Did Jesus go to hell? This is a legitimate and interesting question. Right before Jesus’ death, Jesus made a comforting, but very interesting statement in Luke 23:43. “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (KJV).
Obviously, Jesus knew exactly where He would go after His body died on the cross, and He was going to take the repentant thief there with Him.
Did Jesus Go to Hell? — Where is Paradise?
After the bodies of both Jesus Christ and the repentant thief died on their respective crosses, their souls went to the place of the dead. In Hebrew, this place is called “Sheol.” The Greek word for the same place is “Hades.” Sheol was the place where the souls of the Old Testament saints went after they died.
Before Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, no one could go to heaven and enter God’s presence. So, none of the Old Testament saints went to heaven. However, Jesus specifically said that He (and the repentant thief) were both going to Paradise.
Did Jesus Go to Hell? — The Place of the Dead
While Jesus was still alive, He explained about the place of the dead. Jesus’ most pointed teaching about the afterlife was when He spoke about Lazarus the beggar and the rich man, recorded in Luke 16:19-31. The vast majority of Bible scholars believe this is not a parable, an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, but a factual account, since Jesus used specific names.
Jesus referred to “a certain rich man,” and “a certain beggar named Lazarus” in Luke 16:19-20 (KJV). The words of Jesus in this account speak of the reality of hell and of Paradise, both in the place called sheol/Hades/hell.
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Jesus went on to tell that both the rich man and Lazarus died and both of them went to the place of the dead. But, Jesus, in this telling, clarified that although there was one place for dead souls, this area was divided into two separate and distinct compartments.
There was the torment side called “hell,” where the unbelieving rich man found himself very much alive and in misery. But there was also the paradise side, where the righteous Lazarus was joyfully carried into the comforting and welcoming bosom of his ancestor, Abraham. This is described in Luke’s Gospel. “And in hell [hades] he lift his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” Luke 16:23 (KJV)
Some call this place of comfort for the righteous dead “Abraham’s side,” or “Abraham’s bosom.” Quoting Abraham, between the paradise side and the torment side, was, according to the King James version of the Bible, “…a great gulf fixed so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” (Luke 16:26) (KJV)
These two vastly different compartments, the place of torment on the bottom versus the place of blessing and comfort on top, seemed to be positioned in a vertically stacked configuration with a great chasm separating them since the rich man in verse 23 looked “up” to observe Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham.
The requests of the rich man in the place of torment are interesting. He pleaded with Abraham for mercy, asking, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” Luke 16:24 (KJV)
When Abraham sorrowfully, but firmly, denied his request, even referring to the rich man as “son” (indicating that the rich man was a Jew), the rich man then begged for Lazarus to be allowed to rise from the dead with the mission to go to the rich man’s brothers to warn them of the place of torment, and urge his brothers to repent. Abraham’s last words to him are recorded in Luke 16:31. “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” (KJV)
Most interesting, the rich man never asked to be released from his prison of fiery torment and punishment; he did not plead for a second chance. Perhaps he knew such requests would be futile, or, and this is just conjecture, he did not want to be in a place with a God he did not seem to care all that much about when he was in the land of the living.
Did Jesus God go to Hell? — Paradise and the Garden of Eden
When God created the world, He brought Eden, also called Paradise, from heaven to Earth for the enjoyment of mankind. The name “Eden” means “pleasure,” or “delight.” The first mention of the name “Eden” is in Genesis 2:8. “And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.” (KJV)
But Paradise, which was such a wonderful place, was not heaven. After Adam and Eve sinned, they were expelled from this garden paradise. To keep them and everyone else in the ancient world out, God placed “Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” Genesis 3:24 (KJV)
The particular location of where the Garden of Eden/Paradise was located while it was on Earth is unknown. The ancients may have known, the location being passed down through oral tradition through the descendants of Adam and Eve until the days of Noah. But the flood of Noah changed the entire topography of the whole Earth so that the continents we see today did not exist in the days of Noah.
The first human death occurred, which is recorded as a murder, in Genesis 4:8. “And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” (KJV)
This was the place of comfort for the human soul of “righteous Abel,” as recorded in Matthew 23:35.
Before the time of Noah and the flood that completely changed the topography of the entire Earth, God needed a place of rest for the souls of righteous Old Testament believers, starting with Abel, along with a place for the souls of the unrighteous to exist while they await the final judgement. God placed Paradise, “all the trees of Eden,” into the center of the Earth, in the nether parts (“nether” means “lower” or “beneath”).
