Mystical truths we learn when Jesus descended into hell

There are several lessons that we can learn about the after life because Jesus preached to the captive spirits in prison:

1. Hell is real

Jesus descended into hell in order to show us that it is real. He is the best source on hell. According to the blueletterbible.com, the word hell occurs 54 times in 54verses in the KJV. Jesus spoke the word hell 16 times, describing its powerlessness against His church, its dangers and the prerequisites for entering it. If you are crazy enough to disbelieve the expert source, then who will you believe?

Jesus sends us a message from the pits – this will be your eternal future if you serve satan. We therefore see clearly the outcomes of walking in the path of death.  Is there a path of death?   The writer in Proverbs 15: 24 spoke about the path of death when he said, “The way of life [is] above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.”  

2. The human spirit lives eternally and never dies

This is the most important lesson that we learn.   Jesus descended into hell and preached to the spirits  imprisoned there because He knew that they were alive.  There is no soul sleep after death, as some would like to believe neither do we go into a state of oblivion when we die. We live forever. 

Jesus’ actions clearly confims his Luke 12 account regarding the condition of the rich Jew who went to hell. Spirits in hell’s torment can hear, understand,  make choices and  obey. Those spirits who had died in the days of the flood must have rejoiced to see Jesus and would certainly have escaped the prison without delay.

There is a clear contrast between the scenario described by Apostle Peter in which  Jesus preached to the dead and Jesus’ own a ccount about hell in Luke 16. When I read Luke 16 a while ago, Jesus appeared to have abruptly introduced the fate of the rich man. However, He had been speaking about people giving account for their stewardship of other people’s possessions. The poor man Lazarus who lived at the rich man’s gate was not treated right. According to Moses’ law, the rich man should have taken him in and fed him, liek the Good Samariatan. There are many applications in the law. For example, any Jew owning fields was required to leave portions for the poor when reaping.  This rich man went to hell for  greed, failing to obey the law and the prophet Moses.  In the eyes of the Lord, this rich Jew  was a poor steward of God’s wealth and therefore deserved punishment rather than reward.

Pay attention to the fact that  the rich man did not beg Abraham to take him out of hell. He knew by then that it was his eternal fate. Secondly, Abraham did not offer to help him to escape, although it was obvious to the patriarch that the former rich man was in torments. Thirdly, Abarahm spoke to the rich man about the impossibility of receiving comfort in the flames and for Lazarus to  be resurrected from the dead to preach to his relatives.

What is the lesson? If  Prophet Abraham, who lived in heaven, could not help the former rich man to escape, can a priest  or another human change your eternal destiny once it is settled in hell? Only God  Himself can do so. To do so, Jesus had to enter that flaming abyss and select a group in mercy, preach to them, then take them out.

3. The spirit can hear even when the person is in a coma or in a distant place

This is an important application. When people are in a comatose state, we can  speak the word of God so that the inner man, the spirit,  can receive strength, healing, salvation etc. Granted, the bodies of those who died in the flood had long become  dust and ashes, but  Jesus’ concern was their eternal spirits which were now living in hell. Many years ago, a friend and I visisted a hospitalized man  who had been comatose following an automobile accident. I prayed and was led by the Holy spirit to speak Psalm 27 over him.  He became restless and began to mutter as I spoke the word of God. He subsequently recovered from the coma although his prognosis had been poor up to that  time.

In fact, the spirit can hear the word of God even when the person is not present. This is why we must speak words of life to people and even inanimate objects (like Jesus did to the fig tree). There is a fantastic example in Prophet Ezekiel who  was asked to speak prophetic words of life to people who were spiritually dead.  I believe that they were spiritually dead because in the vision he saw a valley of dry bones, dry because  these people were not drinking the word of God. Prophet Ezekiel was told, to speak and to say, ‘dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!” (Ezekiel 1: 4). He is in reality speaking to the spirits of those who were dry without  the word of God.

We need to  believe Jesus when He said that His spoken word is spirit and life (John 6: 63). We can speak life to others. Let us harness the power of the Word of God to change situations around us.

4. The spirit can receive life and escape hell

Many people do not know that the spirit is born in sin and shaped in iniquity, according to Psalm 51: 5. Prophet Isaiah showed that we are like sheep  gone astray, heading for hell until Jesus came and bore our sins.  Jesus came to earth and gave us the escape route from hell:

 He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life (John 5: 24).

