Did Jesus go to hell when he died on the cross?

Hi there,

There is a great deal of confusion over this topic (as evidenced above!) which is perhaps created in part by these passages:

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed 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, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him."

1 Peter 3:18-22

Some read this verse and interpret it to mean that Jesus went from this earth to Hades/Sheol (the place of the dead) where he then preached the Gospel message to the sinners there and took those who believed back with him to heaven.

"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth"

Matthew 12:40

Some say that this means Jesus must have descended into the place of the dead (Hades) for three days and nights, while others say that this statement is only about his resurrection (defining that he had died in body and would be resurrected just as Jonah had perhaps died in the belly of the fish and then was resussitated on the shores of Ninevah).

Those who believe that Jesus went to the torment side of Hades do, however, have perhaps insurmountable scriptural problems to overcome:

The first problem is what Jesus said to the man on the cross:

"I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

Luke 23:43

If the man was to be with Jesus in paradise then surely Jesus could not have gone to torment but paradise!

The second problem is that hell (should we say the torment of Hades to avoid confusion) is separated from heaven by a chasm that no man can cross and as torment is also variously defined as separation from God, this would imply that Jesus was separated from God for 3 further days while he preached the message of the gospel to those in torment in case they might believe (or was it a message of victory declared over them?). Accordingly the forsakenness that Jesus experienced on the cross would have continued if he had descended to torment and been separated from God... Then he would have been unable to declare 'it is finished' as he did on the cross.

There are a few interesting articles about this that you could read:

http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/jesus-in-hell-f...

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Basics/did_jesus_go...

http://www.gotquestions.org/did-Jesus-go-to-hell.h...

Your understanding of where Jesus went will largely be based upon your view of Hades/Sheol... Is the paradise of Hades the same place as heaven or not? Some contend Hades is compartmentalised into Paradise (Abraham's bosom) and torment (see for example Lazarus and the rich man) while others contend that there is no such compartmentalism and that the 'paradise of Hades' is really heaven - the same place that Elijah and Enoch were caught up to... It seems it is possible that you could believe either without being heretical.

Personally I am more convinced that Hades is divided into paradise and torment and that while the torment side is separated from God, paradise is not. The righteous went to paradise when they died until Christ came and preached to them the gospel therefore declaring he had taken their punishment and they could be fully united with God in heaven again. The paradise element of heaven may still be the destination for the 'righteous of all faiths' when they die so that they can hear the message of Christ and believe... It is however seemingly impossible to come to a full and complete biblical understanding though as there are scriptures that neither side can handle effectively (for instance in my view how do I handle the scripture that teaches that we are appointed to die once and after that face judgement? Surely time in paradise implies a delayed judgement...? Or does it?...)

Anyway, have a read of the articles, examine the scriptures and come to your own opinion.

I would also recommend to you the chapter that Wayne Grudem wrote on this topic in his book 'Systematic Theology' (which is an excellent book that you should get if you haven't already got it). He handles the 'descended to hell' aspect of the Apostles Creed well (this is not in the Nicene Creed) and also presents a good interpretation of the passage in 1 Peter 3:18-22 as saying that Christ preached to the people of Noah's time through Noah at that very time... not that he went and preached to them later. (for why should it only be those alive during the time of Noah that got a second chance to hear the gospel?).

Anyway, I hope this is food for thought... Sorry I can't be more definitive than this about what happened but I am convinced that we can equivocally agree with the writer of the article on www.gotquestions.org - Christ most certainly could not have gone to hell for hell is a place of eternal judgement that has yet to be established (it is synonymous with the Lake of Fire in Revelation 20-22).

Perhaps Christ went straight to heaven and perhaps he went to the paradise in Hades to preach? Your belief on this will depend upon whether you find the division of Hades a compelling argument or not. Either way, he could not have gone to torment because his suffering was finished on the cross AND he would no longer be separated from his Father which would have been necessary for him to go to torment. As to the final part of your question, the Bible teaches us that the devil and death were defeated on the cross and not during the period between Jesus' death and resurrection. When Jesus bore our sins on the cross he took the full punishment of God's wrath upon himself and won our freedom. This is why it was finished when he gave up his spirit... That our sins were forgiven there on the cross teaches us there was no need for a battle to take place in hell! (Note: The battle of Revelation is still to take place)

Remember as we close that the misconception that the devil is the Lord of hell is an unbiblical fallacy. The devil is in this earth and has yet to face his eternal judgement. In the interim he goes to and fro trying to tempt people to sin and accuse them before God. His angels are also in this earth and not in hell... Indeed the hell to which fallen angels are destined is a future place and not something of the here and now. That, however, is another question entirely...

Hope this helps you as you set about defining your beliefs.

Blessings,

Alex

There is no such thing as hell... yet. Despite popular belief, Satan doesn't rule over the evil of the dead or anything like that... Jesus didn't defeat death or the devil. By 'defeat death' if you mean rose out of his grave, then yes, but he still died. He was resurrected by God and went to heaven. The devil... well he still makes people sin today and that won't stop until Christ returns to take us home.

We are offered everlasting life, if we follow Jesus and all that. It is a free gift from God. Our sins are paid for (the blood price) by Jesus' sacrifice. In ancient times, fire was seen as a cleanser and destroyer - garbage was burned as an example. Hell is for death - the ending of life, not the continuation of life, but in torture. Fire is used as the image, but Hell is really where life ends. So, a soul will either go on to everlasting life in Heaven, or it will cease to be.

To start with "Hell" is a very poor translation. - The Bible states that Christ upon his death went to the paradise section of Sheol(Hebrew) or Hades(Greek). He took the thief which was on the cross besides Him with Him. He proclaimed His victory over Death & the Grave to the captives in Sheol & then took all those whom had put their faith in God with Him to God's presence. (The dimension we call Heaven). Thereafter Paradise was located in Heaven, and all who reject God remain in the remaining part of Sheol until the judgment.

No. Jesus was ressurected by God. Read Matthew 28 here: http://nasb.scripturetext.com/matthew/28.htm

This obviously didn't defeat death, but we are saved by Jesus' blood. We just have to accept salvation. The devil isn't defeated until he will be thrown into the lake of fire (Hell) with the rest of his angels (demons) and the humans the devil will take with him. Hell doesn't exist yet.

He went to hell in the sense that he was not alive for 3 days, not in a place of torment just dead. After he was resurrected he went to heaven after he had walked about and talked to his disciples first on the earth.

Yes, it is traditional Christian belief that Jesus descended into hell (See Apostle's Creed, Nicene Creed, etc.)

He ascended to His Father in Heaven after resurrection. The concepts of paradise, where the thief would be with him, and hades may have lost something in the translation.

According to traditional Christian theology, Jesus liberated the souls of the dead while he was dead. How much of that should be understood literally is up for debate. When the fathers said that Jesus descended into "Hades," did they mean hell, or were they just saying that he descended into the grave?

Jesus died giving up His spirit to God , He promised one of the thiefs that he would be in Heaven with Jesus

He resurrected the third day .that's all

after resurrection He went to Heaven

mark 16:19 and luke24:51

No. He died for our sins. He is seated at the right hand of God the Father. Satan is on Earth until the 2nd coming of Christ, which will be the rapture; when Heaven defeats Satan. Jesus loves us and you too, so he died for our sins because he wants you to be in Heaven with Him. I love you! ^_^

yes!! Jesus went into hell after his reserection, to retieve the keys to the gates of hell from the devil and shot the gates lock