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Jesus preached the Gospel in hell for three days

Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2006 11:48 pm
by Jbuza
I have run accross this a few times, but I have never really seen any evidence to support it. Where does the Bible say that Jesus preached the gospel in hell? Was Jesus ever in Hell?

Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 12:21 am
by SUGAAAAA
The only thing I've seen someone use to back this up is 1 Peter 3:18-20

Jesus and the gospel

Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 5:09 am
by ray
If Jesus did preach the gospel in hell that would mean that people in hell could be saved. Why would He teach it if it meant nothing? If people in hell can be saved then your place of residence upon death may not be final. Could this mean that those in heaven could face the possibility of still going to hell at a later date? To me it leads to the conclusion that he did NOT teach the gospel in hell.

Ray

Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:58 am
by SUGAAAAA
Actually, what is thought is that Jesus went to preach the Gospel to save those who "lived by the faith", but died before they could hear the Gospels, since "No one comes to the Father except through Jesus". If not hell, than something called "Abraham's Bosom", which is thought to be a place of rest for the soul, or paradise. see: Luke 16:22-23


Though Im sure many disagree.

Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:57 am
by led
I have also heard that since salvation wasn't offered to all the Gentiles for 4,000 or so years in the Old Testament, that Jesus went and offered it to them. I have not found anything to support that, but I suppose it may be possible.

Led

Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:33 pm
by IRQ Conflict
SUGAAAAA, thats bang on the money. Before Christ died for our sins thier was no way for anyone to be saved, therfore He went and preached the Good News in hades to those who would believe. Prior to the resurection some went to hades and others Abrahms bosom depending on the judgment of God and how one lived his/her life. Look at the story of Lot and the rich man as an example.

Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 7:46 pm
by Canuckster1127
http://www.gotquestions.org/did-Jesus-go-to-hell.html

This is one of the better treatises on this subject I was able to find with a quick internet search.

There is good reason to differentiate using the language of hell, the final lake of fire destination for Satan and his fallen angels, verses Hades or Sheol. I think there's a clue in terms of Christ's statement to the thief on the cross that this day he would be with Christ in "paradise" which in other contexts in the Bible seems to be an area of holding waiting for the redemptive completion of Christ's death and resurrection.

It's also the source of the Catholic doctrine of purgatory which Protestants reject as no longer needed or in effect following Christ's finished work on the cross. In fact, the use of indulgences, to use the influence of the church to release souls from purgatory, for fund raising by the Church was one of the catalysts of the Protestant Reformation particularly as its practise affected Martin Luther. The catholic Church addressed that itself later in their own counter-reformation when they began to address some of the issues that brought about the reformation.

The immediate source of the terminology is the apostles creed and it is recognized that of all the statements made in that creed, this one is the hardest to substantiate and understand based on direct Biblical proof-texting.

Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 8:42 pm
by Jac3510
I explained my understanding of this passage here. Long story short, I don't think 1 Pet 3 refers to Jesus preaching the Gospel for the salvation of OT saints.

If you believe that OT saints had to believe in the name of Jesus, I think you are going to have a problem with Gen. 15:6. We need to be careful, because OT soteriology is extremely murcky. Further, you can't expect to read the NT back into the OT. Salvation through Jesus is a NT revelation that relates to the Church. If you are a dispensationalist, as I am, you see a difference in the "gospel of the kingdom" and "the gospel of Jesus." Those who are saved by the latter are "in Christ." Now, you may consider OT saints in Christ (although I'm not sure on that), but you can't say that they were made a part of the Church.

So, again, I'd recommend caution on this . . . salvation in the OT seemed to relate to the belief that God would establish His kingdom with His people. Thus, a person trusted Yahweh for their ultimate delivery. So, given all that, I stick to my understanding of the passage in question. Jesus preached to the spirits in prison, that is, the fallen angels, declaring victory.

Just my two cents, I suppose.