The Easter Psalms 22-24

The Easter Psalms: Seeing Psalms 22-24 through the lens of Christ’s Passion, The Descent and Harrowing of Hades, and The Resurrection

During my research for The Invisible Dimension: Spirit-Beings, Ghosts and the Afterlife, the chthonic (underworld) imagery and its inhabitants, and the early atonement model known as Christus Victor (Christ is the conqueror), an intriguing link between the tryptich of Psalms 22 to 24, including the famous Shepherd’s Psalm (23) seems to have become ever more evident as we understand more of the afterlife beliefs of the Hebrews at the time these psalms were written. Further research reveals that the psalmist’s afterlife beliefs appear to have been shaped by the afterlife beliefs of the Egyptian culture, which his nation had left behind during the Exodus around 300 years prior.[1] We shall explore these intriguing links as they become evident in this triptych of psalms and see some fascinating pointers that link the time between the Cross and the Resurrection.

As we read through these psalms in prophetic hindsight (which is always 20-20), we can glean from them an overview of the journey of Christ through his crucifixion, his entry into the underworld, and his victorious release from the gates of Hades from within, with the resurrection:

• Psalm 22 – The Crucifixion
• Psalm 23 – Descent to the Underworld
• Psalm 24 – Judgement and Release from the Underworld

I am not the first person to notice connections between these psalms. A series of literary connections regarding the themes of lament and trust is noted by deClaisse-Walford, whose analysis concludes:

The community of Israelites who shaped the collection of psalms of David which are preserved for us in Book I of the Psalter saw a connectedness between Psalms 22, 23, and 24—a connectedness that does not diminish the individual poetic and theological character of any one of them, but when read together, creates a powerful statement of trust in the LORD God of the ancient Israelites.[2]

Psalm 22 – The Crucifixion

The vast majority of biblical scholars have noted the parallels between Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” and the quote by Jesus recorded in Matthew 27:46: ‘And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”’ This similarity and the following verses which seem to describe Christ’s crucifixion scene: bones being out of joint (v14), thirst (v15), being aware of one’s bones (v17), division of his clothes and casting of lots for them (v18, c.f. Matthew 27:35), mockery of him (v8, c.f. Matthew 27:39-44) have led many to believe that Psalm 22 is prophetic of the passion and crucifixion of Christ. Behind the scenes, I have shown in another article how the cryptically named “Bulls of Bashan” referenced in verses 12-13 gives us insights into the darker spiritual forces in the invisible dimensions which were at play during Christ’s crucifixion.

Towards the end of Psalm 22, verses 27-29 speak of all the earth turning to the Lord and those sleeping in the dust (an Ancient Near East idiom for those who had died and were currently in the afterlife) bowing down to the Lord.

This first psalm of this triptych thus reveals the details of Christ’s crucified life and the beautiful hope of what will come to pass when all are reconciled to God through Christ’s “finished” work. This hope carried his spirit into the intermediate afterlife/underworld itself.

Psalm 23 – Descent into the Underworld

Psalm 23 is one of the favourite readings for Christian and even some non-Christian funeral services. It’s a psalm that offers hope in the darkest of times. Yet, its chthonic imagery is often overlooked and even ignored in favour of a message of hope for those still in the land of the living. Yet, by following the hypothesis that these three psalms are interlinked and prophetic of the journey of Christ from the Cross to the resurrection, we may enter into the cultural mindset of the writer and their views of the afterlife, which provide a glimpse into the afterlife journey of Christ between those times. 

We can begin to see Christ’s descent into the underworld, as foretold in this psalm, through the lens of the common ancient Near Eastern belief that physical death is not a single event in time but a process, a journey to the other side.

