This is a recent picture of myself taken at Capilano Park in Vancouver. We had just walked over the wobbly suspension bridge.
ABRAHAM'S BOSOM
THE DOCTRINE OF ABRAHAM’S BOSOM VS THE SCRIPTURES
1 INTRODUCTION
In this study, I will, with the Holy Spirit’s indispensable help, try to expose a rather strange, but yet still commonly held doctrine that is believed by most Baptists. This doctrine is not one to break fellowship over. If a believer did so, there would be nowhere else to go. It is still taught in most of our churches and Bible Colleges. This teaching is The doctrine of Abraham’s Bosom. It is an outgrowth of its parent doctrine called Dispensationalism - a complex concoction of men that has also spawned many other erroneous teachings. Today, one dares not to question any of these doctrines for fear of being ostracized or of being accused of heresy. Our Bible Colleges, which teach this material, have taken on the mantle of being infallible in matters of doctrine from the Pope. Being a Berean, as relates to the following topic, and any other questionable doctrines, of which there are many, is not popular nowadays. Paul was referring to the saints in Berea when he wrote:
Acts 17:11 - These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
The doctrine that is the focus of this summary deals principally with Jesus as the Lamb of God, hell, “Abraham’s Bosom”, paradise, and heaven. It also touches on a few other related issues as well. In this study I will endeavour to show from the Scriptures what did happen, and what didn’t happen to Jesus during the three days and the three nights after His crucifixion. I will also explain what the Scriptures tell us about why these things had to happen to Him.
To anyone who accepts the inerrancy of the Scriptures, the fact that Jesus went to hell after the cross is undeniable. This will be my starting point. Of course, one may use the "Rick Warren technique", and take verses from various modern versions of the Bible to make it say whatever one wants. Nevertheless, the following are some clear verses to that effect from the KJV:
Matthew 12:40: For as Jonas 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.
The surface of the earth, where Christ came, is not the heart of the earth. It is for sure that the heart of the earth is not a physical burying place, or a tomb. The heart of anything, the core, is the centre; so this scripture is referring to the centre of the earth - hell. Jesus did not just spend three days and three nights in a tomb carved out of rock. That would have been pointless.
Acts 2:27 is a quote of Psalm 16: 10 and it confirms that Jesus' soul went to hell, at the heart of the earth after the cross:
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Acts 2: 31, further confirms this event when it states:
He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
As is the case with many psalms, the following one is both about the writer, David, and about Jesus at the same time. Some verses apply exclusively to Jesus. Note verse 20. Only Jesus could reference His righteousness.
Psalm 18: 18: 4-8, 17, 20 … 4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. 5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. 6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. 7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. 8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. 9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
20 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
These verses are very straight-forward. Jesus’s soul did go to the heart of the earth, hell, for three days and for three nights after His crucifixion. His body however, which remained in the tomb, did not see corruption during this time.
Of course, many scholars claim that the heart of the earth referred to in Matthew 12: 40 is not hell as we have long understood it to be, but that it is merely the grave. They resort to the Greek and Hebrew, and to corrupt Greek manuscripts, to back up their assertions. If His body and His soul merely went to a cave carved out of rock for three days and for three nights, then why?…For what purpose? However, the fact that the hell mentioned in the KJV is actually a fiery hell, not some other fictitious place, will be further supported in this study by other strong verses.
Once one accepts the fact that He actually did go to hell, the issue then becomes, what happened to Him while He was there? Did He go there to suffer on our behalf, or did He go there to rescue Old Testament “pre-dispensation of grace” saints from Paradise - and/or to preach the gospel to them? What do the Scriptures reveal to us on this matter?
This study will not be comprehensive. The KJV Bible will be my sole authoritative reference as I compare spiritual with spiritual (1 Corinthians 2: 13) - no Greek nor Hebrew will be used. They are not necessary. I do use a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance however, to look up certain verses for which I may only remember a word or a phrase.
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Please tolerate the slight repetitiveness of my writing style. Some subtopics and Scripture verses have been repeated in different sections of this summary. A bit of repetition won’t harm anyone. The great Apostle Paul repeated important doctrines numerous times in his epistles.
Any material that was gleaned from messages that I have listen to or have read from different sources on this topic were incorporated into the study only if it easily and undeniably reconciled with the Scriptures.
My Motivation For Doing This Study
Why did I even spend time on this summary, and why should you even read it? ... After all, most people today cringe whenever the word doctrine is mentioned. Many today emphasize experience and "deeds over creeds”, and feelings over faith and facts. Nevertheless, I am doing this study primarily because this strange doctrine about a place in or near to hell called Abraham’s Bosom, in addition to being utterly preposterous, minimizes the full extent of what Jesus did for all sinners, past, present and future; especially what He did during those unprecedented three days and three nights that He spent in hell after His crucifixion. Why should it be excluded from the crucifixion - resurrection narrative and be replaced by a counterfeit?
* Does what I write here add to or remove from the Gospel? Does it diminish from Christ's work on the cross? If this summary in any way added any other faith requirements to the Gospel, then that would be heresy. Through this study, I am in no way trying to minimize the all-importance of our Lord’s crucial work on Calvary when He shed His innocent blood as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The essence of the Gospel, after all, is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1Corinthians 15:3-4) - no more - no less. The complete work of redemption however, was not totally finished on the cross. Only His earthly mission was finished. Even if one doesn’t believe that He had to descend into hell, He still had to resurrect from the dead. If that pivotal event had not happened, the work of salvation would not have been complete, and our faith would be futile (1 Corinthians 15: 13-14). Nevertheless, if the Bible tells us that Jesus did go to a fiery hell for us during those three days, then those verses must be there for a reason - they must be significant, and therefore they must be mentioned and studied.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
The death, burial and resurrection of our Lord are the only essential elements that sinners have to believe in order to be saved. As important as it is, one doesn’t need to have the detailed knowledge of His descent into hell, and all of the accompanying events, in order to be saved. The Ethiopian eunuch only had to confess; “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8: 37). The Philippian jailer only had to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ …” (Acts 16: 31). The thief on the cross merely had to ask: “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” (Luke 23: 42). Of course all of these men had acknowledged their sinfulness and had placed their faith in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. They needed no knowledge of Jesus’ time spent in hell in order to be saved.
2 WHAT IS THE ABRAHAM’S BOSOM DOCTRINE?
I will call this errant teaching that I will focus on - The “Abraham’s Bosom Doctrine” - and abbreviate it here and there in my study as ABD.
This commonly held doctrine teaches about a temporary place of confinement for the old testament saints. They call it the "place of the dead". In one of its “supporting Scriptures”, the occupants of this place are referred to as “captives”. This prison-like holding place, we are told, is on the “good side” of hell. Apparently they could not yet get “fully justified” because “they died in the wrong dispensation.” This doctrine teaches that they could not enter heaven until Jesus actually died on the cross thousands of years later. It also tells us that they had to be held captive in this prison-like place after their deaths. We are then told that Jesus then went to this strange place, also called Paradise, to preach to them the complete Gospel, which they had apparently not yet heard. This crusade apparently lasted for three whole days.
