We say in the Apostles’ Creed: “… He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.”

Jesus said, in John 14:2, 3 “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

We are assured that after this life there is a life beyond. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins that we might be restored to the Father, redeemed and forgiven, children of God and heirs of a coming kingdom. Life beyond the grave is eternal and it is to be lived in the presence of Jesus. But as we pass from this life into the next is our attention directly exclusively upon Paradise and then Heaven? It is said in the Bible, what soever you sow in this life you will reap in the life to come. There is a close connection between this life and the next. What we are in our spirit today is formed by our experiences of the past. These thoughts live within us and we cannot be severed from them. Our spirit lives in the past by recollection just as it lives in the present by consciousness, in the future by hope. So it stands to reason the spirit in the future world—just as in this—must stand in unison with the past.

If at death, all of our past were removed from remembrance we would be made into a new creature, rather than as a being who has had a previous life and history. If this world and life is the soul and spirit’s time of probation, and if the future life were merely its reward, then it stands that we must be conscious of the reason of that reward. There is no reason to receive a recompense of service performed in this life if we are not conscious of the service we performed. In other words, when we stand before Christ, how can a reward be given to us for what we have done in this life (as Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 5:10) if we become unaware of what we did?

John Henry Stilling (who, in truth, was not always sound in his theology) had this to say about the departed:

“Many suppose a certain kind of continuance of their thinking faculties after death, but do not believe that with these faculties they will remember their earthly existence.  They dream of an existence that is entirely new, which is better than the present, but upon which this life has no influence, and with which it has no connection.  This whole idea amounts to just the same as entire annihilation at death; for if I cannot recollect this life—its fortunes and misfortunes, my wife and children, my friends, my weaknesses and my good deeds—in short, nothing at all, then I am no more the same I, no more the same person, but I will be a being entirely new!  The Lord in mercy preserve us from such a future state!  But thanks to his name forever, that the Bible, and the common sense and feeling of men in all ages and in all places, teach directly the contrary.”

Jesus gave us a parable (Luke chapter 26) which can presume is related to a real life event, since it is the only one of his parables that contains the name of the main characters involved. The rich man, when he calls out in torment to father Abraham for mercy, he was summoned to remember that in his lifetime he had received good things, while Lazarus received only evil. Additionally, Jesus tells us that the rich man remembered his five brothers who were still live upon earth, and that they were eternally in danger. In order to remember that fact, the rich man must have remembered the experiences of the brother; their conduct and God’s displeasure. We might also reasonably assume that memory in the afterlife becomes more vivid.

Scripture further reminds us that the departed remember the earth. Referring to Matthew 25:34 we recall that at the Final Judgment (the Judgment Seat of Christ) Christ reminds the departed righteous on his right hand of the loving deeds they performed on his behalf on earth. Why would Christ remind them of good performed on earth if all memory is erased?

In the final judgment, the actions of both the righteous and the condemned will be brought to consciousness. Psalm 63:1l says of the wicked, “for the mouths of liars will be stopped.” All memory must pass before Christ. The condemned will stand before Christ speechless. How can an account of our actions be given if there is no recollection, and how could the departed sense praise or condemnation without remembrance of this life? Paul expected to rejoice in the presence of Christ in the afterlife. He said to the church at Thessalonica, “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?” (1 Thessalonians 2:19). And the apostle John also wrote in Revelation chapter 6 about his vision of heaven, “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.” (Revelation 6:9). And then in verse 10, we learn that they remembered the earth when they cried out, “How long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” And also in Revelation 5:9 the redeemed sing a song of remembrance of Christ, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” They recall the condemned condition out of which they were saved. They recall his death and the people upon the earth. So long as they have memory of these things they are capable of adoring Jesus. And since we will adore Jesus in the afterlife, we must continue to remember what he did for us upon the earth.

But what now of the saints who have gone before us? Are they conscious of us here on earth? Do they have a love for us still? The answer to both of these questions is yes. And that is because of the nature of love when it is in its purest state. Pure love cannot die; it cannot be interrupted. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:8, “Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.”

Solomon said in Song of Solomon 8:6, 7, “love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.” Love cannot be ended by death. It lives on in purity. The elevation of our spirit at death can only enhance it, and perfect it. Though a loved one depart this life before the other, the cord which unites them cannot be broken. And if there is love beyond the grave, we may further believe that the departed are interested in us. If the rich man in Sheol showed love and concern for his five brothers, how much more can we be assured that the saints are concerned for us on earth.

The ancient church believed this to be true. We recipe in the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in the communion of saints.” Cyprian, and early church father, said to his church in Carthage, when he sought to encourage them when facing the death of many brethren through disease, “Why hasten we not to see our country, to salute our parents? There is a vast multitude of them that are dear to us, await our arrival: a multitude of parents, brethren and children, who are now secure in their own salvation, and anxious only about ours.” Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

From Abel to Abraham; from Abraham to Malachi; from Christ to John, and from John till now, what a mighty stream of the Lord’s saints have been sweeping onwards from among every kindred and tongue and nation underHeaven! And they will all be there. What a mighty gathering of patriarchs and prophets, apostles and evangelists, martyrs and confessors of the faith we will behold when we get to Sheol and beyond. And what mighty volumes of praise will roll upwards from that vast throng, to the throne of God!

There we will see crowds from the poor and despised of earth — those who slept upon dirt, dwelt in miserable hovels who day by day ate the bread of poverty, and by night watered their couch with tears, but whose sins were washed away in the ocean of the Redeemer’s blood — their hearts steadfast with God. There we will see the afflicted and distressed, though no longer sick; the forlorn and the friendless; the despised and the outcast — men and women who waded through the waters and forced their way through the fires to reach their crown, or who endured the
biting pangs of want, rather than accept the glittering wages of sin.

Reverend Dr. John James said, “It is no dreaming fantasy to expect, that in another world we shall preserve our identity—shall know and be known even as in this. Let the mourner in Zion continue “patient in well-doing;” “looking for and hasting to the coming of the Lord,” when shall
begin the reunion of kindred spirits, whom in this world death had separated. Parent to child, sister to brother, husband to wife, friend to friend, shall then be restored-a blessed communion of
saints, whom nor sin nor sorrow shall sever more.”

Bishop Dr. M. Simpson said, “What a meeting on the other shore! If we could see there this morning how our hearts would enlarge. Multitudes around the throne to day. I am charmed with that thought, There’s a central figure I am more charmed with — the Man on the Throne. His king dom shall triumph over all. The time will come when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. I think of the men gone before — fathers, mothers, little children that cloud up yonder. I think I can see them . Oh, there is a cloud of witnesses. I urge on my way, run my race, ever looking to Jesus, who is alone the finisher of faith . Oh, may this audience all follow Jesus and be a part of that grand gathering that shall meet on that other shore!”

