What Happened Between Jesus' Death and Resurrection?

What Happened Between Jesus' Death and His Resurrection? 

One of the many things we don't teach about in church is what happened between Jesus' death and His resurrection. I'm sure there are various reasons, but I believe it should be considered because there is reference to it in the Bible. 

We know that we need to accept Jesus Christ into our hearts in order to make it to Heaven, but what about those who came before Christ? What about all those righteous people from the Old Testament?  

If you want to know the answer to that, read on... 

Let's first look at a few scriptures 

Luke 16:20-24 (Emphasis added)

20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 

21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 

This passage in Luke 16 is not a parable, but it is a true story. When Lazarus died, the Bible says that he was in Abraham's bosom (v.23). This wasn't the literal bosom of Abraham but it was a place called "Abraham's bosom". Using the word “bosom” tells us this was a place of rest, so this means that Lazarus was resting in this place with Abraham. We do know that Abraham was there because the rich man was talking to him. 

Luke 23:42-43 (Emphasis added)

42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 

43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. 

In Luke 23 when the thief on the cross asked Jesus to remember him, Jesus promised the thief that they would both be in a place called "Paradise" that very day. We often use the word "paradise" to describe a beautiful, restful place and for that reason many think that Jesus was talking about Heaven. In this passage, Jesus was not describing a place but He was referring to an actual place.

So far, we know that Abraham, Lazarus and the thief were not in Heaven but in some other location called “Abraham’s Bosom”. We also know that Jesus and the thief were going to a location called “Paradise” and this was not Heaven.

From all of this, we can conclude that "Abraham's Bosom" and "Paradise" were one and the same. By this point you may be wondering, if Abraham was there and Jesus was going there after the cross, who else was there and what kind of place is this? 

Read on... 

1 Pet. 3:18-19 (Emphasis added)

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: 

19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 

This scripture talks about a prison. The word “prison” is used here to describe a place of confinement, not a place of punishment. Jesus, after He died on the cross, went to this prison to preach to the spirits that were held there. What was this prison and what spirits were held in that prison?

Before we get to that answer, let's put these scriptures together. From Luke 16 and Luke 23, we learned that Abraham's Bosom and Paradise were the same place and at least three righteous souls were there. In 1 Peter, we learn that Jesus preached to the spirits in prison.  Now, if this prison was not a place of punishment for those who had done wrong, then that means that it was not a place for the evil but a place for the righteous. So, if this was indeed a place for the righteous, that means that this prison is the same place as Abraham’s Bosom and Paradise. This is the place where all the righteous souls before Christ were held. But why? Because these souls could not go to Heaven until Jesus came to redeem mankind!

There is another aspect of this that needs to be made clear. Paradise was close enough to Hell that the rich man was able to see Abraham and Lazarus and talk to them. If this was a place for the righteous, why would it be so close to Hell? This was actually God's mercy. As I told you, the righteous were held here because they could not go to Heaven yet. Imagine if Paradise were close to Heaven. That means that the righteous would’ve seen all of the beauty of God’s glory in Heaven but would not have been able to get to it. That would've been an unimaginable torment! It was God's mercy that the righteous could not see Heaven until it was time to go there. 

Now you may be asking, if they were already righteous, why would Jesus need to preach to them? What message would He have given them? To answer that, let’s take a look at another scripture.

Eph. 4:8-10 

8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 

10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 

"He led captivity captive". The righteous souls were in captivity, so the message preached to them would've been one of deliverance from their captivity. 

One More Thing... 

I've got one more thing for you to ponder. I've told you that Paradise was the place that the righteous souls were held until Jesus came to liberate them. I would argue that there were two righteous souls that were not there. Both Enoch and Elijah were translated that they should not see death. God took both of them straight to Heaven! Since we are there, let me give you one more thing. Revelation 11:3-12 talks about two witnesses in the End Times. It goes on to describe the incredible power God has given to these two witnesses. After a certain time, these two witnesses get killed and their bodies lay in the street for 3 1/2 days until the Spirit of life from God enters them and they go to Heaven. Obviously, these witnesses are human because they get killed. We know that the scripture says that it is appointed to men once to die (Heb. 9:27). There are only two men in history that have never died, Enoch and Elijah. Think about it, wouldn't it make sense that they will be the two End-Time witnesses? 

Please just don’t take my word for it but go back and read and study scriptures for yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to give you understanding.

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