Did Jesus go to Hell?

[SeekJusticeLoveMercy]

I never heard this growing up, but over the past few years this claim has become more and more popular. Is it true that Jesus went to Hell after he died and before he resurrected? That he went there to cover our sins? If anyone has scriptural evidence either supporting or opposing this claim please post them.

 

[pehkay]

Acts 2:31 says that David, “seeing this beforehand, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was He abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.” There are two points of significance here. First, the Lord must have descended to Hades, because if He had not, it would have been unnecessary to say that He would not be abandoned to Hades. Second, in His resurrection the Lord must have come out of Hades. Only by coming out of Hades could the word concerning His not being abandoned to Hades be fulfilled.

 

[SolomonVII]

Acts 2:31 says that David, “seeing this beforehand, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was He abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.” There are two points of significance here. First, the Lord must have descended to Hades, because if He had not, it would have been unnecessary to say that He would not be abandoned to Hades. Second, in His resurrection the Lord must have come out of Hades. Only by coming out of Hades could the word concerning His not being abandoned to Hades be fulfilled.

Good answer.
That scriptural verse is pertinent for sure.

 

[Knee V]

I never heard this growing up, but over the past few years this claim has become more and more popular. Is it true that Jesus went to Hell after he died and before he resurrected? That he went there to cover our sins? If anyone has scriptural evidence either supporting or opposing this claim please post them.

To say that He went to "hell" is not wrong, especially as "hell" is the Germanic equivalent of "hades" and "sheol". In other words, when Jesus died, he went to where the dead are (were); when He died, He joined us in death. However, to say that Jesus "went to hell" in the sense of suffering there for our sins, that is wrong on multiple levels. Firstly, nowhere is "hell" described as a place of punishment for sins. Hell is not a place of fire where demons dance around. Fire is in the Lake of Fire, which is separate from hell, as both hell (hades/sheol) and death are thrown into it. Secondly, Christ's salvific suffering took place here on earth and ended on the Cross. There is nothing in Scripture to indicate that He underwent any kind of suffering or punishment after He died.

 

[Albion]

To say that He went to "hell" is not wrong, especially as "hell" is the Germanic equivalent of "hades" and "sheol". In other words, when Jesus died, he went to where the dead are (were); when He died, He joined us in death. However, to say that Jesus "went to hell" in the sense of suffering there for our sins, that is wrong on multiple levels. Firstly, nowhere is "hell" described as a place of punishment for sins. Hell is not a place of fire where demons dance around. Fire is in the Lake of Fire, which is separate from hell, as both hell (hades/sheol) and death are thrown into it. Secondly, Christ's salvific suffering took place here on earth and ended on the Cross. There is nothing in Scripture to indicate that He underwent any kind of suffering or punishment after He died.

 

[SolomonVII]

Ephesians 4


Diversity of Gifts. 7But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of

Christ’s gift.g 8Therefore, it says:

“He ascended* on high and took prisoners captive;

he gave gifts to men.”h

9What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended into the lower [regions] of the earth? 10The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.

 

[God's Word]

SeekJusticeLoveMercy:

I recently posted the following on another thread about this topic:

http://www.christianforums.com/t7644177-2/#post60126408

Hopefully, it helps to answer your question.

 

[Shane R]

This idea is usually integral to a presentation of the penal substitution theory of atonement. Jesus descended to the dead, but this does not imply or require that he went to the place where the wicked are in torment. One must understand that in the past (and the KJV) 'hell' was sometimes a generic term to refer to the realm of the dead, evil or righteous. The penal substitution theory calls for him to suffer after death, which - as my fellow sailor pointed out - is absurd.

 

[PaladinValer]

I never heard this growing up, but over the past few years this claim has become more and more popular. Is it true that Jesus went to Hell after he died and before he resurrected? That he went there to cover our sins? If anyone has scriptural evidence either supporting or opposing this claim please post them.

No, He went to hades/sheol.

No one and no thing is in hell. Hell doesn't even exist yet.

