Tuesday 10 October 2017

Did Jesus Preach in Hell?

One doctrine common among aberrant sects is that Jesus descended into hell when he died. They claim that he did because of what was written in 1 Peter 3:19 and 20. "By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."

But how could this be? Luke 23:43 (KJV) says, "And Jesus said unto him, 'Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.'"

I agree with Hank Hanegraaff that Christ preached through Noah while he built the ark. The same holds true today when we preach what Jesus said. After all, 2 Timothy 3:16 plainly states, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"

But Mormons believe that God sent messengers to those souls in "spirit prison" to preach to them the gospel. According to Joseph Smith, he wondered how these spirits who hadn't heard the gospel could be preached to by Christ so quickly. Doctrine and Covenants Section 138:29 and 30 reads, "And as I wondered, my eyes were opened, and my  understanding quickened, and I perceived that the Lord went not in person among  the wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth,to teach them; But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to  them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead"

As I pointed out before, hearing the gospel is only allowed in this life. Once people die, there is no way that sinners can repent. The unforgivable sin Jesus spoke of is a continuous rejection of his work on the cross until death.

This is the main motivation for writing my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Christ will separate the wicked and the righteous into two groups on the day of judgement. He will send those who rejected his generous offer of salvation to hell and let the righteous into heaven forever.

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