What Does “He descended into hell” Mean in the Bible?
In the Creed, “hell” here means the place of the dead. Jesus went down there to open heaven to the just.
It can mean
- Other names: the Bible calls it “Sheol” or “Hades”: the place of the dead.
- Careful: it is not the hell of the damned. There all the dead, good and bad, were waiting for the coming of the Savior.
Today
In the Apostles’ Creed we say: “he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again.”
Where it appears in the Bible
Acts 2:24; Acts 2:27
What the Bible says
Acts 2:24
Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the sorrows of hell, as it was impossible that he should be holden by it.
Acts 2:27
Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: Catechism 631-633