DID JESUS DIE SPIRITUALLY ?
Exposing the JDS Heresy
POINT 10
FINISHED OR UNFINISHED AT CALVARY?
In an attempt to overcome the insurmountable problem which the JDS teachers are confronted with by Jesus' words to the thief, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise," they have resorted to a dishonest manipulation of His words, and to the substitution of their own ideas for the obvious meaning of His statement.
They do this because they have placed Christ in Hell for three days as unregenerate until He was born again, citing Psalm 16:10 and Acts 2:31 from the King James Version. In this translation, Acts 2:31 reads: "...his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption." On the basis of this translation, the JDS teachers repeatedly stress that "Jesus went to Hell for three days"; "Jesus redeemed sinners in the Pit"; "Christ was reborn in the Pit of Hell"; "Jesus became sin and was the substitute sinner in Hell," and so on.
One would think that even if they did not understand that the term translated "hell" in the Old Testament is incorrectly translated in in the KJV in Psalm 16:10, just as it is also incorrectly translated in Acts 2:31 as "hell," at least some of the other versions should have informed them of this fact. The term translated "hell" in Psalm 16:10 should have been rendered as "Sheol," while the term "hell" in Acts 2:31 is the Greek word "Hades," and should have been so rendered.
In both instances, the terms Sheol and Hades have essentially the same meaning -- "the place of departed spirits." This is seen in the fact that the term "Hades" is used in Acts 2:31 to translate the term "Sheol" in Psalm 16:10. Moreover, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, translates Sheol with Hades.
From both the Old and New Testaments we are shown that in the realm of the dead the wicked and the righteous are separated. For example, in the Old Testament the wicked are said at death to go to Sheol (the realm of departed spirits), but are consigned to the "Pit" (Isaiah 14:15; Ezekiel 32:17f.), whereas the righteous, who also go to Sheol, enter the presence of God (Psalms 49:25; 73:24; Genesis 5:24).
In the New Testament, the term Hades is the translation for Sheol, and is also the place of departed spirits. Again, the lost are shown to be in Sheol/Hades in a place of torment (Luke 16:19f.), whereas the righteous who enter the realm of the dead are in Paradise ("Abraham's bosom"), a place of comfort (Luke 16:22-25; 23:43; cf. II Corinthians 12:1-4). Moreover, the righteous at death are said to be "with the Lord" (Philippians 1:23; II Corinthians 5:8).
Thus, when the Messiah in Psalm 16:10 (quoted in Acts 2:31 by Peter) says, "For thou wilt not leave my soul in Sheol/Hades," He meant that God would not allow Him to remain in the realm of the dead or the departed spirits, not that He was going to Hell as unregenerate!
Moreover, as to just where He was going in this realm of departed spirits, He clearly tells us -- He was going in spirit to the Father in Paradise. This is plain enough from His utterances from the cross, saying: (1) "Today shalt thou (the thief) be with me in Paradise; (2) "It is finished" (finished on the cross, not three days later in Hell); and (3) "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit."
Note: On the basis of Romans 10:7, JDS
minister implies that the term translated as "deep"
here means "the abode of demons" (abyss), and that is
where Jesus went; however, any Greek lexicon will show that this
term also means "the abode of the dead," and is so used
by the Apostle here.
The Apostle draws his idea from Deuteronomy
30:11-13, and is simply saying that Christ does not have to
descend from heaven, die, and be raised from the dead again, as
we already have the Gospel declaring this. Moreover, this same
verse gives the meaning of the term "deep" as used here
as referring merely to the "abode of the dead," saying,
"that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead."
In spite of His clear statements that His work of redemption was finished on the cross, and that He was going to the Father in Paradise, the JDS teachers insist on sending Jesus to Hell for three days. The English term "Hell," however, should only be used to translate, as most versions do, the Greek term Gehenna (Mark 9:43), which is equivalent to the Lake of Fire in Revelation 20:11-15, and will be the eternal bode of the wicked after Judgment Day. In view of this, it should be clear why Jesus could not have gone to Hell as the JDS theory contends. The wicked are not in Hell (Gehenna, the place of eternal torment of the wicked) until they are cast there after the final judgment (Revelation 20:15). The mistranslated term "hell" in the KJV Old and New Testaments, with reference to where Christ went when He died, should have been rendered "Sheol" (Psalm 16:10), and "Hades" (Acts 2:31), as signifying "the realm of departed spirits."
The JDS teachers' constant repetition of their statement that "Jesus went to Hell" is made no doubt for its psychological effect upon their audience, for to use the less dramatic sounding biblical terms, Sheol and Hades, would rob their "redemption-in-Hell" fiction of much of its impact.
Reference is sometimes made by the JDS teachers to Matthew 12:40 in which Jesus said: "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Of course, as any unbiased reader knows, this is simply a reference to His burial in the grave or sepulchre. The JDS supporters insist, however, that His words "in the heart of the earth" cannot refer to His burial in a sepulchre, which would have been above ground; His words refer to His descent into the Pit of Hell.
