Many believe that after Jesus died on the cross, He descended into hell. The Apostle’s Creed certainly says this, but as for myself, I am undecided. Let’s look briefly at the evidence.
Acts 2:31
In Acts 2:31, Peter says that God did not leave the soul of Jesus in Hades, but raised Him up from the dead. The term “Hades” does not actually refer to hell as many believe, but is “the place of the dead.”
Sometimes, it refers to the underworld where the souls of men walk around like shadows. Frequently, “Hades” simply refers to the grave. It is not a mystical place, but is simply the hole in the ground where your body goes when you die. Most translators and Bible scholars believe that this is what Peter is referring to, and translate “Hades” as “the grave.”
Ephesians 4:8-10
This verse is often brought up as defense that Jesus descended into hell, but this is not the best understanding of this passage. In Ephesians 4:8, Paul talks about how Jesus ascended into heaven, and to explain this, Paul reminds His readers that Jesus was simply returning to where He came from, that is, heaven.
He only ascended from earth to heaven because He first descended from heaven to earth. The descent of Jesus was not from earth into hell, but was from heaven to earth.
1 Peter 4:6
Some believe that 1 Peter 4:6 indicates that Jesus descended into hell and preached the Gospel to those who are there.
If this is true, the question then is, “Why?” Was he giving them a second chance? Was He taunting them? Neither option makes much sense. Whatever this verse means, it must be understood in the context of other passages in the letter, such as 1 Peter 3:18-20. This text says that by the Spirit, Jesus preached to spirits who were in prison, who rebelled in the days of Noah.
While this could mean that Jesus descended into hell to preach to people in prison, why are the people who were alive in the days of Noah singled out? Some believe it was Noah who was doing the preaching by the Spirit, and he was preaching about Christ, but they did not believe, and so are now dead and in prison.
This passage is notoriously difficult, and is therefore a weak foundation upon which to build any doctrine about what Jesus did or did not do after His death and before His resurrection.
Miscellaneous Passages about Jesus’ Descent into Hell
Finally, some point to various other texts of Scripture such as the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), and the report that at the resurrection of Jesus, many who were formerly dead were raised to life (Matt 27:52-53) as evidence that Jesus did go preach to some spirits in hell, or in a “suburb of hell” called Abraham’s Bosom, and some were raised back to life.
One of the verses used against the idea that Jesus descended into hell is Luke 23:42-43 where Jesus tells the thief on the cross that today, the thief would be with Jesus in paradise. If Jesus went to hell, how could He also be with the thief in paradise. Of course, some believe that the “paradise” to which Jesus refers was a “suburb” of hell called “Abraham’s bosom,” and this is the “hell” to which Jesus descended and preached, and from which He led captives in His train (Eph 4:8).
So did Jesus descend into hell? All of the evidence is fairly inconclusive.
So what do you think? Did Jesus descend into hell?
If so, why did He go there and how long was He there?
We will look at one more passage later which might possibly shed some further light on the subject.
Edit: 04/29/2011 – Here is a post I found which explains some of the background for this belief: Did Jesus Go to Hell?
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Have you read the book written by the guy who fell asleep on his living room floor and found himself in hell, with Jesus standing there watching people being tortured? I read that Walmart did a brisk business selling the book.
I doubt we have enough info. to really decide if Jesus descended into what we mean by the word hell.
I have not heard about that book. Books on hell are “hot” right now! Sorry. Bad pun.
Anyway, you are right. There are so many unknowns about “hell” that it is dangerous to say anything definitive.
“The Apostle’s Creed certainly says this, but as for myself, I am undecided.”
I was curious about this remark. If the Apostle’s Creed encapsulates the Christian faith, how can one decide against it? And if one does, is that belief adopted into the Christian faith?
Sam said (in the first comment to this thread) that we likely do not have enough info to know. I’d say that the deposit of faith we’ve been given in the Creed is enough for us to say with certainty that Christ did, in fact, descend into Hell to atone the sins of those who died before Christ’s coming.
Prior to Jesus’ resurrection, sacrifice for sin was animal sacrifice. But it was insufficient.
