“He descended into hell.” This line is familiar to many of us; yet it is controversial and confusing to many Christians. Despite this, when properly understood, it can be a source of true comfort for Asian Christians suffering intense persecution, economic hardship, and other severe difficulties.

For more than 1,500 years, this has been the creedal confession of thousands of Christian churches. We need to understand why.

We usually associate “hell” with the place of judgment God reserved for the unbelievers and the devil and his angels. This is a translation of the Greek word gehenna. But there’s another Greek word that is also sometimes translated as “hell” in English: Hades, which is, in turn, the usual translation of the Hebrew word Sheol.

Writing four hundred years ago, Reformed theologian Francis Turretin reflected helpfully on the reality that hades/sheol can have four distinct meanings.¹ It can refer to (1) the grave: “…you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead (Sheol), nor will you let your faithful one see decay” (Ps. 16:10). Or, (2) the place of torment for those who will be judged by God. The rich man in Jesus’s story went to this place: “in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes” (Luke 16:23); Or, (3) the greatest torments or anguish of life: “The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave (Sheol) came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow” (Ps. 116:3). Or, (4) extreme humiliations: “But you are brought down to Sheol to the far reaches of the pit” (Isa. 14:15, ESV).

As we see from Turretin’s reflections on hades and sheol in Scripture, the word “hell” cannot be limited to what we usually associate this word with. Its meaning depends on the context of its use. Because of this, Christ’s “descent into hell” gave rise to six different interpretations across church history:²

• Rescuing the ancient fathers from limbo. Proponents of this view believe that after Jesus died, he went to the place called limbo to rescue Old Testament saints.
• Giving the unconverted dead a second chance. According to this view, Jesus evangelized those who died to give them a second chance. The Scriptures used to support this view—1 Peter 3:19 and 1 Peter 4:6—are too unclear to lend credence to this view.
• Suffering in hell for our sins. Contrary to this view, we have to remember that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is already a sufficient atonement for our sins. It is a “once for all” sacrifice (Heb. 10:10, 14).
• Conquering Satan after dying on the cross. Contrary to this view, it was the death of Christ that “disarmed the powers and authorities…triumphing over them by the cross” (Col. 2:15). He took on human flesh “so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14).
• Suffering spiritual anguish on the cross. This view regards “hell” as metaphorical or descriptive of the depth of what Christ suffered. Question 44 of the Heidelberg Catechism gives the reason why that line is added to the creed: “To assure me during attacks of deepest dread and temptation that Christ my Lord, by suffering unspeakable anguish, pain, and terror of soul, on the cross but also earlier, has delivered me from hellish anguish and torment.”³
• Dying and dwelling in the state of death. Advocates of this view point out that “hell” in the creed does not refer to gehenna but to hades/sheol. So, Christ died, was buried, and remained in the state of death for a few days before his resurrection.

Among these six, a proper understanding of the phrase “he descended into hell” is probably a combination of the last two. Turretin also said that both these positions can be upheld and made compatible with each other,

Thus by the descent into hell may be understood the extreme degree of Christ’s suffering and humiliation, both as to soul and body; and as the lowest degree of humiliation as to the body was its detention in the sepulcher, so as to the soul were those dreadful torments he felt.⁴

Scripture clearly teaches that Jesus indeed remained in the “state of death” before he rose from the dead (Acts 2:24; Ps. 16:10). Moreover, he did not literally go to hell (understood as the place of eternal torment) because he said to the thief crucified beside him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). He also states in his prayer at the cross just before he breathed his last, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (v. 46).

We can spend more time looking at other relevant passages. But we must also be aware that it is impossible for us today to know the meaning and original intent of those who added this phrase in the creed. Nevertheless, we have sufficient basis for understanding Christ’s descent into hell, according to Beeke and Smalley, as consisting of “his extreme humiliation in both soul and body, climaxing for his soul in the suffering of God’s wrath on the cross and for his body in death under God’s curse, burial, and continuation in death for a time.”⁵

So, why is this important for us today, and particularly for Christians in our region? For example, in the case of a wife who lashes out to her abusive husband, “Parang impiyerno ang bahay na ito! Ginawa mo nang impiyerno ang buhay ko!” (This house is like hell! You made my life hell!”), how is Christ’s “descent into hell” good news? How about persecuted Christians? According to opendoors.org, of the 365 million Christians who are suffering “high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith,” 40% are in Asia, like North Korea, Pakistan, and Iran. Or, for Christians who are being haunted by the guilt of their past sins, or dealing with fear of death, what comfort does this phrase bring?

Here is what it means for us: If it is true that the Lord Jesus experienced the lowest humiliations and the deepest anguish to save us, then what should we fear? Will you fear that God might undo his grant of pardon and bring you back under condemnation if Christ already bore the fullness of God’s wrath in his sufferings on the cross? What great suffering, what earthly troubles, what death can terrify you? “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him” (1 Thess. 5:9–10).

Rightly understood, the creedal affirmation “he descended into hell,” brings much comfort to us Christians. Christ already endured “hell” for us. Therefore, no “hellish moments”⁶ on earth can rob us of our life, joy, and hope in Christ.

Derick Parfan is the leading pastor of Baliwag Bible Christian Church in Bulacan, Philippines since 2009. He is also founder and executive director of Treasuring Christ PH (treasuringchristph.org), a ministry dedicated to publishing gospel-centered resources in English and Filipino. He is author of Five Solas, One Gospel: Mga Foundational Doctrines para sa Filipino Church Ngayon (Treasuring Christ PH, 2021). He holds a ThM degree in Theological Studies from AGST. He is married to Jodi (since 2008) and has two sons (Daniel and Stephen) and one daughter (Kyrie).