Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

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Did Jesus go to Hell? 1 Peter 3:18-22 We Believe Sermon #9 “He descended into Hell.” The Apostles’ Creed has one controversial statement: "He descended into hell." The final clause in this sequence about Christ is the most controversial in the entire Creed. Not every Christian believes that Christ’s spirit actually descended into the place of departed spirits. Some denominations consider it optional while others refuse to include it all. One pastor said that he never knew about theological controversy until he learned about the Apostles’ Creed as a child. Growing up in the home of a Presbyterian pastor, he heard the Creed every Sunday, and it always included “He descended into hell.” But at one point his church had an associate pastor who didn’t believe in this particular phrase. So whenever that associate pastor led the worship service, he would say, “Let’s stand and recite the Creed. Today we will not descend into hell.” Add to that the word Hell, no longer means what it meant when the Creed was first translated into English. Some have even changed it as in our rendering of the Creed to Hades. The word "hell" is a problem. With it we picture flames, devils, and pitchforks. In Michelangelo’s Last Judgment, God sits on an elevated throne, separating the souls of men. Some are directed to the state of bliss, others to everlasting torment. Many are seen tumbling into tongues of fire. This phrase has been part of the Creed since the late 300s. This Descensus ad infernos is a part of the Creed and is also a part of the teaching of the Word of God. The King James rendering of Psalm 16:10 says, “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell.” Most of us stop with Christ’s death and burial. Then, we do not pick up the account again until Easter morning with His resurrection. What happened though to Jesus between His death and resurrection? We know that His body was buried, but what about His spirit? Where was He and what was He doing between His death at 3:00 p.m. on Friday and His resurrection sometime before sunrise on Sunday morning? Christians have wondered about these things for 2000 years. The questions are partly Biblical, partly theological, and partly personal. Since death is a mystery to all of us, we naturally want to know what happened to Jesus after He died. The short answer is, we really don’t know for sure. As we will see in our study today. The Bible does offer some hints that help us. It gives us clues that point us in certain directions, but it’s impossible to be dogmatic. Or perhaps I should say, it’s impossible to be completely dogmatic on all of it. Let’s begin then with the answer offered by the Apostles’ Creed: Jesus “descended into hell or Hades.” The very moment we say those words, a host of questions arise: In what sense did Jesus “descend” into hell? When did this happen? And what “hell” did He descend into? Then, there are other, larger questions: What does the phrase mean? Why is it in the Creed? Is it Biblical? Do we believe it? If we don’t believe it, why do we say it? On that last point, we’ve already observed that not every version of the Apostles’ Creed includes this phrase. This phrase provokes quite a bit of controversy. Here are two other facts to consider. 1) The Bible nowhere explicitly says that Jesus descended into hell. That is, the phrase itself isn’t biblical. That doesn’t mean it’s not true or that we shouldn’t say it, but it does mean we can’t find a verse that says, “Jesus descended into hell.” 2) The very earliest versions of the Apostles’ Creed did not include this phrase. If you go back to AD 150‑200, you can find early versions of the Creed, but they omit this phrase. It doesn’t appear until about 300 AD. Then, it became a standard part of the Creed. And it appears in most standard versions today. But the debate over its meaning and biblical foundation continues. Scholars have argued about this phrase throughout the history of the Church. And they continue to argue about it today. So where does that leave us? Later in our study, I’m going to explain why I believe the phrase is both biblical and spiritually helpful. For the moment, let’s notice how the Creed uses a certain verb form to describe Jesus Christ. Most of the phrases are in the passive voice: “He was conceived … was born … was crucified … was buried.” These verbs describe things that happened to Christ or things that were done to Him by others. But when the Creed comes to this phrase, it switches from passive to active voice: “He descended into hell.”       