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Where was Jesus between
his death and resurrection? When the bible refers to a
person’s death it witnesses that their spirit or soul
still have conscious existence somewhere.
Luke 23:43
And Jesus said unto
him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with
me in paradise.
Luke 23:46
And when Jesus had
cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy
hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he
gave up the ghost.
Where was Jesus between his death and resurrection?
The three Synoptic Gospels clearly give witness to the
burial of Jesus body in the tomb. However, this says
nothing about Jesus’ spirit. When the bible refers
to a person’s death it witnesses that their spirit or
soul still have conscious existence somewhere. When
Jesus said with me in paradise he was talking about
where his spirit and the spirit of the thief were
going. Jesus promised that both he and the thief
would be together in paradise, which is heaven, on the
day they died. The repentant thief went at death
to where Jesus went. When a believer dies he goes
immediately to be with the Lord.
Heb 4:12
For the word of God is
quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Rev 6:9
And when he had opened
the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of
them that were slain for the word of God, and for the
testimony which they held:
Man is made up of three parts spirit, soul, and body.
The spirit of man is supposed to be the ruler, to be
superior. The soul and body are to be servants to the
spirit. The body relates to self and the soul to the
world and the spirit to God. We are to cultivate our
spirit man, to walk in the spirit, be spiritual. The
soul man your mind will and emotions are to be
deprecated, we are not to be led by our soul, be
soullessness.
Hebrews 4:12;
separate the soul from the spirit. The verse does not
say that the Word severs the spirit from the soul but
the word of God divideth them. The point is simply that
the Word of God leaves nothing hidden; the word of God
revels mans total personality.
(James 1:23, 24 NLT)
For if you just listen
and don't obey, it is like looking at your face in a
mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance.
You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look
like.
(James 1:25 NLT)
But if you keep
looking steadily into God's perfect law--the law that
sets you free--and if you do what it says and don't
forget what you heard, then God will bless you for
doing it.
2 Cor 12:1 - 4
It is not expedient
for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and
revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ
above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I
cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot
tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third
heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the
body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God
knoweth;) How that he was caught up into
paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not
lawful for a man to utter.
The word Paradise is from the Persian language, meaning
"enclosure, garden, park’’ The early Greek translation
of the Old Testament used paradise for the Garden of
Eden of God.
Paradise is the resting place of righteous souls the
place where the departed righteous go at death. It is
the same place that the repentant thief went with Jesus
after the crucifixion. A Garden of Eden is
promised to the faithful. Paul humbly described
his own vision of paradise; he was caught up to the
third heaven.
Luke 16:19,21 - 26
There was a certain
rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen,
and fared sumptuously every day: And
desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the
rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked
his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar
died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's
bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments,
and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his
bosom. And he cried and said, Father
Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he
may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my
tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But
Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime
receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil
things: but now he is comforted, and thou art
tormented. And beside all this, between us and
you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which
would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they
pass to us, that would come from thence.
This parable has been thought to be based on a
real life history account of some men that lived in this
manner. The parable was give to convey some spiritual
truths about life now and hear after. The spirits
of the righteous enter a conscious state of blessedness
and the spirits of the unrighteous go into a state of
conscious torment. One man died and entered a condition
of blessedness. The other died and entered one of
misery. Both were presented by Jesus as entering their
future condition immediately following death. The
righteous are carried by angels to Abraham's bosom
referring to going to heaven at their death. To be
placed at some one bosom at a banquet is to be in the
place of honor.
John 1:18
No man hath seen God
at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the
bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Some believe that Abraham’s Bosom refers to a place
beneath the earth where all who died before Christ went
to be confined. Then at the resurrection of Jesus, He
took the righteous to Heaven with Him and since that
time all believers who die go straight to be with the
Lord and unbelievers go to the underworld, hell has been
expanded. So Paradise was moved from the underworld to
Heaven and before the resurrection no one went to
Heaven. This understanding has some problems, I do
believe that unbelievers go to the underworld, but I do
not believe that the righteous ever went there.
Lets look at some scriptures to see this.
Mount of Transfiguration
(Mat 17:1-3 KJV)
And after six days
Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and
bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was
transfigured before them: and his face did shine as
the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And,
behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias
talking with him.