Jesus is the perfect and complete sacrifice, the only sacrifice able to fully unite us with God. It was necessary for Him to come so that we may have eternal life. It was necessary for Him to descend to give those who died prior to His coming the chance of having eternal life, too.
Ryan,
Great questions. I read recently that the statement about Christ descending into hell was not part of the original “Apostle’s Creed” but was added later. I’m not sure when or why.
But even if this is not true, the “Apostle’s Creed” was not actually written by the Apostles, nor is it found in the Bible. It is simply what some wonderful and godly people thought were key beliefs early in the life of the church. We can be helped by such a tradition, but I am not sure that it is binding.
Anyway, I agree with you about the perfect and complete sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. I see your point about the necessity of his descent. That is interesting. So you think he went and preached to everyone who died prior to his death and resurrection? It’s possible, I suppose.
What about people nowadays who live after the death and resurrection, but still have not heard about it? Would they also get a chance after death to hear about it?
This is a truly fascinating post and I love to see so many people pondering the scriptures in search of light and truth. For what it’s worth, my faith has been teaching some key elements that explain a lot of the confusion regarding this subject since the early 1800. I can confirm that I know that Christ descended into spirit prison where he taught those individuals who were as Peter wrote disobedient, also those individuals who never had the chance to hear the gosple nor be baptized. He did this to save them. In our church we perform baptisms vicariously for the dead so that they can take upon them the name of Christ if they choose to accept His teachings. For Christ taught that he who is not born of water and of the spirit can not enter into the kingdom of God. Which water, Peter also note s is a symbol of baptism by which only 8 were saved during the flood of Noah. We also believe that spirit prison, or hell, is in the same location as paradise. Both are simply states in which each spirit exists after death according to their works if they were good or bad. That is why Christ said to the crimals on the cross that he would see them in paradise. Paradise is not the same place as the kingdom of God. Remember that Christ also said: touch me not for I have not yet ascended to my Father. So yes they do get a chance to hear the gospel. Those who heard the gospel and yet choose to reject the message will not have a second Chance they will have to wait for the second resurrection or the resurrection of the evening. I know that these things are true because I have felt the holy ghost confirm these simple truths. But that’s a little deeper than I wanted to go, but if you want to hear more let me know.
I have heard much of this before, and may even believe most of this myself. I don’t hold it as certain truth, but as speculative truth.
If you’re interested, I recently addressed why Christ’s descent into Hell is Biblical, as well as what is and isn’t meant by that phrase. Hope that helps, and God bless,
Joe
Jeremy,
As you say in your comments on Acts 2, “Hades” typically means the grave. But then, “Hades” is also what the Apostles’ Creed actually says Jesus descended into, if you go back and check the Greek (i.e., original) creed. Acts 2:31 nicely defends what’s actually in the Creed. It does not defend some interpretations of the Creed, but nothing remarkable about that.
Tim,
Great point! I never made the connection! ha. I forgot that the Apostle’s Creed wasn’t written in English! Yikes!
Jeremy,
FWIW, in the circles I travel in these days, it’s customary to render that line of the Creed either “He descended to the dead” (slightly weasely, I feel, but you could argue it’s good DE translation) or “He descended to Hades” (which is the way we do it).
In our youth group, the kids say the Creed every week during our worship time, in answer to the question, “Christian, in whom do you trust?” (Unchurched kids, btw, not kids reared on christianese from momma’s knee. The Creed was a baptismal formula in one form or another from at least the second century; its intended purpose was always to educate the uninitiated. We find it works very well.)
Hmmm. I could live with either of those renderings.
Matthew 12:40(3days &nights)
For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Luke 16:19-28 (Hell)
28.For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Hebrews 2:14
14Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Josh,
Quoting Scripture means nothing. Anyone can quote Bible verses… even Satan!
I am aware of these Scriptures, but do not think they refer to hell.
And besides, you missed the most “obvious” verses, so let me add them for you:
Ephesians 4:8-9
Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” (Now this, “He ascended “– what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
1 Peter 3:18-19
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
All I am sure of is that Jesus said in Revelations that he holds the keys to heaven and hell. It seems to me you have to go and take the keys from the landlord.
