Did Messiah Preach in The Underworld? (understanding 1 Peter 2:19)
There is much debate amongst professed followers of Mashiach to whether or not Yahushua went to preach the gospel in the underworld. Some believe that while Yahushua’s body laid in the grave, His Spirit body descended to a place called purgatory, to preach the gospel to those in a state of limbo – spirits awaiting to either go to heaven or hell. Purgatory is a Roman Catholic doctrine and not usually taught in most Protestant churches, although most Protestant churches do teach that one’s spirit can be separated from the body. This is because Protestantism is the daughter to the mother church or Roman Catholicism. Protestantism is merely a reformed version of Catholicism, and therefore many of the doctrines will be similar. Both the mother church (RCC) and the daughter church (Protestantism) make up the pagan religion of Christianity.
While finding out whether or not Yahushua went down to a so-called underworld to preach the gospel, we will also answer the following questions:
- Can our spirit live without our body?
- Is there such thing as purgatory – a place of limbo for men’s spirits?
- What are considered to be spirits?
- Is there in fact a prison for spirits?
- When was Satan and his angels cast out of heaven?
There is one specific passage in the Bible that I want to focus on during this study. This passage has been misunderstood, misused, and mistranslated by most. The foundation of this study will be based on this passage written by our brother Peter, which reads,
1 Peter 3:18-19: For Mashiach also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to Aluahim, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he (Yahushua) went and preached unto the spirits in prison.
Let’s take a look at what some people are teaching based on this passage alone. Some will say that Mashiach’s “spirit” or so-called “soul” left his body, and then traveled to a place where human spirits or “souls” are imprisoned. Some have even misused this verse (1 Peter 3:19) to support the fact that the gospel was preached to the antediluvians (humans that lived before the flood) in the days of Enoch and Noah. This is true, although this verse (1 Peter 3:19) is not speaking about that at all. The way in which this verse is misused is by saying that through the spirit of Mashiach, Noah preached to people (whom are supposedly the spirits mentioned by Peter) in the days before the flood, whom are now in prison (and prison supposedly being the grave). Then, they join the verse with 1 Peter 4:6, which states,
1 Peter 4:6: For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to Aluahim in the spirit.
I will agree that the everlasting gospel was preached by the prophets of old to those whom are now dead. But to use 1 Peter 3:19 to back this fact, is a misuse of Scripture. Many preachers and theologians twist the meaning of 1 Peter 3:19 to fit their theories, but we will shortly come to learn what Peter was truly trying to convey. But first, let’s read what the Bible says about the state of the dead.
The State of the Dead
To learn what makes up a man, we must go back to the very beginning. Moses writes,
Genesis 2:7: And YAHUAH formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (nephesh).
We are told that there are two components that make up a person – dust of the ground, and the breath of life from Aluahim. The word soul in both the Tanakh (Hebrew Old Testament) and the Brit Chadashah (Greek New Testament) can simply be translated as person.
The Hebrew word used for soul is Strong’s Concordance number 5315, nephesh (neh’-fesh): a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion.
The Greek word used for soul is Strong’s Concordance number 5590, psuche (psoo-khay’): the vital breath, breath of life, the human soul, the soul as the seat of affections and will, the self, a human person, an individual.
See, we are not a living soul which is the same as a living being, human, self, individual, or person without Aluahim’s Spirit or Breath. The prophet writes,
Ezekiel 37:14: And I shall put My Spirit in you, and you shall live…
And our brother James tells us,
James 2:26: For as the body without the spirit is dead.
James uses the Greek word spirit in referring to the Hebrew equivalent of the word that was used by Moses in Genesis 2:7, “breath” or “breath of life”. The Hebrew word used for breath in Genesis 2:7 is Strong’s Concordance number 5397, neshamah (nesh-aw-maw’): that breaths, inspiration, soul, spirit.
Without Aluahim’s Breath or Spirit, a man has no life at all, but rather just dust from the ground.
We can easily read James 2:26 as, “For as the body (dust of the ground) without the spirit (Aluahim’s Breath) is dead”.
