A TOOLBOX FOR THE BODY OF CHRIST

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WHY DID JESUS DESCEND TO THE “LOWER EARTHLY REGIONS”?

When addressing the question of why Jesus descended to the “lower earthly regions,” that we see in Eph 4:9, there are several factors that come into play and all should be considered to see the whole picture. We will attempt to address each individually so that when put together, they will collectively paint a picture of a very large and massively important event: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

Please understand that to get to the answer to why Jesus descended and was resurrected, we must first build a foundation to set it on so that the complete understanding can be seen. Stay with it to the end as we address several points in this discussion. As you go through each section of the study, please note that in nearly all cases, there is more Scripture on each subject as we did not try to be completely exhaustive as you will discover more as you read and study for yourself. The following subjects will be discussed:

  1. Satan’s temporary dominion over the earth, a domain of darkness
  2. Jesus the “Light”
  3. The first descent; heaven to earth
  4. Prophesy of Jesus’ death
  5. Jesus’ death
  6. Jesus’ burial
  7. The second descent; earth to Sheol/Hades
  8. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead
  9. Jesus’ ascent to the right hand of the Father

Satan’s Temporary Dominion Over the Earth, a Domain of Darkness

In the beginning God created Adam and from Adam He created Eve, who were without sin and right with God. He placed them in a garden that they were to tend and gave them one command of which they broke and sinned (disobeyed, rebelled against God). He judges their sin and death now enters the world and they now know good and evil. All men, including them, must now be judged for the sin they commit as mankind is separated from God by their sin with a propensity or “leaning toward” the committing of sin, referred to as a “sin nature”.

He then covers them with “garments of skin” and banishes them from the garden and the tree of life. This now gives opportunity for all of mankind to be held “captive” through sin and death and under the wrath (judgement) of God, Gen 1–3. God now begins his plan of redeeming man back to Himself that will continue throughout time until that plan reaches its fulfillment. God is the one and only Sovereign, preexistent creator of all things, and no one or no thing can change any detail, time frame, or part of it in any way whatsoever. God created it and He will see it through to completion as He desires, not Satan, not you and not me.

We move to the Tower of Babel (Gen 11) where man rebels against God and attempts to be godlike as Satan does in Isa 14:14. They say “let us build a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves.” So God confuses their languages and scatters them throughout the lands. Peoples now become the beginning of all of the Nations of the world and from that time on God allows them to be “a law unto themselves,” Rom 2:12–16 note v14, and were never under the Covenant of the Law of Moses.

God now creates and builds the Nation Israel and makes promises and Covenants with them. He gives them a Covenant of law, the Law of Moses, which included the sacrifice of animals for atonement for their sins. They were to keep all of His laws, decrees, and commands where “that will be our righteousness” Deu 6:24–25. God set Israel apart from the Nations and repeatedly tells them that they would be “His people” and that He would be “their God.” Note: look up “their God” and “God of Israel” in a concordance or other study tool for hundreds of references.

This brings us to Mat 4:8–10 and Luk 4:1–12 where Satan tempts Jesus by offering Him all the kingdoms of the world where the tempter says “all this I will give you…if you will bow down and worship me.” Notice Jesus’ response, that He did not correct or rebuke him, nor state that he had lied, but only quoted Scripture to him.

Now we can move to the following verses which will demonstrate that God has allowed Satan temporary dominion over the earth:

Read Rom 1:18–32 to see an example of God giving men over to their own depraved minds, those who refuse to believe/worship Him. In v21–22 “…their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened…” It says 3 times in v24, 26, and 28 that God “gave them over” to their sinful desires, shameful lusts and to a depraved mind.

God has allowed Satan temporary dominion of the earth by giving people over to their own moral destruction. Satan now is able take and hold men captive through sin and death even to the point that he can “blind the minds of unbelievers,” those who refuse to believe the Gospel. This is why Paul calls this a “present evil age” and a “dominion of darkness.” Eph 4:17–19 says that Gentiles are “darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.”

It should be no surprise why in 1Jn 2:15–17 Scripture says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” In Rom 12:1–2 Scripture says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Just because man continually chooses darkness and God has allowed Satan to have temporary dominion of the earth, it does not mean that God’s Sovereignty is compromised or lessened in any way whatsoever. He is still the Eternal God, and everything is His and done according to His will, even creating man with a will of his own and allowing Satan temporary dominion over the earth.

We need to note here that not every person of mankind has been “given over” as there have been and will be those who, by their own choice, seek and worship God. See Act 17:27, Paul speaking to the men of Athens. There are many examples in the Scriptures of God speaking to people and they obey Him.

