell? What is the Age to Come? Is it only something for the far-off future, or is it something for here and now as well What is the second death? Is that the Lake of Fire? What does it mean for a human being to experience the second death? Will all be saved, or only some? Is this something we should be afraid of, and to whom are these warnings directed? Can we really trust that Adonai is merciful and gracious, when all this threat of punishment is hanging over us?

Today, we explore one of the thorniest, most shadowy, and least certain topics we've encountered so far. It is also the source of much of the pain, hurt, and loss of trust that has caused deconstruction. In this episode, I try to take a slow walk (almost double-length!) through the biblical language surrounding final judgment and the Age to Come. My hope is that you are able to hear within these stumbling words a picture of a Father who desires that none should perish, and that all should be brought to repentance.

Was “Gehenna” a Smoldering Garbage Dump? – The Baker Deep End Blog

NB 441 Transcript

What Is It Like to Be a Bat?

Hades is Embittered — Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick (ancientfaith.com)

As we've been walking through Genesis 1-3, a few "plot holes" have emerged. What is life? What does it mean to be "alive" or a "living being" (nefesh)? What then is death? Did Adam and Eve actually die the day they ate of the Tree of Knowing? And what happens after death? What is Sheol? Abaddon? Abraham's Bosom? What is the Old Testament idea of what happens when we die? Are we talking about heaven and hell here? In this episode, I give some trauma-informed and biblically/traditionally grounded responses to these questions. Along the way, we discover a God who is himself the source of life, who laments over the death of his children, and who will enter as deep as possible into enemy territory to rescue and redeem his children.

Naked Bible 440: The Afterlife Part 1 | The Naked Bible Podcast

An image of the Old Testament cosmology, including the Underworld

Azazel and the “Scapegoat” (Leviticus 16) | Zondervan Academic

1 Enoch (earlyjewishwritings.com)

Naked Bible 347: Jonah and the Chaos Dragon | The Naked Bible Podcast

Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud | The Poetry Foundation

Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates - Psalm 24 and the Harrowing of Hades - The Whole Counsel Blog (ancientfaith.com)