In the old testament people who died went to sheol........?

The Bible says that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

So if you die in Jesus, you go straight to what we call heaven.

People often say what about the thief on the cross?

What did Jesus tell him? "Today you will be with me in Paradise..."

This is where the Old Test saints went when they died.

The bible also speaks that Jesus went into the bowels of the earth and took the keys of death, hell, and the grave from Satan.

It also says that after Jesus resurrection, that many old test saints were seen walking around Jerusalem. This means that Jesus took the old test saints to where we call Heaven after his resurrection.

So today if we die in Christ, we go straight to heaven.

The bible does not speak of any purgatory.

Does that help?

The Old Testament teaches life after death, and that all people went to a place of conscious existence called Sheol. The wicked were there (Psalm 9:17; 31:17; 49:14; Isaiah 5:14), and so were the righteous (Genesis 37:35; Job 14:13; Psalm 6:5; 16:10; 88:3; Isaiah 38:10).

The New Testament equivalent of Sheol is Hades. Prior to Christ’s resurrection, Luke 16:19-31 shows Hades to be divided into two realms: a place of comfort where Lazarus was, and a place of torment where the rich man was. The word hell in verse 23 is not “Gehenna” (place of eternal torment) but “Hades” (place of the dead). Lazarus’s place of comfort is elsewhere called Paradise (Luke 23:43). Between these two districts of Hades is “a great gulf fixed” (Luke 16:26).

Jesus is described as having descended into Hades after His death (Acts 2:27, 31; cf. Ephesians 4:9). At the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it seems that the believers in Hades (i.e., the occupants of Paradise) were moved to another location. Now, Paradise is above rather than below (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).

Today, when a believer dies, he is “present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6-9). When an unbeliever dies, he follows the Old Testament unbelievers to Hades. At the final judgment, Hades will be emptied before the Great White Throne, where its occupants will be judged prior to entering the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13-15).

Recommended Resource: What the Bible Says about Heaven & Eternity by Ice & Demy.

Sheol is the Hebrew word for Hades...the Greek word for common grave.

if you read the Torah carefully, you will find nothing about heaven, hell, or Sheol. there is nothing after death. the idea is that you have to do right in your life to get your reward in your life, or be punished if you deserve. Alas, the real world is disappointing, the book of Eeyov (Job) has a lot to say about.

Sheol was a word for "Hades" or "pit". It was thought of as the destination for everyone no matter how good or bad they were. You waited there either in comfort or torment, depending upon your character and good or bad deeds.

According to Christianity, they all went to Hell because Jesus is the way to Heaven, and God didn't decide have children yet. God should be more involved with religion because religion is creating a mess.