STUDY OF HADES (5)

RECAP: Jesus’ soul and spirit went back to the tomb and retrieved His body. That’s what Easter is all about. Only His physical body had been transformed into a new physical body that was made to exist in both the spirit world and the physical world. The spirits and souls of the righteous dead that were released from paradise in the earth went with Him. Matthew 27:52-53 tells us this event. "The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people."

The righteous dead were not only released from Sheol or Hades but, their bodies were released from death just like Jesus’ body was

BRING UP-TO-DATE:

As We Meditate on Studies One Through Four of Hades, We Can’t But Wonder Why Didn’t The Righteous Souls Go Directly to Heaven?

• John 20:15-17: Jesus saith unto her, 'Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?’ She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, 'Sir, if thou have borne him hence tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.' Jesus saith unto her, 'Mary.' She turned herself, and saith unto him, 'Rabboni; which is to say, Master. 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 ascended unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God and your God.' Jesus tells Mary not to touch Him because He hasn’t yet ascended to the Father.

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esus’ mission was to ascend into heaven and purge the heavenly temple from Satan’s sin with His pure blood. And because He did so, all who believe now have access to the very throne of God! Therefore, He didn’t want Mary to touch Him. He didn’t want His blood to be tainted before He cleansed heaven and prepared it for the saints. Thus, when He saw Thomas, He had already returned from heaven and allowed His disciple to touch Him. This is also the reason that the saints were wandering around Jerusalem with their new bodies instead of going straight to heaven. They were waiting for Jesus to cleanse heaven.

The blood of Christ is incorruptible and time is no more in heaven, it is my thinking (not scripture-based) that even though it has been almost 2,000 years since Calvary, in the temple in heaven there is an ark and there is still the red blood of Christ on the mercy seat that is as wet and fresh and alive as the day it was placed there by the eternal High Priest.

Purgatory:  No such thing. This is a manmade idea evolved from the Bible’s teaching about a place in the heart of the earth where the souls of all the dead before Christ’s resurrection went. And that manmade idea is the doctrine of purgatory.

• The word purgatory means purification. The doctrine of purgatory was not known in the first century. It was taught about 600 years after Christ, and states that the souls of men when they die are not fit to go immediately to heaven, so purgatory is an intermediary (in-between) place where they go to wait while their souls are purged of their sins. This doctrine also states that the souls can do nothing toward their own deliverance and are dependent upon the prayers offered by the living on their behalf.

• Again, this is NOT a scriptural teaching, but manmade. To imply that an individual who accepts Christ is not worthy to be in heaven is to say that Christ’s death and shed blood on the cross is not good enough to get them there. Hmmm, this is a doctrine that dares to place man above God; and if one believes that only human prayers can get a soul to heaven and are essentially throwing Christ’s death and suffering back in His face.
  
  

Make the decision today to accept Christ’s sacrifice and settling your eternity. Don’t wait another day…tomorrow is not promised to any of us.

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Screen Writer/Director

Published Author/Gospel Lyricist &Producer

FOUNDER/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org.