Between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection

[Tom Bryant]

It came up tonight at Bible study. What did Jesus do during the 3 days when His body was buried?

I have some ideas but was wondering what your thinking might be.

 

[EdSutton]

It came up tonight at Bible study. What did Jesus do during the 3 days when His body was buried?

I have some ideas but was wondering what your thinking might be.

Oh, I dunno. I think He preached a couple of sermons, kinda' on the order I posted almost 2 1/2 years ago, which I shall copy here. (Incidentally, that thread is still open for the benefit of Rippon.) [Wink!]

Here is almost exactly what I posted then (with a couple of Language Cop's spelling corrections).

The Lord did go to preach, after His crucifixion, to parts of Hades (or Sheol), the realm of the dead. And I shall take a lot of "poetic license" here :tongue3: , as to what He preached, but the essence is there.

He was in Paradise to await the 'thief on the cross', saying, "I AM here as I said I would be for you", and told him to not get settled in, too much, for it was only for a short time. He preached to the saints - to Abraham and Isaac, "I AM the Lamb God provided you on Mt. Moriah, in a figure; to Job, Naomi, Boaz, and Ruth, "I AM the goel - near kinsman redeemer - you saw coming to redeem you!", to Abraham, again, "I AM the one for whose day you awaited"; to Enoch, Elisha, and Elijah, "I AM the driver of the lead chariot!", to Moses, "I AM the one whose has the riches you awaited.", once again, to Abraham, "I am the builder of the city you looked for.", to Jacob, I AM the ladder you ascended, and I AM the one with whom you wrestled all night, and BTW, I notice that your limp is gone.", to Noah, "I AM the ark, and I AM the one who shut the door, keeping you and your family safe.", and to all. "I AM that I AM!", "I AM He who lived and was dead, and behold I AM alive forevermore!", and I AM here to tell you it's 'moving time', so get ready to move out!"

He preached to the angels from Noah's day, in Tartarus prison, saying, "I AM he who Lived and was dead, and behold, I AM alive forevermore." "I have overcome Satan, once and for all, and I AM here to tell you, 'Boys! It's all over, and if you think this is a bad place, hang in there, 'cause you ain't seen nuthin' yet!'" :tonofbricks:

I'm not sure Scripture ever tells us whether or not he ever directly preached to the lost, such as 'the rich man', in 'Torments', but Scripture does tell us that they could 'hear' across "the Great gulf fixed", so they were not missing a thing that was said.

When the three days were up, He, from Paradise said, "I AM leading my captivity captive, I AM taking this place with Me, to a place far better where this cannot even begin to compare, My Father's House, - all of you on this side of the great gulf fixed, here in "Abraham's Bosom", and we are leaving behind, those in torments there, and we're 'gonna' blow' this dump! I've got the keys to this joint, so "Awake!, you who sleep!" :sleeping_2: "Hit it Gabriel! Blow that trumpet!" :wavey: ""And we're outta' here!!!""

Hope you all enjoyed this 'account', "on account of" it's true!

Ed

 

[Marcia]

His body was in the grave; He was with the Father.

 

[OldRegular]

Oh, I dunno. I think He preached a couple of sermons, kinda' on the order I posted almost 2 1/2 years ago, which I shall copy here. (Incidentally, that thread is still open for the benefit of Rippon.) [Wink!]

Here is almost exactly what I posted then (with a couple of Language Cop's spelling corrections).Ed

Good fairy tale! I agree with Marcia, He was with the God the Father.

Luke 23:43. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

John Gill's exegesis:

Ver. 43. And Jesus said unto him, &c. Jesus immediately answered him, though he said not one word to the other that railed at him, or to the multitude that abused him; and promised him more than he asked for, and sooner than he expected.

