According to ancient Judaic texts, there very few means of procession from life into eternity:
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Ascension - the individual is so perfectly acceptable that they are taken directly to Heaven without ever experiencing the First Death (corporeal death/death of the body) or the Second Death (incorporeal death/death of impure "spirit").
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Holy martyrdom - individuals who gain acceptance by and into Elohim through dying. Experience of the First Death without experience of the Second Death. This is a resurrection apart from what was claimed by Matthew:52-53.
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Acceptance after First Death. The individual dies, awaits Judgement Day, and is deemed acceptable without having to experience the Second Death.
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Resurrection - very few individuals received the First Death, were patiently resting in the bosom of Abraham, and then were resurrected and presumably ascended directly to Heaven. Matthew 27:52-53 does not expound further on the ventures of the Zombie-Jews.
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Direct damnation - it seems to appear in both Enoch and Revelations that Azazel/Azrael was condemned to Sheol/Hell directly without losing bodily form, will be released upon the Earth for a limited time, will then "be defeated", and then condemned to the Lake Of Fire eternally.
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Judgement - for those requiring more consideration, a First Death is experienced, then judgement of the "spirit" that remains, resulting in a temporary refining that removes "spiritual" impurities in the Lake Of Fire, before eternity begins in Heaven.
Ancient texts repeatedly and often express that Hell/Sheol/Gehinnom is only temporarily endured by most:
Mark 9 43 And if thy hand cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having thy two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire. 44 [where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.] 45 And if thy foot cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into hell. 46 [where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.] 47 And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, cast it out: it is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell; 48 where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 49 For every one shall be salted with fire.
Mark 9:43-49 explicitly states that there is a particular region of the Lake Of Fire in Sheol where the "worm" (impurity) is not consumed, and the fire is not quenched or is unquenchable (is eternal). It also continues to state that every one will be "salted" (purified) with fire in some region of the Lake Of Fire, but not necessarily the region reserved for blasphemy against Elohim. This is only a very slight overstatement, as a very select few are described in ancient Judaic texts as "ascending" - avoiding both the First and Second Deaths (the Second being purification in the Lake Of Fire). It is also conceivable that the overstatement is mine, in that those who are not in the Lake Of Fire appear to be active in administering services upon those who are in it. Enoch, for instance, described varying regions of Sheol as being attended to by angels. He then also ascended directly to Elohim - becoming Metatron, and gaining a very particular place and function within Heaven.
First Book Of Enoch, Chapter 3 "The blind sheep were brought there, and were judged and found guilty, and were thrown into that abyss of fire on the earth, and burnt. The abyss was on the right side of that house. And I saw the sheep burning, and their bones dissolving. ... Then all who had perished [in the Lake Of Fire in Sheol] and had been destroyed, all the wild animals, and every bird of the sky, assembled in that house, while the Lord of the sheep celebrated because they were all good, and had returned to his dwelling."
The Book Of Enoch CH.27 Then said I: 'For what object is this blessed land, which is entirely filled with trees, and this accursed valley between?' Then Uriel, one of the holy angels who was with me, answered and said: 'This accursed valley is for those who are accursed for ever: Here shall all the accursed be gathered together who utter with their lips against the Lord unseemly words and of His glory speak hard things.
Here shall they be gathered together, and here shall be their place of judgement. In the last days there shall be upon them the spectacle of righteous judgement in the presence of the righteous for ever: here shall the merciful bless the Lord of glory, the Eternal King.
Here shall they be gathered together, and here shall be the place of their habitation. In the last times, in the days of the true judgement in the presence of the righteous for ever: here shall the godly bless the Lord of Glory, the Eternal Kin.
In the days of judgement over the former, they shall bless Him for the mercy in accordance with which He has assigned them (their lot).' 5. Then I blessed the Lord of Glory and set forth His ⌈glory⌉ and lauded Him gloriously.
https://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/boe030.htm
The First Book Of Adam And Eve, Chapter 71, Verse 2: "'Since, when at first, I ate of the tree, He drove me out of the garden into this strange land, and deprived me of my bright nature, and brought death upon me. If, then, I should do this, He will cut off my life from the earth, and He will cast me into hell, and will plague me there a long time."
ODE 31. 1 The abysses were dissolved before the Lord: and darkness was destroyed by His appearance: 2 Error went astray and perished at His hand: and folly found no path to walk in, and was submerged by the truth of the Lord. 3 He opened His mouth and spake grace and joy: and He spake a new song of praise to His name: 4 And He lifted up His voice to the Most High, and offered to Him the sons that were with Him. 5 And His face was justified, for thus His holy Father had given to Him. 6 Come forth, ye that have been afflicted and receive joy, and possess your souls by His grace; and take to you immortal life.
