The Apostles’ Creed, a classic summary of Christian belief, states that between Jesus’ burial and resurrection “He descended into hell.”
This puzzles many people—why would the sinless Jesus be in hell, even if it was only temporary? The problem is one of translation: The Creed, written in Greek, says Christ descended into Hades, the Greek word for the region of the dead, not a place of eternal punishment.
(It has the same meaning as the Old Testament word Sheol. See 869.) Paul, in Ephesians 4:9, says that before He ascended into heaven, Christ “also first descended into the lower parts of the earth.” So, “descended into hell” is more accurately translated “descended into Hades” or “descended into the realm of death.” Many churches solve the difficulty by simply omitting “descended into hell” from the Creed.
But “descended into the realm of death” is important, reminding us that Christ did indeed die a normal human death before God raised Him.
