Buff Scott Jr.
Sophomore
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2023
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REFORMATION RUMBLINGS
BUFF SCOTT, JR.
__________
“He Was Not Abandoned
To Hades”
BUFF SCOTT, JR.
__________
“He Was Not Abandoned
To Hades”
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness’ ” [Gen. 1:26]. In His image! God is not material or tangible but rather spirit—that is, non-physical. “God is spirit” [John 4:24]. The deduction follows that our spirit—not breath—was made in God’s image. We know our Creator is more than breath, yet He has a form. “You have never heard His voice nor seen His form” [John 5:37]. Consequently, it is safe to say our Father has a “spirit form.”
Of interest is that when Jesus biologically died on the cross, He did not immediately ascend to the Father or to heaven, even though He cried out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” [Luke 23:46 & Psalms 31:5].
That He placed His spirit in His Father’s charge is obvious, for His spirit, the real Jesus, promptly went into Hades, the unseen abode of departed spirits, when He breathed His last. He did not ascend to the Father until after His resurrection. When Jesus revealed Himself to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection, she apparently greeted Him with a hug, but Jesus told her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’ ” [John 20:17].
Peter affirms that Jesus was not abandoned to Hades, the unseen abode of departed spirits, but instead was reunited with his physical body, and the two of them, spirit and body, were resurrected the third day. “Seeing what was ahead, he [David] spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His body see decay” [Acts 2:29-32].
As noted previously, Peter alludes to two parts of Jesus. His spirit, the real Jesus, went into Hades while His physical body remained in the tomb. But where in Hades? Is there, or was there, a Paradise side of Hades? The question is excessively controversial.
It is proper to claim that Paradise and Heaven are sometimes used synonymously. “Paradise” is found only three times in the scriptures. Paul was “caught up to Paradise” [2 Cor. 12:4]. He called it the “third heaven,” which, in Jewish culture at the time, was heaven itself. John writes about the “tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God” [Rev. 2:7]. He no doubt refers to heaven itself.
Some take the position the “captive saints” in Hades ascended with Jesus when He took His leave of planet Earth and went back to His Father. “When He ascended on high, He led a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men” [Eph. 4:7-8].
I won’t dispute the validity of this possibility, but there’s a thorn that bothers me. If these saints are already in heaven, and if we go directly to heaven when we die, why a resurrection when Jesus returns? After all, we’re already in heaven. Why would He bring us back to earth to reunite with or reclaim our glorified bodies? [See Philippines 3:20.]
Many say it would it be more consistent to believe our spirit goes to an intermediate state called “Paradise,” the same place Jesus and the criminal went, and that our spirit, the real person, will remain there until the resurrection. Well, wherever we go, it will surely be a Garden of Delight. And none of us will complain!
Of interest is that when Jesus biologically died on the cross, He did not immediately ascend to the Father or to heaven, even though He cried out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” [Luke 23:46 & Psalms 31:5].
That He placed His spirit in His Father’s charge is obvious, for His spirit, the real Jesus, promptly went into Hades, the unseen abode of departed spirits, when He breathed His last. He did not ascend to the Father until after His resurrection. When Jesus revealed Himself to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection, she apparently greeted Him with a hug, but Jesus told her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’ ” [John 20:17].
Peter affirms that Jesus was not abandoned to Hades, the unseen abode of departed spirits, but instead was reunited with his physical body, and the two of them, spirit and body, were resurrected the third day. “Seeing what was ahead, he [David] spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His body see decay” [Acts 2:29-32].
As noted previously, Peter alludes to two parts of Jesus. His spirit, the real Jesus, went into Hades while His physical body remained in the tomb. But where in Hades? Is there, or was there, a Paradise side of Hades? The question is excessively controversial.
It is proper to claim that Paradise and Heaven are sometimes used synonymously. “Paradise” is found only three times in the scriptures. Paul was “caught up to Paradise” [2 Cor. 12:4]. He called it the “third heaven,” which, in Jewish culture at the time, was heaven itself. John writes about the “tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God” [Rev. 2:7]. He no doubt refers to heaven itself.
Some take the position the “captive saints” in Hades ascended with Jesus when He took His leave of planet Earth and went back to His Father. “When He ascended on high, He led a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men” [Eph. 4:7-8].
I won’t dispute the validity of this possibility, but there’s a thorn that bothers me. If these saints are already in heaven, and if we go directly to heaven when we die, why a resurrection when Jesus returns? After all, we’re already in heaven. Why would He bring us back to earth to reunite with or reclaim our glorified bodies? [See Philippines 3:20.]
Many say it would it be more consistent to believe our spirit goes to an intermediate state called “Paradise,” the same place Jesus and the criminal went, and that our spirit, the real person, will remain there until the resurrection. Well, wherever we go, it will surely be a Garden of Delight. And none of us will complain!
