On The Third Day?

Question

We are told that Christ Died on the Friday and that he rose from the dead on the Sunday.
Where and in what condition was he during those few days?
One source says that he descended into Hell. Why?
If it was, as I have heard, to offer salvation to the damned, then does not that suggest that Hell need not be a permanent condition?

Hiplar Nivram
Sources
Nicene Creed
Apsotles Creed

Thankyou, wise and loving ones, for you answers.

Patrick,
You say your answer isn't much. You don't need MUCH antidote after a snake bite - but if you don't get it you die!
Who has ears let him hear.

Dearest Magnolia Flower.
So few people get it. Thankyou!

Answer 1

Mr Baggins sir, thank you for a thought-provoking question :-)

From the cave the Christ emerged and walked again upon Earth but we're told "the woman knew Him not." Could this be because form had no further hold upon him for He had overcome it in the depths?

Our word 'day' comes from the Sanskrit 'dah' which means to burn. Could the three days be symbolic of burning away the remnants or maya, glamour and illusion? Could it be overcoming or aligning the physical, emotional and mental to the spiritual impulse within? Alignment of these lower bodies could be indicative of 'the damned' of which Christ is said to uplift.

In the Orient the crucifixion is called Great Renunciation. Its lesson is of sacrifice and its call to the death of the lower nature. St. Paul said "I die daily," for only in the practice of death daily undergone can the final Death be met and endured. (I Cor., XV, 31.)
The Resurrection and Ascension is the final triumph which enables one to sing and to know the meaning of the words: "Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave where is thy victory?" (I Cor., XV, 55.)

My thoughts on your question is that the answer is one of many dimensions and depending on our depth of insight and understanding will come the answer best suited to meet our current need.

An additional little ditty:

"All beauty, all goodness, all that makes for the eradication of sorrow and ignorance upon earth must be devoted to the one Great Consummation. Then when the Lords of Compassion shall have spiritually civilized the Earth and made of it a Heaven, there will be revealed to the Pilgrims the Endless Path, which reaches to the heart of the universe. Man, then no longer man, will transcend Nature, and impersonally, yet consciously, in at-one-ment with all the Enlightened Ones, help to fulfil the Law of the Higher Evolution, of which Nirvana is but the beginning."
- Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines, by W.Y. Evans-Wentz, p. 12.

Answer 2

The following are my beliefs, and should be taken as such, although I have read the Bible, so I don't believe I am completely off.

Jesus dies on Friday and is laid to rest in the borrowed tomb (of Joseph of Arimithe'a (Matthew 27:60). In the ensuing days, his physical body is there, but his spirit man goes to Hell to take the keys of death and the grave from Satan. "Death where is thou sting. Oh grave,where is thy victory." (1 corinthians 15:55)
It is hard to wrap our minds around the whole Trinity thing, with God being the same but three separate pieces, kind of like water can be liquid, gas and solid.
When we read it was to offer salvation to the damned I believe it was for us that are still here, or were still there after he rose again.
According to Heaven.net.nz:
"Hebrews 2:14 (English-NIV)
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil.

Revelation 1:18 (English-NIV)
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

These scriptures indicate that Jesus was dead and is now alive, he also has the Keys of death and hell. We can see clearly that Jesus mission to destroy the power that the devil had over death was a success. "

I believe that until the time of Christ's death and subsequent resurrection there was the same location in the heart of the Earth ( not sure if that is literal) that held both the good and the bad, so to speak. Some call it purgatory, some Abraham's Bosom. (Luke 16:19-28.) some were in torment, some in Abraham's bosom, but neither could cross because of a large chasm of some sort. However when Christ went down to hell (Matthew 12:40 (English-NIV)
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.) then literally "All Hell Broke Loose." The Bible says that when Jesus died, " Matthew 27:50 - 52 (English-KJV):
50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."

Faith is a personal journey. Best wishes on yours.

Answer 3

As I know you probably know, Hell is made of 'mind stuff'. Your opening words "We are told..." says a lot. What can we really know about an event that was 'supposed' to have happened two thousand years ago? We can barely recollect the scene of an accident we just witnessed! Ten people will give a different account.