 Jesus’ statement shows that we live in a state of everlasting death until we believe on Him as the way of salvation.  Krisis is the Greek word that Jesus used for condemnation. It means  separation, punishment and this was the fate of the rich man in Luke 16.  Thanatos, the Greek word that Jesus used for death, relates to the eternal state of punishment in hell.  Conversely, those who hear and believe Jesus are translated from death to life.

I love that word life, Greek zōē, because this life is everlasting and begins the moment we believe Jesus is the way of salvation.  I live in ZOE, a higher state of existence of the spirit, because I have received salvation by faith in Jesus. Physical death is just absence from the body and being translated into the presence of the Lord.

 ZOE begins with a rebirth of the spirit from death to life. Jesus  told Nicodemus that he had to be born again in order to enter the Kingdom of heaven  (John 3: 3). Nicodemus was so ignorant about heavenly things that he naively asked the Lord if he must reenter his mother’s womb a second time in order to be born again   (John 3: 4), but more in the upcoming post.

Have a great evening!

 

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Is there a purgatory?

1. What is purgatory?

This is a teaching of some religious groups, particularly the Catholic Church. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Purgatory comes from the Latin word  “purgare” which means  to make clean, to purify. Purgatory, according to  Catholic teaching,  is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God’s grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions.

Catholicism teaches that  God requires satisfaction, and will punish sin.  He therefore administers temporal punishment, even after the sin itself has been pardoned.  The whole penitential system of the Church testifies that the voluntary assumption of penitential works is necessary for pardon.  Therefore, the church believes  that the sinner  must do penance in this life. If he or she does not do penance in this life, punishment may be administered in another world, in order to prevent the sinner from  being cast off eternally from God.

2. Venial sins

Catholicism teaches that all sins are not equal before God. Therefore, punishments meted out for the daily faults of human frailty are less severe than those meted out for serious violation of God’s law. However, whosoever comes into God’s presence must be perfectly pure for in the strictest sense since His “eyes are too pure, to behold evil” (Habakkuk 1:13). The Catholic Church has always taught the doctrineof purgatory to take into account the sinner who has unrepented venial faults for the payment of temporal punishment due to sin at time of death.

3. Praying for the dead

Catholics therefore hold to the practice of praying for the dead in order  to afford solace to those who are excluded from the sight of God after they die. Intercession is therefore  made for the purification of the spirit of the departed. Believing that God has hears the prayer, Catholics teach  that  He allows the spirit  to pass into a place of light and refreshment.”

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm

4. Scriptural anecdotes about hell

One of my first responses to this question is to resort to anecdotal experiences of spirits in scripture who went to hell. Here  is what I found so far:

• Hell was reserved for the devil and the  angels that rebelled. Apostle Jude says that they are “…reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” This is also the fate of those unbelieving human spirits that join them there.
• The unbelieving Jew in Luke  16 who went there was not allowed to escape to heaven even though he was repentant. In fact, Abraham told him that there was a gulf between hell and heaven and that there was no way that he could traverse it.
• Jesus was the only Spirit that escaped from hell because as Lord of heaven and earth, it was not possible that death should hold him.
• Apart from Jesus, the unbelieving who had died in the flood of Noah’s time were taken captive and translated to heaven. In fact, they had spent all of those centuries in the prison until Jesus preached to them. No provision had been otherwise made for their escape.
• Apart from this there is no other scriptural example, to the best of my knowledge, of anyone being moved from hell to heaven. In fact, Rev 20: 13 says that on the day of Judgement, “death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”  This clearly shows that hell is an eternal punishment.
• When the Apostles Peter and Paul prayed for the dead Dorcas and Eutychus, they resurrected them back to physical  life.
• Scriptures teach about the sanctification of the spirit while the person is alive to make us fit fof the kingdom of heaven. No sin will enter there.  

Blessings and more to come!

 

Why did Jesus save ONLY those who had died in the flood?

It is hard enough to believe that God would save the rebellious dead from hell, much less those who had died in the flood. However, I believe that there is a key reason why He did so – TOO MANY PEOPLE DIED IN THE FLOOD AND NOT ENOUGH WERE SAVED. Huhhhh?!!