I forgot the passage that kind of confirms the landload had held those keys:
Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Possibly. Of course, it all depends on how you read Revelation. If this is a prediction of the future, then the star which fell from heaven (is this really Satan?), was given the keys at that time, but not before.
Your reading of Rev 9:1 would require a preterist reading, so that Revelation describes what happened in the past.
Interesting.
That ‘in Him was Life’, I wonder what effect He would have had if/when He appeared in Hades? I don’t think He needed to preach at all, in the same way the demons recognized Jesus in this life only on appearance. Walking around unfettered with keys with the jailer absent would have been enough to make the fettered cry out for release.
The verse ‘O Death where is thy sting, O Grave (Hades) where is thy victory’ backs Rev 1:18 where He declared He has the keys of Hades and Death. If He did snatch those ‘prison’ keys and declared that He still has them, He certainly didn’t give them back so the prison no longer holds or, maybe, has no prisoners in it at all… which backs the said verse ‘O Death etc… ‘.
The Rich Man and Lazarus story backs up the futility of relying on the Law regarding Hades and Death, notably in the messages that there was a great (un-bridgable by the Law) gulf fixed which Jesus was yet to bridge and that the mention of Moses not being able to prevent both the rich man and his relatives being in the same predicament.
Even the vilest offenders in that predicament would join the stampede out of the prison of Hades and Death, had ‘Life’ come walking by with the keys in His possession.
Maybe that’s the true power of the Gospel. When people now die they now meet an empty ineffective prison – difficult to get our heads round as people, in anger and unforgiveness, shout ‘go to hell. Maybe it’s universalist thoughts getting the better of me again…
Those universalist thoughts creep in on me all the time too. They are SO appealing! 😉
Anyway, thanks for the great comment. I think there is so much about Jesus that we don’t know (but which will be revealed to us in eternity). I cannot wait!
I believe when Jesus died, He did go to hell, because He carried in Himself all the sins of mankind then and now. But being sinless Himself, in dying for our sins, He crushed Satan and threw Satan’s trash in his face, destroying death and sin, and replacing it with His Mercy and a path to our salvation. Then He rose from the dead with the people who died who were in limbo, awaiting for His coming to save them. And they then went with Him to Heaven saved and free by the price He willingly paid for us out of Love. Jesus is Lord and Savior, the King of Kings, Thanks be to God. Jesus, forgive.
Yes, I think that is probably the main view of most evangelical Christians today, so you are in good company!
I can not see how Jesus went to hell for three days as he is already there.
Psalm 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
Omnipresent is he.
Weeelllll,
That Psalm 139:8 quotation is from the KJV, right? The Hebrew word there for “hell” is most likely sheol (I didn’t look it up), which means “grave” or “pit.” It doesn’t necessarily mean what we think of as “hell.”
Regardless, even if it does refer to hell, is God “there”? I suppose so?? But this wouldn’t mean that Jesus could “go” there. During his ministry, He went all sorts of places. In fact, the incarnation is all about Him “coming” to earth. Was God already here? Yes.
Weeelllll,
That Psalm 139:8 quotation is from the KJV, right? The Hebrew word there for “hell” is most likely sheol (I didn’t look it up), which means “grave” or “pit.” It doesn’t necessarily mean what we think of as “hell.”
~
Yes from KJV. The Hebrew language was reinvented late 19 century so the word before was hades, Greek. I believe language is not a factor anyway! God kniows his word and he kept it safe in all languages and he knows exactly all languages! English, Greek, Hebrew, SPanish, German etc. He knows all and he has given his word in all languages!
“grave”, “pit”, or “abode of the dead”, is the Hebrew term for the place of the dead, the common grave of humans, or underworld of the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures. It is a place of darkness to which all the dead go, both the righteous and the unrighteous, regardless of the moral choices made in life, a place of stillness and darkness cut off from life and from God
=
Regardless, even if it does refer to hell, is God “there”? I suppose so?? But this wouldn’t mean that Jesus could “go” there. During his ministry, He went all sorts of places. In fact, the incarnation is all about Him “coming” to earth. Was God already here? Yes.
