1 Peter 3:18-19 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, (19) by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison.”
1 Peter 4:6 “For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”
The location that Jesus called Abraham’s bosom is no longer occupied, for it has since been emptied. This happened when Jesus was raised from the dead. Before Jesus was raised from the dead, the Old Covenant saints who died went to Abraham’s bosom to wait for the revealing of their Messiah. The Holy Spirit through the apostle Peter reveals to us in the above passages of scripture, that the Lord Jesus went to Abraham’s bosom after He was raised from the dead, and the reason He went there was to preach the gospel to them. Jesus had to preach the gospel to them so that they could believe in Him as their Lord and Saviour, and thus be born again.
Ephesians 4:8 “Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.”
Once the Old Testament saints were born again, they then qualified to be able to enter heaven for the first time. The Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul reveals this truth to us in His letter to the church in Ephesus, for the above passage of scripture teaches us that Jesus led these believers into heaven with Him after He was raised from the dead.
Michael E.B. Maher
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