I believe that God regretted that all of the then world died and went to hell. Walk with me here:

• When men began to multiply and become evil, God first said that He would reduce the life span (Gen 6: 3). He did not implement this immediately, because Noah lived 350 years after the flood (Gen 9: 28). It is highly likely that other people enjoyed relatively long lifespans as well.
• God repented that He had made man and told Noah that He would destroy all flesh (Gen 6: 13). He established a covenant with Noah and his family and told him to build an ark.  However, we learnt from Apostle Peter that Noah preached righteousness for about 100 years and that God waited patiently for the people to repent (1 Pet 3: 20, 2 Pet 2: 5).
• Genesis 7: 21 – 23 emphasized the extent of the flood’s destruction. It seems as if even God was horrified:

 –  and every man:  All in whose nostrils [was] the breath of life, of all that [was] in the dry [land], died.And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained [alive], and they that [were] with him in the ark.

• Noah worshipped when he emerged from the ark, engaging God’s favor to the degree that God said in His heart, “neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done“ (Gen 8: 21).
• To reconfirm His promise with Noah, God reiterated His promise never to destroy ALL flesh by flood:  “neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth” (Gen 9: 11).
• God took up the issue of the destruction of all humans when speaking with Apostle Peter n 1 Pet 3: 20, regretting that only 8 people were saved.

God is really not willing for any to perish, especially all of the living. This is why only those who had died in the flood had this mercy extended to them.  Does this continue to happen? I believe that this was a one time extension of God’s mercy, found only once in scripture.  This is why Jesus said told Lazarus’ sisters that one does not have to wait until the last day to be resurrected:

Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live (Jn 11: 24, 25).

In the upcoming posts, I will answer these  questions:

• is there a purgatory?
• what can Jesus’ actions teach us about the human spirit?

Blessings until next time!

 

COMPARISON BETWEEN APOSTLE PETER,APOSTLE PAUL AND PROPHET DAVID ON THE DEAD CAPTIVES

INTRODUCTION

I am continuing to write about the truth that the dead saints before Jesus did not go to hell.  Apostle Peter clearly explained to us that Jesus descended to hell in His death and preached to the captives who had died in the days of the Flood:

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water (1 Pet 3: 18-20).

The Apostle continued his discussion in 1 Peter chapter 4, explaining that because the dead have to give an account for their lives, Jesus preached unto the spirits in prison. One would be tempted to initially believe that he is referring to all of the dead who had died before Christ. However, the Apostle created a link between chapters 3 and 4 by using the word “THEREFORE” at the beginning of chapter 4. This tells me clearly that he continued to speak ONLY about who died in the days of the flood:

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do–living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.

They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you.

But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit  (1 Pet 4: 1- 6).

APOSTLE PAUL ON THE ISSUE

One of the easiest ways to fully understand the truth related to Jesus preaching to these captives in phylake is to read a similar account on the issue. This can be found in the writings of Apostle Paul in which he said:

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things (Eph 4: 8-10).

According to Apostle Paul, when He died, Jesus first descended into hell (the lower parts of the earth), then ascended on high after He rose again. We know from the writings of John 20: 16 and 17  that He appeared to  Mary Magdalene before doing so. When He ascended, He led “captivity captive”. 

We learnt from other writings of the Apostle Paul that Jesus warred against satan and his hosts in hell and overcame them. However, I will remain focused on the issue of Him preaching to the captives in hell then  setting  them free.

PROPHET DAVID ON THE ISSUE  

We need to also understand that Apostle Paul was quoting from the prophecy of Prophet David in relation to Christ in hell. When we therefore compare the scriptures, we gain an even greater understanding of  Apostle Peter’s writings, since each revelation supply a part of the whole truth. Here is what Prophet David said:

Thou hast ascended  on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, FOR THE REBELLIOUS ALSO, that the LORD God might dwell [among them] (Ps 68: 18).

The WEB version says, “thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yes, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.

The writings of  Prophet David show that Jesus freed  the rebellious captives from hell and ascended on high  with them.  Apostle Peter showed that these captives were those who had died in the days of the flood. The scriptures infer that they heard the gospel and were judged for their sins. Based on Ps 68: 18, their spirits were translated from hell to heaven when they repented. This is why Prophet David said that the Lord then dwelt among them. Even though we still judge them because of how they had lived,  Apostle Peter said that they live according to God in the spirit :

For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit  (1 Pet 4: 6).