We see the journey through the valley of ‘the shadow of death’, a common term in the scriptures regarding the realm of the dead / dying. If we recall that in biblical cosmic geography, the Hebraic cosmology understood mountains as holy places up where the gods / God lived; conversely, valleys/caves were considered the opposite, where you went to enter the underworld. Early Hebraic belief, influenced by their contact with Egyptian afterlife beliefs for 400 years before the exodus, understood the journey into the underworld involving the movement of the spirit through the valley of the shadow of death (not merely a deep state of depression, as some modern theologians and Bible translations prefer) to a region where the discarnate souls/spirits of the righteous would continue to enjoy a fulfilling existence after their initial judgment.

This psalm features afterworld imagery like green pastures and a pleasant body of water. These features are also found in ancient Egyptian afterlife imagery, including the Field of Rushes and the various tributaries and bodies of water in the Greek Hades. Such links between the Greek Hades and Hebrew Sheol were enough to cause the Septuagint translators to specifically choose a one-to-one translation of Sheol into Hades, despite all the Greek mythological ideas which would have been in the minds of their Greek-speaking readers at the time. Rest for the weary traveller in the afterlife would come from following the Lord as their shepherd, who would guide them through this transition and ensure they rest in those green Elysian Fields, as Tertullian called Abraham’s Bosom[3] (Valley[4]). Hades is the New Testament Greek word for the afterlife, a place/state where everyone goes when they physically die for the initial judgment/life review to determine their starting point in their perpetual journey into God (Gregory of Nyssa).

But how does this link with the crucifixion of Jesus, which we’ve been able to see referred to in Psalm 22? Suppose your Christian tradition speaks of “Silent Saturday” and goes from the Cross to the Resurrection. In that case, you might not have been taught about this particular aspect of Christ’s death and resurrection. This absence does not mean it is unbiblical and, therefore, has been rejected. It is merely the product of focusing predominantly on one or both ends of this vital part of Christ’s work.

Firstly, we see Christ’s ‘Descent into Hades’. Ephesians 4:9 says Christ descended into the lower parts of the earth. For the original writer, Paul, this isn’t merely the physical grave; as he and his readers understood, it would be the underworld realm of Hades. Hades/Sheol was understood to have a path leading to it (Proverbs 5:5); it had great gates (Job 38:17; Isaiah 38:10) through which the dead would pass. We shall examine these gates in more detail later, but for now, it was understood that those who passed beyond those gates would not return. Christ’s descent into Hades would have involved his passing through the ‘valley of the shadow of death’ as part of that journey. At that time, he would not have the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18… which would come shortly afterwards).

Secondly, upon entry into Hades, we begin to see what is known from early Christian times as the ‘Harrowing of Hades [Hell]’. This is where Christ preached to the spirits in prison (the underworld realm of the dead, whose captives remained imprisoned in that state). His preaching included the opportunity to receive the Holy Spirit and live (1 Peter 3:18-4:6). It is also where he would have entered into the state known as Paradise, Abraham’s Bosom (the ‘Vale of Abraham’ is another way of translating this term), which was believed to be an Edenic-style place of bliss, that would be akin to the blessed afterlife realm. I have written about this fuller gospel teaching of the ‘Harrowing of Hades’ in another article, which goes into much more depth than I can here.

Christ’s descent to Hades and permitted entry to the region of the blessed dead fits what he stated to the penitent thief who was crucified alongside him:

‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’ – Luke 23:43

Some have attempted to argue that because of the lack of Greek punctuation, we can interpret the above verse to read, ‘Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise.’ This attempt is often based on a modern physicalist understanding of the human afterlife experience, which believes a person either ceases to exist between physical death and resurrection[5] or enters a stasis, otherwise known as ‘soul sleep’[6]. It attempts to tell the original writers what they meant to write using post-Reformation theologies, an eisegesis of the text. In doing this, they undermine 2000 years of Christian interpretation, understanding and teaching regarding this verse. It also reveals a lack of knowledge of the biblical passages and contemporary literature surrounding the afterlife at that time, which is crucial information that allows us to know what the original writer meant by those words. The later placing of the comma between ‘you’ and ‘today’ added clarity to the existing afterlife beliefs of the writer that one would enter the afterlife, be initially judged, and if determined righteous, be carried by the angels across the chasm to the state of the blessed dead (Luke 16:22; c.f. Apocalypse of Zephaniah chapters 7 to 9).

