The Kingdom Light – Episode 1115
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We are here to deliver the good news to the world: Christ has redeemed us from sin! But what happened to those who died before Jesus came? This question baffles a great many people. As Christians, we should be able to answer it when asked. Can you? Today, we’ll dive into the scriptures and reveal the truth.
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I wanna start off by challenging your beliefs a little bit. If you’re like me, you believe the Bible is the infallible and undeniable Word of the Living God. As such, it should hold up under the greatest of scrutiny. Often times, people simply don’t understand. But the best way to interpret scripture is through other scripture.
Let’s start with a verse in Matthew where Jesus responds to those asking for a sign. After calling them wicked for asking as they did, He told them the only sign they’d see is that of Jonah. Predicting His own death, Jesus said…
Matthew 12:40
“For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
Make a mental note of the last few words there, in the heart of the earth. We’re gonna discover today just what that really means.
Now some have said the Jonah story is a fairytale. They claim that it’s impossible for a man to survive 3 days inside the belly of a large fish. Of course, God could have made the impossible possible, but what if the truth is in the subtext?
Jesus made the comparison to Jonah knowing that He Himself would be crucified and buried in a tomb. For the analogy to stand, perhaps Jonah – like Jesus – actually died and was resurrected. Stay with me. Consider that Jonah’s time in the belly of the great fish was very similar to Jesus’ time in the tomb. His body was there, dead, but His spirit was elsewhere. Again, let’s allow scripture to interpret scripture…
Jonah 1:17
And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah prays to God in chapter 2. Notice what he says here…
Jonah 2:2
“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.”
This mention of being in Sheol suggests his spirit and body were separated. Though his body was in the belly of the great fish, Jonah seemed to experience several things outside the fish below the depth of the waters. Therefore, it’s quite logical to assume that he was dead – or at the very least, close to it.
Jonah 2:5-7
“The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.”
This would seem to indicate that Jonah had an out-of-body experience of some sort, and that his spirit even descended into Sheol. Again, this mirrors the experience of Jesus somewhat. It is said that He also went into Sheol and to the place known as Abraham’s Bosom.
The Bible mentions Sheol several times, but we seldom study the significance of this area said to exist below the earth. Is there a place like this literally deep underground? Consider the conversation between Jesus and the thief on the cross next to him. After the first thief on the other side mocked Jesus and cursed Him, this man defended Jesus. He demonstrated through his words that he believed Jesus truly was the Son of God as He claimed.
Luke 23:43
And he (Jesus) said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
People have argued about this passage and its significance. They say things like, “See that? This guy was a sinner who never got baptized or said the sinner’s prayer or anything. But he still made it to heaven!” But there’s a major flaw in this line of thinking.
Jesus promising the thief he would go to paradise is NOT the same thing as taking him to heaven. Jesus didn’t ascend to heaven until many days later. Paradise is a different place entirely, and it’s in that area under the earth where Sheol is said to be. In fact, paradise and the place called Abraham’s Bosom are one and the same. Here is an artist’s depiction…
For context, let’s look at a parable Jesus told about a rich man and Lazarus…
Luke 16:19-31
“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
There’s SO MUCH good stuff contained within this text. And while this was indeed a parable, the story reveals a great deal about the afterlife. It tells of a deep underground realm where there is an area of paradise – where Abraham’s spirit was – and a bit further down and across a great chasm, or divide, there existed another area known as Hades.
It was understood in those days that a soul went to paradise – or the place where father Abraham was – after living a righteous life. This was a place of comfort and peace. Likewise, those who were wicked at the time of death went down to Hades – a place of continual torment. These aren’t the same as heaven and hell, but they were holding places for the souls of all who died before Jesus came and changed everything.
NOW what Jesus said to the thief on the cross makes more sense. He assured him, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” And that’s exactly where they went after dying on their crosses. Jesus went there with a mission to set captives free. He descended into that realm to swipe the keys of death, hell, and the grave – or more accurately, the keys of paradise, Hades, and Sheol itself.
But why did it take 3 days? While in paradise with Abraham and all the souls of the righteous who’d died, Jesus delivered the gospel message to them. I believe He explained the concepts of sin, forgiveness, and redemption through His blood. I’m sure they asked Him many questions, and He answered each and every one. That’s where they finally had the opportunity accept Him as Savior – all of them, including the thief who’d shown such faith during crucifixion.
What about those across the chasm in Hades? As the previously read parable clearly suggests, the spirits of the wicked would have also been able to hear this gospel message preached for the first time. Since Jesus took charge of all the keys, He could release any of them who chose to believe in Him. We have evidence of this in scripture, too…
1 Peter 3:18-20
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey…
1 Peter 4:6
For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.
Some of you may be thinking, “Oh sure, if they’re in the torment of Hades, naturally they’re gonna say they believe just to escape punishment.” This presumes the silly notion that Jesus wouldn’t know their hearts and minds and the wicked might trick their way out of Hades. No, but the point is that EVERY human soul has a chance to accept or reject Christ as Lord.
The same is true today. Even now, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being preached across the earth. Time is getting short, and soon every soul will be judged according to the choice they make. Accept Jesus and His gifts of salvation and eternal life or reject Him and go the other way. That choice is yours. So, choose wisely. It is, after all, the most important choice you’ll ever make.
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