Expert: Tom Smith - 9/6/2004

Question
Thank you very much for your response. It answers almost all of my questions. However, I was wondering, were Adam and Eve among the ones in Abraham's Bosom that Christ rescued?

Thanks again.-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
I have read in various places that Jesus Christ, after being resurrected, went down into hell to rescue several people there who had died before his sacrifice allowing people to get into heaven (Adam and Eve, etc.) -- is this true? If so, can you give me chapter and verse? If not, bave you read anything about it anywhere other than The Bible; I know it is in John Milton's Paradise Lost, for example. Do you know where it came from?
Answer -
The scripture upon which this statement is based is found here:

Eph 4:7-11
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore He says:
"When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men."  
9(Now this, "He ascended"--what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
NKJV

1 Peter 3:18-21
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
NKJV

We need to be cautious about the wording here. There are various words which are translated as hell and in many cases they refer to the same place, but there is an exception. This excerpt from the book of Luke shows one exception:

Luke 16:19-25
19 "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'
NKJV

Note the reference to torment in Hades (hell), and yet here is Lazarus only a short distance across a gap in apparent comfort, so close that the rioch man can see and speak to him. The generally held view is that where Jesus went when he descended is into this paradise called Abraham's Bosom. These would have been the OT saints who were saved through their faith in the coming Messiah (Jesus), and when He died on the cross and paid the price for their sins, He took them to heaven. Thus Abraham's Bosom would now be empty.

Christ would not be in hell nor preach in hell. First, he died sinless, and therefore had no reason tio be sent to hell, and second those in hell were suffering because they condemned themselves to hell for not having received salvation while alive. It would make no sense to preach to them. However, to those OT saints who were saved by looking forward to the coming Messiah, they would have been absolutely overwhelmed to have the opportunity to see the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Messiah in person.

As believers, our hope is in heaven. There is nothing that says that there are two groups of believers, one who stays in Abraham's bosom and one in heaven, thus we have good reason to believe that the saints were taken from there into heaven.

Answer
We cannot say. Whether indivdiuals are saved is something for God alone to decide because he knows the heart - we do not. My own personal opinion is that I believe that Adam was saved and probably Eve and here is why. We see after the fall, that Adam and Eve still recognized God as their God and still looked to Him as provider. Though they fell into sin, they appeared to still rely upon Him, and thus realizing that they could not survive without Him.

Gen 4:1
4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD."
NKJV

Gen 4:25-26
25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, "For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed." 26 And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD.
NKJV

Those who are in rebellion against God typically will try to elevate themselves as not needing God. This is not much to go on, but it is all that we are told. To know whether this is right, we will have to wait until we are in heaven.