D.L. Moody said, “If there is anything that ought to make heaven near to Christians, it is knowing that God and all their loved ones will be there. What is it that makes home so attractive? Is it because we have aa beautiful home? Is it because we have beautiful lawns? Is it because we have beautiful trees around that home? Is it because we have beautiful paintings upon the walls inside? Is it because we have beautiful furniture? Is that all that makes home so attractive and so beautiful? Nay, it is the loved ones in it; it is the loved ones there.”

In the last chapter we clarified why we can have confidence in believing that Jesus in fact descended into “hell” (Sheol) as the early church consistently believed. Now we will precede to understand why it was important for Jesus to descend between the moment of his death and his resurrection from the dead on the third day and ascent into heaven. In the interest of understanding that importance we need to take a look at couple of things. First, we need to understand the meaning of the phrase that is repeated in the Apostles’ Creed: “He descended into hell.” The original text would have been written in Latin and says descendit ad inferos, which literally means “he descended into the lower places.” Hell was not to infer gehenna, the place of torment. It would have only meant to descend into the realm of the dead. Furthermore, the Christian scholar Philip Schaff wrote, “The simple doctrinal statements within this creed are clear and concise, and their meaning cannot be misconstrued.” The words surrounding the descent of Christ, are often misconstrued — that is to say, there are numerous interpretations of what they mean, with some (as we have previously discussed) believing the words should not appear at all in the Creed.

One of the text of Scripture that perplexes scholars about what Christ was doing when he descended into the lower depths is 1 Peter 3:15–18, which reads, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.” Some commentators interpret these passages to mean that Jesus went to preach to those humans who died and went to the lower depths (or sheol). If Jesus in fact did go to preach to those who were confined in Sheol it would imply that Peter was affirming that Jesus was providing a second chance for salvation.

We have to also ask what the mention of Noah have to do with Jesus’ descent? Was Jesus gone to preach specifically to those who lost their lives in the Great Flood? Again, the Bible teaches that there is no opportunity for repentance after death. Hebrews 10:26, 27 read — “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.”

How do we reconcile these passages? One explanation is that he descended to preach the truth, to announce that he had made it possible to save the human race from destruction. He had won the battle against death and sin and had successfully provided redemption. But to whom was he going in order to proclaim this truth? Christ uttered on the cross, “it is finished” (John 19:30), meaning in part that

2 Peter 2:4, 5 and 9, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; … then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.” It is speculative, but a good number of scholars agree that these who are imprisoned in darkness are the fallen angels (sons of God) mentioned in Genesis 6:1–6 who were those who resided on the earth at the time of the Great Flood and then became imprisoned by God, and also is the view of some Jewish literature. Nevertheless, there remains in theological circles to this day great debate and speculation over why Jesus descended into Hell (Sheol/Hades). The commentators have always differed greatly as to the actual meaning of 1 Peter 3:19–22.

Where do we find the earliest interpretations of 1 Peter 3:19 (“in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison”). The Descent dogma of the Christian Church has wide and intricate connections. In the literature of the Ancient Church and later times, we are given the impression that in so far as this dogma supposes there are three main types of activity which occurs in the underworld that can be distinguished in the writings: (1) that Christ subdues Hell by violence, (2) that he sets free the dead or some of the dead from the power of Hell, and (3) that he proclaims a message for the dead in general, or for certain dead people. From the early second century on, Peter was widely regarded as referring to Christ’s descent into Hades (Sheol) in order that he might (1) share fully the fate of humanity, (2) conquer death or Hates (or both), (3) rescue the righteous dead, and/or (4) proclaim salvation to the dead.

Still, we must come to a conclusion why Peter thought it important to place these verses on Christ’s descent into the underworld important in an epistle which is otherwise a pastoral letter. Jesus’ descent into hell and subsequent resurrection were commonly associated with two themes, the overthrow of evil powers or angels and the liberation of the righteous Jewish saints. In order to understand why the two ideas actually go hand-in-hand we need to remember what we mean when we refer to Christ descending into “hell.” We are not referring to the permeant location known as Gehenna. That is a place referred to as one of eternal punishment received by the unbelievers in the world (and underworld) upon the final judgment. Since the early days of the Christian church, it has been widely assumed that there is a place of woe to which the wicked dead descent to. There are four words in the original language of the Scriptures which are all translated “hell” in the English. In the Old Testament, one of the words, Sheol, was suggestive of a place of final darkness. In this present age, it has been concluded by learned scholars that three of the words — Sheol, Hades and Tartarus — do not mean such a place. And while conceding these words, they are positive that Gehenna does not have such a meaning.

Not all contemporary theologians are on the same page with Church history, however. Joe Rigley, President of Bethlehem College and Seminary suggests an unusual explanation of Christ’s descent. In a published article, neglecting the majority of history, he claims that after Christ’s resurrection, he ascends to heaven and brings the ransomed dead with him, so that now paradise is no longer down near the place of torment, but is up in the third heaven, the highest heaven, where God dwells. He continues stating that now, in the church age, when the righteous die, they aren’t merely carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom; they depart to be with Christ, which is far better (assuming Philippians 1:23). The wicked, however, remain in Hades in torment, until the final judgment, when Hades gives up the dead who dwell there, and they are judged according to their deeds, and then Death and Hades are thrown into hell, into the lake of fire (assuming Revelation 20:13–15).

In Revelation 1:18 we read, “I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” When the Son of God came to dwell on earth he ushered-in a new era in time. Paul suggests that in his writings. For example, in 2 Corinthians 5:17, he writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. Death was always a part of the condition of sin. Life was granted to the Jew who was righteous before God. In the New Testament, “the new has come.” Righteousness and forgiveness of sin is achieved through Christ imputing righteousness and forgiveness to us simply by mercy and grace — nothing performed by us. Sin is expiated on our behalf.

Paul says in Colossians 1:15–19, that Christ “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” In the fullness of God he also was fully man. When he died, like any other human, his soul departed from his body. Where do souls go when they depart from the body? They go to Sheol (or Hades). For the believer it is a descent into Paradise. For the unbeliever it is a descent into darkness and torment — but not a final place of torment; that occurs after the final judgment when they are eternally cast into Gehenna. In my book, With Me In Paradise, I articulate how Sheol is divided into two sections, one section for the believer, and one section for the unbeliever. No one can cross over to the other side. 1 Peter 3:18–20 says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.”