APOSTLE PETER SPOKE OF THESE AS BEING “SOMETIME DISOBEDIENT”

I  almost missed this critical truth and had to include it after publishing the post. To further confirm that those who had died in the flood repented at Christ’s preaching, Apostle Peter made a very important statement about them. He said that  Jesus:

“…  went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

Which SOMETIME were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water”  (1 Pet 3: 19, 20)

The word “sometime” comes from the Greek  pote (Strong’s G4218) which in Biblical usage means formerly,  in time past,  once. In fact, if you  read through the scriptures  in which G 4218 is used, you will find this to be the case. 

Here are five  examples  which add further clarity:

• Jesus healed a man from blindness, then “they brought  to the Pharisees  him  that aforetime ⁴²¹⁸ was blind” (John 9: 13).
• Apostle Paul spoke of  formerly living under the law: ” For  I was alive  without the law  once ⁴²¹⁸: but  when the commandment came, sin  revived, and I died.” 
• But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes (4218) were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ (Eph 2: 13).
• For ye were sometimes ⁴²¹⁸ darkness,  but  now  [are ye] light  in  the Lord: walk  as children of light (Eph 5: 8)
• And you, that were sometime ⁴²¹⁸ alienated and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works,  yet now  hath he reconciled (Col 1: 21)

            Link to  sometime/pote – http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G4218&t=KJV

I know that this is a very hard explanation to believe and I myself have had great difficulty in writing it. However, there is a reason for Jesus’ actions and I will explain this in  the upcoming post.

 

 

 

Jesus preached to the captives in hell then set them free

1. INTRODUCTION

I began this series by writing that the saints who died before Lord Jesus did not go to hell.  If you are reading for the first time, click on the right side link called spiritual  revelation and you will find previous posts.  It is commonly taught that Jesus preached to dead saints in prison, but Apostle Peter taught  us the truth and it could not be more clearly spoken.  I will quote the New International Version for greater clarity:

It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,

through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison

who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water … (1 Pet 3: 18- 22)

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do–living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.

They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you.

But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit (1 Pet 4: 1- 6).

2. REVIEW OF  KEY FACTS IN CHAPTER 3: 18-22?

a. Jesus died and His Spirit descended to the prison. He  “preached to the spirits … who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water”. As I previously showed, the Greek word for prison is phylake and Apostle John used it in Revelation 20: 7 when speaking of  the prison in  which Satan was bound  for 1000 years.  Rev 2o: 1- 3  also shows that this prison or phylake in which satan was bound is synonymous with the bottomless pit or abyssos.

b. Jesus already told us that the phylake was reserved for the devil and his angels. However, scriptures teach that  the spirits of the disobedient dead also are sent there (as we learned in Luke 16).

c. Apostle  Peter told us that Jesus specifically preached to those who had died in the flood (when only eight were saved)

d. God was longsuffering, giving the people in Noah’s time ample opportunity to repent at his preaching. Based on Gen 5: 32 and 8: 20-21, Noah must have preached for about 100 years before the flood came, yet only eight were saved.

3. KEY FACTS IN 1 PETER 4

a. Apostle Peter began the chapter by using the adverb “therefore”, meaning that a consequence was about to be given for Christ’s suffering. In fact, Apostle Peter stated the outcome quite clearly:

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

Ironically, Jesus had done no sin, yet took on our sin in order to free us. Those who are believers are to kill the flesh, thus putting away sin. This is scriptural and taught repeatedly (e.g. Rom 6:1) Let’s look at some irony hidden in this verse. Those who die and go to hell are dead in the flesh and alive in spirit. they can no longer sin. While there are sinners in hell, there is no sin there, only fire and torments.

b. Apostle Peter also showed parallels between the lifestyles of those living in the days before the flood and those of  the time in which he lived. He called them the “lusts of men” and  “the will of the Gentiles”. There were sins of   “lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings and abominable idolatries’. The NIV says that the sinners were living in “debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.” Dictionary.com defines debauchery as “excessive indulgence of the appetites; especially, excessive indulgence of lust; intemperance; sensuality; habitual lewdness”. These sins are still being practiced today.

c. Apostle Peter teaches us that  God will one day judge the dead will be judged one day according to their works (also Rev 20: 12 and 13).  Jesus preached to these spirits in prison, giving them a second opportunity to hear the gospel.

Blessings and more to come!

