Was Jesus dragged into hell by Satan and tortured?

Bible Question:

I was preparing a study for a small home group dealing with the false notion by a teacher of the Word of Faith movement named Kenneth Copeland. He believes Jesus was dragged into hell by Satan and fought for three days before finally having the victory . . . etc. As one who believes that Christ finished everything at the cross in regard to the atonement for sin, I thought it good to go through what took place when Jesus died. I noted in Luke 23:46 it says “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.'” Having said this, He breathed His last. From what I understand Jesus said to the thief on the cross “today you will be with me in paradise” meaning (Sheol). At this point, we know Jesus's body went to the grave. Yes, His spirit went to the Father and 1 Peter 3:18-19 states, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison.” So the Holy Spirit who was in the creation was active in the conception of Christ and His resurrection. Jesus preached to the spiritual prisoners. This probably ties in with (Eph. 4:7-9). So we read that Jesus was “made alive by the Spirit (The Holy Spirit) through whom He preached to the Spirits in prison. The Spirit of God and Christ were the same as we read in Romans 8:3 but they cannot be the same spirit that Jesus gave up to the Father. What is your view?

Bible Answer:

Ken Copeland has taught that Jesus was dragged into hell by Satan and tortured. According to Ken Copeland, Satan “blew it on a technicality” when he dragged Jesus into hell. Here is what he has taught.

The Devil forgot to take into consideration that Jesus hadn’t sinned Himself but, rather, had merely become sin as a result of the sin of others.[1]

. . . that Word of the living God went down into that pit of destruction and charged the spirit of Jesus with resurrection power! Suddenly His twisted, death-wracked spirit began to fill out and come back to life. He began to look like something the devil had never seen before. He was literally being reborn before the devil’s very eyes. He began to flex His spiritual muscles . . . Jesus was born again — the first-born from the dead the Word calls Him—and He whipped the devil in his own backyard. He took everything he had away from him. He took his keys and his authority away from him.[2]

But Ken Copeland cannot find passages in Scriptures that support his claims that Jesus was dragged into hell or suffered in hell.

Jesus Visited the Demons in the Abyss

Scripture clearly states that after Jesus’ physical body died on the cross, He descended to the abyss. The abyss is mentioned in many passages (Proverbs 27:20; Luke 8:31; Revelation 9:11; Revelation 20:1-3). It is called the pit in Isaiah 14:15 and Revelation 9:1-2, or the prison in 1 Peter 3:18-19. That is where Jesus announced His victory over the fallen angels or spirits who were in prison.

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison . . .   1 Peter 3:18-19 (NASB)

This passage does not tell us that Jesus was dragged down into hell and suffered. It does not tell us that Satan dragged Jesus into hell either. Instead we are told that Jesus went and  proclaimed victory to “the spirits now in prison.” These spirits were evil angels in the abyss. Jesus did not suffer, writhe, and twist in hell. Jesus did not have a “twisted, death-wracked spirit.” Ken Copeland cannot from Scripture support his claim that Jesus was dragged into hell by Satan.

Jesus Descended and Then Ascended

Another important passage regarding Jesus’ descent into the lower parts of  Sheol (the grave) is found in Ephesians 4:8.

Therefore it says, “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.” (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things. Ephesians 4:8-10 (NASB)

Here we are told that the one who ascended (Acts 1:9-11), Jesus Christ, is the one who descended from heaven. As He ministered among us, He walked upon the earth. After He was crucified, He descended beyond the grave. He descended down into the lower part of Hades down into the abyss, the pit of the demons, or the prison described in 1 Peter 3:18-19. This occurred sometime between Friday when He died and Sunday morning when He was resurrected.

But Jesus’ physical body descended into Sheol or the grave and returned to life three days later; but His spirit was always alive. That is why Jesus told the thief on the cross that He would be with Jesus in  Paradise that very day when Jesus’ spirit was in heaven.

And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43 (NASB)

Jesus’ ascension occurred after His resurrection (Acts 1:9-11).

John 20:17 states that Jesus told Mary she must stop clinging to Him because He had not yet ascended to the Father.

Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'” John 20:17 (NASB)

The Greek word that is translated as “ascended” is in the perfect active tense. This means that Jesus was not saying He had not yet ascended to heaven. The perfect active tense refers to a completed event. This reveals that Jesus told Mary she could not keep Him. She had to stop clinging to Him. He had to return to heaven and be with the Father in heaven as a completed act. He could not stay with her. This event does not mean that Jesus had not yet returned to heaven. As already stated in Luke 23:43, He had returned to heaven briefly to meet the thief on the cross.

Conclusion:

In summary,  Jesus returned to heaven briefly on the day He was crucified and visited the evil spirits or demons in the abyss at some time between His death and resurrection.  But Jesus did not visit hell and suffer. He visited Hades to announce victory over the demonic forces.

Scriptures reveal that Ken Copeland has taught error. One of the most serious errors is that Ken Copeland taught Jesus became God at His baptism and that Jesus never claimed to be God.[3, 4] His statement ignores John 8:58 where Jesus said that He was the great “I AM.”

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” John 8:58 (NASB)

Compare this statement with Exodus 3:14 where Jehovah God states that He is the “I AM.” If we compare these two statements, we discover that Jesus was and is Yahweh who met Moses at the burning bush.

 

References:

1. Christianity in Crisis. audio Tape. Hank Hanegraff
2. “The Price of it All,” Believer’s Voice of Victory, September 1991, p. 4
3. Equip,org (www.equip.org/hank_speaks_outs/benny-hinn-kenneth-copeland-todd-bentley)
4. DakeBible(www.dakebible.com/WebPages/joseph-chambers.htm)

Suggested Links:

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Where in the Bible are we told that Jesus descended into hell?
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