I believe… He descended to the dead 1 Pet 3:18-4:6
WBC 28/10/01
2 parts: 1) What happened then… 2) what happens now?
- check out one of my sermons on tape 5th Nov 2000 am
What happened then?
1 Died!
May simply be a repetition of ‘crucified… died… buried’
- descend to the dead = DEAD! Went to place all go when die
- Jesus experienced ALL our experiences
- REALLY died
- = crucial to the creed (hence repetition)
- = crucial to Muslims. Big issue is over whether He died
- no death -> no resurrection. Not God
This repetition/redundancy may be one of the reasons it’s missed in some creeds
- not present until 360AD
- missed in later ones
- = because ‘unnecessary’
But, actually, I fully believe there were other reasons not included till later… missed out
= the sheer controversy… lack of clarity… diversity of opinions over what it really means
- = easier to simply steer clear of it
So, I need to say to you this morning:
- “This is not a cut and dried thing.” I’m not certain, here.
- I will nail my colours to the mast, but it’s different to last week (dogma)- this is shades of grey and conjecture
2 Descended to hell?
One thing is clear to me- it means more than just ‘died’, because there’s a number of passages in Scrip that speak about Jesus’ descent somewhere (72 hrs between death & ressurr)
- all fill in part of the jigsaw/picture
- but the picture/jig saw is still incomplete
So, where did He go? Was it to hell?
- some versions of the creed have this
- Calvin believed it: Jesus bearing the sin of the world went where sin is punished & experienced torture
- CS Lewis may have entertained some of this idea- Aslan is tortured by the witch & her minions
- (although, I’d say that was before his death- so Aslan experienced hell… but before dying)
I feel we must dispense with this opinion- and there is god Biblical reason to do so:
- none of the words re Jesus’ decent in NT are actually to Hell
- some are mistranslated that way
- ALL = to the ‘dead’
3 Descended to “the Dead”
to the ‘place of the dead
- in OT= sheol (tr grave, pit, death)
- NT = Hades
(not heaven and hell, which are final destinations at Jesus’ return
- but look a bit like it as God’s presence and judgement are there)
Acts 2:27 confirms this AC 2:27 because you will not abandon me to the grave (Hades), nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
- quoting OT sheol, using NT word Hades
But what did He do there, then?
- Peter tells us most of what we know. Can imagine him asking Jesus during his own unique appearance
4 Preached to the dead
He preached to some, there. But who?
a) disobedient spirits… angels, certainly
Confirmed in Jude 6
- all of the fallen spirits? Doesn’t seem so
- = the spirits that disobeyed before the flood
- the naughty Angels of Gen 6, who had forbidden relationships with the beautiful women of earth
- formed the Nephilim (cruel, immoral giants)
- God put a stop to this behaviour. Put a boundary in. Placed them in Tartarus (2 Peter 4)
- = part of the dead- gloomy chained dungeons… beginning their judgement
He went there and proclaimed victory over them
Many think it ends there. But I and others think there’s more
b) the saints of old
1 peter 4:6
those (in Lk 16 Dives/Lazarus) in paradise/Abraham’s bosom
The opinion is that these folks still had to explicitly accept Jesus
- those who had ‘seen His day…and were glad’.. looked forward to Him, prophesied about Him- still had to accept Him
- so, Jesus went to them and they accepted Him, then
- “he ascended on high, leading them in His train… and gave gifts to men” (Pentecost, HS poured out)
- I’m pretty sure this is what’s being referred to in Eph 4:7-9, as v 9’s “descended to the lower earthly regions” is classical way of referring to sheol
- 4 tiers: sheol> earth> heavens> highest heavens (3rd heaven)
- and maybe, just maybe… the resurrection of some saints from tombs in Mt 27:51 is evidence of this
- certainly shows Jesus’ death had cosmic ramifications
c) all the dead
but I think He preached to others, too… because it doesn’t say “preached to saints”, it says
- preached to angels (who remained bound, I guess)
- preached to ‘those who are now dead’
ie everyone dead
- gave everyone the chance to accept Jesus, because they hadn’t done so explicitly
- saints
- those who had lived ‘according to the light received’
- downright evil folks, too
- disobedient angels
Now folks aren’t keen on this as
- sounds like purgatory… or second chance… or universalism
… and so fear makes us close our minds to the Bible!… to what (to me) really makes sense!
- everyone needs the chance to accept Jesus
- those who never heard, were from gentile backgrounds, too
- = fair!
But let me address your anxieties
- I don’t think it’s purgatory
- Dives & Lazarus. Lk16:26 “There’s a chasm fixed” between the ‘good’ bad’ bits of Hades- so no transition
- No transition is made by prayers, or purgation: they consciously needed to accept Jesus!
