Presbyter_Ian
Puritan Board Freshman
OK, first post, be gentle (but firm, LOL)...
I was doing a little digging on the teaching of “soul sleep,” and I came across Calvin’s “Psychopannychia.” It opened a bit of can of worms regarding Christ’s descent into hell to preach the gospel, as well as the concept of “Abraham’s Bosom” or generally what happened to Old Testament saints until Christ’s resurrection.
Here’s what I have at this point:
1) When we die, our bodies decay, but we are instantly in the presence of the Lord in heaven, where we rejoice with Him until He comes again, and we are given “resurrection bodies,” the earth is destroyed, and all things are made new.
2) Further, when Christ died, He descended to “hell,” not to suffer but to proclaim the gospel to those who could not have heard it before – those who God had credited their faith as righteousness (the elect) were redeemed and released from whatever state they were in.
So the souls of the elect were there waiting for final redemption -- they died in a state where they were redeemed by their faith but the atonement was not yet complete.
Here’s the rub – if the elect were there, it couldn’t be “hell” per se, and at this point final judgment had not been passed, because Christ had not returned.
It seems that according to Calvin, this wasn’t really “hell” per se but “Abraham’s Bosom” which sounds an awful lot like what the Catholics call “Limbo of the Patriarchs.” If that’s the case, when DID Jesus “descend into hell” as per the Apostle’s Creed? So here is my succinct list of questions:
1) Where do the souls of the elect go when they die, today? (I think the answer is “heaven, with Christ.”)
2) Where did the souls of the elect go before Christ’s death? (I think the answer is “Abraham’s Bosom, some odd in-between place.” I'd LOVE more information about this.)
3) Where do the souls of the nonelect go between death and final judgment? (My best guess would be that THEY “sleep” and aren’t aware of anything until judgment where they appear before Christ and are “sentenced” to hell.)
4) Did Christ actually descend to “hell” and if so, who was there? (I’m stumped on this one. The Apostles' Creed says He did but a) no one should be in hell before the final judgment, right?, and b) all the references I find point to the purpose of Him going being to redeem people, who would be the elect, and wouldn’t be in “hell” in the first place.)
Can you shed any light on this?
I was doing a little digging on the teaching of “soul sleep,” and I came across Calvin’s “Psychopannychia.” It opened a bit of can of worms regarding Christ’s descent into hell to preach the gospel, as well as the concept of “Abraham’s Bosom” or generally what happened to Old Testament saints until Christ’s resurrection.
Here’s what I have at this point:
1) When we die, our bodies decay, but we are instantly in the presence of the Lord in heaven, where we rejoice with Him until He comes again, and we are given “resurrection bodies,” the earth is destroyed, and all things are made new.
2) Further, when Christ died, He descended to “hell,” not to suffer but to proclaim the gospel to those who could not have heard it before – those who God had credited their faith as righteousness (the elect) were redeemed and released from whatever state they were in.
So the souls of the elect were there waiting for final redemption -- they died in a state where they were redeemed by their faith but the atonement was not yet complete.
Here’s the rub – if the elect were there, it couldn’t be “hell” per se, and at this point final judgment had not been passed, because Christ had not returned.
It seems that according to Calvin, this wasn’t really “hell” per se but “Abraham’s Bosom” which sounds an awful lot like what the Catholics call “Limbo of the Patriarchs.” If that’s the case, when DID Jesus “descend into hell” as per the Apostle’s Creed? So here is my succinct list of questions:
1) Where do the souls of the elect go when they die, today? (I think the answer is “heaven, with Christ.”)
2) Where did the souls of the elect go before Christ’s death? (I think the answer is “Abraham’s Bosom, some odd in-between place.” I'd LOVE more information about this.)
3) Where do the souls of the nonelect go between death and final judgment? (My best guess would be that THEY “sleep” and aren’t aware of anything until judgment where they appear before Christ and are “sentenced” to hell.)
4) Did Christ actually descend to “hell” and if so, who was there? (I’m stumped on this one. The Apostles' Creed says He did but a) no one should be in hell before the final judgment, right?, and b) all the references I find point to the purpose of Him going being to redeem people, who would be the elect, and wouldn’t be in “hell” in the first place.)
Can you shed any light on this?