Doc110 Loc: York PA

04/17/2017 Did Jesus Descend to Hell, Sheol, or Paradise After His Death ?

Dave Armstrong
http://m.ncregister.com/blog/darmstrong/did-jesus-descend-to-hell-sheol-or-paradise-after-his-death


Jesus descended to, and led captives from, Sheol

Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman (during His Anglican days) commented :

Our Savior, as we suppose, did not go to the abyss assigned to the fallen angels, but to those mysterious mansions where the souls of all men await the judgment.

That He went to the abode of blessed spirits is evident, from His words addressed to the robber on the cross, when He also called it Paradise; that He went to some other place besides Paradise may be conjectured from St. Peter’s saying, ‘He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient.’
1 Pet. 3:19-20

The circumstances, then, that these two abodes of disembodied good and bad, are called by one name, Hades . . . seems clearly to show that Paradise is not the same as Heaven, but a resting-place at the foot of it.

Let it be further remarked, that Samuel, when brought from the dead, in the witch’s cavern, said, ‘Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?’
1 Sam. 28:15

Words which would seem quite inconsistent with his being then already in Heaven.

(Sermon: “The Intermediate State,” 1836; my italics)

I utilized this passage in my book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism, and received a rather colorful and animated letter from an anti-Catholic critic:

You quote Cardinal Newman with approval, referring to Paradise as a temporary abode of the dead, while they await judgment, but not Heaven.

That is a disgusting jesuitical trick.

Your apostasy has turned you into a vile and underhanded man.

I hope your popish rewards are worth it.

Be that as it may, I shall further explain my reasoning. Paradise can certainly be used as meaning heaven.


The online Dictionary.com (“Paradise”) states:
noun
1. heaven, as the final abode of the righteous.
2. an intermediate place for the departed souls of the
righteous awaiting resurrection.
3. (often initial capital letter) Eden.
(def 1)

Merriam-Webster online provides a very similar definition.

When multiple meanings of words exist, then context is supremely important to determine the meaning.

The New Bible Dictionary (edited by J. D. Douglas, Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1962, “Paradise”: 934-935), a very reputable Protestant reference work, states:

In Lk. 23:43
The word ‘paradise’ is used by Jesus for the place where souls go immediately after death, cf. the concealed paradise in later Jewish thought.

The same idea is also present in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
Lk. 16:19-31

The same article cites the other two instances in the New Testament (2 Cor 12:2-4 and Rev 2:7) as referring to “heaven.”

Let’s look at these three passages:

Luke 23:42-43
And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”


2 Corinthians 12:2-3
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.

And I know that this man was caught up into Paradise — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows —


Revelation 2:7
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To him who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.


Jesus didn’t ascend to heaven until some forty days (Acts 1:1-11) after His Resurrection, which was on a different day than His death.

Therefore, He couldn’t be referring to heaven on the cross (Lk 23:42-43), in talking to the thief next to him.

But in 2 Corinthians, note how St. Paul uses paradise (Gk: paradeisos) and third heaven interchangeably.

It’s a different meaning than in.
Luke 23:43.

Likewise, paradise in Revelation 2:7 is heaven, since we know by Revelation 22:2, 14, 19 that the “tree of life” is located in heaven.

Other lexicons agree. Kittel notes these different meanings, etc.

In this regard, another passage is directly related to 1 Peter 3:19-20: mentioned by Cardinal Newman:


Ephesians 4:8-10

Therefore it is said, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”

(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)

With this elaboration of the word paradise in Scripture, it becomes quite clear where Jesus went after His death.

It was Sheol: the Hebrew word for the netherworld, or abode of the dead (Greek: Hades).

The “good” part of Sheol (Lk 16:19-31) is also called “paradise.”

The only confusion remaining is the reference in the Apostles’ Creed: “He descended into Hell.”

The word hell actually has a wide latitude in theological usage.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church elaborates:

633
Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, “hell” – Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God.

Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into “Abraham's bosom” . . .

Hades - Sheol is distinct from the biblical Greek place, gehenna, which refers to “’the unquenchable fire’ reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe.”
CCC 1034

Accordingly, the 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia (“Hell”) states that “Theologians distinguish four meanings”:

Everlasting fire and punishment (Gehenna),
Limbo,
Limbo of the fathers (limbus patrum), or Hades-Sheol, and 4) purgatory.

Jesus descended to, and led captives from Sheol, not Gehenna.; also known as “paradise.”

