What is a person guided by when choosing this or that article (book) for reading? Probably because of how interesting this topic is for him. If you, dear reader, have opened this particular page of our site, then this topic is far from indifferent to you!
Is it helpful? I am sure that yes, like any other topic, the source of which is the Word of God. It is useful if only because it encourages us to study the Scriptures in depth, to delve into the difficult passages of the Bible and understand them.
Is it important? Definitely yes! Concepts such as Heaven and Hell excite the minds of people throughout the entire existence of mankind. Do they really exist, or is it a product of human imagination? And if they do exist, what is their purpose?
Atheists never believed in either Heaven or Hell, in fact, just as they did not believe in the existence of God Himself, so we will not even touch on this issue from their position. For us, the opinions and concepts of people who believe in the Creator of the Universe are much more important, but even here opinions are sometimes diametrically opposed, not only in inter-religious teachings, but even within Christianity. Some people believe that Heaven and Hell are very specific concepts with a specific “location” (so to speak). Others believe that these are mental concepts without a specific place of existence. Still others, in general, deny these concepts, considering them images and allegories. Due to such an abundance of differences of opinion, a serious study of this issue is simply necessary, since the correct understanding is decisive for realizing the purpose of a person on earth,the role of the Church and the future of man in eternity. The Second Coming of Christ, the resurrection of bodies, the coming of people at the Last Judgment and the final decision of their subsequent eternal fate - all this will end either in Paradise (the Kingdom of Heaven), or in Hell (Gehenna fire).
Therefore, it is very important to find the answer to the question: "where is the truth?"
Let's explore this topic, but on the basis of solely only the Word of God, since human conclusions on this issue are simply innumerable and do not inspire much confidence, but to accept them or not to accept is everyone's personal business.
One should immediately declare categorically that Heaven and Hell exist, as the Scripture states. But when reading the Bible, a lot of questions, inconsistencies and even “contradictions” arise (the word contradiction is put in quotation marks, since in fact there are no contradictions in the Word of God, and all that seem to be such are imaginary). First of all, let us agree with the definition of leading theologians that Paradise is the place of temporary residence of the souls of the dead righteous men of the Old Testament times, as well as all believers in Christ of the New Testament times. Based on the understanding of what Paradise is intended for and who is there, modern believers have become so firmly established in their consciousness that Paradise is a place in Heaven with God, which is difficult to imagine otherwise. But how then to understand that the man of God, the prophet, the righteous Samuel, called by the sorceress for King Saul, came out of the earth (1 Samuel 28: 13-19)? Why did the Old Testament patriarch Jacob, mourning the “death” of his son Joseph, say: “With sorrow I will go down to my son into hell” (Genesis 37:35)? Why did the pious Jewish king Hezekiah, in prayer to God, say: “at the time of my days I must go into the gates of hell” (Is.38: 10)? If we touch on the New Testament, then how to understand that the rich man described in the Gospel of Luke, being in Hell, saw and talked with Abraham, who was in Paradise (Luke 16: 19-31)? And these are just some of the passages in the Bible that are difficult to understand and explain.
I think that these and many other difficult passages of Holy Scripture will become understandable if, on the basis of the Word of God, carefully and scrupulously consider what Paradise and Hell were, what their mutual location was throughout the history of the universe.
Promotional video:
Let's move on to a detailed study of this issue
Holy Scripture reveals to us that after his creation man was placed in Paradise: Genesis 2: 8 “And the Lord God planted paradise in Eden in the east, and placed there the man whom he created.”, And later, having sinned and lost communion with God, he lost it: Genesis 3: 23,24 “And the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the land from which he was taken. And he drove out Adam, and placed in the east near the garden of Eden a cherub and a flaming sword turning to guard the way to the tree of life. Since that time, the desire to regain the life of paradise continues to live in man, therefore, let's start our research with him.
PARADISE
Paradise is a Persian word (pairidetsa), meaning "a garden planted with various trees", literally: "fenced, protected place." In the Hebrew language this word was transformed into “pardes”, with a literal translation: “park, garden”. After the translation of the Old Testament into Greek (septuagint), the word “Paradise” (Greek ὁ παράδεισος) became the usual name for the Garden of Eden (Hebrew gan-eden), which literally means “pleasantness”. In later Judaism, the word “Paradise” began to mean the place where the souls of the righteous leave after death in anticipation of the resurrection. The Jews also call it “Abraham's bosom”.
Paradise is spoken of only 2 times in the Old Testament (Genesis 2 and 3 chapters, Is 51: 3) and four times in the New (Luke 16: 19-31; Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12: 3, 4; Rev. 2: 7). In two passages of the New Testament the word Paradise is not mentioned, but all theologians agree that it is precisely about it that is spoken there: John 14: 2 “in the house of my Father there are many abodes… I go to prepare a place for you”; 2. Corinthians 5: 1 “when our earthly house, this hut, is destroyed, we have from God a dwelling place in heaven, a house not made by hands, eternal”.
So, Paradise is eternal life in communion and oneness with God.
HELL
Hell is the Hebrew word for Sheol, which literally means “emptiness within; covered abyss; grave”. In Greek: Ἅδης “hades”, which means “invisible, invisible world”. A synonym for Hell: The Kingdom of the Dead. Hell was originally prepared for the devil and his henchmen (Matthew 25:41), but after the fall of the forefathers of mankind, it became the seat of the souls of dead people-sinners. At all times, Hell was understood as the place of residence of the souls of dead sinners in anticipation of the resurrection and judgment before God. Unlike Paradise, in Hell sinners already endure torment, therefore this place is also considered a place of punishment for unrighteous life and unbelief.
PRESENT
There is also such a word as “ Hell”, which is considered synonymous with the word “Hell”. It should be noted that sometimes, indeed, this word meant Hell, but in the Old Testament, sometimes, it meant the place of residence of ALL dead people: Job 30:23 “So, I know that You will lead me to death and to the house of assembly of all living”; Ps.88: 49 “Which of the people lived and did not see death, delivered his soul from the hand of hell?”, So it is safe to say that Hell is still different from Hell, but we will talk about this in more detail later. Consider Psalm 88:49, here an explicitly rhetorical question is asked: “which of the living people delivered his soul from the underworld?”, The answer to which provides for the word:“nobody”, in other words, all dead people go to the Underworld! Although, in fairness, I must say that after all, two people did not know either death or Hell, this is the antediluvian Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and the Old Testament Elijah (4 Kings 2: 10,11). These two righteous men were pardoned by God and were honored to be taken alive to Heaven, but not as a rule, but as an exception, as a prototype of the future rapture of the Church at the moment of the second coming of Christ. It is believed that they too will have to know death. In the Apocrypha and according to some theologians, those two righteous people described in Revelation 11: 3-10, these are Enoch and Elijah.
But in Psalm 88:49 it is not about an exception to the rule, but about the rule itself, according to which all people must die and go to Hell.
How big is Hell?
Since Hell belongs to the categories and concepts of the spiritual world, our physical and mathematical approaches to description and metric measurements are not at all suitable for characterizing its dimensions, shapes or boundaries. Scripture reveals to us only that because of the increasing iniquity, God had to expand, that is, increase the size of Hell:
Is.5: 14 “For this the grave expanded and opened its mouth without measure: and their glory and their wealth, and their noise and [everything] that amuses them, will descend [there].”
Pr.27: 20 “Sheol and Abaddon are insatiable; human eyes are so insatiable."
What do we know about Hell?
However, in order for people to still have some idea of him, images known to man are used on the pages of the Word of God to describe him:
This place of darkness:
Job 10:21 “Before I leave, I will never return, to the land of darkness and mortal shade,”
The land of silence:
Psalm 93: 17 “If the Lord had not been my helper, my soul would soon have dwelt in [the land of] silence.”
Oblivion land:
Psalm 87: 13 “ Do they know Thy wonders in darkness, and Thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?"
