Kenneth Copeland Says Jesus Went To Hell!

Kenneth Copeland’s Teaching on Jesus Going to Hell

Hey guys, Colin here, and welcome back to Fight for Truth, the channel where we bring you Christian commentary about the things that matter. In today's video, we're going to be talking about a message from Kenneth Copeland.

Kenneth is a false teacher and the founder of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, where he basically teaches people how to get rich by having enough faith in God. This is one of his most popular and deceiving teachings.

Yet it is also deeply troubling that he teaches that Jesus suffered in Hell. Watch this. Just to be clear, the position that Jesus went to the place called Hell has been taken by Christians who are not deceptive false teachers like Kenneth Copeland.

For instance, some Christians believe that Jesus proclaimed His victory in Hell before ascending. But remember that this view is fundamentally different from what Kenneth Copeland and Word of Faith leaders believe.

They say that Jesus went to Hell and suffered there for three entire days because His sacrifice on the cross alone was insufficient. And it is this point that should be utterly rejected by Christians as false teaching.

Why the Apostles’ Creed Is Not the Final Authority

In the next clip, Kenneth Copeland offers his own explanation. Watch this. So, the argument from faith healers is that Jesus had to go to Hell. Why? Well, because if He didn't, then you would have to go there instead.

Pay close attention to this claim, because it is the main argument they use. The idea is not just that Jesus went to Hell, but also that if He did not go there, then we are all bound for Hell even if we have faith in Him or not.

Effectively, according to faith healers, Jesus going to Hell is essential to the power of the gospel, such that without it, there is no gospel. And more than this, they use Jesus' suffering in Hell to defend their further claims that Christians never really have to suffer again.

After all, Jesus suffered on the cross and in Hell, and has given us the power now to banish poverty, to banish ill health, because, well, Isaiah 53 verse 3 says, quote, By His stripes we are healed. That's effectively what they say, and they say it very often.

But this is where Word of Faith leaders take their false teaching on this to the next level. And it's all the more complicated by the fact that the Apostles' Creed, which is memorized by many Christians, does say that Jesus, quote, descended into Hell.

So what are we to make of all this? That's the question. Did Jesus really go to Hell? Is Kenneth Copeland correct about something where many Orthodox Christians are incorrect? Well, that's what we're going to attempt to answer in this video.

First off, with regard to the Apostles' Creed, we need to recognize that the Apostles' Creed was not actually written by the Apostles. Rather, it was an attempt on behalf of early Christians to summarize apostolic teaching.

Does that mean that the Creed is not helpful, or that the people who wrote it were evil and terrible? No, I'm not suggesting that at all. Rather, I am saying we need to understand that the Apostles' Creed is not the inspired Word of God.

It doesn't carry that level of authority. So if the Bible leads us in a different direction based on solid exegesis, we must be willing to change our church tradition in order to better reflect that direction.

Also, in an article by Wayne Grudem, which will be linked in the description, he offers a scholarly historical study of the Apostles' Creed. And while I have substantive disagreements with Grudem in other areas, this article is really quite solid.

Interestingly, he notes that the Creed was developed over the course of centuries between 200 AD and 750 AD. And he notes that up until AD 650, that's over 85 of the historical record of the Creed, there was only one man who included the phrase, quote, descended into hell.

This man's name was Rufinus, and he himself used the phrase to mean only that Christ descended into death, or descended into the grave. At the very least, it should be acknowledged that this single phrase offered in the Apostles' Creed is not a good be-all end-all argument in favor of Jesus having gone to hell.

And there is really no reason to believe that the phrase descended into hell should be understood and interpreted as suffering in hell. That seems to be different. So with that, let's consider the biblical texts that are relevant to this question.

Interpreting 1 Peter 3:19-20 and Luke 23:43

Let me tell you why I am not biblically convinced at all of Kenneth Copeland's position that Jesus suffered in hell for three days after his death. First off, the passages commonly used to support this position have alternative explanations to them that are equally compelling or more compelling than the explanation about Jesus suffering in hell.

For one example, 1 Peter 3 19 -20 is commonly used. It says that Jesus, quote, went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison because they formerly did not obey when God's patience waited in the days of Noah.

Many have taken this to mean that Jesus preached his victory in hell before he rose from the grave. Yet many good biblical scholars have made the case that the passage does not refer to Jesus preaching to those who were imprisoned in hell while they were there.

Rather, they interpret the passage as meaning that Jesus preached to those very people who are currently imprisoned, but before they were imprisoned. If you read Wayne Grudem's article, link in description, you will find that virtually every other passage supporting the idea that Jesus suffered in hell is similar to this.

It has differing interpretations that are at least equally, if not more, persuasive. And by the way, even if 1 Peter 3 19 or any other passage meant that Jesus proclaimed his victory in Hades, that would not mean that he suffered in hell.

That's a different point entirely, and it certainly isn't proven. And more than this, there are a few passages that utterly contradict the idea that Jesus suffered in hell. The most obvious of these is Luke 23 43, where Jesus tells the thief on the cross, quote, truly, I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise.

This statement was made on the very day Jesus died. So given the fact that hell is the opposite of paradise, it's hard to believe that Jesus suffered there on the day of his death. You see, there are varying theological ideas as to where specifically Jesus went and for how long and what he did there.

And that's all well and good. We can have those conversations. But this passage makes it virtually impossible that the place Jesus went was a place of torment and terror. In other words, suffering in hell.

The Sufficiency of Christ’s Blood for Atonement

But more than this, what do we do with the statement from Kenneth Copeland that Jesus had to go to hell in order to take the full and complete sacrifice for our sins? Well, Leviticus 17 11 says, quote, For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls.

For it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. So there's this biblical theme that the shedding of innocent blood can take away sins. The shedding of blood provides full atonement. And this also applies to the New Testament.

Hebrews 9 22 explicitly says that, quote,. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. So we know that blood is necessary for forgiveness. That's clear. There must be an atoning sacrifice to satisfy God's justice.

That is a basic tenet of biblical theology throughout the entire Bible. So the question then becomes at this point, where and when did Jesus shed his blood for us? And the answer is obviously on the cross.

Hebrews 9 12 says, quote,. He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. So there is no need to be afraid about what Kenneth Copeland is saying.

There's no biblical basis for it. Jesus did not have to go to hell in order for you to be saved. That's simply not true. The Bible clearly tells us that his sacrificial and atoning blood shed for us on the cross is entirely and completely sufficient to, quote, secure eternal redemption for his people.

And it is for these reasons that I am convinced that Kenneth Copeland and the other faith healers are wrong about Jesus suffering in hell. In fact, we should consider this unbiblical false teaching. After all, it effectively denies the power of the blood of Christ to save us.

And more than this, word of faith teachers are dangerously wrong when they suggest that Jesus being in hell has allowed you to solicit earthly blessings from God whenever you want. The only biblical and reasonable conclusion is to stay away from the teaching of Kenneth Copeland.

He is not biblical. He is a false teacher who should be marked and avoided. I pray that this has been a blessing to you, and please know that this video isn't meant as a sinful attack, but rather as a biblical critique.

And let's pray for Kenneth Copeland that he would stop this false teaching by God's grace and turn to the truth of God's Word. Thank you so much for watching that video. Please give us a like and subscribe so that you don't miss any content.

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