It is rather common knowledge, however, that the sepulchre, tomb, or grave could be either above or below ground. Moreover, the Bible frequently speaks of a sepulchre, whether above or below ground, as a "burying place," and of the dead as "buried" in a sepulchre (or cave). Note Genesis 23:4 and 19. In II Kings 21:26, the King is said to have been buried "in his sepulchre in the garden," indicating that interment in a sepulchre, which here seems clearly above ground, was designated as a burial.
Sometimes reference is also made by the JDS teachers to Paul's statement in Ephesians 4:9-10, which they assert, supports their view that Jesus went to Hell after His death on the cross. The passage reads:
Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above the heavens....
The phrase, "he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth," is equated with descending into the Pit of Hell by the JDS ministers. However, all the Apostle intends to convey here is that Christ descended from heaven to earth; it is a reference to the Incarnation, not to incarceration in the Pit.
There are several reasons why the expression "the lower parts of the earth" means simply the earth itself, not the Pit or Hell.
(1) The terms contrasted by Paul in this passage are not heaven and hell, but heaven and earth.
(2)
The Apostle used an idiom from the Hebrew Old Testament, which
sometimes refers merely to the earth itself.
In Psalm 139:15 David speaks of his
formation in the womb and his birth and uses this phrase, saying, "...I
was...wrought in the lowest parts of the earth." Obviously, he did not mean
he had been born in the Pit. The entire Psalm stresses the contrast between God
in heaven, as being omniscient and omnipresent, and creaturely man upon the
earth.
Isaiah also uses
this expression, "lower parts of the earth," to signify
simply the earth itself. He calls on heaven and earth to rejoice
because of Israel's deliverance from captivity, saying:
Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it; shout ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob.... (Isaiah 44:23).
(3) Several of the versions give the simpler and more likely meaning (as did Calvin, Hodge, and others). They render this statement concerning Christ's descent to "the lower parts of the earth" as:
....to the earth below (W. J. Conybeare, The Epistles of Paul).
...from the height of Heaven to the depth of this world (J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English).
...into the world beneath (The 20th Century New Testament)
...to the lowest level, down to the very earth (New English Bible).
(4) The notion that Christ went to Hell at death is generally derived from a late form of the so-called Apostles' Creed (which, of course, was not composed by the Apostles). This later version of the Creed states that Christ as death "descended into Hell; the third day He rose from the dead."
However, the earlier and shorter form of the Creed did not contain the statement, "He descended into Hell," as well as some other statements found in the later form of the Creed. These were added at various times later over the centuries (See James Orr (ed.) International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, I, pp. 202-206, and K. S. Latourette, A History of Christianity, pp. 135-136).
In view of all this, it should be evident that the JDS teachers' appeal to Ephesians 4:9-10 is simply another attempt to find some verse here and there in the English translation which uses terminology which they feel that they can apply to their Jesus-in-the-Pit error.
Note: Neither can I Peter 3:19-20 be appealed to for
support of the JDS idea that Jesus went to Hell to suffer
punishment as a "substitute" sinner. This passage
states that Christ "...preached unto the spirits in
prison." However, the JDS teachers do not have Him preaching
to sinners, but suffering as "sin" and as a lost man
Himself who had to be born again.
Moreover, all interpreters
admit difficulty as to the exact meaning of this passage, and the
views vary considerably. Some think that perhaps Peter meant that
Jesus at death went into Hades, not to be punished Himself, but
to announce the fact of Calvary to the lost so that they could be
judged on the same basis as those who would hear the Gospel (and
reject it) after Calvary. This view is based upon I Peter 4:6
"For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that
are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the
flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." Other
conclude that the apostles who died continued to preach in the
realm of the spirits, or that this refers to the
"Spirit" of Christ preaching through Noah before the
Flood because of Peter's reference to this in I Peter 3:10 and II Peter
2:5 (cf. II Peter 1:10-11).
Being unable to reconcile their erroneous theory which asserts that Jesus went to Hell for three days with the Lord's statements that His redemptive work was completed on the cross, and that He was going that same day to His Father in Paradise, the JDS teachers actually resort to the dishonest device of rearranging the punctuation in an attempt to change the meaning of the words of Jesus. Even without punctuation the meaning is clear in His promise to the repentant thief when He said, "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise."
In order to change the obvious meaning of His words, since it contradicts their redemption-in-Hell doctrine, they manipulate the comma and move it from after the word "thee" and place it after "today." In this way it then reads: "Verily I say unto thee today, with me thou shalt be in paradise."
Note: It should, of course, be understood by the reader that the ancient Greek manuscripts were virtually without punctuation; punctuation was added by the editors centuries later. However, in the Greek texts the editors are in agreement on the punctuation of this verse; that is, the comma is placed before, not after the word "today" (An English translator in his version might ignore the punctuation of the Greek manuscript, however; e.g., Rotherham, who relegates the accepted reading to a footnote).