At the time of Christ’s death and the descent of his soul to the underworld, the unrighteous who were in torment are symbolized by those who died in the Great Flood — the Sons of God, fallen angels, the Nephilim (as described in Genesis 6:4). On the other side of Sheol were the righteous Jews of the Old Testament, symbolized by the eight who were saved inn the ark (brought safely through the waters. 1 Perter 3:19 says that Christ went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison. The word prison (Greek, phulake) does not necessarily mean locked behind iron doors. In the Greek it can also mean “watch.” Those contained there are watching, unable to leave until the appointed time. The saints in Revelation 6:10,11 are depicted in Hades waiting, “watching,” and “They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.”

Just like the saints of the New Testament who died and are in Hades waiting for the full restoration of body and soul at Christ’s appearing, the Old Testament saints were waiting and watching as well for their full adoption with the adorning of a new resurrected body. On the other side of Sheol, the fallen were waiting as well as one condemned to eternal damnation and waiting, watching, for appointed time. Christ’s spirit descended, and declared that he had the authority over the keys to Death and Hades — over those eternally damned and those who resided in Paradise awaiting resurrection inn order to be in the presence of Christ in heaven. Christ preached fulfillment. When he said on the cross, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (John 19:30), he was not just making a statement about his successful imputation of sin, he was also making an implied statement about accomplishing the plan of God to receive the righteous and judge the eternally condemned. Having accomplished that on the cross, he descends to Hades to declare the accomplishment, and in a final tribute to that accomplishment, he was resurrected from the dead by his Father and ascended to heaven.

The apostle Paul elps to place this understanding into perspective. At a number of places in his epistles he emphasizes that the coming of Christ inaugurated a new era (Greek aionos). Even though we await the full experience of the new age with “end time events” still to come, its presence can already be experienced. Yet, every aspect of the age to come hase been fulfilled in the present. The resurrection of Christ to Paul is an event which enables believers to live in the knowledge that death as been overcome. Christ’s soon return is to looked forward to because our our triumph over sin and death. Paul uses an Aramaic term, maranatha (literally, “come, O Lord!”) as an expression of our Christian hope.

Taken from D.E. Seip’s upcoming book: Heaven

In recent times there has been debate within the church regarding what happened to Christ during the three-day span of his death and his body lying in the tomb. The question needing to be settled in the church is where did Jesus go after his death and before his resurrection? Did he descend into hell—as the Apostles Creed states? Some prominent names in ministry appear in the list of those who oppose Christ’s descent into hell. Curiously, they fall mostly into the theological camp associated with the Reformed Church. It’s curious because it is the Reformed faith that has a greater than average respect for church history and the continuity of theological thought over the span of the Christian church’s existence. How can they now hold such a divergent view from those of the early church fathers and what they believed about the subject—those who lived closest to the days of Christ on earth.

It’s one thing to agree theologically with other believers on the subject of Christ’s descent into hell, but it is a far different thing to agree with those whose premise on the subject is based on faulty theology or intentionally twisted doctrine to promote a heretical movement. I am specifically referring to the so-called Word of Faith movement. We know it more generally as the prosperity gospel, health and wealth, and name it and claim it movement. The leaders of this church movement have millions of proselytes who faithfully follow such charismatic leaders as Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Paula White, and Joyce Meyer, to name just a few.

Several things make all the prosperity preachers consistent in their teaching. The first is a profoundly intentional distortion of Scripture. At the pinnacle of that distortion is a diminutive presentation of God’s power and absolute being. They particularly distort who Christ was and is, and they reduce his atonement to something that in and of itself was insufficient to save from sin. The whole of the distortion is to replace God’s higher power with their own in order to captivate their followers with a hope that is on this life, and not our eternal life beyond. Prosperity in this life is the clarion call which is based no less on human greed and need. “God wants you to be successful and wealthy,” is their repeated cry. “Believe that God wants you to have it, and it will be given.” Of course, these pastors all show proof that God honors our earthly desires. Most fly around in their private jets, live in multi-million dollar homes, and drive absurdly expensive automobiles.

Yet, if we were to search scriptures for biblical proof of God desiring to grant us our carnal wishes we would discover quite the opposite. The only place in scripture where theree is an attempt to trade worship for wealth is in Matthew 4:8-10, where it reads, Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'” Paul reminds us, that “there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. (1 Timothy 6:6–8).

Paul also reminds us in his letter to Timothy that “there will be a time that is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). That time, concerning the Word of Faith heresy, came in recent history, with its founder and origin debatable. Nevertheless, its gospel message of prosperity is only the end point in its heresy. Its most egregious heresy is how it treats e atoning work of Jesus Christ. Word of Faith teachings proclaim that Jesus was required to die spiritually on the cross, but that our redemption was not secured there. He had to descend into hell, and from there be reborn. The cross was insufficient to accomplish our atonement. Jesus had to spiritually die to “become” sin. Jesus did not propitiate my sin upon himself; he literally became sin. He became one with the nature a Satan, and so he descended to the lower parts of the earth where sin resides in order to become death that man might live. Where this heresy originates is anyone’s guess. But one thing is certain, it does not represent what the Bible says about atonement, nor does it represent what the Bible says about Christ descending into hell, nor what the earliest church fathers understood about Christ’s descending.

The pomposity of the Word of Faith preachers is indisputable. Their attitude is quite the opposite of what we read about Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:1–5 — “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” He goes on to say in 2 Corinthians 11:27, “in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” Surly if the prosperity gospel was biblical, Paul could never have written these words.

The very foundation of our Christian faith is the atonement. It is the central theme of biblical theology running from the Old Testament sacrificial system of blood sacrifice to the New Testament atonement of Jesus Christ accomplishing atonement through his shed blood; our sin expiated as an acceptable sacrifice to God, the Father. On the cross he took our sins upon himself, and with his resurrection secured our place with him for all eternity. Christ’s descent into hell between the time of his death and his resurrection accomplished different than redemption.

Looking now at sound theologians and preachers who hold to a true view of the atonement may not agree with the teaching of Christ descending into hell after his death and before his resurrection. For example, John Piper does not agree with affirming scripture to mean Christ descended. He goes so far as to disagree with the Apostles’ Creed when it states that “He was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell.” He said, “For these and other reasons, it seems best to me to omit from the Apostles Creed the clause, “he descended into hell,” rather than giving it other meanings that are more defensible, the way Calvin does.”

