HE DESCENDED INTO HELL: BETWEEN THE CROSS AND THE RESURRECTION

Dylan Blok
ID 487132

An assignment for
RELS 102 Introduction to New Testament
Dr. Kent Clarke

November 24, 2015

 I believe in Godand in Jesus Christ, his only begotten son, our Lord, who was

conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was

crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell.1 I have recited the words to the Apostles

Creed countless times, usually without thinking about the words. What was there to think about?

Much of Christian theology and doctrine was arguable, and had been argued regularly among my

friends. It was fun for us to question the more confusing and debatable doctrines. We spent

hours talking over the implications of predestination, or considering the evidence against a young

earth. It was okay to question these things even healthy. But there were some truths that

couldnt be questioned. These capital T Truths were contained in the creeds: God created the

earth, Jesus was the Son of God, and so on. And, of all the creeds, the Apostles Creed was

supposed to be the most fundamental a concise and accurate summary of Christian belief. This

may be why I never questioned the statement, He descended into hell. However, once I

noticed this seemingly un-Scriptural doctrine, I struggled with its place in the creed. I have even

omitted the line during readings at church, in order not to profess something I did not believe as

truth. Jesus alleged descent into hell was not present in any of the crucifixion-resurrection

accounts, and seemed to have no representation in other Scripture. Additionally, it didnt make

sense. What was the only human to die without sin doing in hell? To answer this question, we

must consider the historical context.

The Apostles Creed, despite its name, was written and formed after the apostolic age by

the Fathers of the early church. It did not come about all at once, but was made through the

combination and development of several earlier Christian creeds. 2 The first recorded instance of

the title Apostles Creed (Latin symbolum apostolorum) dates to 390 AD, in a letter from the

1 Apostles Creed, Christian Reformed Church.

2 Phipps, Apostles Creed, 16.

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Council of Milan to Pope Siricius.3 The creed presented in this letter was missing some of the

clauses present in the modern creed, including the descent clause, which, though present in

documents dating back to 359 AD, was not generally accepted as part of the creed until the early

seventh century.4 This further calls into question the validity of this doctrine, and begs the

question: where did it come from? As I will demonstrate, this idea had a significant presence in

early church writings. However, in order to fully understand these writings, we must understand

what is meant by hell.

The New Testament made many revisions and additions to the theology in the Hebrew

Bible. One of these changes was the New Testaments view on the afterlife. In the Old

Testament, the dead were thought to exist in the realm of Sheol (Hebrew the grave), a place of

darkness5 holding both the faithful and unfaithful, where there is neither working nor planning

nor knowledge nor wisdom.6 In the Septuagint, the word Sheol was replaced with Hades, a

rough equivalent in Greek mythology, where both righteous and unrighteous souls were kept.7 In

the intertestamental period, however, a shift seems to have taken place. Instead of one catch-

all resting place for the dead, Hades was divided into two compartments. Hades proper

became a place of suffering for the unrighteous, while the righteous were harbored in a place of

comfort and rest, known as Abrahams bosom. Now, the actual ancient belief in this doctrine,

as well as its theological accuracy and value, is debated among scholars and theologians today,

and has been throughout history. However, we know that ancient Jews were at least familiar

with the doctrine, as Jesus referenced it in his parable about the rich man and Lazarus. 8 After

3 Ibid., 20.
4 Scharlemann, He Descended Into Hell, 311.
5 Psalm 88:12, NIV.
6 Ecclesiastes 9:10.
7 Phipps, op. cit., 150.
8 Luke 16:19-31.

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Jesus death and resurrection, a new Christian theology developed that Christ would return

someday to judge, and bringing those who knew him to live with him eternally, while those in

Hades (anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life, 9), would be thrown into

the lake of fire, along with death and Hades. But what would happen to the patriarchs and

righteous ones, such as Abraham, David, and Isaiah, who lived before the time of Christ? This is

where the descent motif comes in.

The descent motif was a doctrine present in the early church that claimed that Jesus,

between his death and resurrection, visited Hades to proclaim the gospel to those who had not

had the chance to hear it. This idea is well documented in early Christian writings. Some of the

earliest mentions of the doctrine are actually found in some second century gnostic writings.

