Paradisiology

Illustration 1: Depiction of Hades with the gulf fixed between torment and Paradise, aka Abraham's Bosom.

The subject we ostensibly title Paradisiology is not yet a recognized field of Biblical Theology. Perhaps it is for this very reason much confusion abounds. The study of the biblical “Paradise” is of some importance as will be noted herein, for it informs our very understanding of the nature of Christ's intermediary activities while his body lay entombed. Ultimately, the issue is one of Christ's authority.

Word of Faith teachers Ken Hagin and Kenneth Copeland would have us believe that Jesus had to be Born Again and that he took the very nature of Satan in order to effect our redemption. Further, they tell us Jesus was tortured by Satan's torturers and was Born Again as he suffered in Hell. Copeland anted up and said Jesus' time in hell saw him raped in every possible way.

We propose to reveal what the Bible actually says regarding this time between when Jesus declared, “It is finished” up until his resurrection and beyond. Should folks care to engage actual inspired scriptures they could avoid such nonsense and outright heresy.

We begin in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 16:

19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” -Luke 16:19-31

Many Bibles will refer to this account as a Parable. Many excellent Bible teacher, including Dr. John MacArthur agree that although the story presents Truth, it is a fictional event, a parable only. Others, such as Charles Spurgeon, declared the story as not a parable but an actual event.

"THIS is called a parable, yet it is rather an incident, an anecdote, a statement of facts...I say this just now because I read, the other day, an assertion that the story of the rich man and Lazarus was only a fable, like that of Jotham. But the most of our Lord's parables are not only parables, but literal facts—and all of them might be facts. I would almost go the length of saying that all of them have been actual facts and in this case there is nothing parabolic at all. It is the statement of an incident which did literally occur, for truth is best illustrated by truth and, as Christ had nothing to teach but what was pure Truth, He illustrated it by Truth and never went into the realm of fiction, or invented a tale, or told a story which was not a fact, much less did He ever teach by a mere fable!"

It is noteworthy that unlike parables elsewhere, Jesus does not offer an explanation for the meaning behind the story. Jesus nor Luke refer to this account as a parable. In no parable does Jesus ever offer a proper name as he does with fellow named Lazarus. Whether this is an account of something Jesus observed prior to his incarnation or something more recent the Father revealed, we can not be dogmatic.

There are those who object to this account as actual simply because someone called Lazarus is named, because why is no one else named. Well, we should note that Abraham is named. And were this the single distinctive, we might agree. But again, neither Luke in recording the narrative nor Jesus himself say it is a parable. With a literal translation, we take a straightforward read and can take the story as presented. In my opinion it is the height of hubris to declare "parable" for the mere reason that we find the account odd in some way. After all, in the Bible we have a burning bush, a man in a fish for several days, a floating ax head, a talking donkey, a flying chariot of fire... You get the idea. So for what reason would we read this as anything other than an actual account? Jack Kelley did not have a problem with this being an actual account. Neither does Chuck Missler or Charles Spurgeon.

MacArthur, among my most favored Bible expositors, objects for a couple more reasons. Among those reasons that this is the only place we find an account of a man being carried away by angels to Abraham's Bosom, the only actual account in fact where outside Jewish tradition we find Abraham's Bosom, and he objects because, he maintains, there is nothing to show folks can communicate between heaven and hell at all. In this blog we will see what Dr. MacArthur seems to have forgotten from other passages and how they in fact inform this passage.

Another interesting account with respect to Paradise is later in the 23rd chapter of Luke:

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” -Luke 23:39-43

This very Paradise that Abraham and Lazarus shared is where Jesus said he would meet this thief that very day! And this is also where we get the name Abraham's Bosom (κόλπος 'kolpos', which occurs 6 times in 6 verses in the Greek is a reference to a bay or a cove by the water).

Frankly, we owe much confusion about the nature of Hades to the botched translation in the KJV Bible which renders several different words as “hell.” Briefly, Sheol in the Old Testament Hebrew is akin to the New Testament Greek Hades. These words refer to the place of the dead.