Acts 2:31 says that David, “seeing this beforehand, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was He abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.” There are two points of significance here. First, the Lord must have descended to Hades, because if He had not, it would have been unnecessary to say that He would not be abandoned to Hades. Second, in His resurrection the Lord must have come out of Hades. Only by coming out of Hades could the word concerning His not being abandoned to Hades be fulfilled.

Again, hades=/=hell.

It is important to understand that "hell" in early modern English has two meanings: actual hell but also sheol/hades. When you compare the translation of the Apostle's Creed in the 1549 BCP to that in the US 1979 BCP or Common Worship, you'll see that what I say to be true.

 

[Pythons]

To say that He went to "hell" is not wrong, especially as "hell" is the Germanic equivalent of "hades" and "sheol". In other words, when Jesus died, he went to where the dead are (were); when He died, He joined us in death. However, to say that Jesus "went to hell" in the sense of suffering there for our sins, that is wrong on multiple levels. Firstly, nowhere is "hell" described as a place of punishment for sins. Hell is not a place of fire where demons dance around. Fire is in the Lake of Fire, which is separate from hell, as both hell (hades/sheol) and death are thrown into it. Secondly, Christ's salvific suffering took place here on earth and ended on the Cross. There is nothing in Scripture to indicate that He underwent any kind of suffering or punishment after He died.

The part that I highlighted was well said.....
...Like you I reject that Christ suffered additional pains or torments between His death and Resurrection.
....He went to preach to the spirits in prison - that area where the rich man was.
....And in that area it wasn't nice by any stretch.

 

[Knee V]

In a general sense, for Christ to fully and actually save us and unite us to Himself, He had to join us in all aspects of our condition - including Death. Christ had to join us in Death in order to fill it with Life and rescue us out of it. His Death was not so much a punishment as much as it was the full realization and epitome of His plan to "fix" or "reverse" all the problems that sin brought into the world.

Sin did not bring with it a punishment, but a consequence. That consequence was separation from the Life of God, which results in a condition of Death. That condition of Death brings with it all the evil and suffering in this world, and would eventually result in eternal separation from God, and ultimately no more remnant of life in us whatsoever...

Christ entered into our condition and destroyed the power of Death, and the one who wields that power against us - Satan, along with as his demons. By suffering and dying on the cross, Christ joined us where we are and brought us back up with Him.

 

[SolomonVII]

In a general sense, for Christ to fully and actually save us and unite us to Himself, He had to join us in all aspects of our condition - including Death. Christ had to join us in Death in order to fill it with Life and rescue us out of it. His Death was not so much a punishment as much as it was the full realization and epitome of His plan to "fix" or "reverse" all the problems that sin brought into the world.

Sin did not bring with it a punishment, but a consequence. That consequence was separation from the Life of God, which results in a condition of Death. That condition of Death brings with it all the evil and suffering in this world, and would eventually result in eternal separation from God, and ultimately no more remnant of life in us whatsoever...

Christ entered into our condition and destroyed the power of Death, and the one who wields that power against us - Satan, along with as his demons. By suffering and dying on the cross, Christ joined us where we are and brought us back up with Him.

Death is not a punishment for anyone per se. Death is the wages of sin. It is indeed the consequence of diving head first off the cliff into sin.

And death is hell. It may not be a lake of fire or eternal torment and the like. (Who really knows the true nature of these things that are outside of our human experience in this world?)

But for all who died, death is in every sense a prison, keeping the dead separate from the land of the living. It is a moot point how much suffering is involved in being held a prisoner and kept from the arms of those you love and those who love you.

Strangely, one of the least discussed and little understood points of scripture in the Bible is how people rose from the dead and had encounters with the living in Jerusalem at the same time as Jesus descent into death and resurrection into new life.
The prisoners of Hell, the dead, were set free, as Jesus descended and destroyed the permanence of hell by opening the gates if Hades and allowing the dead to rejoin the land of the living.

 

[Lion King]

Strangely, one of the least discussed and little understood points of scripture in the Bible is how people rose from the dead and had encounters with the living in Jerusalem at the same time as Jesus descent into death and resurrection into new life.
The prisoners of Hell, the dead, were set free, as Jesus descended and destroyed the permanence of hell by opening the gates if Hades and allowing the dead to rejoin the land of the living.