Rose42

No he didn't descend into hell.

-snip

Faithfulness to all of Scripture, however, requires us to deny that Jesus’ spirit went to hell after He died. First, Jesus told the repentant thief on the cross that he would be with Christ in Paradise on the same day of their crucifixion (Luke 23:39– 43). Second, nothing in Ephesians 4:8–10 says Jesus descended into hell; Paul means only that Christ descended into the grave. Third, 1 Peter 3:18–20 likely refers to the Son of God preaching by the Holy Spirit through Noah to the people of Noah’s day. Finally, Jesus finished His atoning work on the cross. The New Testament speaks of propitiation, the turning away of the Lord’s wrath, only in relation to Jesus shedding His blood on the cross (Rom. 3:25; Heb. 2:17; 9:1–10:18; 1 John 2:2; 4:10; 5:6–11). Moreover, our Savior’s last words on the cross were “It is finished” (John 19:30). He saw His work as completed when He died

-snip
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/christs-descent-into-hell/

bahmer

Amen and Amen that's the way that I see it as well.

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

Would you consider propitiation as meaning a perfect offering and until his resurrection "as the first born" as being the final act of his sacrifice?

Rose42

I consider propitiation meaning He satisfied God in His sacrifice for us. When Christ said "it is finished" He was finished wiping our debt of sin away.

Doc110 Loc: York PA

Rose42

1. Then where did Jesus soul go for three says after his Death ? His body was in the Cave ? Where was his body for three days ?

2. And where is Paradise ? The Thief was a sinner. Did we here Jesus forgive his sins, or was it just implied ?

Rose42 why do you always twist scripture around to promote your Protestant mindset ?

All you provide is religious fluff and protestant distractions.

I know that you are the argumentative type, but please stop with all the compost, be specific with Holy Scripture when answering questions.

You leave a lot of holes and ambiguous answers..

Doc110

Doc110 Loc: York PA

balmer,

The Protestant cheerleader.

With nothing to say.

Doc110

bahmer

1. Sheol/hades was a realm with two divisions—a place of blessing and a place of judgment (Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27–31). The abodes of the saved and the lost are both generally called “hades” in the Bible. The abode of the saved is also called “Abraham’s bosom” (KJV) or “Abraham’s side” (NIV) in Luke 16:22 and “paradise” in Luke 23:43. The abode of the unsaved is called “hell” (KJV) or “Hades” (NIV) in Luke 16:23. The abodes of the saved and the lost are separated by a “great chasm” (Luke 16:26). When Jesus died, He went to the blessed side of sheol and, from there, took the believers with Him to heaven (Ephesians 4:8–10). The judgment side of sheol/hades has remained unchanged. All unbelieving dead go there awaiting their final judgment in the future. Did Jesus go to sheol/hades? Yes, according to Ephesians 4:8–10 and 1 Peter 3:18–20.
I believe that it was Abraham's bosom where Christ went and preached the good news and led captivity captive and took them to heaven with himself. The thief on the cross would have then been in Abraham's bosom where he would have heard Christs message and then was taken to heaven when Christ emptied Abraham's bosom and took it with himself to heaven.

Doc110 Loc: York PA

Balmer,

Learned a new word in your vocabulary.

Doc 110


The Bosom of Abraham
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01055a.htm

In the Holy Bible, the expression "the Bosom of Abraham" is found only in two verses of St. Luke's Gospel.
16:22-23

It occurs in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus the imagery of which is plainly drawn from the popular representations of the unseen world of the dead which were current in Our Lord's time.

According to the Jewish conceptions of that day, the souls of the dead were gathered into a general tarrying-place the Sheol of the Old Testament literature, and the Hades of the New Testament writings.
Luke 16:22 in the Greek 16:23

A local discrimination, however, existed among them, according to their deeds during their mortal life.

In the unseen world of the dead the souls of the righteous occupied an abode or compartment of their own which was distinctly separated by a wall or a chasm from the abode or compartment to which the souls of the wicked were consigned.

The latter was a place of torments usually spoken of as Gehenna.
Matthew 5:29, 30; 18:9; Mark 9:42

In the Latin Vulgate Bible — the other, place of bliss and security known under the names of "Paradise."
Luke 23:43

And "the Bosom of Abraham."
(Luke 16:22-23).

And it is in harmony with these Jewish conceptions that Our Lord pictured the terrible fate of the selfish Rich Man, and on the contrary, the glorious reward of the patient Lazarus.