Whatever else that means, the Creed tells us that Jesus did this of His own initiative. He who was God in the flesh, the God-man, Who left heaven, came to earth, in His death and burial, descended to the lowest depths of the universe. By using the active voice, the writers of the Creed make a strong statement about what Jesus did. Whatever the phrase “He descended into hell” means, it didn’t happen by accident, but by our Lord’s divine design. Wherever He went and whatever He did there, He went there and He did it on purpose. This morning we are going to approach this differently than we normally do. We’re going to briefly look at four of the relevant passages of Scripture and make some observations. Then, we’ll summarize what this means for us today. 1. Four Relevant Biblical Passages –  A) Psalm 139:7‑8, page 445. The phrase “in the depths” translates the Hebrew word sheol, which the KJV translates with the word “hell,” “If I make my bed in hell, you are there.” These verses assure us of God’s omnipresence, wherever we go, He’s already there. There is no part of the universe—no matter how low or how dark or how distant it may be—where He is not already and always present.   B) Ephesians 4:8-10, page 828. Many students of the Word of God are in disagreement on exactly what the Apostle Paul is alluding to here. I can only tell you what I believe. Verse 8 includes a quotation from the Old Testament. Paul is quoting from Psalm 68 and particularly verse 18 which says, “When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train; you received gifts from men...” Psalm 68 is a Hebrew hymn of victory. It was probably composed for David’s triumphant procession after his conquest of the Jebusite city of Jerusalem, and the procession probably included the carrying of the Ark of the Covenant from the house of Obed, which would be from Edom to Jerusalem. After a king won such a great victory, he would bring home the spoils from the battle and captured enemy soldiers to parade before his people. An Israelite king would take the entire procession through the holy city of Jerusalem and then up Mount Zion. Another important feature of this victorious parade would also be the display of the king’s own soldiers, who had been freed after being held prisoner by the enemy. These were referred to as “recaptured captives.” They were prisoners who, in a way, had been taken captive again by their own king and then given their freedom. Personally, I believe that the picture here is of Christ leading Old Testament saints to their eternal home. Prior to Calvary, Old Testament believers did not immediately go to heaven. The Old Testament sacrifice of the blood of bulls and goats had simply supplied a covering for sins, but they could not enter into the fullness of God’s presence until Christ had purchased their redemption on the cross. They instead went to "Sheol," which was the place of the dead. We find this in the account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. You’ll recall that when Lazarus died he went to Abraham’s bosom but the rich man died and went to the other part of Sheol. Sheol had two compartments, one for the righteous dead and one for the wicked dead. The rich man went to the place reserved for the wicked dead, the place of torment.   C) 1 Peter 3:18-20, page 858. So when did Christ preach to the spirits in prison? It seems evident that after His death and prior to His resurrection, that Christ descended "into the lower parts of the earth." He went to Sheol, the place of the dead. Remember on the Cross Jesus did not tell the dying thief that "Today, you will be with me in heaven" but "Today, you will be with me in Paradise." While in Sheol, He preached or better He proclaimed His victory to spirits, which are fallen angels that are bound and confined there because of their wicked sexual sin with women prior to the Flood (Genesis 6). Now that the price of Redemption had been paid on Calvary, the Lord Jesus ascended and led His recaptured captives (the Old Testament Saints – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Ruth, Rahab, etc.) back with Him into glory. To ascend to heaven, He also passed through the territory of Satan and his demons in the air and no doubt celebrated His triumph over them as well. It was a heavenly ticker parade. It was a victory celebration because the battle had been won on Calvary. I find two great truths here that thrill my soul. First of all because redemption has been paid, when I exit this earth, I won’t take a side trip through Sheol! I’ll be immediately in the presence of my Savior! As hymn writer, Fanny Crosby, so eloquently wrote, “I shall see Him face to face and tell the story saved by grace!" Secondly, because He was victorious in His battle over sin and Satan, He has the authority and the right to give gifts to His own. We need never fear that our spiritual gifts will someday be repossessed. The Giver of the Gifts was victorious in His Battle over sin and Satan.   