we sleep till the resurection, and have also heard we are in heaven or hell emediatly. Jesus told the theif on the cross he would be in paradise with him, yet we are told Jesus spent three days in Hell. did the thief spend three days there also? and if a thousand years is but a day to the Lord then does that mean that Jesus is still in Hell? does anybody understand any of this? The more I think about it the more confused I get.
2007-09-23 12:26:55 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Cow 777
The Bible told me he spent three days in Hell, read it, you may learn something.
2007-09-23 12:36:41 · update #1
oops, Crow 777 (sorry)
2007-09-23 12:37:03 · update #2
At death your spirit leaves the physical body and enters the world of spirits to continue learning and growing. At some point it will be resurrected, just as Christ was resurrected after his spirit spent 3 days in the spirit world. Resurrection is when your spirit is reunited with a perfected body, never to be separated again.
One reason for the confusion is that the word, "hell" has a number of meanings. Hell is the English translation of the Hebrew word, "Shoel," which describes the abode of departed spirits. This corresponds to the Greek word, "Hades." In Jewish and Christian churches, it's common to use the word to signify the destination of the wicked after they die. Another common meaning for the word is the state of people when they refuse to obey the principles of happiness.
2007-09-23 12:52:47 · answer #1 · answered by Bryan Kingsford 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
LOL I enjoy your questions and some of the answers you get really do make me laugh. One said...Christians are NOT supposed to think? Heaven help us all. I guess we are to all walk around like zombies.
As for the thief on the cross...Paradise WAS in a section of hell at that time. Until Jesus was resurrected, none resurrected to heaven...or at least that is what the Christian Bible says. So, Jesus did meet the thief in Paradise that day. As for the time difference...The Other Side (Heaven if you will) is on a different vibration level than we are. So in fact, one day to God is like a thousand years to us. It took me a long time to understand this one but finally it clicked when I noticed a car and a bicycle on my street going toward the stop sign. They were traveling at different speeds yet on the same road. They will both reach the stop sign only at different times. Hope this helps.
2007-09-24 18:16:26 · answer #2 · answered by ladeemist 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim - In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Hello. In Islam, we believe that a person who is in the grave is unaware of the passage of time. A person will be resurrected and God will ask them how long they were in the grave (though He knows already the answer). The person will say " A day or part of a day". It's like when we are sleeping. We are not aware of the passage of time. Also, the person in the grave is shown his place in the next world, either heavan or hellfire. If a person is to be a person of heaven, his grave will be wide and comfortable. If a person is to be in the hellfire, the grave will be tight and smothering. May God keep us far from that!
We Muslims do not believe that Jesus, peace be upon him, was crucified, but that someone was given the illusion of his visage and substituted. God took Jesus up alive into the heavens where he awaits God's command to return and slay the antichrist. Jesus as a prophet of God will not spend any time in hell.
All of the people who have ever lived will be resurrected at the same time on the Day of Judgment. Those who have been dead for thousands of years will be in the same situation as those only dead a day.
May Allah guide you to that which is best in this world and the next. Ameen.
Fi Aman Allah,
Nancy Umm Abdel Hamid
2007-09-23 20:03:54 · answer #3 · answered by UmmAbdelHamid 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe the soul and spirit go to a "holding place". It says in the Bible we die, then judgment. I believe the body rests in the grave, and that it will be resurrected, and will be suitable for the place of final habitation, the Lake of Fire, or Heaven on Earth.
As far as Paradise, I think when Jesus was raised up, this is when the saints appeared to many in the city, and the curtain was torn. We can all go boldly to Father, through Jesus. The saints were on the way to Heaven, as no one comes to the Father except by Jesus... which they did.
2007-09-24 01:41:32 · answer #4 · answered by RB 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus portrayal of the afterlife is found in Luke 16. See http://www.bcbsr.com/survey/pbl36.html
Hades (often wrongly translated "Hell") is actually divided into two part separated by an impassible gap. One side is paradise and the other hell fire. When Jesus died he entered paradise with the thief, but could speak to both sides as also the rich man who was in hell fire could speak to those in paradise.
On the third day Jesus came out of hades in a bodily resurrection. He spent 40 days with the Christians and then ascended to heaven bodily.