Verily I say unto thee, today thou shall be with me in paradise; "in the garden of Eden"; not the earthly paradise, nor the church militant, but the future place, and state of the happiness of the saints, even heaven, and eternal glory, which the Jews frequently call by this name; see Gill on "2Co 12:4" and is so called, because, as the earthly paradise, or Eden's garden, was of God's planting, so is the heavenly glory of his providing and preparing: as that was a place of delight and pleasure, so here are pleasures for evermore; as there was a river in it, which added to the delightfulness and advantage of it, so here runs the river of God's love, the streams whereof make glad the saints now, and will be a broad river to swim in to all eternity: as there were the tree of life, with a variety of other trees, both for delight and profit, so here, besides Christ, the tree of life, which stands in the midst of it, are an innumerable company of angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect: and as the inhabitants of that garden were pure and innocent creatures, so into this paradise shall nothing enter but what is righteous, pure, and holy: and whereas the principal enjoyment of man in Eden was conversation with God, and communion with him, the glory of the heavenly paradise will lie in fellowship with God, Father, Son, and Spirit, in beholding the face of God, and seeing him as he is: and this is the happiness promised by Christ to the penitent and believing thief, that he should be here; and not only so, but with him here, which is far better than being in this world, and than which nothing can be more desirable: and which, when enjoyed, will be for ever: and this he was to enter upon that very day; which shows, that Christ's soul did not descend into hell, locally and literally considered, or into the "Limbus Patrum", the Papists talk of, to fetch the souls of the patriarchs thence, but as soon as it was separated from the body was taken up into heaven; and also, that the souls of departed saints are immediately, upon their separation from the body, there; which was the case of this wonderful instance of the grace of God; and shows the swiftness of the soul, or the velocity of angels in conveying it thither immediately: and this agrees with the sense of the Jews, who say {b}, that

``the souls of the fathers, or patriarchs have rest, and in
a moment, immediately enter into their separate places, or
apartments, and not as the rest of the souls; of whom it
is said, all the twelve months the soul ascends and
descends, (goes to and fro,) but the souls of the fathers,
"immediately, upon their separation", return to
God that gave them.''

Some would remove the stop, and place it after "today", and read the words thus, "I say unto thee today"; as if Christ only signified the time when he said this, and not when the thief should be with him in paradise; which, besides it being senseless, and impertinent, and only contrived to serve an hypothesis, is not agreeably to Christ's usual way of speaking, and contrary to all copies and versions.

 

[Allan]

It came up tonight at Bible study. What did Jesus do during the 3 days when His body was buried?

I have some ideas but was wondering what your thinking might be.

Study out what the terms "Sheol" and "hadies' mean. They do not just mean grave and never have. The embody both the physical place where the body lays, as well as the spiritual abode where the soul dwells in the afterlife. Now here is the interesting part, both are always describe as the person 'decending' into ... and never ascending. Even Jesus stated that He had not yet 'ascended to the Father', and though I do agree that this is in reference to the woman wishing to cling to him and not let him leave again we must also deal with the fact of Jesus own words, that being "He has not yet ascended to the Father".

 

[Tater77]

Luke 16:

22"Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.

23"In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.


This is about the most information we have on Hades/Sheol being an afterlife. Is this parable of Christ just that or literal? By the way, Jews still believe they will go to Abrahams Bosom to await resurrection. So there might be something to it.

 

[Allan]

Luke 16:

22"Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.

23"In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.


This is about the most information we have on Hades/Sheol being an afterlife. Is this parable of Christ just that or literal? By the way, Jews still believe they will go to Abrahams Bosom to await resurrection. So there might be something to it.

Actaully there is much more but this portion of scripture personifies the argument better and is localized to a single point of reference.

Just a Note: Many who hold that Christ went to the Father, also hold to a particular place that the OT saints were held in till His coming and then they would ascend to the Father, then you have those who don't but believe even the OT saints were in heaven.

A problem I see with the latter is that their sins were not removed, only covered according to Hebrews. Thus you have a picture of a a very muddy person having placed upon them a white full-length white coat (fur, for those more exotic ) over the top of their filth (never removing it only hiding it). Can this stand before Holiness and justice? No. The maring must be removed or the object itself must be destroyed.