In other words, they now have Jesus saying: "I am telling you today, you will be with me in paradise." This eliminates the question of the time when Jesus and the thief would actually go to paradise, thereby enabling the JDS teachers to announce that it was after Jesus had spent three days in Hell. If so, then why did not Jesus simply say to the thief, "After three days you will be with me in paradise"?
Aside from it being dishonest to "wrest" the clear meaning of Jesus' words by such a distortion, it is also redundant to make such a statement as "I say unto thee today." The addition of the word "today" is unnecessary and is redundant, for obviously the thief was well aware that Jesus was speaking to him that very day -- it could not have been the day before or after from his viewpoint. Since Jesus clearly said what He meant, then this attempt to change His intended meaning to fit their doctrine is another instance wherein Peter's warning concerning those who "wrest" the Scriptures to their own destruction is being fulfilled.
Moreover, the JDS surgery on God's Word is refuted by Hebrews 3:7-8, which reads:
Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts....
Observe again where the comma is placed -- before, not after, the word "today," precisely where it is placed in Luke 23:43 in the promise of Jesus to the thief: "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise."
By manipulating the comma, as the JDS teachers do, the meaning can also be changed. It would then read:
Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith today, if ye will hear his voice....
However, it is obvious that the emphasis is not on when the Holy Spirit is speaking (i.e., today), but upon the need for the hearer's response to be immediate, i.e., today. That a comma should come before and not after "today" is made evident by what is said in verse 13 of this passage: "But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." It may be noted also in James 4:13 that if a comma is inserted after "today," instead of before the word, the sense is again changed.
Therefore, the JDS usage of "today" through manipulation of the punctuation ("I say unto you today,") is intentionally misleading.
Moreover, if the JDS teachers insist on sending Jesus to Hell in spite of what the Scriptures teach to the contrary, then they also have the problem of how to get Him out of the Pit, for according to the Word of God such a transition is impossible! Abraham in Paradise said to the rich man suffering in Hades (not Hell as in the KJV):
Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us that would come from thence (Luke 16:26).
If Jesus actually became "sin" (instead of a holy sin offering as the Bible teaches), and if He were unregenerate, and since God requires a blood atonement for sin, then the problem still remains, who died for Jesus and provided and atonement for Him? Without a sin-offering being made for Him, then He would still be suffering with the rich man in Hades and still be unsaved. As shown previously, without a blood atonement for Him there would be no basis for His justification.
Contrary to JDS teaching, which states: "suddenly God justified Jesus," God says: "....I will not justify the wicked" (Exodus 23:7; 34:7). Inasmuch as the JDS teachers make Jesus to be "sin" with mankind's sinfulness, and wicked with Satan's evil nature, and then give no scriptural basis for His justification, they themselves are rebuked by God's Word, for the Scriptures say:
He that justifieth the wicked...[is an] abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 17:15).
With a stroke of a pen the JDS teachers declare -- suddenly God justified Jesus! They are charging God with doing what he plainly says He does not do -- justify the wicked (without a basis; namely, a blood atonement, Exodus 23:7) -- and they are guilty of doing themselves what God forbids man to do (Proverbs 17:15).
In spite of all the foregoing evidence given in this book, nevertheless, the JDS supporters insist on placing Jesus in Hell with Satan as His master. We are informed that He "gave himself into Satan's hands without any resistance." Try, if you can, to reconcile that statement with Jesus' own words in John 14:30 a few hours before His death, when He declared: "....the prince of this world cometh, and HATH NOTHING IN ME."
The choice is clear -- one must either take the words of Jesus here, as well as those from the cross, when He said, "It is finished," and that He was going that same day in the spirit to His Father in Paradise -- or take the contradictory JDS doctrine, since the two can never be reconciled.
Deluded men may put Jesus in Hell for three days, but Jesus made it abundantly clear, not only from the cross, but also on several other occasions, that on His departure from this world He was going directly to the Father in heaven.
In John 13:1 we are informed:
Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that HE SHOULD DEPART OUT OF THIS WORLD UNTO THE FATHER....
In order to make His point clear as to where He was going when He left this world at death, He repeated His destination several times, saying, "I go to the Father." Note this in John 14:12, 28; 16:10, 16, 17, 28. This fact is repeated twice more from the cross, once in His promise to the thief, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise," and finally, in His declaration, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit."
These statements, all made within the time context of the crucifixion, constitute nine times that His destination is clearly stated to be heaven, not hell. Nevertheless, as if it had never been stated even once, the JDS supporters insist on sending Jesus to hell for three days.
Evidence that Jesus completed redemption on the cross, not in the Pit, is to be found in John 19:28 where we are informed that when Jesus knew that "all things were now accomplished" (completed), He then said, "It is finished" (vs. 30).
It should be evident from this, as well as the foregoing study, that the JDS Doctrine is "another gospel" (Galatians 1:8-9), presenting "another Jesus" (II Corinthians 11:4).
When the JDS Doctrine is compared to Scripture, one is constrained to lament with Mary as she stood before the sepulchre:
They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him.