This doctrine may also teach (Who knows?) that He also preached to the souls in “the bad part of hell” as well. If so, how would one expect a person to respond to the gospel who was in a fiery hell? This would be the ultimate “fox hole conversion”. Would they reject a second chance at salvation after experiencing this horrendous place? I don’t think so. This would not be faith however - It would be sight. Nevertheless, we are told that those in Paradise or in hell-hell who responded favourably, He then rescued from their prison, leading them once and for all to heaven. I am merely speculating here on a doctrine that I believe to be blatantly false to begin with. Nevertheless, do two falsehoods, as in Algebra, create a truth? Not so in this case.
Various other aspects of this false teaching will be expanded upon later in this study.
Where did this doctrine come from, and when did enter the mainstream?
This fictitious doctrine was resurrected at some time in the mid-1800s, possibly upon a foundation set by the early “church fathers”. It may even have been, in part, resurrected from “The Gospel of Nicodemus” (HL) - a weird apocryphal book. It may also have originated, in part, from the Jewish Talmud. (Take a few minutes to read the Core Texts in the above link. The last sentence in the first paragraph alludes to the righteous patriarchs being raised from hell by Christ). “Saint” Augustine (HL) and many other early Catholic writers taught about a type of Abraham’s Bosom - Purgatory.
The Book of Enoch, which is also clearly uninspired, also mentions a four compartment place for the dead. See Enoch 21 and 22 (HL) for the “four divisions of the place of the dead”.
Three prominent 18th Century purveyors of Dispensationalism and of its corollary - The Abraham’s Bosom Doctrine - were John Nelson Darby, Clarence Larkin and Cyrus Ingerson Schofield. The Dallas Theological Seminary was/is a prominent purveyor of this doctrine in the 20th & 21st Centuries. The following well known DTS alumni are David Jeremiah, Hal Lindsay (a co-author of the Left Behind Series), Charles Swindoll, Erwin Lutzer, J.Vernon McGee, John F. Walvoord, and a frequent Fox News guest and avid Zionist - Robert Jeffress. Many Baptist churches today have been highly influenced by these men. Consequently most Baptist churches in effect acknowledge ABD by default, because they rarely, if ever, even mention the additional true facts concerning the real events that took place during the three days and the three nights that Jesus spent in hell immediately after His crucifixion and before His glorious resurrection.
The descent of Christ into hell was incorporated into the original Apostles’ Creed (HL). The hell alluded to in this creed was definitely not the hell/paradise of the ABD. Modern scholars and modern Bible Versions have subsequently changed hell to mean “the place of the dead” - as if He went into some other, more pleasant place after His crucifixion. The real hell has been whitewashed out of the text.
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In case you haven’t already caught on, hyperlinks are underlined, bold printed and include an (HL). If you are reading this on your computer, you will be brought to a site that verifies the claim that is made as you click on the link
The Abraham’s Bosom doctrine, as I have previously written, depends heavily upon a complicated artificial teaching called “*dispensationalism”. It claimed that salvation by grace through faith only came into effect after the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, two thousand years ago, and that it was not already in effect retroactively to the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8 & Titus 1:2) - prior to the time of His actual crucifixion.
Revelation 13: 8: And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Titus 1: 2: In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
A promise given by God is as good as done - Is it not? He is God. He cannot lie nor can He make false promises. To use a common expression, this promise could have been “taken to the bank” as soon as it was made. Some of His other promises however, like the ones that He made to Israel, were conditional …If this…then that… The were quid pro quo.
Regardless, we are erroneously told that all of the Old Testament saints had to go to this temporary holding place called Abraham’s Bosom; to be confined there until Jesus liberated them, after actually dying on the cross much later.
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* Dispensationalism will be expanded on later in this study.
3 DOES THE ABRAHAM’S BOSOM DOCTRINE (ABD) HAVE A FIRM BASIS IN SCRIPTURE?
Every doctrine, true or false, either has, or claims to have, a legitimate basis in Scripture. On what principal scriptures is this ABD supposedly based?
A The following verses appear on the surface to strongly support the doctrine of Abraham’s Bosom:
* 1 Peter 3: 19-20 is one of its primary supporting verses.
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
We are told by ABD, as these verses are taken out of context, that the prison referred to here is Paradise, also called Abraham’s Bosom. Apparently Jesus went there to preach the complete gospel to those confined souls - the inmates. Do you have trouble believing that Paradise once was a prison? I do. I wonder if this doctrine also teaches that He preached to the souls in the “bad side of hell” at the same time? Surely they must have been given a second chance, since they apparently had never heard the complete Gospel? Neverth-less, they had been confined there, we are told, until heaven was opened up to them. A popular modern hymn proclaims: “ He’s alive! He’s alive, He’s alive and I’m forgiven. Heaven’s gates are open-end wide!” The words of this hymn seem to suggest that heaven’s gates were closed before the resurrection. This doctrine is embedded into our hymnody, as are many other questionable doctrines.
Nevertheless, on the surface, this Bible verse appears very convincing. For a long time, this is what I believed.
* Luke 16: 19-31 is another major portion of Scripture that claims to be a most convincing basis for this doctrine:
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
There you have it - all in a nutshell - another convincing narrative. The rich man went to a fiery hell, while Lazarus was conveyed to a nicer nearby place which is “clearly identified” as “Abraham’s Bosom”. They are close enough together that one can be seen and heard from the other - like shouting to your next door neighbour. Therefore, we are led to believe, both of these places must be in close proximity. The evil place is obviously a fiery hell. The other place, Abraham’s Bosom, is without all the fire and torment. “They probably had the latest in air conditioning available to them.” The angels carried Lazarus and, of course, all of its other occupants, to this prison: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, David, Samuel, and numerous others. They were, in effect, given a limo ride to prison. Are you convinced yet? Not me.
* John 19: 30 is also used in order to justify the ABD claims that Jesus did not have to go to a fiery hell after His death on the cross.
“It is finished.”
On the surface, this verse seems to suggest that He did not have to go to a fiery hell after He died, especially not to allow His soul to be made an offering by fire for sin. All of His work was completely finished on the cross. All He had to do was to go this place of the dead and then preach to its occupants - have an “altar call” - and then deliver them in a huge spacecraft called Paradise to heaven. According to dispensationalists, the resurrection, which had not yet occurred, was not part of the work that still had to be done, let alone the burning of the Passover Lamb.
* Ephesians 4: 8-10 (Psalm 68: 18) are also used as proof positive by many ABD believers concerning why Jesus had to go to hell after Calvary. Of course it was to liberate the Old Testament saints who had been temporarily confined there until heaven was opened up for them.
8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.
There you have it again…undeniable proof. He went to hell to lead captivity captive. He led them all to heaven. Of course, the context of this verse is ignored.
* John 3: 13: Jesus said that no man ever ascended to heaven but Him. Does this mean that the departed saints of old couldn’t go to heaven before Jesus’ resurrection, and therefore they had to be in a “holding place”?
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
The insurmountable evidence for ABD is just piling up.
* 1 Samuel 28: 12-20, which is about Saul’s dealings with the witch of Endor, is also used to prove that Samuel was brought “up” from Abraham’s Bosom. Verse 19 prophesies that Saul and his sons would also be in the same down below place as Samuel, on the next day.
verses 11-14: 11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. 12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. 13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. 14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.
There you have it again…Proof positive after proof positive. Even Samuel, a great man of God, was in the heart of the earth - Abraham’s Bosom. Did he not "come up"? Saul and his sons, including David’s close believer friend Jonathan, also “descended” to the same place after they died.
