Hi Jeff,<\/p>\n
“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth<\/em>” (Philippians 2:10 NKJV).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Does the phrase “those under the earth<\/em>” refer to those in the grave?<\/p>\n
Thank you!<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
We typically refer to heaven as being located “up,” even though it isn’t in this physical universe. Since we bury the dead, it is common to refer to the realm of the dead as “down.”<\/p>\n
“Now this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:9-10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Paul is discussing how Jesus descended from heaven to earth, then to the grave at his death, from which he was raised and ascended to heaven.<\/p>\n
In Philippians 2:10, Paul is stating that Jesus rules everything (Matthew 28:19). He rules in heaven. He rules the earth. He rules even the realm of the dead. “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice<\/strong>, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment<\/em>” (John 5:28-29).<\/p>\n
Another verse has a similar phrase. “And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. … And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever’<\/em>” (Revelation 5:3, 13).<\/p>\n\t
Response:<\/h2>\n
Thank you, Jeff.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Hi Jeff, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth” (Philippians 2:10 NKJV). Does the phrase “those under the earth” refer to those in the grave? Thank you! Answer: We typically refer to heaven as being located…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[926,76],"class_list":["post-96754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-philippians","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":39105,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-jesus-say-no-man-ascended-to-heaven-when-enoch-and-elijah-did\/","url_meta":{"origin":96754,"position":0},"title":"How can Jesus say no man ascended to heaven when Enoch and Elijah did?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If John 3:13 states that no man ascended to heaven except Christ, then how come both Enoch in Genesis 5:24 \u00a0and \u00a0Elijah in II Kings 2:1 ascended? Answer: \"No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27163,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-could-david-see-his-child-when-david-hasnt-ascended-to-heaven\/","url_meta":{"origin":96754,"position":1},"title":"How could David see his child when David hasn’t ascended to heaven?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, You said that David would see his child when he died.\u00a0 I don't understand this because Acts 2:34 says that David has not ascended into the heavens. 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Answer: \"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88905,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-heaven-really-hear\/","url_meta":{"origin":96754,"position":3},"title":"Does Heaven Really Hear?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dan Gulley Charles Swindoll tells about a Ziggy cartoon. \"Ziggy is standing, looking up at a mountain. The sky is dark, and there's one cloud up there. Ziggy says, 'Have I been put on hold for the rest of my life?' \" Swindoll continues, \"Sometimes prayer feels like that,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27656,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-psalms-11822-24-refer-to-jesus-and-his-resurrection\/","url_meta":{"origin":96754,"position":4},"title":"Does Psalms 118:22-24 refer to Jesus and his resurrection?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Sir, May the peace of God be with you all.\u00a0I would be grateful if you could help me with the understanding of Psalms 118:22-24. Is the verse(s) referring to Jesus and his resurrection? Thank you, God bless you. 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