Nisan 14 – 16 – Sunset Wednesday to Sunset, Saturday
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- Both Matthew and Mark record how all the disciples deserted Jesus and fled. (Matthew 26:56, Mark 14:50), but because of the Sabbath Laws regarding travel, they could not leave Jerusalem until sunset Saturday.
- It would have been according to Jewish tradition for them to go where Mary was, to comfort her in the death of her Son, but on the day of Jesus’ resurrection, John said the disciples were “together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews.” (Jn 20:19)
- In the Apostles Creed, we read: Jesus was:
- “Crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven,” and of course, that one statement has caused much debate over the years.
In 1 Peter 3:18-19, the Apostle wrote:
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- “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison.”
- According to Luke 16:19-32, during the three days Jesus was in the grave, He descended into the bosom of Abraham, proclaimed the gospel to those who had expressed their faith in God’s promise to send a Savior, and then He led them to heaven with Him when He ascended into the heavens.
The Apostle Paul affirmed that in Ephesians 4:8-10:
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- “When Jesus ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men. Now, this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things.”
- So, we have “spirits in prison,” and “souls in the bosom of Abraham,” and both are in the lower parts of the earth.
In the Old Testament, Sheol is the place of the souls of the dead, both righteous and wicked. In the New Testament, Hades is a place under the earth, with gates and bars and darkness, where no work is done, no wisdom exists, and no one praises God.
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- In Luke 16:19-31, “Hades” is described as a place with two compartments: Abraham’s bosom, where the angels carried Lazarus and, a place of eternal torment, where the rich man was tormented in the flames.
- The Bible says they are near to each other but separated by a great chasm.
- The Old Testament souls went to Sheol; the righteous went to the bosom of Abraham; the unrighteous went into eternal torment.
- While His body was buried in the earth, His spirit went to Hades to do two things:
- To proclaim to the fallen angels, the demon spirits, and those who died in unbelief that while He had triumphed over sin, death, and the grave, there was no second chance for them to be saved from God’s judgment.
- To liberate the souls of those Old Testament saints that believed in God’s promise to send a Savior, including Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, John the Baptist; even the thief on the cross, and when He ascended, He took them with Him to heaven.
When a person dies today, their physical bodies are returned to the dust from whence they came. However, because of the Lord’s resurrection, the soul of a believer no longer goes to Sheol or Hades to remain in soul-sleep until the day of the Great Resurrection.
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- According to 2 Corinthians 5:8, the soul of a believer is immediately transported into the presence of the Lord, but the soul of an unbeliever remains in Hades until the day of that final judgment when Hades gives up the dead who dwell there.
- After being judged according to their deeds, they will be thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20)
- Jesus’ body was in Joseph’s tomb for three days and three nights, but His soul was three days and three nights in the very heart of the earth, redeeming those who believed in God’s promise, without ever seeing it come to pass.
Join us tomorrow as we continue our journey “From Gethsemane to Golgotha to Glory!”