Regarding the word Hades, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words states, “It never denotes the grave, nor is it the permanent region of the lost; in point of time it is, for such, intermediate between decease and the doom of Gehenna.” Thayer’s Greek Lexicon says Hades is the common receptacle of disembodied spirits.

SHEOL/HADES: THE PRESENT HELL

Scripture passages in which Gehenna is used should be distinguished from those using Hades, which refers to a place of temporary torment that we might refer to as the immediate, or present, Hell. What we mean by this is that, at the time of death, the souls of the lost go directly to Hades, where they suffer in torment until the time of the Great White Throne Judgment when they will be resurrected and cast into the Lake of Fire. The souls of all the lost who have already died are presently there, and those who die in their sins immediately go there to join them.

Hades is the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament word Sheol. The Greek and Hebrew words speak of the same place, the present Hell. However, this is problematic because Sheol has been translated “grave” as often as it has “hell” and some have mistakenly taught that Sheol and Hades are only references to the grave rather than Hell. This erroneous teaching leads to the denial of the existence of an immediate or present Hell. The false doctrine of soul-sleep, and other ideas that teach the unconscious state of the dead between death and resurrection, spring from this error.

The common word for “grave” in the Old Testament is 'queber'. Of the sixty-four times it is used, it is translated “grave” thirty-four times, “sepulcher” twenty-six times, and “burying place” four times. Queber is used five additional times as part of a place name, 'Kibroth-hattaavah', which means “graves of lust.” As we said earlier, Sheol is found sixty-four times, being rendered “grave” thirty-one times, “hell” thirty-one times, and “pit” three times.

A comparison of how Sheol and queber are used reveals eight points of contrast that tell us that they are not the same thing.

1. Sheol is never used in plural form. Queber is used in the plural 29 times.

2. It is never said that the body goes to Sheol. Queber speaks of the body going there 37 times.

3. Sheol is never said to be located on the face of the earth. Queber is mentioned 32 times as being located on the earth.

4. An individual’s Sheol is never mentioned.

5. An individual’s queber is mentioned 5 times.

6. Man is never said to put anyone into Sheol. Individuals are put into a queber by man (33 times).

7. Man is never said to have dug or fashioned a Sheol. Man is said to have dug, or fashioned, a queber (6 times).

8. Man is never said to have touched Sheol. Man touches, or can touch, a queber (5 times).

9. It is never said that man is able to possess a Sheol. Man is spoken of as being able to possess a queber (7 times).

TARTARUS

The Apostle Peter used the word Tartarus in reference to “the angels that sinned” that God delivered to Sheol/Hades to await judgment (2 Pet. 2:4). This word, which is translated “hell” in the KJV, was used in Greek mythology to refer to the place of punishment for the most wicked. It is not clear if Peter was using this word in reference to Sheol/Hades in a general way or if he was referring to a specific compartment of Sheol/Hades where a certain class of fallen angels are confined awaiting final judgment. Either way, this passage teaches that there is a place of confinement in which a particular group of beings are being held until the time of their judgment. This is consistent with the overall Biblical teaching about the existence and purpose of Sheol/Hades.

THE FINAL HELL

The “Lake of Fire,” or Hell, is a literal place of everlasting fire that was originally created by God as a place of punishment for Satan and the angels that followed him in his rebellion against God (Mat. 25:41). Because it is referred to as the place of “outer darkness” (Mat. 8:12; 25:30), we believe that it is likely at the farthest reaches of the creation; perhaps in another dimension. With respect to duration, “everlasting” is the same word in both the Hebrew and the Greek as is used in reference to Heaven.

While Hell was “created for the devil and his angels,” the unsaved of humanity from all ages will be with them in this place of torment where “there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Mat. 13:42). This is the “everlasting reward” of all who have died in their sins.

