| DID JESUS REALLY DIE?
What is the scriptural testimony? Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Also see Romans 8:34, 14:9, 14:15, 1st Corinthians 8:11, 15:3, 2nd Corinthians 5:14). Jesus declared, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Revelation 1:18) Jesus Himself, after He was glorified and gone to heaven, said that He is the one who was dead. Who Was It That Died for Us? Paul wrote, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation 2758 [“to empty, to deprive of force, of Christ, he laid aside equality with or the form of God”*] , and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name.” (Philippians 2:5-9) The same one who was in the form of God in verse six died in verse eight. The one who died is the same one who came down from heaven. The one who died was not merely a human part that had never been in heaven, but the same person who was in heaven with His Father. John wrote these words: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) The same Word that created all things was made flesh. It doesn’t say the Word somehow took flesh onto Himself, but it says “the Word was made flesh.” That Word is the One who died to redeem us back to God, His Father. The Divine Son of GOD became the Son of man, Divinity and Humanity were joined in one person never to be parted. And the scriptures declare that the Son of GOD died. WHY DO MEN DENY THAT CHRIST DIED? The reason some are compelled to say that the One who came from heaven did not die is because they do not recognize the distinction between GOD the Father and his Son. Bible says that God cannot die. (1 Timothy 6:16) Therefore, if Jesus was exactly like His Father in every respect, He could not die under any circumstance. But we know that Christ is Begotten, and the Father is unbegotten. The Father is the source of all life; even the life of his Son. HOW COULD THE SON OF GOD DIE? When Jesus came to the earth he emptied himself of his glory and many of his divine attributes. While on earth Christ did not possess omnipotence or omniscience, he also emptied himself of the attribute of immortality so that he could suffer death (John 17:5, Philippians 2:7 and Hebrews 2:9). While on earth Christ was dependent upon his Father, the Father was the source of his life; and Christ willingly was separated from his Father for our sins. "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath He GIVEN to the Son to have life in himself” John 5:26. The Father is the source of all things. John 6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. Because Christ's life originated with the Father, Because Christ is TRULY the Son of GOD, he could lay down his life, and the Son of GOD could indeed die. WHO RAISED CHRIST FROM THE DEAD? The Bible says more than thirty times that God, the Father, raised Christ from the dead. Here are a few examples: Romans 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) Christ did not raise Himself from the dead, or else He was not really dead and His words could not have been true when He said, “I can of mine own self do nothing.” (John 5:30) IS IT IMPORANT TO BELIEVE THAT CHRIST DIED AND WAS RAISED BY THE FATHER? Our salvation depends upon the death and resurrection of Christ for our sins. Paul wrote, “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9) Paul said that the gospel that he preached was the following: 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 ¶ Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: To say that Christ did not die is to preach a different gospel than what Paul preached; to which Paul said: Galatians 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed [Damned]. Didn’t Jesus Say He Had Power to Take Back His Life? There are some who use the following verse as proof that Jesus Christ did not really die completely, without regard to the numerous verses showing that His Father raised Him from the dead: “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life [5590], that I might take 2983 it again. No man taketh 142 it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power 1849 to lay it down, and I have power 1849 to take 2983 it again. This commandment have I received 2983 of my Father.” (John 10:17, 18) The Greek word that was translated “I might take,” (with Strong’s number 2983) can mean take, but also means this: “to receive (what is given), to gain, get, obtain, to get back.”* Please notice that this word is also used in verse 18 but is translated “have I received.” Christ laid down His life that He might receive it again. The Greek word that was translated “power” can mean power, but can also mean “authority, permission.”* Christ had permission to lay down His life so that He could receive it again from His Father. Christ could not, and did not, raise Himself from the dead or else He would not have been dead to begin with. It is translated correctly in the Rotherham bible. John 10:18 No one, forced it from me, but, I, lay it down, of myself,—Authority, have I, to lay it down, and, authority, have I, again, to receive it: This commandment, received I, from my Father. Also notice that the word LIFE is "psuche 5590" it is the word that is translated SOUL 58 times. It is the equivalent to the Hebrew word "nephesh" which is also soul! Thus Christ is saying: "I lay down my soul". He is not saying "I lay down my body!" or "I lay down my blood", but I lay down my "SOUL". Where did he lay it? In DEATH! He died! Now if Christ laid down his SOUL, his soul couldn't take back his SOUL! What a contradiction some are trying to prove with this verse. With this knowledge we can see how the verse actually reads: John 10:17-18 Therefore, doth the Father, love, me, because, I, lay down my [soul/life], that, again, I may receive [my soul/life]:— No one, forced [my soul] from me, but, I, lay [my soul] down, of myself,—Authority, have I, to lay[my soul] down, and, authority, have I, again, to receive [my soul]: This commandment, received I, from my Father. To make the claim that Jesus Christ raised Himself from the dead would be to directly contradict the words of Christ. For Christ said, “I can of mine own self do nothing.” (John 5:30) WHAT PART OF CHRIST DIED? The bible teaches that the 'wages of sin is death', and that the 'soul that sins shall die'. Jesus warned that those who did