Have all of these verses finally convinced you? Is this now case closed or ABD? Remember ABD is short form for the Abraham’s Bosom Doctrine. I am sure that there are many more “convincing verses” in the Bible.
B Let us now examine each of the above verses in turn more closely, in context, and in the light of other scriptures. Do they really support the idea of a two compartment hell - One for unforgiven sinners and another one for “not yet completely forgiven partial saints” who had died?
You may have to refer back to the following verses to refresh your memory.
1 Peter 3: 19-20 There is no denying that the pronoun he used by Peter in verse 19 of his epistle, and the context of the verse, refers to Christ. The ones mentioned in this narrative as having been preached to however, were not those in “Abraham’s Bosom”. Verse 20 connects with verse 19. Otherwise, why would Peter, in his letter, suddenly change to talking about the days of Noah? The word which at the start of verse 20 indicates that they were the people who were on earth during the time of the preparing of the arc by Noah, and possibly even before that event - those whom God described as being only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). If this verse refers to all of the souls who lived before the resurrection of Christ - those confined in “Abraham’s Bosom”, then why didn’t these verses say so? This term is only used once in the New Testament. Unbelieving Gentiles are referred to in 1 Peter 4: 6 as the dead. He still preaches to the dead (spiritually) today. They are merely alive physically. Ephesians 2: 1 refers to believers who at one time “were dead in trespasses and sins.” Someone, maybe John Darby or C.I. Schofield, has taken the liberty to force this verse into their preconceived hypothesis (ABD).
He, Noah, had found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8) and was saved by grace through faith, as must all men in order to be placed in right standing with God. As with any genuine believer, he therefore preached; in this case to no avail, the same message of salvation that he had heard, to the people who lived in his day. The Spirit of Jesus, the He in verse 19 of 1 Peter 3, thereby preached through Noah to those in a prison of their own making. It is a big stretch of the imagination to say that Jesus went and preached to the Old Testament saints who were locked up in Paradise, the “good side of hell”. If there ever was a case of forcing a Bible verse into an existing doctrine (dispensationalism), then this is a classic example. Did you ever hear about Occam’s Razor (HL)? Check it out. It definitely applies in this case.
Hebrews 11: 7 tells us that Noah condemned the world as he preached and as he prepared the arc. This verse tells us that the word that he preached reached far and wide - to the world. The flood, after all, was universal. They should have known that judgement was coming. How did he condemn them? By preaching the gospel as it had been revealed to him. They had no excuse. It is reasonable to assume that many people who saw the arc being built asked him why he was building it, and he answered them. They probably laughed at him in the same way as lost men today laugh at the Gospel. People today also snicker when they are told that Christ is going to return to the earth some day soon, and that He will judge them. They snicker when they are told that their sins will condemn them to hell, and that Christ is their only hope of salvation. They also poke fun at believers by saying, “Where is the promise of his coming?“ (2 Peter 3: 3-4). We are not directly told this, but Noah may also have travelled long distances for a long time to preach to his contemporaries, to no avail. He had lots of time to do this, as well as to build the arc; after all, he was 600 years old when the Flood came. Surely it also took him a long time to complete the arc. God was also not willing then, as He also is not willing today, that any should perish (2 Peter 3: 9). He gave those people ample warning, ample witness in advance, and ample time. In spite of this, they rejected him and his message, and they suffered the catastrophic consequences. Thusly, by Noah’s words and by his actions, God in effect preached to them, and consequently condemned all of them because of their response. I repeat, the Spirit of Jesus, through Noah, was the “he” of verse 19 of 1Peter 3.
So we can see that this verse (19) refers to the spirits of those living on earth at the time of Noah - Those who were in a prison of their own making. They definitely were not Old Testament saints in some kind of temporary prison at the earth’s centre that Jesus supposedly went and preached to. It is a real stretch of the Scriptures to say that this verse applies to those who had died and who had gone to “Abraham’s Bosom”. Noah’s contemporaries, by an act of the will, rebelled against God and acted out all of the thoughts of their evil hearts (Genesis 6: 5). I repeat, The Spirit of Jesus went and preached to these rebellious sinners during that specific time through Noah, who had found grace in the eyes of the Lord. The Bible tells us that he walked with God (Genesis 6: 8-9). 2 Peter 2: 5 and some other scriptures tell us that he was a preacher of righteousness. Our Lord still preaches righteousness to lost sinners today through born-again believers. Likewise He commissioned us the GO and to preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16: 15-16). Since Noah lived for many centuries, it is reasonable to assume that he must have preached to his generation for a long time while the arc was being built - maybe even prior to this time.
It just does not seem compatible with the Gospel that Jesus went in the Spirit to preach to the spirits in prison - those in hell who had supposedly already lived their lives. It is a stretch to separate verses 19 and 20 in 1 Peter 3. The context of verse 19 is verse 20 - Noah and the Flood. If not, are these verses then trying to tell us that His sacrifice on the cross was not sufficient and effective for all lost souls, both long before, during, and after Calvary. If the Abraham’s Bosom doctrine is correct, did lost souls back then got a second chance to respond to the Gospel after death? If that really happened, then no faith was required by them since they saw a resurrected Jesus firsthand. Their sight would have been the source of their faith. Faith is the evidence of “things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith alone justified them away back then as it still justifies us today.
The fact that His substitutionary death was long planned for made it as good as done - in advance of the actual event (Revelation 13: 8). God never goes back on His Word. The Gospel of grace-through-faith was as effective then as it still is today. Jesus was the Saviour then, as He also is today. The word saviour appears 13 times in the Old Testament. This is not just a New Testament spiritual concept. Otherwise, what does “slain from the foundation of the world” mean? When Jesus agreed that He would go on His saving mission to earth, it was as good as done.Time was/is not a limiting factor with God.
- Luke 16: 19-31 The story of the rich man and Lazarus - This is considered, by those who accept ABD, to be a strong proof positive portion of Scripture that Abraham’s Bosom was a separate place in hell. However, there is nothing in this story told by Jesus that would lead a first time reader to believe otherwise than that the rich man went to a fiery hell and the poor man went upwards to heaven, where Abraham was/is. Keep in mind that these are immaterial spiritual places that are not subject to the laws of space and time. In Mark 9: 43-48 , Jesus does not make any mention of, or even allude to, a two compartment hell - only of a single place where “Where the worm diet not, and the fire is not quenched.” Anything beyond this is the imaginative interpretation of men with an agenda - the same men who concocted dispensationalism. A new believer would never come up with this strange doctrine by reading the Bible on their own unless someone taught it to them.
This strange doctrine is somewhat like that hilarious old country & western song composed by Johny Cash years ago about a car that an assembly line worker made that was composed of stolen parts from many other car models from many other years. The fictitious character in the song had smuggled them out daily in his lunch box. The ballad was called “One piece at a time”. See this link (HL) and hear the song. It is a hoot. It does get the point across however. In the same piecemeal way, we hold to some makeshift doctrines that are pieced together from different incompatible doctrines from many sources. What we end up with is nothing short of weird - a “dog’s breakfast”.
