Did Jesus go to hell after his death?

Deutsch

Jesus Christ descended into hell, or the realm of the dead, after His death on the cross. This is a widely held theory, but one that has nothing to do with the Gospel. Rather, it is the wishful thinking of the church that proclaims this fable as official doctrine.

Jesus Christ descended into the realm of the dead (?)

There is a persistent “rumor” that Jesus Christ descended into the underworld, or “hell,” after His death on the cross. This is a widespread fable, and not without reason, as the “Descent of Jesus into Hell” is the official teaching of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The Roman Church even gives it an official name in the language of the dead (Latin): “Descensus Christi ad Infernos.”

As is common with Roman Catholic teachings, no such reference to Jesus Christ ascending into the realm of the dead or hell and freeing numerous suffering souls there can be found anywhere in the Bible. This story, too, is an idiosyncratic interpretation and is treated by the Church of Rome as a tradition and part of its doctrine. According to this version, Jesus Christ demonstrated that death is overcome and the souls of the righteous are saved. If the Church teaches it this way, then it must be believed.

Peter described this in his letter

The passage in the first letter of Peter, 1 Peter 3:18-22, serves as support for such theses.:

“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: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 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. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.“

Different interpretations

There are various interpretations of this passage. Jesus proclaimed the new message of salvation to the tormented and waiting people in the realm of death, because they could not yet know it. Another version describes the rescue of those who lived during the Old Testament and were sent to hell as sinners. They, too, did not yet know the “new message of salvation.”

However, these variants implied a certain “second chance.” This even bears a certain resemblance to the fable of a pre-rapture of the Christian community before the Great Tribulation. However, such a “message of salvation” is not found anywhere in the Bible. (Info).

Simple refutation possible

The alleged “descent into hell” of Jesus is already refuted by the fact that Jesus Christ was born in the flesh (of sin – Romans 8:3-4). Thus, a completely normal body, like any other human being. Dust and the life-breath of God, which together make up the living soul. (Info). This breath of life returns to the Father after a person’s death. This was also expressed by Jesus Christ on the cross, Luke 23:46:
“And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”

“He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit.”
The term “proclaimed” is translated as “preached” in some Bible versions. However, the Greek word “ἐκήρυξεν” (“ekiryxen”) means “to proclaim” or “to report.”

“Spirits in prison,” according to the Greek word “φυλακῇ” (“fylaki”), also describes a prison in a figurative sense, but by no means a realm of death or hell. The New Testament uses the term “Hades” for this (allegorical) place.

The concept of the “Immaculate Mary” also demonstrates how ingeniously false the doctrine taught by the Roman Church is. According to this, she was without sin, and thus without original sin. She therefore already had a glorified body, no longer in the fallen state. However, this denied the birth of Jesus in (sinful) flesh according to Romans 8. John had explained in his letter how such teachings should be classified, 2 John 1:7:
“For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.“

Incorrect interpretation of individual terms

In this passage of his letter, Peter draws a connection to the time of Noah. A very limited number of people were actually saved—namely, only eight. This is also implied by the term “prison,” which always refers to a place with limited capacity to accommodate a number of people.

Furthermore, this passage describes how Jesus did not “descend” anywhere, but rather “went there.” The Greek word for this is “πορευθεὶς” (“porestheis”), which means “to go, to walk, to travel, from one place to another.”

Jesus Christ (the righteous) suffered for the unrighteous (disobedient). According to the Roman Catholic interpretation, this suffering also applies to those who have already died. Thus, they are given another chance, so to speak. However, this completely contradicts the message of the Gospel, as stated in Hebrews 9:27:
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:“

Catholic version denies gospel

“For the wages of sin is death;“, as in Romans 6:23. Jesus Christ took all our sins upon Himself and thus became sin Himself. The death mentioned here is not the earthly death, which Jesus Christ Himself described as sleep in the case of His friend Lazarus (John 11:11-14), but the final Second Death (e.g., Revelation 21:8). Jesus would not have suffered this death at all if He had gone anywhere immediately after His death on the cross.

The punishment for sin would never have been atoned for, and thus Jesus would never have (at great expense) purchased the right to exercise mercy while maintaining God’s justice. That would be arbitrary. Jesus rose from (actual) death because He Himself remained without sin and, like the Father, also has life in Himself (John 5:26).

As you can see, the interpretation that Jesus Christ descended directly into the realm of the dead, or hell, after His death on the cross, doesn’t add up at all. This is neither what the passage in 1 Peter says, nor does it fit with the entire path of salvation in the gospel. Rather, this story denies the work of Jesus Christ, even His entire nature, and the gospel as a whole. Just as is typical of Roman Catholic teachings with a “Christian veneer.”

