Did Jesus really spend three days in Hell? (Christian's only, plz)?

Question

Some ppl (like Dante) say that after Jesus was crucified, He went to Hell and suffered. But I don't see in the Gospels anything about that. What do you think??

Answer 1

Did Jesus’ soul go to Hell during the time in between His death and resurrection? There is a great deal of confusion in regards to this question. This concept comes primarily from the Apostles' Creed, which states, “He descended into Hell.” There are also a few Scriptures which, depending on how they are translated, describe Jesus going to “Hell.” In studying this issue, it is important to first understand what the Bible teaches about the “realms” of the dead.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the word used to described the realm of the dead is "Sheol." It simply means the "place of the dead" or the "place of departed souls/spirits." The New Testament Greek word that is used for hell is "Hades," which also refers to “the place of the dead.” Other Scriptures in the New Testament indicate that Sheol / Hades is a temporary place, where souls are kept as they await the final resurrection and judgment. Revelation 20:11-15 gives a clear distinction between the two. Hell (the lake of fire) is the permanent and final place of judgment for the lost. Hades is a temporary place. So, no, Jesus did not go to “Hell” because “Hell” is a future realm, only put into effect after the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).

Sheol / Hades is a realm with two divisions (Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27-31), the abodes of the saved and the lost. The abode of the saved was called “Paradise” and “Abraham's bosom.” The abodes of the saved and the lost are separated by a "great gulf fixed" (Luke 16:26). When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He took the occupants of Paradise (believers) with Him (Ephesians 4:8-10). The lost side of Sheol / Hades has remained unchanged. All unbelieving dead go there awaiting their final judgment in the future. Did Jesus go to Sheol / Hades? Yes, according to Ephesians 4:8-10 and 1 Peter 3:18-20.

Some of the confusion has arisen from such passages as Psalm 16:10-11, "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption....Thou wilt show me the path of life..." “Hell” is not a correct translation of this verse. A correct reading would be “the grave” or “Sheol.” Jesus said years later on the Cross to the thief beside Him, "Today, thou shalt be with Me in Paradise." His body was in the tomb; His soul/spirit went to the “Paradise” realm of Sheol / Hades. He then removed all the righteous dead from Paradise and took them with Him to Heaven. Unfortunately, in many translations of the Bible, translators are not consistent, or correct, in how they translate the Hebrew and Greek words for “Sheol,” “Hades,” and “Hell.”

Some have the viewpoint that Jesus went to “Hell” or the suffering side of Sheol / Hades in order to further be punished for our sins. This idea is completely unbiblical! It was the death of Jesus on the Cross and His suffering in our place that sufficiently provided for our redemption. It was His shed blood that substantiated our own cleansing from sin (1 John 1:7-9). As He hung there on the Cross, He took the sin burden of the whole human race upon Himself. "He became sin for us," 2 Corinthians 5:21 states: "For He hath made Him to be sin for us Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." This imputation of sin helps us understand Christ's struggle in the garden of Gethsemane with the cup of sin which would be poured out upon Him on the cross.

When Jesus cried upon the Cross, "Oh, Father, why have You forsaken Me?" it was then He was separated from the Father because of the sin poured out upon Him. As He gave up His spirit, He said, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit." His suffering was completed in our stead. His soul/spirit went to the Paradise side of Hades. Jesus did not go to Hell. Jesus’ suffering ended the moment He died. The payment for sin was paid. He then awaited the resurrection of His body and His return to His glory in His ascension. Did Jesus go to Hell? No. Did Jesus go to Sheol / Hades? Yes.

Recommended Resource: Why Believe in Jesus?: Who He Is, What He Did, and His Message for You Today by Tim LaHaye.

Answer 2

Christ did descend into Hades after His death on the Cross - but Hades is different from Hell, and Christ did not suffer there. He went there as God incarnate to free the souls who were held in captivity there. This is what His death on the Cross and resurrection were all about - destroying death and the power of the devil, which is the fear of death. As St. John Chrysostom, one of the early Fathers of the Christian Church said, "O, Hades, where is your sting?" because Christ destroyed the gates of Hades and opened up the gates of Paradise to mankind again.

FYI, Hades was where all souls went after the death of the person up until Christ's death and resurrection, and was a temporary place. Hell - or Gehenna - is what will come after the Last Judgment for those who do not follow God, and it will be eternal.

