How do proponents of an intermediate state reconcile 1 Peter 3:18-20 ("spirits in prison") and Luke 23:43 ("today in paradise")?
score:1
Accepted answer
In Catholic theology, there are 4 "compartments" / "parts" of the underworld where souls are waiting in the Intermediate State (see Wikipedia article Limbo):
- Hell of the Damned, where the wicked OT people go as well as NT people who die in the state of mortal sin.
- Limbo of the Patriarchs, aka sheol, aka "bosom of Abraham", where the righteous OT people went. But they couldn't yet enter Purgatory / Heaven until redemption by Jesus Christ made it possible. This is where Jesus go to preach to "spirits in prison". This place should be empty now.
- Limbo of Infants: where the unbaptised infants go, who are too young to have committed actual sins but not freed yet from original sin (through baptism).
- Purgatory: where Christians who die in the state of grace (no mortal sin) go, but still have venial sins to be purified.
The Catholic Answer article Did the good thief go straight to heaven? leaves open two possible final destination of the thief:
- Straight to heaven due to his perfect contrition for his sins (thus, similar to saints).
- To purgatory first, which is the antechamber of heaven, a state more blessed than in the first 3 compartments of the underworld above, as souls undergoing purification are assured of their eternal salvation.
CONCLUSION: Jesus definitely went to the Limbo of the Patriarchs to preach to the "spirits in prison". One interpretation is that "paradise" means this place, where Jesus's presence made the place a paradise. The thief thus went together with Jesus to the Limbo of the Patriarchs because at that point the gates of heaven would not have been opened yet until the resurrection. After resurrection, the thief may then go to heaven (or purgatory?) while Jesus came back to earth for 40 days (having been resurrected) to show himself to the apostles, to teach them, and to appear to hundreds more people before ascending to heaven.
More post
- 📝 Why were the apostles still going to the temple for prayer and rituals?
- 📝 Did the Gospel Standard Baptists and the (original) Plymouth Brethren comment on unity between themselves?
- 📝 King David accepts God's will by touching the Ark
- 📝 To what extent should the Apostles' speech be considered infallible?
- 📝 Where did the idea of being "called to preach" come from?
- 📝 How do protestants respond to apostolic succession?
- 📝 What do Jehovah's Witnesses believe about the activities of the antichrist in these "last days"?
- 📝 How did the sabbath come to be? Who started it? Is it the same now? What is the Lord's day?
- 📝 How do Catholic Proponents of Priestly Celibacy Interpret Peter having a wife?
- 📝 How common is intinction in the Catholic Church?
- 📝 Abraham tries to sacrifice his son. Is exploiting a human a moral behaviour?
- 📝 Did Christ consort with mystics?
- 📝 On nominal Christianity
- 📝 Which mountain is the "Prophet Mountain" Anne Catherine Emmerich mentions in her writings?
- 📝 What is the Christian Reformed Church in North America's views about Luke 14:32 with regard to the doctrine of discipleship?
- 📝 German Bible translation like NKJV, ESV, NASB.. etc
- 📝 Does "he chose us in him before the foundation of the world" signify the chronological sequences in God's plans within eternity?
- 📝 What is the biblical support that the Catholic Church is the custodian of truth?
- 📝 Did God the Son become flesh?
- 📝 What isn't spiritual communion?
- 📝 Why were animals killed in the OT?
- 📝 Why fasting prayer?
- 📝 Are there any extra-biblical documented instances of the gift of interpretation of tongues in the history of the Church?
- 📝 What did Satan get out of deceiving Eve and Adam into sinning?
- 📝 What O.T passages do premillenialists believe to be about the Millennial Kingdom?
- 📝 What happens if someone who is not elect tries to seek God?
- 📝 What do YEC Protestants say about Göbekli Tepe being 12,000 years old?
- 📝 When did the LDS church begin teaching the Word of Wisdom?
- 📝 James first or Paul's letters
- 📝 Are there published testimonies from Latter-day Saints about their personal experiences with the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How do proponents of an intermediate state reconcile 1 Peter 3:18-20 ("spirits in prison") and Luke 23:43 ("today in paradise")?
- 📝 How do (non-Catholic) proponents of an intermediate state interpret 2 Corinthians 5:4-9?
- 📝 How do proponents of an intermediate state interpret Matthew 7:21-23?
- 📝 How do the church fathers reconcile the accounts of Jesus calling Peter and Andrew to be apostles?
- 📝 The Jehovah’s Witnesses state that Jesus was God's first creation? How do they reconcile that with Genesis 1:26, Genesis 2:15-18?
- 📝 How do Catholic Proponents of Priestly Celibacy Interpret Peter having a wife?
- 📝 How do advocates of an intermediate state explain that the Old Testament seems to be unaware of the existence of the Bosom of Abraham?
- 📝 How do proponents of eternal conscious torment/separation reconcile their beliefs with Luke 13:3, 5?
- 📝 How do young earth creationists reconcile the age of the universe with the speed of light, and visible distant objects?
- 📝 How do proponents of the Fine Tuning argument for God, refute the puddle comparison?
- 📝 How did Peter recognize Elijah and Moses?
- 📝 How does Matthew 25:31-46 ("The Sheep and the Goats") reconcile with salvation by faith?
- 📝 How should one reconcile a wrong against another person?
- 📝 How does LDS doctrine reconcile monotheism with men becoming gods?
- 📝 Did the early Church Fathers have a complete agreement on how to interpret 1 Peter 3:18-20?
- 📝 How does the Catholic Church reconcile evolution with original sin?
- 📝 How do Christians reconcile God's omnipotence with his omniscience?
- 📝 How do Catholics reconcile Christ's intercessory prayer with the doctrine of the Trinity?
- 📝 How do Christians reconcile archeology with the Bible in the account of the Battle of Jericho?
- 📝 How do "Sola Fide" adherents reconcile with the three aspects of faith?
- 📝 How do Calvinists interpret 2 Peter 1:10?
- 📝 How do local flood proponents explain God's promises to never do it again?
- 📝 How does one reconcile the sinlessness of Mary with her sin offering in Luke 2:24?
- 📝 How do Christians who reject pre-fall death reconcile their views with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event (66 million years ago)?
- 📝 How do proponents of Sola Scriptura choose the "correct" interpretation of a key Bible verse?
- 📝 How do the proponents of the idea that salvation once received cannot be lost explain Hebrews 6:4-6 and 10:26-29?
- 📝 On the topic of marriage in heaven, how does the LDS church reconcile Matthew 22:23-33?
- 📝 How do proponents of Apokatastasis deal with the "Everlasting punishment" texts in scripture?
- 📝 How does a Roman Catholic reconcile a preference for purely procreative sex with the Song of Solomon?
- 📝 How do sola-scriptura adherents reconcile the role of the Holy Spirit as a teacher?