Hades does not refer to a place of punishment; that would be Gehenna (also translated “hell”). Rather the Creed references Hades to describe the human experience of death. Jesus did not enter Gehenna to be punished for the sins He bore. It was on the cross that He endured the fullness of the wrath of God as He suffered the penalty of the law-breaker and the just wrath of God in condemnation for the sins of others He bore.

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment (Heb. 9:27, NKJV)

The Creed concludes the downward descent of Christ from glory to grave with one final, much-debated phrase. Jesus “descended into hell.” This phrase was not original to the Apostles’ Creed and may have been included even centuries later. Why did the church fathers think that phrase important to the gospel story? It has to do with the humanity of Jesus in His representation of us in the death we experience.

What happens when we die? We are separated body and soul. Our bodies rest in the grave until Jesus returns in glory, whereupon we are given resurrection bodies like Jesus had (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:12-56). What happened when Jesus in His humanity died? Like us, He was separated body and soul. The Old Testament place of the departed was Sheol. The New Testament equivalent is Hades, sometimes translated “hell.”

Hades does not refer to a place of punishment; that would be Gehenna (also translated “hell”). Rather the Creed references Hades to describe the human experience of death. Jesus did not enter Gehenna to be punished for the sins He bore. It was on the cross that He endured the fullness of the wrath of God as He suffered the penalty of the law-breaker and the just wrath of God in condemnation for the sins of others He bore.

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