What did Jesus do between the
crucifixion and the resurrection? Was His soul asleep? Was He in heaven with
the Father? Did He go to hell? I believe the Bible tells us what He did and
where He (His spirit) went, and I don't believe it was any of the above. The
Bible doesn't say much about it, but according to my studies, here's what I
think it says:
"Therefore He says: 'When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.' (Now this, 'He ascended'—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)" -Ephesians 4:8-10, NKJV
"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water." -1 Peter 3:18-20, NKJV
“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then 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.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’" -Luke 16:19-31, NKJV
Let's try to make sense of all this. The first passage tells us that Jesus (being the one referenced who ascended) first descended prior to His ascension; both ascension and descension occurring from a central position, being on earth. We know that He ascended to heaven, or paradise, to be with the Father. We see in this passage that He also "led captivity captive," or led those who were captive away as captives. Now what does this mean? Those who were already being held captive were then led away as captives by Him after the resurrection. We know from elsewhere in the New Testament that Jesus defeated sin and death as a result of His death and resurrection. I assert here that those who were already captive that He then led away in "captivity" at the ascension were those who were already dead and were captive of death. They then became captive to Him, rather than to death. But not all the dead were so led away by Him, but only those who were awaiting His redeeming work by faith. More to come on this later. I also discuss this in more detail in another writing: http://intellectualtheist.blogspot.com/2014/03/what-happens-after-death.html?m=1 Either way, it appears that Jesus "descended" somewhere prior to the ascension, and during the ascension "He led captivity captive" away from death. Where did He descend? The text states that He descended into "the lower parts of the earth." I can only discern that this must be where the dead were that He led away captive at His ascension. So He must have descended to Sheol (Hebrew) where the dead were held captive. Sheol is the place of the dead. It is translated into Greek in the Old Testament as Hades. It is sometimes referred to in English as "death" or "the grave." But in essence, it is the place where the dead went, both righteous and unrighteousness before the redeeming work of Christ (see my other referenced writing for more information). The text here indicates that this place is in the lower parts of the earth. If we take it literally, then that might indicate that Sheol, or Hades, is somewhere within the earth. I speculate it has some interdimensional locality. But that is beyond the scope of my intended purpose here. Either way, this place should not be confused with what I regard as hell, or Gehenna (Greek). Again, see my other writing for more details. Also, I surmise that Jesus would have gone to Sheol, the place where the dead abide, while He was dead Himself, which would have been the time between His crucifixion and resurrection.
The second passage tells us that Christ went and preached to the spirits (read that the spirits of those already deceased, or else I don't think the text would have categorized said individuals as spirits rather than people) in prison. What kind of people are imprisoned? By definition, I would say prisoners are captives; captives are prisoners. What kind of spirits are imprisoned? It seems that these were captive spirits of the dead. These two passages seem to be connected in my reasoning. Why would Jesus preach to spirits in prison? My educated theory is because these spirits of the dead were awaiting the work of God by faith for their redemption. Being already dead prior to the time that Jesus finished His redemptive work, they didn't have knowledge of said work, other than perhaps through an understanding of God's prior promises and prophecies. Either way, Jesus went and preached to them. Logical consistency indicates that these individuals were in Sheol. The structure of the text, as well as said former logical consistency, indicates this took place after Jesus' death. So again, it appears that after His crucifixion Jesus went to Sheol and preached to the spirits of the dead.
The third passage I have included here for context as a description of Sheol, or Hades, and is dissected in detail in my other writing that I referenced earlier.
Based upon these passages, it is my conclusion that Jesus, upon His death but prior to His resurrection, went to Sheol, or Hades (or death, or the grave), preached to the spirits of those who were already dead and awaiting God's promise of redemption by faith, rose from death, and then took the spirits of these "saints" of prior ages out of Sheol to be with Him and the Father in paradise, or the present third heaven (the interdimensional plane from where the Father and Son currently reign all of creation), at the ascension.
