It Happened in Hell

CHAPTER 1

The Greatest Story Ever Told – Christ the Victor

 

The Hero Story

What if the greatest hero story ever told wasn’t fought on the earth or witnessed by crowds—but in the deepest darkness, where no one was watching? What if the turning point of all creation took place not on the hill of Calvary or with the empty tomb, but in Hell itself?

We are all captivated by epic hero stories of good versus evil, featuring courage, sacrifice, and redemption. Something resonates with us about the tale of a noble hero who rises from humble circumstances to face overwhelming odds, determined to rescue the weak or the helpless who cannot save themselves.

We love hero stories not just because they entertain, but also because they echo something ancient buried deep in our souls.

These stories of good versus evil, courage in the face of chaos, and a lone figure standing when all others fall strike a nerve in us. They awaken a longing we didn’t know we had: to see justice win, hope endure, and to believe that sacrifice matters.

Think about it. Every culture, every age, has hero stories.

From ancient myths to modern cinema, our culture is saturated with stories centering around this hero archetype. We crave the tale of a hero who rises as the world breaks. Whether it’s the soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save his unit or the fictional knight storming the castle gates, we know the shape of a hero’s journey.

The hero enters danger, not for gain, but for others. We cheer for the humble underdog. He suffers, fights for justice, and sacrifices himself. We grieve with the oppressed or afflicted, yet somehow, in the agony of the lowest moment, when it seems all is lost, something shifts. Evil overreaches and thinks it has won, but our hero claims victory over evil injustice.

This isn’t just a myth or a legend. It’s a blueprint in our soul.

We intuitively know that these stories are shadows of something greater. They resonate by pointing to a deeper reality: we were made for a greater story—one with eternal stakes. One where a true hero enters our brokenness not to observe it, but to confront it head-on.

These stories awaken a deep truth: we long for a hero—a savior story in which the stakes are overwhelming, the peril is terrifying, and the realized victory brings everlasting justice… a story where a true hero enters our brokenness, not just to sympathize, but to rescue us and bring freedom from oppression.

The Divine Story is a Hero Story

There is a divine hero story, but it doesn’t start with sin and failure; it begins with perfection.

In the beginning, humanity lived in harmony with their Creator—in a garden where nothing died, nothing decayed, and nothing was divided. Before there was brokenness, there was beauty and perfection in this garden.

In the beginning, mankind was not fractured or fallen, but whole.

Adam and Eve walked with God in a paradise of peace, provision, and purpose. The garden world was good, and humanity walked in harmony with God, entrusted with dominion and dignity. They were not fragile or flawed but whole, eternal, uncorrupted, and glorified. In that place, shame was unknown and fear had no foothold. Their union with God was a perfect covenant relationship with their Creator.

In this state of living fully in the creative power of divine union, mankind was deathless. Adam and Eve were eternal, created in the image of God. If they had not erred and eaten of the forbidden tree, they would have lived forever, without sickness, aging, or death. In that place, they possessed bodies that were like the body Jesus would have after his resurrection—a physical body that we call “glorified” and perfect.

The Lie that Undid Everything

Into this perfect order slithered a liar, not with brute force, but with cunning words and whispered distortions. The serpent—a being of mystery and malice—entered the garden with one goal: to sever the union between God and humanity.

He did not attack with violence, but with suggestion. He planted seeds of doubt and confusion in Adam and Eve’s minds, causing them to question the very nature and goodness of God.

As the New Testament later describes, their minds were darkened in that moment of deception. They turned away from the light of truth in God’s presence and chose the dark path of independence and rebellion instead.

The serpent didn’t force Adam and Eve to rebel. He didn’t overpower them.

He planted a question. “Did God really say…?”

With those four words, the infection began. Doubt crept in. Suspicion replaced trust. The fruit of the forbidden tree wasn’t just about disobedience—it was a declaration of independence. They didn’t just break a rule. They broke the union of covenantal relationship.

