Did Jesus descend to hell between his death and resurrection?

In the apostles creed, there is a phrase which states, "He descended to hell". The question is; did Jesus literally descended to hell when he died? There are scriptures which proponents of this view uses to support their notion that Jesus went to hell when he died. Such people believe his suffering on the cross was not enough, so he went to hell to suffer further for our redemption. Others also are of the view that, Jesus did not descend to hell, but he went to paradise on the day of his death. Both views are contradictory, so which view is much more in unison with the whole counsel of God? This is a difficult question, but with the Lord's help, I will give you a satisfactory answer.

What is Sheol or Hades?

Sheol is an Hebrew word which means the realm of the dead. In the book of Psalms, it is written: For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption--- Psalm 16; 10. The Hebrew word for "hell" in this text is "Sheol" which means the world of the dead or "the realm of the dead". The king James translation of this verse is very poor and has caused great confusion. All the modern translations uses ''Sheol'' instead of ''Hell''. In another place in the book of Psalms, it is also written: If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there (Psalm 139; 8). The psalmist says that if he makes his bed in Sheol, which signifies the realm of the dead, God is still there. The new testament equivalent of Sheol is Hades. In the book of Acts, it written: He looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh suffer decay (Acts 2; 31). Generally speaking, Sheol or Hades refers primarily to the place of the dead.

Sheol or Hades has two divisions 

In Sheol or Hades there are two main compartments. We have the place where the righteous departed saints dwell, also known as paradise or Abraham's bosom or Heaven. The other place is where the wicked departed souls abides, in torment or Hell. It is a place of untold sufferings and shame. So in Hades or Sheol, we have a place of peace, love and Joy. When Lazarus died, he went to rest safely in Abraham's Bosom, see (Luke 16; 22). It was the same place the penitent thief on the cross was taken to, he was taken to dwell in paradise or Abraham's bosom by Jesus. 

In the same Sheol or Hades, we have the place of torment and anguish, where unbelievers experience pains upon death, popularly known as hell. The bible described the plight of the rich Man in these words: In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom (Luke 16:23). The rich Man was quickly carried into Hades, the place of torment upon his death. Whoever that dies without any personal relationship with Jesus Christ will be cast into this same place in Hades (Hell). 

Did Jesus descend to hell upon his death?

Jesus said to the thief on the cross: And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise"-- Luke 23- 43. Between his death and resurrection, Jesus went to Hades, the realm of the dead, but specifically to the place where the righteous departed souls dwells, for he said to the penitent thief, "Today you shall be with me in paradise".

Jesus went to Hades when he died, but not to the place of torment or hell.

His death on the cross was enough 

Jesus did not go to hell, the place where the wicked departed souls dwells, in order to make sufficient payment for our sins. His vicarious death on the cross was more than enough to secure the salvation of all those who exercises saving faith in him. 

Did Jesus go to Hades between his death and resurrection? Yes, but did he also go to hell to complete his suffering for us there? No please. God bless you 

A thought to ponder 🤔 

His vicarious death on the cross was more than enough to secure the salvation of all those who exercises saving faith in him. 

We defend and exposit the truth of the gospel

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 30, 2025 at 7:18 AM

    In as much as this is helpful, I want you to clarify me on that part of the Bible that says after the death of Jesus Christ,all the doomed souls that had not heard of him were freed

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Donaldson BoamahAugust 30, 2025 at 7:44 AM

      Can you please give me the scripture which says that after the death of Jesus Christ, all the doomed souls that had not heard of him were freed?

      Delete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 1, 2025 at 3:44 PM

    Wow! This is powerful bro..
    God bless you! You are really doing well, keep it up.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If Jesus was God, then why did he cry out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?

This question continue to puzzle the minds of many people out there, who are genuinely seeking to know the truth as it is in Jesus. But am also not ignorant of the fact that others, simply ask this question merely out of prejudice against the deity of Christ. In their attempt to discredit the authenticity of scriptural evidence of the deity of Christ, they ask questions like this; if Jesus is God as the Christian's claims, then why did he cry out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me? Others also ask, if Jesus was truly God, then how can God be forsaken? Unitarians are part of those who reject the biblical doctrine of the trinity and affirm that God is only one person. They are a sect that rejects what the bible teaches about the true deity of Christ. They claim that Jesus Christ is not God in human flesh and that he is not equal with God. A typical example of unitarians are the Jehovah's witnesses. They are infuriated when we claim that God is one, but eternally exis...
Read more

The threefold office of Jesus Christ

When you carefully read throughout the old testament with the lens of the Spirit, you will see that there were three main offices established by God. These three offices were namely, the office of a prophet, the office of a Priest, and the office of a king. Those called into any of these offices, were mostly anointed with holy oil, see (1 kings 19; 16, Exodus 30; 30, 1samuel 10; 1). These three main offices in the old testament was unique and none occupied all three offices at the same time. It is important to know that according to church history, the 4th century preacher and writer, Eusebius of Caesarea was the first person to work out the classification of the threefold office of Christ, but was fully fleshed out by that excellent theologian, "John Calvin" in his magnum opus, "the institute of the Christian Religion". Eusebius of Caesarea penned down these words: "And we have been told also that certain of the prophets themselves became, by the act of anoint...
Read more

Is Jesus our brother?

By the leading of the Spirit, the authors of the bible ascribed different titles to our blessed Lord which reveals aspects of his work and person. He is described as king of kings and Lord of all lords (Revelation 17; 14), he is also called our savior (Titus 2; 13). Jesus is also referred as the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12; 2) and in another place he is described as the righteous Judge (Acts 17; 31). The bible is also clear about the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is of equal substance and essence with the father (John 10: 30). He is our Lord and God as thomas described him (John 20; 28). But did you know that Jesus is also our brother? Many people address Jesus as our Lord and Savior and that is excellent, but are unwitting of the truth as it is revealed in the holy scriptures that he is our brother as well. The bible says: For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the autho...
Read more