The Life and Mission of Jesus Christ: Episode 79

Rev. Sun Myung Moon: The Life and Mission of Jesus Christ
Chapter 7: The Crucifixion, Descent into Hell, Page 200

Descent into Hell

He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day….” (Luke 24:46)

In the world of love there is no boundary because love is the most powerful force in the universe. It can go beyond any boundary. Even hell has no boundary that can withstand the power of love. According to Scripture, after the Crucifixion, Jesus Christ spent three days in darkness. Where did he go? He went to the dungeons of hell and preached the gospel for three days.

Satan, the master of hell, might have said, “Jesus, you strayed into our cage. I’m going to lock the door; you are my prisoner.” But that is impossible; Satan had no power to bind Jesus there. Jesus Christ, the complete manifestation of the love of God, said, “Love your enemy.” Therefore, he can even turn hell into heaven, so going in and out of hell is no problem for him. Let’s say there is a boundary in the kingdom of God. If there is a person who truly loves God with his heart and mind and soul, would God say to him, “You cannot come in here; you have to have a passport, or you must bring a gift. You cannot come to the throne of God”? Would he be stopped at that point? No.

Boundary Line
December 5, 1976

How could Jesus take charge of hell? If Jesus had assumed the responsibility for the will of God only in its good aspect and died for the sake of God only in its good aspect, then he would have been able to manage the heavenly kingdom, but not hell. Therefore, because Jesus established the heavenly standard by keeping his integrity even in hell, he set the standard of being able to manage hell too.

God’s Possession and Our Possession
November 9, 1958

 

A good man may go to the dungeons of hell for God’s purpose, but his quality and value will not be changed by doing so. The important thing is whether he goes down there to bring the people up. He may look the same as people in the evil world, but his motivation is to influence the world of evil to come back to God.

The Bible says that after the Crucifixion, Jesus spent three days in hell before he ascended into heaven. Was he still the Savior during those three days? Yes. Did he go there because he was attracted by life there? No. He went there to bring hell into his realm, which is heaven.

Our Present Position
October 7, 1979