We see the Lord taking Peter James and John up onto a
high mountain privately where He was transfigured before
them. Elijah and Moses both appeared next to the Lord
and were talking with Him. This present a problem with
paradise being in the underworld Moses and Elijah should
be in paradise, not with God. Elijah went up to Heaven
in a world wind; you may say he was exception for that
is a picture of the rapture. But we have Moses hear also
that is a problem, for he died and was burred. So he
should have been in Abraham’s Bosom confined.
Num 27:12,
13 And
the LORD said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount
Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the
children of Israel. And when thou hast seen it,
thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron
thy brother was gathered.
Deu 34:5, 6
So Moses the servant
of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according
to the word of the LORD. And he buried him
in a valley in the land of Moab, over against
Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto
this day.
Job 27:19-20
The rich man shall lie
down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his
eyes, and he is not. Terrors take hold on him as
waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.
The Spirit Shall Return Unto God Who Gave It
(Ecc 3:20, 21 KJV)
All go unto one place;
all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and
the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the
earth?
(Ecc 8:8 KJV)
There is no man that
hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit;
neither hath he power in the day of death: and there
is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness
deliver those that are given to it.
(Ecc 12:7 KJV)
Then shall the dust
return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall
return unto God who gave it.
The Book of Ecclesiastes gives several examples of the
spirit of man going to God at ones death. The body,
which is made of dust, returns to dust, the soul, or
spirit of man, returns to God. "the spirit of man that
goeth upward"
Put to death in the flesh quickened by the Spirit
1 Pet 3:18-20
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.
Some say, that Christ, upon his death, went in his human
soul to hell; hell is what is meant by prison, yet the
text does not say that he went to hell, but only that
the spirits were in hell, to which he sometimes went,
and preached. When did he preach to them?
God,
|
From angelfire.com The context of
this passage is speaking of encouragement to
believers to endure in the midst of suffering.
The suffering of Christ is seen in contrast to
the suffering of Christians who were to be ready
to give a defense for their hope. Our pattern is
Christ. We suffer, and He also suffered. His
suffering took place in the flesh (as does
ours). And His victorious resurrection took
place in the Spirit. It was through
this same Spirit that the proclamation was made
to those who lived in the days of Noah. Does
this mean that Christ went to make this
proclamation after His resurrection? No. It
simply means that the same Spirit that accounted
for the resurrection also accounted for the
preaching to these people in the days of Noah. Peter has already
spoken of the message of the Old Testament
prophets and how "the Spirit of Christ
within them was indicating as He predicted the
sufferings of Christ and the glories to
follow" (1 Peter 1:11). In the same way,
the Spirit of Christ was in Noah as HE (Noah)
"made proclamation to the spirits who are now
in prison."
To sum up: 1. Christ was made alive
by the Spirit. 2. It was this same Spirit
who also spoke through Noah to the people of the
world before the Flood. 3. Those people who
rejected the Spirit's preaching through Noah and
who died in the Flood are "now in prison." The implication is
that, if we will accept the Spirit's preaching
through Jesus and His apostles, then we can be
saved as Noah and his family were saved.
Otherwise we will find ourselves in prison, too. |
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1 Cor 6:20
For ye are bought with
a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in
your spirit, which are God's.
Hell Fire is Never
Quenched
Mark 9:43
And if thy hand offend
thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into
life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell,
into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Mat 5:29
And if thy right eye
offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for
it is profitable for thee that one of thy members
should perish, and not that thy whole body should be
cast into hell.
Mat 10:28
And fear not them
which kill the body, but are not able to kill the
soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy
both soul and body in hell.
Luke 12:4, 5
say unto you my
friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and
after that have no more that they can do.
But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him,
which after he hath killed hath power to cast into
hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Ezek 31:17, 18
They also went down
into hell with him unto them that be slain with the
sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under
his shadow in the midst of the heathen. To whom
art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the
trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the
trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou
shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them
that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all
his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
The Greek word that is used for hell is “Gehenna”;
Hades, when the bible refers to Hades or Sheol it is
referring to the same place. The word Sheol means the
place of the dead or the place of departed souls. The
word Hades means underworld, they refer to a place
beneath the earth where all wicked dead are confined of
all age’s.
