Hello Paul:
I have always found that the Bible prooftexts itself. Throughout the Old and the New Testment are references that Christ will spend/did spend time in hell. Many consider that His soul was not in hell, but actually in Abrahams bosom.[b] What does the Bible have to teach us about this? What is Bible Doctrine about this?[/b]
[b][color=3300FF]1. We have Scriptural assertion to prove that Jesus went to hell.[/color][/b]
First and most important is the clear revelation from the Word of God that Christ went to hell.
Acts 2:22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Acts 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Acts 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Acts 2:25 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:
Acts 2:26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
[b]Acts 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.[/b]
Acts 2:28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
Acts 2:29 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.
Acts 2:30 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;
[b]Acts 2:31 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 2:32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.[/b]
This passage is a quote from David in Psalm 16:8-11. When David wrote that he wrote it not about himself, but as a prophet, he prophesied about Christ that God would not leave the soul of Christ in hell. This is clear proof that Jesus went to hell. Let’s consider another passage. [b]
Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Isaiah 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
Isaiah 53:9 And he made his grave with the WICKED, and with the RICH IN HIS DEATH; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.[/b]
[b]Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: WHEN THOU SHALT MAKE HIS SOUL AN OFFERING FOR SIN, [/b]he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
[b]Notice Isaiah 53:9. The Bible says that Jesus made His grave with the wicked. Consider this:[/b]
Luke 23:52 This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.
Luke 23:53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.
Because Christ’s body was placed in a new tomb by itself, Isaiah 53:9 cannot refer to His physical grave. Rather, it refers to His spiritual grave in hell. All the wicked have their graves in hell, spiritually speaking.
Psalms 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
[b]Isaiah 53:9 mentions the rich in his death. Isn’t it interesting that Christ preached about a rich man in hell in Luke 16:23?[/b]
Notice Isaiah 53:10. This verse states that God made the soul of Christ an offering for sin. The entire human trinity of Jesus Christ (body, soul, and spirit) suffered. We have a picture of this in Isaiah 53:7-9. Notice with me:
Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
This verse describes the Spirit of Christ suffering for us. This is the mental anguish He suffered.
Isaiah 53:8 [b][color=0000FF]He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
This verse describes the physical anguish of His body.[/color][/b]
[b][color=CC0000]Isaiah 53:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
This verse describes the soul of Christ suffering in hell. All these verses show that Christ went to hell for us. His soul suffered there.[/color][/b]
[b]2. We have spiritual application to prove that Jesus went to hell.[/b]
[b][color=3300FF]We can apply several of the Psalms in spiritual application to Christ in hell. We can do this because there are many instances where the psalmist speaks of hell and going there. We know that no saint of God has ever gone to hell, except Jesus Christ. Just as David spoke of Christ in Psalm 16, many of the Psalms refer to Him. This gives us application through instruction in righteousness about Christ in hell.[/color][/b]
Psalms 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
[b]Notice that Holy One is capitalized. That refers to Jesus Christ, the seed of David.[/b]
Psalms 86:13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
[b][color=3300FF]The Bible teaches that there are degrees or levels in hell, just like there are degrees or levels of wickedness in men. Paul the apostle called himself the chiefest of sinners in 1 Timothy 1:15. Christ would have had to go to the lowest hell to pay for the sins of Paul according to his testimony. Let me show you a familiar passage of Scripture. When we consider this passage, it sheds new light upon the fact that Christ went to hell.[/color][/b]
Psalms 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Psalms 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
Psalms 40:3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
Let us now skip down to verses 6-8.
Psalms 40:6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
Psalms 40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
Psalms 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
Psalm 40:6-8 is quoted in Hebrews 10:5-9 and applied to Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 10:5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
Psalms 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
[b]That horrible pit that Christ was taken out of was the pit of hell. We often think of Psalm 40 and apply it to ourselves, but in reality it is Christ that was brought up out of a horrible pit. The pit was hell. Psalm 88 is a good example of what Christ went through in hell. When we read it through spiritual application, from the vantage point of Christ in hell, it opens our eyes to see something incredible.[/b]
Psalms 88:1 O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
Psalms 88:2 Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
Psalms 88:3 For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
Psalms 88:4 I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:
Psalms 88:5 Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.
Psalms 88:6 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.
Psalms 88:7 Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.
Psalms 88:8 Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
Psalms 88:9 Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
Psalms 88:10 Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
Psalms 88:11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?
Psalms 88:12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
Psalms 88:13 But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.
Psalms 88:14 LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?
Psalms 88:15 I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
Psalms 88:16 Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.
Psalms 88:17 They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.
Psalms 88:18 Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.
[b][color=3300FF]Not only do we have Scriptural assertion and spiritual application that Christ went to hell, we have supporting arguments that He went to hell.[/color][/b]
3. We have supporting arguments to prove that Jesus went to hell.
A. His substitutionary death is a supporting argument.
[b]It is a common held belief that Christ took our place on the cross. In other words, He died a vicarious (or substitutionary) death for us. Catholics call the Pope, the Vicar of Christ. That means they believe he is the substitution for Christ on earth. Vicarious comes from the root word vicar which means a substitute for another. When we think of Christ dying a substitutionary death for us, we are accepting the fact that Jesus Christ died in our place. But what kind of death did He die in our place? Which death did He substitute on our behalf? To answer that, we must consider what death means in the Bible and how many kinds of death there are.[/b]
First of all, death in the purist sense of the word, and by Biblical definition, is simply separation. It means to separate something. Websters 10th definition for death is separation. Consider the first use of the word “die” in the Bible and we can see this from Scripture.
Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
[b]The question is, did Adam and Eve die the day they ate of the tree? There are many speculations on this, but let’s consider what the Bible says about it in conjunction with our definition of death.[/b]
Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Genesis 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Genesis 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Genesis 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
[b]I want you to notice that verse 8 gives an example of death in the purist definition. They hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. In other words, they were separated from God. God said that they would die, “the day that thou eatest thereof.” When Adam hid himself from the Lord’s presence, it was the first time that he was literally separated from God. But there is an even greater separation (or death) that took place on the very day they ate the fruit.[/b]
Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Genesis 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Genesis 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Some time during that day, Satan beguiled Eve to eat of the forbidden tree. She then gave to Adam and he did eat. Then, according to Genesis 3:8, God went walking in the garden in the cool of the day to fellowship with Adam. The cool of the day was a time between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. In other words, God showed up at the end of the same day they ate the fruit. A conversation transpires between God, Adam, Eve, and Satan. At the end of that day, God drove man from the garden. Adam was never allowed to enter the garden of God again. He was separated from God on that day. He, in effect, died (separated from God) on that day.
It doesn’t matter what we might think about Adam dying spiritually on that day. Perhaps he did or perhaps he did not. Regardless though, Adam did experience a form of death. He was separated from God on that day. That is the Biblical definition of death. Adam did not die physically that day. He lived to be 930 years old, but he did experience a form of death. He was separated from the fellowship of God on that day.
[b]We are considering the vicarious (substitutionary) death of Christ as a supporting argument that He went to hell. What death was substitutionary? What death did He suffer in our place? We can certainly say that it was not a physical death that was substituted. The reason is obvious. If Christ took the place for my physical death, then I would never die physically. If His physical death was substitutionary, why, as children of God, do we die physically? The vicarious death of Christ would then have to refer to another type of death other than physical. There are only two possibilities for the substitutionary death (separation) that we can think of.[/b]
[b][color=3300FF]1. His vicarious death refers to the time when He was on the cross and was separated from the Father on our behalf.[/color][/b]
Matthew 27:45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
2. His vicarious death refers to the time He went to hell and was sentenced to die the second death on our behalf.
2 Corinthians 1:9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
2 Corinthians 1:10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
[b][color=3300FF]To determine which death (separation) He experienced in our place, we must ask the question, what death were we sentenced to? Were we sentenced to be separated from God for just a short period of time (three hours that Christ was separated from God on the cross), or were we sentenced to be separated eternally from God? The answer is eternal separation.[/color][/b]
Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
[b][color=3300FF]The death that Christ suffered on our behalf was the eternal spiritual death of separation from God forever. The only way Christ could do that was to suffer the death that we should have suffered. That death was the death we would have experienced in hell and ultimately the lake of fire. Well, Jesus Christ experienced that death for us.[/color][/b]
Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
[b][color=3300FF]Jesus spent time in hell to “taste death.” He tasted the second death that we were condemned to before we got saved. The reason He did not have to stay there forever, like we would have to, is because of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice of His Son.[/color][/b]
Isaiah 53:11 He [the Father] shall see of the travail of his soul [the Son], and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Acts 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Acts 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
[b][color=3300FF]God loosed the pains of the second death that Christ suffered on our behalf, because it was not possible that Jesus Christ could be held by death forever. Why? Because His resurrection was necessary for our complete justification before the Father.[/color][/b]
Romans 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
[b]The substitutionary death of Jesus Christ is a supporting argument that He went to hell. Since we know that we will die one day, that death must have been a spiritual death. Spiritual death only occurs in hell and the lake of fire. Therefore, Christ must have gone to hell if he died a substitutionary death for us.[/b]
[b]B. Christ’s ownership of the keys of death and hell is a supporting argument.[/b]
Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
It is clear from the Bible that Christ not only went to paradise to take the O.T. saints to heaven, He also went to hell. In fact, He went to hell first, making a show of Satan and his angels in that He went to hell and then came out – something no other person had ever done. Coming out, He now has the keys of death and hell in His possession. What comes to mind when we think of keys? The answer is doors and locks. I carry a set of keys around with me. The fact that I have the keys is a testimony that I have been to the locks where those keys belong. That is quite logical. I believe that Christ, having the keys of death and hell, are symbolic of two facts. First, He has the key of death because He tasted the second death for every man.
Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
[b]Second, He has the key of hell because He went there in our place.[/b]
Acts 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Christ’s ownership of the keys of death and hell support the argument that Christ went to hell.
C. The inclusion of the burial of Christ in the Gospel is a supporting argument that He went to hell.
[b][color=3300FF]Notice with me the three elements of the Gospel.
1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1 Corinthians 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
There are three elements to the Gospel according to Paul. They are the death of Christ, the burial of Christ, and the resurrection of Christ. All three elements are necessary to our salvation. Let’s consider each one to see this. We don’t have time to exhaust the subject, we just want to touch on these three elements in order to establish the necessity of Christ’s trip to hell.[/color][/b]
[b]1. The death of Christ
The death of Christ destroyed the power Satan had over death.[/b]
Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
[b]The death of Christ took away the enmity between us and God. We are now reconciled by His death.[/b]
Colossians 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
Colossians 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Ephesians 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
[b]2. The burial of Christ[/b]
For just a moment, let’s pass over the burial and consider the resurrection of Christ. We will come back to this point shortly.
[b]3. The resurrection of Christ
His resurrection provides us our justification. In other words, because of His resurrection, we know that God accepted His Son’s payment for sin. We are now just as if we had never sinned.[/b]
Romans 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
[b]His resurrection also provides us with hope of resurrection ourselves.[/b]
2 Corinthians 1:9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
1 Corinthians 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
1 Corinthians 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
[b]Finally, His resurrection gives us assurance that Christ was who He said He was.[/b]
1 Peter 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
1 Corinthians 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1 Corinthians 15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
1 Corinthians 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
1 Corinthians 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
These are just some of the verses that show us the importance of the death and resurrection of Christ with respect to our salvation. Now let’s go back and deal with His burial.
[b]2. The burial of Christ[/b]
[b][color=3300FF]What does the burial of Christ have to do with salvation? Stop and think about that question. Why is His burial important to our salvation, even necessary to our salvation? That question is very hard to answer if one believes that Jesus Christ did not have to go to hell to be the burnt offering for sin. If we look up the word “buried” in the N.T., we find the significance of Christ’s burial. Our text was 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.
1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1 Corinthians 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
When we lookup the word “buried” in the N.T. within the context of the burial of Christ, we find there are two themes associated with the use of the word. Those themes are hell and baptism. This is an important consideration.[/color][/b]
[b]A. Hell[/b]
Acts 2:29 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.
Acts 2:30 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;
Acts 2:31 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 2:32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
[b]B. Baptism[/b]
Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Romans 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
[b]Notice all three elements of the Gospel in these verses: death (Acts 2:29; Romans 6:3), burial (Acts 2:29; Romans 6:4), and resurrection (Acts 2:30-32; Romans 6:4).[/b]
Colossians 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Here again, we have all three elements of the gospel: death, burial, and resurrection in these two verses.
In both Romans 6:3-4 and in Colossians 2:12-13, burial and baptism are linked.
These are the only verses that give any hint of significance to the burial of Christ with respect to our salvation. Hell and baptism are the significant themes. To baptize means to immerse. When we consider the burial of Christ, baptism (to immerse) and hell are mentioned in connection with His burial. The soul of Jesus Christ was baptized (immersed) into hell when His body was in the grave. He went to Hell to pay the debt that our sins required. Without that fact, there is no significance to the burial of Christ. If Christ did not go to hell we would not be able to show any benefit from His burial. In other words, His burial lacks reason and benefit to our salvation if Christ did not go to hell. He could have simply died on the cross, then five seconds later come back to life, and then be resurrected right there on the cross. The only purpose for His burial was that His body had to have a place of uncorrupted rest until His soul finished the payment for sin. That makes for a strong supporting argument that Christ went to hell.
[b]For an exhaustive 9 part study on this issue, using only the Bible only as a proof text, go to http://www.victoryvoice.net/?p=47 [/b]
Sincerely,
Walter
