1Co_13:11
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a
child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
Grown men
and women can be like babies. This isn't
news to us on a secular level. We all know very immature people we don't
believe will ever 'grow up'. Physically they may have been mature since they
were 13 years old (younger or older than that but not by too much). Mentally,
emotionally, behaviorally they continue well into adulthood to act like babies,
children.
In the
above passage it sites that children will speak like children, understand like
children, think as children- we should expect no less from them because they
are children. However, once a child grows into adulthood we expect them to stop
speaking like a child, stop understanding like a child, stop thinking like a
child and think like adults.
Every
single adult knows that children are filled with a lot of silly notions about
things - a monster under the bed for example. Not a single adult will fear an
imaginary monster under their bed- their minds have matured to rationalize the
scary monster imagined is just that- imaginary. The child's mind falls short of
that rationality and night after night their imagination makes the monster real
enough to be extremely fearful of its reality.
As the child grows the ability to separate the real from the unreal, the
imaginary from the reality, will take place.
There may
be exceptions to the rule, but that is usually due to mental, emotional
handicaps not those who lack such disability.
Heb
5:11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing
ye are dull of hearing.
Heb
5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one
teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are
become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb
5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of
righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb
5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those
who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Growing up
into adulthood we are expected to increase our knowledge as a natural course of
living. Even the unschooled have a natural increase of knowledge through life
experience. One might not have book learning but they could have great skill in
a trade, great skill in the ways of making a living off the land and such.
Knowledge increases as we mature from babies to adults.
When a
certain age is reached one can refuse to mature, preferring their life of
childhood- of being taken care of rather than caring for, playing rather than
working, leaving responsibility to others not to themselves. When a person
chooses this course they've deliberately chosen to stunt their maturity.
Spiritually
we can choose to stop learning, we can choose to dull our own understanding. We
can take all the things we learned as children, as those new to the word of
God, and stop our spiritual life right there in the comfort of the things
taught to children. We can choose to believe in fables over reality, we can
hold fast to traditions passed down to us that have no place in the truth of
God's word. We can close our minds off to comprehension because we feel
comfortable with the snuggly blanket of our youth. We would rather forever
drink milk that is the only thing infants can process in their bodies, than
stop drinking babies milk and start eating real solid food- spiritually
speaking.
1Co_13:11
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a
child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
Children
are supposed to grow up.
We are
supposed to desire meat over milk.
Yet some
refuse both.
Their
spiritual life is set in the stone of stunted beliefs, so when they are given
an opportunity to grow they refuse outright.
The
following long, worthwhile article is filled with spiritual meat and demands a
deep dive into the word of God. If you're not prepared to study in depth, to
open God's word, to search it deeply for meaning beyond superficial feel good,
conscience soothing verses, then read no further. I want you to prepare to SEARCH, to read
every verse given, to pray so hard for understanding like you've never prayed
before. Pray for the blinders to come off your eyes, pray for your ears to be
unstopped so you can hear, beg for spiritual comprehension, for the
enlightenment that can only come from the Holy Spirit. I do not want you to
read the article below (not written by me but another) unless you are truly
seeking to be led by God, not by preconceived notions. The Pharisees of old
refused to see any truth in Jesus, they were blinded by their own beliefs
taught to them from generation to generation. They refused to believe because
they held fast to their upbringing and stopped seeking spiritual truth. They
were filled with the milk of their ancestors teachings and never moved on to
the meat of salvation in Christ.
God help
us all seek truth and only truth, hard truth over anything easy to digest if it
means us knowing all God would have us know, and us no longer being spiritual
babies refusing to grow up.
*******
The Rich Man and Lazarus
Much
argument has taken place over whether the words of Jesus in Luke 16:19-31 were
intended to be understood literally or as a parable. Some Christians feel that
in this story, Jesus was offering His hearers a glimpse of what existence in
the afterlife is like. Others, citing numerous passages of Scripture that seem
to contradict the portrayal of heaven and hell contained in this passage, feel
that Jesus was teaching an altogether different kind of lesson. Unfortunately,
many modern religious teachers have isolated the story from its original
context and used it as a device for scaring people. Religious “conversions”
resulting from a fear of hell as it is depicted in this passage have indeed
occurred, but are based on a foundation sorely in need of the strength that
comes only from a genuine appreciation of God’s character and a proper
understanding of Scripture. To begin this study, we’ll take a closer look at
just what a parable really is, and then examine the setting in which Jesus told
this story. Perhaps then we will better understand what lessons there are for
us in the story of the rich man and Lazarus.
