A friend who converted to Eastern Orthodoxy invited me to attend a service at his church. I knew that Eastern Orthodoxy, along with Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, comprised the three main branches of Christianity. I also knew that Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism separated in AD 1054 due in part to different views of the pope. But that was about all I knew about this segment of Christianity so I happily accepted his invitation.
As soon as I entered the building, I was greeted by a strong aroma of burning incense. Turning to enter the main room, I saw a colorful artistic display in the front: small square paintings of saints in gold relief with two doors in the middle. The paintings, called icons, are an important part of Orthodox worship.
When the service began I noticed the name St. John Chrysostom (AD 347–407) on the written liturgy. About twenty years earlier, in my college library, I had read an article about him in a Christian magazine. He was an important church bishop called Chrysostom, meaning “golden mouth,” because of his powerful sermons. I went on to read a couple of his messages and was impressed by his direct and clear explanations of Scripture.
During my Sunday morning visit, I was surprised to learn that the Orthodox Church still follows the order of service written by Chrysostom. Coming from a Protestant background—a church tradition that began in 1517 with Martin Luther—I had not experienced anything close to that kind of liturgical history.
Shortly after, my friend gave me a book called Christ the Conqueror of Hell: The Descent into Hades from an Orthodox Perspective by Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev. The book focuses on Christ’s mission to the underworld, specifically where he was and what he was doing after his death and before his resurrection appearances. As stated in the subtitle, the author writes from “an Orthodox Perspective,” which means the church fathers are highlighted. The church fathers were significant leaders who lived during the first seven centuries of Christian history. Some Protestants don’t hold the church fathers in high esteem, but they are an important part of the Christian heritage because they helped to clarify major doctrines.
The topic intrigued me because I had heard almost nothing about it during my six years of formal theological education. Of course, I had heard the statement in the Apostles’ Creed: “he descended into hell,” but that was about it. My Protestant environment didn’t expose me to much “from an Orthodox Perspective.”
Holy Saturday
Reading the book was an enlightening experience. I knew what happened on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but I didn’t know what many of the patristic authors said occurred on Holy Saturday. Before we get to their quotes, let’s briefly review what we know about the day after Jesus died from the New Testament.
According to Mark’s Gospel, Jesus died around 3 p.m. on Friday. (The Sabbath is Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset, so the day of rest would have begun shortly after Jesus breathed his last.) After Jesus died, his body was wrapped in linen and placed in a tomb “cut out of rock” (Mk 15:46). “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body” (16:1). So they bought spices on Saturday evening then early the next morning (Sunday) they set out for the tomb.
Since Jesus’ followers were all Jewish we know that they were resting for much of the time while he was in the tomb, but what was Jesus doing? If you believe in soul sleep—the idea that we enter an unconscious state after death until we are raised from the dead—your answer will be “nothing.” But that’s the opposite of what many early church leaders taught.
Church Fathers
Consider the following quotes from early Christian leaders.
It was for this reason, too, that the Lord descended into the regions beneath the earth, preaching his advent there also, and [declaring] the remission of sins received by those who believe in Him. (Irenaeus of Lyons, c. AD 130–203) [i]
Do not [the Scriptures] show that the Lord preached the Gospel to those that perished in the flood, or rather had been chained, and to those detained ‘in ward and guard’? (Clement of Alexandria, AD 150–215) [ii]
For, death tended them . . . until the true Shepherd came, who laid down his life for his sheep and who thus, making them rise together and leading them out from the prison of hell to the early morning of the Resurrection. (Basil the Great, AD 329–379)[iii]
He showed the way to salvation not only to us, but also to the spirits in hell; having descended, he preached to those once disobedient, as Peter says. (Cyril of Alexandria, AD 378–444) [iv]
just as he brought the message of peace to those upon the earth, and of release to the prisoners . . . and became to those who did not believe, a denunciation of their unbelief, so he might become the same to those in Hades . . . And thus after he had freed those who had been bound for ages, straightway he rose again from the dead, showing us the way of resurrection. (John Damascene, AD 676–749) [v]
What are these ancient church leaders talking about?[vi] When did the Lord descend to a prison and preach the gospel? And who were the captives he lifted “from the prison of hell”?
