Paradise and Salvation in the Old Testament

by MBG

First let us consider the etymological background to this discussion. Then we shall consider the facts and descriptions of Paradise and Hell. Then we will see why Paradise as it was in the Old Testament is no longer needed today. Finally, we will consider how an Old Testament person may gain entrance into Paradise.

One word is used in Hebrew and in Greek to designate both hell and paradise. In Hebrew we have the word sheol, and in Greek we have its equivalent, hades. These terms both mean “place of the dead” and are relatively equal and interchangeable in reference. These two terms in and of themselves do not designate between the good or evil fates that the departed souls then awaiting their reward. In the Psalms for example, Psalm 9:17 says, “The wicked shall be turned into hell [Hebrew – “sheol”]”. The wicked are entering into their everlasting damnation. In Psalm 49:15 we have “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave [Hebrew – “sheol”]: for he shall receive me”. Is this person being redeemed from hell? No, he is entering into heaven after some time in this intermediate place. Sheol is also translated pit three times, twice in Numbers 16 and then in Job 17, but still is talking about death. In the Greek, hades is translated all but once as hell, the one exception is 1 Corinthians 15:55.

But we are not left to our minds and etymological disputes as to there being but one place for these souls, for we have other Greek and Hebrew words that show that there are two divisions in hades. In the Greek we have the word gehenna which invariably depicts punishment and damnation. The word tartarus is used once (II Peter 2:4), describing the intermediate place of incarceration for fallen angels. These two words denote a place of punishment, not of comfort and rest.

One common term today for the place of the Old Testament saints is Abraham’s Bosom. This is in reference to the story of the rich man and Lazarus as found in Luke 16. We are told that while the rich man was in torment, Lazarus was in a place of comfort. This place was separated from the place of torment by a “great gulf” which was impassible. This shows two distinct locales within the same region.

Another popular term is Paradise. This is based upon Christ’s statement to the dying thief that in that same day the thief would be with him in paradise. Comparing this scripture to Ephesians 4:8-10 and John 20:17, we can only conclude that Paradise is Abraham’s Bosom, the abode of the Old Testament saints.

A basic definition of Paradise would be: “the intermediate dwelling of the departed souls of the Old Testament saints who were awaiting Christ’s Sacrifice”. A basic definition of hell would be: “the intermediate dwelling of the unregenerate souls as they await the Great White Throne Judgment”.

Paradise was the opposite of hell in many ways. Paradise was a place of comfort and hell is the place of torment. Paradise was a place where families and loved ones gathered (Gen. 25:8; II Sam. 12:23), hell is a place of loneliness. Paradise was a stepping block into a greater future, and hell is a slide into a horrific eternity. Yet with their differences, there are some similarities. Both are only temporary, even hell will be done away with at the end of time (Rev. 20:14). Both are places of consciousness, as illustrated in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Both hold the souls of men until they receive their final reward.

Paradise existed only to house the departed saints that could yet to enter Heaven. Though they were saved through their faith, these had to wait until the fulfillment of their hope, the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, to be able to enter Heaven. Until Christ had placed his own atoning blood in Heaven, as described in Hebrews 9, these could not enter in. The price of their redemption had not been paid as of yet, and their sins had not yet been rolled away. When Christ’s atoning work was completed, they were allowed entrance into Heaven.

Paradise no longer exists today as it did in the days before Christ’s death. After the departure of the saints held there, its purpose had been exhausted. The saints have been removed from thence and now dwell in Heaven. Paul could ascend into Paradise in II Corinthians 12:4 due to the fact that Paradise had been removed from its former place and is now in Heaven (Rev. 2:7). We saints of the New Testament age no longer spend a season in a temporary place for we have the promise that “to be absent from the body” is “to be present with the Lord” (II Cor. 5:8). We no longer await the sacrifice to atone eternally our sins. We who have accepted Christ as our Saviour may enter immediately into Heaven, for the blood that covers our sins has been shed and we stand righteous in the eyes of God.

Now let us consider how one could gain entrance into Paradise. We know that salvation has always been by faith, completely independent of works, as seen in Romans 4. We find in Genesis 15:6, for example that Abraham’s “believing” or faith was “counted… to him for righteousness”. God is supremely just and unchanging (Heb. 13:8). His plan has never changed, and salvation has always been by faith in the work of Christ.

So what of the Law? The law is our “schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ” (Gal. 3:24), and by it we come to the conclusion that all are sinners (Rom. 3:20), which is the first step in salvation. We see that God judges sin through the many illustrations contained in the Old Testament, such as David’s reaping of his sin with Bathsheba. We find eternal punishment in such references as Psalm 9:17. We see the sacrifice of Christ pictured through type and symbol in the Law and the sacrifices, explicitly detailed throughout the Psalms, and quite plainly shown in Isaiah 53. We then see that the Lord is listening for the prayers of men (Jer. 33:3) and quite ready to hearken to those willing to trust Him (Psalm 40:3). We find mercy, redemption, and grace stated and illustrated throughout the Old Testament. Ours is not a separate gospel for the Church Age, but the same gospel preached from the beginning of time.

What then of the sacrifices? These pointed through illustration the work of Christ. We have a substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice of a spotless and pure sacrifice throughout the Old Testament. The blessings attached to the statutes of Moses are temporal, such as seen in Deuteronomy 4. Only through blood were sins covered, but that not even done away with save once a year on the Great Day of Atonement. But even that Day could only cover for a year.

There arises a problem here if sacrifices are intrinsic to salvation. If sins may only be bore away into the wilderness where no man dwells, then there would have to be a Day of Atonement yearly. If this Day were missed, then the sins of that year were not eradicated. We have only one recorded Day of Atonement in the Bible, and that is found on its inaugural occasion in Leviticus 16. Historically, we know that the Ark of the Covenant disappeared sometime, probably before the Babylonian Captivity, though one legend puts its disappearance back to the time of Solomon. If, for example, it disappeared at the time of the Babylonian captivity, say on the first conquest of Nebuchadnezzar in BC 606, then no sins were atoned for until Christ’s sacrifice around 30 AD. That is over 630 years with no one being saved. Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Malachi and countless others are at this moment in hell if this is the case.

Salvation was by faith looking forward to the work of Christ. Even Christ likened Himself to the brazen serpent of Numbers 21. Notice that the people to be healed did not need to clearly see it, but just to see it, to be healed. Even so the Old Testament saint may not have had the clearest view of the Christ to come, yet he could still look, however blurred by distance it may be, upon the Saviour for the Salvation.

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