As we have seen, Jesus suffered in hell. It was no picnic. But for three days and three nights, his soul cried out to the Father. But there was a point when the torment was over and the good news had to be preached to those souls who were bound by death in the lower parts of the earth. The following scripture confirms this. The first one in the New Covenant to teach on the resurrection of the souls that would accompany Christ out of the lower parts of the Earth was Christ himself.
John 5:25-29 (KJV)
25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
This is the resurrection of the righteous seed. Those who have done good are the ones who died in the promise. According to Paul, the promise dated back to Abel. They awaited the righteous seed that was foretold by God in the Garden. They all died believing that one day he would retrieve their souls from the power of death. Death was and is bondage. Its snares will not allow one to enter the presence of God.
Hebrews 9:22 (KJV)
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
The spirits of the just who sat in the prison of death in the lower parts of the earth were set free by the blood of Jesus. These all received the blood of cleansing and the Spirit of life; for those who heard him, passed from death to life. And now death, hell and the grave, where is your victory? He who was dead has led the captivity of death captive by the Spirit of God. Their time had come. They awaited the time of the church. Their redeemer the Holy Seed has come to loose their bonds and carry them into the city they had sought after.
This is the good news of the gospel. It is powerful and faithful, even to those who sat in the depths of hell. They are that great cloud of witnesses who have gone on ahead of us. I know they are rooting for us though. Can’t you hear them saying, ‘Hold on and come on, you can make it’.