Yes I believe God is there I do not believe but not in the context of the wicked being there.
Proverbs 15:3King James Version (KJV)
3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
Jesus knew the hearts of all me! He is everywhere and knows everything. He made this realm and everything in it belongs to him. I do not believve he suffered in hell! I can not find this in the bible.
Jesus is God so if God is there yues Jesus is there.
John 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
I have checked the Greek wording of Acts 2:31 and found that the phrase “His soul was not left in hell” could also be translated as “His soul was not abandoned to hell (Hades)”.
Luke 16:26 seems to indicate that no one can return from hell (hades) once they have been sent there. ‘Hades’ translates as ‘unseen’. It is a place where God does not look and therefore, presumably, niether can Jesus.
Thanks for the studies on that. “Hades” is one of those strange words in the NT that most likely meant something completely different in NT times than it does today. So we definitely shouldn’t think of “hell” when we read about “hades” in the Bible. It just means “pit” or “grave” or “the place of the dead.”
I’ve tried to do a study of the various words in Hebrew and Greek that have become lumped together under the title ‘hell’. The problem is, to find the words (and consequently thier meaning) you must first know the words. Even worse, sometimes words with different specific meanings in Hebrew or Greek are translated into the same English word. I suppose I’ll just have to put the pieces together as I come across them.
Which terms do you know that I can do a search for ? Off the top of my head, I know Hell, Hades, Sheol, Perdition, and Purgatory.
And Gehenna. A good resource for this is http://amzn.to/1GeSw1m
Unless there’s a free version available, it won’t help. I have about 3$ to my name and no bank account. On the plus side, I don’t have to worry about income taxes. =)
I like this answer best from ‘Let Us reason”
What actually did happen to Jesus’ spirit? We know He committed His spirit to God. I Peter 3:18 states, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened (made alive) by the Spirit.” Christ died in body only (put to death in the sphere of the flesh), not the spirit. And continued to exist in spirit, just as He did before He came to earth. His existence in His earthly life ended but He continued His life existing in the spirit inside the earth, in Hades, before He resurrected.
It is His flesh that was made alive again, resurrected. Christ died in body only. We can prove this by 1 Peter 3:19-20: “By whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah…” This event occurred between Christ’s death and resurrection. Jesus went to those who were believers and presented his victory at the cross. He also went to those that were incarcerated from the time of the flood. The word for “preach” is Kerysso in Greek, meaning to proclaim or announce (judgment). This is different then to evangelize and proclaim the good news of reconciliation for salvation, which is used in 1 Peter 4:6. This proclamation was directed to either the fallen angels or the human souls that died in the flood or both (Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:4). Announcing to them their judgment is imminent, as he had just come from the victory on the cross. Again Hades, Sheol encompasses the whole realm of the dead and the context must bear out what it says”
Who is the author of “Let us Reason”? Just curious.
Do you think he really believes that hell is inside the earth … so that if we just dug down deep enough we would find it?
Jeremy i do believe that Jesus did descend to hell or whatever name we call it even if only to collect the keys from satan as a sign that he had lost his authority over his stronghold.Jesus said to peter i will build my church upon this rock and the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.I believe that in the same sense we have the victory over satans kingdom because Jesus has been given that authority.1 peter 3:19 does suggest that when he died he did preach to the peoples in noahs day.brentnz
I believe Jesus took His victory right through hell’s gates and took back what had been stolen from His Father. Without a preacher we can none of us be saved, so Messiah had to go in person to offer forgiveness and deliverance to the already dead.
Jeremy, There are scholarly works that research the question of where the author of 1 Peter came up with such an idea based on earlier works like 1 Enoch. See for instance the following authoritative work:
Chad T. Pierce, Spirits and the Proclamation of Christ: 1 Peter 3:18-22 in Light of Sin and Punishment Traditions in Early Jewish and Christian Literature. (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe 305). Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011.