In addition, the context of the Bible translated as “hell” is by no means the place that the Roman Church, based on Hellenistic ideas, planted in people’s minds. (Info).

Basics

After His resurrection, Jesus Christ first encountered Mary Magdalene, who at first did not recognize Him. Jesus warned her not to touch Him, John 20:17:
“Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.“

Jesus Christ had not yet been glorified by the Father. However, the time had come when God’s love was demonstrated to the whole world watching as witnesses. At the same time, this also meant the end of the great adversary, Revelation 12:10:
“Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.“

Satan and his vassals were cast out, and from then on, the adversary began persecuting Christians locally on earth (Revelation 12:7-14).

The actual healing message in the center

The passage in the First Epistle of Peter interpreted as the “Descent of Jesus into Hell” only needs to be linked to the actual core of the gospel to understand it correctly. From Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, the gospel deals solely with the only possible way for the salvation of fallen humanity: the “good news” of victory over sin. God’s intention and desire is for people to abandon their apostate or rebellious path and return to the true, yet very narrow, way.

Noah was also a proclaimer of the gospel

In the passage, Peter mentions Noah, who was saved along with his immediate family. There were only eight of all humanity at that time. Noah, designated by God as a righteous man, was not only the builder of the ark but also the proclaimer of God’s Word. The Spirit of God worked through Noah to convince people of the truth. As is well known, only eight were saved, because the “great remnant” chose not to accept the message of salvation.

The Spirit mentioned by Peter is the Spirit sent by Jesus Christ. This is made clear because Peter previously wrote about this Spirit, 1 Peter 1:10-11:
“Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.“

This testifies that the Spirit of Christ was at work long before the human birth of the Son of God. He worked through the prophets. This also proves that Jesus Christ did not appear only in the New Testament, but can be seen throughout the entire Old Testament. The message of salvation in the Old Testament, the path to salvation, is identical in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.

The prison of one’s own sins

How the “prison” in the passage of the first letter of Peter is to be interpreted shows parallels in the book of Isaiah, Isaiah 42:6-7:
“I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.“

And Isaiah 61:1-2:
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;“

It is therefore not a real, physical prison, but a metaphor for the enslavement, the spiritual constriction of man by his own sins. Just as Peter also uses metaphors in other sections of his letter, for example, 1 Peter 2:2-3:
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.“

And 1 Peter 2:5:
“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.“

The gospel is neither about actual milk, nor are the disciples actually living stones. It is a symbolic language.

God will let the consequences run their course

As in the days of Noah, so too will the time of the end be, according to Jesus Christ in Matthew 24. God’s patience is “superhuman,” but at some point the time will come when God will allow the consequences to take their course. However, it will not be the “rage of an angry God,” as is often portrayed, but rather the abandonment of humanity to its own chosen path. God withdraws His hand, for sin can also be equated with human self-destruction.

At some point, the human heart is irreversibly succumbed to evil. There is no turning back, no hope of improvement, let alone a reversal. Also a metaphor, but just as often misunderstood or misinterpreted, is the expected place of the irreversible:

Matthew 13:42:
“And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Luke 13:28:
“There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.“

Howling and gnashing of teeth – Not grief, but anger

These examples might imply that the “souls of the damned” will howl in grief, despair, and pain, “naturally” in the realm of death or “hell.” This would describe the realization and insight of people, but too late. However, this is not the case. In Hebrew, the term “gnashing of teeth” was not an expression of weeping and wailing, but rather of raging anger or furious rage.

Psalm 112:10:
“The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.“

The High Council and the chief priest were furious when the Apostle Stephen exposed their hypocrisy by testifying to them about the gospel, Acts 7:54:
“When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.“

This anger of the self-proclaimed “saints of the people” ultimately resulted in the stoning of the apostle.

It’s not repentance that comes too late that causes people to weep and gnash their teeth, but anger over what they will not receive: eternal life in an unimaginably beautiful world. Not insight and remorse, but envy, jealousy, and hatred. The motivation behind what is described in Revelation 20 as the final uprising of the lawless against the people of God and the new city of Jerusalem (Revelation 20:7-10)..

Variations possible – definitely not the Roman fable

It’s obvious. One can certainly interpret the details of 1 Peter 3:18-22 with other nuances, but certainly not in the Roman Catholic version, which directly “sends Jesus Christ to hell.” This is certainly a wish of the adversary, who gave the beast from the sea (Revelation 13) his power, his throne, and great authority (Info). However, this wish will not be fulfilled, because the end is clearly predicted and will come to pass.

Bible verses from King James Version (1611)