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We all know how Judas sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. The thing is he hanged himself before Jesus died on the cross so he went to (supposedly) hell.

But after Jesus died on the cross he went to the underworld and preached there. Is it possible that Judas might have been redeemed there, or is it safe to presume that the only ones that Jesus preached to in the underworld were those who hadn't heard the gospel in their lifetime?

What church doctrines/beliefs are there on these issues? Are they even related?

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    That scripture in 1 Peter 3:18-20 is heavily debated. Some take the "spirits in prison" to be the fallen angels in the days of Noah (cp. Gen. 6:1-3; 1 Enoch; 2 Pet. 2:4; etc.). If that is so, Jesus did not preach the Gospel, to them, but made declaration to them of his triump (cp. 1 Pet. 3:22).
    – user900
    Feb 20, 2013 at 17:11

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There is good reason to believe that we will not see Judas in heaven. Jesus spoke of His betrayer with these words:

The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” Matthew 26:24 ESV

As @Paul A Clayton noted in this comment, John 17:12 is more emphatic:

None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. John 17:12b NIV

If Jesus said that it would have been better for Judas had he never been born, then it is hard to imagine that he is in heaven now. Since Jesus is omniscient, if Judas were to have another opportunity to respond to the gospel after his death--which I don't believe he did--then Jesus would have also known the outcome of that and would not have said what He did.

Judas did, however, feel remorse, but there is a significant, even eternal difference between remorse and repentance. He certainly could have repented of what he did and returned to Jesus, but it appears he felt remorse and probably shame. His suicide appears to be a result of that and not of biblical repentance.

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    John 17:12b is even more convincing: "None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled." (NIV)
    – Paul A. Clayton
    Feb 20, 2013 at 21:36
  • @PaulA.Clayton Thanks. I knew there were other references, but didn't take the time to look it up. I've added the verse you mentioned.
    – Narnian
    Feb 20, 2013 at 21:58
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I think that the Judas role is much more enigmatic than we think. I don't know whether he will be saved or not, God knows. But why there was need for betrayal? Crucifing could be possibly be done by demand of Jewish authorities who would recognize Him with his disciples. But they wanted to catch Him via somebody who would betray Him. It is a very, very strange part of the event. And secondly, He did not preach to Judas or anybody because He was dead for 3 days until He was resurected by Father. Judas was and is still dead. And dead means dead, unconscious. I agree that "spirits in prison" are probably "fallen angels".

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  • The spirit/ soul of man does not die after the death of the body. This applies to Jesus' as well. It is granted immortality by God and continues to live as long as He wills. Of course, Jesus had an eternal spirit, being God Almighty. So, Jesus' body was indeed in the grave for 3 days, but not his spirit/ soul.
    – user900
    Jun 26, 2013 at 4:49
  • Welcome to Christianity Beta! Welcome to Christianity.SE. I encourage you to read our tour page and maybe browse the help center sections as well. While we appreciate people taking the time to answer, we're also very much sticklers for the format here and one aspect of that is that answers are expected to identify some genre of Christian teaching and represent that. We're not really interested in what you or anybody thinks or even in what is true so much as hearing what Christian traditions teach and why.
    – Caleb
    Jun 26, 2013 at 7:31
  • As far as I can tell, this isn't representative of Christian teaching so much as your own beliefs. Whether you are right or wrong, you haven't noted what part of Christianity believes or cited anything to backup that claim.
    – Caleb
    Jun 26, 2013 at 7:33

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