She'ol: Is Death a place??- CT

In Psalm 89, the wicked of Psalm 1 become "the enemies," and they seem to have the upper hand over the righteous speaker, seemingly, the Messiah. He cries out, "How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?" (Ps. 89:46). He describes his sense of forsakenness in terms of death and the hand or power of She'ol (Ps. 89:48).
She'olis a place name for death — but here, it seems to extend to forsakenness.
The Psalm goes on to proclaim that for "the righteous," She'ol is merely a place of temporary distance from God. The Messiah will not remain in this place of distance from the Lord, because "forever" is in the hands of the Lord, not in the hands of the wicked enemies (Ps. 89:51). The enemies of the Messiah may have a temporary hold, and take him through She'ol. But eventually the Messiah, the paradigm of righteousness, will emerge victorious.
-Rajkumar Boaz Johnson (full article)