Where was Jesus during the three days and three nights between his death and resurrection?
Jesus spent the three days and three nights in paradise, the comfort side of Sheol or Hades, not in torment. He was with the thief and the waiting saints, and after His resurrection He ascended and led captivity captive.
Les explains that Sheol, Hades, or hell was a place divided into two sides: one of torment and one of paradise, with a great gulf fixed between them. Jesus told the thief on the cross, 'Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.' Since the atoning blood had been shed and Christ had died, He spent those three days and three nights in paradise, not in torment. Then, as Paul writes in Ephesians 4:8, when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, referring to the saints who had been waiting in paradise for this great work of atonement.