One work entitled The Testimony of Truth portrays Jesus time in Hades as a sort of extension of

his earthly ministry, in which he went down to Hades, and performed many mighty works. He

raised the dead therein[and]the lame, the blind, the paralytic, the dumb, (and) the demon-

possessed were granted healing. And he walked upon the waters of the sea. 10. It almost seems

as if Christ were recreating his earthly ministry as a witness to those in Hades. Another gnostic

writing from the late second century has Jesus descending to the underworld to free the children

of death, to [seal] up the underworld, and to [break] its strong bows.11 This may represent a

broadening of the theology of descent, at least in the context of the gnostic tradition. However,

these teachings were not limited to the gnostic scriptures.

The late second century church father Irenaeus, in a writing denouncing the beliefs of

those such as the Gnostics, references the descent narrative, and quotes scripture (as the prophet

says) to defend his claim: And the Lord remembered his dead saints who slept formerly in

9 Revelation 20:15
10 Testimony of Truth, para. 6.
11 Teachings of Silvanus, para. 46.

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the land of sepulture; and He descended to them to rescue and save them. 12 It is unsure what

source Irenaeus is using, but it seems to suggest that this idea had an even earlier precedent in the

Judeo-Christian tradition. More importantly, it narrows the scope of the descent narrative and

makes Jesus purpose a specific rescue mission to the righteous and the saints that had died

before Christ, and were still being kept in Hades. This is the theme that would become most

prominent among the early church. Regarding those who were righteous without faith in the

Lord (i.e. Lord Jesus), Father Clement of Alexandria wrote: Wherefore the Lord preached the

Gospel to those in Hades.13 Additionally, Tertullian, although in opposition to the idea,

recognized the popular doctrine among Christians that already the patriarchs and prophets have

removed from Hades in the retinue of the Lords resurrection.14 Our most detailed account of

Jesus descent, however, comes from the mid-fourth century apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus.

The Gospel of Nicodemus (alternatively titled The Acts of Pilate) is divided into two

parts. The second part, The Descent into Hell, was not originally part of the gospel. Most

probably, it was an earlier document added onto the end of the gospel at a later date. 15 The story

starts with an ensemble of New Testament characters Annas, Caiaphas, Joseph of Arimathea,

Nicodemus, and Gamaliel meeting the sons of Simeon, 16 Karinus and Leucius, who had been

raised from the dead by Christ (who had by now ascended), and were crying out and praying in

the city.17 And so, the sons of Simeon meet with the others and relate to them the story of their

resurrection:

12 Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 31:1.

13 Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies, 6:6.
14 Tertullian, Treatise on the Soul, 55.
15 Gospel of Nicodemus, Part II preface.
16 See Luke 2:25
17 As in Matthew 27:52-53.

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 Now when we were set together with all our fathers in the deep, in obscurity of darkness,

on a sudden there came a golden heat of the sun and a purple and royal light shining upon

us. And immediately the father of the whole race of men, together with all the patriarchs

and prophets, rejoiced, saying: This light is the beginning (author) of everlasting light

which did promise to send unto us his co-eternal light. And Esaias cried out and said:

This is the light of the Father, even the Son of God, according as I prophesied when I

lived upon the earth: The land of Zabulon and the land of Nephthalim beyond Jordan, of

Galilee of the Gentiles, the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light, and

they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them did the light shine. And

now hath it come and shone upon us that sit in death.18

These acts of prophecy continue, with various of the righteous, pre-crucifixion deceased

attesting the fulfillment of their predictions about the coming of such a light. And then the story

turns to a dialogue between Satan and Hell:

And while all the saints were rejoicing, behold Satan the prince and chief of death said

unto Hell: Make thyself ready to receive Jesus who boasteth himself that he is the Son of

God, whereas he is a man that feareth death, and sayeth: My soul is sorrowful even unto

death. And he hath been much mine enemy, doing me great hurt, and many that I had

made blind, lame, dumb, leprous, and possessed he hath healed with a word: and some

whom I have brought unto thee dead, them hath he taken away from thee.19

Despite Satans hopes to oppose Christ, he is trampled and delivered to the confinement

of hell. Christ emerges victorious:

18 Gospel of Nicodemus, 18:1.

19 Ibid. 20:1

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 And the Lord stretched forth his hand and made the sign of the cross over Adam and over

all his saints, and he took the right hand of Adam and went up out of hell, and all the

saints followed him. Then did holy David cry aloud and say: Sing unto the Lord a new

song, for he hath done marvelous things. His right hand hath wrought salvation for him

and his holy arm. The Lord hath made known his saving health, before the face of all

nations hath he revealed his righteousness. And the whole multitude of the saints

answered, saying: Such honour have all his saints. Amen, Alleluia.20

This picture of Christs descent to Hades was a well-known, if not accepted, part of early

church Christology. Most early sources portray the descent as a mission to rescue the saints of

old and save them from the darkness of Hades. However, I suspect that most people today, when

reciting the clause, he descended into hell, are not aware of this ancient belief, and have either

a very different understanding of the phrase, or no understanding of it at all. This lack of

understanding is due to the fluid nature of certain aspects of theology throughout Christian

history.