4TH maccabees, Chapter 5, Verse 18: "And with his bodily frame already in dissolution this great-souled youth, like a true son of Abraham, groaned not at all; but as if he were suffering a change by fire to incorruption [fire as the purifying element to the soul], he nobly endured the torment..."
"For we mean by eternal life that life where there is endless happiness." - Augustine
"Endless happiness" is not the biblical or actual definition of "eternal life".
"For if the soul live in eternal punishments, by which also those unclean spirits shall be tormented, that is rather eternal death than eternal life." - Augustine
"Eternal death" is an internally incongruous term. Augustine may as well refer to "dry rain" or "cold fire".
Of the man Christ Jesus, the mediator between God and men According to ancient Judaic texts, Sheol was not a place of permanence long before YHWH became Jesus. The dead slept awaiting Judgement Day in Sheol (the experience of which ranges from sleep, through honoured pleasure, to righteous improvement). Jesus was not the first Jew to be reincarnated or resurrected and/or ascended. John The Baptist was a reincarnation, and following the death of Jesus, The Gospel Of Matthew (I suspect erroneously) reports that the "Saints" of Jerusalem rose from their graves (and presumably ascended shortly after).
That Jesus is declared to be the only means by which any human can "go to" Elohim, is a product of direct intervention by YHWH. YHWH chose to directly - that is, in "person" - intervene in the affairs of humans. He literally set up camp on and "Lorded over" Mesopotamia, first in immortal form as YHWH upon the Mercy Seat, and later in mortal form as Jesus. The other host of Elohim were somewhat accessible, but rarely in physical form. Elohim had promised to maintain favour for Ishmael and his descendants (who are considerable as Arabia).
The "ministry" of YHWH/Jesus is a religion that precedes the Great Flood. Jesus took a Priesthood "in the Order Of Melchi Zedek", to which He was inducted by John The Baptist, and which precedes the establishment of and Covenant with Israel. King (hebrew: Melchi) Zedek was the first King and High Priest of Salem (Jeru-salem: Yireh- "the abiding place" and -Shalem "Place of Peace"). In this return to earlier Mesopotamian culture, a much broader scope of religion was again acceptable to YHWH/Jesus. It is within these contexts that YHWH/Jesus is the intermediary that salvages people from the Lake Of Fire.
Virgil Æneid 6.733 et seqq
[1st Century BCE syncretism]
Hence wild desires and groveling fears, And human laughter, human tears, Immured in dungeon-seeming night, They look abroad, yet see no light,
Nay, when at last the life has fled, And left the body cold and dead, Ee’n then there passes not away The painful heritage of clay;
Full many a long-contracted stain Perforce must linger deep in grain. So penal sufferings they endure For ancient crime, to make them pure;
Some hang aloft in open view, For winds to pierce them through and through, While others purge their guilt deep-dyed In burning fire or whelming tide.
"But temporary punishments are suffered by some in this life only, by others after death, by others both now and then; but all of them before that last and strictest judgment. But of those who suffer temporary punishments after death, all are not doomed to those everlasting pains which are to follow that judgment; for to some, as we have already said, what is not remitted in this world is remitted in the next, that is, they are not punished with the eternal punishment of the world to come." - Augustine
According to ancient Judaism, those who have no purpose such as the saints who enjoy 1000 years with Jesus/YHWH on Earth and a Holy War, simply await Judgement Day in Sheol (the experience of which ranges from sleep, through honoured pleasure, to righteous improvement). Then, some people - many previous atheists - may be adjudged as not requiring the Lake Of Fire, while others, receive the same purifying elements but for different reasons and durations. Augustine is, however, astute enough to realize that "of those who suffer temporary punishments after death, all are not doomed to... ...eternal punishment".
Isa. 46:24 ”their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched.”
Mark 9:47-48 “It is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hellfire: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
Ecclus. 7:17 “The vengeance of the flesh of the ungodly is fire and worms.”
The elements that are necessarily eternal within these texts are the elements of torture - the worms and fire - which must be eternal to exact the most grievous of punishments against those who have committed blasphemy against Elohim. One might imagine the worms and fire that have already purified lesser sinners who have been "saved" from Sheol, then attending to Azazel and his peers. They would accumulate all of the elements of the tortures of others, that their influence had some part in corrupting - each new worm or lick of flame a reminder that someone else has attained Heaven with Elohim, the eternal pleasure the eternally damned have forfeited.
