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NASB | Ephesians 4:9 (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 4:9 (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had previously descended [from the heights of heaven] into the lower parts of the earth? |
Subject: Jesus decended into hell? |
Bible Note: Dear Brother Mark, Dives is the traditional name of the rich man. It is from the Latin, meaning, literally, "rich man." :-) I'm not certain that the abodes of the dead were reconfigured at the time of the crucifiction. It sounds a bit too dispensational to me. On the other hand, it would permit explanation of some passages that might otherwise leave us wrestling with apparent contradictions. Disbelief in the resurrection and belief that Lazarus and Dives is a parable sure don't seem on the same level! The former is a repudiation of God's explicit Word, the latter is a relatively minor point of interpretation. The former has eternal implications, the latter is simply a matter of hermeneutic discussion with no impact on doctrine. In answer of my own question, as to why some see Lazarus and Dives as a parable and others do not: I rather suspect it has to do with the definition of a parable. As it frequently does, most debates boil down to a definition of terms. Since Scripture does not give us a definition, we are left to pull characteristics of parables in those cases where we are explicitly told that that is what they are. Thank you for your time, dear brother. In Him, Doc |