Correctly Discerning the Truth: Did Jesus Go to Hell, and Where is Hell?
Our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. (2 Peter 3:15-16).
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).
Many people do not believe in God because they do not hear. And why don't they hear? Because they do not understand. Some people believe but go astray because they cannot rightly divide the truth. Peter says that those who are unlearned and unstable twist the meaning of the Scripture, and destroy themselves (2 Peter 3:16).
Even though one has a strong desire for God's truth, if he does not read the Bible or understand the truth, he tends to follow false teachings. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to rightly divide the Word of God. We must pay close attention to everything our teachers teach us.
The people of Berea "were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. " (Acts 17:11).
The Bereans were praised for receiving Paul’s teaching with an eager heart and for testing the Scriptures daily to confirm its truthfulness. Today, few people receive God’s word with such enthusiasm, and even fewer examine the Bible carefully day after day to discern right from wrong. Consequently, they fall into false teachings.
Did Jesus Go Down to Hell?
There is a teaching that during the time of His crucifixion and when He was in the tomb for three days, Christ went down into hell and preached. This belief arises from not carefully distinguishing certain passages of Scripture.
The Bible says: "He ascended on high; He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men." (Ephesians 4:8-10).
Here, it is said that Christ went down to the lower parts of the earth. Does this refer literally to the inner part of the earth or to the first time He walked upon the earth? Some interpret it as a descent into the inner realm of the earth, which they consider hell, and therefore argue that during His crucifixion—when His body lay in the tomb—Christ went down there. This belief is based on the following passage:
"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, 19 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." (1 Peter 3:18-20).
In the above passage, Christ comes by the Spirit and preaches to those spirits who are now imprisoned. These spirits were the ones who did not listen in Noah's time. Not all spirits who entered the prison are these ones. If that is so, when did Christ preach to these group of spirits?
Peter himself says that "Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow." (1 Peter 1:10-11).
It is said that Christ spoke through the prophets of old. The prophets were human beings and did not know the things which were coming in the future. However, the Spirit of Christ within them was able to proclaim those things which they themselves did not know.
Again, Peter says, "God did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; " (2 Peter 2:5).
Noah preached the gospel to his contemporaries and warned them about the coming flood. Yet people did not believe him. How could Noah have known about the flood? It was revealed to him by the Spirit of Christ within him, so Christ spoke through Noah to that generation. Because they neither listened nor believed, they were imprisoned—an idea expressed by Peter at the time he wrote his epistle. Thus, Christ did not descend into Hades at His death.
Jesus was In Paradise
When Jesus died on the cross, His spirit entered paradise rather than hell. While He was being crucified, a criminal standing beside Him said, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42‑43). Because Jesus assured the thief that he would be with Him in paradise on that very day, Jesus’s spirit entered paradise immediately after His death.
Furthermore, He cried out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit,” and breathed His last (Luke 23:46). Thus Jesus entrusted His spirit to the Father; it went to heaven where the Father is. Therefore, there was no reason for Him to go to hell.
Jesus Did Not Go to Hell
The reason why Jesus did not go to hell is because the Scripture says, "It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment" (Hebrew 9:27). Therefore, those spirits who had gone to hell could no longer be saved. When people say that Jesus went to hell, they claim that He descended there in order to proclaim that He could conquer death and Satan. However, for Christ to go to hell in this way would serve no purpose; it would be meaningless. Therefore, Jesus did not go to hell.
Where is Hell?
Some people believe that Hell lies beneath the Earth. This idea stems from certain scriptural passages, such as Peter’s speech on the day of Pentecost:
“Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 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, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption." (Acts 2:29-31)
In this passage, "hell" refers to death. Just as Jonah remained in the belly of the great fish for three days, so man will remain in the earth for three days (Matthew 12:40). Thus, it can be said that Christ's body was beneath the earth for three days, but His spirit went directly to God, as He said, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit" (Luke 23:46).
Hell cannot exist within the Earth. The reason is that hellfire is an eternal reality. The earth is a temporary creation and will be destroyed by fire. In Scripture it says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. " (2 Peter 3:10). If the earth itself is consumed by fire, hell too would be burned up and destroyed.
The Spirits of the Dead
Where do the spirits of believers go? Paul wrote, "We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord." (2 Corinthian 5:8).
Thus, it is understood that when a believer's body separates from his spirit, the spirit immediately goes to be with the Lord. Again, Paul wrote, "For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better." (Philippians 1:23) Paul believed that if he died, he would be with Christ.
Jesus also said to the criminal beside Him, "Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). Therefore, we can know that this believing sinner went immediately to paradise on that day.
Again, Jesus spoke about Lazarus in this way: "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom." (Luke 16:22-23). Lazarus immediately went to Abraham's bosom. Thus, the spirits of believers go directly to heaven, while the spirits of unbelievers go directly to hell, as Christ said. As for the rich man, he "also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom."
Paradise and the Heaven
We learn that Paradise is synonymous with heaven from this passage: "Jesus also said, 'Truly I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise.'" (Luke 23:43).
After crying out with a loud voice, Jesus said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit," and breathed his last. (Luke 23:46).
According to the above verses, the Lord Jesus went to Paradise after he died. Because he committed his spirit to his Father, he arrived at his Father's presence. Therefore, Paradise is the heavenly dwelling place of God.
Abraham's Bosom
On a certain day, that poor man died, and the angels carried him to Abraham's bosom. (Luke 16:22) Where is Abraham's bosom?
When the Roman centurion believed in Him, Jesus was surprised and said this, "And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 8:11)
In this statement, Jesus affirms that Abraham is present in the heavenly realm. Thus we understand that Abraham’s bosom—his place of rest—is indeed the kingdom of heaven.