The church fathers are expressing a widely accepted view in early Christianity—after death, Christ descended to the underworld. Justin Bass writes,
All in all, the historical argument for the doctrine of Christ’s Descensus is one of the most primitive and most agreed upon teachings of the ancient church. . . . The doctrine of the Descensus is very ancient beginning in the early second century, geographically widespread, and is unanimously assumed by the church for fifteen centuries.[vii]
For this reason, “he descended to the dead” or “descended into hell” is found in the Apostles’ Creed and the Athanasian Creed. Quoting Gerhard Uhlhorn, John Wesley (J. W.) Hanson (1823–1901) adds,
One fact stands out very clearly from the pages of patristic literature, viz.: that all sects and divisions of the Christians in the second and third centuries united in the belief that Christ went down into Hades, or the Underworld, after his death on the cross, and remained there until his resurrection. Of course it was natural that the question should come up, What did he do there? As he came down from earth to preach the Gospel to, and save, the living, it was easy to infer that he went down into Hades to preach the same glad tidings there, and show the way of salvation to those who had died before his advent.[viii]
What is the biblical basis for this widespread idea? Let’s consider three passages.
“He who descended”
In Ephesians 4, Paul encourages his readers to be united because there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (v. 5). But unity doesn’t mean uniformity because within the “one body” there is a diversity of gifts and unique distributions of grace, enabling God’s people to grow into maturity. Paul writes:
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) (vv. 7–9)
What does “descended to the lower, earthly regions” mean? Some believe it refers to Christ’s incarnation or descent to earth, but there are strong reasons for seeing it as a reference to Christ’s descent to the underworld. First, the verses that closely resemble Ephesians 4:9 lexically and conceptually in the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, refer to a descent to the underworld.[ix] Second, Greco-Roman culture was filled with descent stories so Paul’s immediate audience would have known what it meant when Christ “descended.” Third, descending to “the lower, earthly regions” is a strange expression in Greek and it does not sound like a mere descent to our planet.[x]
A Proclamation
You may have noticed Cyril’s mention of Peter. Some of the early church’s thinking on this topic is derived from statements in 1 Peter.
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. (3:18–20, NRSV)
A few verses later Peter writes:
But they will have to give an accounting to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does. (4:5–6 NRSV)
I had read these passages dozens of times and they raised many questions each time I pondered them.
- Who are the imprisoned spirits? Are they deceased human beings or rebellious angels? If they are deceased human beings, why does it only mention those who lived during Noah’s time?
- What did Christ preach to the imprisoned spirits? Was it the good news of salvation or the bad news of judgment?
- What was the result of Christ’s preaching? If he preached good news, was it accepted or rejected? And if it was accepted, were the imprisoned spirits released?
Commentaries
Bible college students quickly learn the value of Bible commentaries and I was no different. Written by Bible scholars, commentaries usually give a verse-by-verse explanation of individual books of the Bible. However, when I consulted these reference books on Peter’s statements, I was left with more questions than answers.
They often began by stating the complexity of Peter’s language in Greek, continued by listing a number of interpretive options, failed to mention that many church fathers agreed on the basic meaning of the passage, and then explained why they favored another interpretation. If they mentioned church fathers, they usually highlighted Augustine and his peculiar explanation.
The commentators proceeded by adding something like, “These Scriptures cannot possibly mean that Christ preached to deceased human beings because there are no second chances. Hebrews 9:27 says ‘people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.’” But the commentaries I was reading were written by Protestant scholars. Let’s take a closer look at 1 Peter 3:18–20.
Identity of the Spirits
Here’s what we know from Peter’s statement, other biblical texts, and ancient Jewish writings.
- Christ “went . . . to the spirits in prison” (NRSV) or “imprisoned spirits” (NIV).
- The spirits were disobedient during the time of Noah: “who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah.” Noah lived about two millennia before Christ.