Place with a gate:
Is.38: 10 “I said to myself: at the time of my days I must go into the gates of hell; I am deprived of the rest of my years."
Matt.16: 18 “And I say to you: you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it;"
Place with dwellings:
Pr.7: 27 “her house is the way to the underworld, descending into the inner dwellings of death.”
Place of connection by tribes and tribes (with relatives):
Gen. 25: 8 “And Abraham died and died in a good old age, old and full of [life], and was added to his people.”
Gen. 37:35 “… with sorrow I will go down to my son into the underworld.”
Ezek.32: 31 “Among the underworld, his first heroes will speak about him and about his allies; they have fallen and lie there between the uncircumcised, slain by the sword."
The place where clothes and appearance are “preserved”:
1. Tsar 28:14 “What kind is he? [Saul] asked her. She said: An old man is coming out of the earth, dressed in long clothes. Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and fell on his face to the ground and bowed."
Ezek.32: 27 “Shouldn't they lie with the fallen heroes uncircumcised, who with their weapons of war went down to hell and put their swords under their heads …”
A place where there is no active activity, knowledge and wisdom:
Job 3:13 “Now I would lie and rest; I would sleep and I would be at peace"
However, this statement can be regarded as a private opinion of Job himself, and not a revelation of God, since it contradicts the revelation of Jesus Christ about the stay of the souls of the dead in heaven and hell, described in Luke 16: 19-31, about which we'll talk in more detail later. Moreover, it is necessary to take into account the remark of God Himself, that Job does not know the “structure” of the underworld, which was expressed in a rhetorical-skeptical remark addressed to Job: Job 38:16,17 “Have you descended into the depths of the sea and was it included in the study of the abyss? Have the gates of death been opened for you, and have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?"
Eccl. 9:10 “Whatever your hand can do, do it with your strength; because in the grave where you go there is no work, no reflection, no knowledge, no wisdom. (it should be noted right away that these and other similar passages do not say that the soul of the deceased is allegedly in an unconscious state (asleep) and, moreover, they do not say that the soul ceases to exist altogether, we will talk about this in more detail later).
The place where the souls of the dead recognized each other:
Luke 16:23 “And in hell, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his bosom”
A place where desires are inherent:
Luke 16: 24-27 “and, having cried out, said: Father Abraham! Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said: child! remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus - evil; now he is comforted here, and you suffer; and besides all this, a great gulf is established between us and you, so that those who wish to pass from here to you cannot, nor do they pass from there to us. Then he said: so I beg you, father, send him to my father's house,”
Place of torment:
Luke 16:23 "And in hell, being in torment …"
What is the location of Hell?
From the Scriptures we see that God, in the general system of the universe, determined three habitats of living intelligent beings - Heaven, Earth and Hell:
Phil.2: 10 “so that every knee of heavenly, earthly and hells may bow before the name of Jesus”.
From this place, one can also conclude that the Hell is neither in Heaven nor on Earth, but then where? We find the answer in:
Num.16: 30-34 “30 and if the Lord does something extraordinary, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up and everything that they have, and they go down alive into hell, then know that these people have despised the Lord. 31 As soon as he spoke these words, the earth was dispersed under them; 32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up and their houses, and all the people of Korah and all their possessions; 33 And they went down with all that belonged to them, living into the underworld, and the earth covered them, and they perished from the midst of society. 34 And all the Israelites who were around them fled at their cry, so that, they said, the earth would not swallow us."
The conclusion from what I have read is simple - the Underworld is underground, and to be more precise, inside it. This is confirmed by other Scriptures:
1. Kings 2: 6 "The Lord puts to death and brings to life, brings down to hell …"
Job 7: 9 “so he who has descended into hell will not come out”
Psalm 62: 10 "But those who seek the destruction of my soul will descend into the underworld of the earth"
Is.14: 15 “But you were cast into hell, into the depths of hell”
Ephesians 4: 9 “And“ascended”what does it mean, if not that He first descended into the underworld of the earth?"
And also: Gen. 37:35; Num. 16:30; 3. Kings 2: 6.9; Job 17:16; 21:13; Psalm 138: 8; Ezek. 32: 18.24;
Interesting are also two passages of Scripture, which speak of three dwellings: heaven, earth and underground, and on the basis of the above material, we can assert that we are talking about Hell:
Rev.5: 3 “And no one could, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, open this book, nor look into it.”
Rev.5: 13 “And every creature that is in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and everything that is in them, I heard, said: To the one sitting on the throne and the Lamb, blessing and honor, and glory and power till the end of time."
But there is a place in the Bible where the location of the Underworld is indicated more specifically - this is “the heart of the earth”, where the heart, most likely, should mean its center:
Matthew 12:40 “for as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights”.
The fact that by “the heart of the earth” one should mean Hell is confirmed by another scripture that speaks of the same event:
Ephesians 4: 9 “And“ascended”what does it mean, if not that He first descended into the underworld of the earth?"
Here it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that there are several places in the Underworld, since it is spoken of in the plural: "places underworld".
Abaddon
The mysterious word " Abaddon " is mentioned on the pages of Scripture:
Job 26: 6 “The grave is naked before Him, and there is no covering for Abaddon.”
Job 28:22 “Abaddon and death say: with our ears we have heard a rumor about her."
Ex.15: 11 “Sheol and Abaddon [are open] before the Lord, much more the hearts of the sons of men.”
Pr.27: 20 “Sheol and Abaddon are insatiable; human eyes are so insatiable."
As you can see, Abaddon is always mentioned together with Hell and death. The Old Testament does not reveal the meaning of what this word means and what / to whom it refers. This secret is revealed only in the last book of the New Testament:
Rev.9: 11 “ As king over her, she had the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek is Apollyon."
It turns out that "Abaddon" is the name of the angel of the abyss, apparently the angel who ruled over the entire Underworld.
Tartarus
On the pages of the Holy Scriptures, another name for the place is mentioned, associated with the keeping of intelligent beings there before the judgment. This place is TARTAR. From the Word of God, we learn that apart from people, God created another category of intelligent beings - these are angels.
Col.1: 16 "for by Him everything was created, that is in heaven and that on earth, visible and invisible: whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or powers, - everything was created by Him and for Him;"
The supreme angel was “the day, the son of the dawn” (Is.14: 12), in Greek - Lucifer. He was perfect until the sin of pride entered into him - the desire to become equal to God. For this sin, he was cast out from Heaven to Earth, and with him a third of the angels (Rev. 12: 3,4). After the overthrow, Lucifer began to be called Satan (the devil). For more information about Satan and the fallen angels, see Isaiah 14: 12-17; Ezek. 28: 12-19; John 8:44; 1 John 3: 8,12; Revelation 9: 1; 12: 3,4,9, etc.
Moreover, some of these fallen angels (demons), God has already concluded in "eternal bonds":
Jude 6 “and the angels, who did not preserve their dignity, but left their dwelling place, he keeps in eternal bonds, under darkness, at the judgment of the great day.”
But where is this place located and what is this place? We find the answer in:
2Pet.2: 4 “For if God did not spare the angels who had sinned, but, having bound them with the bonds of hellish darkness, gave them over to be watched for judgment for punishment;”
And where does it say about the place and its name? The fact is that in the original in Greek the text reads like this: "but in the ropes of darkness, he who threw into Tartarus handed it over to the court …":
In a modern translation, this passage sounds like this: "For God did not spare the angels who sinned and sent them to the dungeons of Tartarus so that they would remain there until the judgment."
Based on the fact that in both places it is said about “the bonds of hellish darkness”, we can conclude that Tartarus is located in the same place as Hell, that is, in the Underworld.
So, now we can make the fourth conclusion that the Underworld has in itself not only Hell, where the souls of dead people (sinners) are kept, but also Tartarus, where part of the fallen angels is contained. Satan will also be cast there for a thousand years (Rev. 20: 1-3). Then he will be released for a short time (Rev. 20: 7,8), but after his defeat, Satan and all the fallen angels will be thrown into the place of final punishment - into hell of fire (Rev. 20: 7-10).