D) Colossians 2:15, page 834. The phrase “powers and authorities” refers to the spiritual forces of wickedness, not to human rulers. By His bloody death on the cross, Christ triumphed over Satan and his demons in all their various ranks and titles. The cross was a decisive victory for the Son of God. He won the battle so convincingly that the outcome of the war can no longer be in doubt. To “disarm” someone means to take his weapons away. If a man has a gun pointed at you, he’s not disarmed until you take the gun away from him. As long as he has the gun (and sufficient ammunition), you’re in big trouble.    When Jesus died on the cross, He took the guns and the ammo out of the hands of the demons. And He publicly humiliated them. Picture the Roman legions returning from a successful war. As they enter the city, vast throngs of women and children line the streets. On and on they march, a seemingly endless parade. Then come the victorious generals, each one accompanied by singers, dancers, and musicians. Finally at the end of the procession you spot a long line of weary, dirty, emaciated men. Their hands are tied, they shuffle one after another. They are the defeated soldiers, now brought back to be displayed as proof of Rome’s invincible power. When Jesus died, something extraordinary happened in the spiritual realm. Although it was invisible to the naked eye, it was seen by all the angels and the Old Testament saints. They watched as Jesus, like some conquering Old West hero, entered the infernal regions and disarmed the “bad guys” one by one. Then He marched them in full view of His Heavenly Father so that every created being would know that He had won the victory.   E) These passages prove that Jesus was totally dead. There’s one more thing we need to do before we can begin to draw some conclusions. There are three Bible words that will help us work through this phrase “He descended into hell.”      First, there is the Hebrew word Sheol. A very common word in the Old Testament, it refers to the shadowy realm of the dead. Sheol is where dead people go when they die. Sometimes it is translated as “grave.”   Second, there is the Greek word Hades, which to us means “hell” but in the New Testament, it is the equivalent of the Hebrew sheol.  Third, there is the Greek word Gehenna, which always refers to the place we call “hell,” the place of fire and brimstone. It is the place of eternal torment. The word gehenna comes from the enormous trash dump in the Hinnom Valley outside Jerusalem. Smoke and fire ascended from the dump day and night. It became a symbol for hell, the place of eternal suffering. So how does this apply to the Apostles’ Creed? When we hear that Jesus “descended into hell,” we automatically think of the word gehenna, the place of fire and smoke and suffering. But that’s not what the writers of the Creed meant. They were not trying to say that Jesus entered the burning flames of hell. When the Creed uses the word “hell” or “Hades,” the real meaning is closer to sheol, the place of the dead. The Creed is telling us that when Jesus died, He fully entered the realm of the dead. He was truly and utterly and completely dead from a human point of view. You may recall that scene from the movie Princess Bride where the handsome hero has apparently died. But then he is taken to Mad Max, a local magician who assures his friends that the hero is not really dead. He’s only “mostly dead.” That was good news for the hero because there is a huge difference between “mostly dead” and “totally dead.” But when Jesus died, He was totally dead. What happens to us when we enter the realm of death happened to Him when He died. He was not spared the pains of death in any way. That’s the main point the Creed is making. With all of this Biblical background, let’s consider what this strange phrase cannot mean, what it probably does mean, and what it must mean. 2. What this phrase cannot mean. Some groups have offered some pretty imaginative speculations about what Jesus did between the grave and the resurrection, like the Mormons who claim that Jesus went to America and preached to Native American tribes. No matter what else we say about the phrase, “He descended into hell,” there are three things it cannot mean.   A) This is not purgatory. This paradise so named by Christ is not a Roman Catholic purgatory, which many might confuse it with today. Souls in paradise await the resurrection and judgment at the end of time, but Purgatory is a concept of a stopping off place to work off penitence for sin before entering Heaven. Jesus did not offer salvation to those who were already dead. Nothing in the Bible supports such a notion. There is no such thing as post‑mortem salvation. Now is the day of salvation, (2 Cor. 6:1‑2). Today is the day when we must trust Christ as Savior. “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Heb. 9:27). The only chance we have to accept Christ comes when we are alive. Once we die, we must stand before God in judgment. Once a person goes to hell, he stays there forever. There is no mission work in hell.   