Chapter 5 - The Death and Resurrection of Christ

....Jesus has died on the cross for our sins, and His soul descends into the midst of the earth. For in Him, the sign of the prophet Jonah was about to be fulfilled: 1

.... "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

(Matthew 12:40)

....For the souls of those who perished long ago, who preceded Him to this place, the prophecy of His arrival is the last great hope. For many of them, it is the only light in a world of eternal darkness. 2

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....The prophecy of Christ, for the next three days, may be described in three events. First is the time of His great suffering, as the One who bears the sins of this world. 3

....The second event is the turning point, in which His voice is heard again from above: for the acceptable time of the LORD has come, and the day of His Salvation. An amazing conversation between the Father and Son is renewed, and the gospel is proclaimed to the dead: 4

.... ‘But as for Me, My prayer is to You, O LORD, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, hear Me in the truth of Your salvation.’

(Psalm 69:13)

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.... ‘Thus says the LORD: "In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You as a covenant to the people, to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate heritages; That You may say to the prisoners, 'Go forth,' to those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.'

(Isaiah 49:8-9)

....In the third event, the power of darkness is broken and the serpent’s head is bruised. The prisoners of Hades are redeemed, and Jesus makes an open show over the kingdom of darkness, triumphing over them in it. 5

....These events will occur on the same day as Jesus’ death, even while His body is anointed for burial. As the stone is rolled over the sepulcher’s mouth, far above, He breaks open the gates of Hades, far below. 6

....Two days will pass, then Jesus will be revived; for He is the Prince of Life, and the pains of death cannot hold Him. On the third day He will be raised from the dead, as the prophets foretold of Him. Jesus will then appear to His disciples, and afterward He will send them into the world to preach the gospel. Finally, He will ascend again to heaven to await the restoration of all things, when He shall return. 7

.... "Therefore My heart is glad, and My glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave My soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show Me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

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(Psalm 16:9-11)

(see the Scriptural references by clicking on the associated hyperlinks)

Death and Descension of Christ

....1. God is my King from of old, a working salvation in the midst of the earth.

....2. O LORD, God of My
........salvation,
....a I have cried out day and night
........before You.
....3. Let My prayer come before

........You;
....a Incline Your ear to My cry.

....4. a For My soul is full of
........troubles,
....b And My life draws near to the

........grave.
....5. a I am counted with those who

........go down to the pit;
....b I am like a man who has no

........strength,
....6. a Free among the dead, like the

........slain who lie in the grave,

....Whom You remember no more,

........And who are cut off from
........Your hand.
....7. a You have laid Me in the

........lowest pit,
....b In darkness, c in the depths.

....8. a Your wrath lies heavy upon
........Me,
....b And You have afflicted Me

........with all Your waves. Selah.
....9. LORD, a why do You cast off
........My soul?
....Why do You hide Your face
........from Me?
....b I suffer Your terrors; c I am
........distraught.
....10. Your fierce wrath has gone
........over Me;
....Your terrors have cut Me off.
....11. a They came around Me all
........day long like water;
....They engulfed Me altogether.

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Light in the Darkness

....12. a Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah.
....13. a Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
....14. Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? a And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

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....15. a But as for Me, b My prayer

........is to You, O LORD, in the

........Acceptable time;

....O God, c in the multitude of

........Your mercy,

....Hear Me in the truth of Your

........d salvation.

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....16. Thus says the LORD: a "In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You; b I will preserve You c and give You as a covenant to the people, to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate heritages;
....17. a That You may say to the prisoners, ‘Go forth,’ b to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’"

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....18. a "The Spirit of the Lord
........GOD is upon Me,
....Because the LORD has anointed
........Me b to proclaim liberty to

........the captives,
....c And the opening of the prison

........to those who are bound;

....19. a To proclaim the acceptable
........year of the LORD,
....To comfort all who mourn."

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....20. a Those who sat in darkness
........and in the shadow of death,
....bound in affliction and irons –

....21. a Because they rebelled
........against the words of God,
....b And despised the counsel of the
........Most High,
....22. Therefore He brought down
........their heart with labor;
....They fell down, a and there was
........none to help–
....23. a Then they cried out to the
........LORD in their trouble,
....b And He saved them out of their

........distresses.
....24. a He brought them out of

........darkness and the shadow

........of death,
....And broke their chains in pieces.
....25. a Oh, that men would give
........thanks to the LORD for His
........goodness,
....And for His wonderful works to
........the children of men!
....26. a For He has broken the gates
........of bronze,
....And cut the bars of iron in two.