Abraham’s Bosom is close to Abraham’s chest - no more - no less. In verse 23 of Luke 16, the narrator of the story mentions Lazarus being carried in to his bosom, not into his bosom. It makes much more sense to interpret this as meaning that he he placed his arm around Lazarus and pulled him close to his chest when he arrived in heaven. It is ridiculous to say that he welcomed him to a large prison-like place named after himself. Nevertheless, we are told by men like C.I. Scofield that this narrative describes a good place beside an evil place of torture - side by side at the centre of the earth. One place contains unrighteous dead sinners, while the other place has dead semi-righteous saints. One place is a fiery hell, while the other place is called Abraham’s Bosom. Walt Disney could have made a great movie out of this fictitious story.
If dispensationalism is true, then Abraham’s Bosom would have had to have been in existence since the Fall of Man. Did it acquire its name just after Abraham died, or was it always called Abraham’s Bosom? Is there any other example of a place being named in honour of someone’s body part, before he was even born? Maybe it had another name in the beginning and it was changed by Luke? I am being factitious. Do you see what happens when a simple Bible verse is twisted beyond recognition in order to fit a preconceived doctrine?
This narrative is not proof positive of the existence of a place in hell called Abraham’s Bosom. There is a lot of scriptural evidence to the contrary. I cannot touch on all of it at this time. However, I will mention a few obvious facts. When referring to the saints of the past - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Jesus said that the LORD was not the God of the dead, but of the living (Luke 20: 37-38). Where did Jesus ever say that the saints of old were being held as the semi-dead in Paradise? Were Elijah and Enoch exceptions to the rule? I know that this sound ridiculous, but this is what happens whenever false doctrines compound.
O what a tangled web we weave when we first set out to deceive.
In brief, there never was a place called Abraham’s Bosom. It never existed, except in the minds of deceitful men with an agenda.
* Hebrews 11 gives us a list of men of faith from the Old Testament (pre-Abraham) who were righteous. Abel (Verse 4) for example, Adam’s son along with all of the others mentioned in this chapter, went directly to heaven after they died - Enoch - Noah … Faith was the only essential element to be saved then, and it still is today.
The fact that David said that God was the God of the living, not the God of the dead, alludes to the fact that the saints of old were/are alive, not dead in “Abraham’s Bosom” (Matthew 22: 32 (HL)). Their souls, are, and always were, in heaven after they died. They were not in some holding place for the dead, in hell. That is preposterous!
The fact that the rich man could see Abraham afar off does not necessarily indicate that both places were really close to each other. Heaven and hell are spiritual places. They exist in another realm, that permeates this physical realm. With this in mind, God could easily have made it possible to see one place from another that was even light years away. Maybe that is even the case right now between heaven and hell. It is for sure that the holy angels and the Lamb can see hell from heaven (Revelation 14:10). The Bible appears to allude to the fact that the saints in heaven can see the saints on earth (Hebrews 12:1). They can see into hell because Abraham and Lazarus, who were in heaven, could see the rich man, who without a doubt was there. The fact that the man in hell lifted up his eyes to see Abraham and Lazarus afar off conforms with heaven being up, and hell being down relative to the surface of the earth. More details on this topic will follow in the study.
John 19: 30 Does the fact that Jesus said, “It is finished.” indicate that He never had to go to a fiery hell after His physical death? Do the Scriptures reveal that His overall mission at this point was totally complete?
The veil in the temple that separated the Holy place from the holy of holies in the temple was rent from top to bottom at the exact time that Jesus gave up the ghost (Matthew 27: 51). This signified the fact that the sacrificial system was thereby finished. An earthly priesthood was no longer required to intercede for sinful man with daily sacrifices. Jesus had become the ultimate sacrifice - … the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. No longer did man have to approach God by means of animal sacrifices. Entrance into the presence of God was thereby made accessible to sinful men (Hebrews 4: 16) such as you and I. Jesus became, and still is, our sole mediator - our perfect sacrifice - our perfect high priest.
Jesus had to suffer everything that all sinners would have had to suffer; including the eternal death of their souls in hell. It is unfathomable by our limited minds how He did this, yet many still accept it , as I do, by faith. When He pronounced, “It is finished “(John 19: 30), His earthly ministry as a flesh and blood man was finished. His body was dying at this time, but there was still more work yet to be done in another realm. If He was just dying physically on behalf of sinful men like us, as horrendous as that was, then why do forgiven saved men still have to die physically? In John 5:51 and many other verses, Jesus said that any man who keeps His sayings will never taste of death. If He just meant physical death, then why do saved people still die physically today? Ezekiel 18: 20a tells us: The soul that sinneth, it shall die. It therefore stands to reason that He still had to suffer everything that all saved sinners would have had to suffer; including the death of their souls in hell.
Hebrews 2: 3 tells us: How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation;
This fact is unfathomable by our limited minds, yet we, believers, still accept it by faith.
When He pronounced, “It is finished “ (John 19: 30), His earthly ministry in His body of flesh and blood was finished, but His soul had yet to be offered in hell as a burnt offering for sin (Isaiah 53: 10). He had yet to obtain the keys of death and hell (Revelation 1: 18). He had yet to bruise the serpent’s head (Genesis 3: 15). He had yet to resurrect from the dead (Matthew 16: 21). If He hadn’t risen from the dead, then our faith in Him would be vain (1 Corinthians 15: 14). He had yet to present His blood to God the Father on the mercy seat in the holy of holies in heaven (John 20: 17, Hebrews 9: 5, 7, 11-14). He had yet to be seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven (Luke 22: 69). He has yet to return for the saints of all ages (John 14: 3). He has yet to judge the saints at the great judgement seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 10). He has yet to set up His millennial kingdom on earth (Revelation 11: 15). His overall work was far from done when He said, “It is finished.” His earthly ministry on earth as a man was finished however. After His resurrection, He became a glorified man with works yet to be done. It was His soul, not His body, that descended to hell and became a burnt offering/sacrifice for us. As a mere man, I do not understand how this happened, but yet I believe it because the Bible says so, and that is enough for me.
* Ephesians 4:8 (Psalm 68: 18): This portion of scriptures is used by those who accept the ABD to prove that Jesus went to Abraham’s Bosom, the “good side of hell”, to liberate the souls there that had been kept captive. Thusly the souls of the Old Testament saints from ages past were set free and then allowed finally to enter heaven. At that same time, Paradise, we are told, was also relocated to heaven. Heaven was now opened. Do you get all of that from this verse? I don’t.
The expression “captivity captive” was used elsewhere in the Bible, and it can be used to explain its application here. See Judges 5:12:
Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.
The context of this verse was the victory that Deborah and Barak had just achieved through the Lord God’s might against the Canaanites. Their captors had just become their captives. Thus they led captivity captive.
This is what happened when Jesus arose, by the power of God, from hell. The captors that had held Him captive for those three days and for three nights - the same captors that would have held us captive for eternity - had now become His captives. Satan’s fate was now sealed. Our Lord now had the keys of death and hell. Thus He led captivity captive in so many ways. All the forces of hell were once and for all defeated. He thereby gave the gift of undeserved eternal life to men. Praise God!!!!
* John 3:13 Does this verse really mean that no one ever went to heaven before Jesus’ Ascension? ... That He was taking all of that time to prepare a place for Old and New Testament saints? ... That it wasn’t ready yet when He made this statement? Surely not. Don’t the Scriptures abundantly indicate that the saints of old are there? Abel, Noah, Enoch*, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Gideon, Elijah*, and countless others. After studying the issue, no one will convince me that these men, their saved family members, and many more, did not go directly to heaven when they died. Abraham was one of many who “believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” (Genesis 15: 6). Righteousness is right standing with God, or the state of being justified with God. Jesus is the only one who can justify anyone with the Father, and it can only happen by faith. The Old Testament uses the same term in Habakkuk 2: 4b. Old Testament saints were no more or less justified for their faith than we are. Can you imagine that they had to spend time in hell, even after expressing their faith.? It would take more than John Darby, C.I. Scofield and Clarence Larkin with their dispensation-alism to persuade me otherwise.
