"I believe in God the Father Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth and in
Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day he rose again
from the dead; He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God
the Father Almighty" (Excerpt from the Apostle’s Creed).
Recently a woman wrote with the following question. She said,
"I have
just discovered that some of my friends believe when Jesus became sin He
took on the nature of Satan and went to hell where He was tormented by
Satan and his demons until God called from heaven and said ‘enough’ and
then the Holy Spirit entered Him again and Jesus became the 1st born
again man. I don’t believe this is true and have been looking for
Biblical answers for them can you help?"
I’ve heard this teaching a number of times, and I’m convinced there are
several problems with it. The verse her friends were referring to is 2
Cor. 5:21, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him
we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus bore the penalty for
every sin mankind ever had or ever would commit as if He Himself was
guilty of them all. This took place on the cross during the last three
hours of His suffering that ended with His death. Becoming sin for us is
what made God turn away from Him, taking the light from the world, and
it’s what caused Him to say, My God, My God why have you forsaken me?
(Matt. 27:45-46).
Taking on the sin of the world caused a separation between the Father
and the Son that had never occurred before, and while Jesus had steeled
Himself against the physical abuse He was suffering, He was not prepared
for that. It’s the only part of the whole ordeal He couldn’t bear in
silence.
At the end of that time, knowing that all was completed and so the
Scripture would be fulfilled, He asked for a drink. Then He said, “It is
finished,” and died (John 19:28-30). This was the end of His suffering.
He had done what He came to do, and that’s to die for the sins of the
world (John 1:29). There would be no more suffering on our account. This
is confirmed in the Greek word John used in the Lord’s statement. It’s
tetelesti, a form of the Greek verb teleo, which means to accomplish or
complete. It also means to discharge a debt, and in the Lord’s day it
was an accounting term that meant nothing further was owing. The debt we
owed to God was paid in full. There would have been no reason for the
Lord to endure further torment.
Here’s Another Problem
The Gospel of Luke makes reference to a brief conversation Jesus had
with one of the two men being crucified with Him that gives rise to
another problem. While one of the men hurled insults at Him, the other
one declared the Lord’s innocence and said, "Jesus, remember me when you
come into your kingdom."
Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in
paradise" (Luke 23:39-43)
Jesus said He was going to Paradise, and yet the Apostle’s Creed I
quoted from above said He descended into Hell. Which was it? For the
answer, let’s go to the Bible’s most detailed description of the after
life experience as it was before the cross. It’s the story of the Rich
Man and Lazarus and it’s found in Luke 16:19-31.
Tell Us A Story
"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived
in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus,
covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's
table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to
Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he
was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by
his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send
Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
because I am in agony in this fire.'
"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received
your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is
comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us
and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from
here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'
"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's
house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will
not also come to this place of torment.'
“Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to
them.'
"'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to
them, they will repent.'
"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they
will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"
Some call this story a parable, but I think it was the account of
something that really happened. The Lord’s parables generally weren’t
about actual people but were hypothetical in nature. In this story we
see real people in a real situation. It’s almost as if He expected His
audience to know who He was talking about.
I think the Lord was pointing to His own future by saying that God gave
us His word as a guide for life and death, but if people don’t believe
it they won’t be persuaded even if someone (Himself for instance) comes
back from the dead. Because of this, I’m skeptical of the popular
stories about people who claim to have been to heaven or hell and have
been allowed to return and tell us about what it’s like. If God refused
to let Lazarus come back to warn the rich man’s five brothers, why would
He suddenly let all kinds of people come back to warn people now?
Back To Our Subject
But our topic here is what Jesus did after He died and the story of the
rich man and Lazarus can help us understand that as well.
The spiritual condition of these two men is not revealed in so many
words. But by their destinations we can tell what it was. Upon his
death, angels carried Lazarus to Abraham’s side. This term was the
Jewish expression for a place of comfort in Sheol, the abode of the
dead, that was also called Paradise. It’s the place Jesus said He was
going to in Luke 23:43. It was where all believers from the time before
the cross went until the resurrection took them to heaven. In the early
church, some believed that Paradise was the actual Garden of Eden and
was neither in Heaven nor on Earth. Being taken there indicates Lazarus
had died believing in a coming redeemer who would pay the penalty for
His sins and qualify him for the resurrection to eternal life.
When the rich man died he was taken to hell. The Greek word for hell is
Hades. It’s equivalent to the Hebrew word Sheol which, as I said, is the
abode of the dead. That means it’s the same place where Lazarus went,
but while Lazarus enjoyed a place of comfort, the rich man’s lot was
agony in the fire. This tells us he was not a believer. He could see
Lazarus but he couldn’t join him. The time for choosing his eternal
destiny ended at his death just like it does for us. Hebrews 9:27 tells
us man is destined to die but once and after that to face judgment.
Paradise was a only a temporary place for believers, who could not enter
heaven until the blood of Jesus was sprinkled on the altar there
(Hebrews 9:11-12). Since then all believers who die go directly to
Heaven (Phil 1:21-23, 2 Cor. 5:6-8).
The part of Hades where the rich man went is also a temporary place.
Rev. 20:13 tells us at the Great White throne judgment Hades will give
up the dead that are in it and each person will face their final
judgment before being cast into the lake of fire.
So although it wasn’t this way at the beginning, somewhere along the way
Hades, or hell as we call it, came to be known as the place where
unbelievers spend eternity in suffering and torment. I think this
misunderstanding is at least partially responsible for the false
teaching that Jesus was tormented by Satan there.
When Jesus went into Hades, He went as a conqueror, not as a victim. In
the Bible there are only two references to the time between His death
and His resurrection and both support this position. As we saw in Luke
23:43 He said He was going to Paradise immediately after He died and He
was taking one of the men dying next to him along. And in 1 Peter
3:18-20 we’re told that by the power of the Holy Spirit He preached to
the disobedient spirits imprisoned there, so He must have visited the
other side of Hades as well. But it was not for the purpose of
suffering. It was for the purpose of reminding them that their
punishment was just and well deserved.
But Wait, There’s More
Finally, our writer mentioned that her friends believe Jesus became the
first born again man after God put a stop to His suffering and the Holy
Spirit entered Him again. But as we’ve just seen the Holy Spirit was
with the Lord when He preached to the disobedient spirits. More
importantly, being born again is the result of accepting the Lord’s
death as payment for all our sins. Jesus never sinned, and He didn’t
have a sin nature. True, He became sin for us, but He had no need to be
born again. On the contrary, He’s the one who made it possible for us to
be born again.
In summary, there’s no Biblical support for the belief that the Lord’s
suffering on our behalf continued after His death.