Written by Heather Zubiate
Jesus died Spiritually, or JDS, is a core teaching, or tenant, of the Word of Faith, and many other presumed Christian branches. Another name for it is: "The Ransom Theory of Atonement" or RTA, as taught by the real founder of the Word of Faith movement, E.W. Kenyon.
Kenyon believed and taught that Jesus' physical death was not enough to atone for sin. According to Kenyon, Jesus went to Satan's domain, or 'hell', and suffered there at the hands of demons, until God brought him back to life. That sounds like an epic story, but is it found in Scripture? No. In reality this fantastical event is not recorded in Scripture, not by the Old Testament prophets, and not even by the New Testament apostles. Don't you find it odd that not one peep of this cataclysmic event, that Jesus supposedly endured for the saving of our souls, is found in the entire Bible?
Kenyon believed and taught that Jesus' physical death was not enough to atone for sin. According to Kenyon, Jesus went to Satan's domain, or 'hell', and suffered there at the hands of demons, until God brought him back to life. That sounds like an epic story, but is it found in Scripture? No. In reality this fantastical event is not recorded in Scripture, not by the Old Testament prophets, and not even by the New Testament apostles. Don't you find it odd that not one peep of this cataclysmic event, that Jesus supposedly endured for the saving of our souls, is found in the entire Bible?
Well, I believe that they assume (or more like presume) that 1 Peter 3:19 is a proof text of Jesus going to hell to preach to lost souls. But there is a stunning lack of any "details" like the ones they expertly elaborate on in their story. However, what is recorded, and the information that they seem to have missed, it is actually stated in the verse above their proof text and it says:
" 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, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,..."
Did you see there how the Scripture makes it clear that Jesus' flesh was put to death and not his spirit? And now if we continue on in Peter's letter, we can see that he connects the days of Noah to this statement, and he does the same thing in 2 Peter as well. But in the 2 Peter verse, he includes another vital piece of information that was not included in his first letter, that being his mentioning of the angels who sinned and were cast into Tarturus.
" 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, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,..."
Did you see there how the Scripture makes it clear that Jesus' flesh was put to death and not his spirit? And now if we continue on in Peter's letter, we can see that he connects the days of Noah to this statement, and he does the same thing in 2 Peter as well. But in the 2 Peter verse, he includes another vital piece of information that was not included in his first letter, that being his mentioning of the angels who sinned and were cast into Tarturus.
Now then, how do we know from these two verses that Jesus didn't go to hell to preach salva-tion to the lost souls prior to the flood, or even to suffer spiritual torment at the hands of demons for the sake of humanity, as claimed by Kenyon, and even as depicted in the above engraving by Catholic Jan Sadeler titled: Christ Harrowing Hell [1582]? Because Peter used two words in 1 Peter 3:19-20, that of 'spirit' and 'soul', to differentiate between angels, and men, or mankind (which of course includes wo-men). He also used the words 'angels', and 'person' in 2 Peter 2:4, respectively, or in the same order that they are given in his first letter. So keeping these clues in mind, let's look at these verses again and insert 'angel' for spirits, and 'men' for souls.
1 Peter 3:19-20
By which also he went and preached unto the spirits [angels] in prison;
Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls[men/mankind] were saved by water. [emphasis mine]
2 Peter 2:4
For if God spared not the angels [spirits]that sinned, but cast them down to hell [Tartarus], and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person [soul/souls], a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
[emphasis mine ]
So by comparing the two Scriptures, we can easily see that 'spirits' are angles, and 'souls' are men, or mankind. We should also bear in mind that Jesus does not give aide to angels, but to men. Angels are not saved by Jesus' blood, only people are, or souls, as the Bible puts it.
For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.
Hebrews 2:16
The seed of Abraham are those who accept the gospel, just as Abraham did when Yahweh preached it to him, this is what made him righteous, as he simply believed the LORD and took him at His word, just as we are to do. An angel can't receive and accept the gospel, they don't have flesh, or blood, they are spirits. A person, or soul, must accept salvation before they leave this realm of physical existence, if they want to live forever with Jesus in Paradise. So, once a person, or a soul dies, then there is no hope of salvation for their soul. Many people think this is not "fair", and so they would like to think that Jesus went to hell to preach the gospel to the souls of men who died before Jesus was born and suffered and died on the cross for them. Well, don't worry dear reader, allow me to assure you that the Almighty is always fair! He never leaves humanity without a witness, or a preacher of righteousness, at any given time in history. But the text clearly says that Jesus preached to the spirits (angels) in prison, and not the souls (mankind). Well why would he do that?