But the point being debated isn't man but Jesus and since Jesus Christ was sinless and paid for our debt on the cross did he go down into sheol or go up to be with the Father?

 

[Tom Bryant]

Does the Ephesians 4:7-10 passage have anything to do with this?
"But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." 9 (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)"

 

[Tater77]

There is more on Sheol yes in the OT. This is all I could find while drinking my first cup of coffee :laugh: .

I am currently trying to get everything straight for myself as to the differing word use of Sheol, Hades and Gehenna and also the Lake of Fire. My growing up on the KJV, I only saw Heaven and Hell in the text. Once I moved to an NASB last year I was pretty confused by sheol and hades.


Here are some verses I know of that show some information on the question.

1 Peter 3:18-20 (New American Standard Bible)

18For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

19in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,

20who 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 water.

Where is the prison? This in the only place where Tartarus or Tartaroo is used in the Greek. Could also actually refer to Hell but describing a strict punishment therein. Where ever it is, Christ went there.

1 Peter 4:6 (New American Standard Bible)

6For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.

Preached to the dead, where? Hades, Hell, Sheol ? Are these three places or 1 place that serves three purposes?

Also what is the concept of Abraham's Bosom? If Lazurus was good and died and went to the same place as Abraham how could he actually see and speak to the rich man being tormented? Or was this just a parable with only a meaning? But why name someone and say " a certain" rich man? Christ used rather specific terms.

I know that Christ descended somewhere but I still have a little trouble understanding where that is also.

I hope I'm helping somewhat by asking some specific questions. :thumbs:

 

[rjprince]

Oh, I dunno. I think He preached a couple of sermons, kinda' on the order I posted almost 2 1/2 years ago, which I shall copy here.

Ed

Very good. Very thorough. AMEN! Just like the book says.

 

[thegospelgeek]

His body was in the grave; He was with the Father.

What about when he said that he had not yet ascended?

 

[Marcia]

What about when he said that he had not yet ascended?

I think that meant he had not yet ascended bodily. The bodily ascension is the all-important one because it was shown visibly and foreshadows believers having their bodies in heaven one day (though not right after death).

 

[thegospelgeek]

I think that meant he had not yet ascended bodily. The bodily ascension is the all-important one because it was shown visibly and foreshadows believers having their bodies in heaven one day (though not right after death).

Thanks for explaining. I've heard people that hold to your stance and I always wondered how they reconciled that. Makes sense.

 

[Marcia]

Here are some verses I know of that show some information on the question.

1 Peter 3:18-20 (New American Standard Bible)

18For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

19in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,

20who 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 water.

Where is the prison? This in the only place where Tartarus or Tartaroo is used in the Greek. Could also actually refer to Hell but describing a strict punishment therein. Where ever it is, Christ went there.

1 Peter 4:6 (New American Standard Bible)

6For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.

Preached to the dead, where? Hades, Hell, Sheol ? Are these three places or 1 place that serves three purposes?

Also what is the concept of Abraham's Bosom? If Lazurus was good and died and went to the same place as Abraham how could he actually see and speak to the rich man being tormented? Or was this just a parable with only a meaning? But why name someone and say " a certain" rich man? Christ used rather specific terms.

I know that Christ descended somewhere but I still have a little trouble understanding where that is also.

I hope I'm helping somewhat by asking some specific questions. :thumbs:

Hi, Tater! Many believe that the reference to Christ having descended refers to the incarnation - descending from heaven to earth -- and/or his body going into the grave after the crucifixion.

Also, although the view above about Jesus descending to Sheol is one view, another very popular view is that this passage in 1 Peter is about the Spirit of Christ speaking through Noah when Noah was warning the wicked before the Flood.