What then does this verse mean? To ascend means to arise of one’s own accord. It is for sure that Jesus rose up to heaven this way. A cloud received Him out of their sight (Acts 1: 9). He needed no one to convey Him to the place that He had come from. It is for sure that no man, in physical human form - with flesh and blood - ever went up to heaven on his own - this way or otherwise. Corruptible human flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15: 50). Souls and spirits can, but corruptible flesh with blood cannot. All of the stories of children, men and women, going to heaven in physical form and then returning to tell about it are therefore false. Paul went there, more than likely in spirit form, but was not permitted to give any details about what he heard and saw while there (2 Corinthians 12: 4). Why then are these people who have had "life-after-death experiences" then giving all of these supposed details about heaven? The following alleged event was eventually proven to be a hoax (HL).
The souls and the spirits of faith-justified men from the time of Adam are in heaven until the Rapture, when their dead bodies will be resurrected and gloried, like Christ’s glorified body. There is reason to believe that their resurrected bodies will be bloodless. (I could be wrong. ) Elijah went to heaven, yes heaven, in a chariot of fire provided for him (2 Kings 2: 11). In the same fashion as at the rapture, he had to be transformed before he got there. Enoch was taken directly to heaven by God (Genesis 5: 24). He also had to be transformed. Hebrews 11: 5 tells us that he was translated. Can you imagine God bringing both of these great saints down to hell to be held there as captives until He came to get them again? Can you see how this ABD and its’ root doctrine, dispensationalism, start to get all tangled up? Where else would God bring him but to heaven? As I have already written, both of these men, as great as they were, had to be transformed instantly as they rose. We are told in 1 Corinthians 15: 50 that
“Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
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* Genesis 5: 24 & 2 Kings 2: 11: “... for God took him.” & “Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. These verses are very clear. There is no way that they could be interpreted otherwise. These men went up to heaven, not down to “Abraham’s Bosom”.
* 1 Samuel 28: 12-20: Does this verse say that Samuel came up from Abraham’s Bosom? No it doesn’t. Does came up mean that the up was a physical up? Not so. Verse 14 says that the witch of Endor sees an “old man” coming up. The Bible would not say that it was Samuel if it was not him. It was not an impersonation of him created by the devil. He looked the way that he did before he died. He would not have been recognized by the woman, nor by King Saul, if he was in the spirit. His old body was still in the ground. God, who can do whatever He wants to, temporarily gave him the appearance of an old man.
The expression came up is used by the medium who supposedly conjures up the souls of dead people from hell. In modern usage, “came up” is used to insinuate that they are coming from “another dimension” - maybe from a “parallel universe”. (Just kidding). Anyhow, she had just seen “gods”, i.e. evil spirits coming up from out of the earth. Samuel was a great man of God. There is no way that he came “up” from the same place as these “gods”. Hell is down (Proverbs 15: 24). It is more than likely that God allowed him to return in spirit/soul from heaven to the earth at that time.
Although we know that Elijah and Enoch went directly to heaven before they died, we have no reason to believe that all of the other saints also did not also go directly there after death. Dying is not an absolute necessity to get to heaven. At the Rapture living saints will be transformed in the air as they rise. These two saints got to experience the Rapture in advance. When David wrote the 23rd Psalm, he didn’t say, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever, “after I spend some time in Abraham’s Bosom.” He went directly there in spirit after he died.
In verse 19 of I Samuel 28, Samuel tells Saul that he and his sons will there with him the next day. In spite of his previous previous sins, Saul was still a saved man. Jonathan, his son was definitely a man of God. These men went to heaven, not to a compartment of hell. Salvation is for eternity, and does not depend upon our works, before or after salvation. If it did. no one would go to heaven. Solomon and many others are also there in spite of the many sins that they committed. Aren’t you glad for the that fact. it is: “… not of works lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2: 8-9). I know that I am. Praise God!!!.
2 Samuel 12:18-23: 18: And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? 19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. 20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. 21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. 22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? 23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
This story is about the loss of the child that resulted from the adulterous affair between David and Bathsheba. In verse 23, David said he would eventually go to heaven to be with him. That is why he no longer mourned for the child. Children who die before reaching the age of accountability go to heaven - born or unborn. Even though they are conceived with a sinful nature, they have not yet sinned. Sin is what sends a soul to hell. Only Catholics and other fossilized nominally Christian religions believe otherwise. That is why these religions baptize babies.
C WHAT IS DISPENSATIONALISM, AND WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH THE ABRAHAM’S BOSOM DOCTRINE?
A very large segment of those who practice biblical Christianity today accept the Doctrine of Dispensationalism. It permeates many other doctrines, especially this particular one that we are studying. By writing against it I am treading on “sacred ground”. I will attempt to briefly describe what it is.
According to C.I. Schofield, a dispensation is a period of time during which man was/is tested in respect of his obedience to some specific revelation of the will of God ( NIV New Scofield study Bible 1984 Edition page 3: Genesis 1:26 footnote).
We are then told in the same Scofield footnote that seven such distinct dispensations are revealed in Scripture:
1 Innocence
2 Conscience
3 Human Government
4 Promise
5 Law
6 Grace or Church Age
7 Kingdom
As with other errant doctrines, such as Calvinism, a spectrum of beliefs from hyper to mild has evolved over time. Others may have more or less divisions. Dispensationalism is no exception.
According to this doctrine, we are presently in the “Age of Grace”; which is also called the “Church Age”. We are told that it started at the Day of Pentecost and that it will end at the Rapture. However, you will note that the term congregation (the Old Testament equivalent of the New Testament church) is mentioned numerous times in the Old Testament. Check it out for yourself - in the KJV. Check out Acts 7: 38 - “church in the wilderness”. Is this a mistake? There are no mistakes or errors in the KJV - none. Nothing in the Bible is incidental, accidental or coincidental.
To elaborate in detail on each of the preceding dispensations would require more time than I am willing to sacrifice here. I have already done a separate study on it. This task however, is comparable to spending a lot of time trying to explain various aspects of the Flat Earth Hypothesis. Why spend time trying to explain a doctrine that you know in your heart and in your mind is wrong? Nevertheless, I will still touch on more of its specifics deeper in this study.
Many men from all six supposed dispensations are in heaven. Why else would Jesus tell us in John 14: 2:
“In my Father’s house are many mansions.”
He hadn’t died yet. Who do you think that these mansions were for? Maybe they were unoccupied at that time, … or could it be that they were occupied? They were surely not occupied by angels.
God didn’t say “There will be many mansions, after Jesus dies.”
From the very beginning, all saints went directly to heaven as soon as they died. The Bible is clear on this.
