Most people treat the phrase “He descended into hell” in the Apostles’ Creed like that one weird cousin at family gatherings; we all nod politely, pretend we understand him, and move on quickly to other topics.
Depending on your church context, you may get a mental picture of Jesus kicking down the gates of Hades, ripping the keys of death and hell from Satan, preaching to the dead, and carrying the Old Testament saints into heaven.
Others, like Joyce Meyer, teach that Jesus actually suffered in hell for His people.1
Here’s the problem. Most interpretations of the descensus ad inferos (“descent into hell”) try to fill in the events between Christ’s death and resurrection by reading the Apostles’ Creed like the itinerary of Christ after His death. But the Creed, I believe, is speaking of the theological climax of His humiliation.
Other Views… and Their Problems
Historically, the most popular explanation of the descent has been what has been termed the Harrowing of Hell.
In this view, Jesus descended to the realm of the dead between Good Friday and Easter to rescue the righteous who had died before He came, a reading some try to base on 1 Peter 3:19.
(As an aside, I would argue that the “spirits in prison” passage is better understood as the Spirit of Christ preaching through Noah to the people of his day, not Jesus giving a victory proclamation to the demonic forces in hell.)
The problem with the Harrowing view is that it assumes Old Testament believers were not in God’s presence at death, and rather that Abraham’s bosom was their dwelling place after death as they awaited the Messiah’s arrival.
Others have suggested that Jesus went to hell itself, primarily, to proclaim His victory to the damned, a victory lap of sorts before Satan and his followers.
The trouble with this view is that no biblical text actually teaches this.
Still others have gone in a very different direction, imagining that Jesus descended to offer the dead a second chance to repent.
The issue with this is that it contradicts Hebrews 9:27 and Jesus’ teaching in the gospels.
To be clear, there have been serious theologians behind each of these views. I’m not trying to dismiss their entire body of work. However, what I am saying is that the Reformation gives us the clearest reading.
For a deep dive on the history and variations of these interpretations, I highly recommend Samuel Renihan’s book, Crux, Mors, Inferi
The Heidelberg’s Answer
The Reformed churches, following the Heidelberg Catechism, would read and understand the descent into hell differently from the three other views. The Heidelberg answers this in question 44 by asking,
“Why is there added: He descended into hell?”
The answer: “That in my greatest temptations I may be assured that Christ my lord, by His inexpressible anguish, pains and terrors, which He suffered in His soul on the cross and before, has redeemed me from the anguish and torment of hell.”
Following this, the Second London Baptist Confession states,
“[Christ] underwent the punishment due to us, which we should have borne and suffered, being made sin and a curse for us; enduring most grievous sorrows in his soul, and most painful sufferings in his body; was crucified, and died, and remained in the state of the dead, yet saw no corruption.” 1689 2LBCF 8.4
In other words, the descent isn’t about where Jesus went after He died but about what He endured on the cross and after for His people. The hell He descended into was not beneath the ground, per se; rather, it was the judicial removal of God’s favorable presence. (More on that here)
This reading actually fits the order of the Creed better than the others.
The descent comes after “was crucified, dead, and buried,” not to add a new stage after the tomb, but to explain the depth of His suffering in death. It matches the Gospels, where the true agony is at Calvary, not in some unseen realm between death and resurrection.
The Humiliation Arc
We must be careful to understand that while the climax of Christ’s suffering happened during His passion, it extended across His whole life, starting with His incarnation (Phil. 2:6–8).
The descent is the bottom (or top, depending on the way you are thinking about it) of His humiliation arc. It was the point where the covenant curse reached its full strength. It’s His exile without the hope of return.
When Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” He was not confused; rather, He was quoting Psalm 22 as the One truly abandoned in the land of the curse, and under the law’s curse.
The part most people skip is that the descent did not end at 3 p.m. on Friday; it also includes Christ truly entering the state of death, body in the tomb, and human soul separated from that body.
The state of death itself was part of the curse (Gen. 3:17), and a real death means the unnatural tearing apart of body and soul. His body lay in the tomb; and His human soul was in the Father’s keeping, not because He was powerless, but because salvation required Him to enter fully into what death is, and to sanctify it for His people.
From a redemptive-historical perspective, this is the climax of the covenant story.
Adam’s rebellion brought death, a curse, and exile from God’s presence, so Christ had to enter our condition fully to redeem it fully.
The final judgment that should have fallen on us fell on Him, and that is what is meant by the descent.
Comfort in the Depths
This discussion isn’t merely there for theologians to debate on X (formerly Twitter); it is actually there to fuel your assurance.
If Christ has been there, in the humility of the natural state, a little lower than the angels, and descended into the depths of God-forsakenness, then no matter how low you go, He has gone lower.
In temptation, in depression, in the fear of death, you can say, “My Lord has been here; He has drained this cup, and there is no wrath left for me.”
If you descend into hell, He is there because even the grave is no longer enemy territory.
It is Christ’s grave now, because He holds the keys.
Humiliation is only half the story.
The One who descended is the One who ascended, and when He ascended, He took captivity captive and gave gifts to His church.
That’s Part 2 — the victory of Christ and the work of ministry that flows out of it.
Joyce Meyer, The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make: A Complete And Thorough Understanding Of What It Means To Be Born Again (Tulsa: Harrison House, 1991), 35-36
Amen. This is greatly comforting to me. Thanks brother!