We might also turn to R.C. Sprout, a sound theologian and teach — yet, decidedly one of Reformed faith. In his article, What Does the Apostles’ Creed Mean When It Says That Jesus Descended Into Hell? He admits in his article that the Apostles’ Creed was partly a response to the early Christian community’s attempt to give a summary of apostolic teaching. And, then, in his next breath he uses these words: “We see this problem: Jesus when he’s on the cros in his dying agony, speaks to the thief next to him and assures him that ‘today you will be with me in paradise.’” Sprout’s response to this is that Jesus on the cross seems to indicate that he was planning to go to “paradise,” which, in Sprout’s words, “is not to be confused with hell.” For Sprout this is a “problem.” The problem is not whether Jesus descended to hell to experience further suffering, as some want to believe. It’s rather resolving the issue of Jesus declaring that he would be that day in paradise, and not in hell. Piper also comments on this passage “That’s the only clue we have as to what Jesus was doing between death and resurrection. He said, “Today—this Friday afternoon, after we’re both dead—you and I will be in paradise together.” I don’t think the thief went to hell and that hell is called paradise. I think he went to heaven and that Jesus was there with him.”

One of the verses in the Bible used as a proof text for Christ’s descent into hell (and one that is refuted by Sprout and many other Reformed theologians, comes from 1 Peter 3:18–19: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison…” The other often used Scripture to affirm Christ’s descent is Ephesians 4:8-10 (the Scripture we read together this morning): “Therefore it says, ‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.’ ( In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)’”

What is the origin of the Apostles’ Creed, from which we carry forward this now controversial phrase, He descended into Hell? Although dismissed today, there is an ancient tradition that this Creed was the joint work of the Apostles. But it was termed the Apostles’ Creed , not because it was composed by the Apostles themselves, in the very form of words in which it is now recited, but partly because its doctrines are the doctrines taught by the Apostles, and partly because it is derived from Churches which were termed Apostolic. We must then, initially conclude that there words of the Creed now expressed were and are now essentially necessary to a sound faith and correct practice. These early Creeds, out of necessity of their faith, became a summary of the articles of indispensable belief. Irenaeus, the scholar of Polycarp, the disciple of John, repeats a Creed similar to ours, and assures us that “the Church, dispersed throughout the whole world, had received this faith from the Apostles and their disciples.”

What did the early church think about the inclusion of the words “He descended into hell,” in the Apostles Creed? We can find a hint of their understanding in a mid-nineteenth century Book of Common Prayer, published by the American arm of the Established church of England. At this date in time the teachings of Reformed theology were only beginning to share doctrine with the theological system of dispensationalism. Therefore, in the mid-nineteenth century, orthodoxy was still principally defined by the Reformed church. And we will find that what it believed about this controversial phrase in the Apostles’ Creed was different from what prominent Reformed theologians and preachers believe today. In contrast, the early Christian church was not at all dismissive of the now controversial phrase. And in the American publication of the Book of Common Prayer in the mid-nineteenth century was only partially dismissive of the phrase. It provided that “any Churches may omit the words, He descended into Hell, or may instead use the words, He went into the place of departed spirits, which are considered as words of the same meaning in the Creed.” The alternative expression could be used on the authority of the passage in Psalm 16:10 — “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol…” The word used here as Sheol, and further along in the Book of Acts, where the passage is quoted, signifies the invisible state, or the state of the souls when parted from the body; and not the place of final punishment, which the word is more commonly used today.

Thus, we are able to clear-up the misunderstanding of what Christ meant when he proclaimed to the thief beside him on the cross that today he would be with him in paradise. It was an expression which implies that the Lord himself was that day to be in the happy state called paradise, and where the dead, which die in the Lord rest from their labors.

Excerpted from Charles Thomas Cruttwell, A Literary History of Early Christianity, volume 1 (London: Charles Griffin and Company, 1893).

Historians have remarked that under stress of persecution or extreme spiritual trial the religious consciousness tends to express itself in that symbolic and imaginative style which we call Apocalyptic. This was specially the case with the Jews during the great war of liberation under the Maccabees. And after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, and again by Hadrian, the same tendency reappeared, and was even more prolific of results. Nor was it wholly unknown in the Christian Church. An example of it stands imbedded in the New Testament, the most mysterious and disputed of the writings of the canon. The Revelation of S. John has ever been the favorite study of a certain class of theologians, to whom the enigmatical is more attractive than the evident, and historic anticipation more congenial than inductive research.

To us this wondrous book stands apart like a cloud-capped peak, in isolated grandeur. But in early times its solitude was shared by a companion somewhat less inscrutable, if somewhat less authoritative, bearing on its title-page the honored name of Peter.

Until last year this work was known only by a few paltry fragments and some scattered allusions. But quite recently the French Archaeological Mission at Cairo have published three early documents of first-rate interest, though unfortunately incomplete, viz ., parts of the Book of Enoch, of the Gospel of S. Peter, and of what is universally admitted to be his Apocalypse. Nearly half of the latter is preserved, sufficient, that is, to form a fair estimate of its value, and to enable us to indicate its influence on succeeding literature.

We begin by mentioning the chief early notices of this supposed Petrine work. The first occurs in the Muratorian fragment on the canon ( A.D. 170–200), where, according to the received reading, it is placed among the Canonical Scriptures along with the Apocalypse of S. John, though with the qualifying remark that some members of the Church objected to its being publicly read.

The next writer who mentions it is Clement, who, according to Eusebius, commented on it in his Hypotyposes, and this statement is confirmed by three quotations in an existing
fragment of that work , one of which speaks of it as Scripture.

S. Methodius of Olympus, in Lycia (A.D. 300 ), also quotes one of these and says that it comes from “ divinely inspired writings.”

Eusebius, a little later, includes it in a list of the Petrie writings with these cautious words, “ The book (so-called) of his Acts, and the (so-called) Gospel according to Peter,
and what is known as his Preaching, and what is called his Apocalypse, these we know not at all as having been handed down among Catholic Scriptures, for no ancient Church writer nor contemporary of our own has made use of testimonies taken from them.” In the face of the citations from Clement and Methodius this last statement cannot be called correct, nor can the former be reconciled with the present text of the Muratorian fragment. In another passage Euse bius classes it with those spurious books which, though pseudonymous, are not of heretical tendencies and were considered by more indulgent critics as only disputed, i.e., of doubtful authenticity.

About a century later Macarius Magnes, refuting the objections of a heathen adversary, refers to bis use of this book as a standard Christian work. Macarius evidently disbelieves its genuineness, but accepts its teaching as orthodox.

Sozomen (about A.D. 450) testifies to its public use once a year on Good Friday by the churches of Palestine in his day, though he admits that the ancients generally considered it spurious.

Nicephorus (about A.D. 850) , in drawing up a classified list of inspired writings for practical use, places this book among them, though in an inferior position, and assigns it a length of three hundred lines, or a little shorter than the Epistle to the Galatians.