 

The meaning of HELL in Psalm 16: 10 was also explained by Apostle Paul in Acts 13

I had to laugh out loud at Paul’s testimony to the Jews which added even more clarity on David’s prophecy in Acts 16: 10 regarding Lord Jesus’ resurrection:

 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took [him] down from the tree, and laid [him] in a sepulchre

But God raised him from the dead:

And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people

And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,

God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, [now] no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David

Wherefore he saith also in another [psalm], Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption (Acts 13: 29- 35).

Apostle Paul confirmed again that Prophet David spoke about Lord Jesus in Psalm 16: 10 and not about himself.  God had promised the Prophet that Lord Jesus would rise again and that He would reign forever. Lord Jesus’ resurrection from the dead remains  the key to our faith, since we are hopeless otherwise.

What does the word corruption mean? In New Testament scriptures it is translated as  diaphthora (G1312), meaning the corruption of the body after death. Jesus never experienced this corruption because death could not hold Him.  When He rose again, He put on an incorruptible body that was able to ascend and descend to heaven, go through walls, appear and disappear and never die again. This is the hope that we have, according to 1 Corinthians 15:  17.

Blessings and keep the faith.

 

The meaning of Hell in Psalm 16: 10 answered by Apostle Peter in Acts 2

I would like to examine more of the biblical usage of the term hell, but the Lord is urging me to move on. I ended the previous post by asking what David meant  in Psalm 16: 10 when he said “… thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (Sheol) ; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”

This verse is a mainstay for those who believe that the saints who died before Christ went down to sheol. I beg to differ, however, and to show that Psalm 16: 10 was written prophetically about Jesus and must therefore be interpreted in light of its fulfillment in New Testament scriptures. 

Parallel scriptures for Psalm 16: 10 are found in Acts 2: 27 and Acts 13: 35:

Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:

Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:

Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance

Men [and] brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;

He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.

Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2: 22-36).

I reccomend therefore that we interpret Psalm 16: 10 in light of the complete explanation given in the New Testament. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, Apostle Peter explained  that God’s plan of salvation was predetermined. It included the life, crucifixion and resurrection of Lord Jesus.  Acts 2: 24 says that it was impossible for the pangs of death to hold him.

Apostle Peter then  made direct reference to David’s prophecy in Psalm 16, showing clearly that it referred to the resurrection of the Holy One Jesus:

“let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

Therefore being a prophet…

he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption” (Acts 2: 29, 30, 31).

 Halelujah. Did Jesus descend into hell? Yes He did. Here is the truth:

• He is the first begotten from the dead (Rev 1: 5).
• He is the one “that liveth, and was dead” (rev 1: 18)
• He is alive for evermore (Rev 1: 18)
• He holds the keys of hell and of death (Rev 1: 18).

Blessings!

 

Clarification on hell and biblical usage of the word

1. Introduction

A few weeks ago I wrote that the saints who died before Jesus did not go to prison. In order to support that statement, I used the reference from 1 Pet 3: which clearly states who he did preach to. The following link will help us to recap and follow the trend of thought.

https://pppministries.wordpress.com/2009/05/08/who-did-jesus-…o-in-hellhades

Following up on an idea that I had, I did a review of the word hell in scripture. I suspect that the belief that hell was an abode for the saints  who died before the Lord may have stemmed from a global application of the word rather than a careful review of its usage. 

2. What is hell? It is a place of destruction

• prepared for the devil and his angels AND ALSO
• reserved for the spirits of dead people who did  not obey  God in their lifetimes
•  where their worm does not die and the fire is never put out. Jesus spoke of “their worm”  in Mark 9: 44, 46 and 48. Skolaks is the Greek word for worm and refers to a worm   which preys upon dead bodies, symbolizing the unending, destructive nature of the  torment (blueletterbible.org). I once  had a vision of serpents waiting to torment some   witches who had died.  I  have seen  that there are other forms of terrible torments in hell. Revelation 9 refers to terrible  locusts arising out of the bottomless pit. They sting like scorpions. Can you imagine the results? These locusts have a king called Abaddon or Apollyon, meaning he is the king of  destruction.
•  called a prison because demons are bound there in chains forever (Jude 1: 6). Satan will one day be bound in chains and locked in there. It is a maximum security prison for the most dangerous criminal of all times  (Rev 20: 1-2)
• which  is also called a prison because God holds the key (Rev 9: 1-2; Rev 20: 1-2))
• located in the lower parts of the earth
• called the abyssos or bottomless pit
• and bitter regrets and memories
• that is dark and gloomy (2 Pet 2: 4)
• that is a bottomless pit
• torment and of fire

https://pppministries.wordpress.com/2009/05/03/the-saints-who…not-go-to-hell/

3. Biblical usage of the word “hell”

I used blueletterbible.com and did a word search on hell. The first verse that came up was Deuteronomy 32: 22:

“For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.”

