Did Jesus really descend to hell?

Before Christ

Sheol / the Abode of the Dead / the Grave / Hades

Hades is the Greek version of the Hebrew word “sheol.” It basically means the abode of the dead. Sometimes “sheol” has been translated as “the grave.” That “sheol” and “hades” are synonymous is clear since the terms are used interchangeably. David said in the book of Psalms:

• Psalm 16:10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

Peter quoted this passage as following:

• Acts 2:29-31 "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT {one} OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, 31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY.

Sheol / hades was understood by Talmudic scholars as being split into two compartments. One, called “paradise” or “Abraham’s Bosom” was the place of reward for the pious dead. The other, which later became known specifically as “hades” was the place of punishment for the unrighteous dead. So we have a place called Hades in Greek, Sheol in Hebrew that is split into two compartments, one which is called Abraham’s Bosom or Paradise and the other later taking on the name of the whole area – hades. This whole concept is clearly depicted in Luke 16:19-26.

Paradise / Abraham’s Bosom

In Luke 23:43 Jesus told the thief on the cross that he would be with Christ in Paradise that day. Paradise was one of two areas contained in sheol / hades.

Paradise was also commonly called “Abraham’s Bosom.” Paradise is used only in Luke 23, in 2 Corinthians 12:4 and in Revelation 2:7. It refers to the place of bliss and rest between death and resurrection.

In Ephesians 4:8 we are told that when Jesus ascended on high, He “led captive a host of captives.” This is a quote and adaptation of Psalm 68:18. In 1 Peter 3:19 we see that Christ is said to have proclaimed the truth of His atonement to the dead, the “spirits now in prison.” If we compare that to Matthew 27:52 where the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had died were raised we begin to get the following picture: Christ, upon His death, went to the compartment of sheol / hades known as paradise or Abraham’s Bosom. Those people that had been waiting there, the righteous dead, were then delivered – some to be immediately resurrected and others to ascend to heaven.

Gehenna / Hades

“Hades” is the temporary abode of the unrighteous dead where there does not appear to be total darkness as the man in Luke 16 could see.

• Luke 16:23 "In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.

The unrighteous dead will remain in this sole remaining compartment until the final day of resurrection when they will have to face the Great White Throne of Judgment.

The Abyss / The Great Gulf / Tartaroo

I’m really going out on a limb here but right now I am considering the possibility that the Great Gulf described by Abraham in the Parable of the rich man and Lazarus is what is described elsewhere as the “Abyss” or “Tartaroo”.

The Greek word “tartaroo’ is also translated “hell” in English but is found only once in the Greek New Testament, that being in 2 Peter 2:4. Here the wicked angels that fell with Satan are chained in darkness until they are cast, at a later time, into the everlasting fire of “geena.”

Concerning these same angels Jude 6 states:

• Jude 6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,

Because of this, we understand that gehenna / sheol / hades (the temporary abode of the lost) does possess light. However, Hell (the permanent abode of the lost, Death, Lucifer and his angels) is a place of complete and utter darkness. Some may question the concept of a place that is simultaneously flaming and in complete darkness, but it is an interesting fact that the hotter the flame the darker the color (to the naked, human eye). Hell must be so hot that it does not even appear in the visible spectrum.

By the way, if you look at Matthew 25:41, you will see that the “eternal fire” was originally created for the devil and his angels. Hell was never meant for us. It was probably created when Lucifer and his peers lifted themselves up in pride and were cast out of heaven. If a human ends up in Hell, it is because he or she has resisted God’s best efforts to keep him or her out. God loved us so much that He was willing to die rather than be separated from us. If we end up in Hell it is literally over God’s dead body.

After Christ (now)

Now the compartment of sheol / hades known as paradise / Abraham’s Bosom no longer exists. Now, when the righteous die, they proceed directly to the presence of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:6 tells us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Since we believe that the Lord literally, bodily resurrected and ascended we must assume that He is in heaven. This is confirmed by Acts 7:56 where Stephen saw the heavens opened and Christ standing at the right hand of God.

Some take Isaiah’s description in 5:14 as meaning that gehenna / hades would continue to expand with the death of more and more lost.

• Isaiah 5:14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; And Jerusalem's splendor, her multitude, her din {of revelry} and the jubilant within her, descend {into it.}

In the future

In the future, all the unrighteous dead will be resurrected to face the judgment at the Great White Throne of Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). They will proceed from there to Hell, also known as the Lake of Fire. The Greek word “geenna” translated “hell” in English, is the permanent abode of the Lost. So those not found in the Book of Life will be cast into “outer darkness” as described in Matthew 8:12 and 22:13.

• Matthew 22:13 "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
• Matthew 25:41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
• Mark 9:43-48 "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, 44 [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] 45 "If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, 46 [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] 47 "If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, 48 where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.

The righteous dead will also face a judgment at the Bema Seat. Their will have been reunited with new “glorified” bodies and they will live from this point on in God’s new heaven and earth. It is from this point on that “all tears will be wiped away and there will be no sorrow and no death.”

• Revelation 21:1-4 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer {any} sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be {any} death; there will no longer be {any} mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."