Where was Paradise at that time?
So, we have already found out where Hell and Tartarus are located - in the Underworld, in the center of the Earth. Where is Paradise located? Initially, the question may seem strange, because we all well know that he is in Heaven! Yes, of course, after Christ's atoning sacrifice, Paradise is in Heaven and this is clearly seen from the Scriptures:
2. Corinthians 12: 2-4 “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body - I don’t know, outside the body - I don’t know: God knows) was caught up to the third heaven. And I know about such a person ([only] I don’t know - in the body, or outside the body: God knows) that he was caught up to heaven …”
Rev.6: 9 “And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those killed for the word of God and for the testimony that they had.”
And also Phil. 1:23; 1 Thess. 4:14; Heb. 12:23.
But has it always been this way? What happened to the souls of the righteous who died before the Cross of Calvary? Could these souls, in principle, be in Heaven with God? Let's discuss this issue in more detail.
Let us ask ourselves a question: the souls of what people went to heaven? The righteous, tell you and you will be right! But who were these righteous people, and what righteousness did they have?
These were people whose life in general was pious, God-fearing, godly. But were they absolutely righteous and sinless? Of course not! The Bible tells us that all people have sinned and all are guilty before God: Rom. 3: 9-12 “… both Jews and Greeks, all are under sin, as it is written: there is no righteous, not one; there is no one who understands; no one seeks God; all have gone astray, to one they are worthless; there is no doer of good, there is not one. " Gal.3: 22 " but the Scripture has shut them all up under sin."
But how is it, we talk about the righteousness of people but immediately find out that “there is not one righteous”? The fact is that we are talking about their righteousness in our, human understanding, meaning by this that basically their life was pious, but from the point of view of God's absolute righteousness, they are not, since there is a sinful nature in our bodies, inherited from our ancestors as a result of the fall of Adam and Eve. And we know that it was sin that separated the righteous and holy God from fallen man. There is nothing in common and compatible with the absolutely holy nature of God and even the smallest grain of human sinfulness. Therefore, while a person is legally guilty for sin, he is guilty before God and cannot be in His presence. And this state of affairs remained until then,until human sin was atoned for by the blood of Christ, until human sin was legally punished in the death of the Son of God. Therefore, it becomes absolutely logically clear that before the redemption of mankind by Christ, Paradise, together with the souls of the righteous, could not be in Heaven in the presence of God! But where, then, could he be, if we already know that only three habitats were identified (Phil. 2:10). Heaven? As it was already found out that there, in the presence of God, he could not be. Earth? But after death, the soul of a person must leave this earth according to the law established by God. Only one place remains by the method of elimination - inside the Earth, that is, in the Underworld! But the souls of sinners are already there, and in torment. The souls of the righteous did not deserve the same status as the souls of sinners! Since there were no other habitats, the Lord separated a certain part of the Hell for Paradise, dividing it with Hell by an insurmountable “great abyss”. Are our logical assumptions correct? To see this, let’s look at what Scripture has to say on the subject. Let's turn to the Gospel of Luke:
Luke 16: 19-26 “19 A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted brilliantly every day. 20 There was also a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gate in scabs 21 and wanted to be nourished with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table, and the dogs, coming, licked his scabs. 22 The beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And in hell, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his bosom 24 and cried out, said: Father Abraham! Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, child! remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus - evil; now he is comforted here, and you suffer; 26 And besides all this, a great gulf is fixed between us and you,so that those who wish to pass from here to you cannot, nor do they pass from there to us."
Before considering this passage in detail, it is necessary to raise the question: what is this narration, a story about real events or a parable? Clarification of this circumstance is very important, since if this is just a parable, then there may not be reality itself behind the proposed images, which means that the very existence of both Hell and Paradise is being questioned. If this is a story, then what is described there can be taken literally. Many believe that this is a parable and everything described there is just images, an allegory, and also, based on (misunderstood) passages of the Old Testament, justify their teaching that the souls of the dead are in an unconscious state (Adventis), or even that the soul ceases to exist altogether (Jehovah's Witnesses).
First of all, let's find out what a parable is? A parable (Greek PARABOLE ') is a saying or a story, and sometimes an allegory or comparison, which has a double meaning, the purpose of which is to impress spiritual and moral truths on the listener. In other words, what was incomprehensible to people from the spiritual sphere was revealed through real and understandable images of our world.
Usually in parables there are events and objects related to our world that are understandable to us without explanation (grain, tares, sheep, lamps, etc.), which are then used as the prototypes of other, mainly spiritual realities. People perfectly understood how and on what the grain grows and this served as the prototype of how the seed of the Word of God grows. People knew how a huge bush grows from a microscopic mustard seed, how a small piece of leaven affects the whole dough, etc. However, Paradise and Hell, where Lazarus and the rich man respectively fell, are not prototypes of spiritual realities, they themselves are these spiritual realities. How then is it possible, on the basis of images of what is incomprehensible to us, to explain something else, more incomprehensible, and the result of this should be a complete understanding !? Furthermore,if people were firmly convinced that a person after death is in an unconscious state (“asleep”), wouldn’t the story of Jesus have caused them great bewilderment, wouldn’t they have asked the question: so where is the truth, in the Old Testament Scriptures, or what You tell us? If they perceived this story as a parable, then all the more they demanded clarification on this matter. We see that there is nothing like this, people perceive this information as a fact that does not cause them any doubts.the more they demanded clarification on this matter. We see that there is nothing like this, people perceive this information as a fact that does not cause them any doubts.the more they demanded clarification on this matter. We see that there is nothing like this, people perceive this information as a fact that does not cause them any doubts.
The parables told by Christ were always preceded by the phrases: "And he told them a parable," "taught them with parables," "listen to another parable," "added a parable." Where the disciples did not understand the inner, spiritual, meaning of the told parable, they usually asked Christ to clarify its meaning. Sometimes Christ Himself suggested to them: "You hear the meaning of the parable." He did not say anything of the kind to his disciples, telling them the story of a rich man and a beggar.
In many editions of the Bible, the corresponding marks are made in front of the parables (in italics). Take, for example, the Bible reprinted from the Synodal edition with notes by C. N. Scofield and his translation into Russian from the English edition of 1909 (many of them use just such Bibles). Let's turn, for example, to chapter 15 of the Gospel of Luke, there before verses 3-7 it is written in italics: “The parable of the lost sheep”; before verses 8-10: “The parable of the lost coin”; before verses 11-32: “The parable of the prodigal son”; in the 16th chapter before verses 1-13: “The parable of the unfaithful steward”, but already before verses 14-17 it is written simply: “Jesus answers the Pharisees”, that is, it is clear that this is no longer a parable, but real events; further before verses 18-19: “Jesus about divorce” is also the reality of our world; and finally, before verses 19-31:“About the rich man and Lazarus” again does not indicate that this is a parable!
In the parables, the names of people and even more specific historical figures were never used, here Christ mentioned the name of the poor man Lazarus, but kept silent about the name of the rich man (apparently there is a hint that his name was not included in the “Book of Life”), mentioned here and Abraham, the forefather of the Jewish people.
Based on the foregoing, we can make a well-grounded conclusion that the scripture we are considering is not a parable, it is a story about real events and real people.
Now, based on the reality of what is described, we will carefully study what it says.