Now read Eph 2:11–16 to understand that the Gentile Nations were never under the Covenant of the Law of Moses. In v12 Scripture says they “were without hope and without God in the world” and Rom 2:14 states “when Gentiles, who do not have the Law, do by nature things required by the Law, they are a law for themselves.”

Those who refuse to worship Him and exchange His glory for things made by them for their own desires, whether knowing good and evil, and choose not to worship Him, or they had been given over to depravity, they are moving toward destruction and cannot escape God’s judgement for their sin. They are condemned in darkness and need a Savior; so God sends the “Light,” Jesus, to provide a way for them (as well as any Israelite) to be rescued.

It should be easy to understand the call of repentance, “turn to God,” by John the Baptist, Jesus and those disciples He sent out to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” before the cross. Israel had turned from God and was not keeping all of His laws, decrees, and commands and He was calling them back.

After the cross, God “commands all people everywhere to repent” Act 17:30, which includes all of mankind, Jew and Gentile alike. In Act 26:17–18 Jesus says to Paul “I am sending you to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God…” God has provided no other way for a man to escape this captivity and the wrath of God for the penalty of their sin in this “dominion of darkness”

except through the shedding of blood through a Savior, and you and I ain’t him. That Savior is Jesus the Christ and what He accomplished through his death, burial and resurrection, and there is no other! Act 4:12 states, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Jesus the “Light”

By Satan’s choice he rebelled and became God’s enemy and others follow him; whether angels or Man, making them also, God’s enemy. Man is eternally separated from God with no way of their own to be reconciled to Him. So God sent His Anointed One (the Light) into the world of darkness to defeat and take everything away from Satan, and overcome all of the evil works he has perpetrated on mankind so that Man can be freed from captivity to sin.

Here is a small sampling of verses about Jesus being the Light:

Jesus is “the Light” that the Father sends into the world to provide “the Way” for Man to be rescued from the penalty of their sin and captivity in the darkness.

The First Descent: Heaven to the Earth
Jesus as a Man

The Greek word for descent used here is katabaino (ka-ta-bi-no) and means: to go down, come down, descend or cast down as in Rev 12:12 where Satan has “come down to you” from the heavens to the earth. Some translations may say “gone down.”

When Jesus descended, He was “sent from the Father” from heaven to the earth to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel,” ref. Mat 10:6, 15:24, for a purpose. He was born of a virgin to be the Anointed One of God, rejected by Israel, then placed on a cross to die for the sins of the world. Isa 49:6 “it is too small a thing…to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

All should be able to recognize that for Jesus to leave heaven and come down to the “dominion of darkness” would be a descent from glory to a dark world where Satan has dominion as already established (pg 1).

We need to note here that this does not mean that He ceased being God, but that He was fully God and fully man which is referred to as a “hypostatic union.” Even though Jesus was fully God, as a man He did not consider His equality with God something to cling on to, but set aside some prerogatives as He temporarily gave up His position of glory to be found in the form of a man, see Phl 2:6–8. Also read Col 2:9, Heb 1:1–3. This is the first descent, from heaven to earth.

Jesus being fully man, born of a woman, lived a human life, He was tempted like a man, He ate like a man, He worked like a man, He wept like a man, He worshipped at the temple as a Jew, He attended all of the feasts, He obeyed all of the laws of the Covenant (as they applied to Him), He bled like a man, He died a human death, He was buried the way a Jew was buried, and after death his body laid in the tomb 3 days and 3 nights.

Question: while his body laid in the tomb, did his Spirit stay in the tomb with his body or did it go somewhere else like other men? If so, where did it go?

Prophecy of Jesus’ Death

Before we look at where his Spirit went, let’s make sure we understand that his death was no accident or incidental event in history. It was necessary, prophesied, and illustrated by God through several of Israel’s prophets in the OT and therefore had to take place in order to fulfill prophesy and accomplish the redeeming work of God’s plan.

The Death

Two of the reasons that Jesus had to die: the first is probably the easiest part of this study to address because it is answered in one verse, “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” 1Cor 15:3–4. This is “the Gospel” that God left to be proclaimed to mankind after the cross and before the 70th week.

Here are a couple more verses: Rom 4:25, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Eph 1:7, “In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins…,” here “his blood” signifies his death. Act 20:28, Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders, “Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with his own blood,” and 1Jn 2:2, “…not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” The second reason is that He had to die in order to conquer death and be resurrected. More on this point later.

