When Christ died the bible says “He descended into hell” Why did he descend into hell?
“631 Jesus “descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens.”475 The Apostles’ Creed confesses in the same article Christ’s descent into hell and his Resurrection from the dead on the third day, because in his Passover it was precisely out of the depths of death that he made life spring forth: Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead, and shed his peaceful light on all mankind, your Son who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.476 Paragraph 1. Christ Descended into Hell 632 The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was “raised from the dead” presuppose that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection.477 This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ’s descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the
It actually says he descended into “Hades”, which is not the exact same thing/place/state as Hell. Hades was the Greek term for the abode of the dead (except for those who had been transubstantiated into divine instead of mortal beings, and elevated to Olympus). But Hades was also the word Jews used to translate Sheol into Greek. Sheol means “the grave”. Ancient Jews also seemed to believe that in the grave there was some sort of existence – a kind of half-sleep which might be either pleasant, peaceful, and filled with sweet dreams, “nestled in the bosom of Abraham,” or restless, fitful, tormented, and filled with nightmares, separated from the Presence of God who IS Peace — hence the expression “rest in peace.” What we must remember is that this was a creedal statement, and like most of the assertions in the ecumenical creeds, this one was intended as denial of specific claims by cranks and heretics. In other words, it’s meaning is to be understood in the context of the heresy it was
One thing to remember is that the word “hell” is translated from two, different, unrelated words in the Bible. “Hell” is used to translate “Sheol” (which is the grave, or place for the dead prior to judgement). “Hell” is also used to translate “Ghenna” which is the place of eternal fire and destruction. The “Hell” that Christ descended to is Sheol. This allowed Christ to preach to people who died BEFORE he came to bring the Good News. In other words – these folks died before they got a chance to hear Jesus’ words, and God wanted to provide justice. It’s unfortunate that the word “Hell” is used for two different words, but it is.
