Did Jesus Really "Descend Into Hell" as stated in the Apostles' Creed?

[Fritz Kobus]

If we search for the origins of the Apostles' Creed we get the Old Roman Creed that was later enlarged to the Apostles' Creed. Here is the Old Roman Creed:

I believe in God the Father almighty;
and in Christ Jesus His only Son, our Lord,
Who was born from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,
Who under Pontius Pilate was crucified and buried,
on the third day rose again from the dead,
ascended into heaven,
sits at the right hand of the Father,
whence he will come to judge the living and the dead;
and in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Church,
the remission of sins,
the resurrection of the flesh,
[life everlasting].
The Apostles’ Creed: Its History and Origins

For comparison, here is the Apostles' Creed

I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born from the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried, descended into hell,
on the third day rose again from the dead,
ascended to heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty,
thence 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 remission of sins,
the resurrection of the flesh,
and eternal life.
Amen.

The point of contention is that he "descended into Hell," which apparently is taken from 1 Peter 3:19, which apparently is not necessarily talking about Hell:

NIV: 19 After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits.

KJV: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.

So the question is, can anyone provide a proof text that supports that Jesus descended into Hell? Alternately, what is meant by preaching to the spriits in prison?

Kretzmann says,

"Christ, the God-man, according to His soul and body, retaining His flesh and blood in a glorified form, went forth, as our triumphant Champion, into the abode of the damned and of the devils, and there proclaimed His victory to the spirits in prison, that is, in hell, specifically to those who are further described. It was a part of the punishment which came upon the condemned and upon the demons in hell that they saw and heard Christ proclaim Himself as the Victor over death and hell, and were obliged to tell themselves that they might have partaken of this glory of the great Hero of mankind, if they had not deprived themselves of this blessing by their revolt against Him and by their unbelief."
Popular Commentary, by Paul E. Kretzmann

So it seems to me that the phrase in the Apostles' Creed of "he descended into Hell" is a bit misleading and may be used by those adhering to the Penal Atonement Theory, whereas he did not so much descend into Hell, as he paid them a visit to proclaim his victory.

 

[Josiah]

Correct. I

As you yourself noted, it's 1 Peter 4:6. And the "take" of Kretzmann is the traditional, ancient, ecumenical one.

WHY Jesus did this is a mystery. The single verse here does not give the reason or the result (if any) - although theories abound. It is also unknown WHY the early church saw this as so important as to note in the Creed, that too is mystery.

So, it is not wrong to include this event in the Creed.... the Bible clearly and literally says He went there. WHY He did.... WHAT (if anything) that accomplished... WHY that's significant.... well, the Creed doesn't say. And IMO it's better when we don't either.

Thank you!

- Josiah


PS Glad you have Kretzmann.... I do as well.






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[Albion]

So it seems to me that the phrase in the Apostles' Creed of "he descended into Hell" is a bit misleading and may be used by those adhering to the Penal Atonement Theory, whereas he did not so much descend into Hell, as he paid them a visit to proclaim his victory.

It doesn't refer to the "place" of the damned, but most probably to what is called Abraham's Bosom or Paradise, a "place" that was the abode of those persons who would have gone to heaven except that they died before Christ's atoning work on the cross. The Bible translations you cited are calling it the place of imprisoned spirits, but that's just a way of referring to the nature of this celestial waystation that became vacant upon Christ's triumph over death.

 

[Fritz Kobus]

PS Glad you have Kretzmann.... I do as well.

Actually is my wife's set. She was trained at WELS teacher college many years ago, but spent most of her life homeschooling between our kids and some girls she now helps homeschool for a friend. Besides Kretzmann (which is awesome that we have it accessible online) one of my favorites is Lenski's New Testament commentaries, which are very in depth, and I have a set that I picked up new for only $100 back in the 1990s when my pastor at that time highly recommended it.

 

[Andrew]

Abraham's Bosom/Paradise located on one side of the gulf in sheol, the other side being the place for the disobedient in torment, whom I believe Jesus also visited to preach His gospel.

Either way it's the grave where in Genesis Abel cries from and in Revelation where the martyrs also speak from.

Although since Jesus rose from the grave taking captivity captive it's pretty much the hell/hades and Heaven/paradise we have come to associate with.

Death and the grave will be thrown into the Lake of Fire where I assume everlasting destruction with fire and brimstone awaits the Devil and his angels and those who have not the mark of God on their foreheads.

My understanding is that many non believers will receive mercy according to their works but for those who refuse to repent through God's wrath ultimately choose the beast and will die two deaths before they join the devil along his angels and with death in hell in the lake of fire.

With that, no, Jesus did not witness people running around up in flames while in the heart of the earth.