B) Jesus did not face Hell. This phrase cannot mean that Jesus burned in the flames of hell. The very idea is revolting and without any Biblical foundation. Jesus suffered the penalty for our sins when He died on the cross, not after His body was buried. He faced our Hell on the cross but it was “finished.”   C) Jesus’ actions between the cross and His resurrection did not add to His atonement. Whatever else this phrase might mean, it can’t mean that Jesus did anything between His death and resurrection that added to His work on the cross. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He meant the work of salvation had been completely accomplished. The price for sin had been paid in full. Nothing else could ever be added to the value of what He did on the cross. 3. What this phrase probably does mean. During the Middle Ages various writers developed an elaborate doctrine called “the harrowing of hell.” Many people believed that between his crucifixion and resurrection, Christ went to the regions of darkness and proclaimed His victory over the devil and the demons. This belief spawned some very creative paintings by medieval and Renaissance artists. There is one painting that shows a victorious Christ standing over the mouth of an enormous serpent. He is rescuing various Old Testament saints from the “mouth of the serpent.” The value of this doctrine is that it answers the question, “What happened to the Old Testament saints when they died?” While we know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8), the Old Testament believers did not have that same assurance. Some suggest that Christ liberated the righteous souls who were in the “paradise” part of Hades and thus “led captivity captive” (Eph. 4:8‑10, KJV). The Scofield Reference Bible made this view popular a generation ago. The story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 lends support to this view. In Tolkien’s The Return of the King, the armies of Middle Earth approach the black gate of Mordor, the land of shadows. In the movie it looks like what we might envision as the gates of Hell. I can picture Jesus approaching a similar gate, with great confidence and triumph. Jesus’ victory penetrates even to the realm of the most disobedient dead. Richard Phillips adds this comment: “This whole scene takes place in hell, that is, in Hades. On one side of hell, as it were, is paradise, where Abraham and Lazarus are. On the other side, beyond a great chasm, hell is really hell, and that is where the once greedy rich man now is. This also seems to agree with what Jesus said to the thief on the nearby cross who believed in Him: ‘Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise”’ (Luke 23:43). Presumably, then, Jesus went to [Hades], proclaiming His victory to those given over for damnation, while actually staying in the paradise precincts.” Now that’s what I personally believe, though Bible students differ on this. This, though, is not a question of orthodoxy, nor is it a major Bible doctrine. There is though another way to look at all of this. Perhaps our problem stems from having a myopic view of the death of Christ. We tend to focus on ourselves and what the cross means to us. But there are many passages that suggest that the cross of Christ changed everything in the universe. That it had a cosmic impact that touched everything from the highest heights to the lowest depths. As Colossians 2:15 makes clear, the cross of Christ changed everything for Satan and his demons. Do not miss the larger point: The death of Christ brought startling changes in the spirit world, most of which remain hidden to us. I think the Bible gives us hints and glimmers of the truth, just enough to let us know that something monumental happened “behind the scenes” as a result of Christ’s death. 4. What this phrase must mean. Listen to this modern day parable:   A Chinese man came to a missionary early one morning and said, “Last night I had a dream. I dreamed that I had fallen into a deep pit where I lay quite helpless and hopeless. A priest of Confucius, passing by, looked over the edge and said, ‘Take my advice, friend; if you are ever fortunate enough to get out, watch your step lest you slip and drop into the pit again.’ A little later a priest of Buddha appeared and, reaching over as if to grasp my hand said, ‘If you can climb up a little so as to take my hand, I will pull you out.’ But alas I could not climb. Then Christ came. He lowered Himself into the pit, put His arm around me, and carried me out of my distress.”   