The Greek word Gehenna comes from two words meaning
“valley of Hinnom”. It referred to a narrow valley on
the south side of Jerusalem where pagan deities were
worshiped. It became a garbage dump and a place of
abomination. A place where fires burned continually and
worms fed on dead bodies. The continual burning of
Gehenna gave a vivid image for the place of
torment. The language to describe hell is a
warning to those that live ungodly to repent before it
is too late.
The final abode of Satan and his angels is the lake of
fire along with all the wicked. The lake of fire is
mentioned only in the book of Revelation and it is the
final hell, the place of eternal punishment for all
unrepentant rebels, both angels and human.
James 3:1
My brethren, be not
many masters, knowing that we shall receive the
greater condemnation.
Luke 12:47, 48
And that servant,
which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself,
neither did according to his will, shall be beaten
with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did
commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with
few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him
shall be much required: and to whom men have committed
much, of him they will ask the more.
Guests are in the Depths of Hell
Prov 9:16 – 18
Whoso is simple, let
him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth
understanding, she saith to him, Stolen waters
are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is
pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are
there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
The Heavens opened
Acts 7:55 – 60
But he, being full of
the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and
saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right
hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens
opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand
of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice,
and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one
accord, And cast him out of the city, and
stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes
at a young man's feet, whose name was
Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling
upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a
loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.
And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Stephen saw Jesus in glory, standing beside the Father.
The fullness of the Spirit allowed Stephen not only to
speak but to see into heaven. In a moment, Stephen
was praying for his murderers, then he lay there dead,
his body laying there his spirit and soul was in the
presence of the Lord.
Rev 6:9
And when he had opened
the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of
them that were slain for the word of God, and for the
testimony which they held:
Eccl 12:7
Then shall the dust
return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall
return unto God who gave it.
Dust to Dust and Spirit to God
Gen 3:19
In the sweat of thy
face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the
ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou
art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed
man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living
soul.
Eccl 3:17 – 21
I said in mine heart,
God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for
there is a time there for every purpose and for every
work. I said in mine heart concerning the
estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest
them, and that they might see that they themselves are
beasts. For that which befalleth the sons of men
befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as
the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all
one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a
beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place;
all are of the dust, and all turn to dust
again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that
goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth
downward to the earth?
Eccl 12:7
Then shall the dust
return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall
return unto God who gave it.
Natural then
Spiritual
1 Cor 15:45 –
53 And
so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living
soul; the last Adam was made a quickening
spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is
spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward
that which is spiritual. The first man is of the
earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from
heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also
that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they
also that are heavenly. And as we have
borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the
image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren,
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of
God; neither doth corruption inherit
incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; We
shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality.
We are related now to Christ, not Adam, and when Christ
returns the dead in Christ will be raised and living
believers will be transformed with them. Then the glad
cry will ring out through the universe, “Death has been
swallowed up in victory!”
Bring With Him
1 Th 4:14
For if we believe that
Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which
sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
Dan 12:1 –
2 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the
great prince which standeth for the children of thy
people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as
never was since there was a nation even to that same
time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered,
every one 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.
The Redemption of our
Body
Rom 8:23
And not only they, but
ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the
Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves,
waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of
our body.
The entire creation has been affected by man’s sin
and is subject to decay. One day, we will be completely
redeemed, spirit, soul, and body.
Give up the Ghost and Gathered unto thy People
Gen 35:27 –
29 And
Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the
city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and
Isaac sojourned. And the days of Isaac were an
hundred and fourscore years. And Isaac
gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his
people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau
and Jacob buried him.
Gen 25:8
Then Abraham gave up
the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and
full of years; and was gathered to his people.
Gen 25:17
And these are the
years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty
and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died;
and was gathered unto his people.
Gen 49:29
And he charged them,
and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my
people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in
the field of Ephron the Hittite
Gen 49:33
And when Jacob had
made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his
feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was
gathered unto his people.
