Where Did Christ Go When He Died?
What saith the scriptures? Many argue that when Jesus died, He went to hell and suffered until His resurrection. But the great gulf fixed prevents passage out of hell, Luke 16:26. Consider: Since Christ made full atonement for sin by His shed blood and God accepted it, why would He then have to go to hell? If He had to go to hell, it would mean His shed blood did not fully pay for sin.
“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Hebrews 9:12) This does not sound like he went to hell.
The Bible tells us where he didn’t go: “Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell” (Acts 2:27) God would not permit Christ’s soul to go to hell after He had made an acceptable offering for sin. The only ones who go to hell are those who have not been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
Christ’s own soul was not under condemnation, causing His death. Jesus had no sin, no condemnation of His own. But God laid the sins of others upon Him, for which He died. It was His death, the shedding of His innocent blood, that wrought the atonement, the just for the unjust. God’s wrath against sinners was fully appeased by Christ’s offering of Himself as our sin substitute. This is what happened on Calvary, the shedding of His blood that purchased us, made the atonement once and for all. There is no other payment or suffering that happened beyond Calvary that atones for sin.
Though our sins were laid upon the person of Christ, His soul retained its Divine righteousness, whereby we have an offering acceptable unto God for our justification – Isaiah 53:10-12, Galatians 2:16.
The Bible tells us where He did go: “…into the holy place”, “…into heaven itself” (Hebrews 9:12,24). He said beforehand where He was going when He would die: “And now I come to thee” (the Father) John 17:13; “I go to the Father” John 16:16. He told the thief as they were hanging on the cross: “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” When He died, He cried, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” Luke 23:43,46.
Christ could not have accomplished anything by going to hell. But by His shed blood, He entered into heaven itself, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Through Christ’s body which was broken for us, and through His blood which was shed for the remission of our sins, “He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2 His death willed us the promises, while His resurrection assures us of the victory.
“For by one offering (Calvary) he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” Hebrews 10:14. He never made another offering in hell.
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Nations In Commotion
Ezekiel 38 & 39 are chapters of interest as they describe movements of various nations. God and Magog, Gomer and Togarmah, include Russia and regional nations. Persia is Iran, Libya, and Ethiopia, nations of Africa.
As we observe the power struggles described by Jesus in Matthew 24, of nation rising up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, these do not add up to be greater allies and friends for Israel, but rather more hostility towards them. This lends itself to the future when all nations will be gathered against Jerusalem to battle (Zechariah 14:2) under the direction of the anti christ (Revelation 19:19-21).
Revelation 3:17 “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Have you noticed that nations respond to issues and crises, not so much on the rights of sovereign nations or sympathies for those being wronged, but on economics? Nations have structured their dependence upon each other in trade and commerce to the extent that this dependency dictates who they resist and to whom they yield.
There were needful reasons why God divided the world at the tower of Babel (Genesis 11). Man’s way of reuniting that which God divided is bringing the world together in an economic bondage that will be used by the anti christ to control nations: either yield to his policies, or face economic disaster.
What is down the road for the U.S. economically? Our government has to borrow over 40 cents of every dollar that it spends. How long can this go on? The U.S. dollar is steadily losing its strength to remain the accepted world currency. What happens when the dollar collapses? The 9/11 attacks and the economic recession that followed, revealed how fragile our economic state is. We are not alone; other nations are likewise going down the path to economic collapse, which results in dependency.
Who will the nations turn to? The new world order, with its one world economic system, premiered by the anti christ. “…and all the world wondered after the beast” Revelation 13:3. “…and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” Revelation 13:4.
The Bible makes it possible for man to see and understand what is going on and what is coming. STICK CLOSE TO THE BIBLE!
SHARINGThe Challenge To Master
“But speaking the truth in love…” Ephesians 4:15
“…reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering…” 2 Timothy 4:2
No one would let a dentist fill their cavities, if they knew he was going to cause them as much pain as possible in the process. Doctors and dentists gain a reputation for their kindness and consideration, or, on the other hand, for their roughness and insensitivity.