The Random
House College Dictionary describes a parable as “a short, allegorical story
designed to convey a truth or moral lesson.” Cruden’s Complete Concordance
further expands this concept, saying that parables in the Bible were used “more
generally than elsewhere.” We know that the Bible writers used situations both
imaginary—as in the trees asking the bramble to be king over them (Judges
9:8-15)—and realistic in parables. Whatever form the parable took, it was only
a vehicle for the moral lesson being taught.
Jesus
recognized the value of parables in teaching the people. He desired to
stimulate their deepest thought and contemplation, and He knew that if He spoke
too literally, certain of His hearers would quickly forget His words. Not only
that, but others, for whom certain of His parables contained stern rebuke,
would be so angered by straight speaking that they would attempt to silence Him
by violence. Wise as a serpent but harmless as a dove, Jesus recalled the words
of Isaiah 6:9 and told His disciples, “Unto you it is given to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they
might not see, and hearing they might not understand.” Luke 8:10. Cruden’s
Concordance explains: “Our Saviour in the gospels often speaks to the people in
parables. He made use of them to veil the truth from those who were not willing
to see it. Those who really desired to know would not rest till they had found
out the meaning.”
It is
appropriate here to ask to whom Jesus was speaking in Luke 16:19-31. Which
category of people was He dealing with? The last verse before Jesus’ voice
begins in this passage tells us. Verse 14 says, “And the Pharisees also, who
were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.” Jesus was
speaking to the Pharisees, a class of men who were notorious all through the
Gospels for their refusal to deal honestly with Him and the truths He taught.
We can be
sure that of all the people Jesus taught, none were handled more guardedly than
the wily Pharisees. They dealt in deception and subterfuge, but Jesus dealt
with them wisely and truthfully. The safest way for Him to do this was by
parable and allegory. Evidence that they did not understand many of His
teachings can be found in Jesus’ prayer in Luke 10:21, “I thank thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and
prudent, and hath revealed them unto babes.” Mark 4:33, 34 clearly shows that
Jesus’ lessons were almost invariably couched in parables: “And with many such
parables spake he the word unto them: as they were able to hear it. But without
a parable spake he not unto them; and when they were alone, he expounded all
things to his disciples.”
Now we are
ready to examine the story of the rich man and Lazarus itself, and try to
ascertain the real message Jesus was seeking to convey through it.
“There was
a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared
sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was
laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which
fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.”
Luke 16:19-21.
Who was
the symbolic rich man? The Jews had been blessed above measure by a knowledge
of God and his plan of salvation for all mankind. They had received “the
adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the
service of God, and the promises.” Romans 9:4. Only a Jew would pray to “Father
Abraham,” as we find the rich man doing later in the story. The Jewish nation
was clearly represented by this character.
By
contrast, Lazarus symbolized all those people in spiritual poverty—the
Gentiles—with whom the Israelites were to share their heritage. The words of
Isaiah were well known to the Jews. “I will also give thee for a light to the
Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.” Isaiah
49:6.
Unfortunately,
the Jews had not shared their spiritual wealth with the Gentiles at all.
Instead, they considered them as “dogs” that would have to be satisfied with
the spiritual crumbs falling from their masters’ tables. The metaphor was
known. Jesus had used it before in testing the faith of the Canaanite woman.
“It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.” She
responded accordingly: “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall
from their masters’ tables.” Matthew 15:26, 27.
The rich
Jews had hoarded the truth, and in so doing, they had corrupted themselves.
Only moments before relating this parable, Jesus had rebuked the Pharisees for
their spiritual conceit. “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but
God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is
abomination in the sight of God.” Luke 16:15. What was to be the result of this
terrible conceit?
“And it
came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into
Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up
his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his
bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue;
for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in
thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but
now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us
and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence
to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” Luke
16:22-26.
