This "captive" is translated as "prisoners" or "captives" in various versions. First of all, Paul is quoting Psalm 68:18 here, but several interpretations are currently circulating in the general Christian world. In particular, mainstream churches often interpret this scripture as a resurrection to heaven, linking it to Matthew 27:51-53, which speaks of "the resurrection of the bodies of the saints and their entry into the holy city."
Psalm 68:18 You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, Even from the rebellious, That the Lord God might dwell there.
Ephesians 4:8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” 9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
First, the KJV renders this as "the lower parts of the earth." While this could simply be a contrastive expression implying that the earth is a "lower place" compared to heaven, interpretations remain divided. This time, I will lay out the thoughts in a way that allows for a rational interpretation regardless of which theory you support.
As is clear from Psalm 68, the captives originally refer to the enemies of Israel—meaning the besieging enemies around Jerusalem are removed. In a spiritual sense, these captives represent Christ’s enemies: sin, death, and corruption. Furthermore, since Bible prophecies often have dual or multiple fulfillments, if we assume a composite meaning, these captives could also represent the people who were held captive by Satan, sin, and death—the souls now resting in the sleep of death in the lower parts of the earth, namely Sheol, who have been bought back by Christ's redemption.
In other words, in this scripture, "captivity" or "captives" signifies the death that entered through sin, and by extension, the deceased individuals resting in Sheol who were trapped by it. It is written that Jesus’ spirit was entrusted to the Heavenly Father upon his death, but as a biblical fact, when humans die, they go down to Sheol. Therefore, by the Father's arrangement, the soul of Jesus (as the Son of Man) descended into Sheol without consciousness, just like any other human, while the Holy Spirit—manifested in the form of a dove—worked upon the souls sleeping in Sheol.
⇒ Is there such a thing as proclaiming something to unconscious souls?
Even if one strongly supports this latter interpretation, it does not lend support to the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. This is because the Bible repeatedly describes death as "sleep" and explicitly states that both the righteous and the unrighteous are sleeping until Christ's return. Therefore, even under this view, it can be interpreted that through Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension, the spiritual veil was removed from those held captive by Satan, sin, and death (the unconscious souls in the sleep of death), opening the door to salvation for them. In this way, through Jesus’ death, his soul descended to the lower parts of the earth (Sheol), applying the ransom to the deceased who had died in sin prior to that, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove performed some kind of work. Given the nature of the spiritual realm, these things are difficult to articulate, leaving us to conceptualize beyond what is explicitly stated.
However, this does not mean that the souls in the sleep of death were carried up to heaven in real-time, existing in a "conscious state" with Jesus in the first resurrection. Like many other scriptures, this should be understood as a figurative expression. Even the souls of the righteous are in a peaceful sleep in Abraham's bosom. (Acts 2:29; Hebrews 11:39; 1 Corinthians 15:6) The Old Testament saints are not yet part of the first resurrection. Many of these Old Testament righteous ones will receive everlasting life on earth as a "second-class" secondary resurrection, distinct from the heavenly priesthood of Christians. Their dwelling place is not the future new heaven, but the new earth.
Thus, it is quite a stretch for many theologians to interpret this scripture as a real-time "first resurrection" of Old Testament righteous ones during Jesus' ascension. Since this specific scripture uses a term meaning to take enemies captive, it more strongly suggests that Satan's operations were dismantled. As a composite meaning, it prophetically portrays the new covenant going into effect for the souls sleeping in the graves of the Old Testament era, showing that they have been bought back and spiritually illustrating that Christ's ransom is applied to them so they can ultimately benefit from the heavenly realm and be saved in the future.
So, at the end of the day, trying to abruptly wrap up this scripture as a real-time "rapture" or lifting up of Old Testament saints into heaven at Jesus' ascension is just unsustainable.
Rather, it can be interpreted that through Jesus' death, his soul descended to Sheol, applying the redemption to the unconscious souls of the deceased who died under Satan's world. Then, by Christ’s own resurrection and ascension, the sin, death, and corruption brought by Satan were crushed and defeated, and the condemnation of the legal decree that held people guilty was led away as a captive and removed. In a composite sense, a buyout through Jesus' ransom occurred at that moment, abolishing the condemning Old Testament law, and apocalyptically depicting the future resurrection of those deceased individuals from the sleep of death. Following this, the Holy Spirit was given to the apostles as a gift.
Colossians 2:13-15 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
The "gifts" mentioned in the latter half simply refer to the Holy Spirit, which shatters Satan, sin, and death, given to mankind following Christ's ascension. There is no need for overly complex speculation here. In the relevant passage of Ephesians, the apostles are built up precisely through this gift of the Holy Spirit.
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