#Prophecy. The Day After

What happened in the three days following Jesus's death?

Have you ever considered the reality of Jesus becoming sin on our behalf or the real-to-life application of this spoken Truth? Today might be the day you discover the answer to this question.

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. (Col 3:12-13)

Can you imagine the day after Jesus died on the Cross? The Romans probably thought they got rid of the pesty self-proclaimed Messiah. The Jewish leaders most likely were basking in their victory of removing the threat of a false prophet attempting to take over their empire. The “Christ-followers” hid like dogs, fearing persecution by the high officials. In fact, outside of John, Jesus’s beloved, all the disciples retreated to their place of betrayal.

The deafening three days.

It is known in history that the world retreated into a deafening silence in the three days following Jesus’s death. Some were paralyzed by unbelief, many disappointed, and the lion’s share of humanity – gloried in relief. The Messianic Jews call it the three days of grief.

What happened in those three days for Jesus?

The portion of the story of Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection that is not told frequently is in answer to this question. As soon as Jesus took His last breath, He descended to the heart of the earth – Hades. Referenced by most as Hell. However, Hell is not used to describe this place until after the Great White Throne of Judgement.

Three days in the belly of Hades.  

The story of Jonah being devoured by the BIG fish, being in its belly for three days, is the Old Testament prophetic demonstration of Jesus being sent to the belly of Hades for three days (Matt. 12:38-40). As Jonah was brought to the point of repenting for his sins against God, Jesus repented for the sins of humanity AND paid the price for those sins. While God has remained silent about the magnitude of suffering Jesus experienced at the hand of Satan, we know He accomplished His mission. Most believers associate Jesus’s gory death on the Cross as this payment. While there is some truth in this, the real payment occurred during His three-day visit to Hades.  

Hades was originally the Greek mythological god of the dead & the king of the underworld. Hades became known as the domain where the spirits of the dead hung out, including Satan and his demons. Jesus reinforced this belief.

"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. (Matthew 16:18)

This is the place where Jesus descended. "He ascended, what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?” (Ephesians 4:9)

Hades is also called “the pit.” The prophet Isaiah referenced it in this way. I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lower parts of the earth, like the ancient waste places, with those who go down to the pit. (Isaiah 44:23).

Many often wonder what happens to non-indwelt people when they die. As hard as it is to conceptualize, they descend to Hades, waiting for the final Judgement. What goes on for them? The same thing Jesus suffered when He was there – torture, gnashing of teeth, and many other horrid consequences for refusing Jesus. However, those who authentically received the Holy Spirit within their mortal lives escape this place & are placed in Paradise - an intermediate place or state where the souls of the righteous await resurrection (Rapture) and the final judgment of the Saints.

The point is forgiveness of sins.

While Jesus was in Hades, He fulfilled the payment mission for sins. There is a bit of a catch in all this. A condition was put in place as He was suffering the payment for humanity’s sins. For others to experience the benefits of freedom from paying the price for their sins, they must come unto Jesus for indwelling salvation. If humanity did NOT do this, they were left with the reality of descending to Hades to pay for their own sins.

During Jesus’s 40 days on earth after His resurrection, He made it clear to His disciples to draw others unto Him for the born-again Life through indwelling salvation. After 40 days, He ascended and sent the Holy Spirit to indwell the Disciples. With the Spirit living within them, they were commanded to preach the original message of being born-again in Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, and to lead others to Jesus through the power of forgiveness in Christ.    

God requires believers to forgive as they have been forgiven. We must forgive anyone who has hurt us and against whom we hold anything. In prayer, freedom from anger and pain can come by extending forgiveness to offenders by releasing Christ’s forgiveness from within.

This cannot happen unless the Lord has reduced us to a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, which takes brokenness. Brokenness is probably among my least favored words because it requires sharing in the sufferings of Christ. To embrace the truth that we learn obedience through the things we suffer requires a mindset that can only be found in Christ. We must allow the power of forgiveness to manifest through our suffering. Our goal should be to identify individuals who have hurt us to fulfill this mandate.     