2007-09-23 21:00:32 · answer #5 · answered by Steve Amato 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It`s not confusing really if you understand what the true meaning of the biblical "Hell" is . There`s confusion for many as to what Hell really is because in the bible , hell is compared to the burning sulphur pits outside one of the cities (I forget which one , but could be Jerusalem) of biblical times where the people threw their garbage , and dead bodies to be burned , for health/sanitary reasons .
Hell is compared to the sulphur pits only in it`s finality . After death , there is "no knowledge or devising" . The people in Hell , or Sheol , are aware of nothing at all , and remain in that state until they`re resurrected to either everlasting life on a paradise earth , or to everlasting death .......... depending on the person .
Jesus spent 3 days in this state , so it could be said He spent 3 days in Hell . As far as the thief goes , he`s still there , until the resurrection .
God says in the bible that to Him , "a thousand years is like a day , a day is like a thousand years" . Far from being an expert on the bible , I can only guess that this would refer to His "having no beginning and no end" , in which case time itself would have no meaning for Him .
2007-09-23 19:52:33 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Jesus never went to hell. Jesus told the thief that he would be with him in paradise tonight. So that makes me believe that we don't "sleep" when we die. We go to either heaven or hell.
The Bible says a thousand years is but a day to him, this is a metaphor to mean that to God time is nothing. God created the sun so to him there is no time.
Don't worry too much about details, the Bible is full metaphors and allegories. Just keep the faith and trust in God.
2007-09-23 19:44:50 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
The Book of 1 Thessalonians talks about us being raised bodily to life when Christ returns. When you die, in everyone else's frame of reference, you are asleep. For you, the very next thing you will experience after death is being raised to life to the presence of the Lord when he returns. If your definition of heaven is living in the presence of the Lord, as it is mine, then, in the context of your experience, you are immediately in heaven.
To address your other questions
Jesus didn't spend three days in Hell. He was completely dead in the tomb for three days. The word translated Hell in some of our new translations comes from a word meaning the grave, nothing more. The gospels don't hint at him being anywhere else, neither do any of the Pauline letters.
Lastly, in the original text, there were no punctuation marks which means the verse in which Jesus says the thief will be with Him in paradise could be rendered "I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise."
I hope this helps.
2007-09-23 19:44:55 · answer #8 · answered by Gruntled Employee 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Yes I know this is very confusing for me also. I "think" we go to heaven, or somewhere in between, and when the resurection comes, that will be our bodies. Because only 144,000 get to actually be in heaven. That's not alot when you consider all the people of the earth. And they get to help rule. And the rest of us will be on paradise earth. The new earth. For the ones in heaven to rule over us.
The day and 1000 years thing. That is saying how different the time difference is. So, to God, this whole thing isn't taking very long. Just to us it is.
Jesus didn't go to hell. He assended to heaven for the 3 days. And yes, he is still there till he comes back for us.
2007-09-23 19:41:41 · answer #9 · answered by shari 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋
ok
The bible has OVER 27 bibles .yes! over 27 total.
Each bible tells the story of each of the persons life...well not each exact one .....but anyway...
IN the past and still in the present day we have different types of christian worshipers such as the catholics which i immediatly fall underneath.
The first catholic believers created the bible which we presently are familar with today and they only choose the best pieces from each 27 + bibles to combine into one book...and that book is the bible.
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no hell isn't fire and burning hell..................
in one of the 27 bibles jesus said to one of his followers....
that we would sleep until it is time for the mesiah to return.
he also said once he risen everyone yes including the ones from hell he will question and judge wether or not you deserve to go to heaven AND be with him
as for hell...........
jesus said in one of the earliest bibles...hell is a place where you will linger over what you have done which will drive you into insanity. And jesus said nothing about the fires of hell...he discribing about the pain which comes from the insanity which from the sin from which that sinner has done on earth.
in the very beginning everyone went to hell and only god and his angels stayed in heaven...cause god hasn't created porgatory yet.
so befor god went to heaven he judged those souls that have been alive befor jesus....such as adam and eve ......... and yes there were down there also
so now jesus says....everyone will sleep until i return judge again...
yes the thief was there too in hell as he judged the souls that was befor him.
and no.........jesus isn't in hell anymore.
2007-09-23 20:07:16 · answer #10 · answered by kam* 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