Chapter 14.4
The Three Days
Three Predictions – Two Kingdoms - Now and Not
Yet
Hell – Paradise –
Abraham’s Bosom – Jesus; Words in Red
Qualifications for Heaven
First Word
Where was Jesus during the three days and nights and what was He
doing?
Before we begin, I feel a need
to explain the Jewish Custom of counting, otherwise the days will not match up
in relation to scripture. They referred
to any part of a day as if it were a whole day, so a few hours in the grave on Friday,
all of Saturday
and a few hours on Sunday were all counted together as THE THREE DAYS.
Three
Predictions
I start this Word Study with the words
spoken by Jesus Christ Himself and recorded in many Bibles with His “WORDS IN RED”. Jesus predicted His death three times
1)
He would be handed
over
to the chief priest and teachers of
the law and they would condemn Him to death. [1]
2)
He told them
that He MUST be killed, but would be raised to life again on THE THIRD DAY.[2]
3)
He would be
mocked, flogged and crucified. The disciples were filled with grief.[3]
Jesus had been asked for a “SIGN” that He was the
Messiah; He told them that just as Jonah was in the belly of a huge fish for THREE DAYS, so He would be
in the belly of the earth THREE DAYS.[4]
(Although
not specifically said in scripture, in my BS, I
believe Jonah actually died and was resurrected)
Time Out
Jesus
said that He was the Way and the Truth and the Life and that NO ONE could come to the
Father except through Him. [5]
WAIT A MINUTE that sounds like, that all the followers of YAHWEH,
Jehovah God,
before the time of Jesus Christ WOULD NOT and
COULD
NOT inherit the kingdom of God. Can that be right?
HOLD THAT THOUGHT
Destination
Confirmation
Before Christ died, “The Repentant
Thief” on the cross asked to be “remembered” when Jesus came into His kingdom
and Jesus told him that TODAY he would be
with Him in Paradise.[6] This
collaborates that Paradise was where Jesus would be that day.
Some students of the Word disagree with the comma placement
after the word “today.” In my BS, I believe
it is correct as stated, because TODAY fits perfectly
as stated with the rest of scripture.
Destination
Defined
Before
the time of Christ’s ministry, Hell was divided into two compartments; Torment
and Paradise,
the two separated by a large gulf. [7] Apocalyptic
writings indicate that Paradise was located on the edge of Hell; not exactly in and not exactly out.
In Jewish theology, the “Blessed Souls”
awaited in a compartment of Hell referred to as Paradise or Abraham’s Bosom.[8] In Biblical times, people would recline as they
ate; the one reclining near the head guy was referred to as reclining “In His Bosom”; a place of honor.
Paradise was where the “Righteous Good” went after
death; there they “tarried” till the resurrection of Jesus. It was the abode of
people, who had died in the friendship
of God, but had to tarry until the birth, death, burial and resurrection
of Jesus, the Son of God for heaven's gates to open.
NOTE: This term friendship
or friend was someone you were in a BLOOD COVENANT with.
Destination
Reason
Time is somewhat of an abstract for the
dead,
and exists only for the living; and is only a pin point of existence somewhere
between eternity past and eternity future. During this time of “tarring”
in Paradise,
the people were awake having emotions, feelings, and dialog.
Note:
Not one of them had ever heard of Jesus Christ; the Son of God. At Christ’s death on the Cross, He went to Abraham’s Bosom also known as Paradise and for three days preached the “Good News
Message”[9]
to those that had died in the FRIENDSHIP of God over the
past 4,000 years, and they ALL ACCEPTED Him.[10]
Destination
Departure
Jesus appeared to Mary BEFORE He ascended to Heaven collaborating that Paradise
was still on earth and had not been taken to heaven.[11] When Jesus
ascended, He took “Paradise” and everybody in it up to heaven,
where it is now;[12]
there is no longer a “tarring”
place on this earth.
Side Note: With Paradise removed, Hell has now been
enlarged to receive all the new folks for the last 2000 years who have rejected the Truth of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. Today, we that are in the FRIENDSHIP of the Lord, in covenant with Him, do not go
to the lower parts of the earth when we die,[13]
but go immediately to Heaven and are active with Jesus Christ.[14] Paradise in now in Heaven. SELAH
Destination Qualifications
Jesus said we must come to Him believing and
trusting; without reservation; just as a child would run to his daddy and jump
into his arms.[15]
The Sermon on
the Mount; “The Beatitudes” do not show a man how to be saved;
they show the characteristics of someone who is saved. They are not promises of
blessings for the saved, but are a description of someone who is saved. [16]
1)
Poor
in spirit –
Realization that we are spiritually bankrupt and can offer God nothing.
2)
Those
who mourn –
Anguishing over sin; over perishing souls; wanting right to prevail.
3)
Meek
–
Accepting opposition, insults and provocation – Bearing patiently – Mild and
calm.
4)
Hunger
for righteousness – All sin and wrongdoing to anyone grieves them.
5)
Merciful – Being kind, showing pity, mercy and compassion,
even when it’s not convenient.
6)
Pure
in Heart –
No hidden motives or self-interest; a pure heart with singleness of purpose
7)
Peacemaker
–
Bringing men into harmony with each other – Calming the waters.
8)
Love – You must love Christ more than your own family
or you are not worthy of Him.
9)
Give of what you
have to those who can’t pay you back. Give
justice, mercy, compassion and faithfulness.
