This is a good question, and it seems the person asking has confused two different things: one is the death of Jesus, and the other is a verse found in 1 Peter that says Jesus went to preach to those who were “bound.” I love the Bible, as it takes careful reading to understand it correctly — and yet we can only truly understand the Bible through the Holy Spirit.
Many times, people think there are contradictions in the Bible because we read too quickly or fail to consider the context. First, let us examine whether Jesus went to hell when He died. But above all, let us first ask: is there even a hell? Did Jesus descend into hell for 3 days? If not, who went to preach to those who were “bound”?
Did Jesus Descend Into Hell for 3 Days? Is There a Hell?
This is the verse supposedly about Jesus going to hell to preach:
1 Peter 3:18–20 — “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.”
Hell, as it is commonly imagined, is a pagan concept not actually found in the Bible. The Bible always speaks in terms of either eternal destruction or eternal salvation. The Bible does use phrases such as “they will burn forever and ever” or “for ages.” What does this mean?
Matthew 3:12 — “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Here, the word “unquenchable” means that the fire will not be put out until it finishes its job. We need to keep in mind, when reading the Bible, that we must understand how God speaks. God has a particular way of expressing things, and His expressions are quite different from how we speak today. Additionally, the words in the Bible — at least as found in the King James translation from 1611 — often carried different meanings than they do today.
Did Jesus Descend Into Hell for 3 Days? The Meaning of the Words
For example, when Genesis uses the word “replenish,” in King James English, that word simply meant “fill” — even if something had never been filled before, someone might still say “replenish.” Similarly, Paul says, “I wanted to go to Jerusalem, but I was let.” Today, “let” means “allowed,” but in Bible times, it meant the opposite — it meant “hindered.” So, do the words “unquenchable” or “forever” mean that the fires will literally burn without ever stopping?
It means the fires will continue until they finish their work. It means that the outcome of the fire is what’s eternal. This reflects the 1611 meaning of the words. When we burn a book, biblically speaking, we might say “the book burned forever.” Did the book burn forever? No — but the outcome is forever. Forever, the book will be no more. Forever, the book will not come back. Forever, the book will be out of existence. But the book itself did not burn forever — it burned until the fire finished its work.
Did Jesus descend into hell for 3 days? No — and let’s continue exploring the apparent contradictions in the Bible about hell. Note that they are only apparent contradictions.
Matthew 25:46 — “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
Here, the same meaning applies. The phrase “everlasting punishment” does not mean the punishment itself will go on forever — rather, it means the outcome of the fires of hell will destroy people permanently. The result of the punishment is eternal, but the Bible never says there will be eternal, ongoing punishing.
Matthew 10:28 — “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Here, Jesus plainly says that God will destroy both the soul and the body in hell. This “hell” refers to the fire at the end of the millennium. When the 1,000 years end, and the Holy City descends, those who have rejected Jesus will be raised up to be destroyed forever.
Revelation 20 says that God will send fire and destroy the wicked. The words “destroy” and “consume” are plain — they mean the wicked will be no more.
Revelation 20:9 — “And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”
Matthew 25:41 — “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
There is indeed a fire prepared for the wicked — it is the fire at the end of the millennium. But nowhere does the Bible say that this fire will burn forever. God is far too good and just to make people burn eternally for a handful of sins committed during their 80-year lifespan. It would be a terrible injustice for God to make people burn forever simply for years of selfishness, pride, unkindness, or dishonesty.
Did Jesus Descend Into Hell for 3 Days? Verses About Eternal Destruction
James 1:15 — “Sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” Sin brings forth death — and here too, it does not say death comes immediately. Just as with Adam and Eve, death did not come right away, but it did eventually come. This refers to the eternal death that the wicked have chosen for themselves.
Romans 6:23 — “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We choose, by our behavior, where we will spend eternity — either in heaven, or destroyed forever. All our sins can be freely forgiven. It’s hard to understand why some people refuse to ask God for forgiveness and to make amends for what they’ve done against God and others.
John 5:28 — “The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” We condemn ourselves when we refuse to love God and love others. Living according to the standards of this world will not make us pleasing to God, because all that is highly esteemed by the world is an abomination to Him.
Job 21:30 — “That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? … Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.” The wicked are reserved for the day of destruction. What exactly makes someone “wicked”? Most people don’t fully understand this. If you read more articles on Earthlastday.com, you can learn more. Even most Christians don’t fully grasp what evil truly is. Pride was the very root of Satan’s fall.