We see that after his death Lazarus ended up in Paradise, or, in other words, in the “bosom of Abraham,” and the rich man in Hell. But what is remarkable, they saw each other, could communicate with each other, and the rich man assumed it was possible that Lazarus would reach out to him and moisten his mouth with water. It means that Heaven and Hell were so close that it seemed like a possible close contact between those in them. However, Abraham explains that this contact is impossible, since between Paradise and Hell, a “great abyss” has been established. What does the word “great” mean? Does it indicate the size of the abyss? I think no. If the abyss were great in terms of size, then the rich man would hardly have assumed a possible transition from Paradise to Hell and would not have asked Abraham to send Lazarus. Therefore, the word “great” does not mean size as such, but such a characteristic as “irresistible”. In other words, between Hell and Paradise, there was a certain insurmountable barrier-abyss, which, according to external signs, did not seem to be an obstacle to contacts and even transition, perhaps it was generally invisible, since it was necessary to talk about it. Someone portrayed it like this (found in the bowels of the internet):
It is difficult to say how this mutual arrangement and combination of Hell and Paradise may look in our materialistic understanding, all the same these are categories of the spiritual world, in many ways incomprehensible and inaccessible to us. However, for clarity, with a great deal of conventionality, you can try to graphically depict the Underworld in the form of spheres in a section (Fig. 1):
- the outer sphere is the surface of the Earth
- the inner sphere is the Underworld itself, which, in its turn, according to the principle of "nesting dolls", includes the spheres of Paradise, Hell and Tartarus.
However, a number of theologians have the opinion that Paradise was originally in Heaven, and the story of the rich man and Lazarus is a special case, an exception, when the rich man was given by God's will to see Paradise. In the normal state, they are invisible to each other and there is no contact between them. If we assume that the opinion of these theologians is correct, then in this case a cardinal question arises, so where was Paradise before Christ's atoning sacrifice, in Heaven or in Hell (as one of its “branches”)?
Other places in the Bible will help us to understand this issue, which we will consider both from the point of view of one position (Paradise - as part of the underworld), and from another (Paradise - as a specific place in Heaven).
Let's start with the fact that first we will find a convincing answer to the question: are Hell and the Underworld one single whole place, or not?
Ephesians 4: 9 “And“ascended”what does it mean, if not that He first descended into the underworld of the earth?”. Here we will focus on the fact that the words “hell of a place” are used in the plural (we have already spoken about this), from here we can conclude that the hell is not a single whole place, but consists of several.
Deut.32: 22 "for the fire kindled in my anger, burns to the hell of the underworld …"
From this passage of Scripture it also becomes obvious that Hell and the Underworld are not the same thing, otherwise the tautology turns out: “it burns to the Hell of Hell”. Here the meaning is rather seen that Hell is part of the underworld. We see a similar combination of these words in Isa. 14: 9, “The hell of the underworld has been set in motion for you”. And in Is.14: 15 it becomes quite obvious that Hell is not all of the Underworld, but only its deepest part: “But you were cast down into hell, into the depths of the underworld”.
From these passages of the Word of God, we can conclude that the "Hell" is not a qualitative characteristic of hell, but an affiliation.
Now let's turn to the book of 1 Samuel, which describes how the spirit of Samuel was summoned at the request of Saul.
1. Tsar 28:13, 14 “And the woman answered: I see, as it were, a god coming out of the earth. What kind is he? [Saul] asked her. She said: An old man is coming out of the earth, dressed in long clothes. Then Saul learned that it was Samuel …”.
Knowing that Samuel was a man of God, a righteous man, a prophet, we have no doubt that after his death he ended up in Paradise. But if paradise is in Heaven, then why did it “come out of the earth”? It would be more logical for him to descend from Heaven! But, if we assume that the Paradise of the Old Testament times is part of the Hell, then everything falls into place.
We read further what Samuel says to Saul:
1. Kings 28:19 “And the Lord will deliver Israel together with you into the hands of the Philistines: tomorrow you and your sons will be with me …”
So Saul must be in the same place where Samuel was! Let's consider this statement in detail:
First, knowing that Saul has lost the favor of God, has departed from the ways of the righteous, there is no doubt that his fate is Hell. Then why does Samuel, who is in Paradise, claim that Saul will be “with him”? If Paradise is in Heaven (and not in Hell), then how can Saul end up in the same place as Samuel? After all, he must go to Hell!
Secondly, if Samuel “left the earth”, then, according to the logic of things, his return should be the opposite way, that is, “condescension” to the earth. However, this path seems very strange, assuming that Paradise is in Heaven.
Thirdly, if we assume that Paradise is a part of the Underworld, then everything looks quite logical. The only misunderstanding is Samuel's phrase that Saul will be “with him,” but there is a perfectly satisfactory explanation. By these words, Samuel did not mean Paradise as such, but meant the Underworld as a whole, because indeed, they both ended up in it, only Samuel was in one of its sections - in Paradise, and Saul in another - in Hell.
Let us now turn to the long-suffering, but righteous Job, who, being in torment, describes the state he would have if he died. Along with this, we will see the general situation in the Underworld:
Job 3: 13-19 “13 Now I would lie and rest; I would sleep, and I would be at peace 14 with the kings and counselors of the earth, who built deserts for themselves, 15 or with princes who had gold, and who filled their houses with silver; 16 or, like a hidden miscarriage, I would not exist, like babies who did not see the light. 17 There the wicked cease to inspire fear, and there the exhausted rest rest. 18 There the prisoners enjoy peace together and do not hear the shouts of the guardian. 19 The small and the great there are equal, and the slave is free from his master."
In this description we see that after death all people will be together: kings and princes, wicked and exhausted, small and great, slaves and lords. The confirmation that all dead people will be together is Job 30:23 "So, I know that You will lead me to death and to the house of assembly of all living."
If we assume that Paradise is not in the same place as Hell, that is, in Heaven, then the above places are absurd in their meaning. But, if we talk about the Underworld as a whole, without dividing it into “divisions,” then Job's statements will turn out to be quite logical and natural: absolutely all dead people went to the Underworld.
Let us ask ourselves one more question: Job, dreaming of death as a deliverance from torment, where did he expect to go, to Hell or Heaven? Of course, to Paradise, since Job knew about himself that there was no sin in him, for which he could go to Hell. But, if paradise is in Heaven, then Job would have to talk about ascending there. But he says the opposite:
Job 17:16 “She will descend into the underworld and will rest with me in the dust.”(Here“she”means“hope”)
Job 17:13 “If I would wait, then the grave is my house; in darkness I will make my bed ; "
Job 14:13 “Oh, if only you hid me in the underworld and sheltered me until your anger passes, set a time limit for me and then remembered me!"
So, from these passages we see that Job unambiguously speaks about the condescension to the Underworld.
Let us now turn to the prayer of the pious, God-fearing, righteous Jewish king Hezekiah, who undoubtedly deserved to be in Paradise:
Is.38: 10 “I said in myself: in the time of my days I must go into the gates of hell …”
If Paradise is not in Hell, but in Heaven, then why then Hezekiah speaks with such confidence about Hell? If Paradise is in the Underworld, then this phrase does not cause any bewilderment.
And what did Jacob say, mourning Joseph's alleged death?
Gen. 37:35 “And all his sons and all his daughters gathered together to comfort him; but he did not want to be comforted and said: with sorrow I will go down to my son into hell. So his father mourned him."
If Jacob had died at that moment, where do you think his soul would have gone? Undoubtedly to Paradise! And if at that moment in time Joseph was really dead, then where would his soul be? Also in Paradise! And here the argumentation is the same: if Paradise is in Heaven, then Jacob's statement turns out to be false, if in Hell, then everything is logical!
I think that no one doubts what place is prepared for David, “a man after God's heart” (Acts 13:22), undoubtedly it is Paradise. But what does David himself say !:
Ps.48: 16 "But God will deliver my soul from the power of the underworld, when he accepts me."
So, if God has to deliver the soul from the power of the Underworld, then this means that the Underworld will have power over the soul of David for some time. And in what situation is this possible? Only when Paradise is part of the Underworld. If Paradise was originally in Heaven, then David would have gone there bypassing the Underworld, but then his prophetic words lose all meaning and only mislead.