The Jews
had enjoyed “the good life” while on earth but had done nothing to bless or
enrich their neighbors. No further reward was due. “Woe unto you that are rich!
for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall
hunger.” Luke 6:24, 25.
Conversely,
the poor in spirit, symbolized by Lazarus, would inherit the kingdom of heaven.
The Gentiles who hungered and thirsted after righteousness would be filled. The
“dogs” and sinners, so despised by the self-righteous Pharisees, would enter
heaven before they would. “Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the
harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.” Matthew 21:31.
The
parable concludes with the rich man begging for his brethren to be warned
against sharing his fate. Asking Abraham to send Lazarus on this mission, he
alleges “if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.” Luke 16:30.
Abraham replies, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be
persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Verse 31.
Jesus thus
rebuked the Pharisees for their disregard of the Scriptures, foreseeing that
even a supernatural event would not change the hearts of those who persistently
rejected the teachings of “Moses and the prophets.” The miracle of raising the
real-life Lazarus from the dead soon afterward confirmed the accuracy of Jesus’
conclusion. One did rise from the dead, yet the brothers of the “rich man” did
not repent. In fact, the Pharisees even plotted to kill Lazarus after his
resurrection. His very life was a reminder to them of their own hypocrisy.
Today many
Christians believe that the story of the rich man and Lazarus is a historical
account of two individuals’ literal experiences in the afterlife. Based on this
belief, some people teach that those who are consigned to the fiery torments of
hell will never stop burning throughout all eternity. As with the parable of
the trees and the bramble (Judges 9:8-15), however, serious problems arise with
a literal interpretation of the story elements.
Can we
believe that all the saints are even now gathered in Abraham’s bosom? If they
are, in whose bosom does Abraham rest? And if there is really a great gulf
fixed between heaven and hell, how could the rich man possibly have been heard
by Abraham? Perhaps more disturbing, how could the saints enjoy the comforts of
heaven while enduring the cries of the wicked being tormented?
Another
dilemma that arises with a literal interpretation of this story could be called
“the mystery of the empty graves.” If this is taken literally, apparently
neither of the two leading characters spent very long in the grave—both being
whisked away rather quickly to their respective places of reward. Their bodies
obviously came along, for we find the rich man lifting up his eyes, and
desiring to have his tongue cooled by a drop of water from the finger of
Lazarus who was resting, as we have seen, in Abraham’s bosom. Enough graves
have been exhumed in recent years to know that the bodies of the deceased are
carried neither to heaven or hell after burial. They finally turn to dust and
await the resurrection.
From these
few examples, we begin to see that in this parable, Jesus was not trying to
explain the physical realities of the afterlife. Instead, He was referring to
the unfaithfulness of the Jews regarding their assigned responsibility. As
stewards of the special message of truth, they utterly failed to share it with
the Gentiles, who were eager to hear it. In fact, the entire chapter of Luke 16
is devoted to the subject of stewardship.
Beginning
in verse one, Christ gave another parable about stewardship of money or
property. “There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was
accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.” After dealing with the
principle of being entrusted with material goods, Jesus opened up the issue of
being entrusted with the truth. By the parable of another rich man, He
graphically illustrated how they had proven just as unfaithful with spiritual
riches as the steward had been unfaithful with physical wealth.
To attempt
to stretch the parable of the rich man and Lazarus to cover the doctrine of
hellfire is to miss the point Jesus intended to convey. The Bible speaks with
unmistakable clarity on the subject of hell in many other places. Nowhere do
the Scriptures teach that the wicked will continue to suffer in the fires of
hell through the ceaseless ages of eternity. Rather, they will be utterly
destroyed. Jesus never would have compromised the integrity of the Holy
Scriptures by teaching a doctrine contrary to its own overwhelming testimony on
the subject.
The truth
about hell may be ascertained by examining even a few of the many Bible texts
that speak directly on the subject. Before examining these, however, we must
remember that “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life.”
Romans 6:23. There are only two alternatives for every soul. Those who accept
Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice will live forever; those who do not
accept Jesus will die. If the wicked suffered without end, eternal life—however
painful—would be theirs. But we know that eternal life is available only to
those who accept Jesus.