On looking back upon this record, we find that the Apocalypse of Peter held an honorable but precarious position among deutero-canonical writings, being in all probability accepted in Rome in the second century, and certainly in Egypt, Lycia, and Palestine, while it continued to be transcribed as late as the ninth century in Jerusalem , and no doubt also in Egypt.

It is further probable that Hippolytus of Portus (A.D. 220) made use of it: and clear traces of its employment are found in several later documents, such as the “First Book of Clement, or Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ ” (a work proceeding from the same source as the Clementine Recognitions), the Second Book of the Sibylline Oracles, and the History of Barlaam and Josaphat.

The language of the newly-discovered fragment shows moreover such evident connection with that of the second Epistle of S. Peter that, though it is without a title, there can be no question that it belongs to the Petrine cycle, and may be confidently accepted as part of the long-lost Apocalypse. Its date cannot be certainly determined : but the opinion of scholars seems to be in favor of a very early origin, going back to quite the beginning of the second, or possibly even to the last years of the first century. It will thus be among the most ancient relics of Christian literature, and this antiquity is rendered more probable by its qualified canonical recognition in spite of the peculiar nature of its contents. The existing portion is divisible into three parts, a prophetic discourse of Christ with His Apostles, a description of Paradise, and an Inferno or account of the punishment of the wicked. There is little to indicate any particular tendency in the work . It is built on the strong instincts of the religious imagination, and has evi dently influenced the popular belief of Christianity in no slight degree. Its interest is so great, that we think our readers will prefer to have some specimens put before them rather than any general criticism of its contents:

Luke gives us an account of the interaction on the cross between Jesus and the repentant thief who hung next to Jesus on the cross. In 23:42-46, Luke writes: And he [the thief] said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he [Jesus] said to him, “‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’ It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ And having said this he breathed his last.” It is often assumed that when Jesus uttered these words concerning paradise he meant heaven. And that’s because for most believers, the afterlife consists of heaven and hell. When you die, they will say, you (i.e., your spirit) travel on to either heaven or hell. And if they stop long enough to consider something about the biblical promise of acquiring a redeemed body, they might suggest you’re soul is asleep in some fashion until Christ’s return. The general concept of death and life thereafter is a sort of simple contrast — a “this and then that,” a “here and then after.” The reality, according to the Bible, is that the journey of our soul experiences a journey that is far more entailed — more like a symphonic crescendo, going from one movement to the next in ever increasing vibrance. Dwight L. Moody’s final words on his death-bed were, “God is calling me, earth is receding, heaven is opening.” He was prepared and excited to go. And, as he entered into Christ’s presence, he in fact entered into heaven, into paradise, but it was not the highest heaven…at least not presently.

The simple logic concerning heaven of many believers is bolstered by a few well-known Bible verses, including the one we just read. And armed with these verses, and the aid of well-meaning sermons and books that condense the afterlife journey into a shortened process, the notion of Paul’s words, “absent from the body, present with the Lord” becomes an immediate ushering in to the highest heaven (or what Paul describes as the third heaven). After all, that seems to square with what Jesus said to the thief — “today you will be with me in Paradise.” Nevertheless, there is a phrase associated with this short episode on the cross that sheds light on what was really about to take place in reference to paradise. It is, “calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” At his death, Jesus cast off his body as every mortal who has died has done. He became spirit and soul and he. He had accomplished everything on earth that he had come to accomplish — to provide salvation which was adequate for all who would receive it. Now he would return to the Father. His spirit was committed to do so. He was now himself undertaking a journey on his way to return to his Father. It was a journey that would take him first to paradise and the path to it was by descending. We quote his actions in the Apostles’ Creed, “he descended into hell.” And as we discovered last time, this phrase originally meant “he descended into the lower places” — not “hell” as we know it today.

Where is paradise to be found? There has been much interest over the theme of paradise over the years, the blind poet John Milton’s epic Paradise Lost being one of them. It’s probably one of the best-known literary accounts of paradise. Having been lost though sin, paradise is restored through the death of Christ. The whole of human history is unfolded in the subtle interplay of sorrow over a lost paradise and the hope of its final restoration.

What is this paradise? And more important, how does it relate to what we perceive to be heaven? Of course, our attention must turn first to the first paradisaical garden — the garden of Eden. From a biblical perspective, the theme of parasite can be often found in the writings of the early church fathers. No matter how one perceives the account of the garden in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 — whether literal or figurative — all of the true church can agree on one aspect of the paradise story, paradise having been lost when Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden, has now been restored in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Christ is referred to as the new Adam (Romans 5:14–16, “Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.” And also, 1 Corinthians 15:45–38, “Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.“)

There are two locations in the New Testament where the idea are prominent. We find the first in Luke 23:43, “And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” We also discover it in Paul’s writings in 2 Corinthians 12:2,3, where he recounts, “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.” These verses help us to understand that paradise has once again become accessible. Is accessibility is found in the works of the early church fathers, such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, Methodius and numerous others. Irenaeus has written that “men if they do truly progress by faith towards better things, and receive the Spirit of God, and bring frth the frit thereof, shall be spiritual, as being planted in the paradise of God.”

Theophilus (c.180) wrote, “…this place Paradise, was made intermediate between earth and heaven.” Irenaeus, around the same date, said, “‘And God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He placed the man whom he had formed.’ And then afterwards, when man proved disobedient, he was cast out from there into the world. For this reason, the elders who were disciples of the apostles tell us that those who were translated (i.e., Enoch and Elijah) were transferred to that place. For Paradise has been prepared for righteous men, those who have the Spirit. Likewise, Paul the apostle, when he was translated, heard words in this place that are unspeakable…So it is there that those who have been translated will remain until the consummation (of all things), as a prelude to immortality.” Tertullian (c.195) wrote, “Paradise is the place of heavenly bliss that has been appointed to receive the spirits of the saints, who are severed from the knowledge of this world by that fiery zone as by a sort of enclosure.”

Refuting those who chose to believe that Paradise is in heaven, Hippolytus (c.205) wrote these words, “Some choose to maintain that Paradise is in heaven, and that it forms no part of the system of creation. However, we see with our eyes the rivers that go forth from it. For they are open to inspection by anyone who chooses to see them even in our day. Accordingly, let everyone conclude from this that Paradise did not belong to heaven…In truth, it is a locality in the east, and a select place.” Photius, quoting Methodius (c.290) says that Paul had two revelations. He says that the apostle does not suppose Paradise to be in the third heaven. This is the opinion of those who knew how to observe the particulars of language. For Paul says, “I know such a man caught up to the third heaven; and I know such a man…who was caught up into Paradise.” Here he indicates that he has seen two revelations, having been evidently taken up twice: once to the third heaven and once into Paradise.