Let's turn to Psalm 87. This psalm is the teaching of Heman Ezrachit (Psalm 87: 1), but who was this man? In the Bible he is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 15:19; 16: 41.42; 25: 1-7; 3 Kings 4:31. Heman was David's henchman in one of the most important positions in the glorification of God, he was both an excellent musician and an excellent singer. In those days, the ministry of glorifying God was one of the most important and responsible, so the unworthy and wicked (even if talented) were not put on this work. In 1 Chronicles 25: 5 Heman is called “the king's seer”, and for good service and piety, God rewarded him with fourteen sons. Heman also possessed great wisdom, although less than that of Solomon, but comparable to it, otherwise it would not be compared (1 Kings 4:31)). But what awaits this man of God after his approaching death ?:
Psalm 87: 4 “… my life has come nearer to hell.”
So, this pious man also speaks about Hell! I think that in this case, too, the conclusion suggests itself: after death he really ended up in it, which means that Paradise was also there.
Next, let's see what another sage named Epham says, the head of one of the choirs of David, who is also mentioned in 1 Chron. 15:17, 19 and in 3 Kings 4:31, along with the mentioned Emam.
Ps.88: 48,49 “Remember what age is mine: for what vanity have you created all the sons of men? Which of the people lived and did not see death, delivered his soul from the hand of hell?"
There is no doubt about the answer to this rhetorical question: no man has delivered his soul from the hand of Hell! It is a matter of course when sinners go there, but what about the righteous? According to this place, they also go to the Underworld! But this will be logical only if Paradise was there.
Let's go back to David and see what else he says in the Psalms.
Ps.138: 8 “If I ascend to heaven - you are there; if I go down into the underworld - and there You are."
Of course, we understand that first of all David is talking here about the omnipotence of God, that His power extends to everything, including Hell and the Underworld. And, nevertheless, we cannot discount the literal meaning of these words, where it is clearly stated that God is present in Hell. If we consider that the holiness of God does not allow anything unclean to come into contact with the Creator and the meaning of the punishment of Hell is “exile from the presence of God and His glory” (2. Thess. 1: 8,9), then this text can mean only one thing: the presence of God in the Underworld speaks of His visit to that department, which we call Paradise, but by no means Hell! If there was no Paradise, then God would not be present in Hell under any circumstances.
So, upon careful study of the Old Testament, we come to a striking conclusion: very little is said about Paradise - only when it was told about the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2 and 3 chapters) and in the same context it is mentioned in Isaiah 51: 3 “So, The Lord will comfort Zion, he will comfort all its ruins, and make its deserts like paradise, and its steppe like the garden of the Lord; joy and joy will be in him, praise and hymns”and that's it, nothing more is said about Paradise! Moreover, nowhere in the Old Testament is it said about the ascent to Paradise to Heaven, but absolutely all people are said to descend into the Underworld!
The only place that speaks of the path upward as the opposite of the path to the Underworld is Proverbs 15:24 “The path of the life of the wise upward in order to escape from the underworld below."
But, firstly, the book of Proverbs, although it was written in Old Testament times and placed in a collection of Old Testament books, is, in essence and wisdom, an all-biblical book. The wisdom and truth set forth in it applies to all times and nations, and if the final location of Paradise is predetermined in Heaven, and not in Hell, then the final path of any wise person (read “righteous”), of course, is the path to Heaven, where he will be.
Secondly, this passage can be interpreted in the sense that “The Way of the Life of the Wise Upward” is understood as, first of all, the aspirations and thoughts of such a person about the Upper, the Higher, the Heavenly, and not the earthly. It is these thoughts that will provide a wise deliverance from Hell, namely from that separation, which is Hell.
There is another interesting passage in the Old Testament where it is said that a person's spirit goes to God:
Ecclesiastes 12: 7 “And the dust will return to the earth, which it was; but the spirit returned to God who gave it."
Does this passage contradict all the rest of the Old Testament and the conclusions we have drawn? I think not, since it does not indicate a specific place where the person will go, but sets out the general principle that, ultimately, all people will appear before God after their resurrection. Only one for receiving crowns and eternal life in Heaven with God (2. Cor.5: 10; 1. Pet.5: 4; 2. Tim.4: 8), and others before the judgment of the Great White throne, where they will be judged by their deeds and go to hell of fire for eternal destruction (Rev. 20: 11-15) [but we will talk about this in more detail later].
I think that from all the Scriptures we have considered, a clear picture emerges that before the atoning sacrifice of Christ, Paradise was one of the branches of the Hell, where the souls of the dead righteous of the Old Testament were kept. The souls of sinners were also in the Underworld, but only in that division, which was called Hell, in fact, as described in the Gospel of Luke in chapter 16.
Christ's atoning sacrifice
And what happened at the moment of Christ's death and immediately after it? King David prophetically said that the Messiah will have to go down to Hell, but He will not stay there:
Ps.15: 10 "for you will not leave my soul in hell, and you will not let your holy one see corruption."
The Savior Himself prophesied about the forthcoming condescension to Hell:
Matthew 12:40 “for as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.” (With regard to staying in the heart of the earth for three days and nights, many have difficulty in explaining, since if one can conditionally agree with three days, then there are only two nights.
The meaning of these prophecies is explained by two apostles, Peter and Paul:
Acts. 2: 27-31 “27 for you will not leave my soul in hell, and you will not allow your holy one to see corruption. 28 You have given me to know the way of life, You will fill me with joy in Your presence. 29 Men, brothers! Let it be permitted to boldly tell you about the forefather David, that he both died and was buried, and his grave is with us to this day. 30 But being a prophet and knowing that God with an oath promised him from the fruit of his loins to raise up Christ in the flesh and set him on his throne, 31 He first said about the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in hell, and His flesh did not see corruption."
Acts 13: 23-37 “23 From his offspring God, by promise, raised up the Savior Jesus to Israel. 24 Just before His appearance, John preached the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And at the end of his career, John said: Whom do you think I am? I'm not the one; but behold, he is coming after me, whose shoes I am not worthy to untie on his feet. 26 Men, brothers, children of the race of Abraham, and those among you who fear God! the word of this salvation has been sent to you. 27 For the inhabitants of Jerusalem and their rulers, not recognizing him and condemning him, fulfilled the prophetic words read every Saturday, 28 and finding in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to kill him. 29 When they had fulfilled all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and put him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead … 31 For many days He appeared to those who went out with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and who are now His witnesses before the people. 32 And we proclaim the gospel to you that the promise given to the fathers, God fulfilled to us, their children, by resurrecting Jesus, 33 as in the second psalm it is written: You are my Son: I have borne you today. 34 And that he raised him from the dead, so that he would no longer turn to corruption, [about this] he said: I will give you mercies, [promised] to David, it is true. 35 Therefore, in another [place] he says: Thou wilt not suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption. 36 David, having served the will of God in due time, rested and was added to his fathers, and saw corruption; 37 but He whom God raised up saw no corruption."
The same event is mentioned by Paul in the letter to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 4: 9 “And“ascended”what does it mean, if not that He first descended into the underworld of the earth?
So, after his death, Jesus was three days and three nights “in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40), but what this place is they say: Ps.15: 10 is Hell; and Eph. 4: 9 are the underworld places of the earth.
There is no contradiction between Ps.15: 10 and Eph. 4: 9, since often “Hell” and “Hell” were combined into one concept and they were used interchangeably.
What was happening there at that time? What was Jesus doing there?
The details of what is happening reveal to us the following passages of the New Testament:
1. Pet.3: 18-20,22 “18 because Christ also, in order to bring us to God, once suffered for our sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, 19 by which He and those in prison to the spirits, coming down, he preached, 20 to the once disobedient to God's longsuffering that awaited them, in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which few, that is, eight souls, were saved from the water … and Power and Force."
1. Pet.4: 6 "For this was the preaching of the gospel to the dead, that, having been judged according to man in flesh, they should live according to God in the Spirit."
