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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

DESCENT INTO HELL*

Reference to a controversial statement about Christ in the Apostles’ Creed. Speaking of Christ, the creed affirms that he “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose from the dead.” Interpretation of “he descended into hell” has produced much disagreement. Although the expression appears in creedal formulations as early as the fourth century, opinion remains divided about both its meaning and its relationship to Scripture.

The most natural interpretation in the context of the Apostles’ Creed is that descent into hell was one step in the succession of saving deeds accomplished by Jesus Christ in his redemptive career. Since the other steps are presented chronologically in the Apostles’ Creed, that descent would have occurred between Christ’s death and resurrection. On that almost all orthodox commentators agree.

Several questions remain to be debated. Is the phrase to be interpreted literally? Does it refer to an actual place or state of existence? How did Christ “descend”? In what state? For what purpose?

The word “hell” is itself problematic. The Hebrew word for “grave” acquired in OT times the larger meaning of “abode of the dead.” The Greek translation (in the Septuagint and the NT) was hades. Both words are rendered “hell” in many English translations, as is the Greek word Gehenna, which closely approximates what most people think of as hell, a place of torment for the wicked referred to by Jesus (Mt 5:22, 29-30). The earliest versions of the Apostles’ Creed are in Greek, but in the phrase “he descended into hell,” none of those words is used. Another expression is used that means “the lowest part.” Later Latin versions translated it ad inferna (“to the place beneath”), which in the course of centuries became identified with the place of torment (the inferno).

Literal Descent

The traditional view, officially maintained by Roman Catholics and Lutherans, interprets the phrase literally. Christ actually visited the place of the dead (hades). Within the framework of that view, two principal opinions have arisen concerning the purpose of Christ’s descent.

To Liberate the Old Testament Faithful

In one literal view, believers who had lived and died before Christ’s advent (a partial list of whom appears in Heb 11) existed in a part of hades in a state of abeyance, in neither torment nor bliss, awaiting salvation. After Christ had accomplished salvation on the cross, and in the interval between his death and resurrection, he visited (descended into) hades, liberated those souls, and led them to heaven.

That interpretation claims support from Ephesians 4:8-10, a difficult passage that speaks of Christ as “descended to the lower, earthly regions” and also “ascended” on high, leading “captives in his train” (niv). The “lower, earthly regions” is identified with hades and the “captives” with the throng of OT believers whom Christ released from their waiting stance and triumphantly conducted into full fellowship with God.

To Preach the Gospel to the Impenitent Dead

A related passage is 1 Peter 3:18-20, in which Christ went and “preached to the spirits in prison—those who disobeyed God long ago” (NLT) in the time of Noah. That passage seems to conflict with the first view, since those who hear Christ’s preaching in 1 Peter are disobedient rather than believing spirits. Therefore, some have suggested a second view, that Christ descended into hades in order to bring a special message of salvation to the dead who were lost in their sins but who had no opportunity during their lifetime to hear the news of redemption. In that view the “hell” of the Apostles’ Creed is the place of the doomed dead. The purpose of Christ’s descent was to secure the redemption of some or all of them by preaching.

That interpretation also seeks support from Ephesians 4 and 1 Peter 3–4. “Captives” in Ephesians 4 is seen as referring to those who had died in the “bondage” of sin. In 1 Peter 3 “the spirits in prison” refers to those in hades who would be condemned if it were not for the gospel that they heard and responded to in the afterlife. First Peter 4:6 is sometimes quoted in that connection, with the meaning that “the gospel was preached even to the dead” after they had died. On the other hand, 1 Peter 4:6 may refer instead to preaching presented while they were alive to people dead at the time of writing. Many commentators argue that a preaching of the gospel after death, in order for people who did not accept salvation during their lifetime to do so after their death, seems contrary to Scripture’s emphasis on the necessity of acceptance now in the present life (Heb 3:7-15), as well as on a judgment based only on what was done on earth.

Figurative Descent

Because of difficulties in both literal approaches, many scholars (like John Calvin) have interpreted the passage in the creed figuratively. Instead of viewing “the descent” as an actual event, occurring chronologically between Christ’s death and resurrection, they see it as a reference to the intensity of Christ’s suffering. “He was crucified, dead and buried” describes his physical suffering: “he descended into hell,” the depth of his spiritual suffering. He endured the agony of hell as the substitute guilt-bearer for the human race. That was expressed in his cry of dereliction, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46, KJB). Hell’s worst feature is separation from God (7:23; 25:41)—the very agony Christ as the Lamb of God endured in order to make the atoning sacrifice and vindicate the justice of the triune God.

That interpretation, endorsed by the Heidelberg Catechism (1562), a Calvinist document, fits well with a substitutionary view of the Atonement and represents the immensity of Christ’s sufferings as portrayed in Scripture. Yet some question whether that interpretation represents the intended meaning of the Apostles’ Creed in its original formulation.

Another figurative interpretation, found in the Westminster Standards, also a Calvinist document, views the descent as a commentary on the preceding passages. The Westminster Larger Catechism paraphrases it like this: “Continuing in the state of the dead and under the power of death till the third day.” A serious problem with that interpretation is that the creed is extremely condensed and seems to avoid such repetition.

Because of difficulties in all four points of view, some Christians omit the statement altogether when they recite the creed. In support of their attitude they argue that the phrase has an unclear biblical foundation, is late in origin, found no general acceptance until the fifth century at the earliest, and was never included in the Nicene Creed. Yet the form of the creed agreed on by the ecumenical councils includes the passage.