DID JESUS DESCEND INTO HELL?
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. Did Jesus Descend Into Hell?
a) 2 Peter 2:4 says, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, [Greek for hell is Tartarus] putting them in chains of darkness [literally gloomy dungeons] to be held for judgment.”
b) Peter intentionally uses the Greek word for hell in verse 4, Tartarus, which in Greek mythology is a place lower than Hades itself and is reserved for the most despicable and evil of all human beings, god, and demons. Peter was emphasizing that this was the worst place in all of God’s creation of eternal torment and suffering. The Jews used this term as the abode of the lowest of the low – the deepest pit there was. The demons that were there then and must by necessity be there now, had to have been the most evil of all fallen angels. Even the demons begged and pleaded with Jesus not to cast them into the abyss when instead Jesus allowed them to go into the swine in Luke 8:31.
c) Jesus went down to hell to proclaim His victory but did not go there to suffer because, in reality, Calvary was a living hell in itself, since hell is the absolute absence of God and Jesus was for a time separated from the Father. He went in spirit to hell to proclaim His victory over evil and His conquering of the grave too. This seems to fit the meaning of the verses in 1 Peter 3:18-20.
d) Many Bible scholars and theologians believe that these bound demons will be released during the Great Tribulation mentioned in Revelation 9 even though we know there are many demons now roaming the earth under the sway of Satan (Revelation 12:7-9).
The End ...
1. Did Jesus Descend Into Hell?a) 2 Peter 2:4 says, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, [Greek for hell is Tartarus] putting them in chains of darkness [literally gloomy dungeons] to be held for judgment.”
b) Peter intentionally uses the Greek word for hell in verse 4, Tartarus, which in Greek mythology is a place lower than Hades itself and is reserved for the most despicable and evil of all human beings, god, and demons. Peter was emphasizing that this was the worst place in all of God’s creation of eternal torment and suffering. The Jews used this term as the abode of the lowest of the low – the deepest pit there was. The demons that were there then and must by necessity be there now, had to have been the most evil of all fallen angels. Even the demons begged and pleaded with Jesus not to cast them into the abyss when instead Jesus allowed them to go into the swine in Luke 8:31.
c) Jesus went down to hell to proclaim His victory but did not go there to suffer because, in reality, Calvary was a living hell in itself, since hell is the absolute absence of God and Jesus was for a time separated from the Father. He went in spirit to hell to proclaim His victory over evil and His conquering of the grave too. This seems to fit the meaning of the verses in 1 Peter 3:18-20.
d) Many Bible scholars and theologians believe that these bound demons will be released during the Great Tribulation mentioned in Revelation 9 even though we know there are many demons now roaming the earth under the sway of Satan (Revelation 12:7-9).
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