Subject: Jesus on cross |
Bible Note: "I think this implies that Jesus did not go to the heaven impediately after his crusification but only after defeating Satan in Hell." Hi, Four Square! When you express it as the quote above I have no problems with it! True Mt 12:40 talks about Jesus spending three days and three nights (which were more like 2 nights and 2 days) buried... and yes, Jn 20:17 tells us that Jesus told Mary that He had not yet ascended to the Father... and though I agree with you that there is a passage that suggests that Jesus did not go immediately to the Father after His crucifixion, to my knowledge there is no passage(s) that states that Jesus spent three days and nights preaching to the spirits and defeting Satan, in Hell. The book of Revelation, which is prophetic, talks about the demise of Satan (Rev 20:1-10); these passages do not reflect back to Jesus' tomb nor to His preaching in the Spirit (1 Peter 3:18-22). Many times, the problem we have with the Scriptures is that we jump at discovering a clear cut answer... many times we only use our human instincts and wisdom... we lose the true meaning and teaching of the Scriptures. The Pharisees and Sadducees are clear examples of men who lived and breathed the Scriptures only to miss God's teachings! I hope not to cause confusion... Have you ever wonder why the Jehovah Witnesses keep hoping to find proof in the Bible that they are right about the Christ? These people and their disciples have grasped on to the fallacy that Christ is a sub-level god and refuse to accept, even the Scriptures, as proof that they are wrong! Now, was Jesus trying to trip the people when He spoke or was He revealing just enough Truth to get us to think and find our way to His Divinity? Check this example: I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us. While I was with them, I kept those you had given me true to your name... (John 17:11-12) Now, according to the above Scriptures, was Jesus in Heaven, with the Father, before He died and was buried? Certainly that is what is suggested by these two verses (no longer in the world; while I was with them)... Again, this is not meant as some sort of test of your abilities... I pointed this out to demonstrate that there are things written in the Bible that are quite clear while there are other things written that are not so readily absorbed! We need to confide in the Holy Spirit and allow His guidance to bring us to the Truth! God Bless! Angel |