The Strangest Part of the Creed: He Descended into Hell

1 Peter 3:18-19

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance. "Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high politician around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you." "No problem, just let me in," says the man.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."

"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the senator. "I'm sorry, but we have our rules," replies St. Peter.

He is escorted to the elevator and he goes down. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in cocktail attire. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.

He plays a friendly game of golf and then dines on lobster, caviar and champagne.

The devil is there, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises... the elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him. "Now it's time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing and praising God. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."

St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down again to hell. The doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above. The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.

"I don't understand," stammers the senator. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now here's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning... Today you voted." Many people vote for hell but they don’t know what they are getting.

We have come to the part of the Creed that is controversial: That Jesus “went to the dead.” Some versions of the creed omit this section entirely. I believe there is one major reason for why we need to affirm these words.

Without a doubt I think you would agree with me that the Apostles Creed makes the simple point that Jesus was really dead. It was not an illusion. He died and he had a real corpse, placed in a real tomb. He was not merely unconscious --his spirit left his body and went somewhere, and then came back. Where did He go?

We must remember that the Jews did not have a fully developed doctrine of life after death and the Catholic church developed one that served its needs later on as a source of fundraising.

But God had a covenant with the Jews that addressed eternal issues, and the dead were separated into righteous and unrighteous dead.

The clause in this sequence, "He descended into hell," is the most controversial in the Apostle's Creed. Some denominations consider it optional or refuse to include it at all.

The problem with this phrase begins with what it connotes. To some, the descent into “a hell” represents the physical agony of death upon the Cross. It was hellish in its pain. To others, the word hell means Hades or Sheol, the collective abode of the dead, divided into Paradise or Abraham's Bosom--the state of God-fearing souls--and Gehenna, the state of ungodly souls.

Thus the descent into hell may suggest that the Son of God carried the sins of the world to hell; or the Son of God carried Good News of deliverance to the godly dead such as Lazarus the beggar and the repentant thief.

The Biblical concept of “hell” is a muddled one; multiple references are used to speak of it when there is only one place we considered a location of punishment:

Revelation 19:20: “Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.”

Revelation 20: 11-15: “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.  And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

A third-century Syrian Creed speaks of Jesus, "who was crucified under Pontius Pilate and departed in peace, in order to preach to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the saints concerning the end of the world and the resurrection of the dead."

Still others believe that the descent into hell account for the problem of God's justice by providing an opportunity for all mankind--in eternity as well as in time--to hear the message of redemption from the Word Himself. But whatever interpretation one accepts, the scriptural passages upon which this teaching is based must be studied closely.

Some of the texts that give us the answer to this question are:

Job 38:17 “Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?”

Matthew 12:40 “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Acts 2: 30-32  “Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.”

Romans 10: 6-9 “But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' "(that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, " 'Who will descend into the abyss?' "(that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).  But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” 

1 Peter 3: 18-20 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.

There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.

From these and other verses “Jesus going to the dead” cannot mean:

First, it can’t mean that Jesus offered 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 Corinthians 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.” (Hebrews 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.

Second, this phrase cannot mean that Jesus burned in the flames of hell. The very idea is revolting and without biblical foundation. Jesus suffered the penalty for our sins when he died on the cross, not after his body was buried.

MY THOUGHT: He also went to the eternal place God has created for those who will be separated from Him in eternity. It is a place that was set aside for rebellious angels that is called the “Lake of Fire,” and its torment comes from the location and not God’s Will of punishment for His creation. People chose it and must then experience it. He went to announce His victory over death and sins.

Third, 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” (John 19: 30), 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.

But regardless I think it means that Christ fully experienced death. This is the primary meaning of “he descended into hell.” In his 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 says

“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”).

As believers we can understand that there is no human aspect that Jesus didn’t experience and overcome. Jesus went to the dead, went to hell, to show us that it no longer has a hold on us. Death itself was defeated and we were restored to the life God created us for in the Garden of Eden.

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—I 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 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!”

What should this truth of Jesus descending to the dead/hell mean to us?

We need not fear death. The work of salvation is complete. The devil is done.

Death is like a dark room that frightens us because we don’t know what’s in there.

After this Jesus becomes the Man of Linen who will conqueror all:

Revelation 19: 14-16:

And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Amen.