- Disobedient humans grieved God during Noah’s time and were wiped out in the flood.[xi]
- Deceased humans are called “spirits” in Hebrews 12:23: “to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.”
- Thus, “imprisoned spirits” is a reference to deceased humans who lived in rebellion against God.
- But ancient Jewish literature used “spirits” frequently to refer to non-human creatures or evil spirits.[xii]
- The flood narrative in Genesis may contain a reference to angelic rebellion. Many believe “sons of God” in Genesis 6 refers to angels who transgressed their appointed boundary.[xiii]
- “Imprisoned spirits” sounds like a reference to evil spirits. According to 2 Peter 2:4, rebellious angels are being kept in Tartarus, “in chains of darkness.” And the only other occurrence of “spirits” and “prison” is Revelation 18:2, which refers to evil spirits.[xiv]
So which is it? Evil spirits or deceased humans? At this point, let me introduce a twist. Augustine (354–430) assumed that Peter was referring to humans, but he was bothered by a detail. Why does Peter only name those who were disobedient during Noah’s time? What about others who died later? He thought such a visit to only one generation of people didn’t make sense so Peter must be talking about something other than Christ’s descent to deceased humans. So what was Peter saying? Augustine devised a novel interpretation: Christ’s spirit was in Noah when Noah was preaching to the wicked people of his time before the flood. This is a highly strained and unfounded interpretation of Peter’s words. In contrast with Augustine’s view, Peter may have used one group, known for being especially wicked, as an example of what Christ did during his descent. By naming them, he shows that Christ’s mission included even the most wicked generation.
Moreover, C. S. Lewis adds a helpful insight in his fictional work, The Great Divorce. After explaining many things about the narrator’s dream of heaven and hell, George MacDonald says,
‘Only the Greatest of all can make Himself small enough to enter Hell. For the higher a thing is, the lower it can descend—a man can sympathise with a horse but a horse cannot sympathise with a rat. Only One has descended into Hell.’
‘And will He ever do so again?’
‘It was not once long ago that He did it. Time does not work that way when once ye have left the Earth. All moments that have been or shall be were, or are, present in the moment of His descending. There is no spirit in prison to Whom He did not preach.’[xv]
Since both views—evil spirits and deceased humans—have strong support, perhaps the best we can do is allow for both possibilities, while giving ourselves the freedom to lean in one direction. After concluding that “spirits” must refer to both souls of dead people and fallen angels, Bo Reicke (1914–1987) says, “the most important thought must be of the fallen Angels.”[xvi] Due to the emphasis on human wickedness in the flood story, however, I lean toward humans. And we will see a clear reference to deceased humans in 1 Peter 4.
Christ’s Activity
What did Christ do during this time?
- Christ “made a proclamation to the imprisoned spirits.” The Greek word for “proclamation” can refer to a proclamation in general, either good or bad, but in the New Testament it usually refers to preaching centered on God’s kingdom or the good news of Christ.[xvii] Additionally, proclamation
does not mean ‘make a speech’ or something of that kind in a more or less rhetorical manner; the etymological purport of the word is “to cry out as a herald,” “to proclaim,” which is something more dramatic and has more emphasis on a fact solemnly communicated than our “to preach.”[xviii]
- That’s it. That’s all it says about Christ’s activity after he was “made alive in the spirit.”
The Spirits’ Response
Now we need to use our brains. If the crucified Lord went to imprisoned spirits (fallen angels/reprobate humans), who lived in defiance to God, and made a proclamation, probably about himself, how would they have responded? Reicke says, “we can perhaps be certain . . . that they were astonished and ashamed to find the glory of the Messiah in such a humble form as Christ.” [xix] “Astonished and ashamed” sounds right. But what else happened? Did Christ give them an offer of salvation, command them to repent, or confirm their damnation? It doesn’t say, but Peter continues by referring to Christ’s ascension, “with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him” (3:22) so the “astonished and ashamed” audience “possibly also became subject in principle to Christ.”[xx]
Time, Place, State
When and where did this event occur? Since Christ’s visit is preceded by a reference to his death: “He was put to death in the body” (v.18) and followed by a reference to his resurrection (v. 21) many have connected it with the time of his burial. Further, Peter says, he was “made alive in the spirit in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison” (v. 19).[xxi] So what happened before Christ’s proclamation? He was “made alive in the spirit.” That’s an usual way to refer to Christ’s resurrection so perhaps it refers to something slightly different. But let’s be cautious and settle for a general interpretation—Christ was made alive after his death. Then Peter says “in which also he went.” So in what state was Christ during this visit? “The spirit.” Since his body was in the tomb, this state fits the time of his burial.