There is no one in the Lake of Fire as yet. The first residents in the Lake of Fire will be the Antichrist and the False Prophet who, at the end of the Tribulation, will be “cast alive into a lake burning with brimstone” (Rev. 19:19-20).

Next to join them will be the unsaved of the nations who survive the Tribulation (Mat. 25:31-32,41-46). Also, at Jesus Christ’s return to earth, the unbelieving Jews, who survive the Tribulation (Ezek. 20:33-38; Mat. 7:21-23; cf. Mat. 24:29-31,45-51). Then, at the end of the Millennial Kingdom, Satan will be “cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). Finally, the unsaved dead of all ages will be raised and judged at the Great White Throne by Jesus Christ and then cast into the Lake of Fire (see Rev. 20:11-15).

GEHENNA

Gehenna is described in Scripture as a “furnace of fire” (Mat. 13:42); “everlasting punishment” (Mat. 25:46); “the mist (or gloom) of darkness” (2 Pet. 2:17); the “hurt of the second death” (Rev. 2:11; 20:6,14; 21:8); “a lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Rev. 19:20; 20:10; 21:8). Gehenna, or the Lake of Fire, might be referred to as the future, or final, Hell because it is where all of the wicked from all ages will ultimately go. Satan, the fallen angels, and all of the lost of mankind will reside in torment for all eternity. In other words, the Lake of Fire.

The name Gehenna comes from a ravine south of Jerusalem where some Hebrew parents actually sacrificed their children to Molech during the time of the kings (2 Kin. 16;3; 2 Chron. 28:1-3; cf. Lev. 18:21; 1 Kin. 11:5,7,33). This valley later served as the city dump and, because there was continual burning of refuse there, it became a graphic symbol of the place of punishment for the wicked. It's name “the Valley of Hinnom,” in Greek is Gehenna. The word is found twelve times in the Scriptures, being used eleven times by the Lord Jesus and once by James. The context where the word is found in the New Testament show that it was a commonly used expression for Hell by that time. When we consider the context, it is clear the Lord used this word in reference to the place of everlasting punishment for the wicked dead and not to the city dump.

With this understanding in our hip pocket... we can move forward with the narrative and order of events from these words Jesus said to the thief and what transpired in the following days. A study with a good Bible software program looking at the usage of Sheol, Hades, Gehenna and Tartarus would be a worthy study for anyone who has not yet done so.

Let's clear up misunderstanding about what did not happen to Jesus while his body was in the tomb. Notice where Jesus told the thief they would be that very day. It did not say Jesus was going to hell to be tormented in any way whatsoever as is sometimes taught by the Word Of Faith preachers.

This begs the question: In what reality is Paradise synonymous with torment?

Let us examine what else Jesus said on the cross.

"After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), 'I thirst.' A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit," (John 19:28-30).

"It is finished," is one of Jesus' most important statements and is translated from the single Greek word tetelestai (τετέλεσται) This is another great passage to study but the word is only used twice. The important thing to get from this phrase is to understand that Jesus' work was done on the cross! He did not take sin and suffering beyond that or the work is not done and we are still in sin and Jesus would not have been able to raise from the dead!

Look at Matthew 27 at what happened after Jesus had said it is finished and commended his spirit to God:

50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.

The veil separating man from God was split precisely because Jesus' work of redemption was completed on the cross. Of course, as we learn in that great Resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, without the resurrection we are still in our sins:

And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. -1 Cor. 15:17

Consider also the following about Jesus' death from Acts:

"Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. " -Act 2:30-33

But we will dispense with the numerous theological implications and ramifications of all this for the moment and cut to some passages that are very telling. Jesus said he would be in Paradise, Abraham's Bosom.

Until Jesus' resurrection, there is no “going to heaven” per sé for the saints!

While clearly, as we see from Luke 16, that the saints are in Paradise, it must be not unlike Paradise in the Garden of Eden. Certainly the saints enjoyed the presence of God, but until the work of redemption was completed at the resurrection, their spirits could not “graduate.” On this fact MacArthur agrees. "Heaven" or paradise is wherever God dwells.

