“What in Hell Happened?”
by
Elder Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
I want to talk about something that in and of itself is not in the Bible; however, it is a summation of the faith and belief of those of us that are called Christians. That which I want to speak about is what is called the “Apostles Creed.”
The Apostles Creed is said to be the oldest of all creeds and is the basis of all other creeds. It dates back to the 2nd century A.D. Inspite of its title it did not come from the Apostles. Legend says that each of the 12 Apostles had the opportunity to give a summation or statement of their faith before their death and these statements overtime developed into what is called today the Apostles Creed. Many religious organizations today use this creed to express one’s confession of faith at the time of baptism.
The word Creed means a set of fundamental beliefs, a brief authoritative formula of religious beliefs. They are the symbol of the faith of a person that calls themselves Christians.
The Apostles Creed reads as follows: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Master of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead, I believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, The Resurrection of the body, And the Life everlasting, Amen.”
Let me clarify something right here, right now. The word “Catholic” means relating to the church universal, the body of Christ, which is made up of those that are called by His name according to His purpose, it is the universal fellowship of the body of Christ, NOT THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH OR CATHOLISISM. It refers to the body of Christ, not just the Apostolic, not to just the Pentecostals, not just the Baptist, or Methodist, Lutherans, or Presbyterians, but to all those that are called by His name.
In the original Greek version of the Apostles Creed, which dates back to the year 140 A.D. the phrase “He descended into hell” was not there; however, down through time it became part of the creed. Unlike the Nicene Creed or the Chalcedonian Definition the Apostles Creed was not approved by a church council at one certain time; therefore, it developed into what we have today. Ever since about 360 A.D. the phrase “He descended into hell” has been a very controversial statement. This is when the first appearance of this particular phrase was used. It appeared in the Latin version and said “dedcendit in inferna.” The Latin word “inferna” literally means “lower”. It is used to represent the grave into which the body was lowered, or the realm of the dead which was considered to be the underworld.
People ever since this time has argued the fact did Jesus descend into hell? If so why? And if He did descend into hell did He suffer in the torment of hell while He was there.
We must understand people of God that the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament was mainly written in Greek. In 1611 A.D. when King James had the Bible translated into the English language many words lost their original meaning and have taken on a very limited meaning in the English language. Because of this there are many misinterpretations and misunderstandings of the precious Word of God, that’s why it is so very important to study to show thyself approved unto God.
The Hebrew word for hell is “Sheol”. Sheol refers to the place of departed spirit of the dead.
*: - A grave is one particular cavity that is dug for the interment of a dead person.
Sheol is a collective name for all graves. Sheol is the region of the dead, it is never fully occupied, but desires more for Proverbs 27:20 says “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.” The Bible says in Genesis 37:35 “And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave (Hebrew word Sheol) unto my son mourning.” Job 7:9 says “As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to the grave (Hebrew word Sheol) does not return.” David said in Psalm 139:8 “If I ascend into heaven thou art there, if I make my bed in hell (Hebrew word Sheol) thou art there.” Proverbs 15:24 says “The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell (Hebrew word Sheol) beneath.”
There is something you need to understand and that is in the Old Testament when Sheol is talked about it always refers to going down.
In the New Testament, which is written mainly in Greek, the word “Hades” was used. Hades is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Sheol. In Greek mythology Hades was the name of the god of the underworld, it became the name that represented the place. Hades is the place of the departed souls of the dead. It is the unseen world, the land of the departed.
Hades literally means a place devoid of light, a dark, obscure abode. It is the intermediate state between death and the ultimate Gehenna, “The Lake of Fire”. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word Sheol was always considered to be down, in the New Testament the Greek word Hades is considered to be down, and the Latin word inferna is considered to be down.
Deuteronomy 32:22 says “For a fire has been kindled by my wrath, one that burns to the realm of death below (Sheol/Hades/Inferna). It will devour the earth and its harvest and set afire the foundations of the mountains.” NIV.