Consider
these clear texts of Scripture that speak of the reward of the wicked: “But the
wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs:
they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.” Psalm 37:20.
“For,
behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and
all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them
up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.”
Malachi 4:1.
“And ye
shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your
feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 4:3.
“And fear
not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather
fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28.
“But the
day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens
shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent
heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2
Peter 3:10.
“But the
fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers,
and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Revelation
21:8.
Many other
texts could be cited, but these clearly illustrate that the ultimate fate of
the wicked is death. Notice that the Scriptures choose the strongest possible
words to describe the complete annihilation of the wicked. In no way should
these clear words be misunderstood by one who honestly desires to know truth.
There is a fire reserved for the wicked, but a fire so hot it will utterly
destroy all who are engulfed by it. When the fire has done its work, it will go
out. Eternally burning fire is not taught anywhere in the Bible—not even in the
story of the rich man and Lazarus. (Some people have wondered what the
expression “for ever” means in the usage of Revelation 20:10. Other similar
passages demonstrate this merely to mean as long as a person lives. See Exodus
21:6; 1 Samuel 1:22; Jonah 2:6, etc. Also, the expression “eternal fire” may be
understood in terms of consequences rather than duration, as in the example of
Sodom and Gomorrha in Jude 7).
It would
be tragic to miss the actual point of the parable by removing it from the
setting in which Jesus gave it. Let’s accept the lesson He was trying to teach
and apply it to our own lives. Are we doing all we can to spread the message of
salvation to others? Do we have a genuine love for those around us, and have we
invited them to share our spiritual inheritance? If we hoard our riches, like
the Jews of old, we will become self-righteous and corrupt. In contrast, by
active, loving service, our relationship with Christ as well as with others
will become stronger and more meaningful.
Let us not
make scary stories the basis of our Christian experience. Instead, let us
understand that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16.
Some Difficult Texts Explained
1 Samuel
28:14: “And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man
cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was
Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.”
This
spiritualistic séance has been cited as evidence for life after death. However,
here are points to the contrary:
- Wizards had been sentenced to death and banned from the land (verse 3; Leviticus 20:27).
- God had left Saul and would not communicate with him (verse 15).
- Samuel was supposedly “brought up.” Other expressions: “ascending out of the earth,” “Cometh up,” and “Bring … up.” Is this where the righteous dead are—down in the earth? Not according to those who believe in the immortal soul. 4. Samuel is described as “an old man covered with a mantle.” Is this the way immortal souls appear? And where did the soul get the body? They’re supposed to be disembodied. Was there a resurrection? Did God obey the beck and call of the witch, and raise up Samuel? If not, can Satan raise the dead?
- The apparition of Samuel told Saul, “Tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me.” Saul committed suicide on the battlefield the next day. Where did Samuel dwell, if the wicked Saul was to go to the same place?
- The record never says that Saul saw Samuel. He received his information as second hand from the witch, and only concluded it was Samuel from her description. The truth is that the devil deceived the dissolute old woman, and she deceived Saul. It was nothing more than a devil-generated séance.
- The enormity of Saul’s sin is revealed in these words, “So Saul died for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; And inquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him.” 1 Chronicles 10:13, 14.
Matthew
10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the
soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Jesus
clearly teaches in this text that the soul is not naturally immortal. It can
and will be destroyed in hell. But what does He mean about killing the body,
but not the soul? Is it possible for the soul to exist apart from the body?
Some say it is, but the Bible indicates otherwise.
The Greek
word “psuche” has been translated “soul” in this text, but in forty other texts
it has been translated “life.” For example, Jesus said, “Whosoever will lose
his life [psuche] for my sake shall find it.” Matthew 16:25. Obviously,
“psuche” could not mean soul in this instance, or people could be said to lose
their soul for Christ’s sake. It is properly translated “life.”
But what
of Matthew 10:28? Put in the word “life” instead of “soul” and the text makes
perfect sense in its consistency with the rest of the Bible. The contrast is
between one who can take the physical life, and He who can take away eternal
life. Here is proof in the words of Jesus: “And I say unto you my friends, Be
not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they
can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he
hath killed hath power to cast into hell.” Luke 12:4, 5.