Eph. 4: 8-10 “8 Therefore, it is said: He ascended on high, took captivity captive and gave gifts to men. 9 And “ascended,” which does not mean that He first descended into the underworld of the earth? 10 He who descended, He is also He who ascended above all heavens in order to fill everything."
Based on these Scriptures, we will restore a complete picture of what happened. Jesus Christ, being put to death according to the flesh, revived in the spirit, in the same spirit He descended into the places of hell into prison to the spirits and preached to them there. But in order to understand further the essence of what is happening, let's remember what a sermon is and what is it for? First, let's talk about “simple conversation” between people. As a rule, the purpose of any conversation is to convey some amount of information from one person to another. The transmitted information is not always intended to change the thinking or actions of the person to whom it is transmitted. The essence of the sermon is fundamentally different - to convey to the listener the truth of God, God's Word, God's will with one single but MANDATORY goal: to change the listener's way of thinking, way of acting and life itself in the light of God's truth. First of all, it is the acceptance of the hearers of the good news, the message of salvation, the message of the atoning sacrifice of the Son of God. In short, preaching is the proclamation of the hearer of the good news of salvation with only one purpose, to gain it. Salvation, in theological sense, is a change in state from eternal destruction to the state of inheritance of eternal life. When considering this issue, one more important circumstance must be taken into account: a change from a state of perdition to eternal life can occurit is a change in state from eternal destruction to the state of inheriting eternal life. When considering this issue, one more important circumstance must be taken into account: a change from a state of perdition to eternal life can occurit is a change in state from eternal destruction to the state of inheriting eternal life. When considering this issue, one more important circumstance must be taken into account: a change from a state of perdition to eternal life can occur only in this life through repentance. People who have lived a life of unrighteousness, to put it simply, are sinners, after death go to Hell and go to eternal destruction; God does not provide for a change in their state after death. In other words, he who gets to Hell goes to eternal destruction and no longer has salvation. This harsh but just judgment pervades the entire Word of God, both in the Old and New Testaments, for example:
Is.66: 24 “And they will go out and see the corpses of people who have departed from Me: for their worm will not die, and their fire will not go out; and they will be an abomination to all flesh.”
2. Thess. 1: 8,9 "in the flaming fire of one who takes revenge on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will be punished, eternal destruction, from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might,"
Luke 16:26 “and besides all this, a great gulf is established between us and you, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor do they pass from there to us.”
Now, if we assume that there was only Hell in Hell, in which there are only sinners, whose condition cannot change under any circumstances, then a serious question arises: why and what did Jesus preach to them then? If nothing can change for these people, then what is His purpose of descent into Hell, what is the purpose of His preaching? After all, as we have already said, the purpose of the sermon is the obligatory subsequent change of state!
However, if we agree that Paradise was in the Underworld, then it becomes clear that Jesus descended into the Underworld, to a place called Paradise (the bosom of Abraham). But to whom did He preach and what is the purpose? We know that all the Old Testament righteous were in Paradise, starting from Adam and ending with those who died just before the atoning sacrifice of the Savior. Among them were those who knew the prophecies about the Messiah, knew about the impending redemption and salvation. But there were also those who lived until the time when these prophecies were revealed to people, and, accordingly, they did not know anything about it. To those who knew about the Messiah, Jesus proclaimed that all this had happened, He is the very Messiah. And to those who knew nothing, it was to them that He preached, that is, He told the essence of God's plan to save people. He explained to themthat by His death he atoned for both original sin and those sins that were nevertheless present in the life of anyone, even the most holy person. He explained to them that by means of His death the gap that separated the righteous God and sinful man was bridged. He also explained to them that His blood washed away those sins that did not allow them, who are in Paradise, to be in the presence of God because of their natural sinfulness, and therefore God was forced to place Paradise outside of His presence in one of the places of Hell. And finally, the main goal was to announce that now, washed by the blood of the Lamb, He can take them with Him to Heaven and their condition will finally change - they will leave Hell and settle with Him with the Lord! This is what he sayseven the most holy person. He explained to them that through His death that gulf was bridged that separated the righteous God and sinful man. He also explained to them that His blood washed away those sins that did not allow them, who are in Paradise, to be in the presence of God because of their natural sinfulness, and therefore God was forced to place Paradise outside of His presence in one of the places of Hell. And, finally, the main goal was to announce that now, washed by the blood of the Lamb, He can take them with Him to Heaven and their condition will finally change - they will leave Hell and settle with Him in the Lord! This is what he sayseven the most holy person. He explained to them that by means of His death the gap that separated the righteous God and sinful man was bridged. He also explained to them that His blood washed away those sins that did not allow them, who are in Paradise, to be in the presence of God because of their natural sinfulness, and therefore God was forced to place Paradise outside of His presence in one of the places of Hell. And, finally, the main goal was to announce that now, washed by the blood of the Lamb, He can take them with Him to Heaven and their condition will finally change - they will leave Hell and settle with Him in the Lord! This is what he sayswhich did not allow them, who are in Paradise, to be in the presence of God because of their natural sinfulness, and therefore God was forced to place Paradise outside of His presence in one of the places of Hell. And, finally, the main goal was to announce that now, washed by the blood of the Lamb, He can take them with Him to Heaven and their condition will finally change - they will leave Hell and settle with Him in the Lord! This is what he sayswhich did not allow them, who are in Paradise, to be in the presence of God because of their natural sinfulness, and therefore God was forced to place Paradise outside of His presence in one of the places of Hell. And, finally, the main goal was to announce that now, washed by the blood of the Lamb, He can take them with Him to Heaven and their condition will finally change - they will leave Hell and settle with Him in the Lord! This is what he saysThis is what he saysThis is what he says Ephesians 4: 8 “For this reason it is said: He ascended on high, took captivity captive and gave gifts to men.” How to understand the expression "captive captive"? A prisoner is a person who is held somewhere against his will and who cannot independently change his position. Paradise, although it was not a place of torment, but nevertheless it was the Underworld, far from the best place in the system of the universe, a kind of "captivity", since the human soul, having parted with the body at the moment of physical death, no longer had a choice in place of her dwelling, she was doomed to go to Hell (Ps. 88:48, 49). Even worse was the situation of those who, because of their sinfulness, were forced to go to that place of Hell, which is Hell. Both those and others were a kind of "captives" of the Underworld, or, one might say, captives of Hell (since these concepts are often interchangeable). This was a great joy for Satan, who, although he did not have access to the souls in Paradise for their torment, was also glad of the fact that after all it was not Heaven, that people were not going to God, but were going to the underground … He considered this to be his victory, since he believed that people would be forever separated from the Creator, not knowing or suspecting what the blood of Christ could do. By his death, Christ obtained the keys to Hell and death (Rev. 1:17, 18), and therefore He could take with Him to Heaven the captives of Hell (in the sense of Hell), that is, He, in turn, “captivated” those who were previously captives of Hell. Of course, this second “captivity” was joyful and desirable for people in captivity of Hell. This event was also foretold in the Old Testament:
Ps.67: 19 “You ascended on high, took captivity captive, accepted gifts for men, so that even those who resisted could dwell with the Lord God.”
So, the purpose of "taking captivity captive" was to enable people to "dwell with the Lord God."
I think that now the meaning of the expression "take captive" is clear.
What happened next? Jesus, having taken captivity captive, ascended into Heaven and remains “at the right hand of God”:
1. Pet.3: 22 "Who, ascended into heaven, remains at the right hand of God, and to whom the Angels and Authorities and Powers have submitted."
There is now also Paradise with the souls of the deceased righteous, and to be more precise, the place of the present Paradise is under the altar of God:
Rev.6: 9 “And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those killed for the word of God and for the testimony that they had.”
In turn, this is all in the Third Heaven:
1. Corinthians 12: 2-4 “2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body - I don’t know, outside the body - I don’t know: God knows) was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know about such a person ([only] I don’t know - in the body, or outside the body: God knows), 4 that he was caught up to paradise and heard unspeakable words that a person cannot retell.”