To Dr. MacArthur's objection that no where do we have communication between Heaven and Hell, we would now be well-served to examine other Scriptures. There are two or three enigmatic passages in the New Testament that shed light on Jesus' time in Paradise. First, let's look at 1 Peter:

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,”

-1 Peter 3:18

Let's stop right here a moment. The word “once” up there is in the aorist tense in the Greek, which means that Jesus died once for all time. And the remainder of the verse addresses his resurrection. Let's continue with the following verse:

'by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison.' -1 Pet 3:19

“Preached” here does not mean Jesus went into purgatory or “limbo” or some such nonsense to preach the gospel and give folks a second chance. How do we know? Well, the Greek and the rest of the passage clears this up. The word “preached” here is the word κηρύσσω kērussō (kay-roos'-so) and it means to “proclaim in the manner of a herald”. Specifically, to proclaim a victory. So verse 19 is telling us that Jesus while there proclaimed a victory to spirits in prison. First, what was the victory? Second, who were the “spirits?” With respect to the What we can begin at the very first prophecy in the Bible about Jesus' moment on the cross. We find it in Genesis 3:15:

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

-Genesis 3:14, 15

And in the New Testament concerning this significance:

and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. -Colossians 1:20

He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. -Colossians 2:14, 15

He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. -1 Peter 2:24

So Jesus went and proclaimed the victory, “It is finished!” or words to that effect to “the spirits in prison.” Next, who were these spirits? Good guys? Bad guys? Both? Now let's continue with verse 20 of 1 Peter chapter 3:

'who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.'

-1 Peter 3:30

What disobedient spirits were around at the days of Noah? It sounds like while he was in Paradise Jesus decided to tweak some noses of disobedient spirits that he'd won! Sure we cannot believe Peter was saying Jesus went into a place of torment where disobedient spirits are. Therefore, I would have to ask Dr. MacArthur to consider this not a parable either, but an actual accounting of that same dynamic in Luke's account. Jesus, we have seen, went to Paradise with the thief. Yet, he "Proclaimed a victory" to those disobedient spirits. Surely they were not in Paradise!

The only conclusion left to us is what Spurgeon evidently saw, and that is that somehow in this other fleshless dimension, a place without physical eyes or ears, it was at least one time possible for souls to communicate across a great gulf that existed separating this odd realm. BUT NEITHER JESUS NOR THE THIEF NOR THE REMAINING SAINTS STAYED THERE LONG.

Have patience. We're getting there.

Matthew Henry seemed to think they were unrepentant sinners who died and went to hell. Well, as we see even in the Rich Man and Lazarus account, that is where disobedient unrepentant sinners go. But his answer ignores sufficiently an answer to why the mention of the flood and Noah.

Okay, with a little patience here, let's look at some more verses that address this intermediary time of Christ. Paul addresses in Ephesians 4:

8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)

-Ephesians 4:8-10

That's one. That “he led a host of captives” is an interesting turn of phrase we will address in a moment. Some translations render verse nine as “regions lower than the earth” rather than “lower regions of the earth.” According to Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest:

The contents of these verses "are parenthetical, showing what the ascension of Christ presupposes. By descending into the depths and ascending above all, He entered upon His function of filling the whole universe, in virtue of which function He distributes gifts to men. . . . His ascent implies a previous descent" (Vincent). The words "lower parts of the earth," Vincent says, refer to the under world. "The reference is to Christ’s descent into Hades" (Vincent).

Our Lord, between His death on the Cross and His resurrection from the tomb, went to two places in the unseen world. Peter says:

"For Christ also once for all died for sins, a just Person in behalf of unjust persons, in order that He might provide for us an entree into the presence of God, having been put to death on the one hand with respect to the flesh, but made alive on the other hand with respect to the spirit (His human spirit), in which spirit also to the imprisoned spirits proceeding, He made a proclamation, to those who were non-persuasible aforetime when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being gotten ready" (1 Pe_3:18-20).