After the prophesies of his death and reading these verses, all should recognize that Jesus had to die and what the purpose of his death was: “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification,” Rom 4:25. Now read Heb 2:14–18 and 10:1–18, note v 10–14, “once for all.”

Burial

There was/is no doubt that Jesus died a physical death and his body was buried “in accordance with Jewish burial customs;” therefore, He was buried in a tomb the same as other men, again proving that he was fully man.

The Second Descent: Paradise

On the cross the thief in Luk 23:42–43 next to Jesus said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replies, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Jesus died that day and stated that He would be in paradise – Greek word: paradeisos (pa-ri-de-sos). It is used 3 times in Scripture: Luk 23:42–43; 2Cor 12:4; Rev 2:7 and can be translated, depending on context, as:

If Jesus’ Spirit went there, where was this place called paradise? Refer back to Mat 12:40 where He gives us the answer, “… so the Son of Man will be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth.” Now that we know where it is, what is it? We find a more detailed description of this place given in Luk 16:19–31. As you read notice v22 Abraham’s bosom/side, v23 in hell or hades (torment), v24 “I am in agony in this fire,” v25 “he is comforted here and you are in agony,” v26 a “great chasm” so no one can cross over.

Because Jesus was fully man, when He died this is where his Spirit went – to Abraham’s bosom/side, the paradise side of Sheol/Hades, and stayed for 3 days and 3 nights before He was bodily raised from the dead (resurrected). Note: Sheol is also referred to as “place of the dead” and/or the “underworld.”

After He died on the cross, He descended (went down) from the surface of the earth to the heart of the earth to Sheol/Hades (place of the dead) just like all other men before the cross when they died. Jesus was fully man and fully God. As a man, he went through everything a man would go through; even death and descent to Sheol; the Paradise side in his case, not the torment side. Since Paradise is in the “heart of the earth,” because Jesus said it is, it is easily recognized that it would be a descent from one to the other. This is the second descent, from the surface of the earth to the heart of the earth.

By the first descent Jesus became the Messiah (Anointed One) for Israel and by the second descent he became Savior of the world by dying for our sins on the cross, being buried in a tomb, and raised from the dead. Even though we can identify that there were two descents, combined they constitute one inseparable purpose with several elements to it that should be recognized and understood by the student of the Scriptures.

The Resurrection: Jesus Raised from the Dead

Here is where all of this culminates into the revealing of God’s plan as Jesus is bodily resurrected from the dead. We already know that Satan has been allowed to take men captive and blind them for his purposes which Scripture calls a “dominion of darkness” and Satan is called the “god of this age.” Mankind is held captive by sin and death. Since “… it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins,” Heb 10:4, all of this had to take place so that God could now bring man back unto himself. Sin could not be forgiven by the blood of bulls and goats, nor could a man die for his own sin because all men have sinned; sin cannot die for sin. It had to be the heavenly Man/Adam, Jesus who was without sin and unblemished in any way. Jesus, the Lamb of God, had to die and be raised to accomplish God’s redemptive plan.

At the same time that Satan is busy lying, deceiving, and holding men captive; God is seeing to it that every detail of his redemptive plan is being done at the exact place and time that He determines, making sure that the enemy and all of his evil schemes lose and are eventually totally destroyed and is cast into the lake of fire, never to return.

It was through Jesus’ death (shed blood) that sin could be forgiven, burial in a tomb as a place for the body to lie for 3 days and 3 nights to fulfill prophesy and to show man that He was truly dead, and the descent to Paradise and being raised from the dead to eternal life (including the witnesses that God caused to see Him) that man can now be released from captivity and “saved completely” as stated in Heb 7:25. This verse may be translated “to the uttermost” or “forever” depending on translation.

As He was raised from the dead, He took the “keys” (power or control) of death and Hades whereas Satan could no longer hold that power over mankind, see Rev 1:17–18. Even though Satan is still alive and well and will be allowed to attempt to set up his counterfeit kingdom in the 70th week, the work of Jesus on the cross and resurrection from the dead completely defeats all of Satan’s efforts to be “like the Most High,” Isa 14:14. He and all of his follower’s fate is sealed concerning where they eventually receive their inheritance, eternity in the lake of fire.

This is a small portion of the references to the resurrection, there are many more:

When we look at what happened at Jesus’ resurrection, the Scriptures are clear that He conquered death by being raised from the dead as death could not hold him. He was bodily raised just like He raised Lazarus from the tomb, through whom He was giving Israel an example of the power of God, by raising Lazarus, whose body saw corruption, and that resurrection from the dead was a reality that God had/has the power to do.