The word soul or spirit has been misused by most of Christendom to depict a non-tangible spirit that lives outside of a human body. This doctrine is not biblical, but rather had crept into the church as early as the first Century by means of Greek pagan philosophers turn Christian. Much of the early Christian church’s doctrines were established by theologians such as Origen, Athanasius of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, Tertullian, Jerome, Augustine of Hippo, and along with countless others who, studied and practiced Neoplatonism, Hellenism, alchemy, and occultism. About this philosophy, Professor Timothy B. Shutt, who holds a PhD in medieval literature, says,
“The person who succeeded, at last, in formulating a vision, which made use – In pretty much equal measure – of Plato and Aristotle, and unified their vision into a coherent wider system, was […] Plotinus, who was from Egypt and moved to Rome, and lived in the second century CE. His legacy was called Neoplatonism, and it represented the final philosophy synthesis of antiquity. […] It was taken over […] by Christian theologians – St. Augustine prominent among them – and went on to become the default philosophy of the middle ages in Christian guise.”
– Professor Timothy B. Shutt
Platonism is the philosophy of Plato (428 – 348 BC) which holds belief in duality, multiple dimensions, and the existence of abstract objects. Much of Plato’s philosophies helped shape the early church. One example is: Plato argued that one’s physical body and soul are separate entities, and that the soul lives on after the body dies. This concept along with the trinity doctrine does not align with biblical teaching, but rather has ancient pagan origins that were adopted by the early church. John McClinton and James Strong (Author of Strong’s Concordance) writes,
“Towards the end of the 1st Century, and during the 2nd, many learned men came over both from Judaism and paganism to Christianity. These brought with them into the Christian schools of theology their Platonic ideas and phraseology.”
– John McClintock and James Strong (Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, 1891, Vol. 10, “Trinity”, p. 553)
And Hubert Jedin in Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church, writes,
“The Alexandria catechetical school, which revered Clement of Alexandria and Origen, the greatest theologian of the Greek Church, as its heads, applied the allegorical method to the explanation of Scripture. It’s thought was influenced by Plato: its strong point was [pagan] theological speculations. Athanasius and the three Cappadocians [the men whose Trinitarian views were adopted by the Catholic Church at the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople] had been included among its members.”
– (Hubert Jedin, Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church: an Historical Outline, 1960, p. 28)
The foundational teachings of the organized Christian church such as; the trinity, and separation of body and soul or spirit are founded upon ancient paganism. These traditional doctrines were kept and taught in Protestant churches as well. Most of the core beliefs taught in Christianity today are not Scriptural, but are weaved with mysticism and occultism. This is why it is important to study the Scriptures for yourself, and to trust not in the Christian organizations which are all part of Babylon. Most professed Christians teach the same philosophies of Plato – that the human spirit or soul can live on after the body dies. This is an ancient pagan belief that reaches as far back as ancient Egypt.
The wise Solomon writes,
Ecclesiastes 12:7: Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto Aluahim who gave it.
Ecclesiastes 9:5-6: For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.
I must ask, if the dead no nothing, then how is it that they are with Aluahim in heaven, or in a so-called place of eternal punishment called hell, or a state of limbo – called purgatory? To say that our spirit lives on without the body, is to imply that we are immortal. “You shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4) is one of Satan’s oldest lies. Those whom teach this pagan doctrine are being use by the Devil himself.
In The Ecclesiastical History by Eusebius, he writes,
“It was assuredly at the instigation of the devil that the name of Christian was adopted by such sorcerers to calumniate by magic the great mystery of religion [Mystery Babylon the Great] and through them to destroy the teaching of the Church on the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the dead.”
– (Eusebius, The Ecclesiastical History, translated by Kirsopp Lake, D.D. published 1908, p. 261)
Our Creator clearly told our first parents,
Genesis 2:17: But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die.
The sin of Adam and Eve was disobedience to Aluahim. Ever since this disobedience, man has been living in sin – lies, anger, lusts of the flesh, idolatry, immorality, etc. The prophet tells us,
Ezekiel 18:20: The soul (nephesh; a person) that sins, it shall die…
The Apostles reminds us,
Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death…
And,
1 John 1:10: If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Man was never created to be immortal. See, Adam and Eve were only immortal on the contingency of eating from the Tree of Life. As soon as Aluahim blocked the Tree of Life, sinful man began to die (refer to Genesis 3:22-24).
