He Has Risen! - That You Might Live!

Hi to my Forum Friends,

Late last night, I received an e-mail from my good Friend, Jim Miller, asking, "Bill on another note. I wonder if you could do me a favor. I wanted to post something about Jesus' time between his death and resurrection. I know of 1 Peter 3:19 but was hoping you might know the passage or passages that speak more specifically about his descent and his proclamation of victory. I looked and looked but can't find what I was searching for. Of course, I wanted to post it today so you may not have time. Please don't go to a lot of trouble looking stuff up but if you can help just off the top of your head, please do so. Thanks Bill, Jim

Hi Jim, thank you for raising this question which is so important to us -- not only during this Easter week; but at all times. Jesus Christ came in human form, our Redeemer Kinsman, to "pay in full" our pardon and to make eternal salvation available to all who will, by grace, through faith in Him, believe and receive this free gift. When, on the cross of Calvary, He declared, "It is finished!" (John 19:30) -- His earthly work had been accomplished. His blood "paid in full" the sin debt for all mankind. All we have to do is to believe and receive this free gift from Him.

But, many will ask, how about all those who died before Jesus Christ came to atone for our sins -- how can they be saved? They are saved exactly the same way as you and I are saved: by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ. How, when He had not yet been born and died for us, could they be saved through Him. Hebrews 11 tells us of the great faith of those Old Testament saints; they believed in God and they trusted His promise to send their Messiah. Their faith was that their Messiah would come to save them -- and He did.

In Matthew 12:40, Jesus tells us, "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Many will say that this is wrong, or that Jesus did not die on Friday. Yet, we must keep in mind that the Jews of Jesus' day had a different way of reckoning the 24 hour day. To them, the day ended at dusk, 6:00 PM, and a new day began. Jesus died on Friday afternoon and was taken to the tomb. He descended into Hades on Friday (day one), was there Saturday (day two), and rose on Sunday morning (day three). To the Jews of His time; that represented three days and three nights.

What did He do during those three days?

1 Peter 3:18-20, "For 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; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water."

Pastor Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel, wrote in his commentary on 1 Peter:

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Jesus preached to the souls in prison. Now in the prophecy concerning Jesus, in Isaiah 61, says, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me; because the LORD has anointed me to preach the good tidings to the meek; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those that are bound" (Isaiah 61:1).

What is he talking about? The prison was death by which men were bound. They were held captive (by death). Jesus came to open the prison to those who are bound, or to open Hades for those people who were bound there, who died before Jesus died for our sins. So when He died, He descended into hell. And He preached to those souls that were in prison. And when He ascended out of hell, He brought with Him those who had been captive.

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In Ephesians 4:8-10, we read, ". . . 'When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.' Now this, 'He ascended' -- what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things."

In his commentary, Pastor Chuck, for clarity, has paraphrased this, "He who has ascended is the same one who first of all descended into the lower parts of the earth. And when He ascended, he led the captives from their captivity" (Ephesians 4:8-9).

And, he explains:

(In) Luke's Gospel, the sixteenth chapter, Jesus describes what hell was like prior to His death: Two compartments, no capacity for crossing from one to the other. One was a place of torment, the other was a place of comfort. Those who died in faith went to the place of comfort and were comforted by father Abraham. They are the ones to whom Jesus preached when He descended into hell. But "For You (God) will not leave My (Jesus) soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption" (Acts 2:27). But this same Jesus has God raised from the dead (Acts 3:15, 4:10).

And Matthew's Gospel, chapter twenty-seven, tells us that the graves of many of the saints were open and they were seen walking in the streets of Jerusalem after His resurrection from the dead. He led the captives from their captivity. So opening the prison.

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A popular television Prosperity Preacher erroneously teaches that Jesus Christ died and went into hell where Satan punished Him for three days. This is totally unBiblical and wrong; yet, this man bases it upon this Scripture passage: 1 Peter 3:18-19, "For 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; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison." According to him, Jesus Christ was in hell, in Torment, with all the other lost souls. Totally unBiblical -- and totally wrong.

So, what does this Scripture passage tell us? Yes, Jesus Christ died and went into Hades for three days -- and He preached to those in Hades. And, this passage does tell us that He preached to those who had once been disobedient in the time that Noah was building the ark. From Luke 16, we know there were two compartments in Hades at that time: One was Abraham's Bosom, Comfort, for those who died in faith -- the other was Torment, for those who died still following the world, the lost.

The Bible tells us He "made proclamation" -- in other words, preached. We can be sure that His preaching included two totally different messages: For those who died in faith, His proclamation would have been similar to the Bema Seat Judgment we will one day face -- a proclamation of our rewards in heaven. For those who died without God, His proclamation was surely similar to the Great White Throne Judgment which all those who are lost will face one day -- a proclamation of their eternal condemnation, self condemnation brought upon them by their continued rejection of God's mercy in Jesus Christ.

And, then, on the third day, Sunday, "He ascended, He led the captives from their captivity" (Ephesians 4:8-9). He took the Old Testament saints into heaven, where they are today. Jesus Christ hung a sign on the Abraham's Bosom side of Hades, "Closed. No Longer Needed. No Longer Occupied!"

Those Old Testament saints are in heaven today. When a Christian believer leaves this life -- he/she joins them in fellowship with Jesus Christ in heaven. One day, when the Rapture occurs -- we will all join them and we will all receive our glorified bodies so that we will be like Him. Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God, in His glorified human body -- and we will be like Him.

1 John 3:2, "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears (the Rapture), we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is."

This is a story of hope, of eternal security, eternal salvation -- for all Christian believers; Old Testament saints, New Testament saints, and the future Tribulation saints. We have an eternal home with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Blessed Assurance! Blessed Hope!

However, this is also a story of urgency, of the need, the desperate need -- for all of us who now believe -- to be sharing the Gospel of Salvation, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, diligently until He returns. Just imagine if your words, your deeds, bring even one soul into a life giving relationship with Jesus Christ -- imagine the great joy of meeting that brother or sister in heaven one day. In this life, we must celebrate our victory in Christ -- but, we must never be slack in telling the non-believer about Him and His love for them; of His desire to see everyone receive His "Paid In Full!" free gift of salvation.

Let that be your goal this Easter -- and all year long.

And, don't forget to share this message with your Friends, Relatives, Associates, and Neighbors -- all your FRANs. Today, do all you can to help one person make his/her reservations on the Glory Train.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill Gray