“This is a doctrine that the fundamental, independent, Bible-believing immersionist (Baptist-type) also believes.”
Give us a Book, chapter and verse, will you?
I grew up in a very conservative, “immersionist” (Anabaptist derived) no music/no nonsense, evangelical, fundamentalist church.
I must have been napping when the sermon shouter preached about Jesus going down to Hell to save those who had the bad luck to die before He did.
***...to save those who had the bad luck to die before He did.***
Here is your error. Jesus went to Hades to deliver up the righteous dead, not the unsaved dead.
OK, of those whom He brought to Heaven with Him at His appearance after His resurrection as High Priest (Eph. 4:8-9, Jn. 20:16-17), who was it that He did not save? Who was it that saved themselves by their own efforts, if any? Hmmm?
You shouldn't have been napping -- you missed it. Stay awake when proper theology is being taught. The shouting may have been for trying to get your attention. (smile)
Several doctrines are involved.
Doctrine of the Anthropology of man as being trichotomous, body, soul, and spirit. Jesus Christ, being the 2nd Adam was perfect in body, soul, and human spirit.
Doctrine of Death. Death is a state of existence involving separation. Our thinking is scarred by worldly interpretations of death, confusing existentialism with death as a state of non-being, which is false teaching. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they suffered a spiritual death. They remained alive physically in their bodies as later they were driven out of the Garden. They remained alive in their souls, as they recognized they were naked and hid. The died a spiritual death because of their thinking independent of God’s Plan resulting in sin or their missing the mark and violating His command, thereby becoming both unrighteous and unjust for denying God fellowship with Him.
Christ on the Cross remained obedient to God’s Plan. While there, the personal sins of all mankind, past, present, and future were imputed to Christ on the Cross and judged. At that moment, God the Father being perfectly just and perfectly righteous had fulfilled the requirements of justice in answering the issue of sin upon the human race. That judgment had been fulfilled.
Forgiveness had not yet occurred. Forgiveness is preceded and separate from the Judgment. Now that Christ Jesus has redeemed all mankind from the slave market of sin, we no longer must be victims of sin. Rather, by facing God, confessing our missing His mark to Him, He is now free to righteously and justly forgive us our sin by His grace. We know He forgives us because Jesus Christ was also forgiven after being condemned for our sin because of His faith (Romans 3:22-24).
Sheol (Hebrew) also known as Hades (Greek) has 4 known compartments in Scripture. There is Abraham’s Bosom, also known as Paradise. This is where all pre-resurrection saints went after the first death. Until the first sacrifice had been made by Christ on the Cross, they were not holy to be in the presence of God or His abode, but He remained faithful to His saints.
A second compartment in Hades was known as the Torments. This is where all unbelievers were destined after their first death prior to the Great White Throne Judgment.
A third Compartment is Tartarus, or a place of darkness reserved from the chained up demons. A fourth compartment is also known as the Abyss, reserved for some of the most heinous criminal demons, from which some will ascend during the Tribulation.
On the Cross, Christ first dies spiritually. This is recorded in the Gospels when Christ calls out, “Father, why have thou forsaken me?” This was a spiritual death from the Father, an identical perfect sacrifice for the sin in the Garden by Adam. Next he dies spiritually from his body when he gives up the ghost to the Father (Spirit and soul now separated). Next he dies physically, as is manifest when the Roman guard pierces his side loosing blood and water, indicating the denser fluids had already began settling in the abdomen after his blood ceased to circulate in his body.
Physically, his body is taken down and taken to the tomb where it is placed under heavy guard for 3 days to make sure it doesn’t leave nor removed by others.
His spirit had ascended to Heaven when He gave up the ghost to the Father.
His soul descended after the Judgment to Hades, the abode of all the dead at that time.
During those 3 days, in Hades, He witnessed to all where He chose, for He holds the keys of Hades. God the Father found His faith to be righteous, the penalty for sin had been paid, and He was free to give life by His grace. God the Father returned the human spirit to the body, while God the Holy Spirit returned the soul to the body, and the body was resurrected thereby glorifying the Son, the first fruits of the new life.
Now that He had redeemed mankind from all sin, and had provided the perfect sacrifice, the souls of saints now are able to enter and be face to face with Christ after the first death. Later they will receive their resurrected bodies at the end of the Church Age.
In a nutshell, He is risen!