1 Innocence Adam and Eve (They surely passed the Gospel on to their offspring)
2 Conscience: Abel (Hebrews 11: 4).
3 Human Government: Enoch and Noah (Hebrews 11: 5-7).
4 Promise: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sara, … (Hebrews 11: 8-21, 32).
5 Law: Moses, David and Solomon (Hebrews 11:22-29).
6 Grace: Peter, James, John, Paul, …
7. Kingdom (not here yet).
These men, and a great multitude more, went to heaven. These artificial time divisions called dispensations are just that - man made divisions. If heaven was therefore always opened for these great men of faith, then there was no need for a temporary holding place - Abraham’s Bosom. Numerous unnamed “ordinary” saints have always gone directly to heaven. Jesus’ sacrifice was effective for men of all ages.
More about the modern originators of this doctrine? Dispensationalism is somewhat like a gigantic rigid framework imposed on the Scriptures. Its long restrictive members stretch from Genesis to Revelation - from Abraham’s Bosom to modern Zionism. If one believes in it, then all other fundamental teachings must be forced into its many compartments, whether they fit or not. We then have the proverbial square peg being forced into a round hole.
Please do not be offended but….Zionism is one of the products of this doctrine. I have even read that it is one of the reasons why this doctrine was revived in the first place. If you have a bit of time on your hands, do some research about C.I. Scofield being a member of the exclusive Lotus Club (HL). Why would Scofield, a man of very modest means at that time, want to belong to such an expensive restricted club, composed many of secular unbelieving Jews? If you are a Bible-believer, would you like to belong to a club such as this one? For the same reasons, no Spirit-filled Christian believer should would ever want to belong similar organizations such as the Masons or the Shriners? Read the 7th paragraph in the above link to get the reference to the Lotus Club, or research it on your own. Could it be that they knew that his pro-Zionist doctrine, which was to be incorporated into the notes of his Schofield Reference Bible, was to their advantage? Thusly would Zionism be spread to all those who read his Bible.
This doctrine have been arrived at by an average believer as he/she read the Bible solely by themselves with the indispensable help of the Holy Spirit - without the extensive marginal references and footnotes found in a Scofield Reference Bible? Did early Bible-believing Christians, before the mid-1800’s believe this doctrine? I very much doubt it. Occam’s Razor (HL)* would have a hay-day with this concocted hypothesis. There won’t be a lot left after the razor was applied to it. It is not compatible with the Bible. The Gospel of faith in Jesus Christ is sufficient to knit the Old and the New Testaments together. There is no need for this complex dispensational hypothesis.
The most prominent men who formulated dispensationalism in the 1800’s were also responsible for having created the fertile setting for this Abraham’s Bosom Doctrine. Both doctrines are interdependent. If one falls, then so does the other. The most outstanding of these men from the 19th Century were Clarence Larkin (1850-1924) (HL), John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) (HL) and C.I. Scofield (1843-1921) (HL). John Darby was the chiefest of these. Some of the principal 21st Century disciples of the above-mentioned men are Vernon McGee, David Jeremiah, Chuck Swindoll, John Walvoord, Robert Jeffress*, Hal Lindsey, Bruce Wilkinson, Harry Ironside, Dwight Pentecost and John Hagee. Google any or all of these men, and see how they were/are purveyors of dispensationalism and all of their offshoot doctrines. _______________________________________________________________ * Robert Jeffress is a frequent commentator on Fox News. He is a rabid Zionist and a Trump supporter.
Going back even farther than the 1800’s, the Greek philosophers (HL) influenced the early “church fathers” in the development of this extra-biblical doctrine. They built a rudimentary foundation for the two-compartment hell doctrine; which “evolved” into the Catholic Purgatory. Principal among these older “fathers” were Tertullian (AD 211), Cyprian (AD 253), Chrysostom (AD 392) and Augustine (AD 411). These men wrote about a temporary holding place for the dead near hell. The occupants of this fictitious place however, would eventually be allowed into heaven after suffering much fiery torment to pay for their sins. Prayers could also be offered and indulgences made/paid by others to shorten their sentences by thousands of years. (I was taught this as a child in the Catholic Church.) Thusly they could eventually be exonerated if they died without having confessed “mortal sin” against them. The false concept of of Purgatory is based on the idea being that severe pain can be endured for a long time if one knows that eventually it will come to an end. The Jews also taught a similar weird doctrine. The Jewish Encyclopedia of the Talmud (HL) mentions the man Abraham as the gatekeeper of Abraham’s Bosom/Paradise. Some wrings even include Isaac and Jacob as “gate keepers”.
We are warned in Titus 1: 14 about: Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. In light of the widespread acceptance of dispensationalism, with its Abraham’s Bosom, it is debatable whether we have heeded this warning. Check out 1 Timothy 1: 3-4 and 2 Timothy 4: 3-4.
There is a strange Catholic apocryphal book called “The Gospel of Nicodemus” (HL) which also contains allusions to the “Abraham’s Bosom” doctrine.
So, you can see that this doctrine called dispensationalism, with its many offshoots, didn’t just appear in the 18th Century from a vacuum. Its seeds were already planted. It is sad to know that many Baptists have watered them and caused them to spring up like weeds.
* How does dispensationalism directly relate to Abraham’s Bosom? If one accepts dispensationalism, then it is easy to also accept the two compartment hell doctrine as well. Both hypotheses go together as a hand in a glove. One compliments the other. They are interdependent. After all, there had to be a temporary holding place for the Old Testament saints from previous dispensations. They had, after all, died before the resurrection - before the “Age of Grace”. They could not yet benefit from God’s plan of salvation - too early - come back later. Consequently, if “righteous men” back then could not yet go to heaven after they died, then they had to go somewhere else in the meantime until they could be finally taken care of - right? Step in ... A place called Abraham’s Bosom.
As you read Hebrews 11, you will notice that all of those mentioned in this great faith chapter, from Abel - to those faithful believers who wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth, eventually went to a country/city that God had prepared for them (verse 16). There is no mention here that these Old Testament saints had to wait in the good side of hell until Jesus died for them. They looked to God and their faith in Him was all that they needed (Isaiah 45: 22). Our God, and His plan of salvation for fallen man, is not constrained by time. He transcends time and space.
Romans 4: 17 tells us: (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
* Why is the Abraham’s Bosom Doctrine (and Dispensationalism) so widely accepted, even among KJV Only Baptist believers today? One would think that this would be the last group to accept this strange un-biblical doctrine. But no. This doctrine has been adapted by many Bible-believing churches today because they accept everything that they read in the margins of their thick Scofield Reference Bibles, and in their huge commentaries without question. To them, these comments carry the same, or maybe even more weight, than the actual biblical text. Schofield’d comments occupy more space than does the actual biblical text. If a teaching appears suspect, then we are told, as believers, that it should be examined more closely, using the Bible (KJV) alone - comparing spiritual with spiritual, or scripture with scripture (1 Corinthians 2:13):
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
We are encouraged to be judges of what we hear in the church. Our standard should be the written Word of God - not man’s word - regardless how many Ph.D.’s or D.D.’s that a “scholar” may have after his/her name. Anyone who has the audacity to question doctrine today however, is considered to be a rebel.
1 Corinthians 14:29 tells us:
Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
I have already written about Clarence Larkin, one of the chief architects of dispensationalism and ABD, but here are some more interesting facts about him: He had a background in mechanical engineering, as I also have. As a consequence he loved to draw complex flow diagrams (HL) to illustrate his unscriptural doctrines. Many believers are swept away by these impressive drawings. Complexity somehow makes doctrines more acceptable to fundamentalists”, such as us. Why?