When we die our soul or person (Hebrew nephesh or Greek psuche) sleeps in the grave. There is no such thing as an immortal sinner. Immortality belongs only to Aluahim. Paul writes,
1 Timothy 6:15-16: Which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Master of masters; Who alone has immortality, dwelling in the light whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.
If the spirit (or mind) of a person rests in the grave with the body, then that means that they do not go straight to heaven, nor to a place called hell, nor to a place called purgatory directly after death.
Let’s do a quick review of what happens After We Die. Scripture tells us:
- When we die, we sleep in the grave to await a resurrection (1 Cor. 15:51-51, John 11:24, Job 19:26)
- There are two resurrections a thousand years apart (Acts 24:15, John 5:29)
- The first resurrection is of the just, and occurs when Mashiach returns (1 Thess. 4:16-17)
- The second resurrection is of the unjust, and occurs after the thousand-year reign (Rev 20:1-15)
For more information on this topic please read the article, What Happens After We Die?
Made Alive by the Spirit
Yahushua the man was just like all other men. He had to learn and grow, “And Yahushua increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with Aluahim and man” (Luke 2:52). He “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). He experienced more deeply all the same emotions that we undergo, given his circumstances were more intense. Therefore he “offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him [YAHUAH] that was able to save him [Yahushua] from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:7-8).
Yahushua was a man just like you and me. He was born of a woman and had a corruptible (or sinful) body, yet never once sinned. Like most all men (I say “most” because there were and will be a select few who never taste death), he too slept in the grave to await a resurrection. Paul writes,
1 Corinthians 15:4: He was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
He did not ascend to heaven as a supposed spirit being after he died nor did he descend to hell or purgatory as a spirit either. He was called by his Father from the grave and arose with his body renewed, and the Breath of Life restored within him. After his resurrection, he then appeared to Mary first. He did not ascend to heaven until after he was seen by his brethren (his disciples). We read,
John 20:17: Yahushua said unto her, Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my Aluahim, and your Aluahim.
The Bible does not teach that a person can live without the body.
So when Peter tells us that Mashiach was “quickened by the Spirit”, he is simply telling us that Yahushua was resurrected by YAHUAH Aluahim and the Breath of Life was restored in him. Let’s take a look at the passage again,
1 Peter 3:18-19: For Mashiach also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to Aluahim, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he (Yahushua) went and preached unto the spirits in prison.
The Greek word used for quicken is Strong’s Concordance number 2227, zoopoieo (dzo-op-oy-eh’-o): to make alive, I make that which was dead to live, cause to live, quicken.
1 Peter 3:18 can be read as so: “… being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit.
Some Bible translations have properly rendered the Greek word zoopoieo (dzo-op-oy-eh’-o) as made alive, but have continued to cause confusion by using the proposition “in”, instead of “by”. And so it reads as so:
1 Peter 3:18 (NIV): … He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
There is a grave difference between saying that “Yahushua was made alive in the Spirit”, and that “Yahushua was made alive by the Spirit”.
“In the Spirit” can lead the reader into believing that Yahushua’s spirit or “soul” was resurrected without his body, and this does not align with the rest of the Scriptures. This verse (1 peter 3:18) is simply telling us that the Spirit of Aluahim, or the Breath of Life from Aluahim, returned to Yahushua’s body to resurrect him from resting in the grave. Paul writes,
Romans 8:11: But if the Spirit of Him [referring to YAHUAH] that raised up Yahushua from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Mashiach from the dead shall also quicken (make alive) your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you.
Yahushua’s so-called “Spirit” was not resurrected apart from his body. Therefore, the belief that Yahushua, while his body was in the grave resting, went down to preach unto those in so-called purgatory is not biblical and did not happen.