That's a good question, but first let's go back a bit, let us first ask ourselves: Who was the LORD's preacher to the world before the flood? It was Noah. Did any of those reprobate sinners listen to him? Did they repent of their sins and return to the LORD (Yahweh)? No they didn't. Well then, they have no excuse and no other recourse, so now their souls are currently in Sheol (not hell), awaiting their final doom in the lake of fire, contrary to the false teaching of Purgatory. The same can be said of those after the flood. Surly every soul had heard of the great flood, especially since every nation has their own version of it, even to this day. This is proof that it happened. So once more, there is no excuse for the sinner thanks to righteous Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, Job, and Moses, all of whom were preachers of righteousness to the world, after the great flood, but prior to Jesus' bodily sacrifice. God is fair and just.
So again, because the word for "spirits" is really angels, why would Jesus preach to the angels who are chained in prison [Tartarus] who have no hope of salvation at all, and not to the lost souls, who really had no hope of salvation either? He preached to the angles in Tartarus in order to 'lord' his victory over them; that victory being his bodily death through his willful sacrifice, that paid the ransom the LORD required for sin, the victory that sealed their upcom-ing and eternal doom.
So again, because the word for "spirits" is really angels, why would Jesus preach to the angels who are chained in prison [Tartarus] who have no hope of salvation at all, and not to the lost souls, who really had no hope of salvation either? He preached to the angles in Tartarus in order to 'lord' his victory over them; that victory being his bodily death through his willful sacrifice, that paid the ransom the LORD required for sin, the victory that sealed their upcom-ing and eternal doom.
Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it [the cross]. Colossians 2:15 [amplification mine]
Knowing this, now we can ask the question, "Did Jesus really die spiritually ?" as the Word of Faith theology contends; did he go to hell to suffer for us 'spiritually' as a disembodied soul? The answer is: No! Jesus never sinned, so Satan (or any demon) had no right to touch him, they had nothing on him. Jesus was an innocent, who willingly bore our sin as a spotless sin offering. Anyone who claims Jesus had to die spiritually has absolutely no understanding of the O.T. sacrificial system, or the purpose of it. The doctrine of Jesus dying spiritually is not recorded in the Bible, but it is part and parcel of the false doctrine of the Catholic church known as Purgatory. This doctrine of demons (known as Purgatory) is very reminiscent and akin to the JDS doctrine. Please, think about that carefully before you write me an emotionally filled piece of hate mail accusing me of violating Matthew 7.
Scriptures, from the O.T. to the N.T. indicate that bodily sacrifice (and nothing more) is what is required for the forgiveness of sin --blood--more specifically. Find me a Scripture in both the O.T and the N.T. that states a soul, or spirit must suffer in 'hell', or sheol as a means of atoning for sins, and then I'll gladly stand corrected. The fact that Scripture never mentions Jesus' spirit suffering in "hell" should be clear enough to show that the foundation of the
Word of Faith theology is heresy, according to the Bible, and really blasphemy. According to the Bible, they actually preach another Jesus, one whose spirit had to suffer in hell, and one whose blood was not enough to atone for sin. Also (to name names) Kenneth Copeland, the Word of Faith's most prominent blasphemer, even goes a wicked step further, and says that Jesus' sacrifice was made to Satan and not to the LORD. Wow! Were we not warned by the apostles that false prophets and false teachers would get worse and worse, as they try to "one-up" each other with their false teachings?
