Name: Bill
Question: Where does it say Jesus went to hell to visit with the prisoners?
Answer: Thanks for the question Bill.
Once our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ perished on the Cross, He was resurrected, and then He sat at the right hand of God, (Hebrews 10:12). Shortly thereafter, He did preach to the spirits in prison.
However, you won’t find the word “hell” in the passage you are looking for, rather, it describes the wrong side of the Gulf in Heaven. We will talk more about that in a moment.
The Spirits In Prison
Turn your Bible with me to,
1 Peter 3:18-19
18 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:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
Who were these spirits?
They were “disobedient” people who once lived on earth, (1 Peter 3:20). Jesus went to them, to preach to them, to offer them the opportunity for salvation. Something that was not available to them during their time on earth, which was prior to Christ’s time on earth.
In the future, this same thing will take place during the Millennium. The time when Jesus Christ and His Saints preach to those who never had the opportunity to hear the Word of God. Also, people like the unborn who were murdered and the mentally ill, (Revelation 20:6).
Where is this prison located?
As Scripture explains, once Jesus perished on the cross, He went to sit on the right hand of God. Therefore, the prison we are discussing is also located in Heaven. In fact, it describes the “gulf” in Heaven.
The Gulf In Heaven
Turn your Bible with me to,
Luke 16:26
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Those are the words of Jesus who discussed an aspect of Heaven.
In fact, Jesus was discussing Lazarus and the Rich Man. Christ explained the Rich Man was on the wrong side of the Gulf in Heaven. The Rich Man had now become one of the “spirits in prison”.
That is how it works, even to this very day. When the wicked of the world and the unsaved pass away, they become bound in prison. Bound to the wrong side of the Gulf in Heaven, awaiting Judgement Day.
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This day of Judgement will not take place until the end of the Millennium, moments before the Eternity.
Did Jesus Go To Hell?
Typically, when we think of “hell,” we think about an eternal fire for sinners.
The truth is much different.
Simply put, the word “hell” describes a temporary state.
The word typically means the “grave” or the “place of departed souls” who are not in good standing with God. That means, the “spirits in prison” on the wrong side of the Gulf in Heaven are in “hell”.
On the other hand, the “Lake of Fire” concerns the permanent death of the soul. That’s Judgement Day, which takes place at the end of the Millennium.
In fact, Scripture tells us Satan will be brought to ashes, (Ezekiel 28:18). That’s utter destruction, the permanent death of his soul.
Look what Jesus taught.
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:
That’s the Lake of Fire, (Revelation 20:15).
Look what else Jesus said,
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.
In this verse, the word “hell” is “geenna” in Greek, which is permanent, and describes the Lake of Fire. On the other hand, “hell” is typically the Greek word “hades,” which is temporary, and describes the “grave” or the “place of departed souls”.
That is where Jesus went, to the “spirits in prison.” They were located in the “place of departed souls” which is on the wrong side of the Gulf in Heaven. Jesus did that for their benefit, to help them overcome, and obtain Eternal Life if they so choose.
Technically, that’s “hell” in one sense of the word, but it’s certainly not the Lake of Fire.