After Yahushua was resurrected, he put on immortality. His body was transformed, just like ours will transform when he returns. Paul writes,
1 Corinthians 15:53: For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
This is why neither Mary nor the apostles recognized Yahushua (refer to John 20:14, Luke 24:16). His body was not the same body as he had before when he walked amongst them. The same will happen to our bodies when Yahushua returns to take us back to heaven with him. We will have the same mind (Breath of Life or Spirit of Aluahim), but our body “shall all be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51). Our body which was sinful and corruptible, will be transformed into a sinless and immortal body. Yahushua kept all the same scars to prove to his disciples that it was him (refer to John 20:27-28), but we will no longer have the same scars nor the disrespectful tattoos that we once got when we were in the world.
Preached
So far, we have come to understand that the body is not separate from the spirit (or mind). And therefore, Yahushua did not go to a so-called “purgatory” or “hell” while He was resting in the grave. So the question remains, what exactly is Peter telling us when he writes,
1 Peter 3:19-20: … By which also he (referring to Yahushua) went and preached (kerusso) unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of Aluahim waited in the days of Noah …
Many theologians and preachers have quite simply stated that this passage is referring to Noah in the days before the flood (through the Spirit of Mashiach), preached the gospel to people (supposedly, spirits in this case), that are now in the grave (or prison as Peter puts it). Once again, these theologians and preachers are not wrong in saying that the everlasting gospel was preached to the antediluvians which are now dead. But they are misinterpreting and misusing this verse (1 Peter 3:18-20) because of Scripture mistranslations, they misunderstand Aluahim’s creation and the contour of the earth, and they do not apply proper parallelism when both reading and teaching Holy Scripture.
The Greek word translated as preached in 1 Peter 3:19 is Strong’s Concordance number 2784, kerusso (kay-roos’-so): I proclaim, herald, preach.
This word differs from the Greek word translated as preached in 1 Peter 4:6. This is Strong’s Concordance number 2097, eugaggelizo (yoo-ang-ghel-id’-zo): I bring good news, preach good tidings. The origin of the English word evangelize – to preach the everlasting gospel.
Now let’s read that verse again,
1 Peter 4:6: For this cause was the gospel preached (eugaggelizo) also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to Aluahim in the spirit.
Both 1 Peter 4:6 and 2 Peter 2:5, which are parallel verses, tell us that Noah along with many other prophets preached the everlasting gospel well before Yahushua walked the earth. Peter writes,
2 Peter 2:5: And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher (kerusso) of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of those without Aluahim.
Although the above verse (2 Peter 2:5) uses the Greek word kerusso to describe Noah’s preaching, it is attached to the word righteousness. Noah was a proclaimer of righteousness, and therefore this verse tells us that Noah was evangelizing. 1 Peter 3:19 does not specifically use the Greek word for evangelizing (eugaggelizo), but rather the word kerusso – I proclaim. In this verse (1 Peter 3:19), the word kerusso (wrongfully translated as preached) is not attached to a noun (such as the word righteousness), as 2 Peter 2:5 is.
The Bible translators should have noticed that the two words, both kerusso and eugaggelizo held very different meanings. The word kerusso (in 1 Peter 3:19) should properly be rendered as proclaimed instead of preached, because it can easily make the reader think that Yahushua evangelized to spirits in prison instead of proclaiming to spirits in prison. This is a big difference, and we will dive deeper into this passage as we further study.
Everywhere Yahushua went, he evangelized (eugaggelizo). Yahushua tells us,
Luke 4:18: The Spirit of YAHUAH is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach (eugaggelizo), the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach (eugaggelizo) deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to proclaim (kerusso) the acceptable year of YAHUAH Aluahim.
Notice how one of the Brit Chadashah (New Testament) Greek translators and fellow brother in Mashiach, Luke, used both words eugaggelizo and kerusso in the above verse.
If Peter is trying to tell us that after Yahushua’s resurrection, he preached the everlasting gospel to spirits in prison, then he would have undoubtedly used the Greek word for evangelize (eugaggelizo). Instead, Peter tactfully uses the Greek word kerusso – to proclaim.
Man does not get another chance at salvation after death. Once we are dead – resting in the grave awaiting a resurrection, our judgment is final.
We are either resting in Mashiach to await the first resurrection of the just, or we are resting in the grave to await the second resurrection of the unjust. And that is it! So, Yahushua would have not preached the gospel to anyone who is dead, for two reasons.