Comment from the NET Bible:

And preached to the spirits in prison. The meaning of this preaching and the spirits to whom he preached are much debated. It is commonly understood to be: (1) Christ’s announcement of his victory over evil to the fallen angels who await judgment for their role in leading the Noahic generation into sin; this proclamation occurred sometime between Christ’s death and ascension; or (2) Christ’s preaching of repentance through Noah to the unrighteous humans, now dead and confined in hell, who lived in the days of Noah. The latter is preferred because of the temporal indications in v. 20a and the wider argument of the book. These verses encourage Christians to stand for righteousness and try to influence their contemporaries for the gospel in spite of the suffering that may come to them. All who identify with them and their Savior will be saved from the coming judgment, just as in Noah’s day.

I agree with the 2nd view, as does the NET Bible. My pastor also takes this view - he's preached on this a few times and has given 4 views, I think, of this passage.

 

[Allan]

There is more on Sheol yes in the OT. This is all I could find while drinking my first cup of coffee :laugh: .

I am currently trying to get everything straight for myself as to the differing word use of Sheol, Hades and Gehenna and also the Lake of Fire. My growing up on the KJV, I only saw Heaven and Hell in the text. Once I moved to an NASB last year I was pretty confused by sheol and hades.

Sheol and Hades are two different words but one and the same place which was understood in that time period as the "place of the dead" or also known as the spiritual 'underworld'. It is a place where all the dead people (living spirits) go and it is comprised of mainly two types of compartments. One is the good and the other the wicked, the godly and the ungodly. Here is something I posted a while back when Marcia and I were discussing this very same thing:

...snip...Here is an article by Bob L. Ross - The Reality of Hell. He goes into much detail about the meaning and defintion about sheol and hades:

What Do These Words Mean?
I. The Hebrew word “Sheol” is translated as follows:

“Hell” —31 times, as in Psalm 9:17, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”

“Grave” —31 times, as in Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”

“Pit” —3 times, as in Job 17:16, “They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.”

But actually, the Hebrew word “Sheol” does not mean either “Hell,” “grave,” or “pit.” It means “the unseen world” or “the place of departed spirits.” Notice how it is defined:

Strong's Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary says “Sheol” is “the world of the dead.”
Young's Analytical Concordance says that “Sheol” is “the unseen state.”
Smiths Bible Dictionary says that “Sheol” is “always the abode of departed spirits.”
Fausset's Bible Dictionary and Encyclopedia says that “Sheol” is “the common receptacle of the dead.”

So Sheol does not strictly refer to Hell, but to the place of departed spirits, irrespective of whether saved or lost. Sheol is simply a term meaning “the state of the dead in general, without any restriction of happiness or misery” (Smith). In many instances where the word is used, however, the reference is clearly to that compartment of Sheol where the wicked are punished. For example, Psalm 9:17, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”

II. “Hades” is the Greek word in the New Testament which corresponds to “Sheol” and is translated as follows:

“Hell” —10 times, as in Matthew 11:23, “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.”

“Grave” —1 time, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (I Cor 15:55).

But “Hades,” like Sheol, does not strictly or exclusively refer to Hell. “Hades” is the corresponding Greek word to the Hebrew word “Sheol,” and both have the same meaning.

Strong's Greek Dictionary of the New Testament says that “Hades” is “the place [state] of departed souls.”
Young's Concordance says “the unseen world.”
A.T. Robertson, world-renowned as a Greek scholar says “Hades is technically the unseen world, the Hebrew Sheol, the land of the departed” ( Word Pictures ).

The reader is urged to read Luke 16:19-31, where a perfect illustration of Sheol (Hades) is given. This passage draws back the curtain and lets us have a look into both sides of “the land of the departed.”

III. “Gehenna” or “the Gehenna of fire,” is the Greek word that strictly means Hell. It is never translated by any word but “Hell,” and eleven of the twelve times the word is used, it is used by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Here are a list of the passages in which the word “Gehenna” appears: Matthew 5:22,29,30, 10:28, 18:9, 23:15, 23:33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5; James 3:6.