- As for ‘2nd chance’ and ‘universalism
- Well, you’d expect everyone in the dead to accept Jesus’ message
- (& that’s what we evangelicals are frightened of- Just like Jonah! We want to be the only ones!)
- but they don’t all accept Jesus (crazy, really!)
- 2 Peter2:9 Peter speaks of unbelievers still being held there in Hades
- held for judgement… beginning judgement
- Jn 5:25 – Jesus speaks of the dead hearing His voice and those who hear will live…. Those who don’t will be condemned
- So folks are just as deaf to the truth in hades as on earth!
So, I reckon He preached to ALL-
- And those, open, who knew they needed forgiveness… had sought for it all along-> welcomed accepted it/Him
- The others- still thought they could do it on their own
- Were blind (“deaf”, literally… didn’t hear)
- Chose to stay in chains rather than accept Christ
- Stayed in the nasty part of Hades… awaiting judgement and continuing to bring it on themselves
CS Lewis illustrates this in ‘Great Divorce’
- that even when offered Jesus… salvation… after death people
- don’t want it
- keep rejecting… building their own hell
- bringing on themselves the consequences of their actions and free will
So, this offering of Jesus just confirms their acceptance or rejection of Him (and truth) in this life.
- this makes sense to me! God respects our free will, and we chose our destination
- God will save all who want it
- … but not all want it. They’d rather DIY
So- some BIG application points, here
1) You need to accept Jesus. And HERE is the place to do it
2) Choices of this life determine… dictate your destination
– we don’t change even when dead!
– But on this occasion Jesus offered it, to be fair!
5 The Harrowing of hell
There’s another opinion as to whey He descended to the dead
I like this! It’s called the ‘Harrowing of hell’. Depicted in medieval art
Descended as- invader… conqueror
- top vanquish death. To show that the last enemy is defeated…and that He holds its keys
- he plundered the gates of the dead and became Lord of that, as well
- Mt 16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
1CO 15:55 "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, that’s what happened then… I THINK. But, what happens now?
What happens now?
This is where there are some things that are certain, and others that are uncertain! And with some thing it’s difficult because we can only use our limted langauage/undetsanding to explain.
Certain: believers go to be with the Lord. Immediately. It’s 100% clear that those who trust in Jesus for salvation will go to be with God when they die.
- Paul “depart and be with the Lord”
- Can call it ‘heaven’, if you like as
- That’s where Jesus ascended
- Heaven is where God is…
… but note it’s not ‘final destination heaven’ as that’s the new heaven and new earth… new bodies… new Jerusalem. The place where God’s dwelling place is with us… not us with Him
- I think it’s still part of the realm of ‘the dead’… spirit realm
- The good thing is don’t have to wait around for Him to ‘preach to us… or ‘come to our realm’ as
- he’s already there!
- we’ve already accepted Him!
What about others?
- well: Hades/the dead… still exists. Jesus holds its keys but it still exists
- Peter 2:9- some folks are still being held there (this is post Jesus’ resurrection + ascension)
- pending judegement
- beginning judgement
- feeling repercussions of
- separation from God
- bearing the weight of own sins
- awaiting final judgement
Can they… do they accept Jesus… there? As they enter Hades… or see Jesus + believers far off (like Dives did Abraham’ bosom)
- dunno!
- We’ll see. Jesus will do what’s right
- It’s all bigger than we think, know, understand
- Hence judgement is up to Jesus
- no doubt some coming in will recognise Him as
- what they’ve prayed for, believed for (but never heard of… or heard wrong press of!)
- the one who can save them
- no doubt- the child will be accepted into His bosom
- no doubt those who have responded correctly to the dim light they’ve seen because of
- where they were born in the world
- psychological, genetic make up, what happened to them
… will recognise Him as the bright light they were looking for
- and the judge of all the earth will do what is right
But many just “won’t want to know”.
- In fact, I think, that’s how it will be for everyone who’s heard, understood and rejected while here on earth
- My reasons for this are what happened in those 72 hrs in 33AD
- they’ll choose chains rather than Christ- because that’s what they did in this life
- they’ll use their free will to reject Him and bring on themselves all that rejection
- they’ll refuse to bow the knee to Him voluntarily.
- Oh, their knee will bow, alright ‘every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth”
- But it’s far too late, then. That’s the end of the story
- In fact- it was too late…. the die was cast… when they passed from this life into the next.
Here is where the decisions are made
Let’s bow the knee… accept Him, now
Sing: Jesus at you name we bow the knee
He is Lord, He is Lord
Come, now is the time to worship