not believe in him would have both "body and soul" destroyed in hell. On the cross Jesus took credit for our sins and paid our penalty in full. What did we owe? Our souls. What did Christ offer? In Isaiah 53 we read the following account: “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,… he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:10-12) According to the Scripture, the soul of Christ died; the soul of Christ is what was made an offering for sin. We are told that the soul of Christ was in the grave. On the day of Pentecost Peter said, “He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell 86, neither his flesh did see corruption.” (Acts 2:31) The word hell in the preceding verse was translated from the Greek word (Hades). This word means grave in every case. In Hebrews chapter one, Paul portrays Christ as being highly exalted, the one who was begotten in the express image of His Father’s person. In Hebrews chapter two, Paul explains the necessity of Christ becoming a man so that He could redeem us. In verse nine of this chapter he explains, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” (Hebrews 2:9) Paul explains the importance of Christ becoming a man, made a little lower than the angels, so that He could die. This verse would mean absolutely nothing if the Son of God did not die completely. If only a human half of Jesus Christ died there would be no need for Jesus to be “made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death.” UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFICULT PASSAGES The Roman Catholic Church among others contends that when Christ died on the cross, he was not really dead, but his soul was very much alive and preaching to the dead in limbo. We have previously studied and learned that the dead are unconscious, that there is no immortal soul that leaves the body at death and goes to live in heaven or hell. (See Ecclesiastes 9:5, Pslams 146:4,, Psalms 115:17 Psalms 6:5) But that the bible teaches that death is a sleep, from which man will not rise until the resurrection.(See Psalms 13:3 Job 7:21 Job 14:12) And in this following study we will see that Jesus, the Son of GOD, who became man for our sakes, possessed a human soul, like all human souls, which was very much mortal. It suffered death upon the cross. The book of Isaiah is very graphic about this. Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Isaiah 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. If you do not believe that Jesus’ soul died upon the cross, then you don’t believe in the sacrifice that was made in your behalf. JESUS PREACHED TO THE SOULS IN PURGATORY? 1Peter 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. When this passage is conjoined with the creeds of Catholicism these verses seems to give a clear indication that Jesus wasn’t really dead, but behind a pulpit in purgatory preaching the gospel to the dearly departed. Yet, this conclusion does not stand the test of scrutiny, in the light of bible truth. Lets break down this passage and see what it is really saying. 1Peter 3:18 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: Here it is declared that Jesus Christ was put to death in the flesh, but was made alive again by the holy Spirit (Romans 8:11). 1Peter 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; And it was by the Spirit that Jesus also went and preached unto the spirits in prison. When did this occur? 1Peter 3:20 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. Jesus Christ preached to the souls prior to the flood. Now how did Christ do this? The bible tells us that it was Christ through the holy Spirit that inspired the prophets of old. 1Peter 1:10-11 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. It was Jesus Christ who preached through Noah a warning of the coming Judgment and offered a way of escape (2nd Peter 2:5). The message was preached to an ungodly generation, where in only eight souls was found worthy to be saved. The generation was slaves, or prisoners to sin and vice. Jesus Christ is the great liberator, if they would of accepted the gospel call of Christ, which was preached through Noah, then they would have been freed from the bonds of that sinful world, and would of inherited a brand new earth. Did Jesus preach while he was dead to the souls in limbo? 1st Peter 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; “Its full meaning is met by the interpretation that Christ once preached to the spirits then in prison, to wit, in the days of Noah; that is, that he caused a Divine message to be borne to them [through the person of Noah]... .the question will be asked why are they called "spirits?" Were they spirits then, or were they men like others? To this the answer is easy. Peter speaks of them as they were when he wrote; not as they had been at the time when the message was preached to them. The idea is, that to those spirits who were then in prison who had formerly lived in the days of Noah, the message had been in fact delivered... [For an example of the language we can] go among the graves of the first settlers of New Haven, and say, "Davenport came from England to preach to the dead men around us." – BARNES New Testament Notes “By the divine Spirit. He went and preached; by Noah. Unto the spirits; which, when Peter wrote, were confined in prison. – Family New Testament Notes “Christ is he who in those days (when God through his patience appointed a time of repentance to the world) was present, not in corporal presence, but by his divine power, preaching repentance, even by the mouth of Noah himself who then prepared the ark, to those disobedient spirits who are now in prison, waiting for the full recompence of their rebellion, and saved those few, (that is, only eight people) in the water. – Geneva Bible Notes “The plain and easy sense of the words is, that Christ, by his Spirit, by which he was quickened, went in the ministry of Noah, the preacher of righteousness, and preached both by words and deeds, by the personal ministry of Noah, and by the building of the ark, to that generation who was then in being; and who being disobedient, and continuing so, a flood was brought upon them which destroyed them all; and whose spirits, or separate souls, were then in the prison. JOHN GILL “Christ went "in spirit" in the person of Noah and by him preached to those who were afterwards held in prison” -- Peoples New Testament Notes “Wohlenberg holds that Peter means that Christ in his preexistent state preached to those who rejected the preaching of Noah who are now in prison. Augustine held that Christ was in Noah when he preached”. – Robertson’s NT word pictures What is the prison? The bible teaches that the wicked are ‘reserved’ unto the day of judgment after which they shall be punished. 