"He descended into hell...."

Discussion in 'Theology and Doctrine' started by Aidan, Jan 14, 2017.

  1. Aidan

    Aidan Well-Known Member

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    May we please discuss this phrase from the Apostles Creed? I've often pondered on it and what it's meaning may be.
     
  2. Botolph

    Botolph Well-Known Member

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    The ELLS text found in Praying together reads http://englishtexts.org/Portals/11/Assets/praying.pdf

    The Apostles’ Creed
    1 I believe in God, the Father almighty,
    2 creator of heaven and earth.
    3 I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
    4 who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
    5 born of the Virgin Mary,
    6 suffered under Pontius Pilate,
    7 was crucified, died, and was buried;
    8 he descended to the dead.
    9 On the third day he rose again;
    10 he ascended into heaven,
    11 he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
    12 and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
    13 I believe in the Holy Spirit,
    14 the holy catholic Church,
    15 the communion of saints,
    16 the forgiveness of sins,
    17 the resurrection of the body,
    18 and the life everlasting. Amen.
    The discussion re Line 8 reads

    Line 8. The main problem in translating descendit ad inferna (literally, “he went down to the lower regions”) was whether the traditional rendering “into hell” should be restored, and, if so, what it would imply to a modern congregation. It represents Sheol and has little or nothing to do with Gehenna, a place of eternal punishment and separation from God, which “hell” is generally understood to mean. The line has been subject to various interpretations. Some have understood it as emphasising the reality of the Lord’s death in the previous line. Others have seen it as stating that Jesus entered into the lowest depth of our human condition—a sense of abandonment by God. Others, following 1 Peter 3:19, have thought of it as beginning the resurrection sequence, with our Lord proclaiming his victory to the souls of the departed. Still others have thought of our Lord going to do battle with Satan, thus guaranteeing the deliverance of the saints. Some Churches have officially adopted one of the foregoing interpretations. The Consultation has attempted to provide a text which is open to all four. It believed, however, that the ICET punctuation which made the line a separate assertion, connecting it neither with line 7 nor with line 9, gave undue prominence to the line. The Consultation noted that all the common interpretations had to do with the departed or with a sense of spiritual death, and that some later texts read ad inferos “to those below.” While aware that some would have preferred “into hell,” the Consultation believed that “to the dead” was the least misleading version and that it allowed the same breadth of interpretation as the original. The notion of descent has been retained, since it is part of the symbolic language based on the picture of the universe which the Creed assumes.​

    I found this helpful, though in fairness I say the Apostle's Creed rarely these days, and I have developed a distinct preference for the Nicene Creed, especially based on it's more substantial Christological statements.
     
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  3. Madeline

    Madeline Well-Known Member

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    I don't have the understanding of you scholarly brothers, and I'm grateful to you for sharing your erudition, but on a personal level this line has always filled me with the sense of majesty and completeness of Christ's mission. At his birth, he appeared to the lowly. During his ministry he associated with the poor, sick and shunned. And in his death he descended to.the dead. How great and all-encompassing his love is for all of us. This is truly the good news.
     
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  4. Aidan

    Aidan Well-Known Member

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    I feel this line indicates Our Lords omnipotence and superiority over satan by entering hell and then leaving to go to heaven, something which satan can never do
     
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  5. Mark

    Mark Well-Known Member Anglican

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    Descended to the dead or to hell. Means the same. To understand Christianity, at times we must understand Judaism of the Second Temple period.

    Hell or the dead is a reference to She'ol, the holding place. The place where all the souls of the righteous and the evil went at
    death to await the Messiah.

    Remember at this time only God and the Angels were in heaven. Read the prophets and Job.

    The Creed references 1 Peter 3: 18-19 and Ephesians 4:8-10. Both St Peter and St Paul reference Jesus's descend into She'ol.

    Why?

    Jesus tells us himself in Luke 4 starting the 16th verse. Here Jesus reads Is. 61, where the Messiah if foretold, and states the scripture has been fulfilled.
    Is 61 talks about captives, salvation. Prior to the Resurrection She'ol was a holding place. After the Resurrection heaven is populated by the saints of both the old and then new testaments. She'ol was a place of captivity.

    Jesus foretells this in Matthew 16:18 when He tells St Peter how the Church and Gospel will be built upon Him (Christ/Messiah) and the "gates of hell shall not prevail". Meaning, hell/she'ol/Satan will be defeated. Far too many reverse the meaning of this verse as though the gates of hell are attacking the Church. No, Christ attacks and defeats hell/death....the gates of hell can not keep Him out. Remember gates are defensive barriers. Not offensive tools.
    My Marine Corps experience helped me understand this part of the scriptures.

    Also, Satan can and has gone into hell. Read the beginning of the book of Job. God and Satan are both in Heaven having a conversation about Job.

    Hope this helps.

    Blessings

    Fr. Mark
     
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  6. Anglo1

    Anglo1 Member

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    The Apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus and the Acts of Pontius Pilate sheds some good information of what is called the "Harrowing of Hell".

    Mel Gibson is directing a sequel to The Passion of the Christ that deals with a lot pertaining to this subject and it will show, I believe, more of the Resurrection. Set to be released in 2019.
     
  7. Shane R

    Shane R Well-Known Member

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    upload_2017-4-6_0-17-11.jpeg

    Sometimes a picture is worth 1,000 words.
     
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  8. alphaomega

    alphaomega Active Member

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    Beautiful Orthodox icon
     
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  9. Aidan

    Aidan Well-Known Member

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    Christ as victor
     
  10. alphaomega

    alphaomega Active Member

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    "Christ has risen from the grave, trampling down Death by death and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!" -traditional Orthodox Pascha(Easter)hymn-
     
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  11. alphaomega

    alphaomega Active Member

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    The man and woman He is pulling out of the grave are Adam and Eve... beginning the restoration of all things.
     
  12. Anglo1

    Anglo1 Member

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    A similar portrait like this is a stained glass window at St Stephen's Anglican Catholic Church in Athens, GA and is on the cover of Archbishop Haverland's book Anglican Catholic Faith and Practice: https://www.anglicanbooks.com/products/anglican-catholic-faith-and-practice
     
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  13. billn59

    billn59 New Member

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    I like this version from the 1928 PB:

    I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

    And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

    I believe in the Holy Ghost: The holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints: The Forgiveness of sins: The Resurrection of the body: And the Life everlasting. Amen.
     
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  14. PotterMcKinney

    PotterMcKinney Active Member Typist Anglican

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    I generally think of the Harrowing of Hell as so:

    Jesus Christ is the only name under which we are saved. Yet Hebrews 11 would indicate that people before Christ were saved. So, we can reason that they were still saved, retroactively, in light of Christ. That is the simplest lesson the Harrowing teaches us; the centrality of Christ to salvation.

    However, we are pretty inclined to inquire about the mechanism of the Harrowing of Hell, to split hairs over it, and whatnot. So, pertinent questions to answer are "what is the intermediate state (Sheol/Hades) like?" and "what is its relationship to eternity?" Eschatology and afterlife theology are a mess in Christianity at large, honestly, and I'm still trying to work through it myself. But the simple maxim in Scripture, that none are saved apart from Christ, is ultimately the most important detail and lesson of the Harrowing of Hell.
     
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