I then clicked on the word hell and found that it was translated “sheol” in the  Old Testament

  http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Deu&c=32&v=22&t=KJV#conc/22

My next action was to follow the link for the word “sheol”. Please follow the  link with me: http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H7585&t=KJV

You will  see that Sheol is used in several ways:

• Grave – e.g. Genesis 37: 35; 42: 38; 44: 29; 44: 31

In this context, references were made to Jacob mourning for his sons Joseph and Benjamin all his life until the point of  his burial in the physical grave/sheol.  There are other    references whose usage  give the gist of  hell or sheol being the physical grave where people are buried after they die.

• Pit –  e.g. Numbers 16: 30, 33

Korah, Dathan and Abiram had rebelled against Apostle Moses who became angry and declared that the earth would swallow them up and that they would go down quickly into the pit/sheol.  Just as he said, the earth opened and swallowed them and all that was related to and belonged to them. They went down into the pit, which seems to be a physical pit in the earth. It seems also that they went down immediately into hell for rebelling against the Lord.

• Hell – Deuteronomy 32: 22

This appears to refer directly to the bottomless pit itself, because Moses talked in this verse about “the lowest hell“.  Hell does have depths because it is the abyssos, the bottomless pit or the deep(Lk 8: 31; Rom 10: 7). I wonder if there are depths of hell that are specially reserved. Jesus told that God would bear a little more with Sodom and Gomorrah and Tyre on the day of judgement than with the cities which would reject the preaching of the kingdom of God. Would the unbelieving Jews receive a hotter, darker portion of hell? I don’t know yet.

Is it possible for fires to burn inside the earth and to set it on fire? Yes. An active  volcano which erupts is a classical example. What about a pitch lake or hot springs? Hell is like a giant everlasting, active volcano and pitch lake. Read Apostle John’s revelation  of hell’s inferno:

And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit  (Rev 9: 2).

According to Psalm 9: 17, hell or the bottomless pit is the destiny of  the wicked and the nations that forget God. The psalmist could not have been referring to the physical grave since the righteous also die, yet they do not forget God like the wicked.

Some of us might be asking what David meant  in Psalm 16: 10 when he said “… thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”

Are we in trouble? Let’s see. More to come! Blessings

 

 

 

 

Who did Jesus preach to in hell/hades?

As I meditated on this subject this week, the Lord uncovered to me a wealth of information that was quite a surprise to me. I will deal with the following issues as I write:

• who Jesus preached to in prison
• a background on the flood of Noah’s day
• the reason why He preached to those who had died in the   days of the flood
• applications that we can take from Jesus’ actions

Who did Jesus preach to in prison?

The answer to this question is found in 1 Peter 3: 18 through to 4:

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,

through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison

who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water (1 Pet 3: 18-20)

Apostle Peter clearly tells us that Jesus preached to the spirits of those who had perished in the  days of the flood in which only Noah and his immediate family were saved. We know already from Jesus’ report in Luke 16 that the unrighteous dead are conscious in hell. They can feel, hear, speak and recognize people who they had not even known while they were alive. 

Even though Jesus’ body had died, His spirit was alive and He  descended into hell, which is located in the lower parts of the earth (Eph 4: 9, 10).

Jesus  preached to those who died in the days of the flood and NOT

• the spirits from Sodom and Gomorrah. We know that they will face the final judgement, since Jesus told the Jews of His day that it will be more tolerable for this group than for those who failed to repent at the disciples’ preaching (Mt 10: 15)
• the disobedient Jews who had died in the wilderness. In fact, the Jews had been so rebellious throughout their history that  God told Prophet Ezekiel that He would destroy them and that they would not be saved even if Noah, Daniel and Job lived among them (Ezekiel 14: 13-16).
• the heathen who were killed by the armies of Israel as they possessed the land of Canaan. 
• any other group of dead spirits in hell.

Blessings! Please hurry on to the upcoming post for more. Have   a great day.