Any sincere new believer would never come up with this doctrine on their own just by reading their KJV Bible numerous times without a commentary. Nevertheless, check his diagrams out on the internet at the above link if you have lots of time to spare.
God did dispensed the Gospel progressively in portions as time proceeded, but He always had the same plan. That is the only way that the word dispen-sation can be legitimately used. The Gospel became clearer and clearer as the time of the promised Messiah approached. He dispensed it to man a bit at a time. God never tried all of the six diverse plans of dispensationalism on mankind in a quantum-like fashion. The plan of salvation was always the same. It was set from the foundation of the world (Luke 11: 50 & Revelation 13: 8). He never changed His approach according to man’s failed response to various plans. God does not use the method of trial and error. He is not confined by time: declaring the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46: 10). With this in mind, dispensationalism is preposterous.
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* Incidentally, if you haven’t figured it out already, when I underline and bold print a word or a phrase in a sentence, and include (HL) besides it, then it is a hyper-link that will lead you a specific web site that will give more information on the topic. Click on it.
4 IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED TO JESUS IN HELL, WE MUST FIRST UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SAVED MAN AND AN UNSAVED MAN ?
- An unsaved man has only a two-fold nature - a body and a soul. His spirit is dead, dormant or non-existent. When Adam and Eve sinned, their spirits within them died at that very time (Genesis 2: 16-17). Years later, their bodies died also. It is reasonable to assume, but we have no direct proof text, that they eventually placed their faith in God for their salvation, and that their spirits were subsequently regenerated. After all, they had learned directly from God Himself. It is also reasonable to assume that they passed their knowledge of God and His salvation plan on to their offspring. They also had to be born of the Spirit. Where else would Abel have learned about the sacrificial system? They had free will from the very beginning. Their parents were, after all, the beneficiaries of the first blood sacrifices made by God - a prefiguring of the ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God. He had to take the lives of at least two animals to provide coverings for them.
- Genesis 2: 16-17: 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
This body-soul dichotomy was then passed on to us by our common first parents. We are born with Adam’s nature.
John 3: 5-6 makes it very clear that an unsaved man does not have a live spirit in him. Jesus considered an unsaved man, who has a soul, to be effectively dead while yet physically alive (Matthew 8: 21-22).
21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
Ephesians 2: 1, 5 also states:
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
If an unregenerate man already had a spirit in him, then why would Jesus say that Nicodemus had to be born of the Spirit? This conversation is recorded in John 3: 3:
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
When an unsaved person dies, his/her soul goes immediately to a fiery hell. It is eventually reunited with the body at the resurrection of the dead. It then goes on to suffer a continuous conscious death in hell, and then in the Lake of Fire forever; in a sense as an eternal never ending sacrifice - an eternal never ending death - an eternal attempt to pay an infinite price.
* A saved man, on the other hand, has a three-fold nature - body, soul and spirit. The body is the material part. It interacts with the material world. The soul and the spirit are the non-physical or the non-material entities. Each has different functions and different faculties. The soul interacts with other men, while the spirit interacts with God. Paul alludes to this distinction in 1 Thessalonians 5: 23:
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 4: 12 also reenforces this distinction between soul and spirit when it tells us:
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
A spirit is born and/or infused into a man by the Holy Spirit when he is born again (John 3: 5-6). This miracle occurs at the time that a person places their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Spiritual birth happens at an instant. It is not a process. Only faith in Christ is required. Of course implied in this is that we must believe in His substitutionary death, His burial, and His resurrection.
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
The soul of man is also called his heart. It also encompasses his sinful fleshly nature. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that it is deceitful and desperately wicked.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
The soul (the flesh) and the spirit are continually at odds with each other after the new birth. This battle only ceases at death. There is no similar battle going on in an unsaved person. Paul describes this battle in detail that goes on in believers in Romans 7 and 8. Galatians 5: 17 tells us:
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
The spirit, on the other hand is the part of a regenerate man that interacts with God. It is the part that is infused into us by the Holy Spirit at the new birth. It cannot be corrupted. When the spirit and the soul depart from the body, then the body is dead (James 2: 26). Of course a saved person does not cease to exist beyond this time (2 Corinthians 5: 8). Their essence goes directly to heaven.
2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
With this in mind, I will now go on and show how this all relates to Jesus going to hell after Calvary.
5 WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO GO TO A FIERY HELL AFTER HE DIED ON CALVARY?
* Let me again mention the Scriptures that clearly tell us that Jesus definitely went to a fiery hell after Calvary.
Acts 2: 23-27: 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. 25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Ps 16:10
This psalm is undeniably about Jesus. His soul was in hell while His body remained in the tomb, until His resurrection. It could not be more clear.
Here is another clear verse that I already used in the beginning:
Matthew 12:40: For as Jonas 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.
The heart of the earth is its core, in the same way as the centre of an apple is its core. In French, Italian, Latin, and I am sure many other languages, there are words that have the root core in them, relating to the heart. The core of the earth is definitely burning. It is the present location of hell. It is both a physical and a spiritual place with a real location. It is also called “the bottomless pit”. That description makes particular sense according to Physics. Gravity is effectively zero at the earth’s centre. There is the same amount of mass all around any physical entity in that location. The net force on that entity is therefore zero, giving one the sensation of there being no bottom. God is the author of the Laws of Physics. Nothing in Scripture is accidental, coincidental or incidental.
Isaiah 53: 10-12: 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Jesus’ soul was subjected to unimaginable horror in hell. This experience was initiated by His physical death on the cross of Calvary. Even though the soul is an immaterial entity, apparently it can be tortured, and it can suffer.
Hebrews 2: 9: But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
The death mentioned here is not mere physical death, because man, believer or not, must pass from this realm of existence through that portal. It stands to reason then that the death mentioned in this verse is both physical death and soul death because saved men still die physically.
A Man’s unsaved soul dies in hell.
Revelation 1: 18: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Jesus went to hell to get those keys.
Matthew 10: 28: And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
The human souls of unbelieving sinners are destroyed in hell. The resurrected bodies of the damned are also cast into hell at that time, to die eternally, in an attempt to atone for their own sins; which would never happen, even given all of eternity. Satan has a part in this process. Surely he was there when Jesus suffered.
Jonah 2: 1-7: 1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, 2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. 3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. 4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. 5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. 6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. 7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
Matthew 12: 39-41 ties in this Old Testament story to Jesus going to hell. Jonah 2: 1-7 had two meanings, as do many biblical stories. It described Jonah’s experience at the same time as describing Christ’s experience. The Bible is a multi-layered Book like no other - a book within a book, within a book,… It is an infinite microcosm (HL). It has meaning within meaning, within meaning, within meaning, … It is as if you can use a magnifying glass, then an optical microscope, then an electron microscope, then a field emission microscope,…on it, and you will never plumb its depths. None of the other “holy books” even come close to it. It is a quantum leap above any other “great works of man”. It is God’s unique Book. Other books are not even in the same league. They are as different as the spiritual realm is from the physical realm.
Jesus had to go to hell and to experience soul death in order to identify with man in every way possible as our high priest. Hebrews 2: 17-18 tells us:
17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
He had to taste death for every man. Although He never sinned, He bore the sins of the world. Being sinless, He died as any unforgiven sinner would die.
