Home → News

Questions

Did Jesus Go to Hell?

Between the cross and the empty tomb, where was Jesus? Here is what the Bible actually says, and why the word "hell" in older translations has confused the question for centuries.

September 22, 2026 · 4 min read · Kingdom Kutz Media Newsroom

↗ Share This Article

It's one of the stranger lines Christians recite without always stopping to ask what it means. The Apostles' Creed says Jesus "descended into hell." So did He? The short answer is no, not in the way most people picture hell today. Getting this right matters, because it touches what Jesus actually accomplished on the cross and whether His work there was really finished.

What Did Jesus Tell the Thief on the Cross?

Jesus told the dying thief next to Him exactly where He was headed. Not a courtroom of torment, but paradise, and the thief would be there with Him that same day.

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.Luke 23:43 (KJV)

That single sentence carries a lot of weight. Jesus didn't say "in three days" or "after judgment." He said today. Whatever happened to His human spirit between His death on Friday and His resurrection on Sunday, He described it as paradise, not punishment.

Did Jesus Go to a Place of Fiery Torment?

No. Scripture never says Jesus suffered further after the cross. His last words there, according to John's gospel, were "It is finished," a legal term for a debt paid in full. The confusion comes from translation. The Hebrew word sheol and the Greek word hades both describe the general realm of the dead, the place every soul went before Christ's resurrection opened the way to heaven directly. That's a different word and a different place than gehenna, the term Jesus used for final judgment, or the lake of fire described in Revelation. Older English translations flattened several distinct words into one English word, hell, and that single choice has fueled confusion for four hundred years. Psalm 16:10, a verse the apostles quoted about Jesus, is a good example: "thou wilt not leave my soul in hell" is better read as "you will not abandon me to the grave." It's a promise about the resurrection, not a description of torment.

What Does "He Descended Into Hell" Mean in the Apostles' Creed?

It means Jesus, in His human nature, entered the realm of the dead like every other person who has ever died, not that He was judged or tormented there. The line entered the creed sometime in the third century as the church tried to affirm that Jesus was genuinely, fully dead, body and spirit, before He rose. Many pastors today prefer the older, clearer wording, "He descended to the dead," for exactly this reason. It guards against the idea that death had any real hold on Him, or that He needed to suffer more than He already had on the cross.

What About the "Spirits in Prison" in 1 Peter 3:19?

This is the one verse that keeps the debate alive, and honestly, good, careful Bible teachers land in different places on it. Peter writes that Christ, "being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit," went and "preached unto the spirits in prison."

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.1 Peter 3:18-19 (KJV)

One major view holds that Christ, through the Spirit, preached through Noah to the wicked generation before the flood, generations who are now imprisoned spirits awaiting judgment. Another view holds that after His death, Jesus made a proclamation of victory to fallen spirits, not an offer of salvation, but an announcement that His work was finished and their defeat was sealed. Theologian Millard Erickson once counted roughly 180 different interpretations proposed for this passage across church history. That range alone should tell you something: this is a debated detail, not a foundation of the gospel. Christians can disagree on exactly what Christ proclaimed and to whom without it touching the core truth that He died for sin and rose bodily on the third day.

Why Does This Matter for Your Faith Today?

Because it settles whether the cross was actually enough. Our video Jesus Died and the Impossible Happened walks through the four supernatural signs the Gospels record at the moment Jesus breathed His last: three hours of unnatural darkness, the temple curtain torn top to bottom, an earthquake, and tombs breaking open. Those weren't decorative details. Matthew records them because they were God's own signature on a finished transaction. The curtain that separated ordinary people from God's presence didn't need to stay torn if more suffering was still owed. It tore because the debt was paid.

If Jesus had to keep suffering somewhere after the cross, His declaration "It is finished" would have been premature. Instead, Scripture consistently pictures Him at rest, in paradise, with a repentant criminal beside Him, while His body lay in the tomb. Three days later He rose, and the reason His resurrection means anything for you is precisely because nothing was left unfinished. You can read more about what the Bible teaches on hell as a real place and on what happens the moment a person dies, and you can start each day with a short reminder of what He accomplished at our daily verse page.

Whatever you make of the harder details in 1 Peter, hold onto the plain one Jesus spoke Himself from the cross. He promised paradise, not punishment, to a dying man who simply asked to be remembered. That promise still stands for anyone who asks.

Watch on Kingdom Kutz Media

The Book of Enoch: What Genesis Isn't Telling You About the Watchers ft @WhatTheBibleSaysaboutkkm

▶ Watch Now

More from Kingdom Kutz Media: All news · Daily Bible Verse · Our YouTube channel