In the next life Dives found himself in Gehenna, condemned to the most excruciating torments, whereas Lazarus was carried by the angels into "the Bosom of Abraham", where the righteous dead shared in the repose and felicity of Abraham "the father of the faithful".

But while commentators generally agree upon the meaning of the figurative expression "the Bosom of Abraham", as designating the blissful abode of the righteous souls after death, they are at variance with regard to the manner in which the phrase itself originated.

Up to the time of Maldonatus (A.D. 1583), its origin was traced back to the universal custom of parents to take up into their arms, or place upon their knees, their children when they are fatigued, or return home, and to make them rest by their side during the night.
2 Samuel 12:2; 1 Kings 3:20; 17:19; Luke 11:7

Thus causing them to enjoy rest and security in the bosom of a loving parent.

After the same manner was Abraham supposed to act towards his children after the fatigues and troubles of the present life, hence the metaphorical expression "to be in Abraham's Bosom" as meaning to be in repose and happiness with him.

But according to Maldonatus (In Lucam, xvi, 22), whose theory has since been accepted by many scholars, the metaphor "to be in Abraham's Bosom" is derived from the custom of reclining on couches at table which prevailed among the Jews during and before the time of Christ.

As at a feast each guest leaned on his left elbow so as to leave his right arm at liberty, and as two or more lay on the same couch, the head of one man was near the breast of the man who lay behind, and he was therefore said "to lie in the bosom" of the other.

It was also considered by the Jews of old a mark of special honour and favour for one to be allowed to lie in the bosom of the master of the feast.
John 13:23

And it is by this illustration that they pictured the next world.

They conceived of the reward of the righteous dead as a sharing in a banquet given by Abraham, "the father of the faithful."
Matthew 8:11

And of the highest form of that reward as lying in "Abraham's Bosom".

Since the coming of Our Lord, "the Bosom of Abraham" gradually ceased to designate a place of imperfect happiness, and it has become synonymous with Heaven itself.

In their writings the Fathers of the Church mean by that expression sometimes the abode of the righteous dead before they were admitted to the Beatific Vision after the death of the Savior, sometimes Heaven, into which the just of the New Law are immediately introduced upon their demise.

When in her liturgy the Church solemnly prays that the angels may carry the soul of one of her departed children to "Abraham's Bosom", she employs the expression to designate Heaven and its endless bliss in company with the faithful of both Testaments, and in particular with Abraham, the father of them all.

This passage of the expression "the Bosom of Abraham" from an imperfect and limited sense to one higher and fuller is a most natural one, and is in full harmony with the general character of the New Testament dispensation as a complement and fulfillment of the Old Testament revelation.

TexaCan Loc: Homeward Bound!

Amen!

Radiance3

To all of you 5 hypocrite Protestants, you can recite all day the Scriptures of Sola Scriptura but that does not have authority to teach and preach the Gospel of Christ.

Sola Scriptura has NO LEGITIMATE POWER to preach the Gospel of Christ. The 500-year-old Sola Scriptura, DOES NOT POSSES AUTHORITATIVE POWER TO CONTINUE CHRIST'S TEACHINGS.

Christ vested that power to the ONE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH, His Church to continue His teachings to His children. That was 1987 years ago. Matthew 16:18.

The Catholic Church was the sole beneficiary of Christ's teachings to continue, to teach. to keep, to proclaim to His children all what was taught and kept at His Holy Bible, 1987 years ago. The Catholic Church was the beneficiary of Christ's Last Will and Testament.
Matthew 16:18.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+16%3A18&version=KJV

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

All Luther's, Calvin's or Swingli's preaching 500 years ago are NOT the endowed beneficiaries. You are all outlawed using Christ's Gospel.

All of you Protestants, your 47,000 denominations, could not legally teach, and proclaim Christ's Gospel. Sola Scriptura has no authority to teach and use Christ's Gospel to his Children.

Only the Catholic Church, His Church, was vested the authority to keep and continue teaching all His Gospel. Catholics have Covenant with Christ.

The Catholic Church has Covenant with Christ.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+22%3A19-20&version=NIV
(1) We know from Luke 22:19-20 that when Jesus offered up his body on the cross and poured out his blood so that we might be forgiven of our sins, he was inaugurating and establishing the New Covenant. Here is how Luke records it: “And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood’ ” (Luke 22:19-20).

John 6:53-59
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+6%3A53-59&version=NIV

53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.