The result was immediate. Their eyes opened, glory faded, they saw their nakedness and were ashamed. Death entered, not as a punishment from God, but as a consequence of their decision. The covenant was broken. Their bodies, once immortal, became perishable and were changed to a lesser equivalent of “flesh” with mortality.

A Dark Covenant with Death

What happened in that moment wasn’t just moral failure—it was cosmic treason. It was a covenantal betrayal by Adam and Eve, who were created for union with God.

Adam and Eve entered into a new covenant—not with God but with Satan. They aligned themselves with the enemy’s will and destiny, binding their fate into his paradigm of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The serpent offered autonomy from God for them to build their own kingdom, and they, in exchange, unwittingly accepted slavery.

In choosing the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they didn’t just fall—they signed a new contract.

Paradise was lost, and the descendants of Adam and Eve became enslaved—not merely to sin as behavior, but to a kingdom of darkness that held them captive in mind, body, and spirit.

Ultimately, humanity was bound to a covenant with death.

The enemy now controlled humanity, corrupting thought, desire, relationships, and destiny.

They Became Captives of Death

The evidence of this bondage emerged quickly. The next generation of Cain and Abel told the tragic tale of the consequences of living in the paradigm of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Cain, with jealousy and anger in his heart, murdered his brother in a field; the blood that spilled into the soil was more than a personal tragedy—it was a confirmation that the covenant with darkness had taken hold.

From that point forward, humanity was bound, not just to sin as an action, but to a system of subjugation under the kingdom of darkness.

The kingdom of evil was not only external but also worked through humanity, corrupting relationships, sowing violence, and tearing families apart.

The Old Testament stories from that point forward recount a long, painful history of human failure.

As we see these stories unfold, they comprise a huge object lesson for us about what life looks like under the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil paradigm, with evil as the dominant influence.

Nations rose and fell under idolatry, injustice, and oppression.

The stories of scripture became a catalogue of brokenness and failure.

In all of this, we must see humanity not as the perpetrator of evil, but as the victims of evil that twisted their will.

The true enemy of humanity was not flesh and blood, but the spiritual forces of evil that had entangled God’s creation in deception and decay. The unseen power behind the veil was the spiritual force that twisted creation from within.
This is humanity’s peril: we were made for glory, enslaved by evil, and bound to the covenant of death.

A Promise of Redemption

Even as Adam and Eve hid in shame, God sought them. Even as consequences were pronounced, a promise was given.

In the garden, before the banishment, God made a promise. He declared a prophetic word that echoes through the ages; he spoke to the serpent regarding his future judgment:

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

The First Whisper of the Hero to Come

This is the first promise of redemption—the protoevangelium—the first gospel. A descendant of Eve would come, born of flesh but destined to be the hero of this story. He would suffer injury. He would rise to confront the enemy who had deceived and enslaved humanity, and the serpent’s head would be crushed.

Humanity would never have the capacity to redeem itself. No man-made system, moral code, or religious effort could reverse the damage. The rescue would come from a promised seed.

As the stories of the Old Testament characters unfold in this drama, the stage was set for this deliverance. Each generation cries out for a hero—one who would be a deliverer, a king, a redeemer, a savior. Generations came and went and as time unfolded, the limitations of even the greatest leaders became clear, yet hope endured.

The prophets spoke of a servant who would suffer, a king who would reign, a light who would shine in the darkness. Humanity’s story was not over—it was waiting. Every prophet, every psalm, every cry in the night looked forward to a hero who would come.

The Arrival of the Hero

This is what makes the gospel—the good news—so profound. The story of Jesus is not a sudden interruption in human history; it is the fulfillment of the deepest longing within every human heart.

It is the arrival of the true hero, foretold from the beginning, entering into the peril and pain of the human condition; not merely to empathize, but to save.

Jesus did not arrive in power but in humble circumstances.

Not in splendor, but in scandal. He was born to a virgin in a borrowed stable and raised in obscurity.