In other
words, the word “soul” here means not only life, but also eternal life. Notice
that Luke says everything just like Matthew except that he does not say “kills
the soul.” Instead, he says, “cast into hell.” They mean the same thing. Men
can only kill the body and take away the physical life. God will cast into hell
and take away eternal life. Not only will their bodies be destroyed in that
fire, but also their lives will be snuffed out for all eternity.
Matthew
25:46: “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous
into life eternal.”
It is well
to notice that Jesus did not say that the wicked would suffer “everlasting
punishing.” He said “everlasting punishment.” What is the punishment for sin?
The punishment is destruction, and it is of eternal duration (2 Thessalonians
1:9). In other words, it is a destruction which never ends, because there will
be no resurrection from that destruction.
Paul says,
“the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23. John describes that death as “the
second death” in Revelation 21:8. That death or destruction will be eternal.
Mark 9:43,
44: “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter
into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that
never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not
quenched.”
In this
verse, the word “hell” is translated from the Greek word “Gehenna,” which is
another name for the Valley of Hinnom just outside the walls of Jerusalem.
There the refuse and bodies of animals were cast into an ever-smoldering fire
to be consumed. Maggots that fed on the dead bodies were constantly destroying
what might escape the flames. Gehenna symbolized a place of total destruction.
Jesus
taught in this verse that the fire of hell could not be quenched or put out by
anyone. Isaiah said, “They shall not deliver themselves from the power of the
flame.” Isaiah 47:14. Yet, he hastened to say in the same verse, “There shall
not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit before it.” So the unquenchable
fire will go out after it has finished its work. Jerusalem burned with
unquenchable fire (Jeremiah 17:27) yet it was totally destroyed (2 Chronicles
36:19-21).
The flames
and worms of Gehenna represented the total annihilation and obliteration of sin
and sinners. With the fires of Gehenna burning before their eyes, Jesus could
not have spoken a more graphic word to the Pharisees to describe the final
total destruction of sinners.
Those who
cite this text to support their doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul
are thrown into a real dilemma. Why? Because the fire and worms are working,
not upon disembodied souls, but bodies! In Matthew 5:30 Christ said, the “whole
body” would be cast into hell.
In Isaiah
66:24, the same Gehenna picture of hell is presented with the unquenchable
flame and the destroying worms. But in this case, the word “carcasses” is used,
revealing the fact that the fire consumes dead bodies, not disembodied souls.
Luke
23:43: “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be
with me in paradise.”
Some have
assumed from this verse that souls go to their reward immediately after death,
contrary to scores of other Bible texts. But notice two things wrong with this
assumption. First, even though Jesus told the thief, “Verily I say unto thee,
To day shalt thou be with me in paradise,” three days later He told Mary that
He had not yet ascended to His Father. Here is the evidence that His Father was
in Paradise: Revelation 2:7 says the tree of life “is in the midst of the
paradise of God,” and Revelation 22:1, 2 describes the tree of life by the side
of the river of life which flows, in turn, from the throne of God. So there is
no question about Paradise being where the Father’s throne is located. The
question is: How could Jesus tell the thief that he would be with Him in
Paradise that day, when He did not go there until three days later?
In the
second place, Jesus and the thief did not even die on the same day. When the
soldiers came just before sunset to take the bodies off the cross, Jesus was
already dead (John 19:32-34). The thieves were very much alive, and their legs
were broken to hasten death and to prevent them from escaping. They undoubtedly
lived on past sunset into the hours of the Sabbath and possibly longer. So how
could Jesus assure the thief of being with Him in Paradise that day when they
did not both die on “that day”?
The
apparent contradictions clear up when we consider that the punctuation of Luke
23:43 was added by uninspired men when our English Bible was translated. They
placed a comma before the word “today,” when in reality it should have been
placed after “today.” Then the verse would correctly read, “Verily I say unto
thee today, thou shalt be with me in paradise.” In other words, Jesus was
saying, “I give you the assurance today, when it seems I can save no man; today
when my own disciples have forsaken me and I’m dying as a criminal dies—yet I
assure you of salvation right now.”
Please
notice that the thief did not ask to be taken to Paradise then. He asked,
“Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” That’s exactly when he
will be remembered and taken into that Kingdom.
