The Keys To Hell

Did Jesus descend into hell after he was crucified? Where in the bible does it refer to Jesus taking the keys to hell from satan?

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Q. Did Jesus descend into hell after he was crucified? Where in the bible does it refer to Jesus taking the keys to hell from satan?

Thank you for your effort.

A. The Greek word translated “hell” means abode of the dead. Before the cross, every person who died went there. It had two “compartments” divided by a wide chasm. One was for those who had died in faith of a coming redeemer and was called Paradise by the Jews. When Jesus told the thief on the cross beside Him, “Today you’ll be with me in Paradise” that’s where they were going. When Jesus came out of the grave He brought with Him everyone who had been in Paradise waiting for Him. Since the cross no one goes to Paradise any more but goes straight to be with the Lord in Heaven.

The other compartment was for those who refused the notion of a coming redeemer. They will remain there in great discomfort until the final judgment of the unsaved at the end of the Millennium. It’s from this that we get our concept of Hell. The unsaved dead still go there. Jesus also visited them while He was in the abode of the dead, telling them that their punishment was just. (1 Peter 3:19)

I can’t find any Biblical support for the idea of Jesus going into Hell to fight with Satan over its keys. Satan is given the key to the Abyss in Rev. 9:1, but in Rev.20:1 an angel has retrieved it. We’re not told how, but both these events take place in the future. Jesus claims to have the key of David in Isaiah 22:22 and Rev. 3:7, but nowhere can I find any reference to Jesus, Satan and the keys to hell.