Jesus: Victor Over Death and Hell Itself
written by Tim Nordgren
4. Since we often hear that death is separation from God, was Jesus separated from God for the three days he was in the grave?
Since God "made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin" (2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV), and because God’s "eyes are too pure to look on evil" (Habakkuk 1:13 NIV), Jesus suffered separation from his Father while on the cross. Many believe that is the symbolic meaning behind the 3-hour darkness while Jesus suffered on the cross. (Mark 15:34). Whatever meaning we may draw out of these events, Jesus did cry, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34 NIV). But once again, with Jesus’ last breath he said, "It is finished." Jesus did not pay for our sins in hell. He paid for our sins with his sinless life on the cross and therefore no other payment was required.
Jesus did not go to hell to pay for our sins; he went to Hades "to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners" (Isaiah 61:1 NIV; see Ephesians 4:8) and make "proclamation to the spirits now in prison" (1 Peter 3:18-20 NASB). Today, believers give thanks for the wonderful truth that the death of Jesus has freed us from our bondage to sin and spiritual darkness. But Jesus also proclaimed freedom for the believers that had been protected in Abraham’s Bosom and his victory over death to the unbelievers and fallen angels that are still imprisoned in Hades. The believers he took to heaven (Ephesians 4:8)(4), the unbelievers and demons will, one day, be cast with Hades into the eternal prison called the "lake of fire" (Revelation 20:13,14). Though God has "prepared a place" in heaven for believers (John 14:2,3), he also prepared an "eternal fire" for the Devil and his demons (Matthew 25:41), and if we refuse the gift of eternal life with God, we have chosen eternal death with Satan. This is what the Bible describes as eternal separation from the saving presence of God in hell.
5. According to the Bible, is death in hell a state of being or a place of being?
According to the Bible, death in hell is both a "state of being" separate from God (Isaiah 59:2) and a "place of being" separate from God (Matthew 10:28). Both of these effects are a matter of choice for those who refuse to "believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6 KJV). God will not force anyone to spend eternity with him, since a coerced love is no love at all. Therefore, he who rejects the loving presence of the eternal God will find himself eternally separated from his saving presence.
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