We should not forget that the aforementioned’ gates of Hades’ were there to prevent the dead who entered from leaving (Job 7:9; 38:17; Psalm 16:10; 49:14; Isaiah 38:10). Those who went down to the underworld did not come back up in bodily form. Was Jesus, therefore, to remain in the afterlife realm, enjoying the table set in the presence of his enemies, as certain afterlife beliefs for the righteous dead portrayed? Not at all, for had he done so, his mission would have remained incomplete, and the Christian hope of the resurrection and the Faith itself would have been invalid. So, how would Christ be raised in physical form in the resurrection? This next activity of Christ is alluded to in Psalm 24.

Psalm 24 – Judgment and Resurrection from the Underworld

When Psalm 24 was written, the cultures of the Ancient Near East were familiar with the transition from this world to the next as something to be undertaken through the passing through of a series of gates to the underworld. Divine gatekeepers guarded these gates, both groups of gods and uraei (serpentine theriomorphic images of deities, which scholars now accept the seraphim as being modelled upon[7]). If one knew the password for each gate, one could pass through unhindered. Death was understood as a process rather than a one-time event. One passed through a number of these one-way gates as one progressed from the land of the living into the underworld, though once passed through, the gates were closed upon the entrant. Later scriptures express this idea:

I went down to the land
    whose bars closed upon me for ever – Jonah 2:7

Hebraic beliefs regarding gates in the afterlife were already established around the time of the composition of this psalm (1015 BCE)[8], as we see in other passages such as:

Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
    or have you seen the gates of deep darkness [Hebrew tsalmawet – Psalm 23:4]? – Job 38:17

Be gracious to me, O Lord.
    See what I suffer from those who hate me;
    you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death… – Psalm 9:13

We see the gates of the afterlife mentioned again in later passages of Scripture, such as:

I said: In the noontide of my days
    I must depart;
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol [the underworld[9]
    for the rest of my years. – Isaiah 38:10

Jesus himself acknowledged the existence of these gates to Peter at Caesarea Philippi:

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades [the Greek Septuagint equivalent of Sheol] will not prevail against it. – Matthew 16:18

Within our triptych hypothesis, does Psalm 24 provide us with a link to the Resurrection of Christ? Can we see afterlife imagery pertinent to the work of Christ in the underworld? With this question in mind and using an afterlife lens contemporary with that of the psalmist, we may explore these questions further. It should be noted that the psalmist’s knowledge of Egyptian afterlife imagery (from the recent exodus of the Israelites from Egypt about 300 years earlier) appears evident in the language used within this psalm.

Psalm 24 begins by stating that everything in creation belongs to God before speaking of the righteous ascending the ‘hill of the Lord’, a Hebraic cosmic geographical reference to God’s dwelling place.[10] However, our contextual understanding of afterlife imagery within these psalms shows the writer still uses chthonic language when speaking of the King of Glory.

Judgment in the afterlife was a common trope within the Ancient Near East, with challenges being made by the gate guardians to the spirits of the dead as they attempted to pass through on their journey through the afterlife to the state of the blessed dead, as we see in the call and response section in verses 3-4:

[Call]                Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?

[Call]                Who may stand in his holy place?

[Response]      The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
                        who does not trust in an idol
                        or swear by a false god. – Psalm 24:3-4.