As for how long Christ was in Hades, it was basically a day. He died on the Cross on a Friday, just before the start of the Sabbath (Saturday). He arose from the dead early on Sunday morning, before dawn. No one knows exactly how much time he was there in human terms - but from the gospels, it adds up to a little more than a day. But it was enough time for Him to accomplish all He had to do there in order to free the souls of all people who had ever died from prison there.

Answer 3

It says absolutely nothing about that! The following scripture is what is used to make that claim:

1 Peter 3:18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19  By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20  Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

First of all, "prison" does not mean "hell".

Second, JESUS preached to those who were disobedient in the days of Noah through Noah.

Answer 4

Jesus' dead body spent 3 days in the tomb, but his human and divine spirit were busy.

Isa 61:1 The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me: he hath sent me to preach to the meek, to heal the contrite of heart, and to preach a release to the captives, and deliverance to them that are shut up.
Isa 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God: to comfort all that mourn:

Jesus released the "just souls" (captives) who were waiting to get into heaven, sent the rest to hell, and then he (quite properly) took vengeance on Satan, who had unjustly brought about his death.

Satan lost all that he had earlier gained from Adam's sin, and Heaven was now officially open for business.

Satan's power was destroyed, mankind was free again, and God's grace and forgiveness were the orders of the day (at least for the faithful).

Some think Jesus suffered in hell during those three days, but that's unlikely.

If Jesus actually experienced the torment of hell for us, in our place, how could God ever justify sending anyone to hell again?

And three days wouldn't quite do it either, because hell lasts forever.

Answer 5

Jesus did not go to Hell, Hell has not been created yet. (Read Revelation) The Greek word for Hell can also mean Grave. Jesus was Dead three days. His body spent three days in a grave, while His spirit went and ministered to the Jews and Believers who were in Abraham's bosom.

Answer 6

I don't think He went to Hell for 3 days. I think He may have gone for a real short time. He had to go to Paradise so that the ones waiting there (Adam, Eve, Abraham, Moses, David and other believers before Christ on Earth) could go to Heaven. I think He may have gone to Heaven because He had a different body when He came back.

Answer 7

Hell is the common grave as is hades, the Lake of fire represents destruction forever never to return ,that's why in revelations hell is cast into the lake of fire it symbols the end of death or the grave. Burning in hell forever is man made by false Prophets, God himself said such a thing is detesterable that it never entered his heart.
Rev. 20:14-15
Jeremiah 32:35
Ecc. 9:5, 10
look up the Greek word for "Tormented"

Answer 8

The Bible's definition of hell is the grave, not a place of eternal torment. Jesus died as a man, so, yes, he was there--in the grave, until he was resurrected. Dante just added his theatrical interpretation of the lies the religious leaders were feeding him.

Answer 9

Jesus descending into hell is mentioned in most Creeds. However, to find it in Sacred Scripture you must look not at the literal but the spiritual.

"I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." (Revelation 1:18)

Answer 10

Jesus, when He was here on earth, when He died, His soul descended into hell, and preached to the spirits that were in prison, the souls in prison, that repented not in the long-suffering of the days of Noah. His body went into the grave. But before He died, He commended His Spirit into the hands of God. His Spirit went to God; His soul went to hell; and His body went to the grave. And Jesus was barred out from resurrection until the Scripture could be fulfilled. He could not come back, because He had to stay in the grave for three days and nights. But when the Scripture was all fulfilled, this bar was taken away; His Spirit descended to His soul, His soul to His body, and He rose again.
Now, that Spirit that was in Him was the Spirit of God. And that Spirit in sundry times and divers manners anointed the prophets to bring the message to the people. In the last days through Christ, and now in these days here through the Gospel...
Those who died in the days of Noah and did not listen to his message, they perished. And Jesus went and preached to them in the chains of darkness in His death before He rose up, and He went to hell and preached to the spirits was in prison that repented not in the long-suffering of the days of Noah while a simple message of God by a simple man was being preached.
Now remember, Jesus, when He died, He went to hell, 'cause He had to go there; there was a sin barrier, and He preached to the souls that were in hell that repented not in the long-suffering in the days of Noah. He went to hell and preached to the souls, the separated souls from God. "Death" means "separation." And they had separated from God, never could be back no more. And Jesus went to bear record that He was the One that was spoke of, the woman's seed.

Answer 11

NO HE DIDNT GO THERE AND SUFFER, he when there to give the people, that had died before his death on the cross, a chance to except him and then they that did were sent to heaven.