Num 27:12, 13
And the LORD said unto
Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the
land which I have given unto the children of
Israel. And when thou hast seen it, thou also
shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy
brother was gathered.
Deu 34:5,
6 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there
in the land of Moab, according to the word of the
LORD. And he buried him in a valley in the
land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man
knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.
Gathered to his people This beautiful image of death is
found often in the O.T. And it implies that death
is not the end, but that when a righteous man or woman
dies they are reunited with other righteous members of
their family.
The Portion of a Wicked
Man
Job 27:12 – 22
Behold, all ye
yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus
altogether vain? This is the portion of a
wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors,
which they shall receive of the Almighty. If his
children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his
offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and
his widows shall not weep. Though he heap up
silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the
clay; He may prepare it, but the just shall put
it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.
He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that
the keeper maketh. The rich man shall lie down,
but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and
he is not. Terrors take hold on him as waters, a
tempest stealeth him away in the night. The east
wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a
storm hurleth him out of his place. For God
shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee
out of his hand.
Gather not my Soul with
Sinners
Psa 26:8, 9
LORD, I have loved the
habitation of thy house, and the place where thine
honour dwelleth. Gather not my soul with
sinners, nor my life with bloody men:
Ezek 18:1 – 9
The word of the LORD
came unto me again, saying, What mean ye, that
ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel,
saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the
children's teeth are set on edge? As I
live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion
any more to use this proverb in Israel.
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father,
so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that
sinneth, it shall die. But if a man be
just, and do that which is lawful and
right, And hath not eaten upon the
mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the
idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his
neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a
menstruous woman, And hath not oppressed
any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath
spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the
hungry, and hath covered the naked with a
garment; He that hath not given forth upon
usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath
withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true
judgment between man and man, Hath walked in my
statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly;
he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.
Ezek 18:19 – 21
Yet say ye, Why? doth
not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the
son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath
kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall
surely live. The soul that sinneth,
it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of
the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity
of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall
be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be
upon him. But if the wicked will turn from
all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my
statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he
shall surely live, he shall not die.
Ezek 18:24
But when the righteous
turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth
iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations
that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his
righteousness that he hath done shall not be
mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed,
and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he
die.
Ezek 18:31,
32 Cast away from you all your transgressions,
whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart
and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of
Israel? For I have no pleasure in the
death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore
turn yourselves, and live ye.
Rom 8:10
And if Christ be in
you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit
is life because of righteousness.
Rom 8:13, 14
For if ye live after
the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit
do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall
live. For as many as are led by the Spirit
of God, they are the sons of God.
Absent from the Body Present with the Lord
2 Cor 5:1-8
we know that if our
earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we
have a building of God, an house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan,
earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house
which is from heaven: If so be that being
clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that
are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not
for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that
mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he
that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God,
who also hath given unto us the earnest of the
Spirit. Therefore we are always confident,
knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we
are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith,
not by sight:) We are confident, I say,
and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to
be present with the Lord.
James 2:26
For as the body
without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is
dead also.
Believers are in a battle between this world’s
life styli and living as being children of God.
This is a constant battle and heavy burden from the
flesh. We are burdened with the body of sin and many
corruptions that remain and rag within us. When a
believer dies he put of the flesh, the body and all of
its troubles here below. He takes off the garment of
flesh and puts on garments of praise and
righteousness. To be absent from the body through
death is for a believer to be at home with the Lord.
From the time of ones death and the return of Jesus is a
time of being with the Lord, this is not a time of soul
sleep, but the person is in the presence of Jesus.
Rev 7:9 After this I beheld, and,
lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of
all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues,
stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed
with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Change our Vile Body
Phil 3:20, 21
For our conversation
is in heaven; from whence also we look for the
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall
change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like
unto his glorious body, according to the working
whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto
himself.
1 Th 5:23
And the very God of
peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole
spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To him that overcome, the Tree of Life
Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To
him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of
life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Rev 22:2
In the midst of the
street of it, and on either side of the river, was
there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of
fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the
leaves of the tree were for the healing of the
nations.
Rev 21:10
And he carried me away
in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed
me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out
of heaven from God,