With every step, Jesus didn’t just talk about his coming kingdom—he embodied it. He advanced toward the climactic confrontation between good and evil. He taught with authority, healed the sick, cast out demons, and proclaimed his kingdom that was not of this world.

The human race was bound in both physical and spiritual slavery; we needed more than inspiration; we needed liberation, and Jesus was that liberator. He was advancing toward a final confrontation.

This was no moral teacher on a humanitarian tour. This was a liberating hero in disguise who would defeat and vanquish evil. He would break the covenant of death (Isaiah 28:15), expose the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), and set the captives free.

He was the promised one—the seed of the woman, the light in the darkness, the Son of God, sent to free the enemy’s captives.

The Forgotten Moment of Victory

Each year, Christ’s followers gather to celebrate Easter. We sing of the resurrection, declare Christ’s victory, and rejoice in the empty tomb—and rightfully so.

We remember the cross, the altar where the sacrifice was made.

We celebrate the resurrection—the manifestation of the victory over sin and death.

What about the time in between?

The time between when Jesus said “It is finished” on Friday’s crucifixion to when he rose “early in the morning” on resurrection day, Sunday.

What happened between “It is finished” and “He is risen”?

Paul gives us the timeline in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4:
Christ died (The Cross)

He was buried (The Grave)

He rose again (The Resurrection)

Between the crucifixion and the resurrection lies a period when Jesus was dead, with his body in the tomb, before he rose. The modern Western church rarely discusses what happened after the death of Jesus, while his body lay in the grave before the resurrection.

Paul says in Ephesians 4:8-10 that before Christ “ascended” (resurrection), he first “descended” into the lower parts of the earth (the grave).

The early church fathers didn’t ignore his descent. The Apostles’ Creed clearly and emphatically declares “he descended into Hell.”

Why? Because that was the battleground. That was where the chains were broken. That’s where the serpent’s head was crushed.

This descent into Hell wasn’t an afterthought. It was the very battleground of triumph.

We often say on Easter, “Jesus has won!” or “He conquered death and the grave!” but if we truly believe those words, we must ask:

“When did he win? Where did the victory happen?”

The resurrection is the evidence or manifestation of the victory, but the actual victory, the moment the chains broke, the keys were taken, and the dominion of darkness was shattered—happened before the tomb was empty.

The victory over sin, death, principalities, and powers happened in Hell.

It Happened in Hell

Jesus did not enter Hell as a victim. He entered as victor.

Jesus entered Hell not as a prisoner, but as the perfect, sinless man.

He did not descend in defeat, but in dominion with authority.

The Light of the World pierced the kingdom of darkness, and in that place, he declared the end of death’s dominion. He proclaimed liberty to the captives, broke the covenant of death, and fulfilled the ancient promise.

He crushed the head of the serpent.

When Jesus rose from the dead, it demonstrated and revealed what had happened in Hell. He rose, not to win the battle but to reveal it had been won.

The cross was the payment, the resurrection was the proof, but the victory—it happened in Hell.

If we miss that, we miss the crux of the gospel.

We miss the hero’s descent into the very heart of darkness, and the triumph that turned history on its head.

That’s why this story matters.

If we miss what Jesus accomplished in Hell, we miss the full scope of the gospel. We miss the moment of triumph. We miss the descent of the hero into the pit of despair—and his emergence with the keys of Death and Hades.

This book is an invitation to rediscover that missing part of the story. The most incredible story of victory and conquering didn’t just happen on a cross of forgiveness or with an empty tomb.

The whole story of what Jesus accomplished reveals the depth of Christ’s love (the cross), the magnitude of his victory (over sin and death), and the outcome of our complete deliverance (the resurrection).

This book is your invitation to see the whole story—not just the suffering or the rising from the dead, but the battle in between—the moment when the hero descended, fought, and won.

When did Christ defeat evil?

When did he overcome death?

When did he crush the serpent’s head?

It happened in Hell.