Ezekiel 18: 4 tells us:
“....:the soul that sinneth, it shall die”
Romans 3: 23 and Romans 6: 23 tell us that we are all sinners, and that we all therefore deserve death.; not just the mere death of our bodies, but the eternal death of our souls in hell.
Hebrews 2: 9 tells us:
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Hell is the place where the soul of unforgiven men die, so Jesus’ soul had to experience death in hell for us. He didn’t cut corners. This sounds repugnant, but this is what is revealed to us in Scripture.
Matthew 10: 28 tells us:
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
He totally relied on His Father/God to raise Him from the dead (Acts10: 40):
Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;
Praise God! He was raised from the dead to die no more! What a glorious hope we have in Him! He went all the way for us. What an incomparable Saviour!!! I am deeply touched even as I write this truth. What an awesome matchless Saviour!!!!!!
B Jesus soul had to be made an offering by fire for sin by fire in hell.
Isaiah 53: 10, 12: 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
All believers would agree that the Passover Lamb offering represents Jesus Christ. The lamb had to be a male without blemish. It had to be burned with fire. Its blood had then to be applied to the door posts. See
Exodus 12: 5-8: 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
This event foreshadowed the offering of Jesus’ soul by fire in hell. Communion represents the eating of the sacrifice of Christ’s body. It is figurative.
How that could happen to our God is unfathomable. Somehow our Lord allowed Himself, in His humanity, to suffer in the same way as any sinful man should have suffered. He must have felt the same as if His soul was condemned to hell forever. Could this be why He sweat, as it were, great drops of blood while He prayed on the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:44) as He anticipated this awful experience? His Father had to look away from Him at this time. He had to cast Himself on the mercy of His Father to then raise Him from the dead after three days and three nights in hell. Being omnipresent, His Spirit was in heaven at that time. We are told in Luke 23: 46 that He commended His spirit to His Father. Being mere men, we cannot comprehend all of this, but we still believe it. Jesus is omnipresent.
God has only revealed a small portion of Himself to us. As God, He is undefinable. Given all of eternity, we will never fully understand Him completely. As the Bible says, “We look through a glass darkly.” Being very God, His essence cannot die. However His humanity did die. Psalm 90: 2 tells us:
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
It is impossible for our everlasting God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to cease to exist, otherwise They would not be God. Jesus’ existence cannot/could not be interrupted.
The following verses corroborate Matthew 12:40, which compare the experiences of Jesus and Jonah. They not only tell us that He went to hell, but they clearly tell us that Jesus’ soul went to hell where it was offered as a sacrifice for sin, and for sinners. Read on ...
Psalm 16:10: For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Isaiah 53:10-12 mentions Jesus’ soul three times;
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
If this scripture only refers to His work on the cross, then why were three days required before He resurrected. Why didn’t He just resurrect directly from the cross or shortly after being placed in the tomb? I would challenge anyone to explain to me where He was during those three days, if it wasn’t in a fiery hell.
Do these verses touch your soul? They do touch mine as I read them again. His soul was poured out unto death in hell. It cannot be denied. How else could this verse be interpreted? He actually included a sinner like me in with all of those forgiven transgressors as a beneficiary of His sacrifice. Praise God!!!
C Jesus was begotten from death by the father.
For a long time I have wondered about the meaning of the following verses. How could Jesus have been begotten? He had no human origin, unless you believe the NIV (Micah 5: 2). He is from eternity past. He never had a beginning. I asked this question to those who I thought would know the answer. I didn’t get one. The following verses however, actually contain the answer to the question.
Acts 13:33-34 quotes Psalm 2:7 when it states:
33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. 34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
Only the physical body can undergo corruption. That term refers to the process whereby the body rots as it returns to the dust from which it came.
Jesus was not begotten in the same sense that humans are begotten. We were all begotten through our parents. In the human sense, begotten means to bring a life, or anything else, into existence. We did not exist before this event in our lives. We came into existence when we were begotten.
The Word of God, however, was not created, nor was He begotten in the human sense. Mormons erroneously believe this. He is the Creator. He is the one who begets. He did not come into existence when He was born in Bethlehem. He always existed from eternity past as the Word of God and He always will exist in eternity future. God the Son was never born (Micah 5:2), because God is from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90:2). The Word of God was part of the “let US” of Genesis 1:26 in the very beginning. John 1:1-3 , John 1:14 and Colossians 1:16-17 identify the Word/Jesus, as the Creator and the sustainer of all things - all of the universe.
Micah 5:2: But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
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The NIV states: “whose origins are from of old, from ancient times”. Problem? Jesus - origin???? Throw your NIV away. It is corrupt.
Psalm 90:2: Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Genesis 1:26: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
John 1:1-3: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
* John 1:14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
- There should be no doubt that the Word is Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:16-17: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Again, how then was Jesus begotten? Jesus, the very Creator of all, was begotten by the Father because His humanity, His soul, was allowed to die in hell. He was also begotten when He was conceived in Mary. This fact was prophesied long before it actually happened. He had to do this in order to become our High Priest and to identify with us in every way. Here I go repeating verses again that I have already mentioned, but they still bear repeating.
Hebrews 2:17: Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Hebrews 7:27: Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
The first Person of the Trinity consequently brought Jesus’ soul back to life, and thusly was Jesus begotten of the Father. The magnitude of that event may never be fully understood by mere humans. Even though God cannot die, it was made such that Jesus could experience all of the aspects of eternal death as a man, on behalf of men. Even though I cannot fully understand this, I still believe it, because the Scriptures clearly say so.
There is only so much that we, as mere men, can understand about the essence of our God and what transpired at that time. We only have what the Scriptures reveal to us. We now see through a glass darkly (1 Corinthians 13:12).
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
The Holy Spirit so aptly sums it all when He says: “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation;...” (Hebrews 2:3a
D Jesus had to bruise the serpent’s head
One of the earliest prophesies concerning our Lord’s suffering on our behalf is found in Genesis 3:15:
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
I believe that the bruising of his heel in this verse refers to what happened to Jesus in hell. Satan, who was constantly out to get Jesus from the time of His incarnation until the crucifixion and His descent into hell. Because the devil does not know everything, he must have thought that Jesus was now vulnerable to him in hell. However, he did not know the “rest of the story.” The wound that he inflicted could never be the ultimate that the devil had hoped for. It was merely a bruise to the heel of our Saviour. Satan, on the other hand had to give up the keys of death and hell to Jesus. In the “struggle of the ages” in hell, his head was bruised. This wound had severe consequences. He will end up being tortured in the lake of fire forever, after a brief reprieve at the end of the millennium.
CONCLUSIONS:
* Jesus shed His precious blood on Calvary as the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world.
* Jesus descended to hell after Calvary.
* Jesus’ soul was made an offering for sin in hell.
* An offering has to be killed and to yield up its blood.
* Jesus then presented His blood to God the Father in the Holy of Holies in heaven on the behalf of sinners.
* Hell is a terrible place of eternal punishment.
* The saints of all ages are, and have always been, in heaven.
* Paradise is, and has always been, in heaven.
* Heaven is up and hell is down.
* The saints from other “dispensations” have always gone to heaven.
* Hell is at the centre of the earth.
* A compartmentalized hell, with a good and a bad side, never existed.
* Access to heaven and Salvation has always been available by grace through faith from the time of creation until today.
Revised Jan 28/19
daveandchriscameron@gmail.com
David Cameron