A. Christ fully experienced death. That’s the primary meaning of “He descended into hell.” In Jesus’ death He entered into the human experience of dying as much as any person who has ever lived. He knows what death is all about because He has been there. He entered the “House of Death” and He came out holding the keys in his hand (Revelation 1:18). Let me share this wonderful statement by the late Dr. W. A. Criswell from a sermon he preached on Revelation 1:18, “When they nailed His feet to the tree, and when they nailed His hands to the wood, and when He entered into the dark gloom of the grave, there did He trample down forever the kingdom of death. And when He arose triumphant from it, He carried death as a captive chained to His chariot wheels.” I like that picture, death chained to the chariot wheels of Jesus. Our Lord could not have conquered death unless He had fully entered into every dark part of the kingdom of death. Only then could He emerge victorious with the “keys” in His hand.   B. Christ fully defeated the devil. Here are five ways the devil was defeated by the cross of Christ: 1) His head was crushed–Genesis 3:15. 2) His works were destroyed–1 John 3:8. 3) His power was broken–Hebrews 2:15. 4) His demons were disarmed–Colossians 2:15. 5) His doom was guaranteed – John 16:11. All of this happened at the cross when God struck the mighty blow that left Satan defeated, disarmed and disgraced. That’s why we like to say, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!” I love the story of Charles Spurgeon, the great London preacher of the late 1800s, who awoke one night because he felt his bed shaking. Thinking it was caused by a thunderstorm, he looked outside but saw no clouds in the sky. “I woke up and looked, and there was Satan standing at the foot of my bed. Satan himself was shaking my bed. I looked at him and said, ‘Oh, it’s only you,’ and rolled over and went back to sleep.” 5. What should this truth mean to us? One woman said that this phrase, “He descended into Hell,” was the most meaningful affirmation in the Creed for her because this statement reminded her that Jesus had been “where I live every day.” So what does this phrase mean to us?   A) We do not need to fear death. Death is like a dark room that frightens us because we don’t know what’s in there. The Creed tells us that Jesus has gone into every single dark room before us. The light may not be on, but Jesus is there saying, “Come on in, I am here and it is safe.” We will all die sooner or later, but Christ has transformed death for the believer. He has taken the sting out of death so that while we die, we do not cease living. We stop living on this earth and immediately begin to live in the presence of our Lord in heaven.   B) The work of salvation is absolutely complete. Because Christ died for us and took our punishment, we cannot go to hell. Let me say that in a stronger way. It is utterly impossible for a true child of God to go to hell. It cannot happen, it will not happen. Our Lord descended into hell so that we might never go there. He took the curse for us so that the curse could never fall on us. “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).    C) The devil is now a toothless tiger. Though he has great power and roams the earth like a roaring lion, and though he makes great pretensions and may at times fill us with dread, his power has been broken once and for all. Hear the words of Martin Luther: “Through Christ hell has been torn to pieces and the devil’s kingdom and power utterly destroyed … so that it should no longer harm or overwhelm us.” All the enemies of Christ have been defeated. They remain on the battlefield, but the end has already been written. We know how the story ends. Jesus wins, and we win with Him. The devil cannot defeat us because we are united with the Ultimate Champion, the Lord Jesus Christ. Conclusion: This morning let’s let Martin Luther have the final word on this subject: And though this world with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us. The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure; One little word shall fell him. What is that “one little word” that brings the devil down? It’s the name of Jesus. He fought the fight, He stood his ground, on the cross He utterly defeated Satan, and He proved it by rising from the dead. There is great hope for all those who struggle against sin. On Easter Sunday morning the word came down from heaven to the devil and all his demons, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over.” Friend, do you feel defeated? Stand and fight. Do you feel discouraged? Stand and fight. Have you been tempted to give in? Stand and fight. Are you wavering between right and wrong? Stand and fight. Remember this, the Captain of our Salvation has already won the battle. Satan can harass you but he cannot destroy you. Lo! His doom is sure; one little word shall fell him. And all of God’s people said, “Amen and Amen!”