This place is called Tartarōsas, the prison house of the fallen angels (2 Pet. 2:4). What He proclaimed to them is not specifically stated. The verb "preached" is not euaggelizomai, "to preach the gospel," but kērussō, "to make a proclamation." The other place He went to was the place for departed human beings, called "Paradise" (Luk_23:43) or "Abraham’s Bosom" (Luk_16:22). He, as the Man Christ Jesus, went to the place of the righteous dead.

From the narrative in Luke between the Rich Man and Abraham, it is evident that the gulf fixed between torment and Paradise is not so far as to prohibit communication. However, as these are spirits and not physical vocal chords, we cannot diagnose the means of communication as with flesh vocal chords vibrating in the air. I only point this out with respect to Wuest's comments that Jesus went to both locations and it would seem this is an assumption of something that may in fact have not been necessary. All we may affirm is Jesus' promise to the thief on the cross that the only indicated destination was Paradise.

Further disclosure upon the subject is found in Jude 6 and 7:

6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. -Jude 6, 7

Let us point by point exegete this interesting and explosive passage. What we find is that there were angels, obviously fallen ones, who left their domain, dimension or realm. What did they do? As with Sodom and Gomorrah there was sexual sin and they went after “strange” or a different kind of flesh from their own. This sin was bad enough that these fallen angels are in everlasting chains and will be there until the final Great White Throne judgment and will likely be dumped, chains and all, into the Lake of Fire.

With respect to these fallen angels engaging strange flesh, in the Greek, "strange" ἕτερος heteros (het'-er-os). Of uncertain affinity; (an-, the) other or different.

Of this passage, Wuest notes:

From the apostasy of Israel, Jude turns to the sin of the angels. He describes them as those who "kept not their first estate." The word "estate" is the A.V. translation of archē. The word means first of all, "beginning." Thus does the A.V. understand it. The angels left their first or original status as angels, their original position, to violate the laws of God which kept them separate from the human race, members of which latter race occupy a different category among the created intelligences than that of angels. Angels are a host. They do not reproduce themselves. There are the same number of angels today as there were when they were created. The human race reproduces itself. From a beginning of two individuals the race has grown to the proportions it is today.

The second meaning of archē is derived from the first, namely, "sovereignty, dominion, magistracy," the beginning or first place of power. The word is translated "principalities" in Eph_6:12, and refers to demons there. Thus, this meaning of archē teaches that these angels left their original dignity and high positions. Archē is used, in the Book of Enoch (12:4) of the Watchers (Angels) who have abandoned the high heaven and the holy eternal place and defiled themselves with women (Mayor). This original state of high dignity which these angels possessed, Jude says, they did not keep. The verb is tēreō, "to guard." The verb expresses the act of watchful care. That is, these angels did not fulfill their obligation of carefully guarding and maintaining their original position in which they were created, but transgressed those limits to invade territory which was foreign to them, namely, the human race. They left their own habitation. "Habitation" is oikētērion, "a dwelling-place," here, heaven. "Their own" is idion, "one’s own private, personal, unique possession," indicating here that heaven is the peculiar, private abode of the angels. Heaven was made for the angels, not for man. It is the temporary abode of the departed saints until the new heavens and new earth are brought into being, but man’s eternal dwelling-place will be on the perfect earth (Rev_21:1-3). "Left" is apoleipō. The simple verb leipō means "to leave." The prefixed preposition apo makes the compound verb mean "to leave behind." These angels left heaven behind. That is, they had abandoned heaven. They were done with it forever. The verb is aorist in tense which refers to a once-for-all act. This was apostasy with a vengeance. They had, so to speak, burnt their bridges behind them, and had descended to a new sphere, the earth, and into a foreign relationship, that with the human race, foreign, because the latter belongs to a different category of created intelligences than they.