There is another thread of information which can be leaned upon for assistance in our understanding of what the early church thought of the reality of Paradise and how it was understood. We find it in the Apocryphal literature read by the early church. The word “apocrypha” means the hidden things in the Greek. They consist of a set of text included in the Septuagint (which was a Greek translation of the Old Testament) and the Latin Vulgate Bible (which was the Latin translation of the Old and New Testaments). There are at least twenty-five such writings of which seven were considered “canonical” (inspired) by the Catholic church, and fourteen of which were considered by the Protestant church as useful for instruction but non-canonical. The Protestant Bible removed the insertion of these books from the Bible in the seventeenth century. Among these books were those described as Pseudepigrapha (texts loosely presumed to have been written a biblical figure). Among these books was one important work useful for our consideration here. It is known as the Apocalypse of Peter (or Revelation of Peter). Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing meaning “revelation” — an unveiling of things not previously known.

The Apocalypse of Peter is dated from the early second century. Some scholars want to date it as early as the late first century. It is extent, meaning we are in possession of the original writings. In the book, Peter is inquiring for signs of the Second Coming of Christ and describes both heavenly bliss for the saved and fiery punishments for the unsaved. It is presumed to have been written by Peter. What makes this work of interest to us in our pursuit of tracing the history of Paradise in the early church is that it is referred to by a number of early writers. It is among the most ancient relics of Christian literature. It first appears in what is known as the Muratorian fragment of the Bible canon which dates around A.D. 170–200, were it is placed along-side the Apocalypse of John (Revelation). The next writer who mentions it is Clement, who according to Eusebius, commented on it in one of his works, and in an existing fragment speaks of the Apocalypse of Peter as Scripture. There are others who wrote referring to it well into the ninth century thus giving it an honorable position among the extra-canonical writings.

So what does it say that is of particular interest in understanding Paradise? “And the Lord said furthermore, let us go unto the mountain and pray. And as we the twelve disciples went with him, we besought him that he would show us one of our righteous brethren that had departed from the world that we might see of what form they were, and so take courage, and encourage them also that should hear us. And as we were praying, there suddenly appeared two men standing before the Lord towards the East, whom we could not look upon: for there was light, such as never eye of man beheld nor mouth can describe, nor heart conceive the glory wherewith they were clad and the beauty of their countenance…When therefore we saw their beauty, we were all amazed at them, for they appeared suddenly: and I came near to the Lord and said, ‘Who are these?’ He saith to me, ‘These are your brethren the righteous, whose forms ye wished to behold.’ And I said to Him, ‘And where are all the righteous, or what sort is the world wherein they are and possess their glory?’ And the Lord showed me a very great place outside this world, (he’s describing Sheol), shining excessively with light, and the air that was there illuminated with the rays of the sun, and the earth itself blooming with unfading flowers, and full of spices and fair-flowering plants, incorruptible, and bearing a blessed fruit: and so strong was the perfume that it was borne even to us from thence. And the dwellers of that place were clad in the raiment of angels of light, and their raiment was like their land: and angels encircled them there. And the glory of the dwellers there was equal, and with one voice they praised the Lord God rejoicing in that place.”

The writer then goes on to describe another place next to this scene. It is a place of torment. “And I saw another place over against that other, very squalid, and it was a place of chastisement; and those that were there being chastised and the angels that were chastising had their raiment dark, according to thee atmosphere of the place…and there was beneath them fire flaming and tormenting them…and all were saying, ‘We believed not that we should come to this place.’”

This picture painted, presumably by Peter, is a picture of Sheol with its two sides starkly dividing its inhabitants. Paradise is presented here in graphic detail and intended to encourage the early church with details otherwise not presented in the canonical writings. If we are to believe this depiction, then we have more potential evidence that Paradise, as mentioned on the cross by Jesus, is not heaven but something closely resembling it. It is an otherworldly place in which there is brilliant light and much joy. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:3,4 “And I know that this man was caught up into paradise- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows, and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.”

There is a very intriguing expression found in the Book of Revelation concerning the soul of man after death. The Apostle John, in Revelation 6:9–11, speaks of his vision of Christ on the Throne opening seven sealed scrolls. When he got to the fifth seal, John says, “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.” John tells us that they speak. They cry aloud, “how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” And then, we are told that these souls had a physical presence, because they where given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers would be made complete. The intriguing expression I am referring to is, “I saw under the altar the souls.” When was the last time you happened to see a soul? In this plane of life we do not see souls? We recognize that people have souls. We know a person’s soul by his expressions, habits, and actions, but we cannot see the soul causing these things. Yet, after death the soul somehow becomes visible. It communicates. For the Apostle John, the appearance of these souls was below, not up. He said that he observed the souls, “under” the altar.

Theologians interpret the Book of Revelation in several different ways. For the purpose of this book we interpret it to be written for us to understand literally—with most of its content referring to still future events. That is not to say that there are not numerous figurative statements that require interpretation of its symbolism. Therefore, when the Apostle John says that he saw souls under the altar we assume that he actually visualized it and reported what he saw.

We have seen that the Bible regards man’s being to be made of spirit, soul, and body; and that we are brought to salvation in Christ by our spirit, which is that portion of being that has a connection to God. The Bible says we were made in his “likeness / image.” That image must be a spiritual image—since God is himself “spirit.” Our soul, on the other hand, is what we might call our consciousness; our personality and the sum total of our experiences and thinking. God works in our spirit to incline us toward Christ; or what is sometimes referred to as the “Call of Christ.” Our spirit begins the work of bringing our soul into a relationship with our spirit’s new found inclination toward God. That process of uniting spirit and soul, inclining our thoughts toward a relationship with Christ, and rejecting the world’s desire for sin and its pleasures is a life-long process. But, for some, the “prompting of the spirit” is something that the soul habitually rejects. Even though Christ’s atoning death is sufficient for all to receive by the reasoning of the soul, some will reject God’s merciful call. Yet, no matter if you are saved by the atoning work of Christ on the Cross, or reject the call to salvation, the body continues to decay. It wears out and dies.

It is at the moment of death that something profound happens regarding the spirit, soul, and body. The moment you take your last breath, each goes through a transformation. For the moment, I would like to concentrate our attention primarily on our soul and answer the question, “What happens to our soul at the moment of death?” If we were to take the time to thoroughly go through the Bible, we would discover that it reveals a number of things related to the soul. One of the key things the Bible says about the soul is: Death does not end the existence of the soul. We are told that in the afterlife, souls continue to exist and become visible. That is to say, you can see personality. Souls are conscious. They can remember the past. And at death our soul and spirit remain connected (as in life) to focus our attention toward Christ. At the moment of death our body begins to return to dust. It remains in this state in the ground for a period of time until Christ returns to claim his Church and give us a new physical form—one which is eternal and without blemish or defect.