Someone who is rich puts his trust in what he has, whereas someone who
is poor puts his trust in what he hasn’t. It’s very hard for someone rich to seek the
Kingdom of Heaven; they do not see themselves as having any needs... They are
self-sufficient... They don’t need God.[17] (Jesus said this, not me.)
The Bar is set so very high; who then can qualify to enter the Kingdom of God?
By man’s efforts, no one can qualify to enter; only by the grace
of God is it possible.
The Take Away
Did you see it? Jesus preached for the three days to those
from
all time, including Adam and Eve, those who were already in Friendship,
or in Covenant
with God, but had never heard the
Good News of the Gospel; this will never happen again; there are no second
chances.
TWO KINGDOMS – The NOW and the NOT YET
1)
THE NOW – This kingdom
is present
for believers to enter NOW and enjoy His
blessings.
2)
THE NOT YET – This kingdom
is future;
it is when we enter eternal life and reign with Christ.
WE MUST
ENTER
into the NOW present kingdom
in order to enter into the NOT YET future kingdom
of “eternal
life”. The believer accepts
God’s reign in their present lives; and reigns with Him in the future; blessings
in the present
and even greater
blessing in the future.
When Christ
returns at His second coming, there will be a resurrection of all souls that
have died whether they are in the grave, in the sea, consumed by fire or
carried off by dogs; the Believers will be reunited with their bodies which are
now new and glorified.
The Believer,
Un-Believer as well as the Make-Believer, will be awakened from
their sleep; (death) and will be JUDGED for every WORK, whether good or
evil. [18]
Qualifications to get into the
Kingdom of Heaven will be by Believing in Jesus, Repentance, Faith
and Trust...
Knowing that you have nothing to offer God... Having a deep concern about sin
and perishing souls... The desire for right to prevail... To accept opposition,
insults and provocation... Bearing patiently... Displaying a mild and calm
attitude... Grieving over wrong doing... Having no self-interest, but a singleness
of Heart toward the Gospel... Showing kindness, pity, mercy and compassion whether
it’s convenient or not... Attempting to bring men into harmony with each other;
calming the waters... Loving even your enemies... Having fruit from your works
and growing the gifts that have been given to you.
At the
Resurrection, all will enter into their Permanent or Eternal State.[19]
ü The Believer will inherit the
New Heaven and New Earth; EVERLASTING
LIFE.[20]
ü The Un-believer will inherit the
Lake of Fire (Gehenna); EVERLASTING CONTEMPT.[21]
ü
The
Make Believer... How much more severely will God deal with the one
who KNOWS and continues to sin;
who tramples
the Son of God under his feet and makes the blood of the Covenant an un-holy
thing; insulting
the Holy Spirit.[22] (It’s in the Book)
For the Spirit or Souls who have died;
Scripture confirms that there is no
other Realm, Condition or Form
besides the Lake of Fire and the
Highest Heaven.
TODAY IS THE DAY OF GOD’S FAVOR.[23] There is NO second chance.
[1] Matthew 16:21-28 – FIRST TIME - Jesus Predicts His
Death; He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the
elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be
killed and on the third day be raised to life.
[2] Matthew 17:22-23 - SECOND TIME - Jesus Predicts His
Death. They will kill him, and on the
third day he will be raised to life
[3] Matthew 20:17-19 - THIRD TIME - Jesus Predicts His
Death; He would be MOCKED, FLOGGED and CRUCIFIED
[4] Matthew 12:38-40 – THE THREE DAYS - The Sign of Jonah
[5] John 14:6 – Jesus is the ONLY WAY to Jehovah God
[6] Luke 23:42-43 – TODAY you will be with ME in Paradise
[7] Luke 16:26 – Hell is divided into two compartments; Torment and Paradise separated
by a gulf
[8] Luke 16:22-23 – Abraham’s Bosom or Paradise was located in a
compartment of Hell
[9] Matthew 12:40 – Jesus preached for three days in Hell -- 1 Peter
[10] Ephesians 4:8-10 – He
descended first to hell to lead out the captives -- John 8:32 – The truth set the
captives in Paradise free
[11] John 20:11-17 – I have
not yet ascended to the Father
[12] Ephesians 4:8 – Jesus took all those in Abrahams Bosom to heaven
[13] John
[14] 2 Corenthians 5:8 – When
we are absent from the body, we are present with God
[15] Matthew 18 2-5 – Believe
and trust as a child does with his daddy.
[16] Mathew 5:3-12 – The
Sermon on the Mountain; It’s your attitude toward God that counts
[17] Matthew 19:23-26 - It is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of
heaven. “WHO THEN CAN BE SAVED?” “With man this is
impossible, but WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.”
[18] Ecclesiastes 12:14 – God will judge every work; good or evil
[19] Isaiah 26:19 – The Spirit will unite with their body.
[20] John 5:29 – BELIEVER; RESURRECTION TO LIFE,
Un-believer; Resurrection to Condemnation
[21] Daniel 12:2 - Believer; Resurrection to Everlasting life - UN-BELIEVER;
RESURRECTION TO EVERLASTING CONTEMPT
[22] Hebrews 10:29 - HOW MUCH MORE SEVERELY do you think someone
deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has
treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and
who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
[23] 2 Corinthians 6:2 – TODAY
is the day of salvation; NOW IS THE TIME OF GOD’S FAVOR,
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