Other than mentioning “imprisoned spirits,” Peter doesn’t say where this event happened. Many interpreters, however, have assumed that Peter is referring to Hades because (1) a visit to “the imprisoned spirits” seems like something that must have occurred in the underworld or a place like Hades, and (2) in his preaching in Acts, Peter says that Christ went to Hades after he died (2:27, 31).
Purpose
Why did Peter write this passage? Did he just want to give fascinating information to his audience? Immediately preceding this intriguing statement, Peter encourages his readers to “suffer for doing good” as Christ “suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God” (3:17–18). Peter is saying that since Christ suffered for sins, died, then preached to those who were disobedient long ago, we should be encouraged to follow his example. In particular, we should reach out to others with the good news through our lives and words even to the point of suffering.[xxii]
A Dead Audience
A few verses later, Peter says,
For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does. (4:6 NRSV)
What can we learn from this passage?
- The audience is “the dead.”[xxiii] This is a general term that refers to deceased humans without exception.[xxiv] In other words, while 1 Peter 3:19–20 is focused on spirits from Noah’s time, 1 Peter 4:6 has no such limitation and it clearly refers to deceased humans.
- The message is “the gospel” or the good news of Jesus. The Greek verb used is the word from which we get “evangelize.” Many English Bible versions use “gospel” and “preached” here. Let this sink in for a moment: the dead heard the good news of Jesus.
- The preaching had a corrective purpose—“they might live in the spirit as God does.”
There’s an important detail missing: the identity of the preacher. Although Peter doesn’t say, eight verses earlier he claims that Christ “made a proclamation to the spirits in prison” so it’s reasonable to conclude that he would have expected his audience to link the two.[xxv]
Does it make sense for Jesus to be the bearer of good news? Definitely. Would the one who said that he came “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners” (Lk 4:18) have gone to a prison to leave people there? Would he have gone to deceased humans merely to proclaim his victory over them? That doesn’t fit with his mission or his character. He “came to seek and to save the lost” (19:10).
The Dead’s Response
We have one more question to try to answer: Did the dead accept the good news? Let’s back up again: Jesus (most likely) brought good news to deceased humans. Is it reasonable to think that at least some of them accepted the message?
Back to the Church Fathers
The early church leaders didn’t agree on everything regarding the events of Holy Saturday. They disagreed on the identity of the imprisoned spirits—saints or sinners, and the number of those released—some or all. To this day, Eastern Orthodoxy accepts the idea that Christ preached the good news to sinners during his descent, while Roman Catholicism limits Christ’s underworld mission to Old Testament saints and virtuous pagans.
But they agree on something I wasn’t taught in Protestant churches and schools: Christ descended to the underworld where he preached good news to deceased humans and, at least some, followed his voice into freedom. And that instantly meant two things to me: the dead were not forgotten and the door of death could not stop Christ’s liberating power. How could it? Death can’t separate us from God’s love in Christ (Romans 8:39) and Christ holds the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18).
Hebrews 9:27
What about Hebrews 9:27, which says, “people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment”? Doesn’t that show that there is no opportunity for salvation after death?
First, the nature of “judgment” is not stated. Will the judgment be retributive or remedial? Christian universalists readily agree with Hebrews 9:27 because they believe remedial judgment—a process that will lead to salvation in Christ—begins after death. Second, if the gospel was preached to the dead, we have an example of God extending mercy after death.