- The dead no nothing, and are resting in the grave to await a resurrection.
- Our probation ends either when we die or when the seven last plagues fall.
Now the question is, what did Yahushua proclaim (kerusso), and who are the spirits in prison?
Spirits
There are two ways to find out whom the spirits are that Peter is referring to in 1 Peter 3:19. The first thing to do is to compare this passage with the correct parallel verse in Peter’s second Epistle. Next, we search the Scriptures to find out whom is given the title, spirits. Let’s start by reading 1 Peter 3:19-20 once again, and then afterwards read a parallel verse written in Peter’s second Epistle. Peter writes,
1 Peter 3:19-20: By which also he went and proclaimed (kerusso) unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of Aluahim waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls (psuche) were saved by water.
Then in his second Epistle, Peter writes a parallel verse. It reads as follows,
2 Peter 2:4-5: For if Aluahim spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (tartaroo), and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth [person], a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the impious.
Quick note, the Greek word psuche in 1 Peter 3:20 can be translated as persons, and the word person in 2 Peter 2:5 is added. The translators knew that these two passages were parallel passages and added the word person after the Greek word ogdoos which means: the eighth, one of eight, seven others. Like I mentioned earlier, the word soul does not mean that a person can live without their body. The Greek word psuche is the equivalent to the Hebrew word nephesh, which can simply be translated as a living being, creature, human, individual, or person.
Now, notice how both passages in Peters Epistles first speak about a sort of “prison”, or “chains of darkness”, and then directly after mentions Noah and the eight persons that were saved during the flood.
It is quite obvious that Peter is writing about the same subject in both passages, but giving different information in each Epistle.
By looking at these two passages as parallel verses, we can gather that:
- Aluahim has cast some of the angels into a dark place called in the Greek tartaroo or hell in pagan old English (2nd Epistle).
- Tartaroo is a type of “prison” (1st Epistle), “chains of darkness” (2nd Epistle).
- These angels where “disobedient” (1st Epistle) or “sinned” (2nd Epistle) at some point long ago.
- They are imprisoned until the day of judgment (2nd Epistle).
In Peter’s first Epistle he calls them spirits but makes it known to us that he is referring to angels, when he writes his second Epistle. This means, there must be supporting Scriptures that identify angels as being referred to as spirits. Let’s take a look at them now.
The Psalmist writes,
Psalm 104:4: Who makes His angels spirits; His ministers a flaming fire:
And Paul who quotes much of the Tanakh (Old Testament Scriptures), writes in the letter to the Hebrews,
Hebrews 1:7: And of the angels He said, Who makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.
And he further writes,
Hebrews 1:14: Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Angels are spirits, whom are sent to minister to mankind. “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11) writes the Psalmist. All of the angels (both good and evil) know the everlasting gospel – the Law and the Testimony, “You believe that there is One Aluahim; you do well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19) writes James. Both good and evil angels can choose to either keep us in the ways of YAHUAH or deceive us into disobeying His Law (Torah). We can see a clear example of this in the first book of the Kings. We read,
1 Kings 22: 19-22: And he said, therefore hear the word of YAHUAH: I saw YAHUAH sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on His left. And YAHUAH said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before YAHUAH, and said, I will persuade him. And YAHUAH said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And YAHUAH said, you shall persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
First, take note that these evil angels were currently in heaven standing near Aluahim during this time. This goes to show that as they were already considered “fallen angels” (angels that sinned and rebelled against YAHUAH), they were not yet cast out of heaven into the earth. This happened much later, and we will shortly discuss exactly when that happened.
The previous story about Ahab written in the Book of the Kings teaches us why we are told to “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of Aluahim: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). And Paul writes, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach (euaggelizo) any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached (euaggelizo) unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).
We have now clearly identified the spirits in 1 Peter 3:19 to be angels. Now, before moving any further, it is essential for us to understand what and where tartaroo is.