Scriptures, from the O.T. to the N.T. indicate that bodily sacrifice (and nothing more) is what is required for the forgiveness of sin --blood--more specifically. Find me a Scripture in both the O.T and the N.T. that states a soul, or spirit must suffer in 'hell', or sheol as a means of atoning for sins, and then I'll gladly stand corrected. The fact that Scripture never mentions Jesus' spirit suffering in "hell" should be clear enough to show that the foundation of the
Word of Faith theology is heresy, according to the Bible, and really blasphemy. According to the Bible, they actually preach another Jesus, one whose spirit had to suffer in hell, and one whose blood was not enough to atone for sin. Also (to name names) Kenneth Copeland, the Word of Faith's most prominent blasphemer, even goes a wicked step further, and says that Jesus' sacrifice was made to Satan and not to the LORD. Wow! Were we not warned by the apostles that false prophets and false teachers would get worse and worse, as they try to "one-up" each other with their false teachings?
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
2 Timothy 3:13
Hell - Satan's Future Prison
We all have seen those cartoons where a red tailed, and horned Satan is in Hell sitting on a throne or standing in front of a podium with the name registry, right?
This notion is even some what promoted within the JDS doctrine (another leak in their theological cistern), to a lesser degree, in which they actually teach that Satan is enthroned and rules from Hell. He may not be sporting the horned red pajamas, nevertheless, his ruling hell is far from being biblical truth.
Dear reader, this notion comes to us from Dante, and his Divine Comedies, which is a treatise against the Catholic Church and their abuses, and not from the Bible. How do I know all of this? The word Peter uses in 2 Peter 2:4 that is translated as "hell" is the Greek word Tartarus.
This is rather odd since Tartarus, in Greek mythology is an exceedingly dark prison deep in the earth, reserved for the Titans and other vanquished gods. Later it came to be known as a place of torment, like what we refer to as "hell." The Bible says that hell, or more accurately, the lake of fire, is the future prison of torment that the Almighty had made for Satan, his fallen angels, and all the souls of men who refuse Jesus' blood atonement. 'Hell', is not somewhere any of them want to go, but they will all soon reside there after the great white throne judgment. Scripture clearly states that Satan is currently the prince of the power of the air, and the god of this world, or age, not the ruler of hell [John 12:31; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2]. The bible actually uses several different words in the Hebrew and Greek to describe the English word hell, like Sheol/Hades, Gehenna, and Tartarus. All of which have their own distinct meanings.
So who are we going to believe, a blasphemous man or the LORD's inerrant word? We had better cling to the LORD's inerrant word and reject man made false teaching, and the doctrine of demons if we want to make it to the end and hear our Lord say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
This notion is even some what promoted within the JDS doctrine (another leak in their theological cistern), to a lesser degree, in which they actually teach that Satan is enthroned and rules from Hell. He may not be sporting the horned red pajamas, nevertheless, his ruling hell is far from being biblical truth.
Dear reader, this notion comes to us from Dante, and his Divine Comedies, which is a treatise against the Catholic Church and their abuses, and not from the Bible. How do I know all of this? The word Peter uses in 2 Peter 2:4 that is translated as "hell" is the Greek word Tartarus.
This is rather odd since Tartarus, in Greek mythology is an exceedingly dark prison deep in the earth, reserved for the Titans and other vanquished gods. Later it came to be known as a place of torment, like what we refer to as "hell." The Bible says that hell, or more accurately, the lake of fire, is the future prison of torment that the Almighty had made for Satan, his fallen angels, and all the souls of men who refuse Jesus' blood atonement. 'Hell', is not somewhere any of them want to go, but they will all soon reside there after the great white throne judgment. Scripture clearly states that Satan is currently the prince of the power of the air, and the god of this world, or age, not the ruler of hell [John 12:31; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2]. The bible actually uses several different words in the Hebrew and Greek to describe the English word hell, like Sheol/Hades, Gehenna, and Tartarus. All of which have their own distinct meanings.
So who are we going to believe, a blasphemous man or the LORD's inerrant word? We had better cling to the LORD's inerrant word and reject man made false teaching, and the doctrine of demons if we want to make it to the end and hear our Lord say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
This doctrine of Jesus dying spiritually (JDS) is indeed a doctrine of demons, according to proper exegesis of Scripture, and is therefore blasphemy against the word of the LORD. Dear reader, if you have bought into this dangerous false teaching, then I strongly urge you to repent and stop your descent into apostasy. But as always, don't take my word for it, search out the truth for yourself. Amen!