“I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.” Ezekiel 31:6 (KJV)
Paradise was then in the lowest parts of the Earth, but it was also a place of comfort, for “all that drink water.” This was the destination of the righteous souls of Old Testament believers, including Abraham, when he was “gathered to his people.” Genesis 25:8 (KJV)
It seems that, knowing the story of Lazarus, and that after Abraham died and his soul went there, he got the job of greeter — greeting all the newcomers with an enormous hug! Therefore, the term “Abraham’s bosom.” What a joyful reunion it must have been for Abraham to greet his Friend, Jesus Christ, upon His arrival in Paradise!
Did Jesus Go to Hell? — The Temple Veil
While the Son of God was dying on the cross, He promised the repentant thief that he, too, would be in Paradise that day, another notable event occurred. At the death of Jesus, a heavy veil inside the Temple in Jerusalem, was torn from the top to the bottom. Bible historians estimate that his particular veil, which separated the holy place from the most holy place, was approximately six inches thick. Only God could have done this act.
This is how the Gospel writers described this supernatural event:
“And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent,” Matthew 27:51 (KJV)
“And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” Mark 15:38 (KJV)
The tearing of the veil corresponded with the death of Jesus Christ.
“And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” Luke 23:45-46 (KJV)
This tearing of the Temple veil was the act of God the Father, showing that the way to heaven was finally and directly open. The human, sinless, and eternal blood of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, was the perfect sacrifice that satisfied the demands of a holy God. Now, for the first time in human history, the righteous souls in Paradise are welcomed directly into heaven.
Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, and after His resurrection, which we commemorate on Easter Sunday, the souls of New Testament believers could enter heaven immediately after they died. Today, all those individuals who accept Christ as their Savior in this life will, at their death, have their soul ushered directly into heaven, according to 2 Corinthians 5:8. “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (KJV)
Did Jesus Go to Hell? — Christ’s Descent
For the three days and three nights that Jesus’ body was in the tomb, His soul was alive and well and in the Paradise side of Hell, in the heart of the Earth. First Peter 3:18-19 gives us some more information about what He was doing there in those three days and nights while His body was in the tomb. “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” (KJV)
Jesus was preaching to the Old Testament saints who were in Paradise before He took both it and them up into heaven!
Did Jesus Go to Hell? — Christ’s Ascent
After Jesus’ body was three days and three nights in the tomb, He arose both from the grave and also from the lower parts of the Earth. The Apostle Paul described His victory, while he also alluded to the descent of Christ, in Ephesians 4:8-10. “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)” (KJV)
When Christ took Paradise along with all those in it out of the lower parts of the Earth, He took both it and them to heaven, the third day after His death. However, He left the torment part and the souls that are in there behind in the place we call “hell.”
This action by Christ explained the words of the prophet Isaiah, when he said, “Hell hath enlarged herself.” Isaiah 5:14 (KJV)
The place of torment — hell — is described as being vastly larger now because the paradise side is no longer there. Today, hell is a kind of waiting area before eternal doom in the lake of fire for those who did not accept Christ’s free gift of eternal life while they were alive.
Did Jesus Go to Hell? — The Future of Hell
Just as God moved the paradise side of hell (He took it back to heaven), so, too, will He eventually move the torment side. God took Paradise to be permanently in heaven. But He will also permanently cast hell, and all those in it, into the lake of fire. He promised this final judgment in Revelation 20:14. “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” (KJV)
In this future event, both death itself and hell, which includes all the souls in there, will be finally, and permanently, thrown into the lake of fire. This is how the Bible describes this terrible and frightening event in Revelation 20:11-15.
11 “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (KJV)
The final destination of hell, and all those in it, will be the lake of fire.
The lake of fire is the final and permanent destination, not only for those souls in hell, but also for the devil himself, according to Revelation 20:10. “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (KJV)
Did Jesus Go to Hell? — The Victory of the Cross
Because of the sacrifice of His perfect blood He shed on the cross, Jesus Christ reconciled all things to Himself, including Paradise and all who were there.
“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” Colossians (KJV).
Then, the Lord Jesus Christ triumphantly carried both it and them into heaven to the very dwelling place of God Himself.
Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, there is now no need for a “waiting area” in paradise. Now we have the sure promise, the good news of eternal life, that all the souls of repentant and forgiven believers will be, immediately after their death, alive and in the very presence of God. Praise God for His wonderful gift of eternal salvation!