2nd Peter 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: The term ‘reserved’ means ‘guarded’ or held in custody. The term prison that is found in 1st Peter 3:19 means a guarding or watching. Thus Christ through the Noah preached to the persons who died in the flood, whose spirits are now reserved, kept in store until judgment. Where is the spirit (Breath of Life) stored? At death the spirit or the breath of life of the wicked, like that of the Just return to GOD who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. God reserves the characters of the person and promises that each individual will be resurrected to face judgment. At the resurrection the breath of life (Spirit) enters again into the body and the person once again becomes a living soul. There is no consciousness in death; the person who dies is in a thoughtless sleep until the resurrection. Acts 24:15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and THEN he shall REWARD every man according to his works” (Matthew 16:27). Jesus also said, “For thou shalt be RECOMPENSED at the RESURRECTION of the JUST” (Luke 14:14). Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with they might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave (Sheol), whither thou goest. Pslams 146:4 “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Psalms 115:17 The dead praise not the Lord neither any that go down into silence. Psalms 6:5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee, in the grave who shall give thee thanks? Why is the doctrine of Christ preaching to the dead while he was in the tomb so dangerous? #1. It diminishes the gospel and mars the sacrifice of God because it teaches that the offering GOD gave for sin was a mere created human body, that the divine Son escaped death, and was busy doing missionary work in limbo which is contrary to the bible which teaches that the one who became a man died, both body and soul. (Phillipians 2:6, Isaiah 53:10-12) #2. It promotes the pagan doctrine of the immortal soul and teaches spiritualism. #3. It teaches that salvation can be attained after death and lends to the Catholic doctrine of purgatory. GOSPEL PREACHED TO THE DEAD? John 8:33-36 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Jesus by delivering us from the prison of sin also delivers us from the bondage of fear. The greatest fear of the lost is the fear of death. Hebrews 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. If the sinner would realize that this fear is generated because he is already dead, then he could seek for life before it was too late. Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Romans 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. When Christ Spirit enters the heart, then true life begins, for they live according to God’s principle. Romans 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. Romans 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 1st Peter 4:6 For, for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. REWARD OF PARADISE For those who realize that they are dead in sin and trespasses, and accept Christ’s soul as the offering for their transgressions, they can look not only forward to the newness of life, which is peace and joy in the holy Ghost, but they can look forward to their heavenly reward. Paradise, a brand new world will be theirs just as it was given to Noah. To the repentant thief Jesus promises: Luke 23:43 “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise”. Some who hold to the Roman falsehood of the immortal soul, look upon this verse and reckon that the thief received his reward at death, that at death he entered into Paradise. Yet the Jesus of the bible preached that the faithful would be recompensed at the resurrection. Luke 14:14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just Matthew 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works Revelation 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. Jesus did not ascend to his Father’s heavenly throne at death to minister a reward to the thief, but he descended into the grave and into the silence of death to pay our ransom. For three days after the cross, Jesus had not yet ascended to his Father. John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. Paradise is not, nor ever was in the grave, but it exists in the heaven of heavens. 2nd Corinthinas 12:2-4 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven…. How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Paradise is where the tree of eternal life abides, and that place is the heavenly Jerusalem, that will one day descend from heaven and settle upon the new earth. Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Revelation 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. The question even remains; did the thief even die the same day as Christ? The cross was a death, which took its toll over days, not hours; this is why the Romans were shocked that Christ had died so quickly. When the sun was about to set over the bloody hill of Golgotha, the thief was still very much alive. John 19:31-34 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. Thus how do we compensate for the words of Jesus to the thief on the cross? The problem is not with the scripture, but with man’s attempt to add punctuation that fits their own understanding. The Greek in which the New Testament was written did not contain commas and punctuation. And we must remember that men who have accepted the doctrine of the immortal soul have revised most translations. Yet if we simply slide the comma over two words, we will see that Christ was making a promise that day, not rewarding the thief that day. Luke 23:43 And he said unto him—Verily, I say unto thee this day: With me, shalt thou be in Paradise. (Rotherham Bible) \ BACK HOME |
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