Chapter 23
The Descent?
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men. (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 all heavens, that he
might fill all things.)
The
answer to the proposed question is a resounding yes to many. For they have been led to believe that the
Lord Jesus Christ did indeed descend into Hell during the time between His
crucifixion and resurrection in order to set all of His children by faith free
from the shackles of spiritual death.
The
doctrine is primarily based upon a New Testament passage that addresses
something that happened in the early days of the so-called Old Testament era.
For it is written: For Christ also died for sins
once for all, {the} just for {the} unjust, so that He might bring us to God,
having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which
also He went and made proclamation to the spirits {now} in prison, who once
were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah,
during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons,
were brought safely through {the} water. [1 Peter 3:18-20 NAS]
Add
to the mix the fact of Christ Jesus now holding the keys to Hell and spiritual
death [Revelation 1:18], and there appears to be little that can be said to the contrary. For He
would have had to have gone down there to get them—right?
On
the other hand, is this not to look at things from a very limited point of view
[1 Corinthians 2:6-16]? For if it can be accepted that
the water that flowed from the rock in the desert for the children of Israel
during their exodus from Egypt [Exodus 17:1-7] came from the Lord Jesus Christ [1 Corinthians 10:1-5], how could it be so hard to accept
that He was the One who went and made proclamation to those who are NOW in
prison because of refusing to accept what He told them back then—albeit through
His Holy Spirit in Noah [2 Peter 1:20-21]?
No,
it is not the intent of what I have been given to say (nor that of my own
personal desires) to unfairly demean, embarrass, nor insult anyone in any way
for whatever they may have come to accept as being the truth about anything,
but did He not suffer enough [Isaiah 52:13-53:12]
without having to also go down into the pit of Hell [Mark 9:43-48]? For the anguish that He
subjected Himself to [John 10:18] was more than what any of us can even
start to naturally comprehend—be assured [Luke 22:42-44].
Yes,
it can be argued that it was surely a joy for Him to display His power over the
forces of darkness [John 14:30] by taking the keys of Hell and spiritual
death from Satan, but have they not always been in His hands [Hebrews 13:8]? For it is written: For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and
marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all
creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare
before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. [Hebrews 4:12-13 NIV]
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