These angels are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness. "Reserved" is tēreō, and is in the perfect tense. That is, they have been placed under a complete and careful guard, with the result that they are in a state of being under this complete and careful guard continually.

In his second letter, Peter addressed this matter of these angels in chains who had sinned in the second chapter:

4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked. -2 Peter 2:4ff

Like Jude, Peter recounts fallen angels chained and tossed into eternal hell for sin at the time of Noah. The nature of the sin is again linked to Sodom's and Gomorrah's sexual sin. Pairing this with Jude and 1 Peter we see that we have disobedient spirits, these fallen angels, who left their dimension and committed sexual sin with flesh different (heteros) from their own at the time of Noah.

Again, according to Kenneth Wuest:

"The angels that sinned" are the angels of Jud_1:6-7 whose sin was that of fornication. There is no article before "angels" in the Greek text. They are looked upon as a class and with reference to their position in the scale of created beings, the argument being that if God did not spare a higher order of being to man, namely, angels, He will surely not spare human beings. "If" is ei, the particle of a fulfilled condition. It could be translated "since," or "in view of the fact." "Hell" here is Tartarus. This is the prison of the fallen angels until the Great White Throne Judgment, from where they will be sent to eternal misery in the Lake of Fire (Rev_20:14), the final abode of the wicked dead, also called "hell." The Greek word is geenna, from which we get the name "Gehenna" (Mat_5:22, Mat_5:29-30). The word hāidēs, translated "hell" (Mat_16:18), means "the unseen" and refers to the unseen world of free moral intelligences, holy angels, fallen angels, departed saints, the unsaved who died, Satan, and the demons. The context speaks of the latter two in the unseen world who would destroy the Church if they could... Here, Peter is speaking of that place in the unseen world where the fallen angels are imprisoned until the Great White Throne Judgment. The word tartarōsas is the Greek pagan name for the place of punishment of the evil. Strachan says: "In Homer, Hades is the place of confinement for dead men, and Tartarus is the name given to a murky abyss beneath Hades in which the sins of fallen immortals are punished. Hence 2 Peter uses this word in agreement with the Book of Enoch (where Tartarus is the place of punishment of fallen angels) and Greek mythology because he is speaking of fallen angels and not of men." "Delivered" is paradidōmi, "to give over into the hands of another, to deliver to someone something to keep, to commit to another." God committed these fallen angels into "chains of darkness." "Chains" is seiros, "a pit, an underground granary." The word seira, meaning "a line, a rope," is found in some texts, but the best texts have seiros, "a pit." The English reader can see the similarity of the words and understand how the mistake could have occurred in the centuries when the Greek manuscripts were copied by hand. "Darkness" is zophos, "blackness, the blackness of (i.e., the densest) darkness," originally used of the gloom of the nether world. Homer uses the word in the lines, "These halls are full of shadows hastening down to Erebus amid the gloom" (Odyssey). When Ulysses meets his mother in the shades, she says to him, "How didst thou come, my child, a living man, into this place of darkness?" (Odyssey). Milton writes, "Here their prison ordained in utter darkness set, as far removed from God and light of heaven as from the centre thrice to the utmost pole" (Paradise Lost).

"To be reserved" is a present participle in the Greek text, showing action going on, thus, "being reserved" for judgment.

Some will point to Matthew 22:20 and say, “The Bible says angels neither marry nor are given in marriage!” Well, perhaps obedient angels do not. These passages address disobedient angels however.

Though this passage was listed earlier, it was not directly addressed. As a key passage on Christ's visit to Paradise, it is beneficial to revisit Colossians.

...He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. -Col 2:13-15

Okay, so what happened in Noah's day? Genesis six:

1 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. 3 And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. 5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. -Gen 6:1-8

"Giants" nâphal (naw-fal') – A primitive root; to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitively or causatively, literally or figuratively): - be accepted, cast (down, self, [lots], out), cease, die, divide (by lot), (let) fail, (cause to, let, make, ready to) fall (away, down, -en, -ing), fell (-ing), fugitive, have [inheritamce], inferior, be judged [by mistake for H6419], lay (along), (cause to) lie down, light (down), be (X hast) lost, lying, overthrow, overwhelm, perish, present (-ed, -ing), (make to) rot, slay, smite out, X surely, throw down.