While there are many Bible references pertaining to this subject, one in particular can provide us with great value regarding the afterlife and the soul. In Luke 16:19–31 we have the experience of the rich man, Lazarus and Abraham. All three are seen in their soul experience. Here is what Luke says:
“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Sheol, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Notice that the rich man’s soul has a form. He can feel the flames. He wants water to cool his tongue. And notice that Lazarus has fingers which the rich man thinks could touch his lips with water. Abraham, Lazarus and the rich man all have eyes, ears, voices, because they see, hear and speak. We conclude that souls are tangible, possessing form and characteristics which were theirs before death. And we recall that Christ with his appearing after his death was able to be seen by his disciples but could also enter rooms through locked doors—a kind of foreshadowing of what is contained in this story. Lazarus is dead, but you can see his soul. It has tangible characteristics of human form.

At the moment of death the soul instantaneously travels to a temporary resting place, and there it remains until Christ’s planned appearing in the air. That appearing is known in the Bible as the Rapture. The Bible refers to this temporary place as Sheol—or, the “place of departed souls.” This is the place where the souls of the righteous and the wicked go at their departure from the body. The popular theological answer is, the soul of the righteous goes to heaven, and the soul of the wicked (or unrighteous, if you prefer) immediately goes to hell. For the Catholic, so long as you are a member in good standing (i.e., take the sacraments, confess your sins, do good works, you have a direct path to heaven—but first, with a stop for an unspecified length of time in Purgatory.

Be careful. If each soul at death goes at once (as many people think), to receive his respective reward or punishment, why is there need for a future “judgment” that is described in the New Testament? For example, 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” In other words, if, as is commonly said, the soul is judged at death, what is the need of the second judgment referred to in the Bible as the White Throne of Judgment? If you take that view—that we are immediately judged at death and go to heaven or hell—it is no wonder that the notion of the Millennium is rejected. (The Millennium being the thousand years that Christ will reign on earth, as described in Revelation, chapter 20). If there is a future judgment—and the Bible says there is—think of it, what pleasure would there be in returning to the cold earth to be judged after an experience of the brightness in the presence of God in heaven? Also, if the disembodied spirit can enter at once into the full happiness of heaven, why then would it need to be reunited with a new body? The point is this, one mistaken notion of scripture affects another, because there is a relationship in the many parts of understanding the future life. The wrenching away of one part disturbs the many other parts.

Take for example Christ’s soul. What became of Christ’s soul after death? We say in the Apostles Creed—“He descended into hell, and on the third day he rose again from the dead…” And when we question “what is meant here of hell” the usual reply is that it signifies the eternal place of departed spirits. But this makes the theory that the departed go immediately to either hell or heaven. It’s confusing, to say the least. All of this confusion is why many are content to think that we cannot really know anything about the state of death. We believe tt must remain a mystery. Who can know? But, is that a fair question? The answer is, no. We can know, because the Bible unlocks the key to this mystery. But it must be examined with care. One such examination involves the word Sheol which in the Hebrew always and only meant “the place of the dead.” English translations typically render the word “the grave,” and sometimes by the word “hell”; but the word never has that as its first meaning. There is another term altogether different to express the grave, or the place of the body’s resting place. It is the word taphos in the Greek, geber in the Hebrew.

In the Bible, Sheol always signifies the resting place of the soul. In the early Greek translation known as the Septuagint, the translators invariably render the word Sheol as Hades, and that term we accept as unerringly used by the writers of the New Testament the way it was intended to be interpreted. Therefore, whether you read the word Sheol, or Hades, it has the same meaning.

A further investigation of the story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke, chapter 16, reveals that Sheol is a temporary receptacle for the dead, and it is divided into two portions—one for the righteous, and one for the wicked. In the story this division becomes clear. We read of a great divide between the two men. Nevertheless, some want to say that this story is just a parable—its not a real story. But, if that is accurate, if it is only a fictitious story, it is the only parable in which the Lord uses a person’s name. Typically, Jesus starts his parables with something like, “There was a certain man” with no mention of specific names. Here in this parable we not only have a name, but the story goes deeper and mentions that the rich man has “five brothers”; meaning, a very specific family. Abraham’s name is also mentioned.

Sheol is a temporary holding place until the Lord’s return. It holds both the saved and the unsaved. We have previously mentioned that there is a tangible form to our soul upon death. In Sheol the soul can be seen. The body turns to dust in the ground, but the soul immediately enters Sheol. In between the time that we are absent from this present body and the time we enter our eternal heavenly home, our souls possess a tangible form comparable to that of the souls John is speaking of in Revelation 6—“I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.” For the unjust, the unrighteous, the wicked, the unsaved (as they are referred to), Sheol is a place of torment. But it is not the torment that will imprison them for eternity. For these souls, Sheol is a place of fire, but not the fire they will experience when they are forcibly removed from Sheol by the angels and sent into Gehenna (i.e., eternal hell). The Book of Jude says, “Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, in like manner giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” The same is evident from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, “I am tormented in this flame,” says the rich man. Worse yet, when the unsaved finally arrive in Gehenna (Hell), they will discover degrees of torment—some worse than other. Jesus alludes to this in Matthew 10:15 when he said, “Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.”

Sheol is constantly and clearly distinguished in the New Testament. But this distinction is lost to the English reader, because our translators have written Sheol and Gehenna as the same word. But the New Testament, in its original language, always makes this difference—that Sheol (or Hades as it is known in the Greek) is the present place of the dead. Gehenna is the future and eternal place of the wicked dead, after the second resurrection and judgment which is to take place at the end of the thousand year reign of Christ upon the earth.

Gehenna is not mentioned in many places in the Bible; but where it is, its punishment is spoken of as eternal. Matthew 5:22 says, “…and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (literally, “the Gehenna of fire”). Matthew 5:29,30 says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell (i.e., Geheena). “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” (i.e., Gehenna). Matthew 10:28 states, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (i.e., Gehenna).

Less is said of the righteous soul in the Bible, but there is enough for us to sketch its general state of thought and expectation. The Apostle Paul informs his readers concerning what he calls Paradise (i.e., Sheol), that “he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.” (2 Corinthians 12:4). So unutterable were the joys, so incapable of being comprehended by man in the flesh, that the Apostle Paul was overwhelmed as to whether he was in the body or not. He thought he must have been dreaming. So deep was the impression of the peace that he enjoyed that he had a desire “to depart, and be with Christ, which is far better.”

