Jesus Christ said He would spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Not the tomb.
The heart of the earth.
His body went to the tomb. His spirit went to the Father. But His soul? That went somewhere most Bible studies have never taken you.
Matthew 12:40. KJV. Read it slow.
“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
That statement — or a version of it — appears 21 times in the New Testament.
Twenty-one times.
And most Christians have never once stopped to ask: where is the heart of the earth? And what was Jesus Christ doing there for three days?
BODY. SOUL. SPIRIT.
When Jesus Christ walked this earth, He was God manifest in the flesh. A human body. A soul. A spirit. Same as you.
“I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:23
When anyone dies, three things happen.
The body goes to the grave. Dust to dust. Genesis 35:18-19 — Rachel died, her soul departed, and her body was buried on the way to Bethlehem.
The spirit returns to God. Ecclesiastes 12:7 — “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.”
The soul departs. Goes somewhere. The question is where.
For Jesus Christ:
His body? Joseph of Arimathea took it and laid it in a new tomb. Matthew 27:57-60. That’s clear.
His spirit? He said it Himself on the cross. “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” Luke 23:46. It went back to God. That’s clear.
His soul? Matthew 12:40. Three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
That’s the part nobody digs into.
THREE PLACES BENEATH
At the time of the crucifixion, the Bible describes three areas in the heart of the earth. Not one. Three.
1. HELL
Not controversial. Just ignored.
“Hell from beneath is moved for thee at thy coming.” — Isaiah 14:9
“The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.” — Proverbs 15:24
“Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell.” — Psalm 55:15
Every time the Bible gives hell a direction, it’s the same direction. Down. Beneath. The center of the earth.
That’s not a metaphor. That’s geography.
2. ABRAHAM’S BOSOM
This is the one that throws people. Luke 16. And before you dismiss it — Luke does NOT call this a parable.
Check the context. Luke 15:3 — “And he spake this parable.” Luke 18:1 — “And he spake a parable.” Luke identifies parables when they’re parables.
Luke 16? No such label. This is a literal account.
A rich man dies and goes to hell. A beggar named Lazarus dies and goes to Abraham’s bosom. They can see each other. They can talk to each other. But between them — a great gulf fixed. Nobody’s crossing.
“And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” — Luke 16:26
Abraham’s bosom. A place of comfort. In the proximity of hell. Close enough for conversation. Separated by an uncrossable void.
This is where Old Testament saints went when they died. Not heaven. Not yet. Abraham was there. The faithful were “gathered unto their people” — Numbers 20:24, Numbers 27:13, Genesis 15:15.
Why not heaven? Because the blood of Jesus Christ had not been shed yet. The blood of bulls and goats couldn’t take away sin — Hebrews 10 makes that clear. It was a temporary covering. The permanent atonement hadn’t been applied.
So the Old Testament saints waited. In comfort. In Abraham’s bosom. In the heart of the earth.
3. THE BOTTOMLESS PIT
Revelation 20:1-3. An angel comes down with a key and a chain. He throws Satan into the bottomless pit. Shuts it. Seals it.
The Old Testament references this constantly. “Going down to the pit.” The wicked descending into the pit. It appears to be the great gulf itself — the fixed chasm between hell and Abraham’s bosom.
Three places. One underworld. All of it beneath your feet.
TWO THIEVES. TWO DESTINATIONS.
When Jesus Christ hung on the cross, two criminals hung beside Him. Same crime. Same punishment. Different eternities.
The first thief mocked Him. “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.” — Luke 23:39
If. He didn’t believe. He died in his sins. He went to hell.
The second thief rebuked the first. He admitted his own guilt. He acknowledged who Jesus Christ was. And then he said seven words that changed everything:
“Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” — Luke 23:42
Lord. Not “this man.” Not “hey, buddy.” Lord.
And Jesus Christ answered him:
“Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” — Luke 23:43
Paradise. Another term. Another place. And we’ll get to what happened there — what Jesus Christ did during those three days in the heart of the earth — because it changes the entire map of the afterlife.
WHAT CHANGED AT CALVARY
Here’s where it matters to you.
Before the cross, Old Testament saints went to Abraham’s bosom. Comfort, yes. But not heaven. Not yet. The blood hadn’t been shed.
After the cross? Paul makes it crystal clear.
“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” — 2 Corinthians 5:8
“For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.” — Philippians 1:23
On this side of Calvary, the moment you die, your soul leaves your body, and you are immediately in the presence of Jesus Christ.
No waiting room. No Abraham’s bosom. No temporary holding pattern.
The cross changed the map.
If you are saved — if you have put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ and Him alone — then to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
That’s not a hope. That’s a promise.
THE QUESTION YOU’RE AVOIDING
Two thieves. Same cross. Same day. One went to hell. One went to paradise.
The difference wasn’t their crime. It wasn’t their background. It wasn’t their church attendance.
The difference was seven words. Lord, remember me.
One acknowledged who Jesus Christ was. The other didn’t.
That’s it.
Which thief are you?
Are you the one who knows about Jesus but hasn’t actually submitted to Him as Lord? Going through the motions? Sitting in the pew? Comfortable in a religion that can’t save you?
Or are you the one who — broken, guilty, nailed to a cross you deserved — looked at the Son of God and said, “Lord.”
There’s no middle ground. There’s no great gulf between the two options. Just a choice.
And that choice determines which side of the chasm you end up on.
Forever.
This teaching is from a Wednesday night Bible study. Part 2 — what Jesus Christ actually did during those three days in the heart of the earth — is coming next week.