We see similar challenges from Chthonic gate guardians in the Egyptian Book of Coming Forth by Day (commonly known as the Book of the Dead). This “book” describes the ascending steps in the hall of Osiris (the Egyptian almighty god) through a trial of forty-two judges, each asking different questions, which required a “negative confession” statement. Examples of the “I have not” statements include “I have not committed sin”, “I have not stolen”, “I have not uttered lies”, as well as not stealing offerings to gods and the dead. These responses serve as evidence to the judges in the divine council (a concept familiar to readers of Heiser’s works in the Old and New Testaments) that the person has clean hands and a pure heart as they progress up the hill towards the judgment throne of Osiris. The spirit of the departed would then be tested for purity by weighing the deceased’s heart on the scales of the jackal-headed god, Anubis, against the feather of Ma’at (truth and justice). Those whose hearts were as light as the feather were deemed righteous akh-spirits, the blessed dead, who were allowed passage beyond the judgment hall to the A’aru, the Fields of Reeds/Rushes, akin to Paradise. Those deemed unrighteous, not of pure heart, who hadn’t lived according to Ma’at, were eaten by the crocodile-headed goddess Ammit. The existence of the unrighteous in the Egyptian afterlife was short and brutal.

How could Christ, being the Righteous One, be subjected to judgment? Christians understand the nature of Jesus Christ as being both fully God and fully human. Being fully human necessitated Christ himself being subjected to the initial judgment that all humans have upon his physical death.[11] Christ would not have been the judge at this point, as he had not yet ascended to the right hand of God. Instead, Christ, being the one who passes the judgment, would be declared the Righteous One, able to progress into the paradise realm.

Interestingly, in the ancient Greek Magical Papyri[12], Anubis was known as the “key-holder” and guardian of the “eternal bars” of the underworld and, therefore, was understood to have the keys of Hades.[13] John the Revelator later reveals the risen and ascended Christ as the new legitimate holder of these keys:

When I saw him [Jesus], I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive for ever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. – Revelation 1:17-18

Another interesting point is that Anubis was regarded as the judge of the dead at Osiris’s right hand. We see a similar reconfiguring of this understanding within the Christian ascension of Christ as judge, seated at the right hand of God.[14]

But was Christ, the Righteous One, merely passing through the judgment hall and into the Paradise Region, to remain with the gates of Hades closed upon him forever? No, something different would happen for this spirit of the deceased, which would not have occurred in fallen humanity’s history. Peter’s Pentecost sermon in the Temple reveals the prophecies about Jesus not being abandoned in Hades:

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
    or let your Holy One experience corruption…

Foreseeing this, David spoke of the Resurrection of the Messiah, saying, “He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.” – Acts 2:27,31

Jesus died on the Cross when he gave up his spirit, which descended into Hades for judgment. Having passed through the valley of the shadow of death, he would have entered through the entry gate into the afterlife. Once there, the gates of death would have closed behind him as they would have for every other human spirit before him. However, this was about to change, for Christ would break out in resurrection life as the firstborn from the dead:

But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. – Acts 2:24

He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. – Colossians 1:18

How did this happen? What did this look like in the afterlife realms? In Psalm 24:7-10, we read this joyous call and response between a procession and gate guardians:

[Procession] Lift up your heads, O gates!
    and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
    that the King of glory may come in.

[Guardians] Who is the King of glory?

[Procession] The Lord strong and mighty,
    the Lord, mighty in battle.

[Procession] Lift up your heads, O gates!
    and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
    that the King of glory may come in.

[Guardians] Who is this King of glory?

[Procession] The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory. Selah

Several ideas exist regarding the identity of the gates and doors in Psalm 24. Many have taught that these are the gates of the city of Jerusalem and that this psalm was sung as the Ark of the Covenant entered the Temple. Others have taught that these are the gates of heaven opened to welcome Christ at His ascension. However, such ideas struggle with contextual exegesis based on cross-cultural and cross-literary analysis. No textual evidence exists suggesting that Psalm 24 is linked to any ceremonial ritual procession beyond rabbinic tradition. The modern association of 2 Samuel 6 with this passage is also highly strained, as these verses do not mention the Ark.[15]

Why is there the duplicated mentioning of gates and doors, twice, interspersed with a repeated call, “Who is this King of glory?” Given the context of this triptych of psalms and their links with Christ’s passion, death and underworld activities, we shall see how an underworld understanding of these gates is not only possible but is most likely the psalmist’s intention. Continuing our contextual study of afterlife imagery in the Ancient Near East, it will be seen that the writer was indeed referencing the various gates of the underworld and their associated guardians.