Tartaroo
It is important to learn that there is a place, deep beneath the earth, where angels are kept imprisoned until the day of judgment. Most theologians and preachers do not teach or believe the biblical account of creation and cosmology (that being a flat circular earth with borders and a dome-like covering). Therefore, they do not completely understand where or what this place is. The Revelator makes it absolutely clear that Aluahim’s creation encompasses all of heaven, all of earth, and a place deep beneath the earth. We read,
Revelation 5:3: And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
Soon after, John sees every living creature worship Aluahim. He records,
Revelation 5:13: And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sits upon the throne, and unto the lamb forever and ever.
This aligns with James Epistle when he tells us that the devils know that there is One Aluahim and tremble. Even though the devils were disobedient as some point and were cast into prison for their disobedience, doesn’t mean they are unbelieving or that they don’t declare that YAHUAH is the One and only Aluahim.
This place under the earth is not what the Roman Catholics call purgatory, nor is it a place of burning fire where men’s supposed “spirits” or “souls” are being tormented. It is a dark prison for evil angels. Aluahim has allowed many sinful angels to continue working for Satan in deceiving the human race, but He has incarcerated many other evil angels until the great day of judgment. This deep dark prison for the angels is called in the Greek, tartaroo.
Tartaroo is one of the three words wrongfully translated as hell in the Brit Chadashah (Greek New Testament). The other Greek words used for hell, is hades and geenna. Hades is used to simply describe the grave (refer to Acts 2:27-31), and while geenna is used to describe the second death or eternal destruction (refer to Matt. 5:29, 18:9).
The word hell is a pagan word. It is neither Greek nor Hebrew, but rather is derived from the Germanic language. Originally “Hel” meant “to cover”. The word was also used to designate the diety of the Norse underworld (Niflheim) and daughter of Loki. The word hell is an improper translation, and can and should be omitted from the definition of the word it is being used to describe. When the pagan word hell is read, it is automatically associated with Greek and Roman mythology and paganism. This has purposely led Bible readers into believing false doctrines concerning both the state of the dead, and the character of the Aluahim of the Bible. Like I mentioned earlier, Greek and Roman mythology and paganism crept into the Christian church as early as the 1st Century A.D. and it has helped form the core doctrines that are taught throughout all of Christendom.
Tartaroo (tar-tar-o-o) is Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance number 5020: cast into hell. From Tartaros (the deepest abyss of Hades); to incarcerate in eternal torment – cast down to hell.
This Greek word (tartaroo) is used only one time in the Brit Chadashah (New Testament). Our brother Peter tactfully writes this word instead of hades (the grave) or geenna (second death), to describe the prison that holds evil angels (also called demons, devils, and spirits) until the day of judgment (which is after the thousand-year reign). In his second Epistle, Peter writes,
2 Peter 2:4: For if Aluahim spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (tartaroo), and delivered them into chains of (gloomy) darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.
Our brother Jude does not use the word tartaroo, but clearly explains this same prison for the wicked angels. He writes,
Jude 1:6: And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
From these two verses alone, we gather that this place:
- is in “darkness”
- is “down” or beneath the surface of the earth
- is a prison hence the word “chains”
- is for wicked angels only “angels that sinned” and “angels which kept not their first estate”
- a type of death row, “to be reserved unto judgment” and “unto the judgment of the great day”
The Greek word tartaroo is used only once, but the description of tartaroo is used multiple times throughout Scripture. For instance, when Yahushua and his disciples came to the country of the Gergesenes (gher-ghes-ay-nos’), they met two men possessed with devils (evil spirits). Before Yahushua commanded the evil spirits to come out of the men, they pleaded with the One they feared. Luke writes,
Luke 8:31: And they besought him (Yahushua) that he would not command them (the devils) to go out into the deep (abussos).
This Greek word abussos means both deep and abyss. The Hebrew equivalent is the word tehom, which also means both deep and abyss. This place where Yahushua was going to send the devils, was tartaroo, which is located in the abyss or the bottomless pit. Instead of sending these wicked angels to prison in the bottomless pit to await judgment, Yahushua allowed them to enter into a whole herd of pigs (an unclean animal).