These “naphalim” (referred to as Nephilim) are thy hybrid result of both Peter's and Jude's narrative. The translation of “giants” is often disputed and it is a field fraught with conspiracy, littered with mythology and regularly discounted as credible, particularly as this understanding of the term is supported heavily in extra-biblical sources such as The Book of Enoch. Proponents do present strong photographic archival newspaper evidence, Egyptian pictograph evidence as well as archaeological evidence and a variety of tribal cultural references from around the world in addition to strong Biblical accounts.

It also is pertinent to point out that the hybrid Nephilim are not to be confused with "the angels that sinned" as the Nephilim, it is contended, are the offspring and not the fallen angels themselves.

The nature of this hybridization is not directly pertinent to paradisiology, the study of the activities of Christ while in Paradise, however.

There are those who will contend that “sons of God” were men who took daughters of men and bore children to them. This begs a number of questions, not the least is, “so where is the sin in that?” Also, for proponents of a literal “giants” translation, how would such a union create giants? This understanding also ignores the problem of the Jude and Peter passages that refer to fallen angels or at best, fails to adequately deal with how Jude and Peter mention this dynamic without preamble or explanation as though the matter were by and large common knowledge. The matter of Genesis 6:4 “and also afterward” must needs also be addressed in this case. We do read in Job that “sons of God” clearly are angelic beings as well.

Certainly, believers in old and new testaments can be sons of God, but on a number of occasions we see this applied to angels. Reason being that they were directly created by God. This also is why in the genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3 that Adam is called “the son of God” in the very last verse.

The question as to why fallen angels should do such a thing should be simple, when one thinks about it, beyond chapter 6 where we are told they were attracted to the women. Three chapters earlier God had promised a deliverer through the line of Eve. But Cain slays Able. It turns out Able really was not the promised deliverer anyway. The revelation of God's plan of redemption unfolded over time and was foretold prophetically over time. As Satan learned God's plans, he worked “like the devil”to foil those plans. He then worked diligently to corrupt the Messianic Line by having his principalities leave their true domain and mate with women, essentially rape them in hopes of corrupting the line of the Deliverer. Rape seems to be a satanic pattern even today used against God's people. The result was a corrupted line. Either way, we have Satan trying to ruin the Messianic line.

Satan's attempts to foil God's plans are well studied and known and, arguably, continue on today and as attested within future prophecy will continue, as John wrote in Revelation, even at the very end of the Millennium.

We have addressed the nature of Jesus' trip to Paradise, that he went in and “proclaimed a victory” for all to hear. With respect to those in Paradise, we are not yet finished, for in Ephesians we find that these saints are no longer in Paradise, and thus Paradise no longer resides in that particular realm. So where did they all go? The answer begins in Ephesians 4 where Paul quotes a prophecy from Psalm 68:

8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) -Ephesians 4:8-10

The phrase we said to watch was “he led a host of captives” or as some translations put it “led captivity captive.” This has some interesting history to it and we find it also in the Old Testament era culture (1 Samuel 30) but the custom will be familiar when explained. First we will quickly review.

Jesus tells the thief he will be with him that day in Paradise. Jesus soon dies on the cross for our sins and completes the work of paying for all our sins. “It Is Finished.” When he gives up his spirit, he soon meets the thief on the cross in Hades, the place of the dead on the Paradise side known as Abraham's Bosom. The torment side, as we see in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, is within hearing (whatever that looks like and however that works supernaturally in the spirit realm).

