Question:  Dear Greg,

            Correct me if I’m wrong, but please explain this then to me—I’ve heard it said that Jesus descended to Hades (or hell) to take the keys away from Satan at death?

            John

Answer:  Dear John,

            The teaching to which you refer comes from what is called the Word Faith movement, and it has many biblical inconsistencies.  One of the biblical difficulties with this particular Word Faith teaching (that Jesus’ Atonement wasn’t complete until he suffered in hell) is that it demeans the nature of who and what Jesus did, and who and what he is today.

            The Word Faith movement and teachers believe that Satan held Jesus ransom in hell until God the Father paid a “ransom”.  But Jesus is the second person of the Triune Godhead—Jesus was and is God.  Satan has no power over him.  Further, the Bible tells us that Jesus triumphed over Satan, and over death and the grave, once and for all.  The Word Faith movement also teaches that Christ was “reborn” in hell—that he was transformed from Jesus to a demonic spirit while in hell (some actually say that this took place on the cross!), but also, while in hell, his suffering transformed him into a divine being once again.

            Such teachings owe their heritage to the same heretical notions upon which  Mormon and Jehovah’s Witnesses base their teaching on this same subject.

            Some Word Faith teachers note that the Apostles’ Creed and the Athanasian Creed include the phrase “descended into hell”—a statement based upon 1 Peter 3:19 and Ephesians 4:9-10.  However, there is no proof whatsoever that early Christians—the early church—believed that Jesus suffered in hell under Satan.  “Descending into hell” is based upon “preaching to the spirits in prison” (1 Peter 3:19).

            There are several possibilities about what is meant by Christ preaching to spirits in prison.  The two most common are:

1.      His ministry platform (Luke 4:16) included the release of those who were spiritually in prison.  There is no reason to conclude that 1 Peter is talking about demonic spirits.  It could be that Christ’s preaching noted by Peter was directed at humans.

2.      On the other hand, this preaching could be Christ announcing his victory over sin and death to demonic spirits, in the spirit world.  But again, there is nothing here that would lead us to believe that Christ had to go and suffer in hell to pay for our sins.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht