The Intervention

Dear Brethren,

During the three days and three nights that Jesus was dead, did He go to minister to the dead in hell, limbo or purgatory?  Most people don't understand this time period, nor what is meant by David's prophecy about Jesus' death.  What is the meaning of these scriptures about Jesus Christ.

"Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell..."  (Acts 2:27)  and, "By which [Spirit] 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." (1Peter 3:19-20)

The confused world surmises from these scriptures that Jesus went and ministered for three days and three nights to the souls of the dead.  The Roman Catholic Church and the Protestants put forth the teaching that Jesus went to visit the immortal souls of the departed during the time He was dead.  The Catholics call this place that Jesus supposedly visited after His death, "limbus patrum", or limbo of the fathers.  They come to the wrong conclusion based on their false doctrines.  Let's look at the real meaning of these verses.

David prophesied that God the Father would raise Jesus back to life in great power, and that His body would not decay in the grave. "Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."    "Hell" here, simply means the grave.  Jesus did not descend into an ever-burning hell-fire to minister to immortal souls there.  The Bible teaches of no such hell-fire, nor of men possessing immortal souls.  The deceived world believes in an ever burning hell-fire, and also believes everyone, including Jesus Christ, has an immortal soul.  People do not have immortal souls - that heresy is of pagan origin.  It is nowhere in the Bible. "The soul that sins, it shall die" - not live forever in hell-fire.  (Ezekiel 18:20)

How then can we explain about Jesus going to preach unto the spirits in prison? (1Peter 3:19)  Here is the problem with that false teaching.  We, in the true Church of God, know that Jesus was really dead.  If Jesus was not fully dead, we have no hope of salvation, because He died for us - to cover our sins and to reconcile us to God.  Jesus could not have been preaching, because the dead know nothing. (Psalms 146:4, Ecclesiastes 9:5)  All the patriarchs, like David, are all still dead - not live souls in heaven or hell.  "David, is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day."  (Acts 2:29)

Here are three questions we need to answer,  1. "Who are the disobedient spirits to whom Jesus Christ preached?"  2. "When did Jesus preach to them?" and  3. "What is the prison in which these spirits were bound?"

First:  The disobedient spirits to whom Jesus preached can not be men of flesh and bones because, "A spirit hath not flesh and bones."  (Luke 24:39)  Jesus preached to disobedient evil spirits!  Please understand the "disobedient spirits" to be demons.

Second:  The scripture is clear on the timing of Jesus' preaching - it was in the days of Noah - not while He was in the grave.  Jesus went and preached in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared.  (1Peter 3:20)

Third:  The prison in which the evil spirits are bound is the restraint of the demons until their final judgment. "The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." (Jude :6) Tartarus (Greektartaroo) is translated "hell" in the only place it appears (2 Peter 2:4), and denotes the abode of demons awaiting judgment.

Peter shows us that Jesus preached to the bound disobedient evil spirits, in the days of Noah!   At that time, Jesus was Spirit - as He is now in His resurrected state.  He was not in the flesh at the time of Noah.  Jesus Christ, after three days and three nights in the grave, was quickened by the Spirit, by which also He went and preached unto the evil spirits in prison.  (1Peter 3:18-19) "God is Spirit."  (John 4:24)

Demons know that they are awaiting a tormenting judgment.  Jesus was not preaching "salvation" to the demons: "Behold, they [demons] cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?"  (Matthew 8:29)  Jesus Christ is more powerful than all the demons put together -"Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion."  (Ephesians 1:21)

Because of false religious teachings, some people have concluded that Jesus preached in hell.  That is not the case at all.  Satan and his demons hate God, and wish to destroy all mankind - thus destroying the very plan of God.  Peter explained to the first century church people that Christians will suffer - but prevail.  Jesus suffered at the hands of the world, too, but demonic powers can go only so far.  God restricted the powerful demonic abilities possessed by disobedient spirits before the flood - which demonic abilities brought the world near to destruction because the wickedness of man was great in the earth.  (Gen 6:5).  Satan and his demons could have destroyed all flesh at the time of Noah - but Jesus Christ intervened, preventing total destruction, for the sake of His plan, i.e., on our behalf!  Eight people survived!

"[Jesus] went and preached unto the spirits in prison...while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."  (1Peter 3:19-20)  From those eight persons, the earth was repopulated - the demonic world was not able to destroy all mankind - the plan of God went forward.

Brethren, Jesus informed the demonic world, at the time of Noah, of the utter futility of trying to destroy the plan of God, and He placed the demonic world under restraint - until the very end time when they will once again bring the world to the brink of destruction.  We are the "elect" brethren - the true church of God.  We are about to witness the tremendous power and ability of Satan and the demons to bring the entire earth to the verge of utter destruction. "Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."  (Matthew 24:22)

Once again, Jesus will intervene to save a remnant.

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Sermon:

"The Intervention"