Beliefs about the Afterlife (viii)

Christ Descent Into Hades

"24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. 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. 28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. 29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption." (Acts 2: 24-31)

This text is decisive on the question of whether Christ, like King David, went to "hell" (being "Sheol" in the Psalm quoted by Peter, and "Hades" in the Greek text of Acts 2). 

The text above affirms that Christ went to Hades in the words "his soul was not left in Hades." Also, notice that Hades or Sheol is not the grave where the body is located. This is clearly seen by the word "neither" in the words "neither his flesh see corruption." His soul or spirit being not left in Hades is a distinct thing from "his flesh" not experiencing "corruption" (decay) in the grave. 

Another text which affirms the same truth are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said: 

"As Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matt. 12: 40)

Recall also that Jonah said - "out of the belly of hell cried I, and you heard my voice." (Jonah 2: 2)

"Hell" is from Sheol. Sheol is the equivalent for Hades. But, in the above text, Christ identifies Hades by the words "heart of the earth." Thus, we have another plain truth witness on the question of whether Christ was in Hades. Not only that, but the text says that "the Son of man" will be 72 hours in Hades. This is not a reference to the place of his physical body (which was in the cave) but to the place of his human soul or spirit. Christ was in his disembodied human spirit conscious and alive in Hades, among the dead. We will discuss this in more detail but it is necessary that we begin by first giving plain declarations of the fact that Christ was in Hell (Sheol or Hades). In addition to the two texts given above (Acts 2 & Matt. 12), let us add these important ones.

"Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (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." (Eph. 4: 8-10)

"But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead." (Rom. 10: 6-7)

What Jesus called "the heart (or core) of the earth" is here styled "the lower parts of the earth" and "the deep." All these are equivalent terms for "Sheol" or "Hades." In his resurrection and ascension Christ went from the lowest Hell to the highest Heaven. That is what Paul is affirming. Christ descended in order that believers might ascend out of hell into heaven. 

Now that we have seen that it is positively and unequivocally stated that Christ went to Hades, let us see what the scriptures say or intimate what he did while his spirit was in Hades.

When we speak of Christ's descent, we may allude to two different things. The Son of God coming down from Heaven and being born of a virgin, i.e. his "incarnation," is one descent. Christ said "I came down from heaven." (John 6: 38) But, another descent was his descent from earth to the underworld. Likewise the ascension of Christ may be viewed in two respects. He ascended bodily from the grave and into heaven. But, his spirit also ascended from Hades. 

Raised Out From Among The Dead

"But Christ has indeed been raised from (Greek "ek") the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." (I Cor. 15: 20)

“and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from (ek) the dead, of which we are witnesses." (Acts 3: 15)

"...that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from (or out from among) the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” (Acts 26: 23 NKJV) 

"...and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from (or out from among) the dead." (Romans 1: 4 NKJV)

The Greek word "ek" means "out of," or "out from among." When Jesus was resurrected, all the dead were not resurrected with him. He therefore "came out from among" the dead (implying that the others were not resurrected, his resurrection being special, or eclectic, or selective). The Greek prefix "ek" or "ex" literally denotes a selection or the removal of something from a group, taking some but leaving some too. The point is simply this: Christ could not have come out from among the dead if he were not among the dead. This is true in regard to both his body and soul, though each were not in the exact same place. Death is a separation of body and spirit. His body was in the earth, like other bodies in graves, but his spirit was in Hades or Sheol. So, how can anyone deny that Christ was among the dead in Hades? 

At the conclusion of this section of our series we will look at some of the objections for believing that Christ went to Hell, examining the reasons for the reluctance to believe that fact. But, we cannot dismiss what is plainly stated in scripture no matter how much it may be disagreeable to us.

Wrote one author on this subject in an Internet encyclopedia (See here):

"The descent of Christ into hell denotes the belief that His soul, separated from His body but remaining united to His Divine Person, passed into the abode of the dead and stayed there as long as His body, likewise remaining united to His Divine Person, reposed in the tomb, that is, until the Resurrection. The English word "hell" in this context corresponds to the Hebrew še'ōl (sheol), the Greek Ἅιδηζ (hades), and the Latin inferus, or infernus, and therefore means the abode of souls after death. The ancients thought and spoke of this abode as being in the underworld. Although the notion of the structure of the universe has changed, the ancient terminology persists."