Dan. 12:1–2 “At that time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
This "time" may be at the start of the Holy War. That would explain the severe dichotomy between two states, if it be two. It may also be three states: 1) everlasting life, 2) shame, and 3) everlasting contempt. These two or three states do not account for those Saints who have already ascended from the first resurrection (of 29CE) and personal redemptions.
A baptism by spirit and fire, is a dark symbolism. The "salvation" afforded by Jesus - that is, YHWH as a human - is from the Lake Of Fire in Sheol. It is not automatic avoidance of the Lake Of Fire entirely, but the possibility of being retrieved from it after purification, if necessary.
"...eternal life is... ...the one object for which we are Christians." - Augustine
The "object" of "Christianity" is not "eternal life" (to become so pure as to avoid either the First - mortal - Death, or the Second Death that is permanent purity from a temporary purification in the Lake Of Fire). Ascension is certainly an object of Judaism - and the ultimate achievement possible, perhaps excluding holy martyrdom - but it is not the primary goal. The ultimate goal of Judaism is not the prizes and hierarchies of zealous achievement, but to maintain struggle toward the same.
Dan. 12:1–2 “At that time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
This "time" may be at the start of the Holy War. That would explain the severe dichotomy between two states, if it be two. It may also be three states: 1) everlasting life 2) shame 3) everlasting contempt. These two or three states do not account for those Saints who have already ascended from the first resurrection (of 29CE) and personal redemptions.
Of the resurrection of the flesh, which some refuse to believe, though the world at large believes it Augustine appears to omit the resurrection of the dead found in the Gospel Of Matthew. This is most peculiar, and being of - to wit - the 5th Century CE, ought to be later than any fraudulent inclusion within the biblical record.
The 9 And A Half Tribes 40-45 (truncated) By the decree of the Lord they are handed over alive to Gehenna. ... Then the Holey Ones wil enter the ancient bosom of their mother. So that whom the Evil One has persuaded may also be refreshed. He will torment them with various punishments so that they may believe in Him. Then comes in the end the time for temptations to be removed from the world. The Lord will begin to give judgement by fire.
History of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi (Ma‘aseh De-Rabbi Yehoshua‘ ben Levi)
14:2 Many pits of fired are open and they rise up and consume the wicked.e 3 After they consume them, they rise up on their feet from the fire and fall down and are burned (again). ... 8 Angels stand here with their staffs and throw them upon the fire and all of them are burned. ... After this, they bring the wicked out of the fire as though they were burned, but the fire had not touched them at all. 12 Then they burn them again, and thus they do to them seven times—four by day and three by night.
Tractate on Gehinnom (Masseket Gehinnom) 6 1 Chapter three: 2 It is taught: Three descend into Gehinnom and do not ascend—the one who commits adultery, the one who exposes his neighbour in public and the one who swears falsely in the name of the Lord. 3 There are those who say: also the one who glorifies himself through the disgrace of his neighbour, and the one who becomes entangled between a man and his wife in order to bring strife between them.
Babylonian Talmud, Chapter 11 It reads [Isa. v. 14]: “Therefore hath the deep enlarged her desire, and opened her mouth without measure (chok).” Said Resh Lakish: It means him who failed to perform even one (chok) law of the Torah. Said R. Johanan to him: Your saying is not satisfactory to their creator. Say the reverse, even he who has studied but one law does not belong to the Gehenna.
In What Manner Is the Punishment of the Grave? (Ketsad Din Ha-Qever)
1:1 His disciples asked Rabbi Eliezer: “In what manner is the punishment of the grave?” 2 He said to them: […] and half of iron and strikes him. 3 One time his limbs were taken apart […] and from his tongue […] and revile people, and so it is with all of them. 4 Rabbi Meir says: The punishment suffered in the grave is worse than the punishment of Gehinnom. 5 […] from this originates what the sages said: The generation comes […] even the generation in Babylon. 6 The one who dies on the eve of the Sabbath does not see the punishment of the grave. 7 […] from the womb, this is the punishment of Gehinnom.