We are not going to let others doctor us spiritually, if they sting us every time they get the opportunity. It is all important that we establish trust in our fellowship by establishing the right feelings in our hearts toward our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We all, as fellow members of the body of Christ, need the ministry that each can afford one another by God’s grace: “That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.” 1 Corinthians 12:25 It is spite that withdraws and refuses to care for others. We owe it to the body of Christ, and we fulfill this sacred obligation, by establishing confidence in one another, as being kindly affectioned one to another in brotherly love, and in honor preferring one another: “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” Philippians 2:2-3
Christ taught His disciples that the blessedness and happy returns of Christian fellowship come back to us as we strive to wash one another’s feet, rather than become critical of one another for having dirt on our feet. (John 13:14-17)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 This is the level that God makes possible: “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16.
“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:31-32
SHARINGHow Credible Is The Idea Of Global Warming?
“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22
One should note the origin of those sounding the doomsday alarm concerning global warming, as well as consider that there is a political agenda that is at work here. The political tactic, called “fear-mongering”, is to keep the populace alarmed about so-called situations, that require the people to look to and follow the dictates of political leaders in order to be led to safety. This allows for greater taxation and more government regulations, giving more power to politics.
In light of Bible teaching and prophecy, the global warming that the “experts” are crying about is one thing man will not face. Nowhere does God’s Word teach that global warming is an imminent threat to mankind, nor does it teach that man has the ability to control global climate, either to keep it as it is, or to change it for better or for worse.
A study of the prophecies of the book of Revelation reveal there are coming catastrophic events to occur in nature. But these events will all originate by Divine decrees that supersede the range of natural occurrences. They will supersede anything known by man, or that is possible through natural degeneration. Consider the plagues upon the land of Egypt in the book of Exodus as a foretaste, but even these are no comparison to the events to occur during the Great Tribulation.
Besides this, there are many climatologists who to not share the view that we are headed down the path of catastrophic global warming. Dr. Tim Ball, chairman of the Natural Resources Stewardship Project, and former climatology professor at The University of Winnipeg, Manitoba, wrote: “Global warming, as we think we know it, doesn’t exist.” The proposed conclusions: (1) Climate changes are well within the bounds of natural variability, in which the earth’s climate has warmed and cooled cyclically throughout its history; (2) These changes are largely natural in origin; (3) These changes are unlikely to be catastrophic to humanity or the biosphere; (4) These changes are not susceptible to significant reduction by any actions we take; (5) These changes are far from the most serious threat to humanity and the rest of our environment.
SHARINGThe Biblical Baptist Identity
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. …he that sent me to baptize with water.” John 1:6,33
Baptist in the New Testament is the identity God gave to the agent by which He sent the New Testament (covenant) seal = baptism. “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea” Matthew 3:1. John was identified as a Baptist when he came preaching, not after he had baptized for a while.
John came as Christ’s forerunner, “…to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” Luke 1:17. From this prepared people, Jesus called and ordained His apostles, and set them first in the church that He built during His earthly ministry. Peter and the apostles, and the 120 first church members, had only the baptism of John, and they only administered the same baptism they had received. Jesus Christ, who went to John to be baptized of this heaven sent, New Testament Baptist baptism, declared it necessary to do so in order to fulfill all righteousness, Matthew 3:15. Before His ascension, Christ made the New Testament Church He had built the agent of this Baptist baptism, Matthew 28:19-20. All who rejected the baptism of John were declared to have rejected the counsel of God against themselves, Luke 7:30. Thus, there is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism – Ephesians 4:5.
There is no saving grace in the Baptist identity. But it is embraced due to following the operation of God in identifying the baptism of the New Testament, sent from heaven, which Christ set in His church. To accept the one baptism which God sent from heaven, gives us every reason to accept the God given identity of the agent of that baptism, which is no longer John, but now the New Testament Baptist Church.
The rejection of Baptist as being the identity of God’s agent of New Testament baptism, is first due to the rejection of the baptism itself. Those who reject the Baptist identity for the agent of New Testament baptism, first reject the truth that the baptism God sent from heaven by John, is really New Testament baptism. They throw things out like, “Well, John’s baptism belonged to the Old Testament, etc.” NOT SO, because all that belonged to the Old Testament was given to Moses on the mount! “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” Matthew 11:13
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