In 1Co 15:3–7, after Jesus was raised from the dead, whose body did not see decay, v6 “He appeared to more than 500 of the brothers at the same time” and others after that as eyewitness accounts and proof that He had been bodily raised. Also, when the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom at Jesus’ death, “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 appeared to many people,” another proof of resurrection and a demonstration of the power and glory of Jesus the Christ. Mat 27:51–53. The Scriptures are very clear that Jesus was bodily raised from the dead and leave no room for opinion or any man’s interpretation. It is a God given fact.

Simply put: Jesus rose from the dead in victory over sin and death defeating Satan and all the dark powers and authorities and provided the way for mankind to have freedom from their captivity to sin, death, and Hades. In 1Jn 3:8 we read v7, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” which he (Satan) has been doing from the beginning. Heb 2:14 states “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death-that is, the devil-and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

The Ascent

After Jesus was raised from the dead, He spent 40 days on the earth being witnessed by more than 500 people and interacting with them as “convincing proof” of his resurrection. Then it became time for him to ascend to the right hand of the Father so that He could send the Holy Spirit to indwell all who believe on him. Read Act 1:1–11, 2:1–41.

In Eph 4:7–11 we read that Jesus “ascended on high, He led captivity captive in his train and gave gifts to men.” He also “descended to the lower earthly regions.” Then he “ascends higher than all the heavens.” The Romans and no doubt, other empires as well, when they went to war, conquered their enemies and came home with captives, they would lead the captives in a procession or “train” as prizes and spoils of war on full display of their victory for the crowds that lined the road to welcome the conquering army as they returned.

This is what Jesus did as He ascended to the Father. He led captivity (those who held mankind captive – Satan and his crew) as his captives in a procession in full view of The Father and all of the heavenly beings where Jesus eventually rules over the entire universe as God’s plan is being fulfilled. He now sits at the right hand of the Father victorious over death, interceding for us, the Body of Christ. Satan and all dark powers are now defeated. Satan’s head is crushed, Gen 3:15, sin can now be forgiven (removed) and eternal life with God given. Jesus “ascended higher than all the heavens (to the right hand of the Father), in order to fill the whole universe” v10. Just like Israel was rescued from slavery in Egypt, Jesus now provides a way for mankind to be rescued from slavery to sin. For verses of the ascent read Act 1:9–11, 2:29–36; Eph 4:7–11.

For more context of “captivity captive,” and to understand this is not a new phrase or concept, see:

Captivity are the ones who take captives, ex. Babylonian captivity: The Babylonians came to Israel and took captives and carried them back to the place of captivity – Babylon. Captive or captives are the people who are defeated and removed from their land to the place of captivity. Again, Babylon captures Israel and takes them to Babylon. Likewise, as Jesus rises from the dead, He conquers/defeats Satan and his forces (captivity) and leads them “in his train” as his captives, offering freedom to all who are in slavery to sin and death.

Conclusion

So, we have come to the end of this study and must again ask the question: “Why did Jesus descend to the lower regions of the earth?” With all of the foundational elements in place, the answer is now an easy one and here it is: after his death on the cross and burial in a tomb, He descended like all men did before him to Sheol (paradise side) because He was fully man. He stayed there 3 days and 3 nights, as prophesied, then was bodily raised from the dead to eternal life and brought with him the keys (control or power over) of death and Hades.

By his resurrection from the dead, He was/is victorious over Satan and all of the rulers, powers, and principalities of this dark world and the spiritual forces in the heavenly realms because death could not hold him. As He rose from the dead, He put all of these dark rulers, powers, and principalities on display to all of the heavenly hosts, those who had held mankind captive in captivity to sin and death, ref. Col 2:15. Jesus became the conqueror over all dominions and kingdoms in the heavens and on the earth and could now offer eternal life to all who would believe on him, “He is the true God and eternal life” 1Jn 5:20.

Man is on a path that leads to destruction and needs a Savoir. God sent Him to rescue us. Satan’s dominion of darkness now has no hold on anyone who puts their faith in Jesus’ finished work on the cross. Those who do are forgiven of sin, born from above by the Holy Spirit and sealed, adopted into God’s family, being righteous before God, and granted eternal life; making us overcomers of this dark world and all of the evil forces therein. We become conquers over sin and death through Jesus’ victory on the cross and resurrection as we are set free indeed. See Rom 6:1–14; 1Co 15:12–32; 1Jn 4:13–18, 5:1–13.

We pray this is helpful as we all grow “in Christ” together.
Grace be with you.

AToolBoxForTheBodyOfChrist.com | All verses quoted from 1978 NIV or ESV Bibles

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