The word “Gehenna” is of Hebrew origin derived from “valley” and “Hinnom.” “Gehenna is the Valley of Hinnom where the fire burned continually” (A.T. Robertson). The Valley of Hinnom was a place near Jerusalem where Ahaz introduced the worship of fire gods, the sun, Baal and Moloch. The Jews under ungodly Manasseh offered their children as burnt offerings in this idolatrous worship (Jer 7:31). This cruel worship was finally abolished, and later Josiah made the place a receptacle of dead carcasses and the bodies of malefactors (criminals), in which worms were continually gendering. A perpetual fire was kept to consume the putrifying matter. The place was still in existence at the time of Christ, and the Saviour illustrated somewhat the condition in eternity, in “the Gehenna of fire,” by reference to this valley.

The Lord Jesus referred to Hell as the “Gehenna of fire,” into which “both body and soul” will be cast. He said that it is “unquenchable fire” and that “the worm [man] dieth not” in the flame, just as the three Hebrew children of Daniel's day did not die when cast into the fiery furnace (Dan 3).

Hell is no myth as infidels, Russellites, Universalists, and Modernists would have you believe. Christ did not warn of Hell simply to scare men. He warned of Hell because it is a reality!

IV. “Tartarus,” the fourth word translated “Hell,” is used only once in the New Testament (II Peter 2:4).

Strong's Greek Dictionary of the New Testament says that “Tartarus” is “the deepest abyss of Hades,” and that the word means “to incarcerate [imprison] in eternal torment.”
A.T. Robertson says: “The dark and doleful abode of the wicked dead like the Gehenna of the Jews.”
Fausset's Dictionary: “The 'deep' or 'abyss' or 'bottomless pit.'“ So this word strictly refers to the place where the unsaved are confined in Divine judgment.

From what I can see, Sheol and Hades are not synonamous with the grave alone(though it does incorporate this at times as a full picture) but more so with the place where all the spirits went. And it appears that men such as Strongs, A.T.Robertson, Fauseet, and even Young agree with it's primary meaning as the author shows. I actaully have all of these (except for Young's) and this is what I see them stating as well.

However, A.T. Robertson has a unique view of Hades/Sheol in that both Heaven and Hell are there. IOW - Sheol/Hades are terms for the spiritual world in which both Heaven and Hell are apart. Robertson even quotes Page in stating "Death and Hades are strictly parallel terms, he who is dead is in Hades". They are terms used interchangably. However this view does cause one small problem in understanding of his position. Scritpure states that Jesus 'decended' to hades (place of the dead) and if it were heaven then this places heaven in a place where He does not have to 'ascend' to.

Here are some verses I know of that show some information on the question.

1 Peter 3:18-20 (New American Standard Bible)

18For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

19in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,

20who 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 water.

Where is the prison? This in the only place where Tartarus or Tartaroo is used in the Greek. Could also actually refer to Hell but describing a strict punishment therein. Where ever it is, Christ went there.

What you give here is the same as those Greek scholars listed above have stated as shown again below:

IV. “Tartarus,” the fourth word translated “Hell,” is used only once in the New Testament (II Peter 2:4).

Strong's Greek Dictionary of the New Testament says that “Tartarus” is “the deepest abyss of Hades,” and that the word means “to incarcerate [imprison] in eternal torment.”
A.T. Robertson says: “The dark and doleful abode of the wicked dead like the Gehenna of the Jews.”
Fausset's Dictionary: “The 'deep' or 'abyss' or 'bottomless pit.'“ So this word strictly refers to the place where the unsaved are confined in Divine judgment.

1 Peter 4:6 (New American Standard Bible)

6For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.

This one is actually speaking of those whom the Gospel was preached to 'and are now dead'. The judgment being refered to here was the physical death all men have a part in (even believers) but though dead in the flesh they are alive in the spirit as God intended. Otherwise if you take the above to mean 'the dead in hell' what you have is those who died in sin and without faith, having a second chance to be saved after they died to be saved.

.. where? Hades, Hell, Sheol ? Are these three places or 1 place that serves three purposes?

Yes, they are all one and the same place. We typically think of hell as it is now. One place with one compartment and that is where the sinners go awaiting their judgment from the Throne.