When we have been hurt by someone (intentionally or unintentionally) and continue to be bothered by it – it is time to extend forgiveness in prayer, even if that person is deceased. One of the most common manifestations of someone NOT extending forgiveness when being hurt is the nasty habit of grudge-carrying. Anger is another classic symptom of people who find it difficult to forgive. An indwelt believer’s growth in Christ is immediately affected when un-forgiveness clouds the heart.

This process applies to all relationships, for example, marriage, business partners, or friends. Relationships begin with an attraction of some type, leading to openness. After openness is enacted, it is time for the big test of commitment. If the commitment phase fails, the EXPOSURE phase propagates the temptation to betray the relationship, doing the opposite of what Christ demonstrated, dumping them, and moving on. The horrid reality is they don’t move on.   

The logic of exposure.

When EXPOSURE comes, we tend to see things in ourselves and others we don’t like…and sometimes hate. Exposure brings about conflict, which – if not dealt with through Christ, will bring unforgiveness. If conflict is not resolved, according to the ways of Christ, SEPARATION will develop in both parties. Separation starts in the spiritual area of life and regressively goes down the list of all areas of life, one at a time - until, in many instances, go to their graves with unforgiveness. Not good.

The only way to bridge the gap between the two is to remove the sin of separation. Authentic repentance activates real reconciliation. Sadly, most people cannot be moved to repentance until the separation has broken them into a pile of humility. The good news is humility loves saying, “I was wrong.”

Reconciliation has three parts: extending forgiveness, seeking forgiveness, and rebuilding the relationship. Restorative rebuilding is impossible without the indwelling love of Jesus. Mature love happens once repentance and reconciliation have had their perfect way. God desires oneness in all relationships, even if only one member is willing to go through these steps.

Personal conflict without forgiveness leads to death – a constant dread that something is wrong in the believer’s life.

What do most people do with conflict? 

Nothing! When a conflict happens, an emotional explosion frequently erupts. Through this explosion, hurt, silence, anger, hate, resentment, and many other fleshly reactions separate the two in conflict. This punishment period can sometimes last hours, days, weeks, months, or years. When you are hurt, you don’t want to forgive immediately – few do. Gradually, the intensity of the emotions subsides; but without forgiveness, oneness no longer exists. Choosing NOT to forgive someone who has hurt you will eat at you like slow-growing cancer. 

One of the most common deceptions is “time heals all things.”  Boy, what a lie that is! Time heals nothing; in fact, it makes things worse. Time & distance puts both parties into a position of faking it until they make it, which normally never happens. Since time does not heal, what does? The indwelling Grace of God through Christ’s forgiveness, which was concluded while He was in Hades! 

Without releasing Christ’s forgiveness from within, conflicts tend to escalate (at least in the mind of the individual getting hurt). Important note, conflicts and emotional distance increase over time. It is due to one or both parties refusing the Biblical mandates of reconciliation - refusing to acknowledge the REAL purpose of Jesus’s time spent in Hades. You’ve heard the commonly used phrase, Go to Hell. In this expression, we are telling people to refute the reasons Christ went to Hades to pay the price for offenses, let alone proclaiming they have the power to send people to Hell. People who use this ideology are guilty enough to go to Hell alone.  

Pride is a major barrier to the forgiveness process, and another barrier to extending forgiveness is making others pay for their sins with a little help from the offended. However, the main motive is to punish the offender by holding back forgiveness. When authentic believers function like this, they reinforce the lie that Jesus did not descend to Hades to suffer the consequences of all offenders. Worse, we covertly leave a message that Jesus Christ DID NOT pay for all sins, but only for those who self-righteously pretend to be “Christian.”  The primary manifestation of proof OF real salvation is in the “believers” ability to apply the benefits of the “why” Jesus descended into Hades, was resurrected, and offered eternal freedom.

Never forget. Jesus gave His Life for us, to give his Life to us, to live His Life through us.

As for me, The Day After is where the “meat” of the Gospel is housed. Sure, anyone can believe in the purpose of the Cross of Jesus, but in my experience, few can walk out the life-changing reasons Jesus descended into Hades. I determined not to be one of those.

---

If, by the Grace of God, you might be convinced to pray a prayer of salvation, join Dr. Phinney in this prayer.