Question: In Ephesians 4:8, it says when Jesus ascended on high, He led captivity captive, what captivity, what does this mean?
Answer:
From Adam to the Ascension of Jesus, every person who died, whether they were righteous or unrighteous went down to Sheol (Heb.) or Hades (Grk.), which is in the center of the earth. We know the location from passages like Ezek. 26:20; 31:14, 16, 18; 32:18, 24; Mat. 12:40 and Eph 4:9-10. So as far as location is concerned, Sheol or Hades is located in the center of the earth.
Sheol or Hades has two primary compartments. One primary compartment was for the righteous ones, and this righteous side was known as Abraham’s bosom. Between Adam and the Ascension of Jesus, Paradise was located in Abraham’s bosom. The second primary compartment was for the unrighteous ones, both angels and humans. The unrighteous side had three divisions of its own: for humans it is Hades or Hell, also known as Abbadon or the pit; and for the fallen angels, the abyss and Tartarus.
What is described in Luke 16:19–31 is the situation beginning with Adam until the Ascension of Jesus. At death, the righteous went into Abraham’s bosom, where Paradise was located at that time. While the animal blood sacrifices were sufficient to keep the Old Testament saint out of Hell, they were not sufficient to get them into Heaven. The Old Testament saint was saved the same way believers are saved today, by grace through faith. In both cases, however, there was the element of blood. Until the death of Jesus, the blood sacrifice that was necessary was that of the animal blood and the sacrificial system of the Mosaic Law. Because this was animal blood, the blood sacrifices only “covered” the sins of the saints but did not remove them. As Hebrews 10:1–4 emphasizes, it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats [the blood of animals] should take away sin. The reason the blood sacrifices, while sufficient to keep the Old Testament Saints out of Hell, but were not sufficient to get them into Heaven, is because the blood sacrifices only covered sin, but they did not remove it. Nevertheless, Abraham’s bosom, where Paradise was located, was a place of bliss for the immaterial part of the Old Testament saint or the soul of the Old Testament saint.
When Jesus died, He died for all our sins. He also died for all the world’s sins of all time, those committed before His death and those committed after His death. It was also the death of Jesus that removed the sins of the Old Testament saints. When Jesus ascended into Heaven, He took the souls of the Old Testament saints with Him; he led captivity captive (Eph. 4:8–10). Those who had been captured within the confines of Abraham’s bosom were now taken out of Abraham’s bosom. All the righteous souls who had died before the death of Jesus ascended with Jesus into Heaven. As a result, Abraham’s bosom, the righteous side of Sheol or Hades, has been eliminated and Paradise is no longer in Abraham’s bosom. Paradise is now in the Third Heaven (2 Cor. 12:1–4).
For further information: MBS 107 ‘The Place of the Dead’ by Dr Arnold Fruchtenbaum