While there, Jesus steps toward the vast gulf that separates the two halves. The word for hell where the spirits are, according to the Greek that Peter uses in his Second letter is Tartarus. Peter opted to use the word from mythology that his readers would understand was the Deep Abyss. So if there are levels of hell and if these principalities are in chains of darkness, they must be sitting on the bottom, as it were.

Jesus taunts and torments them, making a public spectacle of them and “proclaims his victory” on the cross. We can be certain the same was heralded in rejoicing with the Old Testament saints as well, and embraced with much rejoicing!

Then what?

Mary Magdalene. Remember in John when Mary was at the tomb weeping. Her head must have been down as she sniffled and wiped her tears when Jesus approached her. She probably never looked at his face but just saw that a man approached and she figured he was the gardener.

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” -John 20:16, 17

All kinds of sermons come from this passage. Jesus was trying to say this and say that and expositors, teachers and pastors spin all sorts of meaning into “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father.” But based on what we have covered so far and what we read in the Ephesians 4 passage about “led a host of captives” I think this passage means something else entirely.

To lead of host of captives or “leading captivity captive” was a term used when victorious after a battle. When two parties are at war, there are prisoners of war. After the war when one side has come out victorious, the captain would have all his prisoners of war released. As well, there would be the spoils of war. Gold, linens, silver, slaves, livestock, etc. The captain would lead a victory processional up the main street of his own kingdom and up to the King. To the King he would lead the host of captives and present all to the King.

Typically, the spoils of war, much of it, would be divided within the kingdom; spread around, as it were. “He gave gifts to men.” We see King David institute this in 1 Samuel 30. Spiritual gifts in this case, after the gift of the Holy Spirit was given to men at Pentecost.

So back to Jesus' words to Mary Magdalene. I would call your attention again to the significance of the Resurrection.

17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. -1 Corinthians 15:17-19

Christ could not quite lead his host of captives to the Father until he completed the plan of redemption in the Resurrection. So the first thing he had to do was demonstrate his victory over sin and death by rising from the dead!

Having done so, he lets Mary know, “Don't cling to me, I'm not quite finished here. Go tell the rest of the disciples.” He has not yet ascended. Now it could be that as Jesus kept popping in and out supernaturally over the next forty days that Jesus waited to gather the captives from Paradise to present them to the Father. But as this is the one and only time he seemed to express some sense of urgency and not at all at later times, I do not believe this is the case. I cannot be dogmatic, but the tenor of his message as expressed with some urgency leads me to believe he likely descended... how did Paul put it in Ephesians,

'“He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.'

-Ephesians 4:8ff

Therefore, I contend that Jesus was victorious upon the cross over sin, He declared his victory while in Paradise. He then rose in his glorified body, victorious over death, thereby completing the plan of redemption. Now demonstrated as victorious over sin and death, he descends into Hades on the Paradise side and frees the captives, captive to sin and death till the Lamb was slain and risen victorious, and leads the captives to the Father in Heaven.

After that, all the spirits of the Old Testament saints are in Heaven before the throne of grace awaiting their glorified bodies at the First Resurrection. That Paradise was moved to Heaven is confirmed to us by Paul who speaks of a man who was “caught up into Paradise” where he “heard unspeakable words” (2 Cor. 12:3,4). With Jesus’ work complete, the believers who had been confined to Sheol/Hades were now taken to Heaven to wait in God’s presence until the time of their resurrection of their glorified bodies to enter His Kingdom on Earth. Since that time, at death all believers go to Paradise in Heaven to await the time of the first resurrection.

Works Cited

New Living Translation. 1996, 2004, 2015. Tyndale House Foundation.

Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. William E. Vine. August 1, 1985. Barbour Publishing.

Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Joseph H. Thayer. October 1977. Baker Academic.

Wuest's Word Studies in the Greek New Testament. Kenneth S. Wuest. 1984. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Matthew Henry's Commentary On The Whole Bible. 1706. July 30, 2003. Thomas Nelson.

Spurgeon, Charles H. Spurgeon's Sermons, Vol. 41, 1895