Where did Jesus go after His death pt. 4
By Ivan Ho 3 Sept 2024
Suppose someone said: “Jesus went to China while he was on earth…” would you take his words and believe it’s true? “It may be possible for Jesus to take a trip to China, but if he did, people in China would have seen him, his disciples would also have known about the incident and mentioned it in the bible. In the same way, if Jesus did go to hell between his death and resurrection, the event would be clearly recorded in the bible leaving us with no doubt that he did go there.
When I say hell, I mean the part of lower earth where the unsaved souls were being tortured. There’s another realm in hell where fallen angels were bound.
Here are some of the main reasons why I don’t believe Jesus went to hell:
1. Jesus never said anything about him going to hell
On few occasions, Jesus foretold to his disciples about his own death and resurrection, but he never mentioned anything about him going to hell. For example, in the gospel of Mark:
And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Mark 8:31 KJV
His prediction about his death and resurrection was very detailed but he said nothing about his spirit going to hell after his death.
Instead, while Jesus was on the cross, he told one of the condemned thieves being crucified next to him that he would meet our Lord in paradise rather than in hell.
2. Jesus going to hell did not fulfill any purpose in line with the Father’s will
Jesus only did what he saw the Father doing. If it was God’s purpose for Jesus to go to China during his life on earth, he would have gone there according to his Father’s will. Similarly, if it was God’s will for Jesus to go to hell, Jesus would have gone there.
The thing is, what purpose would Jesus fulfill in hell? The wicked and ungodly people who ended up in hell could no longer be saved, unlike the thief in paradise who, despite his sins, repented and embraced Jesus before he died. Paradise was the temporary abode of comfort in the center of the earth where the spirits of the righteous Old Testament saints went. They had faith in God and endeavored to live a godly life, but none of them was without sin. Just like us, all these souls who died before Jesus were in need of redemption from their sins. Hence for 3 days and 3 nights after Jesus died on the cross, His Spirit went to paradise to preach to the spirits there. On the third day after his death, Jesus set the spirits free from being confined in paradise and took them to heaven, before his Spirit returned to his body lying in the tomb, and Jesus was resurrected!
There was a divine purpose for Jesus to go to paradise but no purpose whatsoever in hell, for the souls in hell were already condemned with no second chance of salvation. Their fate was sealed, so to speak. The time to repent and turn to Jesus is now while one is still alive on earth.
Then there are some who suggest that “Jesus had to suffer in hell as part of our redemption”, which leads to my next point.
3. It is finished
Just before he died, Jesus said “It is finished“.
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
John 19:30 KJV
The key words “it is finished” means that all that is needed to be done, as far as redemption of mankind from our sins is concerned, is complete in the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross! The shed blood of Jesus on the cross is all sufficient to cleanse us from our sins.
Notice Jesus didn’t say: “It’s almost finished” (there’s further business I need to do in hell). There’s no blood to be shed by the Spirit of Jesus in hell, so to say that Jesus needed to suffer in hell in order to complete his work of redemption for man is, frankly speaking, nonsense.
There’s other teachings going around, like “Jesus needed to die spiritually and was born again (in the spirit) in hell as a necessary act for our salvation”. Again, it may sound spiritual but in truth doctrinally unsound, to say the least, to suggest that the Spirit of Jesus would die. Jesus Christ is God from eternity to eternity, and His Spirit never died at any moment in time. Only the body of Jesus died for 3 days after which he was raised from the dead. Through his death and resurrection, whosoever accepts Jesus into his life becomes born again and is redeemed from sin and from condemnation in hell. There’s no need to do penance after death for our salvation as some Catholcs would suggest. The blood of Jesus shed on the cross of Calvary is sufficient for our salvation. There’s nothing more you and I can do, and certainly nothing more Jesus needed to do, in order for us to be saved.
4. No scriptural reference of Jesus in hell
If there were any suggestions of Jesus being in hell, it may be found in the following verses in the bible:
[25] For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: [26] Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; Moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: [27] Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, Neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Acts 2:25-27 KJV
The above passage was Peter quoting David’s prophetic words in Psalms:
[8] I have set the LORD always before me: Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. [9] Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: My flesh also shall rest in hope. [10] For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; Neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Psalm 16:8-10 KJV
Although KJV did use the word “hell” in the abovementioned scriptures, it was translated from the original Greek word “Hades” (Acts 2:27) and the Hebrew word “Sheol” (Psalm 16:10) respectively. Both these words Hades and Sheol carry the same meaning of “realm of the dead” or “place of departed souls“. The reason why KJV translated these words into “hell” was probably because there was no equivalent English word for these original words. In NKJV and most other bible translations, the original Greek word of Hades and Hebrew word Sheol are retained instead of hell.
If we read the above words of David closely, he said: “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; Neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” The first part of the verse, “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (Hades)”, refers to himself (David) and the second part, “Neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” refers to the Lord Jesus. Both the spirit of David and the Spirit of Christ ended up in Hades after they died. David foresaw that his spirit would not be left in Hades forever, because as discussed before, Jesus would come to paradise in Hades to preach and take the souls there to heaven. We know that the spirit of David never went to be tormented in hell together with the unsaved souls but went to paradise instead after he died. Likewise, the Spirit of Christ went to paradise instead of hell upon his death.
Notice when Jesus refers to hell, ie the place of punishment and torment, the Greek word “Gehenna” was used instead of “Hades” by the gospel writers.
[43] And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: [44] where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Mark 9:43-44 KJV
[43] If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— [44] where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’
Mark 9:43-44 NKJV
Note that in the above scriptures, both KJV and NKJV used the word “hell“, translated from the original Greek word Gehenna which means: “the place (or state) of everlasting punishment“.
In the realm of the dead (hades), there were two parts: paradise (or Abraham ‘s bosom) which was separated by a chasm from hell (the place of torment) below. We can see this in Luke 16:19-31.
After the resurrection of Jesus, paradise was vacated so that when Jesus spoke of “Hades” in Revelation 1:18, he was referring to hell only.
I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Revelation 1:18 NKJV
The spirits of those who are in Christ now enter directly to heaven to be in the presence of our Lord. Jesus Christ alone holds the keys of hell and death, and He is the only way to Eternal Life! Salvation from hell and death is found in no one else other than Jesus.
I hope my messages would clear up some confusions regarding what happened to Jesus between his death and resurrection. If you share my views, feel free to share my messages to others. If not, God still loves you, feel free to comment and share your thoughts.