Between Death and Resurrection

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Finally, there is the eternal heaven, the abode of God himself. This heaven signifies the very presence of God. There is space that belongs to him. God’s heaven is therefore distinguished from the creaturely heavens. This has been variously described as the holy city, the kingdom of God, Mount Zion, the new Jerusalem and the state of glory.

This has been variously described as the holy city, the kingdom of God, Mount Zion, the new Jerusalem and the state of glory.

There is a spaciality that belongs to him. God’s heaven is therefore distinguished from the creaturely heavens

We must also consider paradise as a world beyond—the present abode of the glorified saints. This is the interim state of the blessed. Like hades it pertains to “the near hereafter” as opposed to “the far hereafter.”5 This distinction corresponds to one made in late Jewish thought between the heavenly paradise and the final paradise of the world to come.

both Scripture and tradition distinguish between gehenna and hades, hell and the so–called nether world of spirits. Scripture is clear that hades itself will eventually be cast into the lake of fire. It is possible to speak of those who reject the gospel as being in hell now insofar as their condemnation is sealed, but the final rejection lies before them.

Old Testament history sheol became a temporary dwelling for the dead before the resurrection and judgment. In the apocrypha and in apocalyptic literature hades is sometimes pictured as an intermediate state where the dead await the resurrection.3 It is variously portrayed in Scripture as a place of darkness (), a place of silence () and a place of forgetfulness (). It is a place without knowledge of what transpires on earth (). What is important to keep in mind is that God is present in sheol or hades and in absolute control (cf. ; ; ; ).

The demons are consigned to the lowest place in sheol–hades (cf. ; ; ). The abyss and “Tartarus” () could be equivalent to the “lowest Sheol” (cf. ; ). Hades is sometimes identified by the church fathers with Tartarus and sometimes distinguished from it. Tartarus is occasionally portrayed as a different and lower region than hades. I believe that it is more in keeping with the unfolding of biblical revelation to distinguish the abyss or Tartarus from the general abode of the dead. The proper abode of the demons is the nether gloom, but they do not remain there.

The Scriptures have much to say on this important question. speaks of the ransoming of the soul from sheol (cf. ; ; , ). Isaiah declares, “Thy dew is a dew of light, and on the land of the shades [sheol] thou wilt let it fall” (). In the apocryphal intercession and sacrifice are offered so that those who have fallen in battle may be delivered from their sins.24 The dead in hades are said to profit and find deliverance by the intercession of the living. In we read of the saints who were raised with Jesus and who went into the holy city and appeared to many ().25 Matthew here refers to the opening of the tombs, a pregnant symbol of the underworld or hades. This same note is found in , which affirms that those who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of Man at his coming, and “those who hear will live” (). Another text that supports the idea of redemption beyond the grave is , where Jesus speaks of forgiveness in this world and in the world to come (cf. ).

Of special significance are the texts in 1 Peter that envisage Christ preaching to spirits who are in prison (; ). The teaching that Christ descended into hell (hades) after his crucifixion was also seized upon by the church fathers to support their position on the harrowing or plundering of hell (cf. ; ; ).26 In the words of Paul: “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” Previously Christ had “descended into the lower parts of the earth” (). Jesus’ words about the gates of hell not prevailing against the church portray the church on the offensive emptying hades of its denizens ( kjv). The notion of baptism for the dead entertained by some of the early Christians also attests the perduring hope that salvation extends beyond death ().

D. Forgiveness beyond the Grave? - ; ;

Between Death and Resurrection

I. Stages of Christ’s Work

A. His Humiliation

1. Incarnation - :-3, 14

2. Death -

3. Descent -

B. His Exaltation

1. Resurrection -

2. Ascension -

3. Victorious Return -

II. The Worlds Beyond

A. Heaven - ;

B. Paradise - ; ;

C. Hell - ;

D. Hades

1. Old Testament: ; ; ; ; ; ;

2. New Testament: ; ;

III. What did Christ do in Hades/Sheol?

A. Hope of Restoration - ; ; ; ; ;

B. Christ’s Descent - ; ;

C. Christ’s Work - ; ; ; , ;