Before we examine what the scriptures say of Christ's going in spirit to Hades, let us first look at how --

Hades Reacts To New Inmates

Since Hades is a kind of prison, a place where people are under guard, or are captives, we may consider what kind of reaction those who enter Hades as the "new inmates," or the new arrivals, get from the occupants. We have such reaction recorded for us in Isaiah chapter fourteen, in talking about the death of the king of Babylon and of "Lucifer."

“Hell (Sheol) from beneath is excited about you, To meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations. They all shall speak and say to you: ‘Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, And the sound of your stringed instruments; The maggot is spread under you, And worms cover you.’" (Isa. 14: 9-11)

How was Christ received by the inhabitants of Sheol or Hades? The day the king of Babylon died they were "excited" about seeing such a great man as the king of Babylon come to where they were (per the above text). I am sure that there was far greater excitement in Hades when Christ descended there! I am also really sure that those on the comforting side of Hades, the place of Lazarus and Abraham, were excited! Of that we will have more to say as we move along in our thoughts. I am also sure that there was another kind of excitement and stirring among the dead spirits on the torment side of the gulf of Hades, the place where Dives was confined. I am also sure that the entrance of Christ into the Underworld raised all kinds of questions in the minds of the occupants there, much like the descent of the king of Babylon to Hades raised questions in the minds of the captives in Hades. 

What questions would be proposed to Christ by Sheol's occupants when Christ entered? What answers would he give? If they ask Christ "are you become weak as we? or like us?" what would Christ say in response? Of course, the answer would be quite different from that of the king of Babylon, or any other person who had ever entered the afterlife. Could they say of Christ that the maggots and worms are devouring his body via the decaying process, as they said to the evil king of Babylon? No, they could not. This is because, as the scriptures testify, his body did not decay at all while in the grave, and suffered no decay. Christ descent into Hades was unlike any other. 

I do not doubt that when Christ entered the afterlife, entered Sheol or Hades, he went there in spirit emanating light and glory so that all who were there recognized this person as the Lord of glory. Some would wonder why he was there and have many questions. Others would know why he is there and Hades would be filled with jubilation by "Abraham's seed" or family of God. 

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. “Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?’ (vss. 12-17)

Jesus "came down from heaven" by a voluntary act, he being the eternal "Son of God." But, Lucifer, the archangel, was rather cast out of heaven (Rev. 12: 9; Luke 10: 18), or was "fallen from heaven," which is one major distinction between Christ and Lucifer. 

Lucifer, like the king of Babylon, wanted to become God, to ascend higher than God, to the highest place in the highest heaven, but ironically, he was brought down to the lowest place in the lowest hell (in the person of the king of Babylon). He went to the place of fallen angels, to Tartarus, "to the lowest depths of the pit." There is irony seen in the fact that this new inmate in Hades, with such a reputation as the king of the empire of Babylon, housed many "prisoners" when he was alive upon earth, and yet he himself ends up a prisoner in the lowest hell in the afterlife, where there is nothing but pain and punishment. It is the same kind of irony and reversal of fortune we saw in the story of Lazarus and Dives where the one who had as a rich man never begged as did Lazarus, while on earth, becomes a beggar in hell. The rich man becomes the poor man and the poor man becomes a rich man.

We also see some of the same excitement and queries at the entrance of Lucifer as with the king of Babylon. We also are told that those in Hades will "see" and "gaze" upon this new inmate of the infernal regions, and they will "consider" what his entrance in Hades says, what message it sends.  Of course such a description demonstrates that Hades is not the grave for the occupants see, talk, and think. 

Appearing In Each Side of Hades 

As I stated in a previous chapter, Christ went to Hades in his human soul or spirit (and his divine nature or person was united with his human spirit). We also have seen how Hades, up till the time of Christ descent into Hades, was divided by a "great gulf" and that the blessed departed spirits of the saved from previous times were on the upper side of it and that the condemned were on the lower side of the Hades gulf. We have affirmed that Christ went to each side of Hades, each for its own purposes. We will offer additional proofs for this proposition in the next chapters.

In the next posting we will continue our examination of Christ's descent into Hades and what he did while he was there.