Matthew 12:40For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Where was Jesus? '...in the heart of the earth.'
Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
There is no verse that says Jesus wrestled satan for the keys of hell and death.
There is no verse that says satan ever had the keys.
As a matter of fact, God told satan concerning Job
Job 2:6
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
Satan has no power over man where death and hell are concerned.
God only has that appointment book.
Hebrews 9:27
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
John 20:17
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
I do not believe He had ascended to the Father prior to His resurrection.
Scripture tells us He did not.
He did set captivity free, Isaiah 61 declares that.
Since He told the thief, 'This day thou shalt be with me in paradise', He had to have gone to paradise... else He would have lied.
Paradise had to have been the place where Abraham was... the same place Lazarus went when he died in Luke 16.
Jesus went to Paradise to free the OT saints (those who died before the cross)
The fact is we don't know exactly, but we do know that Christ went and "made proclamation to the spirits now in prison."
I believe "Abraham's bosom" and Paradise are the same thing, i.e. the abode of the O.T. saints, a good place but not Heaven.
However, they were stuck there for all eternity unless Jesus showed the way to Heaven.
John 14:6.
He did not "ascend" as in go up in His resurrected body in glory, but He certainly was with the Father. There is no way that Christ can be separated from the Father without doing violence to the Trinity.
There is only Heaven and Hell, there is no other place for souls to go...even in the OT. Paradise is simply another name for Heaven...as is Abraham's Bosom.
As far as Isaiah 61...Jesus Himself tells us that it is already fulfilled (Lk 4:17-21)
I apologize for my ignorance but then why did Jesus die on the cross for our sins?
If people could still go to heaven in the Old Testament then why did he pay the price on the cross for?
Excellent question.
The OT saints were saved in the same way that the NT saints are...through Jesus Christ. There is no other way to Heaven, nor has there ever been.
The OT saints were saved as they looked forward to Christ and His salvation, even though they saw it as a shadow....as we are saved looking back to Christ and His salvation.
So they were saved by believing in the Savior to come, they showed their faith by offering sacrifices on God's altar, and these sacrifices represented Christ, the Lamb of God who was to come.
I dont know but for some reason I cant agree with you yet.
Because if thats the case... then what was the point of Jesus paying the price for our sins on the cross.
It just doesnt add up, what you are saying.
If they were saved and went to heaven in the OT, then what was the need of Jesus coming.
Can someone please explain, with scriptures please????
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
(Gal 3:8)
The Gospel was preached in the OT and in the NT, but it was through shadows in the OT (eg: the ceremonial system).