When did Jesus descend into hell and why?

Every time we speak the words of the Apostles’ Creed, we confess that Jesus descended into hell. Has that part of Jesus’ life been confusing to you?

Here are some questions Christians may have:

• Does Jesus’ descent into hell describe those three hours of darkness on the cross when he experienced the punishment we deserved and cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Or did he descend into hell after the victory was won, announcing conquest over sin and death?
• If it was after the victory, did the descent quickly follow the words “It is finished,” did it happen while he was in the tomb, or do we naturally connect it to Easter Sunday when he also rose?

Scripture gives answers to questions like these.

A creed’s history lesson

But first recall the words of the Apostles’ Creed: “[Jesus] was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead.”

At first glance, it might seem like the descent into hell happened sometime before Easter Sunday. A brief review of the creed’s history suggests that isn’t the inevitable conclusion.

The Nicene and Athanasian creeds were the products of Christian leaders gathering together and making an official decision about what to confess. The Apostles’ Creed was different because it didn’t have a single starting point. Instead, the ideas of the Apostles’ Creed were found in many different confessions used by churches when baptizing new believers. These new Christians would confess faith in the triune God and summarize the saving work of Jesus, but the customary wording of such confessions was not always the same. For example, not all included “he descended into hell.”

This didn’t mean Christians denied the truth. Some baptismal confessions didn’t have “life everlasting” in their creed either. Omission just meant they weren’t including every Bible truth in a single confession.

In time, a large part of the Christian church decided to craft a common phrasing for the baptismal creed, also known as the Apostles’ Creed. One of the earlier variations had this wording: “He was crucified under Pontius Pilate and was buried; on the third day he rose from the dead.” If “descent into hell” was to be added, where would it go?

We don’t know all the thinking of those who crafted the final wording of the creed. Theoretically they could have said, “On the third day he descended into hell and rose again from the dead.” But it makes sense to keep “third day” and “he rose” as close together as possible. As far as we know, Jesus had not predicted the descent into hell. But he had said multiple times that he would rise on the third day (Luke 18:33). Christians wanted to confess that.

Where, then, should the words “he descended into hell” go? To include them before “the third day he rose” need not imply anything precise about timing—we are simply confessing that it happened.

The Bible’s explanation

But when did it happen? And why?

First Peter chapter 3 gives all the details.

It is better to suffer when one is doing good, if the will of God would have it be that way, than to suffer for doing evil. In fact, Christ also suffered, one time for sins, the righteous one for those who are unrighteous, to bring you close to God. He was put to death in a lowly state, but he was brought back to life in a spiritual [exalted] state. In that spiritual [exalted] state he traveled to the souls who were imprisoned and made a proclamation to them. Those souls had disobeyed in the past, at that time when God’s patience waited and waited during the days of Noah. (1 Peter 3:17-20, personal translation)

Peter is talking to Christians who are suffering because of their confession of Christ. The question is this: Should they give up and deny their Lord so they might escape suffering?

Look, says Peter, Jesus himself suffered at the hands of a world that rejected him. When Jesus died, he looked like a loser. He died in a lowly state (see Hebrews 5:7), but he did not stay dead. On the third day he came back to life in a spiritual, or exalted, state (see 1 Corinthians 15:44). The one who looked like a loser was suddenly the clear winner.

What did that winner do? In this state of exaltation, he traveled to the place where disobedient souls could be found: hell. What did he do when he met them? He made a proclamation. This was not a call to repentance—there are no second chances in hell. This was an announcement connected to his victory. Those who heard surely had thought themselves the winners when foolish-looking Noah was building an ark. How far that was from the truth. The presence of Jesus in hell brought clarity to that reality.

When did the descent happen? Peter makes it clear that it happened after Jesus came to life. Why did it happen? This was the act of a winner, evidence that the victory was complete.

A pertinent event

But there’s one more question: Why does God tell us about this? If we can answer that, we can also explain why we confess that Jesus descended into hell.

Jesus’ descent into hell is not some random event arbitrarily added to a baptismal confession centuries ago. Jesus’ descent into hell is central to Peter’s encouragement to Christians who feel alone in a wicked world. The Holy Spirit is reminding them that, in this world, appearances are deceiving. You may be persecuted for your faith. You may be imprisoned for your confession. You may be ridiculed for hanging on to the truth in the presence of friends or coworkers who care nothing for it. It may feel like they are winning. They are not. It may feel like you are losing. You are not.

Jesus’ descent into hell is central to Peter’s encouragement to Christians who feel alone in a wicked world.

Remember Jesus, who descended into hell. The apparent loser traveled to the place where apparent winners end up. That place breaks our hearts, just as it broke the heart of Jesus when he thought of people rejecting him (Luke 19:41). But Jesus’ presence in that place also reminds us that when we humbly and joyfully confess with bravery on this side of eternity, we look forward to spending forever not where the appearance of victory has turned into the reality of defeat but where the appearance of defeat here on this earth will transform into the reality of victory with our Savior in heaven.

The descent into hell is proof that you are on the right side. Stand firm with Jesus. Speak with confidence about the eternal hope you have. And when you confess the words of the Apostles’ Creed, rejoice to repeat with Christians over the centuries:

I believe . . . [that Jesus] descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Ask a question at forwardinchrist.net/submit.

Author: Stephen Geiger
Volume 113, Number 04
Issue: April 2026