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Power of Darkness Broken

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....27. He shall see a the labor of His soul, b and be satisfied. c By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, d for He shall bear their iniquities.
....28. Therefore a I will divide Him a portion with the great, b and He shall divide the spoil with the strong.

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....29. a Do not rejoice over Me,
........O My enemy;
....When I fall, b I will arise;

....c When I sit in darkness, d the

........LORD will be a light to Me.

....30. a I will bear the indignation of

........the LORD,
....b Because I have sinned against
........Him,

....c Until He pleads My case and
........executes justice for Me.

....d He will bring Me forth to the

........light;
....e I will see His righteousness.

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....31. a The enemy shall not outwit Him, b nor the son of wickedness afflict Him.
....32. a I will beat down His foes before His face, and plague those who hate Him:
....33. a He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.

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....34. a How you are fallen from
........heaven,
....O Lucifer, son of the morning!

....How you are cut down to the

........ground,
....You who weakened the nations!
....35. a Those who see you will

........gaze at you,
....And consider you, saying:
....‘Is this the man who made the

........earth tremble, who shook

........kingdoms,
....36. Who made the world as a
........wilderness and destroyed
........its cities,
....a Who did not open the house of
........his prisoners?’

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....37. But thus says the LORD: a "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, b and the prey of the terrible be delivered; c for I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children."

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....38. a By this I know that You are
........well pleased with Me,
....b because My enemy does not
........triumph over Me.

....39. As for Me, a You uphold Me
........in My integrity,
....b And set Me before Your face
........forever.
....40. a Blessed be the LORD God of
........Israel from everlasting to
........everlasting!

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....41. "As for You also, a because of the blood of Your covenant, b I will set Your prisoners free from c the waterless pit."

....42. a You have led captivity
........captive;
....b You have received gifts among

........men,
....c Even among the rebellious,

....That the LORD God might dwell

........among them.

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Jesus Raised From the Dead

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....43. Yet a it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; b He has put Him to grief. When c You make His soul d an offering for sin, e He shall see His seed, f He shall prolong His days, g and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

....44. But You, O LORD a be merci-
........ful to Me,
....And raise Me up, b that I may
........repay them.
....45. a Bring My soul out of
........prison,
....b That I may praise Your name;

....c The righteous shall surround

........Me,
....d For You shall deal bountifully

........with Me:
....46. a You, who have shown Me

........b great and severe troubles,
....c Shall revive Me again,

....d And bring Me up again from
........the depths of the earth.
....47. a You shall increase My
........greatness,
....b And comfort Me on every side.

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....48. After two days He will revive us; a on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.

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....49. a I have set the LORD always
........before Me;
....b Because He is at My right hand
........c I shall not be moved.
....50. Therefore My heart is glad,
........and My glory rejoices;
....a My flesh also will rest b in

........hope.
....51. a For You will not leave My
........soul in Sheol,
....b Nor will You allow Your Holy
........One to see corruption.
....52. a You will show Me the path
........of life;
....b In Your presence is fullness of
........joy;
....c At Your right hand are
........pleasures forevermore.

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....53. a. In the beauties of holiness, b.from the womb of the morning,.c You have the dew of Your youth.

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....54. a Great is Your mercy
........toward Me;
....b You have delivered My soul

........from the depths of
........Sheol.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

....55. a Come, My people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past.

....56. a I will declare Your name

........to My brethren;
....In the midst of the assembly

........I will praise You.

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....57. a He will swallow up death forever, b and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; c the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken.

....58. And it shall be said in that day:
.....
....a "Behold, this is our God;

....We have waited for Him, b and
........He will save us.
....This is the LORD;
....c We have waited for Him;

....d We will be glad and rejoice in

........e His salvation."

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The Great Commission

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....59. a And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. b For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, c among the remnant whom the LORD calls.

....60. Bind up the testimony, a Seal

........the law among My
........disciples.
....61. a And I will wait on the

........LORD,
....b Who hides His face from the
........house of Jacob;
....c And I will hope in Him.
....62. a Here am I and the chil-
........dren whom the LORD has
........given Me!

....b We are for signs and wonders
........in Israel
....From the LORD of hosts,
....Who dwells in Mount Zion.

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....63. a The LORD has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; b and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

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Jesus Ascends to Heaven

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....64. The LORD said to My Lord, a "Sit at My right hand, b Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."

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....65. a You have ascended on
........high,
....b You have received gifts among

........men,
....c That the LORD God might
........dwell among them.

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....66. And behold, One like the Son of Man, a coming with the clouds of heaven! b He came to the Ancient of Days, c and they brought Him near before Him.
....67. a Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, b that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and c His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.

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(see the Scriptural references by clicking on the associated hyperlinks)

To proceed to the epilogue, please scroll down or click HERE.