Considering the question of the location of Paradise, one cannot ignore another interesting passage of Scripture:
Luke 23:43 "And Jesus said to him: Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."
We see that the Lord promised the robber that he would “now” be together with the Savior in Paradise. “Now” means “today”, respectively, “now” means “today”. But, if Paradise were in Heaven, then the robber “now” could not have got there with Jesus, since the Savior descended into Hell (Hell) for three days and nights. However, in light of the above, I think there will be no difficulty in understanding what happened. The robber indeed on the same day found himself together with Jesus in that place of the Underworld, which was called Paradise (the bosom of Abraham), and then, together with all those who were there, on the third day was ascended to Paradise, which is in the Third Heaven.
It is also interesting that the Bible describes one event that took place during the ascent of Jesus from Hell to Heaven:
John 20:17 “Jesus says to her: do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to my brothers and tell them: I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God."
Here we see that after three days, in the process of His ascension to Heaven, the very moment of bodily resurrection occurs.(here it should not be confused with the action described by Peter: "revived in the spirit"). That is, the events add up in the following sequence: after three days of staying in the “places of hell”, Jesus takes (captivates) those who were in Paradise (the bosom of Abraham) and the ascent process begins, at the same moment His reunification with the new glorified body, that is, the immediate moment of bodily resurrection. It is this moment that is described in John. But, since Jesus had not yet ascended at that time to the Heavenly Father, then, for some reason (not known to us), it was impossible to touch Him. It turns out that at that moment in time all the souls “captive” by Him were also with Him on earth, only they were not visible to the human eye. Further, His further ascent "to the height", that is, to God, He leaves Paradise there,at the same time, something happens to His body (it can be conventionally called that there was a “transformation” of His body), and then He again in a new glorified body (on the same day in the evening) returns to Earth, where His disciples see Him (on the road to Emmaus, in the upper room, etc.), where they could touch Him: Luke 24:39 “Behold My hands and My feet; it is I myself; touch Me and consider; for the spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see with Me. “It is not known whether the disciples did this at that moment or not, but Thomas did exactly this afterwards (John 20: 26-28). The disciples eat with Him, talk, touch, etc. At the same time, His body acquired new, unusual abilities for our physical world, Jesus could become unrecognizable, could suddenly appear and just as suddenly disappear, and this could even happen in confined space (in a room) with closed doors. Jesus could just as instantly travel long distances (He appeared to disciples at a great distance from each other in one day), and, finally, the disciples witnessed His ascension on the fortieth day. Here one should not confuse His ascension on the third day to the Heavenly Father and His ascension on the fortieth day. These are different events and different processes took place there.
So, in the light of all of the above in this chapter, the words recorded by the prophet Hosea and mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:55 become clearer:
Hos.13: 14 “I will redeem them from the power of hell, I will deliver them from death. Death! where is your sting? hell! where is your victory?"
Satan rejoiced in vain when he saw that after death people went to the Underworld, in vain he rejoiced over his victory, the victory of Hell. The sting of death, which seemed deadly for centuries, lost its strength as a result of the atoning sacrifice of Christ. The Son of God received the keys to Hell and death (Rev. 1: 17,18) and brought out from there all those provided for eternal life, placing them in Heaven with God.
The Epistle to the Hebrews says that the Old Testament righteous will end up in Heavenly Paradise no earlier than the New Testament ones:
Hebrews 11:39, 40 “And all these who are testified in faith did not receive the promise, because God provided something better for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us."
What do these verses say? “All these testified by faith” are all the righteous Old Testament (as is evident from the context of this chapter). But God provided that THEY “not without us,” that is, not without New Testament Christians, “reach perfection” (Heavenly Paradise). The Paradise of the Old Testament times, although it is not a place of punishment and torment, is still not a “perfect place”, as it was in the Underworld. There is no doubt that Heaven is the “perfect place” and Paradise will become such “perfect” only when it is there.
The period after the ascension of Jesus Christ to Heaven
The Word of God reveals to us that after the ascension, the Messiah sat down at the right hand (at the right hand) of God the Father. In the prophetic Psalm, David says this:
Psalm 109: 1 “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make Thy enemies Thy footstool.”
Having a revelation from above, the Apostle Peter confirmed this:
1. Pet.3: 22 "Who, ascended into heaven, remains at the right hand of God, and to whom the Angels and Authorities and Powers have submitted."
Proving that the Messiah is superior to angels in his status, the apostle Paul also speaks of His whereabouts:
Hebrews 1:13 “To whom, when of the angels said [God]: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool?"
But He doesn't just sit there in the presence of God, Jesus intercedes for us:
Rom.8: 34 “Christ Jesus died, but also rose again: He is at the right hand of God, He also intercedes for us."
Hebrews 9:24 "For Christ entered not into a sanctuary made with hands, in the image of the true [made], but into heaven itself, in order to appear now for us before the face of God,"
And what happens to the souls of believers after death in a given period of time?
2. Cor.5: 1 “For we know that when our earthly house, this hut, is destroyed, we have from God a dwelling place in heaven, a house not made with hands, eternal.”
The soul of believers goes to a house not made by hands, which is a new dwelling in Heaven, but they will be there not by themselves, but with Christ:
Phil.1: 23 "I am attracted by both: I have the desire to be resolved and be with Christ, because it is incomparably better"
So, after death, believers are with Christ, that is, in the same place where He is!
This "dwelling" is the very Paradise (by the Lon of Abraham, which was taken from Hell) and is in the third Heaven:
1. Corinthians 12: 2-4 “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body - I don’t know, outside the body - I don’t know: God knows) was caught up to the third heaven. And I know about such a person ([only] I don’t know - in the body, or outside the body: God knows) that he was caught up in paradise and heard unspeakable words that a person cannot retell.”
An even more precise location can be judged from the book of Revelation:
Rev.6: 9 “And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those killed for the word of God and for the testimony that they had.”
What circumstances determine where the souls of people will stay: in Paradise or in Hell?
In the death of Jesus Christ, human sin bore its punishment and, accepting this sacrifice by faith, a person becomes justified before God, a spiritual rebirth takes place (or “born again,” as it is said in John 3: 3,5), but in essence, it is the restoration of that spiritual connection with God, which was severed by sin. Thanks to the regenerated spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit, a person receives the opportunity for spiritual growth, acquires the strength to resist sin and the devil, acquires the ability to live righteously according to the will of God, which, in turn, determines his posthumous stay in Paradise.
The souls of unbelieving people (who did not accept the Savior and His sacrifice by faith), after death, go to Hell, which is located in the same place where it was before, that is, in Hell. Many passages of the New Testament say that this happens in this way:
John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God.”
2. Corinthians 5: 8 “then we are well-hearted and wish better to get out of the body and dwell with the Lord.”
Phil.1: 23 "I am attracted by both: I have the desire to be resolved and be with Christ, because it is incomparably better"
1. Thess. 4:14 “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then God will bring those who have died in Jesus with Him.”
2. Thess. 1: 8,9 “in flaming fire, revenge against those who do not know God and do not submit to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will be punished, eternal destruction, from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might” and many other passages, which are enough many in the Scripture.
However, the existence of human beings is not limited to this stay in Paradise or Hell. Scripture reveals to us that both Heaven and Hell are places of temporary residence for the souls of the dead, more significant events will take place after the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the resurrection of all the dead. The doctrine of the resurrection is not only the doctrine of the New Testament, the people of the Old Testament also knew about it and trusted in it:
Isa.26: 19 “Your dead will revive, your dead bodies will rise! Rise up and triumph, you who are in the dust: for Your dew is the dew of plants, and the earth will vomit out the dead."
Dan.12: 2 “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken, some for eternal life, others for eternal reproach and shame.”
