Introduction: The Issue of Jesus Going to Hell
I want to start a series here about Jesus going to hell. This is going to take a while because I want to go deep into the Bible. Did Jesus go to hell after He died on the cross?
There are many people out there that I respect greatly. Some say that Jesus went to hell. Some say Jesus didn’t go to hell. Some say Jesus went to hell but He didn’t suffer there.
So, we’re going to study the Scriptures in great detail to answer this very important question: Did Jesus go to hell?
The Main Text – Acts 2
The main Scripture we’re going to study throughout this series is Acts 2:31 which we use during the preaching of the Gospel. Here it is, in context, and I want you to look very closely at this Scripture.
Acts 2:23-24
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Who Is This Speaking About?
Now, David wasn’t crucified. Who are we speaking of here?
- Is there any doubt that Peter is preaching about Jesus Christ?
- Is there any doubt in your mind that this is speaking of someone other than Jesus Christ?
- Who did these people take and crucify and slay?
- Who did God raise up?
- Who could death not hold?
Psalm 16 Quoted In Acts 2:27
Acts 2:25-27
For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
When I’ve been soul winning before, some people will tell me that verse 27 is speaking of king David, a quote from Psalm 16. This is king David speaking there through the Holy Ghost.
“Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” But there is a clue there as to who David is speaking about. Holy One. Who is that?
The Old Testament Parallel
Psalm 16:8-10
I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. 10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Now, let’s not just guess at who this is speaking of, but let’s continue in the Scriptures here. The Bible actually tells us exactly what this means in the New Testament. And I mean exactly with perfect precision and perfect clarity. And this is done many times with his exact name.
Peter Clarifies – Acts 2:28–30
Acts 2:28-29
Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. 29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
Some people believe this speaks of David. And the Holy Ghost knew that from eternity. So, what does God do? He makes it very clear for us.
“Let me speak freely unto you of the patriarch David.” You might of thought Psalm 16 spoke of David, but it’s not speaking of David. He’s dead and buried. He hasn’t been resurrected from the dead.
Now, watch very closely the next Scripture. And we can’t ignore this or kick it into the ground or lower the word of God. Remember that God’s words are higher than anything.
Acts 2:30
Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
This is Peter speaking of David through the Holy Ghost who is God. David is a prophet. David knew that God had sworn an oath to him. That of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. So, God is telling us that Psalm 16 is about Jesus Christ. David was speaking of Jesus Christ. David was speaking of that Savior who is Christ.
Key Verse – Acts 2:31
Now watch what this says in verse 31. And remember, false doctrine (many times not on purpose but from a misunderstanding of the Scriptures) comes from people taking one verse out of context or using it to teach something they want to teach.
That’s why we will not use one verse, but we will do a complete Bible study series in which we will look at the Scriptures and the arguments on both sides. Look closely here.
Acts 2:31
He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
“He seeing this before.” Who is the “he” at the start of the verse? The he is David. David is a prophet who saw these things before they happened. He wrote them down in Book of Psalms. “He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ.”
What are we speaking of here? The resurrection of Christ.
Let’s say you only had the Book of Psalms and God didn’t further explain what He means in His words? It would be a little tougher to understand. Psalm 16 is a psalm of David. David wrote the words in Psalm 16 and you might think he is speaking of himself only. But the Bible is explaining to us and teaching us here.
David spake of the resurrection of Christ. And don’t minimize this. I’ll say it again. David spoke of the resurrection of Christ. He didn’t speak of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Make sure you hear me clearly because the Bible is clear. “He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ.”
What is the resurrection of Christ? This occurred after Jesus died on the cross and after His body was buried. After three days and three nights and on the third day Jesus arose from the dead. This is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Truth Points From Peter’s Preaching
Peter clearly explains:
- David was not talking about himself.
- David was dead and buried.
- David spoke prophetically—about Jesus.
- It was Jesus’ soul that was not left in hell.
- It was Jesus’ flesh that did not corrupt.
David was not in hell. David was not resurrected. David’s body was still buried. Where is the body of Jesus Christ? He’s not buried any more. He was buried for a short period of time when He was dead. He’s not dead. His body is not in the tomb. His body is not buried. His body did not see corruption. And his soul was not left in hell.
If you believe the words of the Bible are the perfect word of God, the word hell means hell. And we will look at that in detail within in this series as some people will talk about Jesus being in hell when He suffered on the cross.
Think On This…
- If the Bible says “His soul was not left in hell,” then His soul was there.
- If His flesh did not see corruption, then His body was buried.
- If you believe the Bible is perfect, then the word hell means hell.
So we must ask: Is hell ever used metaphorically in the Bible? Let’s explore that in this series.
God’s words are concise and clear. This verse isn’t speaking of the death of Jesus on the cross. This verse is speaking of His soul not being left in hell. Now, could this ONLY be speaking of his body being buried in the tomb? We will look at these things. Is a body buried in a tomb considered to be hell?
In the Bible, is the word hell ever used to describe someone going through hell as a metaphor?
For example, “He’s going through hell because he’s had a tough life.” Some people might say, “He’s been through hell and back.” Or “all hell broke loose.” Or “go to hell.” Or “it hurts like hell.” Some people, during soul winning, tell me that they are in hell right now.