Recall that the Hebrews had spent 400 years in Egypt, leaving their captivity about 300 years before the composition of Psalm 24. Therefore, we should expect overlaps in beliefs to arise from such a cross-cultural interaction. Cooper believes these gates are not the gates of Jerusalem or any other physical gates, but the underworld gates of the dead. He discusses how the Hebraic term for everlasting doors (linked with the gates), the piṯ·ḥê ‘ō·w·lām, are identical to the gates of the duat, the Egyptian afterlife realm, before going on to suggest that verses 7-10 are a remnant of a descent to the underworld myth, going into the underworld and emerging victorious from it.[16]

Alongside the Egyptian Book of the Dead are two other ancient Egyptian afterlife books, the Amduat (Book of What is in the Underworld) and the Book of Gates, which contain detailed information about their beliefs in these matters. All three books mention passage through the afterlife via a series of gates and the judgment of the ba-soul (the transcendent spirit of the person). Still, the Book of Gates seems most alluded to in verses 7-10.

The Book of Gates, compiled around 1400 B.C.[17], speaks of the journey of the great Sun God, Re (Ra), the giver of light, through the underworld during the twelve hours of the night. Re begins his journey in the West at sunset, travelling through a series of gates and sacred spaces en route to the fifth gate, the great judgment hall of Osiris. Here, Re is the one who “throws light into the Hidden Region”[18] and is pronounced righteous. Re and the righteous gods / akh-souls (blessed dead) then wage war on Apep (the serpent god of chaos – ring any bells?), who is defeated, before Re’s continuing journey through the remaining gates and release from the final gate to be reunited with his physical body and resurrected in the East at the start of the new daylight hours.

The heads (rā·šê·ḵem) associated with the gates / ancient doors do not mean an address to the door/gate itself. As seen in Deuteronomy 29:10, rā·šê·ḵem is also a reference to chiefs or captains of these doors. Cooper suggests that the psalmist used metonymy to address the divine guardians with “an apostrophe to the gates themselves.”[19]

At each of the gates 5 to 10, the same refrain is made:

“Open for you are the unapproachable gates,
unlocked for you are the mysterious doors.”[20]

Re’s continuing journey through the remaining gates into the various sacred spaces includes further battling between the righteous gods and the serpent Apep. Re brings light to the darkness there with each visitation to a region. However, contrary to Christ’s Resurrection – and resurrecting work – the souls are never resurrected, remaining left behind and wailing; they are to stay in their state in the underworld.

Curiously, the serpent Apep is called the rebel, symbolised as a snake with a mutilated head.[22] This brings to mind the words of God towards the original rebel, the serpentine seraph, in the Garden of Eden account:

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike your head,
    and you will strike his heel.’ – Genesis 3:15

Christianity has long understood that Christ will strike the head of the serpent, and the striking of his heel is the crucifixion and sending to the underworld. In The Book of Gates, the hieroglyphics are highly suggestive of this prophecy, suggesting a commonality between the Hebraic and Egyptian understandings of the fate of this Rebel, which is later linked in Revelation 12:9; 20:2.

Whilst in the afterlife, Christ would preach the good news of his redemptive plan to the spirits incarcerated there, held back by the ever-locked gates of Hades. In 1 Peter 3:18-4:6, we read of Christ’s preaching to the spirits in the prison (Sheol, Hades, the Duat) that they might receive life and live. Re says to the spirits in the underworld, “May you look, who are in the Netherworld, (for) your eyes belong to you, O gods! Behold, Re has the power over the Jgeret (Beyond). The Great God cares for you.”[21]

Christ in the underworld realm of Hades / Sheol / the Duat led the battle against the rebels; the gates of Hades would certainly not withstand his breaking out and resurrection.