Some of the earliest signs of a shift in theology can be found in the works of the third

century church father Origen. In his work Against Celsus, he states about Jesus: when He

became a soul, without the covering of a body, he dwelt among those souls which were without

bodily covering, converting such of them as were willing to Himself, or those whom He saw, for

reasons known to Him alone, to be better adapted to such a course. 21 In Origens theology,

Christs purpose was not limited to the salvation of the righteous, but included also the

conversion of the non-righteous. This view of the descent is, in some ways reminiscent of the

gnostic writings, which portrayed Jesus time in Hades as a continuation of his earthly ministry.

20 Ibid. 24:2.
21 Origen, Against Celsus, 2:43.

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It is clearly distinct from the common rescue mission view of the early church. Origens

addition to the theology calls into question Christs true purpose for descending to Hades. Why

did Christ descend? And, who did he save?

These are the questions that Thomas Aquinas seeks to answer in Question 52 of the third

part of his Summa Theologica. Question 52 contains eight articles, four of which directly

address who Christ saved in his descent: Whether Christ descending into hell delivered the holy

Fathers from thence?, Whether Christ delivered any of the lost from hell?, Whether the

children who died in original sin were delivered by Christ?, and Whether Christ by His descent

into hell delivered souls from purgatory?22 (Summa Theologica, 3:52:5-8) Aquinas contends

that only the first of these questions can be answered affirmatively. In this way, he endorses the

Patristic view. Christs descent had a singular purpose: not to convert, not to evangelize, but to

retrieve.

It is not surprising that Martin Luther, the great reformer especially in regards to the

Catholic doctrine that Aquinas espoused would promote a different understanding of the

descent. In a restating of the doctrine presented in the Apostles Creed, Luther claimed that

Christ descended into hell to subdue the deviland take him captive along with all his power,

cunning, and malice so that the devil can no longer harm me 23 Luthers account is

conspicuously devoid of any mention of those souls kept in Hades, patriarch, prophet, or

otherwise. Luther instead personalizes and, to an extent, demythologizes the early patristic

belief. According to Luther, the descent into Hades was not a backward-looking act of grace on

the righteous of old, but rather a forward-looking one for all future believers.

22 Aquinas, Summa Theologica, 3:52:5-8

23 Luther, Personal Prayer Book, 27.

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 This is a radical departure from the standard doctrine. However, the last nail in the

patristic views coffin came from the sixteenth century theologian John Calvin. When

considering the meaning of the descent clause, he put forward a more figurative interpretation,

interpreting hell as the severity of Gods vengeance, to appease his wrath and satisfy his just

judgment,24 a doctrine with which I am very familiar having grown up Christian Reformed.

This view completely dismisses the idea of Christ actually descending, but instead makes hell

equivalent to the wrath of God. Calvin went so far as to say that the idea of a prison for the souls

of the dead (i.e. Hades) was childish. 25 Christ went through hell in a strictly figurative sense.

This is the view that I have most encountered today. To evaluate the merit of this view (and all

the others presented to this point), we must turn to the Bible. Considering the descent clauses

prominence in the early church (Augustine said that only an infidel would deny Jesus descent 26),

it has relatively little representation in the Bible. I will be examining three key passages and

their relation to descent theology.

Firstly, Ephesians 4:9-10, What does he ascended mean except that he also descended

to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all

the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. Some translations (e.g. the King James Version)

have lower, earthly regions as the lower parts of the earth. These sorts of translations

support the idea of Christs literal descent into Hades. In fact, in defense of the descent, Aquinas

primarily cites this verse, with an additional note that a gloss adds: that is into hell. 27 This

interpretation might also be supported the phrase, to fill the whole universe, which might

imply Christs presence in all places, above and below the earth. However, the standard

24 Calvin, Institutes, 515.

25 Ibid., 514.
26 Augustine, Letter 164, ch. 2.
27 Aquinas, op. cit., 3:52:1.

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interpretation of this sees the apostle Paul contrasting Christs ascension from earth to heaven

with his descent to earth from heaven, with no reference to the post-crucifixion descent.