2:1 Rabbi Hiyya expounded: The leech has two daughters, “Give! Give!” 2 Rabbi Elazar said: Two bands of angels of destruction stand over the entrance of Gehinnom and say: “Give! Give! Bring! Bring!” 3 Why is it called Gehinnom? It is a valley where all its dead walk from one end of the world to the other. 4 Why is Gehinnom also called Tofteh? Because everyone who is enticed by his inclination enters there. 5 Rabbi Yohanan began with:e There are seven divisions in Gehinnom. 6 Each division has thousands of compartments, and in each compartment there are seven windows. 7 In each window there are thousands of vessels of poison. 8 They are all destined for the officers, the scribes, the judges, the heretics and the apostates. 9 Not one of them will escape unless he possesses Torah and good deeds. 10 After this, He has compassion over his creatures, as it is said, For I will not contend forever and I will not always be angry, for the spirit would grow weak before me and souls I have made.
3:1 Seven descend into Gehinnom and these are they: the judge, the butcher, the clerk, the physician, their scribes and the teachers of young children. 2 If they do (their duty) for the sake of heaven, they all descend and ascend, except three who descend but do not ascend—the one who exposes his neighbour in public, the one who calls his neighbour a name and the one who commits adultery.
5 1 At the time that a person is convicted for punishment, they deliver him to angels of destruction. 2 They seize him and lead him to the court of death, darkness and shade, as it is said, May their way be dark and slippery. 3 Not only this, but they push him into the midst of Gehinnom, as it is said, And the angel of the Lord pursues them. 4 When a person dies and is put on a bed, the ministering angels walk before him, and people walk behind him. 5 If people say about him: “Happy was so-and-so, this one was good and praiseworthy in his lifetime,” the ministering angels say to him: “Write it down,” and he writes it down and they sign. 6 Not only this, but two ministering angels escort a person at the moment of his death and they know whether he stole or withheld or denied a debt. 7 Not only this, but the beams and stones of a person’s house testify against him, as it is said, A stone from the wall will cry out, etc. 8 Whoever repented is brought to Gan Eden, but if he died without repentance, he is brought to Gehinnom. 9 When a person dies, they bring him to Abraham and Isaac and they say to him: “My son, what have you done in the world from which you have gone out?”
11:10 Rabbi Eleazar said: Poverty is harder for a person than the punishment of Gehinnom, as it is said, Did I not refine you, etc., I tested you in the furnace of poverty: 11 because the Holy One, Blessed be He, recovered every good reward to give them to Israel, but he did not find anyone learning Torah except the poor who are in the midst of poverty. 12 None of them have anything to eat and because of this they are afraid of the Holy One, Blessed be He.
Legend of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi (ʾAggadat Rabbi Yehoshuaʿ ben Levi) Aramaic Recension
1:2 There are many pits and lions of fire rise up there. When people fall there, the lions consume them. 3 After the fire destroys them, they rise up as before and are cast into the fire of every compartment of the first division. ... 12 After the wicked were placed to be struck and burnt, they went out from the fire as though they were not burnt, but again they return and strike them, and so they do to them seven times by day and three times by night.
7:5 Regarding all the seven thousands who are in every division: they punish all the wicked with the former punishment.
A common error made by interpreters and translators of ancient Judaic texts is to conflate "eternity" or "eternal life" with "everlasting" or "never-ending life".
"Eternity" is a timeless state that begins after life on Earth. Ever-lasting or never-ending life also includes eternity, but the connotation is that the life begun on Earth does not come to an end in either the First or Second Deaths. Ever-lasting or never-ending life is reserved only for those who receive ascension directly to Heaven (or perhaps "descension" to the Lake Of Fire). A person who lives, does not die, and is taken to Heaven has not "tasted of death"; unlike a person who lives, dies twice, and then begins an eternal life.
1 John 3:15 "Everyone who hates is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining [abiding] in him."
Even to those who are mistaken about the temporary nature of Hell for most, "eternal life" is "remaining" in everyone according to ancient Judaic texts. To their errant perception, "eternal life" is either eternal life in Heaven, or eternal life in Hell. Hate and murder are not the same - except in an obscure "spiritual" sense - and were routinely mercied sins to the perspective of Jesus, Israel, and other proper Jews. The only sin that was said to be unforgivable was blasphemy against Elohim.
He who not is with Me against Me is, and he who not gathers with Me scatters.
https://biblehub.com/text/matthew/12-30.htm
Because of this I say to you, Every sin and blasphemy shall be foregiven the people, the moreover of the Spirit blasphemy not will be foregiven.
https://biblehub.com/text/matthew/12-31.htm
And whoever if speaks a word against the Son Of Man it will be foregiven him; whoever now speaks against the Spirit the Holy, not it will be foregiven him, neither in this the age, nor in the age to come.
https://biblehub.com/text/matthew/12-32.htm
Here, there is definitive expression from YHWH/Jesus that only few individuals will be eternally damned, and that there is forgiveness both during and AFTER life.