 

[Allan]

Also what is the concept of Abraham's Bosom? If Lazurus was good and died and went to the same place as Abraham how could he actually see and speak to the rich man being tormented? Or was this just a parable with only a meaning? But why name someone and say " a certain" rich man? Christ used rather specific terms.

IF it was a parable it was the ONLY parable in which Jesus used names and not just an imaginary name but the name of a known person, one who had died and come back.

Is Abraham's bosom a metophor for God? No it can not be. Where else can or do we see such a usage in scripture for such a claim find settlement? Answer: nowhere. It could also be asked; Is Abraham also a metaphor for God because the rich man was pleading with Abraham for any mercy that could be given. The rich man was a Jew and cried out his 'father' Abraham, and by doing this he was trying to establish a line of natural dencent whereby Abraham would be bound by law to help. Abraham even acknowledges this claim by calling him 'son' but Abraham gave no rebuke or judgment but simply restated what has already transpired. (paraphrase - you got what you sought after and Lazarus got what he was seeking after) but besides this there is also a great gulf.. IOW - even if someone desired to it is still impossible to grant such a request.

When people died, did they go to be with Abraham?
That is what Jesus stated. Since Abraham is called the father of [our] faith the rendering here would only make sense to epitamize the meaning of Lazarus being a child of God. Why? Because we can assume from culture and the Law that the rich man was also a Jew and therefore IF salvation was according to the flesh then both Lazarus and the rich man would have been together. However we see Lazarus being with Abraham who was saved (declared righteous) by faith but the rich man was not with Abraham but seperated from him in a place that was reserved for those NOT of God or better God's children. This is why the rich man appealed to Abraham (not God) as being one of his children or natural decendants.


Here is something else to ponder when considering even the word "paradise" such as when Jesus told the thief on the cross "this day you shall be with me in paradise" (but he did not say specifically Abrahams bosom).
We actaully find that the word 'paradise' is used only in conjunction with where God's people are at rest. Such as - The Garden of Eden, the abode of saints in hades/sheol, and finally with God Himself in glory. Why do I say the "Garden of Eden" Because 'paradise' can and does refer to and mean a 'garden'. The Garden was a place of peace and rest but Adam and Eve were tossed out, why? Sin.

Sheol/Hades - This particular aspect regarding the previous place of the OT saints is in like manner, is a place of peace and rest. Yet those saints, while at rest, are also still awaiting their true redemption/redeemer in whom they have placed their trust. These OT saints are accounted as righteous by faith but were still retaining their sins under the covering of animal blood till the True and Eternal Lamb is slain and so while still having their sins remain could not yet come into God's glory and holiness. The book of Hebrews states their sins remained because the blood of animals can not 'remove' sin but only cover it up for a time. And after the death and resurrection of Christ there is/was no more need for this place because all men could rightously and legally be with and before God the Father in which they have abtained their rest and peace. They could now enter into their promised rest which was only to be found in Christ Jesus and this could only be fulfilled at His death and resurrection. So then is Pauls statement about paradise being in the 'Third Heaven' also correct because that is where it now is - the promised place of rest and peace of God's people (at least till we get our new bodies.

 

[TCGreek]

What do we do with 1 Pet 3:18-19?

Isn't Scripture clear on the issue?

 

[Allan]

What do we do with 1 Pet 3:18-19?

Isn't Scripture clear on the issue?

Is this to me?? (I'm think I'm being slightly paranoid here but oh well)
Or, is this addressing the OP?

 

[Tater77]

OK, so the impression I'm getting is that the OT saints and faithful since the beginning had not yet ascended to Heaven but were awaiting the resurrection in a safe area of Hades/Sheol. Christ came and emptied it out and brought them to Heaven and that place no longer exists.

Is this correct?

 

[TCGreek]

Is this to me?? (I'm think I'm being slightly paranoid here but oh well)
Or, is this addressing the OP?

To the OP. But to anyone, my friend. :thumbs: