Today we continue on in our series on the Apostle’s Creed. We need to ensure our faith is built on the Rock - Jesus, the Word of God, otherwise we will be tossed by every wind of doctrine that sweeps across the Earth in these dangerous times we live in. By the time we’ve finished, you will know the Apostle’s Creed by heart. This week we look at what is perhaps the most controversial statement in the Creed. Feel free to join in...
- I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
- I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
- who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.
- Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
- He descended into Hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead.
- He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
- From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
- I believe in the Holy Spirit,
- the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,
- the forgiveness of sins,
- the resurrection of the body,
- and life everlasting.
Amen
I realise that today’s topic is difficult and after studying it, I realised we need to correctly understand the statement « He descended into Hell ».
First of all, the belief in Hell is equally important to the other parts of the Creed and should not be downplayed or removed. It is important to believe and is a test of true faith. The thought is so horrible that many people refuse to believe it, notably some modern day theologians and preachers. However, I don’t think you can describe yourself as a Christian if you don’t believe in Hell.
The Bible says
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6
So we’d better believe it !
In fact, the Bible continually warns of a place called Hell. There are over 162 references in the New Testament alone which warns of hell. And over 70 of these references were uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ!
Let’s start by reading a story that Jesus told that affirms that statement on Hell and the Resurrection. This story follows on from Jesus teaching to the Pharisees and Scribes who were complaining that Jesus was spending time with sinners. He gave them the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Lost Son to teach them the value of the Lost.
Then Jesus spoke harshly to them to show they were living selfishly with their money instead of helping the people God brought to their door. He told them they were heading straight for Hell !
“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it is was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”
Luke 16:19-31
There is more in this story than we can cover in one sermon but here Jesus taught about 2 destinations - Abraham’s Bosom or Hades. This is exactly how the Pharisees taught life after death. The soul descended to Sheol awaiting the final resurrection and Judgement. The Sadducees did not believe in life after death nor the resurrection and Jesus told them that they had made a serious error.
Abraham’s Bosom was the destination of the Righteous Dead. To go to Abraham’s Bosom implies a very close and loving relationship. When we think of the scriptures that says that Abraham was to have as many children as stars he could see in the sky, we can understand that a person of faith is a child of Abraham. So at the time a person of faith died they would go to be with their father Abraham. This is where Lazarus went. He had a very tough life but he was a man of faith. He was just the sort of man who kept trusting God despite all his troubles. When he died, the angels took him to be with the father of faith - to Abraham’s Bosom.
Paradise is where the Pharisees thought they were going. But Jesus had a shocking warning for them.
Hades was the destination of the Unrighteous Dead. The Rich Man was a selfish man who ignored Lazarus laid outside his front door day after day after day, starving and sick with the dogs licking his wounds. Every time the Rich Man walked in the front door he looked the other way and never once helped. Eventually Lazarus died without the Rich Man ever helping him. You can cross lines with God. The Rich Man never helped Lazarus despite many opportunities to do so. The moment Lazarus died, Heaven recorded a very serious crime had been committed.
If you think back a few weeks, you’ll remember Keith Green singing about the Final Judgement of the Sheep and the Goats. The Sheep went on to Everlasting Life for helping the least of his Brethren but The Goats were sent into Everlasting Fire for what they didn’t do.
When I’ve been overseas, I’ve seen a lot of people living on the streets of London and Paris and it’s very troubling. Especially in the cold of winter, when it sometimes snows, you wonder if they will survive. When I went to Paris in January 2019, I could see down from the Hotel 7th floor into the Building across the road a hall filled with beds. Someone cared. When the temperature dropped below zero that night, many people came in off the streets and the Hall was more full than an army barracks. Most of the time Rich people walk on by. We have homeless people at our front door here in Papatoetoe. The point is, don’t do nothing. Get involved with South Auckland Christian Foodbank, give a loaf of bread to one who’s hungry. Perhaps you can do even more than that.
These stories Jesus told primarily to the Religious Crowd with His Disciples also present to motivate them to care for the Poor, the Sick and the Lost.
God’s compassion to the Lost is until the very end.
Jesus said to the thief on the Cross;
And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Luke 23:43
The thief went to Paradise without having done anything good with his life.
In the story, Lazarus went to Paradise though he was the least of the Brethren without status in society, just a beggar with faith.
Always be on alert to show light to the Lost and care to the Least.
The Apostle’s Creed says Jesus descended into Hell which might bring a question to our mind. Didn’t Jesus go to Paradise with the thief and isn’t Paradise up ?
Paul later said he went up to Paradise, the 3rd Heaven.
It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
2 Corinthians 12:1-4
In the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus it says;
And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luke 16:23
Does that confirm that Paradise is up? Yes but it needs more explanation.
So in the Realm of the Dead, in Sheol, there were levels with Paradise being on a higher level and separated from the Dark part of Hades by a wide chasm.
Here is a video that explains the difference between Hades and Paradise;
Did Jesus go to Hell between His Death and Resurrection? | GotQuestions.org
(Script below)
Did Jesus go to Hell?
There is a great deal of confusion in regards to this question. The concept that Jesus went to hell after His death on the cross comes primarily from the Apostles’ Creed, which states, “He descended into hell.” There are also a few Scriptures which, depending on how they are translated, describe Jesus going to “hell.” In studying this issue, it is important to first understand what the Bible teaches about the realm of the dead.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, the word used to describe the realm of the dead is sheol. It simply means “the place of the dead” or “the place of departed souls/spirits.” The New Testament Greek equivalent of sheol is hades, which also refers to “the place of the dead.” Other Scriptures in the New Testament indicate that sheol/hades is a temporary place, where souls are kept as they await the final resurrection and judgment. Revelation 20:11–15 gives a clear distinction between hades and the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the permanent and final place of judgment for the lost. Hades, then, is a temporary place. Many people refer to both hades and the lake of fire as “hell,” and this causes confusion. Jesus did not go to a place of torment after His death, but He did go to hades.
