The Harrowing of Hell

The Harrowing of Hell (Going Deeper)

While it is true that (1) no single verse in the Bible speaks of the person of Jesus traveling into Hell explaining clearly how/why it happened and (2) the Apostle’s Creed is a clearer indication of a Harrowing of Hell than the Bible itself, the idea is not without merit or biblical support.  This is particularly interesting when we consider the whole of what happened at the Cross.

Any descent of Christ into Hell must take into account the mystery of the Godhead, the existence of a spiritual realm which we cannot see, the full humanity of Jesus Christ, the very real death He experienced as outlined in the Bible, and a purpose for the gospel to be “preached to the spirits in prison” (1 Peter 3:18-22 which is viewed as the primary biblical support for the idea).

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,  through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison  who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,  and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also– not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,  who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand– with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him” (1 Peter 3:18-22).

After studying with aforementioned parameters in mind and looking at the Scriptures which speak of where Jesus went after His death, I have concluded that an answer to “Where did Jesus go after He died?” is: Jesus’ body remained in the ground for three days while His soul/spirit went elsewhere, liberating all mankind from the curse of death.   Not that all humans are saved, but victory over death as a universal offer has been achieved.  Not everyone will take up the “Get out of Jail Free” card.

So if Jesus’ soul/spirit went elsewhere, why not Hell?  (Not, obviously, for dwelling purposes, but for deliverance!)   Liberated from a human body, who knows where the human soul/spirit goes?  We know that Jesus said to the criminal, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43) and therefore it is true that both the criminal and Christ were present in paradise that very day.

Were the criminal and Christ spiritually confined to paradise as a holding pen…even while their bodies were confined in the grave?  I don’t think so.  In John 3:8 we read, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Everyone…born of the Spirit.

So, when Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46), His spirit was in the Father’s hands.  Yet, He was also in paradise.  In the mystery of the Godhead, could Jesus’ spirit be multiple places simultaneously?  Yes, I think it’s wrapped up in the mystery of God Himself.

Is it reasonable to think that Jesus—prior to His Incarnation—was free?   That He was not bound to a single physical location at any given moment?  After His death and before His bodily resurrection, is it unrealistic to think He may have become much like His pre-Incarnate self?  I think this is plausible.

Now, if Scripture says that God could be in Sheol (Hell—the place of the dead), then why not the post-Incarnate Christ?  The psalmist records,  “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?  If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there” (NAS Psalm 139: 7-8).

As Spirit, apart from His physical body which remained in the grave, could Christ have “preached to the spirits in prison?”  His Spirit and soul joined together as the Lamb of God and sacrifice for sin…didn’t need a body in order to preach.  His simple presence as Spirit and soul together “preached” evidence of victory.  It didn’t have to be a 30 minute sermon.

As the victorious King, He would have been able to free the spirits in prison—(spirits whose faith was credited to them as righteousness until victory was accomplished).  The way I see it is this:  prior to His death, any  human soul bound itself to the physical body and imprisoned humanity in the curse of sin (which was death).  But when Jesus died on the Cross as the very Image of God in perfect harmony of body, soul, and spirit…importantly without sin, He achieved far more than we will ever understand.  This body, soul, spirit interrelation is really complicated as well, but suffice it to say that this passage in Colossians tells us that Christ’s death was different and His triumph was complete.

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,  and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.  In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ,  having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.  When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,  having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.  And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:9-15).

So, what was accomplished in the window between Christ’s death and His bodily resurrection?  He died without sin thereby instantly fulfilling the righteous requirements of the Law.  He reclaimed a spiritual mind for all Christ-followers of all time, and freed those whose faith was credited as righteousness in the past and whose faith in Him today saves us because of the grace God showed us in Jesus Christ.

If His Spirit went into Hell to take the keys of death, His Spirit can do that even while His body was in the grave.

So, yes, Jesus was in Paradise, but I believe that in His Spirit, He also continued His victory march …

which began on earth with His incarnation (where He became flesh),

was inaugurated with His baptism (by which He identified Himself with us),

was decisively won at the Cross (on which He died for us—it is finished),

involved His post-death release of the righteous from a sinful human nature doomed to death (death had no hold on Him because sin had no part in Him),

and was attested by His resurrection and concluded at His ascension when He sat down.

“To the victor belongs the spoils” (Marcy).  Christ was victorious and being made alive in Spirit, reclaiming His own …could that be called a Harrowing of Hell?  I think so.  No further battle was fought.  Christ’s victory was complete.  All that’s left is the party which will be celebrated at His second coming when He returns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

For those of you who would like to go deeper stil, you can read my current musings and theories on The Harrowing of Hell on the next page.

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