(What the Scripture Says)

In 2010, the eyes of millions of people around the world were fixated on their television sets as the rescue began of thirty-three Chilean miners who had been trapped in desperate, seemingly hopeless conditions a half-mile underground for sixty-nine days. Following the cave-in, during which an aircraft carrier-sized boulder had collapsed in the heart of the mine, the miners survived what appeared to be an impossible ordeal by rationing food and water, praying, reading scriptures, giving motivational talks, and simply holding on to the dim hope they would somehow be reunited with their loved ones. The men had endured high temperatures, unbearable stress, and some had even considered suicide. Through inspired effort and technological innovation, those on the surface were finally able to bring all thirty-three men up from their awful subterranean prison. One of the miners named Mario Sepulveda later said, remarkably, “I was with God and with the devil, and God took me.” His simple statement is incredibly significant for believers!

With this in mind, take the time to read Psalm 18 and ask yourself, and the Holy Spirit, of whom David is speaking prophetically. No scripture is of “private interpretation.” When you have read this blog and the Psalm, I encourage you to get a second “minority opinion” at the following link: https://www.moodymedia.org/articles/power-his-resurrection/. (This link was forwarded to me by an avowed skeptic after he took the time to investigate these conclusions for himself).

There are three different, distinct words in the New Testament Greek for body, soul, and spirit. Jesus was fully God, but he was also fully man, which means that in the days of His flesh He was also, like us, tripartite. When He had died on the Cross, His physical body was placed in the tomb. Just as surely as the Holy Spirit had descended and remained upon Him in power when He was baptized at the Jordan, this same Holy Spirit departed from Him to the Father when He breathed His last, and He “gave up the ghost.” But what about His soul, that part of us that makes us all “human”, that part we associate with consciousness, with our mind, will, and emotions? What transpired with that part of Him that was truly a Son of Man?

Remember that, at any point up until Jesus spoke the words, “It is finished!”, Jesus retained the power and authority to call down 10,000 angels to deliver Himself  from the sentence of crucifixion on the Cross. As the Holy Spirit departed from Him, Jesus surrendered that power and authority, descending into death as a man with only the FAITH that His Heavenly Father would bring Him back up out of that terrible prison. Knowing that His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, would depart to be with His Father in heaven at the moment of His death, He could also say with certainty to the thief on the cross, “Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise.”

Make no mistake, the Son of Man could add nothing else to His sacrificial and substitutionary atonement for the awful “wages of sin” (death) incurred by rebellious mankind. That debt was PAID IN FULL on the Cross and later confirmed at the resurrection. But in death, what awaited the Son of Man? Peaceful oblivion? How do we account for the “three days and three nights” that the lifeless corpse of the Messiah lay in the tomb? The answer is found in Psalm 18 and in the New Testament beginning with the “sign of Jonah.” (See Matthew 12:39-40).

Jesus had suffered terribly at the hands of the Romans and the Jews leading up to – and then being nailed to – the Cross, but as His Spirit departed from Him, this was the very catalyst of His soul descent into the nether world. His destination was Sheol, sometimes called hell, the “sorting ground” of the dead, where both those at peace (like Samuel) who had died in faith prior to Christ and those in torment (likely King Saul), were groups separated in death by an eternal, impassable gap. It was not merely His dread of the physical suffering to come that caused Jesus to sweat great drops of blood in Gethsemane. The scripture says that Jesus “tasted” death for us. The wages of sin is death, but death is not limited to the physical dimension; there is also a “second” death. Did Jesus taste only the “first” (physical) death when He bore the penalty and paid the awful price for the sins of all mankind through His blood?

An infinitely Holy God could not look upon His Son on the Cross because of the unbearable weight of human sin and wickedness that had been placed on His shoulders. “He became SIN for us.” It was in this condition that Jesus’ soul descended into death as a son of man to “taste”, for a time, the terrible penalty of eternal hell that should have been ours. The soul of the man Jesus was not simply biding its time with His corpse awaiting resurrection from the tomb!  By no means does this imply that Jesus endured the literal torture of the fires of hell (see Revelation 2:11), but from this agonizing vantage on the “dark side” of Sheol, He could see the awful, final judgment of all those who ultimately reject the great love of Christ and die unforgiven in their sins. For a time upon His descent into death, at the onset of those three days and nights, Jesus stood before His accuser Satan – temporarily, and vicariously of course – as the most unimaginably wicked of beings, a voluntary imputation ordained by the will of His Father and long preached by the prophets who preceded Him.

But Satan and the hordes of hell have one serious problem. Their celebration is way premature. The evidence shows that Jesus, the accused, is perfectly innocent! In Psalm 18 we read the prophecy where hell suddenly reverberates with the mighty voice of God, Jesus’ terrified enemies are routed, and He is powerfully rescued by an angry heavenly Father. He is reunited with His Spirit and a glorified body in a literally earth-shaking resurrection. The souls of those saints beyond the dividing gulf of Sheol, who had died in faith like Abraham prior to the Cross, hear the Good News and all are gathered and led by Jesus up to heaven to be forever with the Lord! Death has been defeated and “captivity is taken captive.” For forty days prior to his final ascension, this glorified Christ makes His glory and His resurrection known to His followers still on the earth.

[Note: I am not a Catholic, but I believe their Apostle’s Creed is correct and fully supported by scripture on this matter of Jesus’ soul descent into “hell”].

Let us consider the following scriptures:

“But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.” ~ Acts 2:24 (NAS) (Note: exactly when did the “agony of death” cease?)

“Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” ~ Matthew 26:53 (KJV…)

“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive forevermore, amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” ~ Revelation 1:18 (If you want to grab the keys to the jail, where do you have to go to get them?)

“For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” ~ I Peter 4:6

“For as [Jonah] was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” ~ Matthew 12:40

“And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as [Jonah] was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.” ~ Luke 11:29-30

“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared.” ~Hebrews 5:7

“I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” ~Psalm 16:8-11 (italics mine)

“Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)” ~ Ephesians 4:8-10

“Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.” ~ Romans 6:8-10

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” ~ Matthew 27:46

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of [by] the second death.” ~ Revelation 2:11

When the Holy Spirit gives you insight into scripture, that revelation will always be supported with other scripture and by some others in the faith (often a minority, as was often the case with Paul). Be certain, however, that you can absolutely expect to encounter resistance from what the 1920’s holiness evangelist G.C. Bevington referred to as “meeting house” believers (who may also happen to be the ones with the most impressive theological credentials). Always be open to an inspired reassessment of your doctrine, but, in love, do avoid “endless controversies.”

Must reads:

https://www.moodymedia.org/articles/power-his-resurrection/

Psalm 18

Zechariah Chapters 2-4

*NOTE: This is a new blog, “in progress”. Monday posts (weekly) in 2019. Reply or contact Bryan at: happy2bneuless (at) gmail.com

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