The word hell is in the KJV 54 times. Does the Bible ever use hell as a metaphor in that way? We’ll study these things. Could that verse right there mean that the literal soul of Jesus Christ didn’t go to the fiery hell that is spoken of in the Bible?
Or, does this mean what it says?
We are speaking of the resurrection of Christ. We are not speaking of His death or the burial. We are clearly speaking of the resurrection of Christ.
And this verse clearly defines the resurrection of Christ in two ways. There are two parts remaining in that verse.
- That his soul was not left in hell.
- Neither his flesh did see corruption.
The Bible clearly defines the resurrection of Jesus Christ as his soul not being left in hell and his flesh not seeing corruption in the tomb.
Now, the question is, and this is a big one because there are so many interpretations of this verse out there. Again, some pastors that I highly respect say different things about what this verse means.
Some say that Jesus didn’t go to hell at all. They say he only went to heaven after he died. Some say that he did go to hell but Jesus didn’t suffer there because His suffering only took place on the cross. Some say that when Jesus said, “It is finished” that the sacrifice for sins was complete and nothing else had to happen for us to be saved from our sins.
Others say that’s not true and so on and so on. Others will say that you must believe that the soul of Jesus went to hell and suffered there to be saved. Others say that the verse you see right there is not talking about Jesus but speaking of David. Others will say Jesus went to paradise in hell within Abraham’s bosom.
Back To Acts 2 – The Definition Of Resurrection
So, look, this is a very important doctrine to understand.
100%, without a doubt, Acts 2:31 speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you don’t believe me, then let’s keep going in the next verse. And, look, this is important to get right. We can’t decrease faith in God’s words.
Acts 2:32
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Who is verse 27 speaking of? Who is verse 31 speaking of? Who is Peter preaching about? He is telling us that David was speaking of Jesus Christ. “THIS JESUS hath God raised up.” We are clearly speaking of Jesus Christ, and the highest witness in existence tells us this over and over again.
We are speaking of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This Jesus hath God raised up. We cannot get a blockage to the word of God for any reason. We cannot allow ourselves to be blinded to the truth in God’s words.
And I ask you right now and others. If I am not seeing something, I need you to tell me. At this time, right now, I am sure this speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we continue reading.
Acts 2:33
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Jesus us by the right hand of God. Jesus is exalted. Jesus received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost. Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit. He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. They were seeing miracles of the Holy Ghost there at Pentecost.
Now, if you still believe this speaks of David and not Jesus Christ, please take a look at the next verse:
Acts 2:34-35
For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
The Holy Ghost, again, is saying right here: Psalm 16 is not talking about David. Acts 2:27 and Acts 2:31 is not talking about David. “For David is not ascended into the heavens.” The body of David is still dead and buried. David hasn’t been resurrected. David’s soul never went to hell. We are speaking of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
David knew he was speaking of Christ but others are saying David was speaking of himself. But in this chapter, the Bible is telling us that David knew he wasn’t speaking of himself. David knew. We should know. The Bible clearly and plainly tells us this. And we have to see it for what it says.
Final Declaration
Acts 2:36
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Again, we’re talking clearly and plainly of Jesus Christ. “God hath made that SAME JESUS, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
His soul was not left in hell is 100% clear and plain speaking of the soul of Jesus Christ. If it is not, I need you to please show me how these words and this witness cannot be true. It is not said once in this chapter. It is repeated over and over again.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is equal to His soul not being left in hell and His flesh not seeing corruption. His soul was in hell but His would was not left there. If His soul was not left in hell, there is no way you can argue that His soul was never in hell. His flesh was buried in a tomb but not long enough to see corruption. He was buried for three days and three nights.
Now, who is teaching us these things?
Acts 2:42
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
This is the apostles doctrine taught through the Holy Spirit of God on the day of Pentecost when visible miracles were seen and heard. The apostle Peter hand picked as the leader of the Apostles preached this and 3,000 souls were saved that day.
Summary – What Did We Learn?
- David is the speaker—but he’s speaking about Jesus.
- The resurrection of Jesus is defined as:
- His soul not left in hell.
- His flesh not seeing corruption.
- If His soul wasn’t left in hell, then His soul was in hell.
- This is not metaphor. This is not tradition. This is the Word of God.
So, did the soul of Jesus go to hell? Obviously, the soul of Jesus was not left in hell because the Bible says so. But, what exactly does this mean? Did the soul of Jesus go to the fiery torment of hell? Did Jesus suffer in hell for our sins? Or did He only suffer on the cross for our sins? What happened?
In this series, we’re going to use the Scriptures to get this settled. And we ask the Holy Spirit of God to guide us through this. We ask for His wisdom and knowledge because it’s not easy to get this doctrine right as evidenced by many pastors teaching different things about this.
Let’s seek the truth humbly. Not with pride. Not with tradition. Not respecting what any other man says but what the word of God says. For example, I don’t get upset if another man doesn’t agree with me. I still love that man. Or the other man. Or the other man who loves Jesus Christ.
Next time we’re going to look at the definition of soul throughout the Bible. What does the Bible mean when it says, “HIS SOUL was not left in hell?”
We know we have a body, a spirit, and a soul. And this is very important to understand for this doctrine of the soul of Jesus going to hell. Remember, we’re going to answer the question: Did Jesus go to hell? Let’s pray.
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