Did Jesus Go To Hell

Instead of “holy catholic church,” some Protestant churches recite “holy Christian church” to avoid misinterpreting the phrase as a reference to the Catholic Church. The creed used the term “catholic” in the sense of “universal” or “global” (the Latin uses the adjective catholicam); this interpretation fits with the historic nature of the creed, which predates in its tradition the split of the Orthodox and Catholic churches.

In addition, the Athanasian Creed, which does contain the phrase, may not have been written until the time of Charlemagne (8th century). So, why the addition? One possible explanation is that at the end of the fourth century (around A.D. 381) the church was battling the teachings of Apollinaris The Younger, Latin Apollinarius, (born c. 310—died c. 390), bishop of Laodicea . He taught that Jesus was not fully human - He had a human body and soul, but a divine spirit. The church, on the other hand, taught that Jesus had to be fully human for His death to be a true death and an effective sacrifice for sin. To demonstrate that Jesus was fully human, with a human spirit, the church may have added the Latin phrase from the Creed of Aquileia to the more popular Apostles' Creed. By the time of the Middle Ages, the words Hell and Hades had become confused and Jesus was thought to have descended into Hell.

We have looked into the meaning of the different verses used to imply that Jesus went to Hell. First, Ephesians 4:8-10 reads, "Therefore it says, 'When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.' (In saying, 'He ascended,' what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)"

These verses actually quote Psalm 68:18. The controversy centers on the destination of Jesus' descent. Did He descend to hell or to the earth? The ESV provides a literal translation, "the lower regions, the earth," to make this distinction clearer. The passage says Jesus descended to the earth . The passage does not teach that Jesus descended to hell.

Another passage is Psalm 16:10-11: "For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life." Some take this passage to refer to Jesus entering hell (Sheol) before His resurrection. This interpretation is due, in large part, to the King James Version, which translates Sheol as "hell" in this passage. However, the Hebrew word sheol is a general reference to the grave, not a particular place in the afterlife.

In Matthew 12:40 Jesus says He will go to the "heart of the earth" just like Jonah went to the belly of the whale. However, here Jesus was speaking of death or the grave, not a particular location in the afterlife. To claim this speaks of Jesus going to hell pushes the analogy too far.

The view of Jesus descending to hell is negated by the words of Jesus Himself. On the cross, Jesus cried out, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). His suffering was over; there was no more payment needed for salvation. Also just before His death, Jesus said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46). Upon death, His spirit went to the Father, not to hell. Also, Jesus promised the thief on the cross that they would be together today in paradise (Luke 23:43). This could not have happened if Jesus had spent three days in hell.