The Bible's account of events, during that time, was edited and copied by a bunch of, very human, beings. Words, meanings, can be slanted by personal belief systems/conditioning. What is the truth? Really?

Hell is as permanent as an individual believes it to be. It is a condition of thinking and no more.

Fear tactics (the devil/hell) have been used to control the masses. "Behave, or you're going to burn in hell..."

The responsibility to follow our highest sense of right/good lies within the individual. What do we choose?

Answer 4

Jesus was crucified on Friday. He died at about 3pm (the "ninth hour" counting from daylight or 6am). He was taken down from the cross just before 6pm which was the beginning of a new day (Saturday) according to Hebrew tradition.

He rested in the grave on Saturday (the Sabbath) exactly as His Father commanded all Jews. Then sometimes between 6pm Saturday (the beginning of Sunday according to Jewish tradition) and sunrise Sunday, He was resurrected by His Father.

Jesus NEVER went to hell and preached to anybody during these times. He rested "in the heart of the earth" which translates into the grave plain and simple.

Hope this helps. God be with you.

Answer 5

Jesus was crucified and died on a Wednesday, the fourth day of the week and the Sun went dark for many hours. If you look at Genesis, you will see that the Sun was created in the fourth period and by going dark, it did homage to its Creator who was being crucified. Before sunset on that Wednesday Jesus was buried and his tomb was sealed with the signet ring of the High Priest and there began three consecutive religious Sabbaths; Passover, Unleavened Bread and then the regular weekly Sabbath which ended at sunset. All this time, Jesus was dead and his body was in the grave. After the end of the weekly Sabbath at sunset, the seal on the entrance of his tomb remaining intact, Jesus was raised from the dead and he began appearing to his disciples that same night, whilst it was still dark.
The scripture you referred to is 1Peter3v19 where it is stated that Jesus remained alive in his Spirit even whilst his body was in the grave and prior to his bodily resurrection after three days.
Hell as you call it, the place of punishment, does not exist yet. It will exist only after the judgement.

Answer 6

He was dead.
The word translated 'hell' in many Bibles comes from the Greek Hades or the Hebrew-Sheol.
Both words are defined as the world of the dead, which Ecclesiastes clearly points out as being a place of no knowledge or consciousness.
The concept of hell as a place of conscious torment was grafted onto Christianity by apostates who attempted to explain hades as a place in pagan terms.
God said at Genesis, that the man would 'return to the dust'.
So, logically, if the man was nothing before he was created from the dust, and would then 'return to the ground', that there would be no reason for a special place to torment those who had not lived up to God's standards.

Answer 7

Jesus didn't die on the cross.

He was put on the cross on a Friday afternoon, and only spent about 3 hours on the cross. His legs weren't broken, he was given a pedestal for his feet (so he could hold himself up to breathe). They had to take him off the cross at sunset because according to Jewish law it was illegal to have anyone on the cross on the Sabbath day (including the evening before). Then, he rested for those days.

The Bible even proves this to be true, because in it they say that Jesus said he was hungry, and that he wasn't dead, and too touch his wounds so that the disciples could see it was really him. If Christ were in fact there in spirit, then wouldn't he not have any wounds? And how could a spirit be hungry?

There's a little food for thought for you.

And actually, he didn't stay in Jerusalem. He basically faked his death, so they fled the country, and he and his wife Mary Magdalene fled to France where they raised a family.

Answer 8

BEAUTIFUL THOUGHT! How could it be with Mercy so complete, so undivided? The notion of punishment, is fearful, upside down thinking... What is 'forgiveness' if there is an imposed hell?
Awesome Q Jon, from one heaven of a guy....
Peace

edit: Hey Eve! Now that's what I'm talkin bout! WAY Cool !

Answer 9

WHERE: In a grave
IN WHAT CONDITION: Intoxicated by "vinegar/wine" mixture.
HELL: It should have been fairly hot?
He was just a man - All things concerning salvation and damnation are believe systems, repeated so many times it becomes the truth.

Answer 10

I think the Bible mentions that he went and taught people. I believe he was teaching people the gospel plan that had already died yet didnt have a chance to hear and accept it yet. Everyone will have a chance to hear it. Some people never get the opportunity to hear it will alive on this earth. So someone has to teach it to them after they are dead.