Lemma: Bringing Hope from the Afterlife Mythologies

Every Ancient Near East afterlife belief system accepted the finality of physical death, even though the immaterial spirit of the person would continue to exist in a capacity of some awareness (unless one was annihilated by Amrit in Osiris’ judgment hall). This attitude is clearly seen in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), where afterlife beliefs evolve from the earliest where one was in a land of shadows, dust and shade, being with one’s ancestors, through to the hope of a better afterlife in later passages. One glimpse of bodily resurrection occurs in Daniel 12:2, but that’s it until we get to the New Testament. I provide an in-depth exegesis on the evolution of the biblical afterlife beliefs in The Invisible Dimension: Spirit-Beings, Ghosts and the Afterlife.

Having examined these Egyptian afterlife beliefs, do they hold any value in our conversation regarding the resurrection? One could argue that the afterlife beliefs of the Jews were based upon other Ancient Near Eastern mythologies, and that’s quite true in certain respects. However, everything changes with the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, one whose spirit went to the afterlife and was later reunited with his physical body in the grave. This was the twist, where the sting of death was removed (1 Corinthians 15:55). The captivity of death was taken captive (Ephesians 4:8). Bodily resurrection at the end of the age would become the central defining feature of Christianity (1 Corinthians 15-17), one which stood out in the face of other Ancient Near East afterlife beliefs.

One famous writer, C. S. Lewis, whose classic series The Chronicles of Narnia incorporates a beautiful allegory of the resurrection story within its book The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe,was raised from childhood with a deep knowledge of these ancient death and rebirth myths.[23] While initially an atheist, he became a theist as he studied these in more depth later in life. However, Lewis’ view on myth dramatically changed during one famous conversation between Tolkien, Lewis and Hugo Dyson in September 1931. The arguments presented by Tolkien, in particular, had a profound impact on him, and his conversion to Christianity followed swiftly afterwards. The conversation, recorded by Carpenter and which had begun with the topic of myth and metaphor, saw Lewis explaining that because the myths he was so interested in were untrue, he did not believe in them. Myths were ‘lies and therefore worthless, even though breathed through silver.’ To which Tolkien replied, ‘No … They are not lies.’[24] Tolkien proceeded to explain that the inanimate objects we see around us, trees, stars and other objects, were once viewed as alive by our ancestors, who held them to be ‘… mythological beings … the stars as living silver, bursting into flame in answer to the eternal music.’[25]  After further conversation, Tolkien explained that humans draw their ultimate ideals from God, and this includes our imagination originating in God, which ‘must, in consequence, reflect something of eternal truth … [by creating myth] a person is actually fulfilling God’s purpose, and reflecting a splintered fragment of the true light.’[26] Tolkien’s argument continued further, explaining that Christianity’s myth had ‘a real Dying God, with a precise location in history and definite historical consequences. The old myth has become fact. But it still retains the character of myth.’[27] Lewis’ appreciation of story could be applied to Jesus, and ‘he could draw nourishment from it which he could never find in a list of abstract truths… Could he [Lewis] not realise that it is a myth and make himself receptive to it?’[28] Tolkien’s understanding of myth mirrors that of St. Paul in Athens (Acts 17), who used the pagan poets of the past to point to their fulfilment in the historical person of Jesus in his life, death and resurrection.

Ward explains that Lewis’ was now able to see the essence of Christianity as tied to the story of Christ, that it could be viewed as one views pagan myths but saw the Christ story as a true myth, compared to pagan myths, which were men’s myths.[29] ‘In paganism, God expressed himself in an unfocused way through the images which human imaginations deployed to tell stories to the world’.[30] Lewis was now able to locate God’s mythic story of Christ in the historically verifiable world of the ancient near east. ‘For Lewis, pagan myths amounted to a similar sort of Christotypical preconfiguration.’[31], echoing Paul’s approach as exhibited in Athens and which has a bearing on ministry amongst those for whom myth held great importance.

