Finally Alive What Happenswhenwe Are Born Again Desiring God Pdf

We know from Jesus' argument to the thief that when one dies they enter the presence of God immediately. Luke 23:42 states, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." This statement also tells united states of america that Jesus went to His Father upon expiry.

Across this we know very footling most where Jesus was for three days. One must be conscientious not to read besides much detail into a parable or story. The effect in Jesus recounting the story of Jonah was to chronicle to His anticipated three days of existence dead. Reading Jonah ii:two, some translations say "from the depth of Sheol", another translation says "from the depth of hell", still another says "from the grave." What is articulate is that Jonah assumed he was a dead man inside the fish as he prayed.

Later, in Jonah 2:half-dozen we are told his "life was brought up from the pit." Some interpreters assume that this is a reference to hell. Withal, a very simple interpretation of the Bible takes this as a reference to death, the imagery is the grave. Sheol is not hell; to the Hebrew mind it is decease; a identify where the soul waits for resurrection and judgment. The context of Jonah two:6 is "the earth with its bars was effectually me forever." He is using imagery to say he felt simply the same equally if his body was buried in the earth (grave) and he was locked there forever.

At that place are other passages that are used to suggest that Jesus went to hell during the 3 days His body was in the tomb. If ane wants to believe that He went to hell, then the verses can suggest information technology. However, if the verses are simply taken one-by-one, they practice non back up that belief. Allow's look at those verses.

Psalm 16:10 says, "Because yous volition non abandon me to the grave, nor will you permit your Holy Ane encounter decay." It relates "grave" and "pit." Hebrew poetic parallelism means the ii words are to be taken as one thought—the unproblematic grave, a pit in the earth where flesh decays.

Ephesians 4:eight-10 contains the argument, "'He ascended,' what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth'?" Some interpret "the lower parts of the world" every bit hell. Even so, again, the simple reading of this poetry is that Jesus ascended into the heavens after offset having descended into the world below, the grave. In fact, the Greek language here can either exist read "the lower region of world" or "the lower region, earth." Either way, it is a simple contrast of descending to earth which is a lower region than the heavens and does not provide whatever detail to suggest to the reader that He had been to Hell.

I Timothy 3:sixteen tell us that Jesus "was seen by angels." Indeed He was seen by angels as conspicuously suggested in all iii synoptic gospels just after His resurrection (Matthew 28:6; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:6). Those who already assume that Jesus went to hell want this to hateful "fallen angels" whom He preached to during the 3 days of decease. There is no reason to presume this at all.

The passage of Scripture most referred to by those holding to the hell theory is 1 Peter 3:18-20. "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in gild that He might bring u.s. to God, having been put to expiry in the mankind, but fabricated alive in the spirit; in which likewise He went and fabricated proclamation to the spirits at present in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the h2o." The words they indicate to are "in which too He went and made annunciation to the spirits at present in prison." Supposedly, Jesus descended to hell and preached to lost souls. But why? Nowhere in the Bible is there whatsoever argument that a lost soul who has died can take a 2nd chance. Did Jesus go to hell just to torment the lost souls more than? There is a more than reasonable estimation of this passage.

Jesus was put to death in the flesh, but was made alive by the Spirit. The word "made alive" is passive, significant that someone other than Jesus made Him alive. Either Jesus was made live by the Spirit, or in His spirit. Either manner the Spirit must have been involved. So the passage continues past telling us who these souls in prison are, they are those who did not listen to Noah (who was preaching repentance in the Spirit'southward power to the world at the direction of God). Thus, the same Spirit who raised Jesus equally a testimony "in order that He might bring us to God" also had spoken in Noah'south day to those souls now in prison; and they are in prison house because they did not heed at the time of the preaching. In fact, only eight people listened and were saved—"brought safely through the water." The idea of "prison" is figurative. The Bible does indicate that lost souls are removed and restrained in Luke 16:26: "And besides all this, between us and you in that location is a corking chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from hither to you may not be able, and that none may cantankerous over from at that place to us."

Nowhere in the Bible does information technology say that Jesus went to hell during the three days. Actually, very piffling is said about what went on. The normal supposition is that Jesus' fleshly body remained in the tomb, just as ours will remain in the grave. He went to the presence of the Male parent, and three days later the Spirit resurrected His trunk (in the same style that our bodies will be resurrected—the first-born from the dead in Col. 1:18). The difference is that God did not allow Jesus' trunk to disuse (exactly the promise plant in Psalm 16:ten above.)

John Piper has given a good answer to this:

Did Jesus Spend Saturday in Hell?

past John Piper

The Apostles' Creed says, "[He] was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead." There are many meanings given to this phrase. I simply desire to ponder the traditional interpretation that Christ went to the identify of the dead to preach the gospel to Old Testament saints that he might set them free for the full experience of heaven. This is the view of the Catholic Catechism and many Protestants besides. I don't think this is what the New Attestation teaches.

The view is based mainly on two passages in 1 Peter.

Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, beingness put to expiry in the flesh merely fabricated live in the spirit, (xix) in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, (20) considering they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through h2o. (1 Peter 3:18-20)

They are surprised when you practise non join them in the same alluvion of immoderacy, and they malign you; (5) but they will give account to him who is set to judge the living and the expressionless. (6) For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the mode people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does." (one Peter 4:4-half-dozen)

With regard to 1 Peter 3:19, I accept these words to hateful that Christ, through the voice of Noah, went and preached to that generation, whose spirits are now "in prison," that is, in hell. In other words, Peter does not say that Christ preached to them while they were in prison. He says he preached to them once, during the days of Noah, and now they are in prison house.

I think this is suggested as the more than natural understanding of the passage in view of what Peter said earlier nigh the spirit of Christ speaking through the prophets of old.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. (1 Peter 1:ten-11)

With regard to 1 Peter 4:6, I take "preached to the dead" to refer to those who, afterwards existence preached to, accept since died. He is not referring to preaching to them after they take died. The context suggests this kind of agreement, as J. N. D. Kelly explains:

They [the Christians] may well have been exposed to scoffing questions from infidel neighbors, and broken-hearted ones from one another, "What is the proceeds of your having become Christians, since you manifestly die like other men?" The writer's answer is that, so far from existence useless, the preaching of Christ and his gospel to those who have since died had precisely this terminate in view, that although according to man calculation they might seem to be condemned, they might in fact savour life eternal." (A Commentary on the Epistles of Peter and Jude, 175)

I would say, therefore, that there is no textual basis in the New Attestation for challenge that between Skilful Friday and Easter Christ was preaching to souls imprisoned in hell or Hades. There is textual basis for proverb that he would be with the repentant thief in Paradise "today" (Luke 23:43), and one does not get the impression that he means a defective place from which the thief must so be delivered by more than preaching.

For these and other reasons, information technology seems best to me to omit from the Apostles Creed the clause, "he descended into hell," rather than giving it other meanings that are more defensible, the way Calvin does.

(Originally appeared on the Desiring God Blog)

Photograph by Diego PH on Unsplash

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Source: https://www.epm.org/resources/2008/Mar/22/what-happened-after-jesus-died/

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