Bible Question: I was told that 1Peter 3:19 is the scriptural backing for the idea that Jesus went to hell. I cannot substantiate this and I request clarification and scriptural references if it is believed that He did. re: Apostles Creed |
Bible Answer: 1 Peter 3:19 '*preached.* Between Christ's death and resurrection, His living spirit went to the demon spirits bound in the abyss and proclaimed that, in spite of His death, He had triumphed over them' (MacArthur Study Bible, Word Publishing, 1997). (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) Ephesians 4:9,10 NASB. 4:9 '*ascended.* Jesus' ascension from earth to heaven (Acts 1:9-11), where he forever reigns with His Father. '*first descended.* This refers to Christ's incarnation, when He came down from heaven as a man into the earth of suffering and death. '*the lower parts of the earth.* These are in contrast to the highest heavens to which He afterward ascended. The phrase here does not point to a specific place, but to the great depth, as it were, of the incarnation, including Christ's descent, between His crucifixion and resurrection beyond the earth, the grave, and death, into the very pit of the demons, "the spirits in prison"' (MacArthur Study Bible, Word Publishing, 1997). |