Ephesians 4: 8-9
What was Jesus doing while His body laid in the tomb, dead? Paul tells us in his letter to the saints in Ephesus:
This is why it says, "When He ascended on high He led captives in His train and gave gifts to men." What does "He ascended" mean except that He descended to the depths of the Earth?
Paul is quoting Psalm 68:18 here, and telling us that on His way to Heaven, Jesus went into the Realm of the Dead, Sheol, and gathered all the Old Testament saints who were in the Paradise side, that He called "Abraham's Bosom." They were there because until Jesus shed His blood, their sins could only be covered by the blood of the animals God told them to sacrifice; only God's own Blood Jesus sprinkled on the sides of His altar, the Cross, could actually take away sins. Covered sins are still there, but only taken-away sins are gone. This is what is needed to qualify to dwell in the Presence of God in Heaven.
Colossians 2:15 tells us that having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the Cross.
So Jesus went down into Paradise to gather all His saints there, and paraded them in a show of victory in the sight of all the demons and rebels who were in the Hell side of Sheol, as He led them into Heaven.
Jesus fulfilled all the Old Testament laws, starting with the first, most fundamental sacrifice, the personal one, that Leviticus begins with. It must be first, because without it we do not have a chance of ever getting close to God or learning His ways.
The individual would bring the animal to the priest and lay his hand on its head putting his sins on the animal, then the priest would sacrifice the lamb on the altar, dying instead of the person. Then he would splash the lamb's blood on the sides of the altar to cover the sins, and the person could then be forgiven and have a relationship with God. But he still went to Sheol when he died. Until Jesus died.
In the same way, we each need to figuratively lay our hand on the head of the Lamb of God, letting Him take our sins upon Himself, taking our death for us, His blood splashing the sides of His altar, the Cross to wash away our sins.
If our sins have not been washed away by Jesus dying in our place, then when we die we'll still go to Sheol; but the Paradise side was taken to Heaven, so there's only the other side there now.
If you've not been able to let Jesus take your place in death, then I would advise you to pray and ask God to give you His gift of saving faith.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