A second passage often brought up in reference to the descent clause is I Peter 3:18-20,

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

He was put to death in the body, but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went

and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits to those who were disobedient long ago when

God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. This verse is often used

in support of the descent clause, but it varies largely from the descent motif present in early

church documents. Instead of Christ descending to retrieve the faithful patriarchs and prophets,

he is instead preaching to those who were disobedient long ago. This is a difficult text, and

one with which Augustine struggled for an extended time. 28 Various hypotheses about the

passage have been put forth. Most simply one could take it at face value, as another riff on the

early churchs descent motif. Some have conjectured that the verse was actually meant to refer

to Enoch, but through the process of transcription, the name was somehow omitted. 29 In this case,

however, it seems that the mention of Enoch would have been completely random and out of

context. Additionally, some have taken it as a figurative expression about how the effects of the

resurrection were felt even among the dead. 30 Clearly, there are endless ways to interpret it, but

ultimately, there seems to be no theological consensus on this passage.

The third and final passage that I will discuss is Matthew 27:52-53, and the tombs broke

open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the

tombs after Jesus resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. This

verse apparently supports the version of the descent narrative presented in the apocryphal Gospel

28 Augustine, op. cit.

29 Scharlemann, op. cit., 317
30 Ibid., 318.

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of Nicodemus, in which the dead saints (e.g. Karinus and Leucius) were raised and were seen

preaching in the city. However, some have suggested that these verses serve as an apocalyptic

apostrophe, that is to say, that, in this passage, Matthew breaks from the crucifixion narrative

with a sort of prophetic interlude, predicting the future resurrection. 31 This view, it is argued, is

consistent with the New Testament tendency to view the resurrection as a future event.

All of these passages have myriad interpretations. Our role, as Christians, is to decide not

only which interpretation is correct, but also how that interpretation affects our understanding of

Christ, the Bible, salvation, hell, and so on. In my understanding, there are three ways to

approach the topic.

Firstly, we can accept it as true. For me, there has always been something appealing

about getting back to the beliefs of the early church. A study of early church writings shows

overwhelmingly that the descent motif was a common and accepted doctrine. Should we not

trust those who were closest to being contemporaries of Christ? My main problem with this

approach which is a problem I have faced in a lot in my interpretation of the Old Testament is

that this whole doctrine smacks of mythology. Now, I know it is perhaps not logical to dismiss a

doctrine from Christianity a religion that presupposes a belief in the supernatural as

mythological. Nonetheless, it seems that the more of these supernatural tales that I choose to

accept as truth, the more Christianity resembles just another ancient religion. The descent into

Hades specifically reminds me of any of a number of similar stories straight out of Greek

mythology.32 If Christianity is just another mythology, then I have no real reason to hold it as

truth above any other ancient belief. By mythologizing Christianity, its uniqueness and,

31 Waters, Gospel of Matthew.

32 See Mythweb.com Orpheus, Heracles.

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consequently, its claim to truth are called into question. For these reasons, I cannot accept this

first approach.

On the other hand, we can shape these passages to mean something else. This has been

shown above in the example of John Calvin, who saw the creeds descent clause as a metaphor

for Jesus experience of Gods wrath, or in the example of Kenneth Waters, who interpreted the

passage in Matthew as a prophetic statement. As helpful as these views are in maintaining the

uniqueness of the Christian narrative and avoiding unnecessary mythologization, they ignore a

long and well-documented tradition present in the early church. Calvins explanation of the

descent clause, for example, seems less like an attempt to expound the theological intent of the

creed, and more like a misappropriation of the text to fit his own theology. By ignoring

historical context, we can turn these writings into hollow texts, only as useful as they can be

worked into a presupposed theology. Thus, I must also reject this second approach.

The final and I would argue, correct approach would be to see it for what it is: a

widely popular, albeit spurious doctrine meant to provide an explanation of the fate of those Old

Testament faithful who died before Christs atoning work. Rejecting the literal occurrence of

these events does not mean, though, that this doctrine is inherently without value. On the

contrary, it offers a beautiful picture of the grand scope of Jesus death and resurrection, as well

as his victory over the grave. Should the descent clause be recited in the creed alongside the

central tenets of our faith? Probably not. Can we learn something about Christ through this

early Christian doctrine? Absolutely.

And the Lord stretching forth his hand, said: Come unto me, all ye my saints which bear

mine image and my likeness. Ye that by the tree and the devil and death were

condemned, behold now the devil and death condemned by the tree.

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The Gospel of Nicodemus 24:1

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Mythweb.com, s.v. Heracles, accessed November 20, 2015,

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