The Old Testament Righteous on Their Descent into Hades After Death
“My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart. They change the night into day; ‘The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness. If I wait for the grave as my house, if I make my bed in the darkness, if I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’ where then is my hope? As for my hope, who can see it? Will they go down to the gates of Sheol? Shall we have rest together in the dust?” (Job. 17:11-16) (Hebrew: שְׁאוֹל בֵּיתִי — “Sheol is my house”; Greek: ᾅδης μου ὁ οἶκος — “Hades is my house”)
“And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, ‘For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.’ Thus his father wept for him” (Gen. 37:35) (Hebrew: שְׁאֹלָה — “to Sheol”; Greek: εἰς ᾅδου — “to Hades”)
“This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten” (Eccl. 9:3-5)
“Remember how short my time is; for what futility have You created all the children of men? What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?” (Ps. 89:47-48) (Hebrew: מִיַּד ־ שְׁאוֹל — “from the hand of Sheol”)
The Change of the Heavenly Reality After the Resurrection of Christ
To be convinced that before Christ the souls of the departed righteous did not attain life with God in heaven, one can compare the description of the heavenly reality before Christ and after Christ’s resurrection.
Before Christ the heavenly reality was shown to the prophet Moses on the mountain, so that the prophet would build the earthly temple (the tabernacle, the sanctuary) according to the image he saw:
“And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it. <...> And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain” (Ex. 25:8-9,40)
“For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Heb. 9:24)
Examining the arrangement and the images of the Old Testament temple, we see that before Christ’s sacrifice only God (invisibly) and the holy angels are in heaven (1 Kin. 6:29).
After the resurrection and ascension of Christ, God, visible in His humanity, is seated in heaven (Eph. 1:20-21; Rev. 3:21), where the angels still abide (Rev. 8:3; Rev. 15:6), and the souls of the righteous also appear (Rev. 6:9-11; Rev. 14:1,3-5). We see this new heavenly reality in the Revelation of John the Theologian.
Thus in the new heavenly reality, besides God and the angels, the souls of the righteous also appear, who were not there before the resurrection of Christ.
The Old Testament — Only God and the Angels in the Temple
Before Christ’s sacrifice, in the Old Testament God shows the prophet Moses a temple on the mountain, commanding that everything on earth be made according to the image shown (Ex. 25:8-9,40; Heb. 9:24). In the end Moses builds a temple in which God is not depicted in any way, and around the place of God’s manifestation (the cover of the ark) statues of angels are placed; all the walls and the veil also contain images of angels.
The Invisible God
In the Old Testament temple, built at God’s command, there was no image of God, since God was not visible. In the most important place there stood only the ark (a chest) with the sacred objects, above whose cover, between two cherubim, God revealed Himself and spoke:
“And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel” (Ex. 25:22)
The Holy Angels
The temple was everywhere filled with images of angels (cherubim):
“And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat” (Ex. 25:18-20)
“Inside the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. <...> Then he set the cherubim inside the inner room; and they stretched out the wings of the cherubim so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched each other in the middle of the room” (1 Kin. 6:23,27)
“And he made the veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and wove cherubim into it” (2 Chr. 3:14) (1 Macc. 1:22)
“Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers” (1 Kin. 6:29)
In detail about the arrangement of the temple: https://bibleox.com/ru/ru/w/иерусалимский-храм (in Russian)
The New Testament — God, the Angels and the Souls of the Righteous in the Temple
After the incarnation of the Son of God and His victory over death, we see a different heavenly reality. It is described by John the Theologian in the book of Revelation. First, God becomes visible and is seated on the throne. Second, not only angels serve Him in heaven now, but also a multitude of souls of holy righteous people.
Christ
“So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God” (Mark. 16:19)
“which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come” (Eph. 1:20-21)
“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Rev. 3:21)
The Holy Angels
“Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne” (Rev. 8:3)
“And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands” (Rev. 15:6)
The Souls of the Holy Righteous
“When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed” (Rev. 6:9-11)
“Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. <...> They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God” (Rev. 14:1,3-5)
No One Has Ascended to Heaven Except the Son Who Came Down from Heaven
“No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven” (John. 3:13)
“Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried <...> For David did not ascend into the heavens” (Act. 2:29,34)
“You Will Not Leave My Soul in Hades” — Not Said of David
The prophecy spoken by King David in the psalm (Ps. 16:10) that the soul is not left in Hades and the flesh will not see corruption refers not to David, but to Christ. Consequently, both the flesh of King David saw corruption, and his soul was left in Hades until Christ’s descent into Hades.
“For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. <...> Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. <...> he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. <...> For David did not ascend into the heavens” (Act. 2:27,29,31,34)
Christ Descended into Hades, Preached, Himself Came Out and Led the Righteous Out of Hades
In Hades Christ preached to those spirits (souls) who had been there since the worldwide flood:
“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, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared” (1 Pet. 3:18-20)
“They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 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” (1 Pet. 4:5-6)
The Righteous Were in the Captivity of Hades, but Christ Destroyed This Captivity
“Therefore He says: ‘When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.’ (Now this, ‘He ascended’ — what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?)” (Eph. 4:8-9)
“Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (Rev. 1:17-18)
All the Old Testament Righteous Did Not Receive the Promise, and Were Not Made Perfect Apart from the New Testament Righteous
They waited and strove for the heavenly, but did not receive it:
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. <...> By faith Abel offered to God <…> By faith Enoch <...> Noah <…> Abraham <…> By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Sarah herself also <...> These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham <...> Isaac <…> Joseph <…> Moses <...> For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets <...> And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us” (Heb. 11:1-2,4-5,7-11,13-17,20-23,32,39-40)
Christ’s Sacrifice Frees the Believing Righteous from the Sins Previously Committed
“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith” (Rom. 3:19-27).