Aluahim’s creation encompasses heaven, earth, and a place deep under the earth. This place is the bottomless pit (abussos), or also called tartaroo in Peter’s first Epistle or simply the lowest level of sheol (in the Hebrew). This is the same place where Satan will be imprisoned during the millennial Sabbath; thousand-year reign in heaven (refer to Isaiah 14:15).
For a deeper study on tartaroo and the bottomless pit, please read the article, What and Where is the Bottomless Pit?
Proclamation to the Spirits in Prison
So, what is Peter telling us in 1 Peter 3:18-19? He is telling us that after Yahushua was resurrected, he went to tartaroo to proclaim to the evil angels that are kept in prison for their past sins, that he finally accomplished the task of saving mankind, defeating sin and death, and is now given all power and authority in heaven and in earth (refer to Matt. 28:18). And as Luke 4:18 puts it, “To proclaim (kerusso) the acceptable year of YAHUAH”.
See, the Adversary along with the third of the angelic host mocked and scorned Yahushua every moment they could get. They thought that if they could get Yahushua to sin, that they would be granted forgiveness, and restored to the lofty positions they once held in heaven.
Yahushua came into the world to defeat sin and death, in which began with Satan, and then spread to mankind. The prophet writes,
Ezekiel 28:15: You (referring to Satan) were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until iniquity was found in you.
And the beloved apostle writes,
1 John 3:8: He that commits sin is of the Devil; for the Devil sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the son of Aluahim was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the Devil.
Every time Aluahim cast a sinful angel into prison, they complained that it was not fair, since Yahushua had not yet accomplished the task of overcoming sin and death. When Michael resurrected Moses to bring him to heaven, Satan also complained that it was not fair, sense Mashiach had not yet been born of man (refer to Jude 9). All the sinful angels, along with Satan, were cast out of heaven after Yahushua overcame sin and death (refer to Rev. 12:7-9). Yes, Satan and his angels were not cast out of heaven until sometime after Yahushua HaMashiach died for our sins.
Yahushua died on the cross for every living creature in both earth and heaven (refer to Rev. 12:10-11). Mankind is given a second chance through the blood of Mashiach, but for the sinful angels, it was a proclamation of eternal destruction. All the wicked (both sinful angels and sinful humans) will be destroyed in the lake of fire at the same time, on judgment day, and sin and death will finally be swallowed up (refer to 1 Cor. 15:26, Rev 20:7-15). The sinful angels know very well that the day of judgment means eternal destruction by means of fire, for they all know the Testimony of Yahushua HaMashiach.
Soon after Yahushua was resurrected, he went down to tartaroo, the prison for sinful (disobedient) angels, to proclaim (kerusso) that he overcame sin and death. He proclaimed to them, that they will never have the opportunity to live in heaven ever again, that Satan and all the other sinful angels either have or will be cast out of heaven and in to the earth (refer to John 12:30-32, Rev. 12:7-9), and that they will be imprisoned until the day of judgment (refer to 2 Peter 2:9). The Revelator writes,
Revelation 12:10-12: And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come Salvation, and strength, and the Kingdom of our Aluahim, and the power of His Mashiach: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our Aluahim day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you that dwell in them. Woe to those who inhabit the earth and the sea! For the Devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time.
Shortly after either Yahushua’s death or after he arose from the grave, YAHUAH commanded Michael to cast Satan and all the sinful angels out of heaven. Then Yahushua HaMashiach went down to tartaroo to proclaim that “it is finished” (John 19:30)!
Satan, and his angels have been hard at work ever since A.D. 31, because they know that their time is short. Satan wasted no time at all in setting up his counterfeit church, Babylon the Great (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam), and persecuting the true followers of Mashiach. John writes,
Revelation 12:13: And when the Dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman [referring to the church] which brought forth the man child.
This persecution started with the Apostles, and will end with the remnant in the last days. The true followers of Mashiach have forgone tribulation after tribulation, and it will only get worse once the mark of the Beast is enforced. Yahushua reminds us,
John 15:20: Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
But our master and king reminds us,
Matthew 16:25: For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
To learn more about tararoo, hell, where the bottomless pit is located, and what happens after we die, please read the following related articles: The Bottomless Pit, and What Happens After We Die?