Satan came to believe that the glory, beauty, and intelligence God had given him originated from himself. This is pride — falsely believing and claiming that what God has given us, we created ourselves. It is a form of deception and lying, robbing God of the glory that belongs to Him alone. Pride is one of the things rarely taught about today, yet it will be the cause of billions being destroyed in hell. Other such sins include selfishness and an unloving spirit.
Revelation 21:8 says all liars will have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. This verse confirms that the wicked — liars, in this case — will be destroyed in hell.
Matthew 13:40–42 — “So it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will … cast them into the furnace of fire.”
Revelation 20:9 — “They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.”
Proverbs 11:31 — “If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner.” This verse shows that God’s warnings and correction already begin here on earth. From experience, I’ve observed that God rebukes those He loves much more quickly than He does the proud and selfish. The righteous are already blessed on earth, and the wicked already begin to experience the consequences of their choices here as well.
Ecclesiastes 8:11–12 — “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him.”
Now that we’ve established that hell is not an eternal, ongoing punishment, let’s look at those verses about Jesus preaching in “hell.”
Did Jesus Descend Into Hell for 3 Days? Those Who Make It to Heaven
When Jesus died, He did not go to hell, as we’ve seen there is no such ongoing place called hell. The Bible never teaches that hell exists right now, actively burning. The Bible teaches that once the judgment is complete and the wicked are raised, they will die a second death, and God will send fire to consume and destroy them. It will be an incredibly sorrowful time for God, because God loves everyone — even the most wicked person is loved by Him.
But God cannot allow into His kingdom someone who is proud, dishonest, and covetous — someone who is selfish and unwilling to help others, someone who treats people rudely and unkindly. God must protect those who make it to heaven by ensuring it is populated only by those who are honest, humble, loving, and kind. In fact, only those who are like Jesus.
Matthew 11:28–30 — “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Unless we become like Jesus, we will never enter heaven. We must realize there is nothing inherently good within us, and that we cannot change our own hearts. Only God possesses true righteousness, and righteousness is found in Him alone. We should ask Him every day to place His righteousness within us — righteousness that alone can transform our hearts into the likeness of Jesus.
Did Jesus Descend Into Hell for 3 Days? Jesus in the Grave
When Jesus was in the grave, where did He go? Nowhere. The spirit returns to God, and the body decays — this is what happens to every human being. When Jesus spoke with Nicodemus, He said that no one had ascended to heaven except Himself — the divine Jesus, who remained in heaven even during this time.
John 3:13 — “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”
Jesus also said, “Destroy my body, and in three days I will raise it up.” Jesus resurrected His own body — the divine Jesus, who remained in heaven throughout, was at the same time fully divine and fully human. It is a mystery. What we know for certain is that Jesus did not go to hell when He died.
Did Jesus Descend Into Hell for 3 Days? Jesus Preaching Through the Spirit
2 Peter 2:4–5 — “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.”
We need to put a few verses together to understand the full context. We see that the context here speaks of the time of Noah. Did God send angels to “hell”? Or does it actually say “darkness” — a place of darkness? Compared to heaven, earth is, in a sense, a place of spiritual darkness for those who reject God. This correlates with the people in Noah’s time, who were also in spiritual darkness. In Noah’s day, people were bound by unbelief — chained in spiritual darkness — and they refused to believe the flood would actually happen.
Ephesians 4:8–10 — “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)”
Does this passage say that Jesus went to hell? No — it says Jesus ascended on high and descended to the lower parts of the earth.
1 Peter 3:18–20 — “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”
Does this passage say Jesus went to hell? No — let’s read it carefully. It says Jesus went and preached to those who were “in prison.” Which prison? The chains of darkness and unbelief we discussed above. When did Jesus do this? It says “in the days of Noah.” Was Jesus physically present in the days of Noah? No. So who actually went to preach at that time?
2 Peter 3:18–19 — “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.”
Here it tells us that it was through the Holy Spirit of Jesus that the preaching took place in the days of Noah. Jesus never went to hell, because there is no hell as commonly imagined — no one is in hell today. Jesus preached through the Holy Spirit, working through Noah, in the days before the flood.
2 Peter 3:10 — “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”
Everything on earth will ultimately be destroyed — including the wicked, who will be resurrected, die once, and then be consumed by fire. What a terrible fate. Why not ask God now to help you become like Jesus, and to give you His righteousness? Jesus truly loves you. Why not give Him your heart today? Repeat after me: “Father God, forgive my sins. Come into my heart. Bless and help me. Give me Your righteousness. Help me walk with You, in the name of Jesus. Amen.”