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Did Jesus
Go to Hell?
Something I preached last Sunday is bothering me. In
fact, when we returned home I did more research and could not find
scripture to back up my statement. See what you think.
We read the Apostle’s Creed which says,
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven
and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived
by the Holy Spirit
and born of the
virgin Mary.
He suffered under
Pontius Pilate,
was crucified,
died, and was buried;
he descended to
hell.
The third day he
rose again from the dead.
He ascended to
heaven
and is seated at
the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will
come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic*
church,
the communion of
saints,
the forgiveness of
sins,
the resurrection of
the body,
and the life
everlasting. Amen.
*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places
The Apostles’ Creed wasn’t written by the twelve, but
is a summation of their teachings. It first appears in the 4th
century. Here’s what I said about it on Sunday.
“More
than any other Christian creed, it may justly be called an ecumenical
symbol of faith. That means that all Christians believe these basic
things regardless of their denominational preference. The Apostles’
Creed is our watermark on the paper of doctrine, and our benchmark for
declaring the tenets of our faith. No part of it can be omitted.”
On the drive home Husband and I had a rigorous discussion. He rightly
challenged one line and I now need a clarification, if not a retraction.
Where does the Bible say that Jesus “descended into hell”?
When I couldn’t find scripture, I attempted logic. (Bad idea.) Hell is
where sinners go. Jesus took my sins to the cross, so he surely suffered
the entirety of my punishment. Immediately my seminary professor’s face
loomed into view. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God
is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Rom 6:23)
Death, not hell.
So what exactly does the Bible say about hell? Did
Jesus go there between his death and resurrection? Here’s what I
determined…
There are two Greek words for the abode of the dead.
Hell, or Geenna is also known
as the Lake of Fire. It was made for Satan and his minions (Matt 25:41)
and will be occupied by the unrighteous after the final judgment. (Rev
19:20-21) There is no biblical evidence that anyone has gone there or
will go there until after Jesus’ Second Coming. Not even Jesus Himself.
The other Greek word is
Hadas, from which we get the
English word Hades. This is the region of the dead. Before Jesus’
ascension, the spirits of all people went to Hades. Since Jesus’
ascension, only the spirits of unbelievers go to Hades, while the
spirits of believers go directly to be with the Lord. (2 Cor 5:1-8)
Jesus entered Hades after his
death. (Acts 2:25-31) Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus says that
Jesus descended into the lower parts of the earth. Romans 10:7 refers to
Jesus being in “the abyss” while he was among the dead. Revelation tells
us that after the final judgment,
Hadas will be cast into
Geenna.
The correct scriptural answer is that Jesus descended
into Hades, but not into Hell.
After hours of study I know one thing for
certain—Jesus went where he needed to go and did what he needed to do to
assure my eternal life.
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