Was God dead? After Jesus was died on the cross, and if so for how long? If Jesus was (and is, and still is) god, does that mean that God and Jesus were actually dead for some time? Is the word “life” really applicable since God (Jesus) will never die? One final question: If I kill someone and accept Jesus before I die, will I have to see the person I killed in heaven?
Standard Christian theology (used by many denominations if not most) believe that Jesus was the incarnation of God on earth, that he died for our sins, descended into hell and rose from the dead 3 days later.
As to your question about your hypothetical murder, that really is not covered in any catechism of which I am aware of any denomination. It may be. Heaven is sometimes described as being in the presence of God. It is sometime described as having an everlasting quality of life. The only reports we have are from Jesus, and they are not extensive or unambiguous.
I didn’t know he was in hell for three days!
Yup. It’s in the Apostles’ Creed, which makes it a long-standing and central belief, common to major Christian traditions including Catholicism and Protestantism. In this respect the Apostles’ creed is quoting St Paul (Ephesians 4:9)
In all fairness, I don’t know if there were any witnesses that he was in hell for 3 days, or that he even reported that himself upon his return. But yes, it is in the Creed.
There’s a fair amount in the Apostles’ Creed that is not attested by witnesses; it largely reflects theological conclusions rather than recorded events - as is, on the whole, to be expected from a statement which begins “I believe in . . .”
Let’s clarify that “in hell three days”. We’re not talking the popular “burning torture/destruction” concept of Hell. The idea is that before the General Resurrection-Judgment-Messianic Age, when people died they went to a shadowy realm called Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek where they were rewarded or punished according to the lives they lead, but even the good people did not enjoy the full presence of God nor did the bad people experience the full wrath of God.
That realm is what is meant by “Hell”. When Jesus died, He is thought to have descended into Sheol/Hades, perhaps to proclaim Salvation & Judgment to the spirits there (suggested in I Peter 3:18-20, I Peter 4:5-6) and then at His Resurrection, took those righteous souls into Heaven. This concept was called “The Harrowing of Hell” and is the subject of some New Testament Apocryphal writings (the Gospel of Nicodemus, I think) and a great deal of Christian artwork.
The Apostles Creed in its earliest forms were in Greek & Latin- a more literal translation of the Greek would be “He descended to the Depths” (‘Hades’ is not used) and of Latin- “He descended to the Underworld” (infernos).
To the actual questions of the OP, this is what I believe…
Was God dead when Jesus as a member of the Godhead? No. There is more to God than Jesus. There is the Father & the Spirit also. The Son was indeed taken into Death, but as far as the larger essence of God, it would be more accurate to say that Death was then taken into God. Jesus actually experienced a type of Spiritual Death (“cutting off from the Father”) when He took humanity’s sins upon Himself & screamed “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” However, that seems to have been completed when He expired with the words “It is accomplished. Father, into Your hands, I commit My spirit.” Then He entered physical death & the Descent to the Depths. That began about 3PM on Good Friday & lasted till sometime before sunrise (6AM?) on Easter Sunday morning. (There is an argument that Jesus was crucified on a Wed or Thurs, based on the idea that He had to be dead for three days & three nights.)
There is no reason to think that those who have killed or somehow othewise sinned against others, accept Christ & go to Heaven will NOT be confronted by their victims - but if they are all in Heaven, it will be for a time of apology, forgiveness & reconciliation.
The Apostles Creed as written in the latest ELCA liturgy uses the translation “He descended to the dead” although the older liturgical book uses “He descended into Hell” first with the other phrasing marked as an acceptable alternative.
Anyway, the whole point of creeds, whether Apostles, Nicene, or others, is to both quickly and comprehensively summarize the important parts of belief and orthodoxy.
Awkward!
If Hell is a state of separation from God, does Hell remain Hell when Jesus visits it?
Ted did a pretty bang-up job of explicating traditional Christian theology. I’d just add this:
(Note: I am not a licensed theologianl you are not my parishioner; all information in this post is given under the presumption of the validity and truthiness of orthodox Christianity. Do not mistake this post for apologetics. Void where prohibited by law, or on the monitors of Czarcasm and Der Trihs.) 
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This is not strictly speaking a Biblical question but a theological one. Jesus’ deity is implied in the strongest possible ways but never unequivocally stated. The Trinity is a deduction from Biblical statements, not a Biblical concept itself.
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God is eternal, not perpetual; He transcends time, not merely exists throughout it. All times are equally present to Him. So therefore, what from our human perspective looks like a singularity – Jesus’s death and Resurrection – really is not, because He is alive even while He is in Sheol. The One who said “Before Abraham was, I AM” could equally well say “While Jesus was spending the weekend in Sheol, I AM.” You’re trying to describe a transfinite God using finite concepts, and it’s not only that you can’t, but you ought not even Cantor.
I learned the Baltimore Cathecism as a child, and it taught that the hell into which Christ’s soul descended was not the hell of the damned, but Limbo, where the souls of the just were waiting for Him.
I don’t think all major Protestant denominations hold the belief of Jesus’ decent into hell. I was raised Methodist and never heard of it until I attended an Episcopal service. The Methodist Apostles’ creed goes directly from
was crucified, dead, and buried;
to
the third day he rose from the dead;
The final part of this question, reminded me of a question I had. Some people believe that when you die and go to heaven you will see all your loved ones. But what if they don’t want to see you? Say for example your one true love who you stalked from 1992-97 until she finally got a restraining order against you.
The Bible does not say Jesus went to Hell. The Bible says that Jesus went to Heaven the same day he was crucified.
I think the idea that Jesus was “descended” rather than in heaven arises from 1 Peter 3:18:
That seems pretty clearerly to say that Christ went to someplace in which were held the spirits of the dead from Noah’s time. And 1 Peter 3:6 lends support:
Here’s another way to look at it. Christians believe that humans continue to exist after we die. Our spirits exist eternally in heaven or hell.
Similarly, Jesus really and truly died on the cross. But he continued to exist, being eternal God. The difference between his being dead and ours is that he didn’t stay dead, he had a physical resurrection of his body.
In Luke 23:43, Jesus tells the thief on the cross, “today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Not for someone who’s served in the armed forces in war time.
That’s what I was taught.
Duuuude, like when you’re omnipotent and all, you can like totally be in two places at once. Duh!!!
On the other hand, John 20:7 has Jesus saying that he has not yet ascended to the Father.