Sheol/hades was a realm with two divisions—a place of blessing and a place of judgment (Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27–31). The abodes of the saved and the lost are both generally called “hades” in the Bible. The abode of the saved is also called “Abraham’s bosom” (KJV) or “Abraham’s side” (NIV) in Luke 16:22 and “paradise” in Luke 23:43. The abode of the unsaved is called “hell” (KJV) or “Hades” (NIV) in Luke 16:23. The abodes of the saved and the lost are separated by a “great chasm” (Luke 16:26). When Jesus died, He went to the blessed side of sheol and, from there, took the believers with Him to heaven (Ephesians 4:8–10). The judgment side of sheol/hades has remained unchanged. All unbelieving dead go there awaiting their final judgment in the future. Did Jesus go to sheol/hades? Yes, according to Ephesians 4:8–10 and 1 Peter 3:18–20.
Some of the confusion has arisen from such passages as Psalm 16:10–11 as translated in the King James Version: “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. . . . Thou wilt show me the path of life.” “Hell” is not a correct translation in this verse. A correct reading would be “the grave” or “sheol.” Jesus said to the thief beside Him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43); He did not say, “I will see you in hell.” Jesus’ body was in the tomb; His soul/spirit went to be with the blessed in sheol/hades. Unfortunately, in many versions of the Bible, translators are not consistent, or correct, in how they translate the Hebrew and Greek words for “sheol,” “hades,” and “hell.”
Some have the viewpoint that Jesus went to “hell” or the suffering side of sheol/hades in order to further be punished for our sins. This idea is completely unbiblical. It was the death of Jesus on the cross that sufficiently provided for our redemption. It was His shed blood that effected our own cleansing from sin (1 John 1:7–9). As He hung there on the cross, He took the sin burden of the whole human race upon Himself. He became sin for us: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This imputation of sin helps us understand Christ’s struggle in the garden of Gethsemane with the cup of sin which would be poured out upon Him on the cross.
As Jesus neared death, He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). His suffering in our place was completed. His soul/spirit went to hades (the place of the dead). Jesus did not go to “hell” or the suffering side of hades; He went to “Abraham’s side” or the blessed side of hades. Jesus’ suffering ended the moment He died. The payment for sin was paid. He then awaited the resurrection of His body and His return to glory in His ascension. Did Jesus go to hell? No. Did Jesus go to sheol/hades? Yes.
I want to also emphasise that Jesus did not suffer for our sins after death. His work was finished at the Cross. This is very important to understand because the Word of Faith movement, the likes of Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer and others are teaching that Jesus suffered in Hell and even that Jesus was born again in Hell. This is a heresy reflected in the teachings of the Catholic Church on Purgatory.
Statements 4 & 5 in the Creed are separate.
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
Jesus’s suffering ended at his death on the Cross. The Cross is a victory. The next statement is a victory declaration. The War is over, the Victor went to rescue the captives;
5. He descended into Hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead.
Jesus said to John;
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
How did Jesus get those keys ? He had to descend to get them.
Keith Green’s song the Victor says;
His plan of battle
You know it
He fooled them all
They led him off to prison to die
But as he entered Hades hall
He broke those hellish chains with a cry
Just listen to those demons screaming
See him bruise the serpent's head
The prisoners of hell
He's redeeming (oh!)
All the power of death is dead
It is finished
He has done it
Life conquered death
Jesus Christ
Has won it
Just look
The gates of Hell they're falling
Crumbling from the inside out
He's bursting through the walls with laughter (hah!)
Listen to the angels shout…
Note that Keith Green sings « as he entered Hades Hall ». The Devil was fooled when Jesus died on the Cross but the moment Jesus died and entered the realm of the dead, the Devil realised his mistake !
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Colossians 2:13-15
Where did he triumph over them ? At the Cross !
As in the song, Jesus descended when he died just as the Apostle’s Creed says but in victory not defeat.
So what happened is this;
When Jesus died he descended to Abraham’s Bosom, to Paradise, the place of the righteous dead.
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Matthew 12:40
If you remember, Jonah was told to go to preach to Ninevah.
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
Jonah 3:1-4
So just as Jonah preached to Ninevah for 3 days, Jesus was in Sheol preaching to the Dead for 3 days.
There he made his announcement of victory to the righteous dead in Paradise, the unrighteous dead in Hades and to the Devil and all his Demons as described by Peter;
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
1 Peter 3:18-20
From there, Paul described Jesus ascending from the realm of the Dead taking those in Paradise and even the Captive with him (I do believe that all of Hades had the opportunity to repent during those 3 days just like the people of Ninevah).
Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” (Now this, “He ascended” —what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
Ephesians 4:8-10
So now the only ones in Hades are the unrepentant unrighteous dead awaiting Final Judgement. Jesus took Paradise and all the Old Testament saints with him when he ascended !
That is why Paul said later (well after Jesus’s ascension) that he went up to Paradise. So when a believer dies now, they go up to be with Jesus in Paradise.
But the unrepentant unrighteous still go down to Hades awaiting Final Judgement. In Revelation, everyone is finally resurrected and united with their body.
The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:13-15
There are now no second chances.
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
Hebrews 9:27-28
Hell is the future Lake of Fire and the destination of all those who died as unbelievers. A very sobering thought.
But lest we forget the Victory;
He descended into Hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead.
The War is over, the Victory is won, Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Amen.
