Did Jesus Christ Literally Descend Into Hell?

• Discussion:

          -Certain Christians believe that the human soul of Jesus Christ suffered for three days in hell after His death by crucifixion. This viewpoint maintains that He needed to undergo this form of suffering to complete His work of atonement. However, that understanding of what happened with the soul of Christ during this period is an error. We should take into consideration the words that Christ spoke to the repentant thief on the cross:

          "Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last." (Luke 23:43-46, emphasis added)

          It is abundantly clear from the gospels that Christ did not descend into hell. He went not into judgment after death, but paradise. His soul entered into the Father's presence during the three days that His physical body was buried in the tomb.

          Further, the notion that Jesus Christ needed to be punished in hell to somehow complete His atonement sacrifice is logically absurd. He Himself testified plainly to this when He said of His work, "It is finished" (John 19:30). Christ's suffering ended when He died.

          The New Testament uses different terms to refer to the state of the dead, including "paradise," "Abraham's bosom," "Gehenna," and "Hades." Christ's soul entered the blessed side of Sheol or Hades (the two terms are used synonymously). Christ was there for three days, until the moment of His bodily resurrection from the grave and glorified ascension.

          The Apostles' Creed states that Jesus "descended into hell." Various explanations have been proposed as to the meaning of this, such as He went to hell after His death and resurrection to liberate the souls of the just, end the limbo of the patriarchs, transform purgatory into a pathway to heaven, and offering residents of hell a second chance at salvation. However, none of these proposals are necessary. The phrase can be understood as a symbolic representation of Jesus' total triumph over sin and death, rather than a series of additional actions. It means that through His death and resurrection, Jesus defeated evil and sin once and for all.