If we look at 1st Samuel 28:7-15 we find where Saul enquired of the witch of Endor to call from the dead Samuel. The Bible reads “Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.”
We see that the souls of the dead went down into Sheol/Hades, the underparts of the earth.
If we look at Luke 16:22-26 we find where Lazarus and the rich man, who we called the Latin term “Dives” died. Lazarus was carried into the bosom of Abraham or Paradise, while the rich man “Dives” went to hell (Sheol/Hades/Inferna). The Bible reads “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us that would come from thence.” The interpretation of this passage lead us to understand that Sheol/Hades/Inferna was infact separated into two compartments that were in the lower parts of the earth. Therefore, when a person died their soul was held in the lower parts of the earth, a place of confinement in either in a blissful state of peace in Paradise or in torment in Hell.
“Descendit in Inferna”. He descended into hell. Many people ask the question did He? Now that we understand the meaning of the Hebrew word Sheol, the Greek word Hades, and the Latin word Inferna, we know that the collective meaning also includes the lower parts of the earth. If we read Ephesians 4:9-10 the Bible says “Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.” So to answer the question did Jesus really descend into hell, YES He did.
Some people have said like John Calvin, “He descended into hell” means that He had to suffer the pains of hell. They believe that inorder for Jesus to have full and complete victory that He had to suffer the torment of hell that He had to undergo the severity of God’s vengeance to appease His wrath and satisfy His judgment. However, that is not even scriptural and goes contrary to the Word of God. In John 19:30 the Bible says “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” It is finished indicates that His work of atonement was completed in full. There is not further need for Jesus to suffer, for He obediently completed the work He was sent to do. Understand that hell, not the Hebrew word Sheol or the Greek word Hades, but the Hebrew word Gehenna and the Greek word Tartarus is the place of punishment. People end up in this hell because of disobedience to God. Jesus was God manifested in the flesh, in no way was He disobedient so He didn’t have to go to hell to suffer. He didn’t have to go to hell to complete His work for on Calvary’s cross He said it is finished.
Some people feel that Jesus descended into hell to preach to the lost souls from the flood of Noah and the Old Testament saints. They misunderstand 1st Peter 3:18-20 which says “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.” Many people feel that Jesus went to hell to give these lost souls a second chance for salvation, but that too is contrary to the Word of God. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27 “And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” After you die there is not a second chance the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 11:3 “If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.” In other words if you sin in sin you remain in sin there is no second chance. So the theory that He went to hell to preach salvation to those that died in the flood is not Bible base.
Let’s take a look at the Apostles Creed one more time it says “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Master of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead, I believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, The Resurrection of the body, And the Life everlasting, Amen.” Was crucified, dead, and buried, that would suffice and “He descended into hell” would not of had been added if that was all that was done.
He descended into hell, the word descended means to pass from a higher to a lower place or level: to pass, move, or climb down. It is an active word stating that something took place. The separation of body and soul is the definition of the physical death. When Jesus died on the cross, he naturally died a physical death, meaning the separation of body and soul. When someone dies they are not able to move, think, speak or do anything that they were able to do while they were alive, because everything ceases to function. However the soul went to the place of departed soul, rather Paradise or Hell. In the natural Jesus was laid in a tomb. The Bible says in Matthew 27:59-60 “And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed.” The natural man Jesus was dead not able to place Himself in a tomb; therefore He was laid in the tomb, but in the spirit, He descended into hell, why because that was the place that departed souls had to go. However the soul of Jesus was different than any of the other souls that had died before Him. To fully understand this we must look at Genesis 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” The key here is “a living soul”, when man died his soul went to hell, the place of confinement, but when Jesus died His soul wasn’t just a living soul, but was the source of life for His soul was 100% God and no grave would be able to hold God down, because He is omnipotent.
