Did Jesus descend into Hell after His Crucifixtion

Well, the Bible does say his soul went to hell, but the idea of taking the keys to hell is something that man made up. (Read Acts 2)

Now, I have a question for you (or for anyone who wishes to answer): What is "hell"?

 

In this instance I believe it is the grave. Why would He have only preached to the spirits in prison before Noah? Why not the spirits in prison after Noah?

 

So, in this case, we're all going to hell, unless the Lord returns.

What is hell in other instances?

 

Ummmmm....... a place God will not be. He may preside over it, but He will not be present?
A garbage dump? A place of never ending fire and smoke?

You tell me brother. :laugh:

 

The descent into hell is prominently taught in the "Apostles Creed" recited in many churches:
"...was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead...."

Wayne Grudem wrote an article on the topic:
"He Did Not Descend Into Hell: A Plea For Following Scripture Instead Of The Apostles' Creed."
It is available on his website.


The "keys of hell" comes from Rev. 1:18:
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

 

Psalms 16:8: "...thou shalt not leave my soul in hell, etc......."

My understanding is this is the Hebrew "Sheol" which means "the place of the dead."

Jesus literally fulfilled this prophecy when he did not remain in the place of the dead.

The New Testament equivalent of Sheol is Hades. Which has various meanings--the place of the dead, the place of the wicked dead. But we nowhere find that Jesus went to Gehenna, which describes the final abode of Satan, his angels, and lost humans.

Jesus told the believing thief, Today, you'll be with me in Paradise.

Therefore, I don't believe the scriptures teach that Jesus went Hell, the abode of the wicked.

 

In Luke chapter 16, where were Abraham and Lazarus?

 

Paladin: //Could anyone here direct me to Bible Verses and other resources concerning this.//

This is not clearly delineated in the Bible.
Nor can one prove lthat Jesus did NOT descend to hell.

Consider this interesting passage:

Rom 10:6-9 (KJV1611 Edition):
But the righteousnesse which is of faith,
speaketh on this wise:
Say not in thine heart,
Who shall ascend into heauen?
That is to bring Christ down from aboue.
7 Or, Who shall descend into the deepe?
That is to bring vp Christ againe from the dead.
8 But what saith it?
The word is nigh thee, euen in thy mouth,
and in thy heart, that is the word of faith which we preach,
9 That if thou shalt confesse with thy mouth
the Lord Iesus, and shalt beleeue in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saued.

That Jesus ascended into heaven is a Biblical fact.
Did Jesus descend into hell?

Consider this portion from the Apostle's Creed, one of the
earlierist Creeds of the Church:

//And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried;
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand
of God the Father Almighty. From there he shall come
to judge the quick and the dead.//

The ECF (early church fathers) may have well believe that
Jesus descended into hell.
However, this could only mean the holding place, not
eternal buring forever type of hell.

 

Jesus descended into hades...the grave...after He died. He never went to hell, as it is commonly thought.
He didnt' battle satan, or any of that biblical science fiction stuff many teach. He defeated satan when He arose from the dead, no battle needed.

 

Is Satan on earth?

1 Peter 5:8 (KJV1611 Edition):
Be sober, be vigilant:
because your aduersary the deuill,
as a roaring Lion walketh about,
seeking whom he may deuoure.

Or is Satan in heaven?

Job 1:6 Now there was a day,
when the sons of God
came to present themselues before the Lord,
and Satan came also among them.

Is the answer different now (2007)
as it was in 33AD (when Jesus died and
arose, some say 30AD)?

Anyway, there is nothing to suggest that
Satan is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of hell;
he is the chief prisioner.

 

[FONT=&quot]Alright, now this is getting exciting! (BTW, two different people are quote here.)

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OK, so we've determined what Sheol and Hades is. Those are two of the words that are translated as "hell" in the KJV.
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You've got that right!
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Well, I think this leaves a little to be desired. By "lost", are you referencing the unsaved? I don't think they're going to gehenna; I think the Bible teaches that they're headed for the lake of fire!

Who are the Gehenna warnings issued to in the Bible?
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Hence, my question, "What is hell?"

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Amen! I know he has the keys to "hell and death", but where did the teaching that he went and wrestled Satan for them? Was it a cage match? (I think you hit the nail on the head with the "science fiction stuff" remark; might make a blockbuster movie.)