Job 19: 25-27 “I know that my Redeemer lives, and on the last day He will raise up this decaying skin from the dust, and I will see God in my flesh.”
Ezek. 37: 5,6 “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: behold, I will bring the spirit into you, and you will live. And I will overlay you with sinews, and I will grow flesh on you, and I will cover you with skin, and I will bring spirit into you, and you will live, and you will know that I am the Lord.”
(see also Job 42:18; Ezek. 37:12).
Many Jews, contemporaries of Jesus, knew the above texts of Scripture well, therefore, even before the gospel of Jesus and the apostles, they were waiting for the upcoming resurrection. This clearly follows from the dialogue between Jesus and Martha:
John 11:23, 24 “Jesus said to her: Your brother will rise again. Martha said to him: I know that he will rise again on the resurrection on the last day."
Jesus also revealed that it will be He who will resurrect people:
John 6:40 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day."
But, we will not cite here all the places about the resurrection of the dead from the New Testament, since there are a lot of them, we can say that this teaching is the basis and essence of the entire Covenant of God with people. We will only consider the features of the resurrection, which are revealed only on the pages of the books of the New Testament.
The Apostle John says that the general resurrection of the dead will not take place simultaneously, but in two stages, in other words, there will be two resurrection of the dead:
John 5:29 “and those who have done good will go forth into the resurrection of life, but those who have done evil into the resurrection of condemnation.”
So, you can conditionally divide them into:
1st resurrection is the "resurrection of life"
The 2nd resurrection is the "resurrection of condemnation."
Consider what the First Resurrection of the Dead is:
1. Cor.15: 22-23 “As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will come to life, each in his own order: Christ the firstborn, then Christ's, at His coming.”
1. Thess. 4:16 “because the Lord Himself with a proclamation, with the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first;”
God reveals to us that the first person to be resurrected is Jesus. During His second coming, first of all, the resurrection of those who believe in Him will take place, and with the people living at that time, believing in Christ, there will be a certain change in the state of the body:
1. Corinthians 15: 51-53 “I tell you a secret: not all of us will die, but everything will change suddenly, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet; for he will sound the trumpet, and the dead will rise incorrupt, but we will be changed. For this perishable must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."
Next will be the rapture of this group of people to Heaven:
1. Thess.4: 17 “then we who survived will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
The above passage from the Epistle to the Hebrews also speaks of this:
Hebrews 11:39, 40 “And all these who are testified in faith did not receive the promise, because God provided something better for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us."
And what will happen at that time to the rest of the dead and living (who do not believe in Christ)?
Dead sinners will continue to dwell in Hell, and life on earth will continue for another 1000 years:
Rev.20: 4,5 “… They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection."
During this period of time, the resurrected and raptured people will appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ (this judgment seat should not be confused with the Judgment before the great white throne from Rev. 20: 11-15 !). At the Judgment Seat of Christ, the issue of “saved or not saved” will not be decided, there will be all the saved and the issue of rewards (crowns) will only be decided:
2. Corinthians 5:10 “for we all must appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, so that each may receive [according to what] what he did while living in the body, good or bad.”
Again, the word “bad” does not mean that a person has done something sinful, because of which he will now go to Hell. No, by “thin” one should understand not sins, but poorly performed work, negligence, laziness, carelessness, some spinelessness due to which a person will lose a certain reward. Yes, these qualities are far from the best in a Christian, but God does not deprive him because of this salvation, and, nevertheless, it is better to have a reward than to be saved like a brand "out of the fire":
1. Corinthians 3: 13-15 “every work will be revealed; for the day will show, because in the fire it is revealed, and the fire will test everyone's work, what it is. Whoever has the work that he built survives, he will receive a reward. And whoever's business is burned up will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, but as if from fire."
The mercy and goodness of the Lord lies in the fact that a person is saved by faith and the believer's fate has already been predetermined here on earth, during his lifetime:
John 3:36 "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."
Rev.20: 6 “Blessed and holy is he who participates in the first resurrection: over them the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years."
This place reveals to us another mystery of being, namely, that the first physiological death of sinful people (as the separation of the soul from the body) is not the final and only one. For them, there is also a resurrection in bodies, Judgment, and then the second, final death, but this will not be the cessation of the existence of the individual, but eternal suffering (eternal destruction) in fiery hell. Scripture speaks of this, revealing to us the sequence of events after the 1000-year reign. If we summarize them briefly, then at this time Satan will be freed from captivity, he will stir up the kings of the earth to oppose God, the final battle will take place, in which the devil will be defeated and at the end of time will be cast into fiery hell:
Rev.20: 7-10 “7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, and gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 8 And they went out into the breadth of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. 9 And fire fell from heaven from God and devoured them; 10 and the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
At the end of all these events, the second resurrection of the dead will take place, as it is said in John 5:29 - “the resurrection of condemnation”. These resurrected people in bodies will appear at the Judgment of God, where the question “saved - not saved” will also not be resolved, they are all unsaved. This Court will determine the degree of guilt and punishment:
Luke 12: 47.48 “But that servant, who knew the will of his master, and was not ready, and did not do according to his will, will be beaten a lot; but he who did not know, and did what was worthy of punishment, the beat will be less …"
Rev.20: 13,14 “Then the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and hell gave up the dead who were in them; and each one was judged according to his works. Both death and hell were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whoever was not recorded in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."
Here it is worth touching on another important point of what will happen during the 1000-year reign. Most likely, in the same period, the trial of the angels who are already in captivity in Tartarus at that time will take place. They will be judged by resurrected believers!
1. Corinthians 6: 3 “Do you not know that we will judge the angels, much less [the deeds] of everyday life?"
Jude 6 “and the angels, who did not retain their dignity, but left their dwelling place, are keeping them in eternal bonds, under darkness, at the judgment of the great day.”
However, it is quite possible that both these angels (demons) and those who had freedom and acted together with Satan will be judged by the believers after the Battle of Armageddon, and then they will all together be thrown into the lake of fire (what we have already examined in Revelation 20: 7-10).
The events that took place after the ascension of the church by Christ, we examined briefly, only in general terms, without going into details. There are whole teachings about resurrections, judgments, end times, etc. Since the purpose of our study is somewhat different - to understand the issues of Heaven and Hell, other questions were touched upon in passing, in the part concerning our topic.
At the end of the article, there are schematic drawings that explain our research. Maybe they will help someone to visually perceive the presented material.
At the end of the consideration of this topic, I cannot but appeal to those who have not yet received the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and, accordingly, have not received the gift of salvation. This article summarizes the revelation of God about what awaits unbelieving people in the future, this is Hell and eternal destruction in fiery Gehenna. How can this fate be avoided? To do this, you need to direct your gaze to Heaven and God:
Ex.15: 24 “The path of the life of the wise is upward, in order to avoid the underworld below.”
We must call on the name of the Lord:
Rom.10: 12,13 “there is no difference between Jew and Greek, because one Lord for all, rich for all who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
What is this name? This is the name of our Lord and Savior - Jesus Christ:
Acts 4: 10,12 “then let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him he was set before you healthy. He is a stone, neglected by you who built, but has become the head of the corner, and there is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men, which we must be saved."
This is one - the only way of salvation:
1. Tim.2: 5,6 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for the redemption of all."
Salvation is a gift from God received by a person by faith, and not by works:
Ephesians 2: 8,9 "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from you, it is God's gift: not from works, so that no one can boast."
Titus 3: 4-7 “4 When the grace and love of our Savior, God, appeared, 5 He saved us not by works of righteousness, which we would have done, but by His mercy, by the bath of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 Which He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by His grace, we may in hope become heirs of eternal life."
So accept this gift of salvation for the future eternal life with Christ and all the chosen saints!
God bless you!
PS In our research, we relied exclusively on the Word of God. Other sources do not have the entirety of the truth, but at the same time, one cannot discount the numerous testimonies of people who survived death, who visited both Paradise and Hell.