‘Once Lewis converted to Christianity, in no small part due to Tolkien’s influence, he specifically admired Tolkien’s mythology for its Christian essence.’[32] In one review of The Lord of the Rings, Lewis endorses myth, saying, ‘The value of myth is that it takes all the things you know and restores them to the rich significance which has been hidden by the veil of familiarity.’[33] This shows his change of heart towards myth and provides the key to unlocking and exploring the more profound meaning and truths within mythic narratives, whether they’re familiar stories from the Bible or myths such as the dying and rising gods of ancient mythologies. Lewis expanded upon this further in Myth Became Fact:

The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact. Without ceasing to be myth, the old myth of the Dying God comes down from the heaven of legend and imagination to the earth of history. It happens – at a particular date, in a specific place, followed by historical consequences. We pass from a Balder [Norse mythology] or an Osiris, dying nobody knows when or where, to a historical Person crucified (it is all in order) under Pontius Pilate. By becoming fact, it does not cease to be myth: that is the miracle.[34]

It is therefore essential to learn from Tolkien and Lewis’ conversation when engaging with those who understand Jesus as merely another mythic character, one to be added to their collection of received myths, but standing apart in the verifiable truth of it. Their myths may sound strange to our ears, but by listening carefully, we may well be able to find those veiled images of Christ in those mythologies, just as we have seen glimpses in the Egyptian Books of the Dead.

Conclusion

We have examined this series of psalms through the lens of a cross-cultural examination of the Hebraic and Egyptian afterlife beliefs at the time. With hindsight afforded by time and the narratives of the New Testament writers regarding the Passion and Easter events, we may see Psalms 22, 23, and 24 as a connected sequence describing the active spiritual realm and part of Christ’s journey from the Cross to the Resurrection.

In completing our analysis of the triptych of psalms, we can see the psalmist heavily relying upon previous Egyptian afterlife beliefs and teachings. Does this mean it is invalid and the psalmist’s words are meaningless? Not at all! By taking a Missio Dei (Mission of God) approach, as we see with Paul in Acts 17, God speaks to everyone who listens carefully, revealing the fullness of our intended purposes in life, the afterlife, and the life-after-the-afterlife. We see these ancient mythologies being listened to, analysed for truths. Those truths became woven into a new tapestry of Hebraic afterlife beliefs and prophecies regarding the One who would become the ‘myth that was true’. These truths pointed to the One who, being fully human, descended to the afterlife realms upon his crucifixion, but being the Righteous One, fully God, was able to face the judgement. There, the injustice of what had taken place at the trial and crucifixion of Jesus was brought to light. He broke the hold of death upon not just himself, but all humanity, taking the keys of the gates of death and Hades. He rose to became truly the Saviour of the whole world, reconciling all things to God through himself and his work on the Cross, in his own afterlife experiences, his resurrection, and his later ascension into the heavens to take the right-hand side of the Almighty, becoming the judge of the living and the dead with the legitimate power to set people free thanks to him now holding those keys of the afterlife.

References

[1] Dates for the Exodus range from 1446 BCE to 1270 BCE according to a range of biblical historical studies.

[2] deClaisse-Walford, 152.

[3] Against Marcion IV, XXXIV

[4] ‘The word κόλπος (kolpos) can mean “bosom” or “womb,” but also a great many other things, among them “pocket” or “fold,” or “hidden places” or “inward parts,” or “bay” or “valley. … the place of peace set apart for the righteous in the realm of the dead (Hades) might be depicted as a place of sheltering valleys seems to make perfect sense.’  Hart, 155.

[5] In which case, what exactly is resurrected, seeing as there is nothing to resurrect once one ceases to exist; only a copy of you is created, you as the original identity, are not resurrected. This is a death blow to the Christian hope of the resurrection, as you as you in your identity, forever cease to exist upon physical death.