I hope this answers in your mind the question I posed at the beginning, and I hope that you enjoyed reading this. This is simply my understanding of the answer to the question based upon Scripture. To God be the glory. Grace and peace to you.
"Therefore He says: 'When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.' (Now this, 'He ascended'—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)" -Ephesians 4:8-10, NKJV
"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water." -1 Peter 3:18-20, NKJV
“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then 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.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’" -Luke 16:19-31, NKJV
Let's try to make sense of all this. The first passage tells us that Jesus (being the one referenced who ascended) first descended prior to His ascension; both ascension and descension occurring from a central position, being on earth. We know that He ascended to heaven, or paradise, to be with the Father. We see in this passage that He also "led captivity captive," or led those who were captive away as captives. Now what does this mean? Those who were already being held captive were then led away as captives by Him after the resurrection. We know from elsewhere in the New Testament that Jesus defeated sin and death as a result of His death and resurrection. I assert here that those who were already captive that He then led away in "captivity" at the ascension were those who were already dead and were captive of death. They then became captive to Him, rather than to death. But not all the dead were so led away by Him, but only those who were awaiting His redeeming work by faith. More to come on this later. I also discuss this in more detail in another writing: http://intellectualtheist.blogspot.com/2014/03/what-happens-after-death.html?m=1 Either way, it appears that Jesus "descended" somewhere prior to the ascension, and during the ascension "He led captivity captive" away from death. Where did He descend? The text states that He descended into "the lower parts of the earth." I can only discern that this must be where the dead were that He led away captive at His ascension. So He must have descended to Sheol (Hebrew) where the dead were held captive. Sheol is the place of the dead. It is translated into Greek in the Old Testament as Hades. It is sometimes referred to in English as "death" or "the grave." But in essence, it is the place where the dead went, both righteous and unrighteousness before the redeeming work of Christ (see my other referenced writing for more information). The text here indicates that this place is in the lower parts of the earth. If we take it literally, then that might indicate that Sheol, or Hades, is somewhere within the earth. I speculate it has some interdimensional locality. But that is beyond the scope of my intended purpose here. Either way, this place should not be confused with what I regard as hell, or Gehenna (Greek). Again, see my other writing for more details. Also, I surmise that Jesus would have gone to Sheol, the place where the dead abide, while He was dead Himself, which would have been the time between His crucifixion and resurrection.
The second passage tells us that Christ went and preached to the spirits (read that the spirits of those already deceased, or else I don't think the text would have categorized said individuals as spirits rather than people) in prison. What kind of people are imprisoned? By definition, I would say prisoners are captives; captives are prisoners. What kind of spirits are imprisoned? It seems that these were captive spirits of the dead. These two passages seem to be connected in my reasoning. Why would Jesus preach to spirits in prison? My educated theory is because these spirits of the dead were awaiting the work of God by faith for their redemption. Being already dead prior to the time that Jesus finished His redemptive work, they didn't have knowledge of said work, other than perhaps through an understanding of God's prior promises and prophecies. Either way, Jesus went and preached to them. Logical consistency indicates that these individuals were in Sheol. The structure of the text, as well as said former logical consistency, indicates this took place after Jesus' death. So again, it appears that after His crucifixion Jesus went to Sheol and preached to the spirits of the dead.
The third passage I have included here for context as a description of Sheol, or Hades, and is dissected in detail in my other writing that I referenced earlier.
Based upon these passages, it is my conclusion that Jesus, upon His death but prior to His resurrection, went to Sheol, or Hades (or death, or the grave), preached to the spirits of those who were already dead and awaiting God's promise of redemption by faith, rose from death, and then took the spirits of these "saints" of prior ages out of Sheol to be with Him and the Father in paradise, or the present third heaven (the interdimensional plane from where the Father and Son currently reign all of creation), at the ascension.
I hope this answers in your mind the question I posed at the beginning, and I hope that you enjoyed reading this. This is simply my understanding of the answer to the question based upon Scripture. To God be the glory. Grace and peace to you.
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