There are many who mistakenly object to the concept of Sheol because they mistakenly think it is an undesirable place for the righteous. They think it is dark and foreboding like the grave. But it is not. It is far from it. The Apostle Paul says otherwise. The misperception stems from a prejudice which has arisen from learning from the systems of man, rather than the declaration of the Word of God. Even so, the “place” does not provide the happiness of the believer. It will be sufficient for him that he is where God places him. It is enough that in Paradise (Sheol) there is peace and calm and joy, such as earth cannot bestow. It is enough that Christ is present with us, in a greater degree than we discover here on earth. The Lord himself passed through the depths of Sheol that he might, as the Bible says, “be lord both of the dead and the living”; and that even there he may visit believers with his Spirit.

And it appear that even there the righteous are engaged in praise. We discover this at the opening of the “book with seven seals,” in Revelation 5:13, which reads: “And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and UNDER THE EARTH and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’” The phrase “under the earth” cannot mean evil spirits, because they would not glorify and praise Christ; nor can they be the wicked souls of men in Sheol; for the same reason. Therefore, they are the souls of the righteous, whose present habitation is described as being under the earth. Similarly we have the passages of Philippians 2:9,10 which read, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and UNDER THE EARTH.”

We discover, however, from other passages, that their peace, though great, and their happiness, though considerable, is still not complete and final. We learn from Revelation 6: 9–11, that there is a state of waiting and a longing desire for Christ’s return, as the day of their complete joy—“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.” Notice again, John said “I SAW the souls.” He could see them. They had a form, a type of tangible image that made them visible, and they were anxiously awaiting Christ’s appearing.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:16, there is a unusual description of Christ’s actions concerning the dead rising. It reads, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” Why should the dead in Christ rise first? Why not everyone rise to meet Christ in the air—both living and dead—at the same time? The dead have a preferred position over that of the living. It is likely because those who are already dead have souls that are residing in Sheol and have experienced a form of worship with Christ. They are not worshiping to the fullest extent of their ability or desire. That will not happen until their soul is reunited with their new, immortal body. In the meantime, they long for greater worship because they already have a concept of the joy of deeper worship; whereas those of us who are still alive have only a vague concept of what worship is like. Therefore, in God’s mercy, those souls who have already experienced intimate worship with the Lord and long for greater worship are granted the privilege of receiving their immortal bodies first.

Not every soul in Sheol longs for worship. Some are focused on their torment. Jakob Martini (1570–1649), a seventeenth-century German theologian wrote this: “It is thus evident that of old there were two different places of abode for souls; one for the good, and the other for the evil; yet both the one and the other is called Sheol. The place of the ungodly, however, is called ‘the Lowest Sheol,’ but the place of the just ‘the Upper Sheol.” In the Book of Ecclesiastes 1:7 we read. “All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.” That is to say, all the dead go into Sheol (Hades) only, yet Sheol is never full. Proverbs 27:20 also reads, “Sheol is never full.” Nathan said the same thing to King David. In 2 Samuel 12:13 we read, “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.’” What is implied is, “you will not descend to the lowest depth of Sheol; you will not experience separation from God.” Psalm 86:13 reads, “For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol (or, literally, the “lowest” Sheol).” Christ has rescued us from entering into that lowest depth. It is a free gift of God.

Blessed be God—this word we have—God hath spoken, “The spirit shall return to Him who gave it.” This, believer, is thy confidence and thy rejoicing. Thy spirit returns to God—to God all glorious and all good; who so loved thee as to give for thee his only begotten Son; and who in the blood of his Son hath sealed the assurance that thou shalt be ever with Him. Canst thou doubt whether in his presence thou shalt be happy? Ah! the happiness reserved for thee by thy God, thine eye hath not seen, thine ear hath not heard, and thy heart cannot conceive. But, When does the spirit enter on this state of complete felicity?

There cannot be a moment’s doubt, that departed saints do not enter on the full fruition of bliss immediately on their release from the body. In what does this fulness of bliss consist? In the union of the purified spirit with the glorified body. But until the voice of the Son of God calls to the corruptible to put on ineorruption, and the mortal immortality, that body is confined to the tomb, embraced by corruption, mingled with the dust. Admission to heaven, the place of the vast universe of God, where the vision of His glory, more immediately displayed, shall constitute the eternal felicity of the redeemed, does not take place, according to the Sacred Writings, until the judgment at the great day; when the body, raised incorruptible and glorious, shall be united to the soul, purified and happy. While the soul is separate from the body, and absent from that heaven which is to be her eternal abode, she can not have attained the perfection of her bliss.

Will the privileges of believers be greater than those of their divine Head? His glory in heaven consists in the exaltation of his human nature — of his glorified body in union with his perfect spirit. But in the interval between his death and his resurrection, his body was embalmed by his disciples, washed with their tears, and guarded in the sepulcher by his enemies. His spirit therefore was not in heaven until He ascended there after his resurrection. “Touch me not,” said He to Mary Magdalene, when He had risen from the dead, “for I have not yet ascended to your Father and my Father, to your God and my God.” Our blessed Lord, in his human nature, was not in heaven until after his resurrection. And will a privilege be conferred on the members which was not enjoyed by the Head? “This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise,” was his language to the penitent thief associated with him at his crucifixion—in Paradise, not in heaven; for the happiness of heaven supposes the happiness of the whole man, of his soul united to his body. But on that day in which the Savior assured the penitent subject of his mercy that he should be with Him in Paradise, the body of the one was consigned to corruption, and the body of the other to the tomb.

What, then, is the state of the soul in the period between death and the resurrection—between her
separation from the body and her reunion with it—between her release from this her state of exile, and her admission to final and complete felicity in her eternal home? Is she in a state of unconsciousness? All probability is against the supposition. Consciousness seems a necessary attribute of spirit in a disembodied state. The temporary suspension of consciousness in the present life arises from that union of the soul with the body, which in many cases controls, and changes, and suspends her operations. But a state of unconsciousness is a state of oblivion—and this must be an object of aversion to the happy spirit. In the present life indeed there is often an oblivion of care that corrodes, of adversity that wounds the spirit—or that which, from the connection of the body with the soul, is necessary to the renewed exertion of its powers, and to renewed enjoyment. But when the soul, with her mortal tabernacle, has shaken off her sins and sorrows, this oblivion cannot be necessary; it must interrupt her enjoyment—it cannot therefore be assigned her in a state which, her probation being finished, is a state of reward and of bliss.