 

The saints who died before Christ definitely did not go to hell

Some time  ago I wrote a post in which I showed that the saints who had died before Christ did not go to hell:

https://pppministries.wordpress.com/2009/04/17/did-the-saints…ist-go-to-hell/

This morning  (Sunday 3 rd May at 8.45 am) I was meditating on something the Lord had shown me regarding how denominations form doctrines when I started thinking about the teaching that believers in God went to hell before the death of the Lord. Suddenly this phrase popped to my mind and I found it in Matthew 25: 41:

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

These are the words of the Lord himself, showing clearly that there is a fiery place prepared for the devil and his angels. PYR is the Greek word that Jesus used here for fire and this refers to the lake of fire into which death and hell would be cast in the last judgement according to Rev 20: 14.  However, fire is still fire. Who was hell prepared for? There must be associations between the two places in relation to this question. I would therefore like to show the parallels between the two places based on what we know about hades.

These are nouns and/or adjectives  used to describe hell or hades in scripture:

1. Fire – We know from Jesus’ testimony that a certain rich man died and went to hell, which is a fiery place.  Scriptures say that the rich man was tormented (Luke 16: 23) in hell or hades (G86 in Strong’s Concordance). The rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus to “cool my tongue…”
2. Torment –  The flame of hell offered nothing but torment. The rich man told Abraham, “I am tormented in this flame” and also begged him to send Lazarus back form the dead to warn his  five brothers ” lest they also come into this place of torment.”
3. Prison – 1 Peter 3: 19 describes it as a “prison” when referring to the place to which Jesus descended in His death.  PHYLAKE(G 5438) is the Greek word used in this verse for prison. Apostle John also  used the same word in Rev 20: 7 when writing about the prison in which Satan would be bound for 1000 years.
4. Bottomless pit – Hades is a pit  which has no bottom. A cross reference with Revelation 20: 1-3 reveals that this is the prison into which Satan would be cast for 1000 years. In fact, the phrase bottomless pit is found only in the book of Revelation. Revelation 9: 2 reveals that it is indeed a fiery inferno with these words, ” he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.”  Abyssos is the word used for bottomless in Rev 9: 2.
5. Deep – Abyssos is such a terrible place that even the demons do not want to go there. Some of them begged the Jesus not to send them there/the abyssos.
6. It is in the lower parts of the earth– Paul said that Jesus descended into the lower parts of the earth when He died (Eph 4: 9).
7. It is the place of the dead-According to Peter, Jesus preached the gospel to those who were dead.  Thesedead did not refer to Moses, Elijah and the saints who had gone on before, because scriptures show us that they were not dead, but are living. God showed this to Moses at the burning bush and Jesus reiterated this to the Jews in His teachings (Mt 22: 32; Mk 12: 26, 27).  Based on the report of the best authority, we can safely conclude that in the eyes of God, the dead are those in hell while the living are those who believed Him and live in His presence. They only departed from the body when they fell asleep. Paul said that we are absent from the Lord when the spirit is at home in the body and present with Him when we depart from this life (2 Cor 5: 6 and 8).
8. It is a place where the spirits of those who are eternally separated from God retain all faculties. They can hear, feel, see, speak, recognize other people (even those they never knew before). However, there is no escape from this prison.
9. In  fact, even as I  began to write,  I was reminded by the Lord that Abraham looked for an eternal city  whose builder and maker was God (Heb 11: 10). He expected to go up to heaven and not down to the pits of hell when he departed this earth. Those who believed received everlasting life and this is why God spoke of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the present tense (Ex 3: 6). This is why Hebrews 11 speaks in detail about those who believed.
10. In fact, all of the elders believed in the promise of everlasting life  that God gave to Abraham.  Heb 11: 13 –  16 clearly says that they:

        “all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of [them], and embraced [them], and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth  

For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

And truly, if they had been mindful of that [country] from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned

But now they desire a better [country], that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”

I hope that this post has added further enlightenment. God is  certainly not going to forget our work and labor of love. Since He is the Everlasting, Eternal God, why would He have been so unfair to His saints and send them to a prison after they fell asleep?

If you are an unbeliever, you can be saved by believing that Jesus is God and that He died to save you from this everlasting death. You need also to believe that God raised Him from the dead. Please do not go to this place of torment, but rather accept the Life that He offers today.

Blessings. In the next post, “who did Jesus preach to in hell?”