Did Christ descend into Hell?

Did Jesus “Go to Hell”?

In his sermon at Pentecost, recorded in Acts 2:14-36. Peter introduces the subject of the resurrection by referring to a prophecy in Psalm 16:8-10.
8 I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. 10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Though the statement is made in reference to the suffering that David was experiencing it is only applicable to David in part. David did die and his body was still in the ground 1000 years later when Peter quoted the passage. The full meaning of verse ten can only be understood if it is applied to Jesus Christ. This is precisely what Peter does. He points out that David is dead and buried. Peter even goes so far as to remind them that David’s tomb could still be visited at that time. In fact, it is still possible to visit the site. In this way he rules out the idea that the passage has as its main focal point the suffering and deliverance of David.
To properly understand this passage it is necessary to understand what was meant by the word "hell". It is always important to seek to understand scripture as much as possible from the point of view of the ones who are addressed. We must seek to understand from the perspective of Peter's Jewish audience. This is much more important than whatever connotations the term may have for believers in our day and age. Before we can determine what the passage means for us, we must determine what it meant to the original readers.
In the Old Testament the Hebrew word for Hell is "Sheol". In the Old Testament this word is used 65 times and translated three different ways and can refer to three diferrent places. It is translated as: Grave (31 times), Hell (31 times), Pit (3 times). It can refer to:
1 - the place where the physical body is laid after death.
2 - the place where the souls of the saved go after death.
3 - the place where the souls of the lost go after death.
In the New Testament there are two Greek words translated as "hell". The word "hades" (adhs) is used 11 times, translated "hell" (10), "grave" (1). The word "gehenna" (geenna) is used 12 times and translated "hell" all 12 times. In Acts 2:31, the word "hades" is used. It is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word "sheol".
During the time of Christ, the Old Testament distinctions regarding "sheol" were in effect. The bodies were placed in the graves, while the souls either went to the place of comfort (Abraham's Bosom), or the place described as a place of Torments (Luke 16:19-31). When Christ rose from the dead and ascended back to His Father on high we are told in Ephesians 4:8 that He "led captivity captive." This is often understood to mean that He took all of those in "Abraham's Bosom" to heaven with Him.
Whenever the transition from “Paradise” to “with the Lord” in Heaven took place, it is certain that believers go to Heaven immediately upon death.
II Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Philippians 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Based on Biblical revelation there has been no change in the destiny of the lost. It may also be appropriate to mention that no one is in eternal Hell at this time, at least, not yet. The lost are in the place described by the Greek words "Hades" and "Gehenna", but the torment that is suffered in those places will be interrupted by the great white throne judgement. After this judgement, all of the lost will then be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where they will suffer eternal torment (Rev 20:10,14,15).
In this passage it remains to be determined which of the three places the Psalmist to which the Psalmist was referring, the grave, torments, or paradise. There are two factors in making such a determination: 1) How is the statement in Psalm 16:10 interpreted by the New Testament writers?, and 2) What do other passages have to say about where Christ went during the three days between His death and Resurrection?
Let us first examine Peter's interpretation of the passage. In verse 26 Peter refers to David's flesh resting in hope. Verse 27 says, "Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." Concerning the first phrase, Lenski notes:
Jehovah, who has ever been at David's right to keep him from being shaken by doubt and fear, will never forsake him at the time of death. His hope is sure: "Because thou wilt not abandon my soul unto hades." When David comes to die Yahweh will not abandon his soul, or permit it to sink into hell, the place of the damned. . . . The abandonment here denied is not merely one which leaves a person in a terrible place after he has fallen there, but one which never even permits him to get into such a place.5
Peter asserts that David is still dead and buried. While it is true that God did not abandon David's soul to torments, it is also true that he had been dead and buried for about 1000 years now. Since David has been dead for this time it is not possible to say that David's flesh did not see corruption. Notice carefully the words of verse 27, "Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." It seems that David is expressing his hope of being in a place of comfort in the first phrase and uttering a prediction about the Messiah in the latter portion of the verse. In the application of Psalm 16:10 Peter states that both phrases relate to the Christ, verse 31, "He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption." It is wholly within the scope of the context to understand that David was referring to death and the grave. There is nothing within this passage which indicates that Christ was necessarily in the place of torments.
Psalm 16:10 is quoted and interpreted later by the Apostle Paul in his sermon in the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:35-37). Paul quotes the passage in verse 35 and then says that David " fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:" Thus, Paul also indicates that the passage cannot have primary reference to the psalmist. Paul goes on in verse 37 to apply the passage to Jesus, "but he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption."
In the two instances in which this passage is mentioned in the New Testament there is no indication that the psalmist had reference to torments. There are a few more passages which need to be considered in determining where Christ spent the hours between His death and resurrection. Christ, in his second statement from the cross announced to the repentant thief, "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). If Christ had gone to suffer the pains of eternal Hell during the interim period, He could not have made this statement. Another consideration concerning the suffering of Christ is what Christ himself said about the completion of His suffering while still on the cross.
John 19:30 "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." A further consideration is that in the first and last sayings on the cross, Christ addressed God as "Father". In the fourth statement He cried out "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" As Christ became the sin bearer and the full weight of the sins of all mankind were placed upon Him, he literally became sin for us (2 Cor 5:21). In His position as sin bearer, Christ had no right to address God as Father; in fact, since God could not look upon iniquity, He had no choice but to abandon His Son to the full suffering of Calvary. After the bitter cup of God's wrath had been drained, after the awful debt had been paid, and after the atonement had been accomplished, fellowship was again restored between the Father and the Son. The fact that Christ was able to say, "Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit" (Luke 23:46) is ample evidence that the debt had already been paid in full.

 

I'm a subscriber to the Apostle's Creed and as such I believe Christ did go to hell. But I agree with bapmom that He wasn't tortured or in torment.

 

What do you do with "Today shalt thou be with me in PARADISE".

Far better to be a subscriber to the Word, than to any creed. In fact, this section of the Creed implies that Christ suffered in hell, based on current understanding of the word hell. IT SHOULD BE REVISED TO SAY, HE WAS LAID IN THE GRAVE!!! (As per NIV in Acts 2:27)

Incidently, this phrase in the creed is not without some degree of historical problem anyway, as best I recall...