To see the verse where "hell" is used in the KJV and what the original word is, right click and save this pdf: Hell in the KJV This only includes the NT, since, as far as I know, every single reference in the OT is "sheol", which is the grave.

FWIW, here's how many times "hell" is used in different translations. In most translations, you will only find "hell" in the NT, if at all. You won't find a single time that the lake of fire is referred to as "hell".

15 in the NASB - All NT Scriptures
15 in the Amplified;
54 King James;
14 in the NIV;
20 in the New Living Translation;
54 in the 21st Century King James
13 in the ASV – All NT Scriptures
14 in the ESV – All NT Scriptures
15 in the NET – All NT Scriptures
0 in Rotherham’s
0 in the CLV
0 in Weymouth’s
[FONT=&quot]0 in Young’s[/FONT]

 

I always thought it rather strange that
the 'sheol' which is Hebrew
and the 'hades' which is Greek
and the '[FONT=&quot]gehenna' which is Hebrew
name for the trash dump outside
Jerusalem are all translated by
the Icelandic word 'hell'. Of course
'hell' in Iceland refers to the
interior of a volcano BUT the Hebrews
and the Greeks probably weren't personally
conversent with the interior of volcanoes.

Hebrew 'hades' is the grave and/or afterlife
regardless of just or unjust.
Greek 'hades' is the grave and/or afterlife
regardless of just or unjust.
'[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Gehenna', being a trash dump, is the site
of eternal fire - so it's application to punishment
might be noted.
'Hell' is the place of punishment and is
a Icelandic term adapted to English.
I think 'hell' is one hell of a word

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Some one had to mpay the penalty for our sins. Jesus could not just die and that was the payment. We all die. The sins of the world had to be punished. He took our punishment for us. If our punisment would have been hell (as in the Hell) then that is where Jesus had to go on our behalf....Hense, He paid our price for our sins

 

Christ paid the legal penalty for our sins. That's what atonement means. Punishment for sin is separation from God...what Christ experienced on the Cross, the ultimate Hell for Him! Forget the physical pain and suffering for a minute. The Hell Christ experienced was "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken Me!"

 

I do agree with you as well. But I also believe that he took all of our punishment in our place.....The real point is that we were saved from this and Jesus is the reason..
I will praise him forever and ever

 

Our sin was specifically why he died:

Romans 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

He went to hell because everyone goes to hell, since hell is nothing but the grave.

I think you're confusing hell with the lake of fire, which I challenge you to show that he went there.

 

Hell is a place AWAITING judgment. It is literal and not JUST the grave as scriptures clearly states this. The Rich man being IN HELL lifted up his eyes BEING IN torments. Seeing Lazarus in Abrahams bosom afar off.
Is heaven and hell that close?

We know there WAS a great Chasm between them so niether could pass one to another. And in each place there were people specific to the abode they were residing in AWAITING Judgment. NO man can enter heaven in sin. The blood of bulls and lambs only COVERED but did not remove the stain and taint of sin. The OT saints were awaiting their redeemer who was to wash away all their guilty stains because He would be judged on their behalf.

However the wicked are awaiting their judgment because of their rejection of truth. There WERE two compartment to hell but after Christ rose from the dead, there was no need anymore for Gods people to await their redeemer because He had already come and cleansed them of all unrighteousness and Abrahams abode known as paradice was removed/destroyed as Believers NOW being absent from the body was made present with the Lord, and NOT Abraham the figure of THAT promise.

Even Jesus stated at the tomb - do not touch me (do not try to hold me or keep me with you) for I have not YET ASENDED to my Father.

Jesus DID go to hell, but not for torments, pain and suffering. He took the full wrath of God ON THE CROSS according to scripture and paid our sin debt ON THE CROSS. His going to Hell was to proclaim to the spirits in prison. WHat that entails exactly - maybe He was showing He is the fulfillment of scripture and therefore the promised Messiah. Others show He went to preach to those before the flood. We don't know exactly but we DO KNOW He was in Hell and in the bosom of Abraham or better known as Paradise.

 

I forgot about this verse:

Ephesians 4:9: (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

The grave. Hades. Sheol. (That's only two of the words the KVJ translates as "hell". Even with four different words translated as "hell" so many still try to add a fifth one in "lake of fire".)

 

He told the thief on the cross 'Today, you'll be with me in Paradise."

I wonder why he didn't tell the other malefactors, "Today, I will be with you in Hell?