[6] Luther and the Anabaptists advocated soul sleep in an attempt to remove any activity in the afterlife that could be possibly be used to promote practices such as praying for the dead, and to help remove the problem of ghosts – visitations of the departed to the living – by suggesting they were demonic impersonations. A thorough rebuttal of Soul Sleep is found here, which also links to Calvin’s rebuttal tract, Psychopannychia.

[7] Arnold, 57-61.

[8] Blue Letter Bible.

[9] See https://ghostsghoulsandgod.co.uk/2024/04/sheol-in-the-bible/ for a detailed exploration of why Sheol is not the physical grave according to the Hebrew Bible.

[10] The various cosmic hills described in the Hebrew scriptures include Mount Sainai, Mount Zion, Mount Hermon, and other places. For a fuller expansion of the spiritual significances of these places – see Heiser 46-7.

[11] John 1:14; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 2:17.

[12] The term ‘magic’ was less to do with the modern occultic understanding of the term, being understood more in terms of religion itself.

[13] See the ancient literary work known as The Greek Magical Papyri (Bass, 33-34, n. 12).

[14] Acts 7:55-56; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 1:3; 1 Peter 3:22 and many other verses.

[15] Cooper, 40-41.

[16] Ibid, 40-43.

[17] Hornburg & Abt, 7.

[18] Ibid, 184-5.

[19] Ibid, 34.

[20] Hornburg & Abt, 172, 223, 260, 294, 326 & 360

[21] Hornburg and Abt, 239.

[22] Kousoulis, 31n201, 32n205, 34n219, “It is obvious that the mutilated snake figure of Apep, whose head is pierced/cut off by a knife is meant here.” – 44.

[23] Ward, 66.

[24] Carpenter, 43.

[25] Ibid..

[26] Ibid..

[27] Ibid., 44.

[28] Ibid..

[29] Ward, 65.

[30] Ibid..

[31] Ibid..

[32] Birzer, 33.

[33] Lewis (2017), 138.

[34] Lewis (1979), 36.

---

Bibliography

Arnold, M. D., 2024. The Invisible Dimension: Spirit-Beings, Ghosts and the Afterlife. New York: Anamchara Books.

Bass, J. W. 2014. The Battle for the Keys – Revelation 1:18 and Christ’s Descent into the Underworld. Milton Keynes, UK: Paternoster.

Birzer, B. 2003. J.R.R. Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth. Wilmington, Del: ISI Books.

Blue Letter Bible. n.d. Probable Occasion When Each Psalm Was Composed. Accessed April 8th, 2025. https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/parallel/paral18.cfm.

Carpenter, H. 1978. The Inklings: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and their Friends. London: Allen and Unwin.

Cooper, A. 1983. “Ps 24:7-10: Mythology and Exegesis.” Journal of Biblical Literature 102 (1): 37-60.

deClaisse-Walford, N.L. 2005. “An Intertextual Reading of Psalms 22, 23, and 24.” In The Book of Psalms: Composition & Reception Supplements to Vetus Testamentum, vol. XCIX, edited by P. W. and Miller, P. D. Flint, 139-152. Leiden: Brill.

Hart, D. B. 2017. The New Testament – A Translation. London: Yale University Press.

Heiser, M. S. 2015. The Unseen Realm. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Hornburg, E., and T. Abt. 2013. The Egyptian Book of Gates. Translated by E. Hornburg. Zurich: Living Human Heritage Publications.

Kousoulis, P. I. 1999. Magic and Religion as a Performative Theological Unity: The Apotropaic “Ritual of Overthrowing Apophis”, PhD Thesis. University of Liverpool.

Lewis, C. S. 1979. “Myth Became Fact.” In God in the Dock, by C. S. Lewis, 31-37. London: HarperCollins.

Lewis, C. S. 2017. “Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.” In On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature, 127-139. New York: HarperCollins.

Ward, M. 2011. “The Good Serves the Better and Both the Best: C.S. Lewis on Imagination and Reason in Apologetics.” In Imaginative Apologetics, by A. Davison, 59-78. London: SCM Press.

---