What are you talking about here? What "prisoners" were freed?

 

[SolomonVII]

What are you talking about here? What "prisoners" were freed?

The Servant of the Lord

1Here is my servant* whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased.
Upon him I have put my spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations.a
2He will not cry out, nor shout,
nor make his voice heard in the street.
3A bruised reed* he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
4He will not grow dim or be bruised
until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands* will wait for his teaching.
5Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and its produce,
Who gives breath to its people
and spirit to those who walk on it:
6I, the LORD, have called you for justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,b
7To open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
8I am the LORD, LORD is my name;

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners,
2

V. The Ministry in Galilee

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry. 14j Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread* throughout the whole region.k 15He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.

The Rejection at Nazareth.* l 16He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom* into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read 17and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,*

because he has anointed me

to bring glad tidings to the poor.m
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,
19and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”

20Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. 21He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”* 22And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

This is the only example that I know of where Jesus sets prisoners free. He destroys the literal prison of death, which is the kingdom of Sheol, Hades,Hell.

 

[Lion King]

This is the only example that I know of where Jesus sets prisoners free. He destroys the literal prison of death, which is the kingdom of Sheol, Hades,Hell.

The "captives" set free in those passages in Isaiah and Luke was the whole WORLD. Jesus Christ freed us all from the chains of the devil, sin and death. Jesus did not, however, free any prisoners in Hades, but simply descended to proclaim His victory over the imprisoned spirits by the cross. As far as I am aware, Sheol/Hades still exists today, Jesus Christ never destroyed it, and Hell is still to come.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water 1 Peter 3:18-20

 

[SolomonVII]

I presented my argument from Scripture, fully cognizant of the existence of 1 Peter 3.
The whole world, most certainly.
For all die.

"Dying he destroyed our death; rising he restores our life."

That is a very succinct way of stating the obvious, what the crucifixion and the resurrection was all about. Hell (or death) is the ultimate prison, and Jesus destroys death through the act of dying. The prison of death simply cannot contain the Living God, for Jesus is Life itself. Life in hell then is the ultimate absurdity, and the walls of hell come tumbling down.
"Oh death where is thy sting!" indeed!!

People rose from the grave in Jerusalem with the resurrection of Jesus. They were set free from the prison of death. Scripture tells us as much!!

 

[Lion King]

I presented my argument from Scripture, fully cognizant of the existence of 1 Peter 3.

Yes, you did, but you wrongly suggested that the prisoners mentioned in Isaiah are those who rose from the death after the crucifixion of Christ. The actual prisoners were the lost sheep of Israel, and the rest of the world who had been taken captive by the devil and sin.

7To open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

 

[SolomonVII]

You have failed to make your case LK.
Happy Easter anyways.

 

[apocolypticremedy999]

Well, in a way he did. It is said that in order to retrieve the keys of death from the devil, Christ had to descend into hell to get them. However, he did not burn or anything, there was no burning, for hell is another word used in the Bible to describe the grave. Hell isn't just the lake of fire, but also the grave. So technically, yes, he descended into hell, but not necessarily into the lake of fire where there is eternal burning.

 

[Lion King]

I presented my argument from Scripture, fully cognizant of the existence of 1 Peter 3.
The whole world, most certainly.
For all die.

"Dying he destroyed our death; rising he restores our life."

That is a very succinct way of stating the obvious, what the crucifixion and the resurrection was all about. Hell (or death) is the ultimate prison, and Jesus destroys death through the act of dying. The prison of death simply cannot contain the Living God, for Jesus is Life itself. Life in hell then is the ultimate absurdity, and the walls of hell come tumbling down.
"Oh death where is thy sting!" indeed!!

People rose from the grave in Jerusalem with the resurrection of Jesus. They were set free from the prison of death. Scripture tells us as much!!

If Jesus Christ destroyed Sheol/Hades (the prison of death), why are we still suffering physical death then? Why did those who were raised from the dead at the crucifixion of Christ die again?

Has death and Hades been thrown into the lake of fire yet?

And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Revelation 20:14