What in Hell happened? If you stick with me for just a few moments and go with me on a spiritual journey in your mind I am going to tell you what I believed happened in hell. Jesus had been beat all night long, He was scourged with the flagellum, forced to carry the Patibulum, which I am told weighed about 80 pounds up to Golgotha’s Hill, thank God for Simon of Cyrene who was able to carry the load for a little while. They laid Him on the cross drove the nails into His hands, His hands began to draw up like a claw they then drug His bloody body over the dirty ground, causing dirt and pebbles to get lodged in the wounds on His back. They drug Him up the Stipe, His back picking up splinters from the wood, then they nailed His feet to the cross, His feet began to draw up. He hung there between Heaven and Earth, from the sixth hour (noon) to the ninth hour (3:00pm) everytime He took a breath agony ran through His body, He didn’t have to go to hell for He experienced hell in His body. He hung there on the cross then at the ninth hour or 3:00 p.m. if you will, which was the hour of sacrifice in the temple, Jesus the natural man died. I like to believe that at this time the devil and all his cohorts began to rejoice believing that they had defeated the Son of God; no doubt they were saying like the munchkins from the Wizard of Oz, joy joy Jesus is dead. When all of the sudden the gates of hell flew open in comes Jesus walking through the gates of hell. He walks up to the devil, looks him right in the eye, and says I came to hell just to let you know that I’m not dead I’m still alive.
No doubt you have heard it said that Jesus went to hell to make a proclamation. Understand that a proclamation is the first step in a three step process. A process is something marked by gradual change that leads to a particular result. 1st you have the proclamation, 2nd the expectation, and 3rd the manifestation. The word proclamation means to proclaim something, to declare insistently, to announce, to show, to make officially known, to explicitly make clear and affirm.
What in Hell happened? I like to believe Jesus went to hell to tell the devil, you see all those people; those are my people that have been called by my name. I came to hell to let you know that I am giving them the victory, I came to hell to let you know devil, that try as you might no weapon that you form against them shall be able to prosper. I came to hell Lucifer to let you know that you can give them cancer, you can give the sugar diabetes, you can give the coronary heart disease, but I came to hell to let you know that because I was beat all night long, because I was scourged with the flagellum, because I was wiped by my stripes they are all ready healed. I came to hell to let you know that every temptation you send their way, that I have all ready made a way of escape. I came to hell to let you know that I am making them more than conquerors. I came to hell to let you know that whatever they ask in my name that I will give it to them. I came to hell to let you know that I am giving joy unspeakable full of glory. I came to hell to let you know that I am giving them peace that passeth all understanding. I came to hell to let you know that I am giving them power to cast out demons. I am giving them power to lay their hands on the sick and they shall recover. I came to hell to let you know that I am making them free and who I set free is free indeed.
Then after Jesus made the proclamation He took the keys of death and hell out of the hands of the devil, looked him in the eye and said Oh death where is thy sting, Oh grave where is thy victory.
You ask the question What in Hell happened. Your victory was proclaimed in hell. Your deliverance was proclaimed in hell. Your joy was proclaimed in hell. Your peace was proclaimed in hell. Your wealth was proclaimed in hell.
I said proclamation was the 1st step in a 3 step process. Jesus in hell proclaimed your victory that was the 1st step. The 2nd step was expectation, when you prayed asking God for that which you had need of, Jesus had already proclaimed it to be so in hell, but you were expecting something. Now the 3rd step is manifestation, it must be made known. How do you make something known?
My mind goes back to David in 2nd Samuel 6:13-14 the Bible says “And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.” Verses 20 -22 says “Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself! And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play before the Lord. And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.”
The people knew because David danced. Make your situation that was proclaimed in hell, that you have been expecting, make it manifested by dancing before the Lord. You may say but I don’t have it yet. David after only going six paces began to rejoice, WHY, because he knew his victory was on the way. He knew his deliverance was on the way. He knew his peace was on the way. If you know that your deliverance is on the way just give God praise.
What in hell happened? Victory was proclaimed. We got the victory. When did we get it in hell?
Elder Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
Boanerge Ministries.