Summary
My journey into this doctrine began with statements from church fathers. But if you’re a Protestant, do you have to care about what these early leaders taught? No. Protestants pride themselves on staying true to the Bible. Human interpreters can be wrong even if they are church fathers. But if these leaders almost unanimously agreed on a particular teaching and supported it with Scripture, we should at least consider it. Here’s the argument in condensed form: it sounds like Peter is saying that Christ descended and preached to deceased and imprisoned humans and that’s how many church fathers interpreted his statement.[xxvi] Consequently, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic believers accept the idea that Christ descended to Hades and rescued people. This opens up another dimension to Christ’s redemptive work and shows that divine light entered the darkest place. [xxvii]
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[i] Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev, Christ the Conqueror of Hell: The Descent into Hades from an Orthodox Perspective (Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2009), 44.
[ii] Gregg, 77.
[iii] Ibid., 57.
[iv] Alfeyev, 47.
[v] Ibid., 79-80.
[vi] These quotations are only the tip of the iceberg. Ancient Christian literature is filled with references to Christ’s descent to the underworld. For more examples, see Alfeyev’s book and Bo Reicke, The Disobedient Spirits and Christian Baptism: A Study of 1 Pet. 3:19 and Its Context (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 1946).
[vii] Cited in Emerson, 252.
[viii] John Wesley Hanson, Universalism: The Prevailing Doctrine of the Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years (Boston: Universalist Publishing House, 1899), 67.
[ix] I found this argument in Emerson, 43, which cites the following article as the source: William Bales, “The Descent of Christ in Ephesians 4:9,” CBQ 72 (2010). For parallel verses see Psalm 63:9, 71:20, Isaiah 14:15, Numbers 16:30, 33, especially in the LXX.
[x] These points and more are found in Emerson, chap. 2.
[xi] Notice how the Genesis account emphasizes human evil: “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created . . .” (6:5–7).
[xii] See especially 1 Enoch.
[xiii] See Job 1:6; 2:1 and 1 Enoch, sec. 2, chap. 69.
[xiv] Emerson, 61.
[xv] C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce (New York: HarperCollins, 1946), 139.
[xvi] Reicke, 69.
[xvii] See Luke 4:44; 1 Corinthians 1:23; 1 Timothy 3:16. Also Reicke, 120; Emerson, 176.
[xviii] Reicke, 120.
[xix] Ibid., 121.
[xx] Ibid.
[xxi] A scan of Bible versions reveals two main translation options for the opening phrase in 1 Peter 3:19: temporal or instrumental. Either Peter is referring to the timing of Christ’s visit—“After being made alive, he went . . .” (NIV) or Christ’s form during his visitation—“In that state He also went . . .” (HCSB). However, the NIV appears to be unique in using a temporal construction.
[xxii] This insight comes from Reicke, chap. 9.
[xxiii] Several translations insert “now”—“those who are now dead” (HCSB, NET, NIV, NLT). This adds the meaning that “the dead” heard the good news while they were living and now they are dead. But the Greek New Testament doesn’t have the word for “now” and most English Bible versions do not add it.
[xxiv] The context of 1 Peter 4 shows that “the dead” refers to humans. Reicke writes, “‘The dead’ cannot possibly mean only the sinners from Noah’s day; it must denote all dead beings in general” (209). Intriguingly, he continues by arguing that fallen angels may also be included in “the dead.”
[xxv] If that is correct, 1 Peter 4:6 provides more support for identifying the spirits in 3:19 as deceased humans and 3:19 supports the idea that Jesus is the preacher in 4:6.
[xxvi] Although Augustine disagreed with this interpretation of Peter’s statements, he did teach that Christ descended to Hades, where he preached good news to those predestined to be saved.
[xxvii] The monist idea of human beings creates a challenge for the premise of this chapter because it asserts that we cannot be separated from our bodies. In addition, soul sleep creates a similar problem. If we enter an unconscious state at death and remain in that state until the resurrection of the dead, how could Christ have addressed conscious beings during his descent? However, the converse is also true: Christ’s descent to the spirits creates a problem for monism and soul sleep.
After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. For a deep dive into church history and the character of God, see my book Surprised by Hell.