This revision of a doctoral thesis (Theology faculty, Durham, uk 2000) supervised by Loren Stuckenbruck analyzes the notorious crux interpretum 1 Pet 3:18-22. The passage poses several difficult and interconnected questions; thirteen are listed in J. H. Elliott, 1 Peter (ab 37B; New York: Doubleday, 2000), 648. One of the controverted issues concerns the Second Temple traditions possibly influencing in this passage. Pierce lists (pp. 2-20) three main views (each with varying nuances) that have been advanced over the centuries concerning the subject, object, occasion, and message of Christ’s announcement (ekeryxen, 3:19) in connection with his death, resurrection, ascension to heaven , and elevation to God’s right hand. The third of these views, pioneered by Friedrich Spitta (Christi Predigt an die Geister 1890), proposed that the Petrine author drew on 1 Enoch and that Christ’s proclamation was directed not to deceased humans as previously held, but to the rebellious angels (Gen 6:1-4) identified as “disobedient spirits.” Scholarly adoptions and modifications of Spitta’s view abandoned his notion of a pre-existent Christ as the proclaimer and posited Christ’s proclamation to the imprisoned disobedient angelic spirits of the flood generation as occurring on the occasion of his death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven (with varying nuances: B. Reicke, 1946; E. G. Selwyn, 1947; W. Dalton, 1964; J. R. Michaels, 1988; and J. H. Elliott, 2000). Finding this third line of interpretation the most plausible, Pierce seeks to identify the full range and complexity of Enochic and other traditions that may have influenced the language and thought of 1 Pet 3:18-22 (and 4:6)… The Petrine author’s primary reliance on 1 Enoch still seems to this reviewer most likely. His verdict on the meaning of 3:18-22 and its rhetorical function within the letter adds little if anything to what is already at hand. It echoes earlier conclusions reached by myself and other recent scholars.
John H. Elliott University of San Francisco
That the Enoch literature is relevant to the interpretation of 1 Peter can be in no doubt, and the survey of Qumran and other texts is thorough if inevitably selective. The imprisoned spirits are identified as cosmic powers, from whom the faithful are protected. Christ’s proclamation to them is located in a celestial realm at the time of his ascension, on the grounds that until then he would not have the requisite power. If, however, Jesus had died, Sheol/Hades would have been the starting point of his resurrection/ascension/exaltation, which would suggest that a subterranean location during the triduum mortis has perhaps been too easily dismissed. The relationship between 3.19 and 4.1-6 could usefully have been introduced to the discussion at an earlier stage. Pierce has brought into a new focus the background and the complex issues of interpretation in 1 Peter. Whether or not his arguments are accepted, his treatment of the literature illuminating the thought world which informed the letter will prove a major contribution to scholarship.
Nicholas H. Taylor
This work is carefully argued, with each element of the Petrine passage (that is, what or who sinned in “the Days of Noah,” who or what are imprisoned in Jewish and Christian tradition, and what or who are called “spirits”) thoroughly researched. Every type of relevant ancient Jewish literature is examined: the various parts of 1 Enoch, Jubilees, Tobit, Sirach, the various pieces of testamental literature, Philo—the thoroughness of coverage is a tour de force. Pierce points out that the tradition is not monolithic but is adapted by each author for his own purposes and that in this adaptation angelic and humans had merged under the term spirits. Thus, an idea that classically emerged in a part of 1 Enoch might be adapted in ways that it would be simplistic to say,״ This came from 1 Enoch so that is what it must mean.” This concept is applied to 1 Peter (which he dates in the last quarter of the first century A.D.). There is no basis in the tradition to argue for an either /or, ״ spirits = human” or “spirits = angelic.” However, the proclamation by Jesus is clearly an announcement of victory over the spirits in Jesus’ ascension, for this fits with both 1 Enoch and its developed and adapted traditions. The baptismal reference, then, is not just to baptism as a salvific event in its covenant pledge but also to baptism as protecting one from evil spiritual forces… One has in this work a massive piece of scholarship that seems to have laid to rest some options for interpreting 1 Pet 3 and certainly must be consulted by anyone working on this passage in the future. There is so much in this work that it cannot be ignored, and it will surely grace the shelves of anyone seriously interested in 1 Peter.
Peter H. Davids
Houston Baptist University