2
Corinthians 5:6, 8: “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we
are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: … We are confident, I
say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the
Lord.”
In verses
1-8, Paul is contrasting the present mortal state with the future immortal life
in heaven. Notice the expressions he uses for the two conditions:
Mortal
|
Immortal
|
earthly
house
|
building
of God
|
this
tabernacle
|
house
not made with hands
|
mortality
|
our
house from heaven
|
in the
body
|
absent
from the body
|
absent
from the Lord
|
present
with the Lord
|
He also
speaks of being clothed with “our house which is from heaven,” (verse 2) and
again, he longs “that mortality might be swallowed up of life.” Verse 4. But
the key to the entire discourse lies in the description of a third condition.
After desiring to be clothed upon with immortality, Paul states that “being
clothed we shall not be found naked.” Verse 3. Putting it yet another way, he
said, “not for that we would be unclothed.” Verse 4.
Clearly,
the naked or unclothed state was neither mortality nor immortality, but death
and the grave. Paul realized that one did not pass instantly from being clothed
with this tabernacle into being clothed with our house from heaven. Death and
the grave came in between, and he referred to it as being unclothed and naked.
In another
text, Paul spelled out exactly when that change from mortality would take
place. In 1 Corinthians 15:52, 53 he wrote, “The trumpet shall sound and this
mortal must put on immortality.” That will be when Jesus comes.
1 Peter
3:18-20: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened
by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in
the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight
souls were saved by water.”
There has
been considerable misunderstanding of these verses of Scripture. It has been
preached that Christ actually descended into the lower regions of the earth and
preached to lost souls that were imprisoned in some purgatory or limbo.
This is
very far from what the text actually says. Let’s look at it closely now and get
the real message of these verses. It says that Christ suffered once for sin
that He might bring us to God by being put to death in the flesh. But He was
quickened by the Spirit by which also He went and preached.
First of
all, notice how Christ preached to those spirits in prison. He did it by the
Spirit, and that word is capitalized in your Bible. It actually refers to the
Holy Spirit. So whatever Christ did in preaching during this period of time, He
did it through or by the Holy Spirit.
With that
in view, let’s ask this: When was the preaching done? The answer is plainly
given in verse 20, “When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of
Noah, while the ark was a preparing.” So, the preaching was actually done while
the ark was being built—during the preaching of Noah to that antediluvian
world. Now, one more question: To whom was the preaching done? The text says
here “to the spirits in prison.” Throughout the Bible, we find this terminology
used in describing those who are bound in the prison house of sin. David
prayed, “Bring my soul out of prison.” Psalm 142:7. Paul spoke of his
experience in these words: “bringing me into captivity to the law of sin.”
Romans 7:23.
What Peter
is telling us here is simply that Christ through the Holy Spirit was present
while Noah preached; Christ was there through the Holy Spirit to speak
conviction to their hearts and appeal to them to come into the ark. There is
absolutely nothing here that indicates that Jesus departed from the body during
the time He was dead to go to any subterranean place to minister to wicked
spirits. The three questions are clearly answered in the text itself, that He
preached by the Holy Spirit, He did it while the ark was being prepared, and He
did it to the spirits in prison or to those individuals whose sinful lives were
bound in the prison house of sin.
Revelation
14:10, 11: “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is
poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in
the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever
and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his
image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” The words “for ever” do
not necessarily mean “without end.” In fact, the Bible uses the term 56 times
(“for ever” can be found in your biblical concordance under “ever”) in
connection with the things that have already ended. In Exodus 21:1-6 the Hebrew
servant was to serve his master “for ever,” but it was obviously only as long
as he lived. Hannah took her son Samuel to God’s house to abide “for ever,” but
she plainly limited that time to “as long as he liveth.” 1 Samuel 1:22, 28.
The term
is very clearly defined in Psalm 48:14, “For this God is our God for ever and
ever: he will be our guide even unto death.” The desolation of Edom was to
continue “for ever and ever.” Isaiah 34:10. Christ is called “a priest for
ever” (Hebrews 5:6), yet after sin is blotted out Christ’s work as a priest
will end. The Bible states, “The wicked … shall be destroyed for ever.” Psalm
92:7.
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